My contest pics!!

[musclemass22]

Any constructive criticism? I am in the blue trunks, the one on the left in the picture w/four competitors. My show was yesterday. It was a very tough class as none of three competitors placed. The guy on the right in the blue won the overall title. He is the NANBF president so not sure if politics played a role or not. He looked good none the less and was great poser w/a great routine. Please let me know some of the weaknesses I need to bring up in the next year or two. Thanks-Brian

[musclemass22]

one more that I threw in because I am not a real vascular person and I was proud of how they came out in my arms:) I also included a pic of the wheels. Pretty close up shot so kind of tough to see some of the few details I do possess in them. Not great but a vast improvement from the year before. Layne......I may be enlisting your help for the 2007-2008 season

[cmamath13]

A few questions:
1) You said: "It was a very tough class as none of three competitors placed". I am confused. How can a class of 3 competitors have no placings?

2) How is it NOT a conflict of interest to have the president of the federation competing in a show?

3) Could you post more pictures of lineup? It's hard to say too much about your class without seeing more pictures.


Comments:
I think you look really good! It's hard to see your back in the one picture, because the lights are behind you. You look like you got into great shape and as we all know that is very important. I would say you just need to hit some heavy basic lifts to put on size and density.

Keep up the good work and stay natural!

[TJ_Strong]

Lol why would the president of a fed compete in it?

That is like the promoter of a show be a competitor.

[jimpern]

Your photos nos. 3 and 6 are not working at present; you might want to re-load them. But you look pretty good in the other ones!

[musclemass22]

hahaha--The funny thing is, the guy who got 1st overall, Scot Dickerson, is the president of the NANBF and 2nd place went to the promoter of the Southern States Classic in Liberty, MO. It is one of the larger NANBF shows. His wife was the head judge????? They said she only called out the quarter turns/mandatories and that her scoring was not included but who knows. A few of us were kind of pissed off afterwards.

I came in wanting to win but really just wanted to see the improvement I made over the course of a year. There were actually 7 competitors in my class. I won my class and took 2nd in the overall the previous year. I included a better pic of my back. Hammies look pretty smooth in it though. I also included a pic of the full lineup. I thought the black kid probably should have won it. I want to compete again this May but have promised the wife to take a a couple years off. Hopefully I can add some mass. I think I weighed in at 165lbs. I could have been leaner though. Did not get those "striated glutes that everyone desires.

[cmamath13]

I don't think that a president should be able to compete in a show like that. It's a conflict of interest. Many judges are athletes. If I were a judge and my president was competing, I would defnitely give him the nod.

A wife of a competitor as a judge. This is my opinion, but this show and/or federation needs to really take a look at itself, because it is NOT fair to other athletes.

Thanks for posting other pictures. I think you look great! Not sure if I can say anything about your placing though. Doesn't seem like a fair show.

Keep up the good work! GROW TIME!

[chuckles_345]

I just want to clarify something. Scot WAS the president on NANBF. He wanted to start competing again so he resigned his position. Fred Rowlet is the president these days. So while I'm not a fan of the former president of a sanction competing in it, he is NOT the current president. To his credit though I saw him compete last June at the NANBF Mr. Natural Minnesota and the guy can straight up pose. Reguardless I agree its a conflict of interest and just wanted to clear up a point.

Chuckles

[cmamath13]

Thanks for the clarification. That makes more sense now.

[chuckles_345]

Thanks for the clarification. That makes more sense now.

No prob.

Chuckles

[cuhockey]

Brain,
I was there for the show, 3rd row directly in front of you. You looked good, and I expected you might make the top 3 of your class, but hey, what do I know. Your legs had some nice cuts. The great vascularity in your pic somehow didn't appear when on stage. You're right, you could have been a little leaner, yet over all a good job.

You said you were 1st in class and 2nd overall last year. Was this year a better crop of contestants? How do you feel you were compared to last year?

Did you think that Dickerson should have beat the 19 year old Krumrey? He was a big kid, really thick. What is your comment?

