posted Sun, 06/16/2019 - 17:22
8838
+ 1 If you could do the EBC over again
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I am just curious the big lessons everyone learned that if they had the chance to do the EBC all over again, what would you change or do different? Hopefully you kept notes along the way about diet, training, cycle, peak weak etc. For many of you this was your first experience doing this type of thing so there may have been many pitfalls you encountered along the way and now know what not to do or what to do even better for your next go. Hopefully this can be somewhat of a useful post so others attempting a future EBC hopefully learn from some of your mistakes or struggles.
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I think Makwa answered it below...just approach it like a BB contest! Do the exact prep you would for a show!
Literally copied off the judging criteria section:
This isn’t an event like a typical BB show where biggest ripped up mofo is the one who automatically wins it.
This is our best attempt to make this EBC fair game for everyone. Technically, your biggest competitor here is going to be yourself.
Did you see the results page my friend...
I would look at it this way. If you are already in pretty good shape to begin with, to score high in the overall change category you are going to have to nail the conditioning to really bring out the wow factor and score high in the overall (ie you will probably need to get sliced and diced or at least close to it.) You will obviously score high in the the def/vascularity by default and place really well then. Scoring high in the overall change would inherently be easier if you were in not so great shape to begin with so you could score really well in the overall but you may not be able to get as good of a score in the vascularity
So do you play the game of starting off in poor shape hoping to get a high score in overall change but sacrifice your definition/vascularity because there just isn't enough time to strip off as much fat or do you play it the other way around. That is what makes competition so interesting.
When I read the "biggest ripped mofo isn't necessarily going to win" that was a big game changer (for me personally) as I would have been just that by the end going at it from a BB contest prep perspective.
I knew (predicted) BigE would come in the shape he did...which was everything this EBC was not focused on for those that read the literal words on the judging criteria page. He looked amazing and ready to be on stage FYI...great job BigE!
I opted for a non-bb approach to focus on gaining those points in the Overall category that would be almost impossible to score high on for anyone in lean offseason shape-contest bb shape knowing I would score high on the rest with a little risk factor on def/vascularity.
In this EBC, the "biggest ripped mofo" did win it.
Again, excellent job BigE
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Looks like someone else noticed this was a loaded question that would be very disrespectful for me to answer and why I wasn't going to in open forum!
I changed it.
Good on ya!
RustyhookerThats where it got confusing. 35% which is a third of the score was for overall transformation.
I went into this regardless as a stepping stone. But i dont think most others even hit any marks on the transformation part. It should have just been listed as bb comp.
The winners are all awesome, stage ready folks and their futures will be awesome!
StevebRustyhookerOh ya.... 33.3333333333333333333333 is a third. Man ya schooled me on that one.
Lol
Kinda where I was getting at.
Many of the top 5 had very little in the way of "transformation" based on being in AMAZING off season shape already and scoring high in that #5 category would not seem to be possibility.
Thanks for clarifying for my thoughts rusty...must be all the icecream, pizza and burgers I'm eating. LOL
RustyhookerIm still cutting. Off cycle but clean eats etc. I want my 6pack. Lol
Well...I'll double up on all my eats and treats for ya!
If I were to redo this exact EBC I would have taken a different approach to getting ready than what my perception was based on the judging criteria announced.
I based all my decisions on this being very much focused on a transformation contest format vs what seemed to end more like a bb contest.
I prep for bb contest far differently than I did for this EBC.
Instead of looking to enhance my overall transformation score by having 4weeks of deconstructing my physique, I would have just gotten much bigger and I would have than put a full 8weeks into getting shredded to the bone as I would for show.
Lesson learned.
Please note that this in no way is a reflection on the judging/judges etc. as they were certainly consistent and I take full accountability for misinterpreting how I should have approached this EBC
I think prepping like you would have for a BB show would have been the route to go. Along with a transformation this is also a cutter. Getting sliced and diced is also a big part of the score. We talk more in PM if you want.
If getting sliced and diced was a large part of the score to the point of having to be contest ready than most of those that competed had little chance of placing.
The criteria (as I saw it) was designed to even the playing field so the majority competing (who have little to no experience in prepping) stood a strong chance of placing compared to someone who was either in very lean or in some cases already shredded at the start due to experience.
I believed this to be a spring cutter...not a shredded to the bone to win contest or at least that was my interpretation and likely a lot of other.
If most competitors thought being shredded to the bone by the end would be a much larger focus (even though it had the same score % as overall change) I am certain we would have had far less entries.
There are some did some real great transformations on here that simply had zero chance of placing much less winning for their efforts based on the results of this EBC.
I would not have had any issue personally getting bigger and shredding to the bone but the large majority of the community on here would have.
