Hi folks, 

My apologies it has taken so long to write my first blog. I have been promising Maria this for ages, but have never quite had the time to sit down and write something. Things have been quite busy with training, family and work. 

Well last week was the ANB South Coast Bodybuilding Championships and I competed in the under 90kg division in which I placed third. All day I could hear people’s whispers “Gee, the men’s under 90’s is going to be a tough one to judge” and from a competitor’s point of view, it was tough on stage.  Unfortunately, I was out-muscled by two very good bodybuilders, the winner Anthony Da Silva going on to win the Overall title later in the night. Well done to Anthony! He is a great guy and if I’m going to lose, I don’t mind losing to guys like him. 

My prep for the South Coast show was outstanding with zero muscle loss and only minimal strength loss. I have been fortunate enough throughout the years to become very familiar with how my body reacts to different food types and quantities, so simply by reducing my carbs and increasing my meal frequency, I was able to avoid doing cardio all together. This saves me a lot of time throughout prep and also allows my body to remain hard all the way until show time. 

Next week is the Sydney Physique Championships and I will once again be contesting the under 90kg division. I suspect I will be up against the same competitors in this show therefore in an effort to improve my placing, I have decided to try something new with my prep. I have increased carbs and fats slightly and I am doing 20 minutes post workout cardio. This will hopefully see me come in a little ‘fuller’ and by doing that little bit of cardio, I will stay as lean as I was for the South Coast show. Let’s see what happens hey! 

Now then, I was planning to do the Asia Pacific’s however I am not able to. I have too many commitments to fulfil in the next 6 weeks and the trip to QLD would have too much of an effect on those commitments. Work, family and finance always come first for me and on this occasion, competing in the Asia Pacific’s has been put on hold for another time. 

I am looking forward to later in the year when the other shows are on. I won’t be competing therefore I will be able to enjoy the shows as a spectator and if Rob Powell has his way, as a judge. Rob has discussed the opportunity for me to judge some shows later in the year, therefore I think I will do the honourable thing and fulfil that role. It is a great opportunity to broaden my knowledge of the sport and appreciate the athletes from a different perspective. 

Well thanks for taking the time to read my first blog entry. I am very excited for everybody who is going to compete this year and for those first timers, I am glad you are taking a step in the right direction... towards the stage :-) 

If you have any questions you can email me at bigbentham@gmail.com or find me on Facebook. 

Chat soon,

David Bentham (DB)