Okay folks, here’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for…the final results of the challenge. First I’d like to thank all of the contestants for participating; this was a very fun week, getting to watch all of the videos and see people’s competitive spirits emerge. Before I post the chart and announce the awards, I’d like to offer some comments/observations.
1. Late Competitors
Many competitors waited patiently as “early competitors” took the challenge which gave them an advantage as they knew what numbers they needed to beat.
2. Early Competitors
Ironically, the early competitors actually got the upper hand on the late competitors as they were able to recover from the first workout and perform the challenge a second time. The second attempt led to an increased score through a combination of improved strategy (exercise order), fitness gains/training adaptations, familiarization, and motivation (knowing what scores they needed to beat). In this case it payed off to be an early competitor as the late competitors couldn’t compete a second-time as they weren’t recovered (except for Derrick who performed the challenge 3 times and ended up besting his score each time).
3. Form
In any challenge the judge is faced with some difficult decisions as form is a slippery slope. I’ve been watching many strong dudes train my whole life and even have dvd’s from various strongmen and bodybuilders. Many of them use a ton of momentum and allow their form to degrade yet are still absolute beasts in terms of muscular hypertrophy, strength and power. It is difficult for these types to understand the judge’s perspective when it comes to contests and challenges because they’re accustomed to hoisting a certain amount of weight and in order to pass strict criteria they have to reduce the loads which nobody likes to do. Often this load reduction is too much to bear for the lifter and he ends up quitting the contest or sport rather than sticking with it. I’ve seen this happen with powerlifters who aren’t quite squatting to depth or allowing for a sufficient pause on the chest during the bench press.
4. The Sole Judge – BC
I don’t like being the only judge here but at the end of the day this is my challenge and I have to make some executive decisions. If no video was provided, then the contestant will be acknowledged but will not receive an award. I should have stated this up front but this is the inaugural year and I learned many lessons that will make this challenge much better next year (I plan on this being a yearly challenge). Moreover, if I felt that form was too erratic then I will not allow for the King or Queen award to be doled out to this individual. Next year I’ll be even more explanatory with rules associated with technique and contestants will learn the true meaning of high-quality form. I hope that the competitors realize that this was all in good fun and take my rulings in stride. Next year we can do it again and those who feel duped have undoubtedly learned a thing or two and can vindicate themselves next time around.
The Chart
Here is a chart of the total competition.
The Awards Along With Honorable Mentions
King Sexy (highest male score) goes to David Dellenave. His total of 152 bested the competition. Honorable mention goes to the following dudes: Jamie Rodriquez with 146 (you rose the bar for everyone and if you had the chance to perform a second time around I suspect you would have gotten 160), Strini Naidoo with 207 (had you provided a video you most likely would have won as I know first hand that you’re an absolute freaky-beast, but without a vid it’s a no-go, and I’m unsure as to how much drop off you’d have if you used a taller bench for the hip thrusts), Mike Samuels and Dale Lablans with 158 and 164, respectively (I felt that your guys’ form was a little too sloppy to receive the award; some of the chins didn’t reach proper depth and/or height, RDL’s weren’t done with a strict enough arch, a little too much momentum was used, etc. This is not meant to take away from your achievements as my form isn’t all that either and you guys are strong dudes who deserve praise, but as a judge I have to be strict in fairness to all the competitors).
Queen Sexy (highest female score) goes to Jen Sinkler. Her total of 150 bested her competitors. Honorable mention goes to Molly Galbraith with 124 (you rose the bar big time for the competition and your form rocked) and Neghar Fanooni with 115 (excellent technical form).
Dead Sexy (equal to or greater than 100 total reps) goes to Jen Sinkler, David Dellenave, Steve Di Tomaso, Scott Taylor, Clifton Harski, Derrick Blanton, Mike Spiegel, Drew Ragan, Jaime Rodriquez, Danny McLarty, Neghar Fanooni, Molly Galbraith, Doug Balzarini, Andrew Firth, Strini Naidoo, Chris, Mike Samuels, Dale Lablans, and Chris. Getting over 100 reps on this challenge ain’t easy and you guys all rocked it. Be proud!
Sexy All Over (15 reps on each exercise for guys, 10 reps on each exercise for girls) goes to Drew Ragan, Jamie Rodriquez, Melody Schoenfeld, and Neghar Fanooni. Only four of you received this award (with several folks coming close) so this is a huge honor.
