Well guys, unless I'm mistaken, Phil Heath, Markus Haley, and Bill Wilmore are all stepping onto a pro stage for the first time! There may be other rookies who I have accidently omitted but nonetheless the buzz surrounding these three top rookies is hard to ignore. Here are pics of all three men and I'm curious to hear your opinions on them and how they'll place.
I think they're all great athletes and all will do well in the pro ranks but they all have some weaknesses. I'm not trying to talk down on them because I'm looking forward to how they're all going to do but I might as well point out my constuctive criticisms.
I particularly like Wilmore because he looks good even in the relaxed poses, even from the front. I think his delts have a slightly odd shape and maybe by emphasizing the rear heads more he'll achieve that rounder shape to them. Also, his tris need to come up a bit to match his bis and he could use some more quad sweep (who couldn't? oh...besides mustafa).
I think Phil Heath has the best chance of placing high at this show due to the recognition factor. That's not to say he doesn't have a great physique, I just think he needs more time for his muscles to mature to bring out more detail. He doesn't look quite as mind-blowing in the relaxed poses so I think he needs slightly more chest mass because he's not blessed with the type of low, hanging chest that Ronnie has. My only other criticism is his structure isn't very wide so he'll have to thicken up his back in order to look as best as possible in the back poses.
Haley is a big guy with a balanced physique and great legs to go with the total package. He usually comes in great shape but like Heath could use a little more time to add crisp, grainy detail to his physique. I think he has all the components, but he just needs a little something more in order to make an impression.
Personally I see Heath placing the highest with Wilmore and then Haley as far as these three top rookies go. Of course this is all based on past performance and exposure so I think we'll have a much more accurate picture of how things will pan out after both this and the NY Pro. Best of luck to all of them and as someone already said: these guys can very well be the future of our sport; let's hope for the best.
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