Competitor size differences from local to national/pro level

[MightyJohn]

Has anyone else noticed the trend that many guys that seem to win divisions at the local level are more swimmer look whereas most MPD pros still carry a bit of muscle

[swingslammer]

Hmmmm Bodybuilding Pros also carry more mass than the State/ Regional guys??


Nature of the beast.

[MightyJohn]

My point was guys at the local level I've seen get penalized for having too much muscle when at the higher levels its accepted....in local shows You do not see this in BB

[DaPulse]

I have noticed this too, guys with better muscle size, and proportions lose to guys that look like very lean swimmer that have been training with weights for 2 months. Also no calf muscles at all....

[Veaderko]

Drives me nuts, but it is what it is. Judges still seem to be not exactly sure as to what they are looking for. The down side to being in a new division. Plus if you walk on stage the biggest guy with everyone looking like a swimmer, your look now seems to be the "unattainable" look to the average guy. That is why during contests I evaluate who I am against. I am not the biggest guy, but if I am next to a bunch of swimmer looking dudes, I try not to look to much bigger.

[MightyJohn]

Drives me nuts, but it is what it is. Judges still seem to be not exactly sure as to what they are looking for. The down side to being in a new division. Plus if you walk on stage the biggest guy with everyone looking like a swimmer, your look now seems to be the "unattainable" look to the average guy. That is why during contests I evaluate who I am against. I am not the biggest guy, but if I am next to a bunch of swimmer looking dudes, I try not to look to much bigger.

I completely understand that

[Curt James]

Drives me nuts, but it is what it is. Judges still seem to be not exactly sure as to what they are looking for. The down side to being in a new division. Plus if you walk on stage the biggest guy with everyone looking like a swimmer, your look now seems to be the "unattainable" look to the average guy. That is why during contests I evaluate who I am against. I am not the biggest guy, but if I am next to a bunch of swimmer looking dudes, I try not to look too much bigger.


I completely understand that

I don't.

How would you accomplish that feat? Exhale and hold your arms to your sides?

Sounds like me not trying to look too bald. I mean, some things are just difficult to hide.

[Jinsin11]

I ran into this problem last year as I converted from BB to MPD. I placed 3/4 in smaller regional shows and was always beat by the skinny guys with retarded abs but smaller muscle mass. Everyone told me I was too big for MPD but I KNEW i wasn't as big as some pros. I went and did a really big show as close to the national level show as you can get without the chance to turn pro (Eastern USA's in NYC) and won my class of 26 guys. I was no longer the biggest guy and I blended in much better in a bigger show than I did at a smaller one. Just gotta test the waters and see where you land and fit in the best...

[sassy69]

I ran into this problem last year as I converted from BB to MPD. I placed 3/4 in smaller regional shows and was always beat by the skinny guys with retarded abs but smaller muscle mass. Everyone told me I was too big for MPD but I KNEW i wasn't as big as some pros. I went and did a really big show as close to the national level show as you can get without the chance to turn pro (Eastern USA's in NYC) and won my class of 26 guys. I was no longer the biggest guy and I blended in much better in a bigger show than I did at a smaller one. Just gotta test the waters and see where you land and fit in the best...

This is actually a weirdly common issue for the competitors who already have a solid mass base who may have moved "down" from a larger category, or just simply have more developed muscle than more of the novice competitors at the small / regional level - you still have to qualify to get to the national level shows, but the small /regional shows seem to skew their judging towards the softer /smaller /less developed competitors. Then those competitors go on to the higher level and simply don't have the development to compete w/ the "big kids" - and this occurs w/ the figure girls, the FBBs & MBBs moving down to Physique and those who just have more mature muscle. Very frustrating when you're trying to get to the higher level so I think it may come down to more strategic selection of your qualifier shows to go to the bigger regional shows where the judging will be at the more developed level. But like Jinsin says, you need to find where you will fit when you're not in the extreme "well-defined" categories.

[njphysique]

It honestly all depends on what part of the country you live in for the local shows. I personally live in NJ near NYC and we're judged like the national shows. Yes local shows can be won by pure conditioning, but on the national stage you need the complete package. I'm 5'9" and for national shows it was advised to be 185-190 lbs on stage. I'm gearing up for more local prep and then Jr Nationals and Team U.