Thanks for sharing the vid, Stu! You looked great up there, loved the rear double bi and the most muscular. Good job, man!
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
There were a lot of ‘issues’ at this show,… the promoter’s finance’ winning her class, a close friend of his who had stayed over at his house a bunch of times winning his class (the announcer made this known when he was MCing! -lol), and at the end, (I don’t know if I had to cut this off because of the 10 min limit on youtube videos), the MC credits the overall winner to the show promoter’s “prep-team”… my girlfriend wouldn’t let me watch the video after the show, she knew I’d get a little upset (on stage, you don’t really look at the other competitors, but I certainly wasn’t impressed with the guy backstage,… we chatted briefly, and he seemed nice enough, but I do wonder if he knew he was going to win, or how he feels after looking at pics and videos).
S[/quote]
I think this sucks and I would be pissed. But I also think that, sooner or later, the best man wins.
You owned that guy and in the long run your superior physique will take you further. Good luck for the next show Stu.
LtL
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
The head judge walked backstage, and I asked him what just happened,… (he’s actually the promoter of the show I’m doing May 1st). First he told me that 5 of the 7 judges voted for the eventual winner. Other tidbits included (and after I watched the video, I realized they were all BS):
-The other guy had better arms (seriously? they were smaller than mine, and he had a lot more height than I did)
-Better back (I’m pretty sure I crushed everyone on my rear bi shot)
[/quote]
Hey Bro,
Don’t know if you saw what I posted after the show so I will repost below. I wanted to ask you what the judges said regarding your placing. Bunch of BS. And Yeah it’s obvious there was favortism going on. His girlfriend didn’t even attempt to pose, she just walked back and forth on the stage.
Stu, Great Job Last Night!
Hands down you were the best on stage and most conditioned. Your posing routine blew away everyone else. It was easy to tell you put alot of time, effort, and practice into the routine.
I can’t believe you didn’t win the overall. I watched you and the eventual winner the whole time and you killed him in every upper body pose. The side tricep and ab pose really stuck out as the ones that showed how ahead of him you are. The only thing I think he matched you on or had a slight advantage was on some upper body poses it looked like you weren’t flexing your quads while he was. Most Muscular is one time I remember seeing this.
Congrats again on a great performance.
Damn Stu, It does suck when it gets political like that, but never give up!(Obviously you won’t!)
You’ll blow them away at your next show in 2 weeks!
My friend Teresa didn’t place get the overall at a figure comp because of the same problem, The girl who won was sponsored by the promoter. It’s bullshit when it gets political, but you’ll blow them clean out of the water next time around.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
-The other guy had better arms (seriously? they were smaller than mine, and he had a lot more height than I did)
-Better back (I’m pretty sure I crushed everyone on my rear bi shot)
S[/quote]
That is a load of crap! Your arms and back killed that guys. I would be interested in seeing the other “big guys”. I wonder if he even belonged in the overall competition. There are probably a couple of pissed of guys in his weight class who feel he shouldn’t have won anything. I have a hard time believing he was the best.
Hey Stu,
Someone may have brought this up before, but I believe I saw you in a Natural BodyBuilding Mag. Just a single page with you singing the praises of M-tech?
On another note…You were robbed!! Hopefully the next one will be a little less bias. Good Luck.
ACTrain- Sorry i haven’t gotten back to you bro, been juggling a freelance gig in addition to my day job, while prepping and I’m just a mess -lol. My phone actually died halfway through the day of the 4/17 show, and I felt horrible that I couldn’t get in touch with you after the evening show (when I got back to my hotel and plugged in my cel, I got about 20 Texts from throughout the evening).
All I can do is focus on the next show (this coming Saturday), and hope that my A-game will allow me to do well (at least be judged fairly). The competition should be steep at this one, as it’s a bigger show, been around a few years, and last year, I realized that people actually traveled a bit to compete (so I’m NOT walking in expecting to win, but would be happy with a fairly won, or lost, top 3 in my class).
