Pro/Am Contests Blog

The 2008 NPC Ronnie Coleman Classic was my first competition ever, and was definitely the best experience of my life!

I placed 2nd in my class (Figure A) and will now be competing in the Junior USA’s on May 17th, 2008 in South Carolina.  I’m definitely hooked!!

The 2008 NPC Ronnie Coleman Classic was great! Metroflex Productions always puts on an incredibly organized, energetic, and efficiently expedited show! I was hesitant to follow through with the contest because I had actually spent more time OUT OF STATE than in Texas during the month before the contest.

I spoke at the World Scientific Congress of Golf in a symposium about the nutritional needs of golfers, as well as supplements for concentration and focus, as well as golf-related psychology. I also presented at the FASEB (Experimental Biology) conference in San Diego. Though these were great professional opportunities, traveling away from home a ton makes it exceedingly difficult to eat and train properly, though I did my best.

That said, I was not too confident going into the contest. I have a very well-rounded musculature, from years of consistent training and good nutrition, but my conditioning was sub-optimal. In any case, the announcement was made during the competitor’s meeting that a softer look would be favored for figure. Such comments are often delivered during a meeting, but with poor follow-through in the actual judging. NOT SO this time. Women with essentially *perfect* figure physiques of yester-year were over-looked in favor of prettier, younger, and more simply fit-looking women.

Generally speaking, I believe this is a positive trend. This kind of judging is exactly in line with the NPC criteria (as stated by the actual rules of figure). The NPC rules specify that the competitors should display a small amount of muscle with some separation, a small amount of body fat, and NO visible striations. A women cannot be as lean as the national level competitors of recent years and still meet these criteria. When judges who prefer a bodybuilding physique and conditioning judge figure by the same standards, the difference between figure and bodybuilding can become easily blurred. The point is to have two separate divisions, not simply to have figure contestents that look like miniature bodybuilders.

Kudos to the Texas NPC judges for choosing a figure-appropriate look in all classes and awarding the most stunning woman on stage (Jodie Minear) the overall figure title, even though it was her first show and she was not overly muscle-bound.

I also had the chance to take part in the Metroflex video interviews for the contest, which allowed me to meet Marzia Prince; she is an absolute doll and also very down-to-earth and well-spoken.

The next Metroflex show is the NPC Branch Warren in July. If you come, you may even get to see me sing again– who knows? 

Click here for some great news about upcoming NPC shows in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, thanks to The Texas Connection found at the Global Gossip Blog:

http://blog.bodybuilding.com/GlobalGossip/2008/04/04/the-texas-connection-2/

A follow-up review of the recent 2007 NPC Ronnie Coleman Classic has been posted, as well as a full gallery and expanded results.

Check them out here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2007npccoleman.htm

http://contest.bodybuilding.com/contestresults.php?compid=2280

http://contest.bodybuilding.com/galleries/contestgallery.php?competitionid=2280

I spotted this MySpace bulletin recently, and am reposting it here on BodySpace with permission from the original poster.

“For those of you in attendance this past Saturday at the Ronnie Coleman Classic, thank you for making the show a success. From the prejudging to the Bench Press competition to the standing-room-only night show, we appreciate your participation and hope that you had an enjoyable experience.

A couple of quick highlights, in addition to the terrific competition seen on stage:

- Ronnie Coleman guest posing
- Jay Moore guest posing
- An impromptu marriage proposal with the lady being escorted on stage by Ronnie (yes, she accepted)
- Raffles and free reports offered to everyone in attendance
- Multiple WABDL state records set in the Bench Press competition
- Branch Warren & Ronnie Coleman signing autographs for their fans
- NFL players in attendance

In all, it was a great weekend. Special thanks go out to booth sponsors and the Metroflex Gym staff for all of their help backstage, weigh-ins, and during the show.

We look forward to seeing you in July outside of Houston for the Metroflex Gym/Branch Warren show. Details will be posted in a couple of days [on MySpace].”

Matt Mc Dermott
http://www.MetroflexGym.com/
http://www.MetroflexGymTraining.com/

Editor’s Note:  Photos from the 2007 Ronnie Coleman Classic are here:

http://contest.bodybuilding.com/galleries/contestgallery.php?competitionid=2280

And preliminary results are here:

http://contest.bodybuilding.com/contestresults.php?compid=2280

The 11th Annual Ronnie Coleman Classic Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Competition occurred April 21, 2007.  Unfortunately, I arrived late to catch the activities of the Bodybuilding per-judging.  Perhaps it was my lackadaisical behavior since I was not competing this year, or maybe because I was preoccupied getting together clothes for a scheduled photo shoot that morning, OR maybe the fact that no parking was available and I was forced to place my vehicle in a very natural surface (grass and dirt) seemingly far from civilization.  That would be incorrect as the proximity of vehicles gathered in this foliage covered area of ground was amazing.

After hiking to the venue, I was met by competitors old and new.  I first did the show in 2003, and competitors have come a long way (baby).  As I already mentioned, I missed ALL of the bodybuilding pre-judging.  Imagine that, a show starting relatively ON Time.  The nerve!  At least I was able to snag some shots with the Bodybuilding contestants as I wished them the “Best” for the evening Awards’ presentation.

