2014 NPC Nationals In Review

Miami, Florida, is home to more Cubans outside of Cuba than any other city in the world. Part of the acculturation of Miami is evinced by the outstanding cuisine the Cubans brought with them. From espresso coladas to croquetitias, to maduros, black beans, and rice, Miami is the best places to eat Cuban food. Every time I go back, I make sure to get my fill of my favourite Miami cooking. I was recently back there for the NPC Nationals, and this time, instead of feasting on lechon asado as I normally would, since my favourite spot for it was two blocks from the venue, I ended up doing something far more meaningful. I was there with my wife, who was gunning for her IFBB pro card in women’s physique, helping her get ready to compete. We’d go and “cheat” after the show and, knowing her, it wasn’t going to be on roast pig. So, the Cuban feast would have to wait. Since I was there anyway, though, I thought I’d pay attention and report back on the show.

So, why should MUSCLE INSIDER, predominantly a Canadian magazine, be serving up coverage of the US Nationals? Other than the fact that I’m writing about this American competition for a Canadian media company while living in Mexico and thus sewing up all of North America for the first time ever in a bodybuilding magazine, I think it’s a good idea. Certainly such coverage could indeed look like a self-serving abuse of my position to give props to my wife … well, I wouldn’t exactly call it “abuse,” but lets just say on a rare occasion over a very long career. I pulled a string. But, it was for a good cause. So, yes, I’ll cop to being very proud of Valerie for accomplishing what she set out to do and winning her IFBB pro card, and I convinced the rest of the MUSCLE INSIDER team to print her pic! What can I say? She knows people.

That aside, as I said before, covering the NPC Nationals is a good idea. So is covering the NPC USA Championships along with the Canadian Nationals and any other show in North America that churns out IFBB pros, and I’ll tell you why. First, whether you hail from Canada, the US, or Mexico, if you win a pro qualifier, you will become a member of the International Federation of Bodybuilders, as in “IFBB.” While that prestigious affiliation does in fact grant the cardholder a global bill of fare for his or her competing pleasure, most Canadian, US, and Mexican bodybuilders will end up competing in North America, specifically the US and Canada. Since these athletes are going to end up competing together, why not cover the shows that get them there? Part of what brings me to MUSCLE INSIDER is to help focus some of our direction south of the border. With coverage of pro shows such as the Olympia, the Arnold, the NY Pro, the Toronto Pro, and more, how can we not cover the major shows that feed these great competitions their pros? See my point? Bodybuilding should have no borders.

Since MUSCLE INSIDER is truly the “insider,” we can’t ignore the contests that bring the IFBB their newest stars, from both countries—any country actually. But, because it’s me and I don’t like to do anything like everyone else does it, I don’t think the coverage should be the usual “so and so brought their best package to date,” (easily one of the ten most loathsome phrases in the English language that you can read in any number of other publications) type of pedestrian dictation of events. If I’m reporting on a show, it’s because I was there and what I saw made enough of an impression on me to say something about it. Certainly the champions will get their due, but beyond that, every contest has a story.

The story this time is the show itself. Just under 1,000 competitors were processed in two days. It was amazing to see that many National-level competitors in one place. What I found really interesting was that men’s physique—which I, along with a strong contingent of hardcore bodybuilders, affectionately refer to as “men’s bikini”—is walking away as the fastest growing division on the NPC card. With 230 competitors, it was the second largest division next to bikini, which had just under 250 girls. Both divisions together accounted for just slightly under half of the competitors onstage that weekend—at a bodybuilding contest! This is really an incredible boon for the well-deserving promoters. And, it’s great to see that the promoters are using some of that money to make the experience a good one for those on both sides of the stage. From the venue, the accommodations, the backstage area, everything was first rate and every bit a testament to the growth of the sport and the NPC.

As for the the other “real” divisions (I can’t help it)—figure, women’s physique, men’s, and women’s bodybuilding—I’d have to say that the level of competitor showing up is a good distance ahead of where they were not long ago. Condition-wise, I was very impressed, especially among the superheavyweights. For many years, one of the biggest gripes about the National-level shows has been the condition of the big guys. In fact, many of us in the press referred to superheavies as nothing more than out-of-shape heavyweights. Can’t do that anymore. Geesh … some of the most shredded guys onstage were superheavies! This was definitely the most notable aspect of the show next to its sheer size and how well it ran.

At the end of the night, 62 new IFBB pros left Miami to seek success in the big leagues. Some will make money, some won’t, and some just did it to see if they could do it. However many filter through, one thing is for certain: There are more pro bodybuilders out there than ever before. With such numbers, it multiplies the likelihood exponentially that a higher degree of talent will rise to the top. And it has; you can definitely see fruit falling from the tree. The pro shows today are getting deep with new talent, some say even surpassing the the era of the ‘90s when the golden age of bodybuilding seemed to have finally come to a close. Once Levrone, Wheeler, Ray, Dillett, Cormier, Coleman, Priest, Nasser, Yates and company had walked off the stage for good, that caliber of top pro bodybuilder seemed to have walked away with them. It would be years—over a decade—before bodybuilding recovered from the talent glut it experienced at the turn of the millennium. Credit for this must go to the systematic growth of the amateur division, the incubator that grows the freaks of today.

Superheavyweight and overall bodybuilding champ Alexis Rivera-Rolon fits right into that rising freak status and has a bright future as an IFBB pro. A superheavyweight with striated glutes and a low back so defined you could hang ornaments off its branches? In this condition, this guy easily slides into the top five of just about any pro show he enters. Damage in the pro ranks is also going to be the fault of heavyweight winner Dominick Cardone. And, out of a light heavyweight class of 42, no less, Arthur Reed is going to cause problems on the pro stage as well. Now, multiply this by the spoils of the the Nationals, the Jr. USA and the Jr. Nats, the Canadian Nationals, and we’re probably going to see close to 250 new IFBB pros in 2015. Of them, there will be a few more to dilute the the top row. In other words, the bar is going to keep getting higher. And that is good.

SIDEBAR

Two standouts for each of:

Men’s Bodybuilding
Women’s Bodybuilding
Men’s Physique
Women’s Physique
Figure
Bikini