Quadzilla (highest front squat) goes to Molly Galbraith with 26 reps. Honorable mention goes to Strini Naidoo with 30 reps (but no video).
Dr. Deadlift (highest RDL) goes to David Dellenave with 73 reps. Honorable mention goes to Mike Samuels with 73 reps as well (but David’s form was better so he won).
Gluteus Magnificus (highest hip thrust) goes to Derrick Blanton with 43 reps. Honorable mention goes to Strini Naidoo (100 reps but no video), Dale Lablans and Chris with 50 reps (form a bit too sloppy), and David Dellenave with 41 reps.
Chisel Chest (highest incline press) goes to Jen Sinkler with 28 reps. Honorable mentions go to Belle Hammond with 25 and Jamie Rodriguez (highest male total with 17).
King Cobra (highest chin up) goes to Doug Balzarini with 22 reps. Honorable mentions go to Scott Taylor with 31 reps (but no video) and Jamie Rodriguez with 22 reps as well (but Doug had slightly better form).
Sexier than BC (greater than 75 reps) goes to Jen Sinkler, David Dellenave, Steve Di Tomaso, Scott Taylor, Clifton Harski, Derrick Blanton, Mike Spiegel, Drew Ragan, Jaime Rodriquez, Danny McLarty, Neghar Fanooni, Molly Galbraith, Doug Balzarini, Andrew Firth, Strini Naidoo, Chris, Mike Samuels, Dale Lablans, Chris, Kellie Davis, Belle Hammond, Scott Taylor, Eric, Jeremy Boyd, Rudy Thomas, Brady, Terrance Lawrence, Jon Camacho, Dan Sigafoos, Shanna, Melody Schoenfeld, Emily Soccolinsky, Brooks Tiller, Marianne Kane, Stefanie, Roger Lawson, Ariel Iasevoli, Alex Ceban, and Miguel Arogoncillo. I suppose that this isn’t something to be that proud of as clearly nearly everyone is sexier than me, but considering I’ve been lifting for 20 years now and you beat me – you deserve a congratulations.
So here’s the breakdown once again:
- King Sexy – David Dellenave
- Queen Sexy – Jen Sinkler
- Quadzilla – Molly Galbraith
- Dr. Deadlift – David Dellenave
- Gluteus Magnificus – Derrick Blanton
- Chisel Chest – Jen Sinkler
- King Cobra – Doug Balzarini
Contest Averages
I averaged all of the exercise totals. Bear in mind that the incline press is skewed as men and women used different relative loads. Here are the results:
- front squat – 12
- RDL – 32
- hip thrust – 24
- incline press – 10
- chin up – 14
- total – 92
This is cool as it depicts what I’ve been saying for years; in terms of strength,
squat < hip thrust < deadlift
It also shows that the average contestant is 17 points sexier than me!
Conclusion and Vids
Once again I want to thank all of the competitors for manning up and performing the challenge. You’re all winners in my book. I’ll leave you with the videos of King Sexy and Queen Sexy.
David Dellenave
Jen Sinkler
And in case you’re in need of even more sexiness today, here’s a picture of Jamie Eason for your viewing pleasure. Take care! BC
Thanks alot Bret. This was a lot of fun. It gave me a starting base of what exercises I should make improvements on. Jen and David earned those titles. Til next year.
Thanks Jaime; what a great sport. Had you had another go you very well could have been the King. At any rate you’re a beast and you know it. Til next year…
Pleased with the honourable mentions, although slightly disappointed I missed out on the main awards, still, better than a kick in the balls!
Thanks for the critique/advice Bret, I’ll take it on board, and look forward to the next challenge. Cheers
Mike
Mike, I have a feeling you’ll thank me one day (I hope you start using full ROM on chins, and start trying to arch the upper back more in RDL’s, and in general be around 20% more controlled and strict). If you do then in a year or so you’ll look back at lifters who don’t train this way and you’ll want to give them the advice I’ve given you. I commend you for being such a good sport and next year I will better explain the rules so you don’t feel shafted. And please know that you’re damn strong and deserve tons of credit.
Loved watching all the videos of your heavy-lifting, hard-working readers; inspirational and sometimes even funny (I laugh with, not at)! What a great challenge, super-impressed with everyone, well done! Bret, what are you going to work on to help whittle down that 17 point spread? I mean, look at that picture of yourself on your homepage banner, would that guy allow the his average (and by average I mean kick-a$$) reader to be 17 points sexier? Heal that bicep, Mister, and get back under the bar!
