Greetings to all my subscribers. Today I would like to dedicate my article to the greatest bodybuilder of our time. Still haven't guessed who we'll be talking about? Yes, exactly - this is Big Ramy. His real name is Mamdou Elssbyai.
How do you think this Egyptian bodybuilder managed to gain success so quickly? How does he eat? Did he take a course of steroids? Who helped him conquer the top of Olympus? – You will learn about everything in this article.
All about Olympia:
JAY CUTLER: THE PATH OF BECOMING A CHAMPION
ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA OF PHIL HEATH: HOW THE GREAT BODYBUILDER CHANGED AND HE BECAME HIM
MISTER OLYMPIA 2016: RESULTS OF THE WORLD BODYBUILDING AND FITNESS SHOW
From the personal archive of the athlete
This big, handsome mulatto man named Mamdou was born in Egypt, into a large family of fishermen. From an early age the guy knew what hard work was. Since there were 10 children in the family, they had to work very hard to eat, not to mention other benefits of civilization.
Such a difficult life helped the guy gain strong character and self-confidence. From an early age I attended various sports clubs. As a young man, he began going to the gym and always dreamed of becoming a famous bodybuilder.
Later, Mamdou's family moved to Kuwait, a country where bodybuilding is developed. That's when the interesting life of an athlete began. After all, the guy is one step closer to achieving his goal. Elssbyai got a job at one of the clubs in the Oxygen Gym network.
There he works out in the gym and meets bodybuilding veteran Dennis James. It was this man who was able to discern in Mamdou the enormous potential and desire to conquer Olympia.
Dennis helped the future champion with everything: nutrition, drawing up a training plan, sharing his knowledge in the field of pharmacology, and monitoring his diet.
Chronology of Mamdou Elssbiaya's sports career
Since entering the scene, the Egyptian superstar has received several high-profile titles.
- year 2012. Amateur Olympia. Carved legs, perfectly filled muscles, professionally designed back and arms, standard proportions, excellent posing - an ideal athlete, from the point of view of judging. Guest posing in Kuwait becomes a sensation and a triumph: 1st place!
- 2013 Having become the discovery of 2012, Big Ramy continues its victorious march. This time the athlete conquered the New York Pro tournament - again 1st place. The 2013 Olympia debut was less successful. According to experts, the bet on size that the athlete made with his coach did not work this time. As a result - 8th place. But the fact that Rami was able to make a giant leap in just two years and get into the top ten of the world championship speaks for itself.
- 2014 New York Pro. Already gained 300 pounds of weight, better developed back muscles. The broad-shouldered smiling giant from Egypt easily takes 1st place. In the same year, his own result at Olympia was improved - 7th place. Main complaints: Lower back lags. This is his weak point. Also, the proportions of the upper body and lower body are not top notch. The quads overwhelm the upper body.
- 2015 Arnold Classic Europe – 4th place. The athlete impressed with his volume and dimensions. But the judges considered her to be overweight. Olympia 2015 – title of Mr. Olympia and an honorable 5th place. Of course, this was a good indicator, but the athlete’s goal is to become the best in the category. And he continues to train. As a result, Arnold Classic takes 1st place and ranks second at the Prague Pro.
- 2016 Arnold Classic Europe. Having drained the mass several times for the sake of relief, Rami continues to win. Prague Pro is the second, Kuwait Pro 2016 is the first.
- 2017 Arnold Classic Europe – 1st place. Experts noted the athlete’s excellent shape. Opinions were expressed that a worthy replacement was being prepared for Phil Heath - a new champion. But at the Olympia 2017 battle only 2nd place. Everything was great, but lacked charisma? Be that as it may, the duel between Phil Heath and Rami ended in defeat.
- 2018 Again the disproportion between the legs and body is striking. The quality of muscle relief work also let us down. As a result, Olympia 2018 does not allow the athlete to even enter the top five - 6th place. It remains a mystery: why can’t the new trainer “cut through” Big Ramy’s leg muscles, as he did at the beginning of his career?
- 2019 Mamdouh "Big Ramy" Elssbiay was considered the main contender for the title of Mr. Olympia for the past few years. And suddenly it is reported that he will not compete for this title in the 2022 bodybuilding season. His friend and colleague Nick Trigili said Ellsbye had torn ligaments in his shoulder. Elssbiay later confirmed this news. He said he was dealing with a shoulder injury.
- 2020 Gained 310 pounds (140.7 kg). The training program was completely replaced, but the expected sensation did not happen. As a result, Arnold Classic – 3rd place.
Piggy bank of achievements
In just 2 years of competition, the Egyptian athlete conquered Olympia. In 2012, he first appeared on stage in the super heavyweight category. The athlete earned a PRO card in his category. From this year he received the worthy title of “professional bodybuilder”.
2013 also brought victory to the athlete, after which sponsors and the public drew attention to him. Rami became the first in the competition in the USA in the open bodybuilding category.
