his ginormous torso, and he
wasn’t quite as crisp as last year.
(Cutting it scary close, he had
to weigh in three times before
finally hitting 211.9 with only
minutes to spare.) The Camel
can wow with his width, but he’ll
need to find a better balance and
deeper cuts to climb that one
final, crucial rung.
THE WINNER,
AGAIN
“I train to change my physique
every year, and the unfortunate
thing is then I have to beat myself
up to suck it in to that number [less
than 212 pounds at the weigh-in],”
Lewis said backstage after
winning his sixth 212 Olympia.
“I focused especially on bringing
my back up this year, because
Ashkanani has a phenomenal
back. I focused on deep
separation and muscle maturity,
now that I’m getting older [33].
But I play to my strengths, not the
strengths of the guys standing
next to me.” Why should he? He
and coach Neil Hill have developed
a winning formula that they don’t
veer from. His strengths are his
3
JOSE RAYMOND
JANUARY 2018 | FLEX
75