Valentin Petrov is a budding bodybuilder on the Mr. Olympia stage. The youngest in the line of competitors, he posed for the Classic Physique division in last year’s mega event. However, days after the 2023 Mr. Olympia ended, Petrov made a major career announcement, bringing new hope to his bodybuilding fans. 

Taking to his Instagram, the Bulgarian bodybuilder declared he is ready to switch gears to improve his winning chances on the Mr. Olympia stage. 

From Classic Physique to 212 division

Bodybuilding is a subjective sport, and judges vote for the most aesthetic muscular physique on the Mr. Olympia stage. However, the body types of bodybuilders vary. So, the IFBB introduced multiple divisions to make it a fair deal that the tallest mass monsters have no leverage over shorter competitors. So, the 212 division was introduced in 2011. 

In this division, athletes shorter than 5’5” in height and weighing below 212 lbs compete to win the Mr. Olympia title. So, Valentin Petrov, a Classic Physique competitor in 2022 Mr. Olympia, decided to compete in the 212 division in the future. Despite winning his Pro card in the division reigned by CBum, the young bodybuilder finds it rational for him to compete in the 212 division.

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“End of an era. It hurts, but it’s time to move on. 212,” he wrote in his post, and fans congratulated him for his new innings. Fans compared 205 lbs mass monster to the 212-division champion, Flex Lewis, in the comments to the post. However, the bodybuilding journey for the Bulgarian champion wasn’t a rosy path.

Breaking patterns with efforts

The Bulgarian bodybuilding icon was born in 1999 and raised by his grandmother. But his life agenda was to break bad patterns that run in the family. Petrov’s family has a reputation for alcoholism, and the young athlete indulged himself in sports like football, baseball, and wrestling to not get influenced by addiction. 

Petrov vented his anger and frustration at the gym, shaping his bodybuilding muscles and career. Soon, he started competing on elite stages and won his Pro card in 2021 by winning The Classic Physique Class B in the NPC Worldwide Arnold Amateur competition in the United Kingdom.

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Valentin Petrov’s bodybuilding passion and strategy appeal to many, and fans are hoping that he will be a Mr. Olympia sensation soon. And the efforts are visible in his Instagram grid. Many of his followers hailed his recent decision to be best because bodybuilding is not just muscles, but it is a whole strategy.