Falling Short Again

On November 13, 2010 I competed in the WNBF World Championships in New York for the 5th consecutive year. After winning the lightweight class, I faced off against the middleweight and heavyweight winners for the Overall World title, but fell short as the heavyweight winner Martin Daniels took home the trophy. I was happy with the improvements I made over the past year, as my 6 month off-season and 6-month diet phase resulted in what I believe was my best physique to date. I defeated several very good bodybuilders in the LW class in relatively convincing fashion, with nearly unanimous scores from the judges. In the overall comparisons, however, I could only garner 2 votes to Martin's 4 (with the MW winner Miles Stovall also taking 1 vote).

This makes the 3rd time in the last 4 years that I have won the LW World title. A friend pointed out to me that I have also earned the following honors:

• Most LW class wins of any WNBF male pro in history at the World Championships
• Only WNBF male pro in history to have placed top 2 in his class for 5 consecutive World Championships
• Tied with Ben Tennessen (HW) for most class wins by a WNBF male pro at the World Championships
• Unfortunately, Ben and I also share the distinction of having no overall wins despite competing for the title 3 times
• Over $10,000 earned as a "professional bodybuilder"

While I am proud of these accomplishments, I have no misconceptions that I am a "3-time World Champion" or "the 2nd best natural bodybuilder in the world," or even one of the best bodybuilders in the WNBF. I have never won a World overall title, there were at least four elite MW bodybuilders missing from this year's contest, and the WNBF has many fantastic competitors that I have never faced. When I assess my own physique I mostly see weak points that need to be addressed. I have already put together an off-season plan for improving, and am happily shifting into off-season mode with more food and some interesting ideas on ways to grow.

Below are a couple of videos related to the show: one is me practicing my posing one week away from the contest, and the other is my routine from the night show. I hope to get a write-up and some pictures of the contest up soon, although work is very busy right now. Thanks to everyone who supported me during contest prep!