Dennis “The Menace” James hosted another roundtable edition of The Menace Podcast with Milos Sarcev, Chris Cormier, and special guest Troy Alves. However, one of the biggest subjects of discussion was regarding James himself, who was recording from Dubai. That’s because he was training the reigning two-time Mr. Olympia, Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay as he prepares to go for the three-peat this December in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I’m pushing him hard, and he’s willing to get pushed,” James said of the 16th Mr. Olympia. James also has had Big Ramy go through posing sessions since he arrived in Dubai, and even he was impressed with what the champion presented – even with more than three months to go before the contest.
“Videos and pictures don’t do him justice. Even though it looks impressive in pictures and on video, in real life, it’s next level.” Sarcev also expressed praise for the way Elssbiay looks.
“He looks like he is six weeks out,” the coach and retired competitor expressed. “
One of the reasons that James feels that the champ is ahead of schedule is that he went to work right after he won the Olympia in Orlando, Florida last year.
“He started training basically the day after the Olympia,” James shared. “He kept training. He had days here and there where he had some issues going on, but all in all, he’s been training the whole time.”
Elssbiay will be looking to become the ninth man to win at least three Mr. Olympia titles. To do so, he has to hold off 2019 champion Brandon Curry as well as top contenders such as Hadi Choopan, Hunter Labrada, and Nick Walker.
Other topics of discussion what Alves’ updates on his life, a look back at his bodybuilding career, karate, and a lot more. Catch all episodes of TMP over at the Muscle & Fitness YouTube channel. New episodes drop every Sunday at 3 PM Eastern time. You can follow @themenacepodcast and @bigdjames as well.
