Tag: Kevin Levrone
Kevin Levrone Explains Olympia Winners Might Have Been Hand Picked: ‘I Learned To Not Take It Personal’
Kevin Levrone recently reflected on a conversation he had with Joe Weider.
Kevin Levrone has recently stepped back from the sport of bodybuilding but his history cannot be erased. During his career, Levrone had some great battles on stage against some other elite competitors. In a recent interview, he reflected on a conversation that he had with Joe Weider about Olympia champs being hand picked.
Levrone went head-to-head with the likes of Flex Wheeler, Kai Greene, and Dorian Yates. He finished as the runner-up in the Olympia four times over the course of his career. He retired in 2017 but participated in just one more show in the 2018 Arnold Classic Australia.
Despite never reaching the Sandow Trophy, Levrone enjoyed plenty of success and was one of the best in the world. He recently discussed how bodybuilding is a business and there might be other reasons why he was never able to reach the top of the Olympia.
Kevin Levrone Discusses A Conversation with Joe Weider
In a recent interview on the Muscle and Fitness YouTube page, Kevin Levrone discusses how he asked the founder of the Olympia why the award kept going to the same competitor.
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“I’ve learned not to take it personal, your placings because I remember asking Joe, ‘well why is it that none of us can never win the Mr. Olympia and you always keep giving it to the same guy?’
His answer to me at the time was ‘if I take my top-four guys that finish second, third, fourth and I shuffle you around, and I put you in first, and Shawn whatever it is, then I’m still going to make the same amount of money. Nothing is going to change but if I keep Dorian where he’s at, he opens up a whole completely different market.”
Dorian Yates won the Olympia a title of six times and was at the top for years. Because of the business side of bodybuilding, it was beneficial to keep awarding the Sandow Trophy to Yates.
After the conversation Kevin Levrone had with Weider, he was included in the Muscle and Fitness magazine cover.
“I really didn’t take it personal because he says, ‘hey, you know, just look at it as a business. That’s when I started saying, you know what, if I’m not going to win Mr. Olympia, then I’m going to try to win everything else that I can, so I can market myself the best way I can. I didn’t take it personal.”
Levrone remembers Weider explaining that he was good enough to win the Olympia but the other factors would get in the way. This is when he took the opportunity with Muscle and Fitness.
“He said, ‘it’s not that you’re not good enough to be Mr. Olympia, you certainly are good enough. I respect what you did. Then, he put me on, I think it was a 60-second edition of Muscle and Fitness, that’s when he decided to put me on the cover.”
Kevin Levrone has remained in great shape in retirement. He has clearly kept his physique in top shape proving that he is one of the best to ever do it despite not claiming an Olympia title.
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Build Traps Like Mountains with this Workout
Workout for Building Monsterous Traps
Although the trapezius muscles take up a lot of real estate on your back and shoulders, most people treat them like accessory muscles. Well developed traps can make your shoulders look bigger and can add the illusion of broad shoulders and a narrow waist to your physique.
The trapezius muscle extends longitudinally from the occipital bone to the lower thoracic vertebrae of the spine and laterally to the spine of the scapula. It helps in moving the scapula and supports the arm.
Exercise 1
– Upright Row to Shoulder Press – 3 Sets 15-12-10 Reps
Since the traps are a relatively small muscle group, most people prefer training them with their shoulder or back. Since this article is all about building giant traps, we’ll focus on the trapezius muscle and the other shoulder heads.
In upright rows to shoulder press, hold the barbell with a shoulder-wide grip and let the bar rest against your quads. Pull the barbell up to your shoulders, rotate your wrists and get into the military press position. Complete a military press and slowly return to the starting position.
Exercise 2 – Superset
– Face Pulls – 3 Sets 15-12-10 Reps
– Trap Raises – 3 Sets 15-12-10 Reps
Face pulls work the rear delts and the trapezius muscles. Adjust the cable pulley height to your shoulder level and use a rope attachment. At the contraction point, your hands should be close to your shoulders and you should focus on flexing your shoulder blades.
For the trap raises, lie chest-down on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Retract your traps and raise your arms without bending your elbows so that your arms are parallel to the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat with a strict form.
Exercise 3
– Dumbbell Shrugs – 3 Sets 20-15-12 Reps
Shrugs are a staple in a traps workout. Although shrugs are one of the easiest exercises to perform, most people screw them up by bringing in their inflated egos and lifting weights which are too heavy for them.
Grab a dumbbell in each hand and place them at the side of your quads. Lift your shoulders with a slight bend in your elbows and try touching your ears with them. Hold and contract your traps at the top of the movement.
Exercise 4
– Barbell High Pulls – 3 Sets 15 Reps
Barbell high pulls are a variation of the upright rows. Hold the barbell with an overhand grip right outside the shoulder width mark. You could perform the rack-pull version of this exercise or let the bar hang in front of your quads.
The barbell high pulls are an explosive movement as compared to the upright rows. Perform an explosive upright row to lift the weights as high as you can and get on your toes as the barbell reached the top of the movement. Let gravity do its magic on the way down and don’t try to control the bar.
Exercise 5 – Superset
– Front Smith Machine Shrugs – 3 Sets 20-15-12 Reps
– Behind the Back Smith Machine Shrugs – 3 Sets 20-15-12 Reps
Performing the front shrugs on the smith machine engages the anterior traps, and behind the back version engage the posterior traps while the dumbbell shrugs focus on the medial trapezius muscles.