GREGGIO- The heavyweights were probably the weakest class at the April show. You had some ‘big guys’ who obviously didn’t understand what ‘contest-lean’ means, and then you had the tall guys who didn’t even have enough muscle to look like bodybuilders. In all the Natural shows I’ve seen, I find that the light and Middleweight classes are usually the toughest, because you have competitors who can combine a decent level of size, with usually very good conditioning.
On a positive note, I woke up this morning about 1.5-2 lbs less than I was 2 weeks ago, so hoepfully things will run according to plan, and I’ll come in a few lbs tighter in my quads fro Saturday. Back to downing the 3 Gallons of water a day (fun fun)… boy how I missed this -lol
S
[quote]3hitter wrote:
Hey Stu,
Someone may have brought this up before, but I believe I saw you in a Natural BodyBuilding Mag. Just a single page with you singing the praises of M-tech?
On another note…You were robbed!! Hopefully the next one will be a little less bias. Good Luck.[/quote]
Lol, yeah, I probably mentioned this a while back, but when I was at a WNBF seminar around October 2008 (when I first met Jim Cordova after having been emailing back and forth for a little bit), the Then-Editor of Natural BBing and Fitness Magazine (Steve Downs) approached me about seeing how I would do in a contest, and so we corresponded for a bit.
Anyway, as the main sponsor of the magazine was the company you mentioned, everyone in attendance received some free stuff at the day’s end. The fat burner, I popped a few times to see if it would give me any of the kick that HOT-ROX did (I had found out that HOT-ROX was on the banned substances list for INBF/WNBF contests). It wasn’t a horrible product, but not much more than a caffeine pill.
A couple of months later, I had brought my weight down from 205 to about 190 lbs, sort of a dry run to see if I could indeed ‘cut’ while preserving my muscle. I was pretty pleased with myself, and had decided at this point that I’d find a show within driving distance, and see how I would do should I continue dieting for another 12 weeks.
It was around then that Steve contacted me and asked if I had used any of the products I had received, and if I wouldn’t mind writing something up about the seminar, and my thoughts on the supplements. I told him that I had only used the one item (the fat burner), but if he wanted something, I wouldn’t mind (I didn’t tell him that I had taken all of the other products and returned them to the GNC down the street).
So I wrote up a little outline of what I did,… talked about using basic supps (protein, fish oils etc), and keeping a small daily deficit (500 cals), and emailed it out. What I didn’t realize was that Downs would add his own little ‘flair’ to what I wrote, putting such brilliant words in my mouth like how I’m now a “hardcore M-Tech Fan”.
I figure that in this industry, when it comes to the athletes you see endorsing supplements, they do what they have to/say what they have to in order to keep that sponsorship money coming in. Sure, in very rare cases, the athlete may have actually used the product that he’s hawking, but I’m sure most people would gladly exchange their favorite protein powder for a few extra thousand dollars a month.
When Tim Patterson first called me last Fall about coming out to Colorado, and checking out all their new stuff, and providing my feedback… I was completely honest with him, but he already knew from my purchase records. He knew that I had been using his protein powder and fishoil products,… he also knew that as a city teacher, funds for bodybuilding supplements weren’t exactly plentiful, and that despite the 2 containers of Metabolic Drive I would buy every month, I also would rely pretty heavily on the giant 10 lb sacks of economy grade whey powder.
For natural athletes, competing isn’t about making a living, as only a handful can truly derive their income from the sport (something my brother doesn’t understand -lol). They do it because they enjoy it, and to get a ‘sponsorship’ from a company that you actually use their products is a compliment in itself.
Try not to hate me for that one page in an old magazine - lol
S
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
So I wrote up a little outline of what I did,… talked about using basic supps (protein, fish oils etc), and keeping a small daily deficit (500 cals), and emailed it out. What I didn’t realize was that Downs would add his own little ‘flair’ to what I wrote, putting such brilliant words in my mouth like how I’m now a “hardcore M-Tech Fan”.
S[/quote]
damn man thats some BS. They shouldnt be putting words in your mouth especially in a printed Mag… thats busch league
.greg.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
[quote]3hitter wrote:
Hey Stu,
Someone may have brought this up before, but I believe I saw you in a Natural BodyBuilding Mag. Just a single page with you singing the praises of M-tech?
