Lee Priest wins the 2006 IronMan Pro bodybuilding show. This is the best Lee has ever looked. No doubt about it. He was full, he was thick, and had a great presence on stage. Therefore, let’s coin a new phrase: “Fifth time's a charm!” - an ode to Lee coming in second many times.

Dave Henry took second place followed by Troy Alves, Kris Dim and Mark Dugdale. There was no argument from the audience Lee Priest should have won. However, in discussion with some Pro Bodybuilders and avid fans, several thought  the placings should have been different.

Who hasn’t thought that about a bodybuilding show?

Let’s start with Toney Freeman. Toney was slightly visibly upset about his placement. Still keeping his composure and professionalism, he was thinking the same as others. What happened? Why place that low? Top ten is respectable except in the mind of the competitor himself. They want to be first. And, why not? Why compete to be second or third. You compete to win. Toney would argue had he been compared to the top three, he would have held his own. My view is he did look good. He was on, but his conditioning needed to be dialed in just a bit more. For the big boys, they have to fight for that conditioning in order to match the shorter of the bunch. Perhaps this is the “earn your dues” part of bodybuilding. We will see a lot more of Toney in the future – This season and plenty more to follow.

Next on the list is Mustafa Mohammed. He placed a surprising 6th and looked stunned on stage when they announced it. Mustafa was surprised he was not in the top 5 while others argue he should have been lower. In this case, I argue Mustafa was more “on” this time than all of last year. His legs were shredded as usual, but they were not as over powering as the end of last year. Freaky legs, but I argue they still overpower his upper body.

Kris Dim fought his way from 6th to 5th in the morning call outs. Kris traded with Dugdale if you go by the morning call outs. I’ve only seen Kris a few times on stage, and he looked shredded this time around. His triceps weren’t as big as I have seen them before, but they still stood out in an odd way *wink wink*. Do we over look a flaw or a hindrance if it is compensated for with another attribute? Is that why Mustafa took 6th and Kris took 5th? If Kris’ out of proportion arms are rectified, he would give any man a run for his money – Even Dave Henry and Lee Priest in this contest.

The overwhelming crowd favorite was Lee Priest. The way Lonnie introduced Lee at the competitors meeting and at pre judging and how the crowd received Lee, you could tell this was Lee’s night. Many expected Tory to take the Ironman, but with Troy’s flight delays, prolonged sitting on an airplane on top of the stress of showing up late, and the Arnold being around the corner, Troy was in essence out of the picture. That left the field open, and Dave Henry stepped up to the plate.

I think Dave Henry should have won. Kudos to he and Dante/Doggcrapp for an excellent job. Dave's back blew away Lee's - no question about it. His conditioning was superb.

But, that is my opinion, and the way bodybuilding is judged. In this show, you either went for conditioning or you went for size and proportion. It could have gone either way, but the crowd got it’s favorite. I look at it this way...the placings were a way to thank Lee for his hardcore dedication and for Dave, fresh off his win at the Olympia wild card round,  this was an IFBB grand welcome to the top tier of the pro ranks.

Over all – Great Show. It ran on time, there were no SNAFUs, the venue was a great choice and for the most part, the placings were right on. On a side note, we wrote down the potential placings at the end of the morning show, and I am happy to report we called it one through five.

I look forward to the rest of this season. I think this is the year of conditioning and if you want to place well, you better prove you worked for it.