In 2014, he competes twice and takes 1st place in the open category and 7th place in Mr. Olympia. 2015 brings him 5th place in the competition in the “Absolute Bodybuilding” category with a new record weight of 134 kg. He failed to take 1st place due to poor drainage.
In 2016, the athlete again failed to win in the Mr. Olympia category, but took a respectable 4th place. In 2022, many experts promise Rami a victory and a great future in this area of the sport. How it will actually be, time will tell.
Body-building
Big Ramy made his debut in bodybuilding with a confident performance at the Kuwait Gold Cup in 2012. That same year, the athlete decided to take part in the Amateur Olympia, victory in which guarantees him a Pro Card and gives him the opportunity to express himself at a professional level. Mamdou impressed the judges of the show with his relief and volume of muscles, which allowed him to beat other competitors in the super heavyweight category and win.
The athlete continued to work on himself, paying special attention to pumping up the back muscles, which he considers his weak area. Already in 2013, he appeared in the New York Pro tournament, where he again took 1st place. After this, Big Ramy competed for the first time in the Mr. Olympia competition, but ended up only eighth in the ranking of participants.
Elssbyai was not upset and continued to participate in prestigious tournaments for bodybuilders. He again won the New York Pro and then won the Arnold Classic Brazil. In 2015, Mamdou visited Europe for the first time; he performed at Prague Pro, where he competed with Russian Alexander Fedorov and took second position.
Subsequently, the celebrity managed to win the Kuwait Pro, as well as twice take a prize place at the Arnold Classic Europe. He gained many fans who were looking forward to his new performances and awards. The athlete actively participated in various shows, including Brutal Leg Day on the Dragon Pharma YouTube channel, where he composed ]Bahar Nabieva[/anchor].
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Big Ramy and Bahar Nabieva
All this time, Big Ramy did not give up trying to win the Mr. Olympia competition, but failed every time. In 2019, the bodybuilder was unable to participate in the tournament due to a shoulder injury, which required a long recovery. The public was waiting for the celebrity to return next year, but Elssbyai regretfully reported that he was infected with coronavirus, which prevented him from appearing at the qualifying competition.
Fans raised the alarm and attracted the attention of the organizers of the Mr. Olympia competition, who sent Mamdou a special invitation allowing him to compete in the tournament without participating in Europe Pro. Later, the athlete's test showed a negative result, which caused a wave of negativity from other bodybuilders. Lee Priest accused the celebrity of lying and suggested that Big Ramy wanted to avoid appearing at the competition because he did not spend enough time preparing.
Despite the scandal, Elssbiai competed in the 2020 Mr. Olympia competition and became the winner, beating Brandon Curry and his longtime rival Phil Heath. This event became a sensation, because for the first time since 1997, the title was won by a participant who is not American by nationality. The award was presented to the winner personally by Arnold Schwarzenegger, which became a memorable moment in Big Ramy’s biography.
Later, the new star of the competition was compared to another famous bodybuilder - Ronnie Coleman, who, like Elssbyai, became famous due to his large body mass. He did not stay away from the discussion and stated that he was more proportional than Big Ramy. He advised the Egyptian to stop training his legs for a while in order to balance his physique.
Preparation before the performance
You can see how Mamdou’s training goes in the video. The guy does presses with drop sets. The final workout is completed by the triceps. If we talk about the athlete’s diet.
His diet consists of 8 meals:
- 1 meal consists of 12 eggs and 250 grams of baked potatoes;
- Meal 2 is 150 grams of rice and 230 grams of chicken fillet;
- on the 3rd he drinks a protein shake;
- Meal 4 consists of 4 eggs, 250 grams of potatoes;
- 5th reception – 230 grams of breast and 1 cup. brown rice, 1 cup. pineapple;
- Meal 6 – 350 g fish steak and ½ rice;
- Meal 7: meat steak and vegetable salad;
- The last night's intake is a protein shake and 1 tbsp. l. nut butter.
Successes of a super weightlifter
Rami's debut took place at the 2012 Olympia in the heavyweight category, where in the absolute category he won a clear victory , which allowed him to receive a PRO card. Inspired by the success of his mentee, Jame announces his performance at the New York Pro 2013. The coach’s goal is to confirm the previous victory and gain admission to the 2013 Olympia. Big was very worried, and she had 3 reasons for this:
- He was afraid of disrupting the premiere performance, where he was listed as a professional.
- They had to measure their strength with Victor Martinez himself.
- He did not want to leave his wife, who was just about to give birth.
In the end , everything happened as James expected. Mamdou again rises to the top level and loudly declares himself to the sports community. However, it was impossible not to notice the Arab Hercules:
- height is 178 cm;
- weight at competitions – 130 kg, between seasons – 152 kg;
- diameter of double-headed bundles – 58 cm;
- hip circumference – 90 cm.
Comparative data of Mamdou with other giants
Such a handsome man as Mamdou can compete with such giants as Roni Coleman and Martin Ford. Each of the athletes has their own unique story.