On another note…You were robbed!! Hopefully the next one will be a little less bias. Good Luck.[/quote]
Lol, yeah, I probably mentioned this a while back, but when I was at a WNBF seminar around October 2008 (when I first met Jim Cordova after having been emailing back and forth for a little bit), the Then-Editor of Natural BBing and Fitness Magazine (Steve Downs) approached me about seeing how I would do in a contest, and so we corresponded for a bit.
Anyway, as the main sponsor of the magazine was the company you mentioned, everyone in attendance received some free stuff at the day’s end. The fat burner, I popped a few times to see if it would give me any of the kick that HOT-ROX did (I had found out that HOT-ROX was on the banned substances list for INBF/WNBF contests). It wasn’t a horrible product, but not much more than a caffeine pill.
A couple of months later, I had brought my weight down from 205 to about 190 lbs, sort of a dry run to see if I could indeed ‘cut’ while preserving my muscle. I was pretty pleased with myself, and had decided at this point that I’d find a show within driving distance, and see how I would do should I continue dieting for another 12 weeks.
It was around then that Steve contacted me and asked if I had used any of the products I had received, and if I wouldn’t mind writing something up about the seminar, and my thoughts on the supplements. I told him that I had only used the one item (the fat burner), but if he wanted something, I wouldn’t mind (I didn’t tell him that I had taken all of the other products and returned them to the GNC down the street).
So I wrote up a little outline of what I did,… talked about using basic supps (protein, fish oils etc), and keeping a small daily deficit (500 cals), and emailed it out. What I didn’t realize was that Downs would add his own little ‘flair’ to what I wrote, putting such brilliant words in my mouth like how I’m now a “hardcore M-Tech Fan”.
I figure that in this industry, when it comes to the athletes you see endorsing supplements, they do what they have to/say what they have to in order to keep that sponsorship money coming in. Sure, in very rare cases, the athlete may have actually used the product that he’s hawking, but I’m sure most people would gladly exchange their favorite protein powder for a few extra thousand dollars a month.
When Tim Patterson first called me last Fall about coming out to Colorado, and checking out all their new stuff, and providing my feedback… I was completely honest with him, but he already knew from my purchase records. He knew that I had been using his protein powder and fishoil products,… he also knew that as a city teacher, funds for bodybuilding supplements weren’t exactly plentiful, and that despite the 2 containers of Metabolic Drive I would buy every month, I also would rely pretty heavily on the giant 10 lb sacks of economy grade whey powder.
For natural athletes, competing isn’t about making a living, as only a handful can truly derive their income from the sport (something my brother doesn’t understand -lol). They do it because they enjoy it, and to get a ‘sponsorship’ from a company that you actually use their products is a compliment in itself.
Try not to hate me for that one page in an old magazine - lol
S[/quote]
LOL. That’s what I thought. It read to much like a advertisement for anyone but a marketing guru to write. No hate here just respect. Is there any chance that they will give you a legit article? This thread is one of the best reads on T-muscle. Thanks for sharing your journey with us and again good luck with the next comp.
I figure if anyone’s in Jersey this Saturday, the guys (Mike and John) and myself are probably gonna hit an Outback Steakhouse after the show, so if you wanna see the show, or just grab a burger, here’s the show info, and feel free to shoot me a PM and we’ll touch base.
5/1/10 USBF New Jersey Natural Classic III, Bodybuilding Championships
Brick Memorial High School
2001 Lanes Mill Road, Brick,
NJ 08724
11:30 AM Prejudging 5:30 PM Night Show
S
Sorry if this has been discussed Stu, I haven’t been able to read everything, but any plans on getting bigger, obviously taking a nice off season with a focus on bulking?
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
GREGGIO- The heavyweights were probably the weakest class at the April show. You had some ‘big guys’ who obviously didn’t understand what ‘contest-lean’ means, and then you had the tall guys who didn’t even have enough muscle to look like bodybuilders. In all the Natural shows I’ve seen, I find that the light and Middleweight classes are usually the toughest, because you have competitors who can combine a decent level of size, with usually very good conditioning.