Haha! Sadly the quickest thing I could do is lose around 15 lbs…I’d probably increase my chins by at least 5 reps and the reduced loads would probably yield around 15 more reps throughout the challenge which would render me “sexier than average.”
Thanks for hosting, the challenge was a lot of fun. But other than the Survival of the Fittest weekly challenges, I’ve had enough distress training for a while. It is hard to be in the position of sole arbiter, so if you do it again next year I volunteer to serve on a panel of judges.
Congrats to everyone who competed, the only thing that matters is how much you improve yourself.
I’ll make a note of that Dave. Cheers!
Many, many thanks for this Bret, I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to next years attempt.
Thanks alot for the challenge Bret, had a great time doing it. Next time I will pay closer attention to the guidelines, I thought they were Ok but next time Ill make sure they are bang on! Keep up the great work, love reading your stuff
Dale, I’ve had tons of training partners over the years just like you. You’re explosive and freaky strong. It’s hard for guys like you to take advice from someone like me who is much weaker than you, but I always win my training partners over because my knowledge of biomechanics and strength training always helps them achieve quicker results. Anyway I suspect that your form is very good on 1RM’s, etc. but when you go high reps you tend to get a bit sloppy. Chins must go from dead hang to a position equal to the bar touching the chest. Hip thrusts must reach full hip extension. Had you been very strict I imagine it would have shaved around 20 points from your total. Next year I will be better at explaining things, but I urge you in your own training to address this when you rep out as I believe it makes for a better lifter. For example, many individuals don’t want to rise up the last few inches on hip thrusts as they have better “flexed-range” hip extension strength (which relies more on adductor magnus and hamstring than glute) whereas “extended-range” hip extension strength relies more on gluteus maximus. So rise up that last few inches on hip thrusts in order to take advantage of this zone which really hones in on the glute max. Different muscles are responsible for different portions of an exercise’s range of motion so make sure you control the load all the way through and always use a full ROM. Over time you’ll develop a keen eye for this sort of thing. Anyway I don’t mean to take anything away from you – you’re an animal. Just throwing out my 2 cents (as usual haha). Take care.
no no, thats good unfortunately I spend so much time coaching other people that I rarely get coached myself. Thanks for the advice it is always welcome, I never have any trouble taking advice regardless of their strength
I wish you had age-graded results (like they do in Masters track). While I put in a decent showing (the 32 RDL helped my score), I didn’t submit it since I was so far out of the running.
If, however, there were age-grading (I’m 50), I would have been way up in the ranking.
Steven, I thought about this (having an age bracket) but I came up with the challenge on a whim one night and didn’t really plan it out too much. Maybe next year I’ll do this. That said, you should have posted your results as it’s all about challenging yourself. I’ll never win this comp but I can still improve over time, and so can you.
Thanks Bret! It was lots of fun! I was a late competitor (didn’t decide to do it until Friday night) but even if I had been an early competitor like Jen, I don’t think I would be crazy, er, *bad-ass* enough to do it again in the same week! She and Dave definitely earned their spots at King and Queen… and I will be honored to be 2nd place behind Miss Sinkler any day of the week. She is a MONSTER (in the best possible way!) Love ya Fink!
Dear heart! Trust me, during the front squats I had some severe second thoughts to second-timing it, and some how-the-HELL awe about how you did 26…so impressive, Quadzilla. Here’s to hoping we get to monster it up together again SOON (but not for max reps, pleeeaase!).:)
Big thanks to Bret again for the challenge!
You’re very welcome Jen; as mentioned previously I got the idea from you so thanks for inspiring the idea. And congrats for being the champ.
I actually performed the challenge again last night and scored 2 points lower than I did the previous week (72 reps) so I’m even more amazed at the folks who rose up and performed the challenge twice (and beat their scores). Anyway Molly, as you and I both know, this challenge is much more difficult for heavier competitors and if we decided to cut weight then it would help level the playing field. So I’m extremely impressed by your score and good thing you didn’t have time/energy to perform again or you and Jen would have killed each other going back and forth haha.