Using the smith machine also adds constant tension to your traps as it is an isolation exercise. You could use a shrugs machine if you have access to it at your gym or use the shoulder press machine if your gym doesn’t have a shrug or smith machine.
Which is your favorite traps exercise? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
*Header image courtesy of Envato Elements.
Dexter Jackson Looks Lean, Downsized in Recent Post Alongside Kevin Levrone
Dexter Jackson and Kevin Levrone look downsized in recent photo.
Dexter Jackson looks lean and downsized in recent post alongside fellow bodybuilding legend Kevin Levrone. The photo of the two was taken at the 2021 Olympia and both men looked fit and slimmed down.
The time comes for every professional athlete when they have to ask themselves a fundamental question. Can they still compete at the highest levels of their sport? Is it time to hang things up and move on to something else? It can be a truly daunting task for someone who has spent years honing their craft in order to showcase their skill, ability, and in terms of bodybuilding, a competitor’s training physique.
Dexter Jackson likely had the very same internal dialogue. Having stood atop the bodybuilding world, becoming winningest bodybuilder of all time, Jackson had nothing else to prove when he decided to hang it up. The 2020 Olympia was his final show where he got a standing ovation from the crowd.
Since last December Dexter Jackson has been enjoying his retirement. But while for some that means stopping training and enjoying all manner of delicious delights, bodybuilding has proven to be a way of life for Jackson.
Dexter Jackson and Kevin Levrone Looking Lean
Recently Dexter Jackson took to Instagram offering up a photo of himself with fellow bodybuilding legend Kevin Levrone. In the photo Jackson is looking far smaller than he did when he was still competitively active.
#tbt #throwbackthursday to the Olympia. Chillin with one of my biggest inspiration big bro @kevinlevrone We looking good retired big bro! ??????
But despite being downsized, Dexter Jackson is still looking pretty lean. His recent training with Hide Yamagishi and Iris Kyle that Jackson is still in great condition.
I’ve known @hideyamagishi and @iriskyle 20 plus years and it’s crazy we’ve never trained together. Well @hideyamagishi and I got a quick session in while Iris sat around talking shit and bragging how many Olympia titles she won. ??? All good that’s family and talking trash is what we do when we are together. ?? Y’all be sure to check out one of the dopest gyms in Vegas.. Iris & Hide’s @powerhousegymlasvegas is ????. Love you guys!!
What do you think of Dexter Jackson and his current physique?
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News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
The Reason Kevin Levrone Drank Jack & Coke And Improvised Posing Routines At Shows
Kevin Levrone describes his unusual tactic for “feeling the mood” just moments before competing on stage.
Kevin Levrone is known for being one of the best bodybuilders of the 90s and perhaps even of all time. Beyond his impressive physique, part of his fame came from his stellar posing routines. Bodybuilders traditionally practice their posing routine for weeks on end. But Levrone would completely improvise his posing. He didn’t even pick his music until just minutes before stepping on stage.
That tactic might seem reckless. But Kevin Levrone put extreme importance on “feeling the mood” of the audience and the venue location. Syncing in to that mood would help him elevate his posing routine. It’s likely part of what made him so legendary to this day. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Kevin Levrone goes into detail about his last minute posing routines and his tactics for connecting with the audience.
During our video conversation with Kevin Levrone, we touched briefly on the topic of alcohol and bodybuilding. Can a bodybuilder drink alcohol and be successful on a pro level? This question quickly spiraled into an interesting discussion about Levrone’s posing routines and his tactics on the night of a competition.
Kevin Levrone admits that he never prepared his posing routines in advance. In fact, he would bring multiple tapes of music and not submit them until just moments before he stepped on stage. The reason? He wanted to “feel the mood” of the audience and the venue location.
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Check out our latest GI Exclusive with Kevin Levrone above!
This is where the alcohol comes in. By no means did Kevin Levrone drink alcohol as part of his regular bodybuilding diet. But on the night of a show, he would make himself a Jack and Coke backstage. Levrone states that this was simply to help loosen him up. This, in turn, would help him feel out the vibe being emitted from the audience.
Kevin Levrone believes that every single competition venue has a different atmosphere and feeling. Vegas is different than New York. New York is different than a competition in Europe. Each night is different due to the energy of the audience. Levrone wanted to tap into that energy so he could be fully in-sync with the judges and the crowd.
So Kevin Levrone would make himself a Jack and Coke, relax, and feel the vibe. He would bring multiple tapes of music and then decide his song last minute based on that vibe. This would often get him in trouble and even fined for submitting his music so late. But to Levrone, this was a small price to pay to elevate his routine to the next level.
This tactic is quite different than the usual messaging you receive from pro bodybuilders. Posing is certainly important. It can create an illusion through angles and flexing that makes your physique look even more impressive that it really is. This vital when being judged.
Due to this, many pro bodybuilders stress the importance of consistent training and practicing of posing routines before a show. While Kevin Levrone most likely still practiced his mandatory poses – his improvised posing routines seemed to give him an edge. Living in the moment helped showcases his physique more than prepping in advance and getting too stuck in his head.
Of course, that’s simply what worked for Levrone. It’s part of what makes him a rare and legendary athlete in the sport. It’s not a tactic that might work for everyone. It might not even work for most.
You can watch Kevin Levrone go into full detail about his competition tactics in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!