[/quote]
This is one somewhat demotivating thing about my idea of doing a BBing show in the future, being just over 6ft tall I would imagine there will be much bigger guys in my weight class who are below 5’9.
[quote]pumped340 wrote:
This is one somewhat demotivating thing about my idea of doing a BBing show in the future, being just over 6ft tall I would imagine there will be much bigger guys in my weight class who are below 5’9. [/quote]
Just make sure you train at the sponsor’s gym. Worked great for Mr. Green Trunks.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
[quote]3hitter wrote:
Hey Stu,
Someone may have brought this up before, but I believe I saw you in a Natural BodyBuilding Mag. Just a single page with you singing the praises of M-tech?
On another note…You were robbed!! Hopefully the next one will be a little less bias. Good Luck.[/quote]
Lol, yeah, I probably mentioned this a while back, but when I was at a WNBF seminar around October 2008 (when I first met Jim Cordova after having been emailing back and forth for a little bit), the Then-Editor of Natural BBing and Fitness Magazine (Steve Downs) approached me about seeing how I would do in a contest, and so we corresponded for a bit.
Anyway, as the main sponsor of the magazine was the company you mentioned, everyone in attendance received some free stuff at the day’s end. The fat burner, I popped a few times to see if it would give me any of the kick that HOT-ROX did (I had found out that HOT-ROX was on the banned substances list for INBF/WNBF contests). It wasn’t a horrible product, but not much more than a caffeine pill.
A couple of months later, I had brought my weight down from 205 to about 190 lbs, sort of a dry run to see if I could indeed ‘cut’ while preserving my muscle. I was pretty pleased with myself, and had decided at this point that I’d find a show within driving distance, and see how I would do should I continue dieting for another 12 weeks.
It was around then that Steve contacted me and asked if I had used any of the products I had received, and if I wouldn’t mind writing something up about the seminar, and my thoughts on the supplements. I told him that I had only used the one item (the fat burner), but if he wanted something, I wouldn’t mind (I didn’t tell him that I had taken all of the other products and returned them to the GNC down the street).
So I wrote up a little outline of what I did,… talked about using basic supps (protein, fish oils etc), and keeping a small daily deficit (500 cals), and emailed it out. What I didn’t realize was that Downs would add his own little ‘flair’ to what I wrote, putting such brilliant words in my mouth like how I’m now a “hardcore M-Tech Fan”.
I figure that in this industry, when it comes to the athletes you see endorsing supplements, they do what they have to/say what they have to in order to keep that sponsorship money coming in. Sure, in very rare cases, the athlete may have actually used the product that he’s hawking, but I’m sure most people would gladly exchange their favorite protein powder for a few extra thousand dollars a month.
When Tim Patterson first called me last Fall about coming out to Colorado, and checking out all their new stuff, and providing my feedback… I was completely honest with him, but he already knew from my purchase records. He knew that I had been using his protein powder and fishoil products,… he also knew that as a city teacher, funds for bodybuilding supplements weren’t exactly plentiful, and that despite the 2 containers of Metabolic Drive I would buy every month, I also would rely pretty heavily on the giant 10 lb sacks of economy grade whey powder.
For natural athletes, competing isn’t about making a living, as only a handful can truly derive their income from the sport (something my brother doesn’t understand -lol). They do it because they enjoy it, and to get a ‘sponsorship’ from a company that you actually use their products is a compliment in itself.
Try not to hate me for that one page in an old magazine - lol
S[/quote]
Trust people in the fitness/supp/magazine industry to screw you over one way or another… There are very few people of integrity around in that niche, it seems.
Hell, most (if not all) the Pro columns are either completely ghost-written or heavily edited before being printed, and most of the non-ad content in the mags that has to do with training or eating is also written by people who likely don’t even train seriously themselves.
Sorry to hear that you got a taste of that Stu… Got a good lawyer handy? Maybe one who used to be one of your students? Maybe you can get rich off this 
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Sorry if this has been discussed Stu, I haven’t been able to read everything, but any plans on getting bigger, obviously taking a nice off season with a focus on bulking?[/quote]
I don’t think I’m going to zoom back up over two bills this time (even if my body really really wants to), in fact, I do have my eye on a couple of other shows from a different federation that are actually in NY this coming Fall.