Again I am not mad, I am not disrespecting the judges or the integrity of this particular EBC however it is evident that I clearly misinterpreted criteria from the start.
This is a "what would you do differently now that we know the end results" and I spoke my truth based on what I initially though this was designed vs what I clearly saw at the end.
This is from the judging criteria thread:
This isn’t an event like a typical BB show where biggest ripped up mofo is the one who automatically wins it.
This is our best attempt to make this EBC fair game for everyone. Technically, your biggest competitor here is going to be yourself
(BigE looked amazing and was exactly who won, thus my confusion or my clear misinterpretation of this EBC)
I’m just curious why you thought that you stood a better chance by not getting shredded? That’s makes absolutely no sense. Natalia(sp?) was absolutely shredded but didn’t stand a chance. She was in too good of shape already. There’s always gonna be disagreements at the end. I thought I would’ve placed better but no one even batted an eye at me... i was fat dude without a cut or vein on me to start.
I had you in the top 10, and so did many of the other Eroids members who chimed in prior to the final #’s judged by Carlos and Makwa. You did great!
While I can’t speak for exotic, I can say that for myself I tried getting fatter prior based on the way the rules were written. I would have spent those weeks getting better not getting worse.
I literally wrote my game plan Champ to Chump to explain how deconstructing my body to a pathetic version of myself for 4weeks was needed to ensure I would have a big enough transition to score the necessary added points in the overall #5 category.
So yeah...getting out of shape first was the logical game plan depending on what one looked like.
That was by far harder than just growing for several weeks and getting shredded for me.
Im grabbing popcorn
I think you misunderstood what I was getting at but hopefully this helps below.
Based on my interpretation of this EBC where it specifically made those statements about "the biggest ripped mofo doesn't automatically win" and this was by design, to assist in giving everyone a chance at winning I had you in 1st place.
This was after assessing your pics before and after and then comparing to others.
If I interpreted that this was a "its a bb show best shredded wins" then of course Natalia would have won and BigE 2nd and so on.
This is merely my opinions based on my interpretation of what was stated for the judging criteria and again why I also personally approach my own goals as I did vs just getting a little bigger and getting shredded to the bone.
It would have been much easier for me to do that but based on my interpretation of the judging criteria anyone doing that including myself, would have lost to much on the overall change portion and with it being it as high as it was would have been lucky to crack top 5.
This was "to my interpretation" designed for a "fat dude without a cut or vein to start" to win, should the get a little vein popping with some abs.
Hope it makes sense to you now.
I wasn't a contestant but love reading the logs and comments following. Gives me some insight to the level of focus and determination that is needed to achieve like the individuals here have. Looking forward to future competitions.
My one lesson: I should have joined something like this when I was younger, bigger and fitter. But still, it was an interesting experience.
Just a little advice based on some observations I made:
A good camera with good lighting and a black background goes a long way. Good tan and oil up. It can be the difference of seeing the vascularity and not. Some photos made the muscles look smooth when I bet in person we could have seen the vascularity better. Using photos as a medium for any competition is hard so anything you can do to help present the finished product is worth doing.
People way underestimate the power of a tan. You just cannot see the graininess and striations and level of details in the muscle and physique without a good a tan. Put it this way, your tan can never be to dark, especially when on a real stage where you have a hundred plus bright spotlights lighting you up from all angles. Given how close the scoring was in this competition, a good tan with the right amount of oil could easily have jumped many of the competitors up in the rankings. I was really suprised by the amount of competitors that didn't get their tans on. Yes stage presence was a small portion of your score but when the scoring is literally getting into the decimal places it makes a huge difference in that aspect and like I mentioned above it really makes a huge difference in showing off the vascularity/definition which is a major part of your score. We can't judge it folks if your not showing it off properly.
I agree Sir.
Many photos were taken in the house, in the bedroom or outside in the courtyard.
Using a dark but also light background would be fine, oil and tan should never be missing , the result would be great and professional. Like a real contest/race.
Every reflection is always good to improve.
Thanks again to Carlos, Makwa, Pale, Greg, BFG and all the participants.
Well i definitely under estimated the intensity and focus i needed to really hit my goal my first month back in the gym was tough trying to get back to the intensity ive trained in the past...and i over did it trying to lose water so i think i held some cause the next couple days after cheating and getting hydrated i looked way better than my pics when i was in the gym
Most frustrating aspect of a prep is getting the timing right. Hopefully this one gave you a little more insight into timing it for the next go around.
Holy moly bro great job +1for you great fucking job
Thanks bro means alot
Hey hard work needs recognized and you did amazing
I thought you guys did amazing running this ebc if I could change one thing it would be to join in on it and not be so insecure about myself kinda glad I didn’t cause how great the everyone ended up looking