As per usual, this blog is very late being updated so my sincere apologies for that. On October 9th I competed in my 2nd natural pro show, the IFPA Gaspari Cape Cod Pro put on by James and Katie Carron of Cape Cod Nutrition Center. It was a professional show top to bottom as I expected as James and Katie are first rate people all the way around. There was stiff competition with 10 heavyweights in my class and 21 total pros. Unfortunately, I did not look my best on this day. I was extremely flat at prejudging and in a lineup this stacked, there was no way to be in the hunt if I wasn’t at my absolute sharpest. For me, it highlights how hard it is to be objective with myself when prepping for a show. While it is easy for me to look at a client and determine whether or not they are flat, with myself it is much trickier as I tend to play the mind games that are so common. What was very frustrating to me was that I didn’t really change anything from the previous show where I looked my best at prejudging. Just goes to show you that you can’t adhere rigidly to a game plan and you have to listen to your body. I looked FAR better at the night show, but at that point, it was too late to make much of a difference and I wound up in 4th place. I tried to take it as a positive that I could wind up top 5 in a tough line up even when I was off my best, but it is difficult to be satisfied as a competitor when you show up looking less than your best.
You can see the difference between prejudging and finals here:
Prejudging:
And here are pics from finals, a clear difference in my opinion
Big difference, but I took it as a learning experience and tried to move on from it.
I wrestled with whether or not to do the IFPA Yorton Cup, my feelings on one hand were if I couldn’t place top 3 at the Cape Cod pro, what was the point of getting into the Yorton, the biggest and best show in pro natural bodybuilding? Ultimately I decided to do the show and was so happy I did. I weighed in at the bottom end of the heavyweight class which had a total of 12 competitors, and 36 male pro bodybuilders overall, spread over 3 classes! Absolute insanity from top to bottom. Standing backstage looking at some of these guys was just mind boggling. I definitely made sure I paid closer attention to my body this show and I came in much fuller and tighter for the prejudging. In the end I wound up in 5th place and I was very satisfied because I came in at my best and placed top 5 in my very first Yorton Cup. Being onstage with some of the best in the world definitely motivated me to get back this offseason and hit the iron with a vengence to make more improvements to my physique so I can move into the upper echelon of pros, I still have a long way to go in that regard! Here are a few pics from the Yorton
A pic with myself and the World Champion, Philip Ricardo Jr.
I still have one more show left this year, the NGA Pro Universe on November 13th in Coral Springs, FL. It will be another tough lineup of pros and I am looking forward to trying to come in even better at this show and hopefully look my very best onstage. If you are in the area, please be sure to check out the show! http://nationalgym.com/images/2010NGAflyer.pdf
But I won’t be done completely just yet, the following weekend I will be guest posing at the OCB Midwest States in Dekalb, IL. This show is near and dear to my heart as Isabel and I have attended every single Midwest States since it began in 2005. We know many of the competitors and fans in the area and I can’t tell you how excited I am to have the honor of guest posing at this show! I am especially looking forward to celebrating with everyone afterwards! In total, I will have dieted for 33 weeks, so I can’t say I’m not looking forward to sitting down with my close friends and family and having a good time 🙂
Hope to see you there! http://www.ocbmidweststates.com
Thanks!
