Hardcore Truth With Johnnie O. Jackson Generation Iron

This past weekend held the 2022 Indy Pro – one of the bigger and more exciting IFBB Pro competitions in the spring. For fans of Blessing Awodibu, stakes were high. Would he improve after some lackluster showings and reclaim the hype as threat to the Mr. Olympia? Johnnie O. Jackson watched the entire show and has put together his official review of Blessing and the other top five athletes from this weekend. In our latest episode of Hardcore Truth, Johnnie O. Jackson gives a complete analysis and recap of the 2022 Indy Pro.

Beyond being an IFBB Pro bodybuilder and notable athlete in the sport, Johnnie O. Jackson also runs and promotes his own NPC bodybuilding competition. Due to this he is familiar with the ins and outs of the rules, guidelines, and regulations for NPC competitions. Recently, he was asked by a bodybuilder – why do NPC shows not provide prize money for winners? This led Jackson to wonder if NPC competitors are rewarded enough before turning pro. In our latest episode of Hardcore Truth, Johnnie O. Jackson debates the idea of prize money for NPC bodybuilders.

In 2020, the bodybuilding world rejoiced upon the return of the Ms. Olympia competition to the Olympia weekend. This came after the competition was discontinued for six years – with many believing it would never return. This is all part of Jake Wood’s passion and respect for Women’s Bodybuilding – and his plan to bring it back into popularity across the sport. While this is a great start, other massive competitions, such as the Arnold Classic, still refuse to put on a Women’s Bodybuilding competition. In our latest episode of Hardcore Truth, Johnnie O. Jackson comments on the lack of representation for Women’s Bodybuilding and the Ms. Olympia not being enough.

While not as popular as major untested leagues such as the IFBB Pro or Elite Pro leagues – natural bodybuilding has been seeing a resurgence, possibly due to the increased fears around athlete health. The leading league in the natural bodybuilding space, the INBA/PNBA, has touted the most rigorous testing to ensure a fair and natural competitive space to great success. But being natural today might be more complicated than in any other time in bodybuilding history. Why? In our latest episode of Hardcore Truth, Johnnie O. Jackson discusses misleading supplement labels and how that may undercut the goals of a natural bodybuilder.

The gym is a shared space which means that it’s important for gym members to be courteous of other people around them. This is true for even most pro bodybuilders – who despite their status still train in public (albeit more hardcore) gyms. And while some gym etiquette rules are obvious – there are some that might be more of a grey area depending on your personality and experience level. Johnnie O. Jackson witnessed something in the gym this past weekend that “urked” him despite not being objectively rude. In our latest episode of Hardcore Truth, Johnnie O. Jackson talks about individuals who over prepare in the gym and spread too much in a public space.

Professional bodybuilding is far different today than it was decades past. This is most noticeable in the number of divisions that exist today. At one point, there was only Men's and Women's bodybuilding. Now we have over 10 divisions ranging from smaller physique sizes like Bikini and Men's Physique through to larger sizes such as Classic Physique and Men's Open.

New divisions bring in new perceptions which invite fans and athletes alike to compare physiques across divisions. Men's Physique in particular is often the brunt of jokes due to their board shorts and smaller size. In our latest Hardcore Truth, Johnnie O. Jackson goes into detail on why this sort of "competition" between divisions is damaging for the sport. And dismissive jokes against other divisions should not take place - particularly by pro bodybuilders.