LOL — I fear the battle would have raged on, too! I honestly had nooooo intention of doing it again so soon — in fact, it wasn’t until I was driving to Dave’s Saturday evening that I was suddenly struck with, “Oh no…I’m going to do this again tomorrow.”:(
Too many years of sports, it’s almost impossible to shed the urge to compete now.:)
I don’t doubt that the challenge gets more difficult as body weight increases. I’m impressed you did it again already, too! It felt worse the second time around, for sure.
1. Body weight absolutely matters.
2. RE: frequency of attempts:
I never fully recovered from trial #1, and #2, I melted down into a puddle of goo. Before #3, every fiber in my being was like, “For the love of all that is holy, NO!!” My warm up sets, even just some opening push ups, were burning, and awkward, as I still had lactic acid buildup.
But this taps into BC’s John Broz article, (HOW YOU FEEL IS A LIE.)
Once I got going, my body performed far better than it “felt”.
2a) Multiple attempts did improve our scores by 15-20 reps. I hypothesize that had Jaime rocked it again, he would have gone over 160.
3.) If BC wanted, he could package this challenge into an infomercial or DVD, P-90X style. The genius of P-90X (which I’ve never done btw), is that it takes decent exercises, and makes them accessible. It makes hard work look fun, which it is, but there is a pain learning curve as well as an exercise learning curve.
3a) The idea of a “challenge” provokes harder work than the idea of a “workout”.
3b) I believe that this challenge could be used as a component in a full body protocol to actually gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously. You probably wouldn’t gain much limit strength, but the volume is high enough for hypertrophy (esp. if you incl. some warmup sets), and there is a bit of a gasping HIIT component. It certainly highlighted my lack of conditioning.
4.) I admit that I am a form Nazi. (see assorted 250-plus posts above for reference, ha ha..) That said, sloppy form or no, Dale Lablans is freaking beast, and scares me. Seriously, dude is heading for the NFL, or UFC or something.
5.) I predict next year that the BC Challenge goes down to a duel between Dale Lablans, the mysterious Strini, and a freshly rehabbed Ben Bruno. All three will have over 200-reps going into their final event.
P.S.: Humor..
Haha! I wonder if the 200 rep barrier could be broken with strict form. Strini could possibly do it. If JRod lost some weight he probably could. Ben Bruno might be able to if healthy. Martin Rooney possibly could if he trained for it. Several of the other competitors could too (David, Dale, Mike, and even Jen) if they spent 2 months preparing for it. I just wouldn’t want the form to erode over time in efforts to build higher numbers.
Thanks for having the competition! I will join next time you have a competition, for sure.
Man, I’m so bummed that I couldn’t participate in this challenge…well, let me rephrase that…yes, I could have participated but my numbers would have been WAY off due to necessary modifications to accomodate a 31 week pregnant body
I’m keeping this challenge in mind for post baby and look forward to next years challenge!
I finally got a round to trying this. I wasn’t trying to compete or anything,but I will definitely be using this as a metric later on! I found weaknesses I didn’t know I had, and being that i never video my workouts, I found out my form isn’t as good as I thought.
Thanks for coming up with this!
youtube
Front Squat 15
RDL 25
Hip Thrust 13
incline press 4
chins 18
BC,
I must say that although I didn’t participate this woke me up a bit. I am going to be upping these exercises this year and will compete in the next challenge.
Great Idea.
Good idea Bret, I’ll have to give it a try sometime. Oddball question – what’s the song that’s playing in your video of the challenge during your RDL’s?
It’s just an instrumental version of this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utc2VLrGFEU
Loved the whole thing, thanks Bret! I plan to take it again soon with some friends at the gym for extra motivation. And next year – how about getting Jamie Eason’s score/vid.. Just sayin!
Wow thanks for all this and the videos. I was tempted to submit but I’m glad I didn’t as I’m a solid year away from even being in the running for last!
Hi Bret. I just came across this contest today. What a great idea. This also seems like a great self-challenge to gauge one’s ongoing fitness/strength balance. Do you think there is an ideal relative ratio for these exercises that one might aspire to maintain?
Also, I understand how you decided upon the three lower body exercises, but why just two for the upper body? Playing Devil’s advocate, because this was a ‘challenge’ and not a ‘workout plan’, could the hip thrust have been omitted? Alternatively, could the incline bench have been replaced with a flat-backed standard bench (or standard push-up) plus a handstand push-up? (Strict form would be defined by the contest rules, of course.)
Congratulations on a great challenge and to all the participants. It was fun watching all the videos!