Dennis James was joined by regular panelists, Milos Sarcev and Chris Cormier, for Episode 243 of The Menace Podcast, and they welcomed special guest Jonathan De La Rosa, who explained that while competing in the world of bodybuilding is tough, the 2024 Tampa Pro winner always loved to work hard to achieve his ambitions.
During the show, De La Rosa, who on Saturday, announced is retirement from the sport following a sixth-place finish at this past weekend’s Tampa Pro (which was won by Jordan Hutchinson), told Chris Cormier that he weighed around 238 pounds the morning of the 2024 Olympia, where he was judged to be 12th in the lineup eventually won by Samson Dauda.
The expert panel were hopeful of progression however, suggesting that the big man looked to be nearing a future top ten placement. De La Rosa then explained what motivates him to move on to the next opportunity. “This sport could be hard on you, if you let it be, but I love competing, man,” said the 41-year-old. “I wish I could, at least once in my career, place in the top ten, that’d be cool. But you know at the same time, the judges see something different and all the athletes up there at the Olympia are really, really good.”
Jonathan De La Rosa’s Approach to Olympia Training
“I really do believe that if you stick to the same thing, all the time, the muscle gets used to it,” said De La Rosa of his gameplan. “So, you should be looking for newer, fresher ways to stimulate muscle growth and I think changing your routine every now and again, changing rep schemes, changing tempo, all those things helps.”
De La Rosa, who is from New York, followed in his father’s footsteps to become a competitive bodybuilder, and shuns quick fixes or fitness fads, instead choosing to grind for his goals. “Is it me, but people don’t want to train hard anymore,” asked De La Rosa of the TMP panel. “Everyone’s looking for the easy way out. The ‘fast fitness.’” Dennis James agreed with the opinion that there is a less hard-working side of bodybuilding. “I’m glad you’re saying that, because if we were to say that we would f***ing be (called) old grumpy head!” exclaimed the host.
To watch the full episode where the boys also discussed time under ‘maximum under tension’, squatting, and breaking bodybuilding news, see below.