You say you weighed 165, how tall are you?

Nice job.

[musclemass22]

This years competitors were a far deeper class. Only one or two weak guys in the whole show. First show my wife and I have left and not been able to pick the top 3. I honestly thought I could have placed anywhere from 2nd-6th depending on what the judges were looking for.

cuhockey---Depends on what the judges were looking for. The young guy had some serious mass but couldv'e looked crazy had he leaned out more. It was his first show as well so he needs some more posing practice. Are you from C.B/Omaha?

Chuckles---Dickerson is probably the best poser I have ever seen. He is very smooth out there. I would guess that was the deciding factor. I did not know he resigned from his position. Thanks for letting me know. He was a really nice guy backstage so I don't want it to come across as me being a sore loser

Anyone else have any thoughts on some weak area I might be able to bring up other than just adding some mass/density?

[musclemass22]

Also, Fred abd Jan Rowlette were judges. So I'm sure it didn't hurt Scott and John Arnold(Southern States promoter) that they were familiar with everyone involved. I really thought the black guy had the best combination of size/conditioning. His upper quad development was great.

[cuhockey]

I'm in Omaha.

Yeah the black guy, "Johnson Lawson, the 4th", had some serious size legs, great hamstrings, and as you said he had good conditioning. I thought he needed some more upper body mass for balance, but I wish I had his wheels.

I'd say you were anywhere from second to fourth.

[str8flexed]

one more that I threw in because I am not a real vascular person and I was proud of how they came out in my arms:) I also included a pic of the wheels. Pretty close up shot so kind of tough to see some of the few details I do possess in them. Not great but a vast improvement from the year before. Layne......I may be enlisting your help for the 2007-2008 season
impressive... was that pre meal or post contest meal?

[chuckles_345]

Also, Fred abd Jan Rowlette were judges. So I'm sure it didn't hurt Scott and John Arnold(Southern States promoter) that they were familiar with everyone involved. I really thought the black guy had the best combination of size/conditioning. His upper quad development was great.


Did Fred show the figure girls how to walk at the competitor's meeting before the show? He did at the 2004 10,000 Lakes and we were all almost on the floor laughing so hard. He had all the feminine gestures and poses down.

Chuckles

[ZAZ]

look good, cant wait til my contest this saturday, the OCB charm city classic in baltimore,
yeah, I think you should have def been in the top 5, were more cut/defined than some of the others..some of my pointers, take it with a grain of salt, since I am by no means experienced,
when doing the rear double bi, put your leg to the side instead of straight back (as in point your toes to the side) like the way the black dude was to your right, see the difference in made in the definition of his calves and hams?? also, have your arms raised slightly higher it will make your back look bigger, and push your elbows down, not pull them down, just press the muscles down as IF you were pressing your elbows down on a wall.
on your front relaxed pose, curl your fists IN, like the other guy in the blue trunks is, makes your arm muscles stand out more..thats about it.I will be weighing in abournd 165 as well, will be posting my pics hopefully next week..!!

[Roxana01]

Good Job! It looks like you did your homework..... was this your first show?

As far as the politics you mentioned... the whole thing - the wife of another competitor head "judging" and a former pres on stage - is at the very least, interesting! :)

I would say that to improve you just need to continue lifting heavy...lots of squats, deadlifts, bent-over rows, bench press (flat and incline) and of course, my favorite, heavy lunges!

All the very best to you in your upcoming competitions!

Roxana :)

[musclemass22]

Thanks everyone!

