There was no question you dominated the stage here in every aspect. You were the only competitor with any hamstring development. You had the most definition, the best posing and, as you said, the most mass. The judges of T-Nation give it to you.
that is ridiculous! those guys looked SKINNY compared to you
i would not be surprised if there was some politics, behind the scenes, like last year…
Great showing at the mr America Stu. I always say it but your front lat and side chest poses were just way ahead of your competitors. You had the biggest arms, hams and calf.
congradulations!
Awful lightning… who lights a bb show from low front??
Also, in my totally unprofessional opinion, your suit is not working for you. look at 03:40, the guy to your left got them working for his proportions.
its a ridiculous sport, just for these reasons… but it sounds like you had some fun! better luck next time.
ive just been able to watch this video, WTF!? Stu won.
Stu- what color trunks is “the guy they said won” wearing in the vid? i dont even have a guess because none of them look close to you.
Okay,… I’m really holding my tongue about this because I’m trying to be professional, but in the years I’ve been spectating as well as competing, I like to think I’ve developed a very good eye for judging these shows. While there’s no way to disagree and not sound like a sore loser, even if it wasn’t me in the video, I’d have to say that this was one of the worst cases of judging accepted bodybuilding criteria I’ve ever seen. For a sport that is supposed to reward proportioned size in the best condition, this was a very poor example.
One of the judges was very supportive, he actually gave me his email and offered to provide feedback and advice. In an email, he informed me that while he had me in 1st place, the other judges had me in either 2nd, or 3rd (seriously? 3rd?). I’m not quite sure what to say about this, as the three prejudging ‘rounds’ were designed to assign scored based on ‘Proportion’ (That means your legs should match your torso!), ‘Muscularity’ (how much muscle you’re packing on your frame, density etc), and ‘Mass’ (How ‘Big’ of a mofo you are -lol).
Apparently someone needs to explain things better to me, because I think I did my job fairly well, and to be honest, it makes me seriously worried about how I’ll be judged in 5 weeks at a show from the same federation.
On a weird note, The head of the WNBF/INBF personally took me aside after the prejudging and complained about my tan, saying I’d ‘better’ fix it before the evening show because should I win my class it would look bad in the overall posedown.
Also, backstage in the pumpup area, one of the show’s photographers was pretty much clicking away at me nonstop. I figured he must have a good eye from doing these shows and if I won they’d have a bunch of backstage shots (which was a kind of cool thought).
On a positive note,… I think this has been my best ever showing. I brought my legs up quite a bit, in thickness, and even in conditioning, and don’t think I lost any upper body size at all while dieting down. At 175 lbs vs last year’s 172.6, I’m about 2.5 lbs heavier, but with better leg cuts, so I figure I’ve put on at least 3,… maybe 4 lbs of muscle… not bad for a guy of 38 
Now I just have to come in better in 5 weeks, but make sure that I don’t lose any more size in the process… just great -lol.
S
Awesome job stu. You just have to take away the knowlege that you did better than you did last year and made large imporovments. Its a shame that the judges couln’t see what was so obvious to everyone else. Greawt job.
The guy in the blue trunks looks smooth and nowhere near the size of Stu. The other two, while they appear to have more muscle on their upper bodies than blue-trunks-guy, they have no legs! Stu’s upper body and lower body kills both of the other guys’. This is a terrible display of judging. I wouldn’t be surprised if whoever won turned out to have some buddies in the right places or something, that’s how blatantly screwed up this judging appears to ME.
Nothing you can do about bad judging. You definitely should have won, but now you can put it in the bag as more experience in your career and come in sharper at your show in 5 weeks. Congrats, Stu!
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
The guy in the blue trunks looks smooth and nowhere near the size of Stu. [/quote]
Actually, there were a few guys there who looked really bad. One dude who seriously had a fat roll around his mid-section and NO definition whatsoever. I was surprised at a couple of the competitors - really had no business being up on stage looking like that.
And the guy that won Stu’s class and the overall - really tall, not a lot of mass - decent upper body and conditioning was good, but he literally looked like he’d been born with no calves. I was shocked when he won, and so was Brick. One of the trainers that was sitting near us was like “What, they gave it to a basketball player??”. It was definitely a suspect decision to say the least.
2 of the bantam-weights were really looking good - one kid in particular had really nice natural shape, thick delts and arms, tiny waist, awesome v-taper - and he didn’t win over the guy with no calves. When Brick and I were hanging out after the show looking for Stu, I actually stopped the guy on his way out to let him know how good he looked and that we both thought he should have had it…
All in all it was very interesting. But I did think the production values were pretty weak - just a lot of fumbling around and the announcer could have been a LOT smoother in her delivery.
I’m going to hit an NPC show with Brick in August and check that out, and then I’d like to see a pro show - maybe the NY Pro next year.
Congrats on second place, f the judging for the steal.
Show em the error of their ways here in a few weeks.
