What a huge win for the Slovakian giant. This is proof positive that if you talk to the judges after a competition that their feedback can mean the difference. Just a couple of weeks ago at the third biggest bodybuilding show on the planet Michael took second place to Tonio in what was considered to be a nail biter contest. It went down to the top two competitors – down to the wire – with the fans sitting at the edge of their seats! Most fans couldn’t even contain themselves to sit down. They were up on their feet, they were shouting in the air like they just didn’t care. This was total bodybuilding pandemonium, but at the end of the day Tonio walked away with the victory. Instead of sitting on his hands or complaining to the media, Michael went back to the drawing board. He consulted with his coach and he consulted with the judges. He was a good sport and he was happy for Tonio. There was no shade throne. He did not refuse his second place award. He also didn’t walk off stage like a past Mr Olympia did when he had a temper tantrum. Both of these men exemplified all of the attributes of good sportsmanship and professionalism. Tonio was a gracious winner and Michael was a gracious runner-up. But it didn’t end there because in the two weeks in the meantime, Michael employed all of his efforts along with his contest prep Coach George Farah to make sure to implement the judges’ feedback. And this is something very important that we need to hone in on not only for this article but for all others. It’s something that I’ve talked about in various articles. There is a tremendous amount of importance on what the judges’ feedback is.
There is so much importance in it that even winners will go to the judges to ask them for that feedback. Don’t think that just because you won a contest that you’re perfect. Because no one is perfect. Only God is perfect. Everyone else, all of us mortals, all we’re trying to do is reach that pinnacle of perfection. Therefore if you win a contest it’s more likely that you were better than everyone else than you being perfect. And the reality of the matter is sometimes competitors win for all the wrong reasons, meaning they may have thought that they won based on their posing or perhaps on their condition, when in reality they won because of something totally different. Maybe their posing does need work, maybe their condition does need work, but just because they won, they assume that everything is on point. This is why it’s so important to talk to the judges. The judges are the ones that have seen thousands of physiques crossed before them. And not only have they seen thousands of physiques across before them, but they are expected to make decisions that will impact an entire roster of competitors. They have to make calculated decisions based on the guidelines in a very short amount of time. Are they always right? Of course not. No one is perfect, but are they right most of the time? Absolutely! Because if they weren’t they would be replaced.
That’s something else that is very important to recognize. There are a lot of people that want to be pros. There are also a lot of people that want to be judges. As you know, a lot of people, most people, will never get a pro card. And most people will never get past the test judging phase, either. It is not for everyone. Therefore it is very important to hear what those judges have to say.
But I think what compounds it even more and this is not to take away from Michael’s victory because we are definitely going to be talking about that more, but as I said at the beginning this article, it’s also about the importance of judges’ feedback. And one last thing I want to say is that the people that are judging shows like the Pittsburgh, like the New York Pro, like the Arnold Classic, are also the people that are judging the Olympia. The Olympia is the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding. It doesn’t get any bigger than that. So as important as judges’ feedback is, if you’re being judged by the same people judging the biggest and the most respected show in the world, then you had better seek their counsel. Whether you took first place or last place, you want to know what they have to say. Now the other danger of judges feedback is that competitors will seek it out but then ignore it. Sometimes competitors are in denial, just like the rest of us, because at the end of the day competitors are people just like you and me. The reality of the matter is that if you ignore the judges’ feedback it’s almost as if you didn’t ask them for it to begin with. I have to truly commend Michael because he has illustrated how important this counsel is.
Because he didn’t suddenly grow a back in 2 weeks. But he was able to improve his posing from New York to Pittsburgh in such a way that it was enough to convince the judges to give him the nod. Plus it has been said Tonio wasn’t as good in Pittsburgh as he was in New York. I don’t agree. I think Tonio brought a phenomenal package to both contests and if you look at social media I would say that most people are completely torn down the middle. You have half the people saying that Tonio should have won and half the people that say that Michael should have won. A lot of people including the most popular YouTuber want to see a tiebreaker. But that being said I disagree with him because I can’t imagine the competitors that have competed at shows like the New York Pro and the Pittsburgh Pro are going to want to break that tie at a show like Reno or Cal State. Nothing against the Reno or Cal State but they’re not the biggest shows in bodybuilding. One show is the number three show and the other show is the president’s show. For either Michael or Tonio to go from competing on those illustrious stages to then competing on what I would consider a secondary stage is beyond me. The score needs to be settled at the Olympia.
Now that being said there is no score to speak of. Both guys exhibited exemplary behavior. But I can understand the most popular YouTuber wanting to see a trilogy. Who wouldn’t want to? At the end of the day these are the positive type rivalries if you can call them that that grow the sport. I think both guys would be elated to go one more time because win or lose, they win. and the fans win. And the sport wins. So really nobody loses in a rivalry of such proportions. The beauty of it all is both men are going to the Olympia. Both men are going to be able to show the world their best on the biggest stage on the planet. This is a great happy ending for both men because they have worked so hard and both of them have more or less flown under the radar for many years. This is a classic example of what happens when you pay your dues and when you do things right. Both men have tremendous potential.
I really enjoyed seeing Michael’s posing and even more than the posing I appreciated the transitions. I did notice that he was a little shaky at times and that will only get better with more practice. I think that the take-home from this article is that the judges’ feedback is absolutely important, as is posing and practicing your posing as much as possible. People look at posing as merely entertainment but in reality posing is how you showcase your physique to that panel of judges that have seen those thousands of bodies and who have to make a decision in record time. The more effectively you show your physique and the more effectively you hide your weaknesses, the greater your chances will be of seeing victory on a bodybuilding stage. Many of you might think that is Bodybuilding 101, but you would be surprised how many top tier pros seem to forget this very very basic concept on a pretty regular basis. It’s almost mind-boggling how many competitors have missed the placings they deserve simply because they didn’t know how to present their physique in the best light to the judges.
I would like to send a huge congratulations to Michael and his whole camp. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Please be sure to copy and paste a link to this article for all your social media feeds. It’s bound to generate lively conversation.
Author Bio:
Christian I. Duque is the owner of StrengthAddicts.com, a physique and strength website founded in 2008. He has worked for a number of bodybuilding websites, including RX Muscle and Muscular Development. Christian has written nearly 1,000 published articles for IronMag Blog, as well as articles for StrengthAddicts, RX Muscle, and others. By day, he is also a licensed attorney practicing in the areas of family law, immigration, and criminal defense.
