For those new to bodybuilding, it would probably be a good idea for you to know how an athlete gets to compete for the Mr. Olympia title—bodybuilding’s highest honor. How exactly does a bodybuilder end up competing among the best in the world?
I’m going to tell you, but first I need to preface this with the following for clarity: While the “Olympia” is composed of 11 divisions today, and most of the qualification requirements to compete in them are similar, my focus here is on the original Men’s Open Mr. Olympia, upon whose backs rests the entire fitness industry.
While what I discuss here is, in many ways, relevant to the other IFBB divisions, nuanced conditions can arise and push some limits. Accordingly, this is about them—the core element—and the process by which one would set out to find their way among them.
Just like competing in any world championship in any sport, the first thing you have to do is qualify. And in bodybuilding, therein lies the culmination of all that you’ve been about for years on end—dedicating, suffering, abstaining, sacrificing, grueling workout after grueling workout, fatigued and starving, without letting up for a second. Because if you did, someone else would move up and pass you. Bodybuilding is the apex variant of not leaving any stone unturned. In our world, those stones are the size of gravel, and there’s enough to pave a circular driveway. Every single one of them counts, and if just one is left to fate and it turns out bad, the entire row of dominoes falls.
That’s why the accommodations are slim atop Mount Olympus. Since Larry Scott won the first title in 1965, the battle for the honor has been waged a total of 62 times, producing just 19 champions. Let me say that another way: in 61 uninterrupted years, just 19 men have earned the title of Mr. Olympia. This makes the Sandow trophy the rarest prize in modern-day sports—and you want one.
Win Amateurs, Earn an IFBB Pro Card
Well, while you’re making some room on the mantle, you’d better clear out some space for a slew of other trophies you’re going to have to win first. And that’s just to climb out of the amateurs. Once absorbed into the pros, you’re just beginning your climb to the top.
The Olympia is the proverbial world championship of bodybuilding. It’s as high as you can go, and there are no other contests on its level—it’s Everest’s peak. The zenith of all the body sports. Critics will decry the Arnold Classic as being on par with the Olympia, that the honor is the same. But it’s not. It just isn’t. The Mr. Olympia is the historical center of our universe. Any kid who ever dreamed of being a bodybuilder dreamed of being Mr. Olympia. Now, you can win the Arnold to qualify for the Olympia, but not the other way around. There are no two sides to that. The Mr. O is it.
Insofar as that’s concerned, those seeking to grace its stage have to start somewhere. In IFBB pro bodybuilding, that means getting a pro card—your ticket to entry. As ubiquitous as the pro card has become these days—it’s entirely possible that the beer tub girl in a trendy pool bar is a card-carrying IFBB Bikini pro—it doesn’t make the card any easier to get, especially among the men chasing a Sandow. Specifically for the Men’s Open, in order to “pick up” your pro card, you have to win the overall at either the USA Championships, the NPC Nationals, the Junior Nationals, the North American, or the Universe. There are also international paths through the Arnold Amateur in Ohio and other international Arnold events, the IFBB World Championships, and NPC Worldwide pro qualifiers in various countries.
The Road to Olympia is Narrow with Heavy Traffic
But before you can compete in any of those shows in the U.S., you have to qualify by winning the overall at a national qualifier. These days, many state-level shows are open national qualifiers.
This is where you can struggle for years to climb out, or you can hit the fast track. If you bide your time and wait to compete until you’re ready—until you’re Olympia caliber—you can literally win a state-level show, sometimes even just your weight class, which would qualify you for an NPC national show. Win the overall there, and you get your pro card. If you’re an aggressive and gifted monster who gets the federation’s nod, you could immediately enter your first pro show—an Olympia qualifier—win it, and thus qualify for the Olympia. No one has ever done that, but it could happen. The path is there. But you’d have to be a heretofore unseen freak to walk it.
Regardless of what kind of monster you think you might be, you have to win an Olympia qualifier to compete in the big show. Other than the Arnold, there’s quite a bit of events in the U.S.—the New York Pro, the Tampa Pro, the Toronto Pro, the Pittsburgh Pro, to name a few. There are also few held all over the world—for example, the recent Arnold UK was an Olympia qualifier.
I made that path sound easy, but it’s not. While there are—and have been—outliers who came out of nowhere and shot to the top, for most, it’s an uphill grind. I know guys who have spent a decade or more trying to turn pro. It’s not easy—especially today. The competition is as fierce as it’s ever been, particularly among the pros. A lot of guys turn pro, and you never see them again.
To add more stress to the equation, qualifying for the Olympia is also a strategic consideration in managing your pro career. Should you try to qualify as soon after the Olympia as possible, or as close to it as you can? How do you best manage your condition? That’s one of many gambles athletes take as they set their sights on competing in the Olympia. Some guys blow it, don’t make it, and have to try again next season.
Competing in the Olympia is serious business. There’s no letting anything slide. If you have any doubt, remember: In 61 years, there have only been 19 men crowned Mr. Olympia. Out of eight billion people in the world—just 19.
What does that tell you?