[quote]SkyNett wrote:
And the guy that won Stu’s class and the overall - really tall, not a lot of mass - decent upper body and conditioning was good, but he literally looked like he’d been born with no calves. I was shocked when he won, and so was Brick. One of the trainers that was sitting near us was like “What, they gave it to a basketball player??”. It was definitely a suspect decision to say the least.
[/quote]
Whoah,… he took the Overall?! Yeah, a suspect decision indeed. I actually found out this morning that Rawle Green is a famous Sprinter from Guyana who has had several articles written about his recent decision to compete in this particular bodybuilding federation. Additionally he has been under guidance of ‘the most famous Guyanan Bodybuilder’ Hugh Ross who has won the same federations Mr. Universe over 50 title recently… I’m sure this is going to be a great article for the next issue of the federation sponsored magazine.
I will say that even if I wasn’t the guy to beat him, there was this one lighter weight competitor (bantam maybe) who I just can’t see losing to this guy. Heck, I was worried that even if I won the Middleweights I’d have a hell of a fight with the Bantamweight -lol
Very sad to add though, but Judges from the federation I usually compete in (the USBF) told me that the INBF was all a who’s who contest. My girlfriend is actually pretty upset about this. She told me that she’s used to seeing me push myself and suffer for these shows, but this one I went further than I have in the past (I’ve been freezing constantly the last 3 weeks, not sleeping, twice daily cardio, really just a wreck) because to me (and I know most people won’t get it), there was a bit of history tied to this show being offered as a tested option for the first time since it’s original inception in 1938… I guess I got caught up in the nostalgia aspect and really just felt it’d be a hell of a connection to the roots of the sports I’m so in love with if I could win my class.
[and for the record, I don’t mind losing to better bodybuilders, it’s happened before, and it will happen again, but watching the video, and being there in person, I didn’t really consider any of the guys in my class as competition. Hearing all day how my class was the toughest and it was pretty weak to be honest, certainly set me up for the huge disappointment I felt at being called out in 2nd]
I don’t know what to say really. My brother is worried that if I’m not careful, I’ll lose muscle and be worse for the next show. He says that I can’t look any better than I did on Saturday (obviously I can, but I understand his sentiments).
S
as always, great work stu
haterz gonna hate
just because it’s not on paper, doesn’t make it any less true that you took that show (although you don’t have the trophy/medal to show for it, which is a bummer)
Damn! Stu you looked amazing. I’m sorry to hear about your placing man.
you definitely desrved the win Stu! It looked like you were the only true body builder on the stage. Each other competitor was lacking in atleast one area. You had the whole package and your posing put their posing to shame!
Yea - I noticed that - a LOT of ATROCIOUS posing from some of these guys. Just awful…
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
At 175 lbs vs last year’s 172.6, I’m about 2.5 lbs heavier, but with better leg cuts, so I figure I’ve put on at least 3,… maybe 4 lbs of muscle
S[/quote]
Congratulations, thats a victory right there.
Stu, what is the game plan when you have 2 shows that close diet wise? Stay within a few pounds? Try a mini 2 week “rebound”?
[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Stu, what is the game plan when you have 2 shows that close diet wise? Stay within a few pounds? Try a mini 2 week “rebound”?[/quote]
While I realize my legs have made a substantial improvement from last year’s showings, I do realize that compared to guys like Brian Whitacre and Shaun Clarida, I can still ‘dig out’ more cuts, especially in my upper quads. Seeing as how this year my rectus Femori (plural?) are actually visible, whatever my initial plan before this past weekend was, it is now this:
I am going to dig in like never before and show up in the sickest condition possible. I know I can hold onto muscle because I’ve done it before, and I know how to handle my body so I can do so in the most efficient manner possible. As most of you guys know, I’m very attentive to how (and how much) I target my carb intake, and hopefully, with the addition of the new Indigo product, the effects on my physique from my already pretty high carb intake with be much more profound and dramatic. I’ve already pushed my ‘best’ condition this year, and I intend to push that line even more in the next 5 weeks. I say it here and now, there will be no doubts in anyone’s minds when I step onstage on June 25th. To all the T-Brethren who have stood behind and supported me since I first stepped onstage 3 years ago, I will make you all proud.
S
Stu
Great job! You busted through so many plateaus and mental barriers to step on that stage. Hopefully your more a legend than ever. Think about Mike Mentzer I bet if he never lost to Arnold at the controversial 1980 Olympia his workout systems and myth may have never been as famous. Or Victor Martinez, or Danny Padilla or Kevin Levrone all these men are legends because they were obviously champions who gave it their all, and for one reason or another got screwed. People honestly seem to talk about the 2nd and 3rd place finishers more than the first place finishers in bodybuilding.
Just look at your physique you and T-Nation obviously know you have the body and heart of a champion. Hell this thread inspired me to try to compete in the INBF Mr.America (until I read your posts, which makes me want to change associations). I’m with you the nostalgia of winning the same title so many greats of the golden age were bestowed would be an honor. How could you not be attracted to the idea. It sucks times have changed. You deserved better Stu, great work. Just keep getting better, you know better than anyone the game never ends.