From the biography of Martin Ford
Looking at his photograph, we cannot say that he once could, weighing 70 kg, play cricket. Today, this colossus does deadlifts with a weight of 350 kg, works as a fitness trainer, owns a gym and dreams of becoming the most sought-after actor in cinema, in fight films and horror films.
By the way, quite recently he managed to achieve his goal. Ford starred in the film Undisputed 4.
First attempts and rapid progress
Rami went to study at the nearest gym. A tall figure and strong physique, a character tempered under the hot Egyptian sun, and iron discipline did their job. He gained powerful biceps, massive deltoids and an outstanding torso. By chance, Beider Budai, the owner of the famous Oxygen Gym complex, notices him and offers to train and work at his place, while reducing his work schedule.
At the same time, Big meets ex-star Denis James. The coach was surprised by the guy’s physical characteristics and his potential. He offers himself as a mentor. Mamdou understood perfectly well that he was lucky. Denis creates a diet and training regimen and introduces him to pharmacological drugs. An integrated approach to the process ensured rapid progress and Big Ramy's muscles began to grow by leaps and bounds.
Some experts argue that it was doping that helped achieve fantastic volumes. Yes, they sped up the process, but genetics . After all, not all athletes of Arab and African origin have such parameters and have achieved dizzying results.
Personal life
Martin has a wonderful wife and a sweet daughter. Despite his brutal appearance, decorated with tattoos, the boy is called a good-natured man. In life he is calm.
Spend about 30-35 thousand rubles a month on your food. His daily calorie intake is 7 thousand per day. Such large muscles need nutrition every hour and a half.
Mamdou Elssbiay (Big Ramy): training, nutrition and parameters
Mamdou Elssbiaye also known as Big Ramy was born on September 16, 1984, Cairo, Egypt. Professional bodybuilder of Egyptian origin. Rami was born into a fisherman's family, he was the sixth and youngest son in the family, like all his brothers, he fished with his father from an early age, not being afraid of physical activity even at such a young age, which later played an important role in the future of the bodybuilder. The family soon moves to Kuwait in hopes of starting a fishing business.
Upon arrival, I began to try myself in various sports and settled on bodybuilding. He started training at the Oxygen Gym, where he got a job. The owner of the gym, Bayder Budai, noticed the genetically gifted young man and simplified his work schedule a little so that he had more time for training. Soon he is noticed by already accomplished bodybuilder and trainer Denis James, and takes him under his wing, putting together a training, nutrition and pharmacology program for him. After which Big Ramy makes his debut at his first competition at the 2012 Amateur Olympia and wins it unconditionally, receiving a pro card. It has never happened before that at their first competitions someone immediately received a card.
This is how his professional career began, after 3 years he was already in the top 5 best bodybuilders in the world. First place at the Arnold Classic Brazil 2015, 5th place at the Olympia, where he set a record with more than 140 kg of quality mass, then 4th place at the 2016 Olympia, 1st place at the Kuwait Pro 2016, winning against top athletes. Big Ramy is young and genetically gifted, and many are predicting the top of the Olympia for him, at the moment he is one of the biggest bodybuilders, and if he improves his quality, he can push Phil Heath and Shawn Rhoden.
- Height - 178 cm
- Competition weight - 135 kg;
- Weight in the off-season - up to 160 kg
- Biceps - 58.5 cm
- Hip - 91 cm
- Bench press - 200 kg for 12 reps
- Link to Big Ramy's Instagram
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Mr. Olympia 2022 - 1st place
- Mr. Olympia 2022 - 1st place
- Arnold Classic 2022 – 3rd place
- Mr. Olympia 2022 – 6th place
- Mr. Olympia 2022 – 2nd place
- Prague Pro 2016 – 2nd place
- Kuwait Pro 2016 – 1st place
- Arnold Classic Europe 2016 – 2nd place
- Mr. Olympia 2016 – 4th place
- Prague Pro 2015 – 2nd place
- Arnold Classic Europe 2015 – 4th place
- Mr. Olympia 2015 – 5th place
- Arnold Classic Brazil 2015 – 1st place
- Mr. Olympia 2014 – 7th place
- New York Pro 2014 – 1st place
- Mr. Olympia 2013 – 8th place
- New York Pro 2013 – 1st place
WORKOUT
NUTRITION
- Meal
12 egg whites 3 whole eggs 250 grams baked potatoes - Meal
150 grams rice 250 grams turkey fillet - Snack
Protein shake - Meal
4 whole eggs 250 grams baked potatoes - Meal
20 grams of chicken breast a plate of brown rice a cup of chopped pineapple pieces - Meal
300 grams of salmon half a plate of rice - Meal
300 grams steak vegetable salad - Meal (usually in the middle of the night)
Protein shake 2 tablespoons peanut butter.
Result:
- 400 g protein
- 400 g carbohydrates
- 200 g fat
- 5500 kilocalories
