Many bodybuilding followers will let you know that eight-time Ms. Olympia Lenda Murray is without doubt one of the biggest — if not the biggest — ladies’s bodybuilders ever to take the stage. However one other identify that inevitably comes up within the G.O.A.T. dialog is three-time Ms. Olympia Andrea Shaw.
Comparisons to Murray pop up at any time when Shaw competes right now, and it all the time spurs the identical query: What would occur if the 2 of them ever met on the stage of their primes?
Sadly, we’ll by no means get these solutions since Murray retired practically 20 years in the past. However there are features of their careers that we will put head to head, such because the titles they’ve received, their recognition, and the competitors they confronted of their primes. With that to go on, let’s evaluate these two titans of the stage under.
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Bodybuilding Accomplishments
Outdoors of inaugural champ Larry Scott, no man has ever received the Mr. Olympia on their first strive. Amazingly, each Murray and Shaw did simply that on the Ms. Olympia of their respective debuts. Murray ended her profession with eight wins on the huge present, whereas Shaw has three as of Could 2023. Right here’s how their careers stack up on the level of their third Ms. Olympia win.
Lenda Murray’s Accomplishments
Murray received her first Ms. O title in 1990 after six-time champ Cory Everson retired. The one different main Ladies’s Bodybuilding title throughout Murray’s time was the Ms. Worldwide on the Arnold Classic, which she by no means competed for. As a matter of reality, the one competitors Murray ever entered all through her complete profession after turning professional was the Ms. Olympia, according to Muscle Memory. So by way of 1992, she solely had three wins, all of them Ms. O crowns.
[Related: The Story Behind the Chaotic Drug-Tested 1990 Mr. Olympia]
Andrea Shaw’s Accomplishments
Shaw’s resume, to this point, is a bit more assorted. As of 2023, there are two predominant titles for Ladies’s Bodybuilding: The Ms. Olympia, which returned in 2020 after a six-year hiatus, and the Rising Phoenix World Championship.
Since transferring to the Ladies’s Bodybuilding division in 2019, Shaw has received each titles 3 times, along with her worst inserting coming on the Rising Phoenix in 2019, the place she got here in seventh. She additionally completed the 2019 Chicago Pro because the runner-up and entered the Toronto Professional as a Ladies’s Physique competitor earlier than that, the place she got here in eleventh.
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By related factors of their profession, you’ll be able to argue that Shaw’s wins give her the sting by way of accomplishments over Murray.
Andrea Shaw’s Prime Titles By means of 2022
- Ms. Olympia: 2020—2022
- Rising Phoenix World Championship: 2020—2022
Rivals
One other facet that must be thought-about is the extent of competitors that every champion confronted. When Murray was in her first three years on prime, she squared off towards the long-lasting Bev Francis and Laura Creavalle, a multi-time Ms. Worldwide winner and perennial Ms. Olympia risk. Towards the tip of her reign, she needed to cope with Kim Chizevsky and Iris Kyle, who claimed a report 10 Olympia titles throughout her profession.
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That’s a assassin’s row of expertise, to place it mildly. And whereas Shaw actually faces stiff competitors like Helle Trevino and Margie Martin, she’s sometimes the overwhelming favourite to win each time she steps on stage. Of all the continued dynasties proper now within the IFBB — together with Chris Bumstead in Classic Physique and Cydney Gillon in Figure — you’ll be able to argue Shaw is essentially the most dominant of the bunch.
Coaching
To win Olympia titles 12 months in and 12 months out requires a constant training routine. Right here’s a have a look at how every competitor acquired prepared for showtime.
Lenda Murray’s Coaching
You will get a glimpse at Murray’s coaching fashion on this throwback back and biceps workout she shared on YouTube under, adopted by a breakdown of the strikes.
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You may see that supersets assist hold Murray’s exercise economical, and she or he doesn’t veer off the 10-rep scheme for every train.
Andrea Shaw’s Coaching
Shaw makes use of extra quantity than Murray, and she or he often trains with a associate. In 2022, she shared a week of coaching with BarBend, the place she stated she was targeted on nailing the small particulars of her physique relatively than packing on measurement. Right here’s what her pattern again and shoulder routine appeared like:
Reputation
You may’t simply evaluate the recognition of each ladies, because the web was nonetheless in its infancy whereas Murray was on prime. Evaluate that to Shaw, who burst onto the Ms. Olympia scene in 2020 at a time when opponents can promote themselves on Fb, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and every other platform they want.
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At her peak, Murray may very well be seen in a number of magazines akin to FLEX and Iron Man on newsstands all over the world, however the Ms. Olympia wasn’t broadcast on tv a lot in these days. Nevertheless, she continues to be related in right now’s period because of being an envoy and promoter in addition to a bunch of the Femme Flex Friday video sequence on the Olympia TV YouTube channel. She has over 77,000 followers on Instagram as of April 2023.
The affect of the web and social media has clearly given Shaw a much bigger highlight than Murray might have had when she was the champ. Shaw can also be sponsored by Mutant Dietary supplements and he has over 110,000 followers on Instagram as of Could 2023.
Conclusion
The kind of physiques that have been required to win the Ms. Olympia was very completely different from 1990 to 2023. Nevertheless, the champions on prime have fairly a number of favorable comparisons: Each are dominant inside their division and function essentially the most seen face for Ladies’s Bodybuilding.
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This debate could also be much more fascinating to have when Shaw calls it a profession and we will look at the total scope of their accomplishments. For proper now, although, followers can simply be grateful to see the division alive and more healthy than ever.
Featured Picture: @lendamurraylegend and @themsolympia on Instagram
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