Meeting and greeting was fun, yet taxing.  It’s been 6 months since the last show of the season here in Dallas, TX area.  There were so many people to see and stories on which to catch up. So, some former competitors vowed to never return to the stage, and others said they were ‘pre-contest’ at that very moment.  Most interesting was IFBB Pro Fitness Competitor Adela Garcia-Friedmansky saying that she is retiring from the Pro  Fitness arena in exchange for her first Figure show this summer.  She is so adorable…and will undoubtedly do well.

The Fitness prejudging was curt.   Only one competitor this year, but the best regional participant I have ever seen.  Her performance was chock full of energy, and her routine was executed flawlessly with a smile throughout.  I am still in awe of looking happy whilst performing one handed push-ups.  Needless to say, she ultimately received her 1st place finish that evening during the Finals’ awards presentation.

Bling! Bling!  Are the first words that come to mind as I watched the Figure contestants enter the stage.  Gorgeous describes each and every contestant’s posing suits.  My oh my,  have things progressed from the time I first competed in this show 4 years prior.  Whoa…and this is the regional level.  I better tell my designer to “upgrade” my new suit with twice as many stones…?

Overall, it seemed like a less musculature frame was favored by the judges.  The disbelief was heard from the audience on occasion, but when ever is EVERYONE 100% satisfied or agree with the judging?  Need I even utter the age old adage about “pleasing all of the people all of the time”?  Nah, I think you know where I am headed with this.

The evening show proved as successful as the prior year’s competition.  Perhaps it was even more successful in attendance due to the appearance of 8-times Mr. Olympia himself showed up and even posed for the guests.   Massive is he.  I just would have liked a longer duration of the posing.  The crowd was just getting warmed up when the Big Guy ended his routine.  Considering he was not in Olympia conditioning, the performance was a crowd pleaser nonetheless.

The men’s Body Building was entertaining as always…that is what those Posing Routines are for.  And the Pose Downs just tickle me each time.  It was a great year…and I’m sure will continue in popularity and attendance,  What could be better than the Big Guy posing at the show named in his honor?   Hmmmmmm….a Bigger Venue???  Mr. Dobson, something to consider.

I only had been dieting for this show for 20 or so days so I left myself a release valve if I didn’t place highly.  I didn’t find out about the show until the 28th of March when I first visited Metroflex gym.  Mr. Dobson invited me to compete then and there.

In loosing all the weight (from 203 to 186) I put myself into the largest single grouping of the entire show, middleweight novice men, I should have just stayed heavy, but then maybe a few of the cuts wouldn’t have been there.

Weighing in was easy and I learned a lot from Mr. Thompson (NPC Texas chair).  Both of the men were very approachable throughout the contest and actually took time to talk to me on several occasions with questions I had on Saturday. I could even ask for a critique from the judges whom they wrote down about me in their note books—and they gave me some very good advice for the next few month of my training.

Two or three of the guys in our group were way above the rest of us–they should have been in the open men’s classes.  I did my minute routine first without my music but to house music before the symmetry round and comparison round.  The music then stopped about five seconds into my routine and I finished my routine in silence.  It was bright and hot on the stage.  I was kind of nervous, but I had done theater arts for all four years in high school and done Shakespeare in front of 200 or so people so it wasn’t that bad.  But, I messed up my routine a bit by switching the order of my side triceps and my back shots and I kind of stumbled when turning for my left side most muscular.  I was shaking so hard when I was posing I couldn’t help it when I hit my poses because I was trying so hard.  I did this stomach thing at the end of my routine where I suck it in and then flex my abs and my abs kind of wiggle and pop out after with my hands on my knees…its called the “stomach thing” I can hold cigarettes in it when I flex it. I did it just to throw in a reason for the judges to remember me; maybe it was a bad idea after all.

The relaxed round was ok there were about 17-19 guys in my novice weight category by itself as I said it was the largest group of the entire show, so they had two groups of us standing off to the side at any one time during the symmetry rounds relaxed and posed.  The relaxed round some of the guys kept on flexing and the judges kept saying “stop with the arms-quit turning-relax” to some of the guys.  I kept my hands relaxed the entire time and didn’t flare my arms so much out to look as if I was doing some half front lat pose.  Some of the guys were almost shaking they were posing so hard during the relaxed round, and the judges knew.
I talked to the guys that were immediately next to me to find out which way they would turn for the side chest and triceps–I of course turned to my right side the one without all the tats.  

My tan wasn’t dark compared to some of the other guys; I mean they had been working on a natural dark tan for months and then got professionally sprayed dark.  I was about five coats of Protan deep and my hands are still brown on the side of my palms and my calluses.  I’m disappointed in myself a bit, but the guys that won second and first should have been in the open class, the third place guy was younger and should have placed high in the novice rightfully.

I didn’t make the first call out of five guys, my number was called seventh or eighth overall and I was in the second callout for the posed round…so I guess I was seventh or eighth overall in my section out of the 17 or so guys.

My dad was there so he made a video and I am ordering a video from the show too. I will post it on my page along with (now give me a week or so to get ready and all filled with water saspok) my personal workout video of me doing a 1000+ lb lying leg press for reps and 405 squat for reps.  

Next year I’m not going to be a novice and I will compete in the open classes–if my butt gets handed to me for the rest of my b.b. career so be it; but I would feel like a kid or kinda a cheat to do novice again and again for years.  I’m never going to loose weight like that again–I’m gonna get big now; time for business! I cant wait for next year! After gaining my natural weight back 220 here I come!