Nick Walker’s 2026 Mr. Olympia win continues to send shockwaves through the bodybuilding community. In a recent video (October 25, 2026), Lee Haney warned that judges are awarding near-death conditioning and setting a dangerous precedent in the Men’s Open division.
“The recent results of the 2026 Mr. Olympia open class was thrown into total disarray. Those of us who grew up in the classical era tend to measure bodybuilders in the criteria established during the physiques of the past. That was the standards demanded and expected of us. What determined the placing hedged on symmetry, muscularity, and posing. Points were awarded in all three areas. Not just one but a point system that combined the three.”
According to Haney, judging standards were tossed to the side following the latest Olympia contest. Instead of determining a winner based on symmetry, muscularity, and posing, he maintains that extreme conditioning is being awarded more heavily in today’s era:
“The recent outcome of the Olympia appears to award muscularity (conditioning) only. Which says to future bodybuilders that symmetry and posing is no longer part of the stand to being a complete Olympian. As a result the Mr. Olympia open class is truly open to whoever, brings the best and most dangerous level of conditioning near death as possible.”
Lee Haney Sounds Alarm on Extreme Conditioning in Men’s Open Class
In the post, Haney cautioned judges who want athletes to present drier and tighter looks onstage:
“That’s right…. near Death as possible. When the scoring systems of the past were removed, bodybuilders were thrust in the perils of dangers unseen or experienced in times past. Hear me well judges… consider what you’re asking: Tight and Drier can sometimes mean DEATH. Call it like it is. There, I said it and meant every word unapologetically🫵🏽,” said Lee Haney.
He went as far as to say that judges have blood on their hands and called for the scoring system to be reset.
“They have blood on their hands. When you say this to these athletes, it’s danger, that’s why I emphasize the scoring system needs to be reset, I feel. This way there’s a score given for posing, a score given for symmetry, and a score given for muscularity. By doing it in that way, the athletes are scored in several different phases. When you just look at muscularity only or conditioning only, it sets a dangerous precedent. That’s what we’re starting to see more of.”
“It’s easy when you’re sitting there with a pencil and paper, jotting this stuff down, you’re making demands upon these athletes and they are trying to play to the beat of your drum or the sound of your music. It’s not dangerous for you. You’re not going to be missing a kidney or a brain bleed or dying prematurely. That’s my whole deal here. I’m not beating up the athletes,” he added.
This hasn’t been Lee Haney’s first serious warning about the sport’s direction. He recently argued that athletes are destroying their kidneys and causing possible heart attacks in pursuit of drier physiques. The eight-time Mr. Olympia emphasized that deaths are on the rise among younger athletes in the IFBB Pro League.
With Walker’s unlikely Olympia triumph, questions about the Open class standards have taken center stage. Haney believes the sport would benefit as a whole if judges stopped awarding extreme conditioning.
RELATED: Lee Haney Warns Against Harmful Drug Use in Bodybuilding, Pushes for Global Judging Panels
