Troy's spartan attack

Flex, August, 2003 by Julian Schmidt

Just as the Trojans used patience and prudence conquer the brawn of their adversaries, so TROY ALVES will bank on brains as his most powerful weapon at that great Grecian rumble revisited--the 2003 Mr. Olympia, which will be held October 25 in Las Vegas.

"I feel badly for bodybuilders who, as soon as they turn pro, ruin their physiques because they think they have to pile on as much weight as possible," says Alves. "You turn pro for a reason; namely, because you have a pro-caliber physique. A new pro should have faith in what got him there, then simply continue to improve those proportions, and he'll be all right."

Works for Troy. In his rookie year, he slipped his unobtrusvie but balanced physique under the radar into a finalist position in nearly every contest he entered and quickly captured a Mr. Olympia qualification by talking second at the 2003 Australian Grand Prix "I'll do as RONNIE COLEMAN did: Stay with the basics and go about it gradually. No one seems to complain about what he's accomplished."