"We went back and dug deep" - Chad Nicholls says Big Ramy improved physique ahead of Arnold Classic

Big Ramy's performance at the 2022 Mr. Olympia surprised everyone, but not in a pleasant way. Going into the competition, Ramy was the heavy favorite, but the competition saw the Egyptian bodybuilder fall off to fifth place. One of the Olympia judges, Steve Weinberger, even went as far as to suggest he "wasn’t the real Ramy we know."

Big Ramy announced that he will be competing at the 2023 Arnold Classic just days after losing his title. His coach, Chad Nicholls, stated in a recent interview on Olympia TV that he believes that they have made the necessary changes to begin his redemption arc:

"I thought it would be good to get back up on stage. So, that’s exactly what we did. We went back and kind of dug deep, went in and kind of looked at what he needed to work on."

Nicholls discussed his conversation with Ramy after his big loss last year. He stated that both of them were in agreement that the Arnold Classic would be good for him, but changes had to be made:

"When we were thinking about the Arnold, I was talking with him and we were kind of going back and forth, and we were like, ‘Listen, we weren’t able to get done what we needed to at the Olympia,’ he said. ‘What do you think about the Arnold, I said, ‘You listen, I think that it would be good for you to get back up on stage. Obviously, we got some things we need to correct; we need to work on. We need to kind of go back to the drawing board on a few things.'"

On the Olympia stage, the Egyptian just did not look comfortable. It was later revealed that he was suffering from quite a few injuries that impeded his performance.

"A lot of the things everybody knows, the leg issues, the back issues, the triceps issues – and also again, we had to revamp all of his posing, change things around and stuff. It was kind of one of those things where it regenerated excitement for both of us."

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Ramy has undergone stem cell therapy and is looking to take the Classic head on

Chad Nicholls says that Ramy's stem cell therapy has helped him improve his back by 20%.

"Where he’s at right now – everyone has obviously seen that he’s had the stem cell work. He’s had the stem cells done. Obviously, that’s not going to be something that’s going to be 100% by the Arnold. But there will be some key areas that it’s noticeable in. I think the back has improved maybe 20%. I think it’s back to where it was in 2020. Triceps – about the same. I think those things are a little improved from last year at Olympia."

Although the pair have been working on building Ramy's back, Nicholls said the biggest difference between the Egyptian bodybuilder's physique now as compared to his Olympia physique is his legs.

"The big difference will be the legs. Everybody saw he had the little divots and indentions in the legs, those are completely gone. Those are completely gone. The lines are completely deep and lineup all the way to the hip. So, that will be a big noticeable change in how he looks."

Ramy will face strong competition at the Classic in March. This includes former Classic champion Samson Dauda, William Bonac, reigning 212 Olympia champion Shaun Clarida, and Nick 'The Mutant' Walker.