Layne-the pic of my arm was taken in between morning and night show.
I agree about my rear double-bi pic. I should have angled my leg rather than straight back. Made my hams looking even smoother than they actually are. This was actually my 4th show. I haven't really done a big show yet other than the Mr. Iowa in Des Moines. I think I am going to take 1-2 years off hitting the compounds hard and heavy and see if I get some more mass built up. I also need some work on my diet........I did cardio everyday for 90 days in a row. This was way too time consuming but I hate reducing my calories so low. I only ate 12 things in the 12 weeks as well:
Chicken/fish/eggs
Broccoli/Lettuce/Green Beans
Oats/Yams/Brown Rice
Flax seed oil
**whey protein pwo

Keep it coming if you have anymore tips/suggestions. Thanks again-Brian

[TheIntense1]

Great job man, you looked great, like they said i'd say just adding overall mass with some good compund heavy lifts. Maybe practise the posing a bit more also, can never hurt to improve in that area. I'd say work on getting that X shape, loks like most of those guys lacked that, vastus lateralis, delts, lats, and a tight waist.

[jauce]

Yeah, I was in the crowd at this show too. It seemed like something was up in the judging. I agreed with all of the juding in each class except this one.

I was thinking about competing in this org next year... not so sure now.

Good job, you looked great!

[musclemass22]

I just got the judges sheets. I finished fourth. I did beat a friend of mine though, the guy in the red trunks. He finished sixth. I wanted to win overall but I sure as hell wanted bragging rights over him as well.

Intense1--Have you ever heard that deadlifts make your hips wider? My abs used to be a strong point but this years photos seem to show my hips have gotten wider making it harder to show off that v-taper. I did a lot of deads in the off-season so I was wondering if that was the culprit.

[Jim Goodman]

Hey Brian - I thought you looked great out there. Overall I think you are well on your way. You did well in the symetry round, I thought you were alot tighter in the night show. Every competitor brought the goods, but details and fundamentals of posing were difference makers for just about everybody.

For clarification Fred was judging and his wife was home preparing for World's from what I was told. Fred is a WNBF, NANBF and INBF judge. He really has an aggressive goal to get NANBF judging to follow a higher standard to be more in line with the WNBF. So the little things like conditiong, muscle maturity, sharp posing and detaled symetry will be the deciding factor much of the time.

I can't say the judging in this show was perfect, but in sitting down with the judges it all came down to splitting hairs on the details and that was the determining factor in most all of the classes. My wife lost to the past WNBF pro in Submasters by 1 point and the former pro was greatly conditioned - she was totally ripped, but Tonia scored incredibly high with overall symetry and it was that close. Tonia was lacking in muscle and leaness and that is what edged her out according to the judges I talked to. (you can see some pics of that contest at http://toniagoodman.com )

Anyway - I enjoyed watching you and your class. This was one of the best shows for tight competition for all placings that I have seen in a long time. Get after it and smoke them in the spring the Heartland Classic is coming back.

- Jim

[musclemass22]

Thanks for the kind words. Your wife lookedd great. Everyone at work commented about her when seeing the pictures. Yeah, like I said I can't complain with the results. I knew after prejudging it was pretty close and then before the night show they mentioned their tiebreaker and how it worked. Scott and John are such good posers I knew they would be tough to beat. Pretty seasoned old vets! I think I will buy the DVD just to pick up a few tips from watching those guys. Take care and good luck to Tonia in her next show. Where is she competing next?

[Jim Goodman]

Thanks for the kind words. Your wife lookedd great. Everyone at work commented about her when seeing the pictures. Yeah, like I said I can't complain with the results. I knew after prejudging it was pretty close and then before the night show they mentioned their tiebreaker and how it worked. Scott and John are such good posers I knew they would be tough to beat. Pretty seasoned old vets! I think I will buy the DVD just to pick up a few tips from watching those guys. Take care and good luck to Tonia in her next show. Where is she competing next?

Thanks for the comments regarding Tonia. I still can't get over how far she has come in only 2 years time. I look at the new collage I put up on her homepage and I just marvel at the changes. Her next one is Best of the Midwest in Cedar Rapids next weekend and then off to the USA's in Chicago and that is it 'til next spring.

All you guys were competative and it made for a great competition which is how a show should be. Sounds like you know what you need to do and it seems you have the right attitude about the sport so all I can say is go get 'em.

- Jim