I figure I can make the most of the post contest rebound (think I used last year’s very intelligently) and put on some quality muscle, yet still stay within reasonable shape,… especially now that I know how well my body responds with the added benefit of the Finibars, Anaconda, etc.
I still have areas I would like to bring up,… and figure that if I take June and July to allow my weight to creep up a bit,… no more than 190, that would leave me Aug, Sept and Oct to prep for the show at the beginning of November that I’m eyeballing (an INBF show).
Now that I view myself as more of a competitive bodybuilder, I look at things a bit differently. At my height (5’8), to normal folks I was kinda big when I first cracked 180 lbs (I have a pretty small frame, small wrists etc), at 190, I looked ‘big’,… and then once I got up around 205/210, there was no doubt about it, I was ‘hyooge’ -lol, but to someone who had competed, it was contest level ‘fat’.
For guys my frame, and height, who compete in tested shows, you’re looking at a very different range of ‘respectable’ weights. Here’s the contest weights of a couple of top natty guys I know:
-Jim Cordova, 5’7, competes between 154 - 162
-Brian Whitacre, 5’9, competes around 160-165
-Shawn Clarida, 5’3, competes around 135
Now if you were to look at pics of any of these guys, you’d think they were all easily 190+ shredded lbs. After my show last year, I had gone to Florida with my girl, and by that time, my weight was already back up to 190 or so.
While obviously not still in contest shape, I LOOKED bigger than I actually was when I was 210 (got some crazy comments from kids at Universal Studios who thought I was part of the Super Hero show).
Yes, you have the normal gym rat crowd, to whom anything below 200 lbs of bodyweight isn’t worth a second glance (and in most instances, I understand their thinking), but very few people, even those who I respect a lot, and have a very well versed knowledge base concerning training, truly understand how impressive it is to be in contest shape, and the relevant weights that constitute what ‘impressive’ is at that level.
Kurt Weidner, a natural pro in the WNBF COMPETES at 200 lbs,… now that’s a hell of a lot of muscle on a natural guy who is in contest shape, but to be honest, you have guys like I mentioned above who absolutely smoke him on stage. This is a perfect example of how weight for weight’s sake, even if it is all 100% shredded muscle isn’t the be all end all of ‘appearing’ big.
If you compare my contest pics from May '09 with those of April '10, there is only a 3 lb gain,… BUT you can obviously see huge differences, that surely attest to much more than a 3 lb gain,… or maybe not more than 3 lbs,… but a SMARTER 3 lbs (okay,… let’s let that comment be the take home message from the ramble -lol)
S
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Sorry if this has been discussed Stu, I haven’t been able to read everything, but any plans on getting bigger, obviously taking a nice off season with a focus on bulking?[/quote]
I don’t think I’m going to zoom back up over two bills this time (even if my body really really wants to), in fact, I do have my eye on a couple of other shows from a different federation that are actually in NY this coming Fall.
I figure I can make the most of the post contest rebound (think I used last year’s very intelligently) and put on some quality muscle, yet still stay within reasonable shape,… especially now that I know how well my body responds with the added benefit of the Finibars, Anaconda, etc.
I still have areas I would like to bring up,… and figure that if I take June and July to allow my weight to creep up a bit,… no more than 190, that would leave me Aug, Sept and Oct to prep for the show at the beginning of November that I’m eyeballing (an INBF show).
Now that I view myself as more of a competitive bodybuilder, I look at things a bit differently. At my height (5’8), to normal folks I was kinda big when I first cracked 180 lbs (I have a pretty small frame, small wrists etc), at 190, I looked ‘big’,… and then once I got up around 205/210, there was no doubt about it, I was ‘hyooge’ -lol, but to someone who had competed, it was contest level ‘fat’.
