IBFA All Ireland 2014

So its been a few days since the IBFA All Ireland Show in Londonderry. I have to say that night I had mixed emotions about the result. Personally, like everyone else bar the winner I'm sure, I felt I should have placed higher, but having said that it was a very tough line up and I will happily take a top 5 finish.
Placing 5th as a natural body builder in a non-natural show, going up against guys who almost all out weighed me by at least 10 pounds, in some cases 30 pounds I can feel proud and satisfied with my personal performance.
In terms of my own package I gained 7 pounds of muscle from the previous contest in April and had almost as good conditioning, with lighting playing a part as well, in the presentation. So that is a big plus for me, that was my goal, to bring a bigger physique and I did it. I was also super, super excited and thrilled with my posing routine, the crowd loved it, I loved it and I wanted to just stay there and keep hitting shot after shot as each was greeted by a roar. When you have an atmosphere like that, you honestly don;t care what suffering you went through to get there, you just love every second, and want to get back on stage as soon as possible. So when I step back and asses it again 5th place seems acceptable, and like I always say it is you against you, you can only try to bring what you want to look like and what your goal is and if the judges like it great, if the fans like it even better, but as long as you are happy and improving, then you are a winner.

The venue itself was awesome, the Guildhall is a sight to behold and the backdrop to the stage was a massive and beautifully carved organ, the walls lined with stained glass windows and the entire building felt magical. it gave me almost a religious ceremonial feeling while pumping up and then posing in such a beautiful and ancient arena.

If you want to see the pictures from the show check out the gallery page or the routine page at the top and you can enjoy some of the best shots of the night.

So, what's next? Well a few months of off season and then I begin to look for the next contest, but before then it's all about hard work, making improvements and as always working on being the best you, both physically and mentally that you can be, every single day.