HomeArticlesChristian Duque

Shaun Clarida – Top 5 In Columbus?

Shaun-Clarida

by Christian Duque

Shaun Clarida is no stranger to be overlooked and underestimated. Many years ago they told him to content himself with staying in the 212 division. They told him not to expect to ever be the winner of its most coveted title because he simply wasn’t big enough but they said that he could always place respectively high. So what he did was he went on and won that title. And not only did he win it, but he won it twice.

Then they told him not to do the open because being on the smaller side of the 212 he had no chance of doing well. Then he beat guys that were over 100 lbs heavier than him and way taller.

Then they told him he may have won that one open show but to not press his luck. Fast forward to 2023 when he placed Top 5 at the Arnold Classic beating Akim Williams and nearly beating Big Ramy.

Although Shaun has switched up his physique from time to time and he is now with a new coach, he is still not listening to the critics and certainly not listening to those that underestimate him. He has pressed forward and built a very impressive bodybuilding resume that continues to grow to this day. He is nowhere near done.

And as Clarida embarks on his journey to hit the stage in Columbus Ohio in 2025 at the prestigious Arnold Classic, very few people are underestimating him. In fact many of the top bodybuilding outlets on YouTube are saying that he is a sure bet for the Top 5. But what about higher than that? Why not the Top 3? Why not win the whole thing? One thing’s for sure, no one should sleep on the giant killer. He can do just about anything, just about anywhere. So for those of you that are now comfortable with including him in the Top 5, I say to you, why not consider him to win It all?

Bodybuilding is not a weight contest. Now that may be a little ironic considering that the reigning Mr Olympia is boasting of being over 300 lb. But it’s not just him, it’s also Nick Walker and others. Everybody wants to be in the 300 lb club even if it means throwing away their physique. But like I said, bodybuilding is not a weight category. You don’t win titles based on how much you weigh. It is also not a height contest.

In fact, purists of the sport have said that bodybuilding is a short man’s sport. So in reality the taller you are the more you have to fill out. So if you can stay compact, dense, and packed full of muscle like Shaun, you actually are more competitive. The reality of the matter is that being short is not a death sentence. Being short is actually a major plus. Perhaps being lightweight is not going to help him very much but it may also not hurt him, either.

At the end of the day we can’t forget the tremendous value placed on the illusion. Sometimes the guy that’s the lightest might actually look somewhat in the middle. Sometimes the guy with a weaker body part who knows how to pose can actually hide the weakness and even get good scores when standing next to a less experienced poser. Shaun knows all the tricks of the trade. You can expect him to deploy his full arsenal in Columbus, Ohio.

And that’s because the Giant Killer is not going there just for fun. He has never signed on to a contest just to be one more competitor. Although he has never won the open Olympia he is a 212 Mr Olympia and with that he carries a tremendous amount of self-confidence. When you have been the best in your division you know what it feels like to be on top of the world. You don’t bow down or take a backward step to anyone. You understand the value of being front and center and battling for your position onstage. If the judges don’t see you then what’s the point? You want to be seen by the audience, you want to be seen by the photographers, you want to be seen by everyone, but the most important people that can ever see you are the judges. So many competitors make this mistake even at the Arnold and Olympia levels. They want to pose for the fans and they want to pose to see who can get the most applause. Buy applause don’t win bodybuilding shows. Judging scores win bodybuilding shows.

These are very amateur mistakes that guys even at the most elite levels make. They think that they have the show in the bag just because they’re taller, just because they have more muscle, maybe because they feel like they’re more vascular. At the end of the day none of that matters. The only thing that matters is what those judges put on those score cards. And the judges have also come to respect Clarida because they know that he is a man’s man. They know that he has been overlooked and has been underestimated his entire career but he yet comes back harder, better, more striated and more separated. People should never sleep on that. Not only is he a bonafide giant killer but he has the will of 10 men.

But this article isn’t intended to only clue you into Shaun’s indomitable spirit. We have also seen some improvements. He looks bigger even though he is only 190 lb. What needs to be understood is that a 190 lb Shaun is actually at his biggest. Moreover, he also has improved his chest. His chest was never lagging to begin with but it was never on par with his back.

In a very real way Shaun has a back much like Ronnie Coleman and David henry. Both of these guys have been said to have had backs that could destroy the competition. As the old saying goes, “bodybuilding shows are won from the back.” Shaun also has tremendous wheels, great arms, huge delts and a very tight midsection. And that’s just the thing, no matter how much size Clarida has put on, he has never lost control of his midsection. And that is the mistake with guys that play the size game. Sure, they might add 10 or 15 pounds to their frame, but their midsections become distended. That, or they can’t control them. I don’t know which ones worse? Having a terribly distended midsection or having so little control of your abdominals that you can’t flex them properly on stage. Neither is a good look and neither is anything that a top-tier bodybuilder aspires to. To me it’s a huge step backwards and it begs the question, is size all that important anyways?

At the end of the day, I’m going to tell you this one more time and I want it to really sink in. There’s going to be a tremendous amount of competition But you should most definitely keep an eye out on the Garden State’s own Shaun Clarida. Well I should say the Lone Star state’s own because he moved there quite some time ago. But while you can get someone from New Jersey out of New Jersey – you can’t get New Jersey out of them.

Shaun will always be an east coast, blue collar, people’s bodybuilder. No matter how many titles and accolades he receives – he will always be humble at heart. And that is another reason to be very careful with a competitor on this level. Because no matter how much success he tastes, he will always be hungry for more. He will always come at you firing on all cylinders taking no prisoners. This is the man who made NO PLAN B famous. And even with huge titles, a gym of his own, sponsors that believe in him – he is still very much about that mentality. He puts it all on the line to win. There is No Plan B with Shaun Clarida.

As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. Where do you think Shaun will place at the 2025 Arnold Classic? I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It will definitely generate some lively conversation.

 

Subscribe to our Newsletter!


This will close in 0 seconds

IronMag Labs Andro Creams

This will close in 0 seconds