For guys my frame, and height, who compete in tested shows, you’re looking at a very different range of ‘respectable’ weights. Here’s the contest weights of a couple of top natty guys I know:
-Jim Cordova, 5’7, competes between 154 - 162
-Brian Whitacre, 5’9, competes around 160-165
-Shawn Clarida, 5’3, competes around 135
Now if you were to look at pics of any of these guys, you’d think they were all easily 190+ shredded lbs. After my show last year, I had gone to Florida with my girl, and by that time, my weight was already back up to 190 or so.
While obviously not still in contest shape, I LOOKED bigger than I actually was when I was 210 (got some crazy comments from kids at Universal Studios who thought I was part of the Super Hero show).
Yes, you have the normal gym rat crowd, to whom anything below 200 lbs of bodyweight isn’t worth a second glance (and in most instances, I understand their thinking), but very few people, even those who I respect a lot, and have a very well versed knowledge base concerning training, truly understand how impressive it is to be in contest shape, and the relevant weights that constitute what ‘impressive’ is at that level.
Kurt Weidner, a natural pro in the WNBF COMPETES at 200 lbs,… now that’s a hell of a lot of muscle on a natural guy who is in contest shape, but to be honest, you have guys like I mentioned above who absolutely smoke him on stage. This is a perfect example of how weight for weight’s sake, even if it is all 100% shredded muscle isn’t the be all end all of ‘appearing’ big.
If you compare my contest pics from May '09 with those of April '10, there is only a 3 lb gain,… BUT you can obviously see huge differences, that surely attest to much more than a 3 lb gain,… or maybe not more than 3 lbs,… but a SMARTER 3 lbs (okay,… let’s let that comment be the take home message from the ramble -lol)
S[/quote]
Let me tell you what happened to me when I won my last show at 169 lbs at 5"7. After the show, while wearing loose fitting clothes and carrying my trophy, a group of girls came up to me and asked where is the guy that won that trophy.Big blow to what ego I had! A shorter lean bodybuilder will look much more impressive on stage than when fully clothed.
[quote]pumped340 wrote:
This is one somewhat demotivating thing about my idea of doing a BBing show in the future, being just over 6ft tall I would imagine there will be much bigger guys in my weight class who are below 5’9. [/quote]
My training partner, Corey, is 6’2. To do ‘real damage’ at a natural show, he’s going to have to be above 190 lbs in contest condition (putting him in the heavyweight class). The problem a lot of the competitors in the HW class at the 4/17 show had, was most likely the fear of not being ‘the big guy’ anymore.
I certainly had my own brain screw with me the first time I tried to get really shredded, and not just ‘a bit leaner’. Corey is competing for the first time this coming June, and it looks like he’ll be in the light-heavies.
Not an ideal situation because of his height, but we’re counting on the rebound and a solid offseason to jump up a solid 5-8 lbs by next spring (Corey’s a lot younger than I am, so I do think it’s feasible). Of course Corey usually weighs a bit over 220+, and while not fat, definitely a bit ‘softer’ than I was at 208 when I started the most recent prep.
Everytime you diet down for a show, your body will get a bit leaner, and conversely, every time you rebound (intelligently of course), your body will put on more quality size. The difficult part is in distinguishing between being ‘big’, and being ‘muscular’.
In your case, I wouldn’t expect too many heavyweights at a tested show to be 5’8
S
Okay, Friday morning, April 30. I have the USBF NJ Classic Tomorrow morning, and compared to the day before my last show (2 weeks ago), at 7am this morning I was at least a lb and a half tighter. It’s been mentioned in earlier comments, but I hope the difference is evident in my quads, which have been a weakness for me since a back injury 2 years ago.
This show will undoubtedly be tougher, the guy who won my class (and overall) last year was already a WNBF pro, so I really have to bring my A-Game.
I’m just downing a cup of eggs whites (w/a little Mrs Dash - no sodium!) with a couple of bananas, and then will put on what will be the first of 3 coats of Pro-Tan which will serve as the base-tan for the Dream-Tan to be used on contest day. I will repeat the egg whites and bananas meal in 2 hours, counting on the quick carbs from the fruit to refill my liver glycogen stores rapidly, so then my body can start working on actually putting some into the muscles (I’ll be switching to rice later, and then ultimately pie filling).
I’ll try to update as much as I can
S