Ryan Terry muses that a weight limit on Men’s Physique would help prevent physiques from growing bigger each year.
In a previous interview segment, Ryan Terry lamented the way Men’s Physique has changed over the past decade. Specifically, he believes that the physiques have gotten larger with each year – and it’s starting to look less like the original goal of the division. With the relatively recent introduction of Classic Physique, Terry believes the divide between Men’s Physique and Classic Physique is shrinking. His solution? Add a weight limit system to Men’s Physique similar to Classic. Ryan Terry discusses why he believes a weight cap on Men’s Physique would benefit the future of the division in our latest GI Exclusive interview.
Early into our conversation, Ryan Terry admits he may be a bit biased on his opinions of the direction Men’s Physique is moving towards. Terry sees himself as a smaller sized athlete in his division – and he believes that Men’s Physique as a whole has gotten too large. But in trying to be as objective as possible, Terry worries that Men’s Physique is growing too large in comparison to where the division started.
Classic Physique is a relatively new division that was introduced in late 2016. It was an answer to many fans worrying that Men’s Open has gotten too large compared to the Golden Era of the sport. This new division imposes weight limits based on height to ensure the physiques cannot grow too large. This kind of strategy is attractive to Ryan Terry. He believes that if Men’s Physique adapted to this ruleset (but on a smaller size scale), it would help prevent the division from losing sight of it’s original vision.
It’s almost inevitable that every division’s physiques grows in size over time. As each athlete tries to one up each other, they push the boundaries of size while trying to still match the aesthetic of the division. Over time, the slow change shifts the bar of expectation for judges and fans. Suddenly, a decade later, the physiques of a division look completely different.
This happened to Men’s Open – which is why slowly over time new divisions such as Men’s 212 and Classic Physique entered the sport. But now with so many divisions, Ryan Terry worries that Men’s Physique will start to look too close to Classic Physique. In his opinion, changing the Men’s Physique rules to include a weight limit based on height will fix this problem.
Of course, there are already other factors in place to differentiate Men’s Physique from other divisions. The board shorts change the overall areas that judges look at for scoring. Also the posing rounds are different. A big part of Men’s Physique posing is a “natural standing” pose – as opposed to the more showy mandatory poses found in Classic Physique and above. While seemingly small these are vital differences.
Does Men’s Physique need a change? Is the division growing too large in terms of physique size? Watch Ryan Terry’s full comments in our latest GI Exclusive segment above and then decide for yourself!