WINNING THE OVERALL

I am a novice heavyweight natural bodybuilder, who has been competing for three years. I am extremely frustrated because in the six shows I competed I won first place in my class, but I always lose the overall to a smaller bodybuilder. I can't understand it. I am taller and bigger than every competitor. Isn't bodybuilding about building huge size? How can all these smaller guys be better than me? Having seen hundreds of shows do you find this occurrence normal or do the judges have it in for me?

John "Beast" Furmando

Okay. Where should I start? You have competed six times and won your class six times, but lost the overall every time. Is that right? Well, I have some theories on why this situation may be happening to you.

As you said yourself, I've seen hundreds of bodybuilding contests in my life, especially novice bodybuilding shows. In my experience watching these novice shows the heavyweight class competitors are rarely as complete as the other class winners. You may be taller and bigger than every competitor, but are you as complete? When I say complete I mean are you as symmetrical, defined and as muscularly proportionate as the other class winners. I would probably have to say no if you are losing the overall every time.

I know you are frustrated, but you have to understand. To be more competitive against the shorter more densely muscled bodybuilders a taller bodybuilder requires more time to build the thick, dense muscle he needs to balance out his frame. Think of it this way - if you were a sculpture an artist would need more clay to create you. Unfortunately, you can't create thick, dense muscles that way.

You have to do it through heavy and intense lifting. You probably keep losing the overall for this reason.

Take an honest look at your contest photos. When I say honest I mean an unbiased look. Don't listen to the opinions of other people. It doesn't matter that your grandmother thought you should have won or your best friend heard the winner was one of the judge's friends. Take a look at your photos and ask yourself, Am I as complete as the rest of these guys? Do I have the balance and dense muscularity that these winners have? The answer is going to be no.

The heavyweight novice class is the most uncompetitive class in bodybuilding, so understand that just because your biceps are bigger than everyone else's doesn't mean you should have won. You are not the first bodybuilder- who has experienced this situation and you surely won't be the last.

I can name numerous huge bodybuilders with freaky size who have last to shorter and smaller muscled men - Dorian Yates lost to Mohammad Benaziza, Lou Ferrigno was bested by Arnold and Lee Labrada beat Gary Strydom. The list goes on and on. Even the great Arnold Schwarzenegger has tasted defeat from a smaller adversary. Arnold once lost to a shorter and lighter Frank Zane. Now the only other possible reason you might be losing the overall title every time may be related to your presentation and attitude onstage. Sometimes when a contest is close a judge may choose a competitor with a better overall presentation and attitude. By presentation, I mean skin color and posing performance. Is your color perfect or do you look like a melted chocolate bar when you compete? Does your posing routine show off your physique the best way possible? Does your routine look professional or do you look as if you're straining and about to take a dump onstage?

Do you act confident or cocky? There is a big difference. Cocky is when you start making faces at other competitors, push people off the stage and disregard the judge's commands. Do you do any of these things? If you act this way knock it off. When a contest is extremely close between you and another competitor that will be taken into consideration in the end.

Let's say you are the perfect soldier onstage and your physique is what's holding you back. Don't fret. Once you build the necessary muscle density and balance out your physique you will start winning overall titles. History has always shown that a good, tall man will always beat a good, short man.

When I say short I am not talking about 2 inches shorter. I am talking significantly shorter and bodybuilders who are on the elite level.

Look at the Mr. Olympia contest. The four greatest Mr. Olympia winners - Arnold, Haney, Yates and Coleman - are all 5'10" or taller. The days of a shorter man, like Franco Columbu, winning the Mr. 0 are over. My advice to you is stay natural, lift heavy, work hard, stay focused and you will put yourself in a great position to one day win an overall title.