Mr. Tagum 2012 Bodybuilding Championships

Earlier last month, in the province of Davao del Norte, in the peaceful city of Tagum, there was war...

The 2012 2nd Mr. Tagum Bodybuilding Championship!!!

This is the back (right) that won the Best back in the competition.

Congratulations to Jawn Fajardo for also winning the Best Abs of the night!

And if you think that wasn't enough, Jawn Fajardo was the Category winner of the Medium-Tall Class.

And he also took the OVERALL title of MR. TAGUM 2012!!!

Congratulations Jawn, and may your success continue in the next year*







* That is assuming today is not be the end of the world. :)

Athelete in Focus: Jawn Fajardo

There are different ways that can get you noticed in Bodybuilding, a freaking huge body,  superb conditioning, an awesome posing routine or a pretty face. The first time I noticed him was in the Mr Asia Pacific competition in Boracay with his unusual gyrating hips routine.


















He started bodybuilding in 2007, he weighed a measly 41kg then. I can only imagine a twiggy boy, as he stands at 5'7". He was a band vocalist then, and some of the buffed rap artists like 50 cents were his inspiration to go into the sport so that he would have the complete package while he does his performance on stage. Today, he competes at 75 to 80 kg.


He trains 4 to 6 times a week in his gym, PowerShape Fitness Gym and Spa in Valencia City,  in Bukidnon and sometimes in its branch at Malaybalay City. He has high praises for the gym's instructors and the extra facilities it offers like ample carpark, steam bath, hot shower, clean lockers. They even have a wifi zone.

His ambition is to compete in Mr Olympia someday, but for now he is preparing to compete in the Mr. Universe in Germany next week.


I've seen him compete successfully in the athletic category in both Cebu and Boracay. This category constrains the athlete's weight based on his height. This is also the category which is often labelled as the model physique category. His unusual posing routine is usually the crowd favorite. 

His proudest moment in this sport was when he got the  Mr. Bukidnon title. And this year, he is one of the member of the Philippine team to compete Mr. Universe in Germany. Not to mention he is one of the top models of MuscleGallery

Aside from bodybuilding, Jawn also does motocross,  off road and big bike racing. He is also performing in a band, and a tattoo artist.























So as the performing arts people say... Break a leg in Germany Jawn!!!

Searching for the best protein supplements

In the past few weeks, I've been trying to find the good meal replacement shake to control my diet. I've gotten a few helpful ideas from friends. Along the way of searching for that perfect product, a few protein supplements seems to always come up in the search results. I am sharing the info below as it seems to provide a good overview of the different protein products in the market today. 

Disclaimer: I am not endorsing this brand, this is provided  for informational purpose only. I do not own the copyright of these images.

Athlete in Focus: Joseph "The Blessed" Ferandez

First off, I would just to highlight his last name as it is commonly mistaken as Fernandez, it is in fact Ferandez. His nickname "The Blessed" was given to him by his trainer Mike Baello and Jacques to note his good genetics.  And of course his good fortune to have a manager to support him to pursue the sport.

He started joining bodybuilding competitions in 2005. Back then, he contested the 55kg  division. He started serious  training last year, when he competed in the inaugural Mr. Phil-Asia.
Now, in just a short span of a year, he will be representing the Philippines in the 70kg category of the  World's Bodybuilding Championship in Bangkok this December.

Joseph's 5'6" symmetrical physique is highlighted by his razor sharp back. When I last saw him personally in competition condition in Hong Kong, he had the christmas tree effect on his lower back. 

But of course he is not just all back. The legs are also pretty impressive and the glutes are pretty striated during competition season. Though he mentioned that he needs to improves his arms, which for me seems to be pretty good as is. In fact, his forearms seems to balance out his biceps just fine.

He works out quite regularly in the different Gold's gym branches in the Metro as well as visit his friends' gym like Ironville (Jeddy Cris Giner)  and Enerflex Powerzone (Mike Baello). He works out five days a week, with a day reserved for yoga and another for rest. You can actually find more of his training video here in Youtube

He dreams of beco-ming Mr. Olympia some day. A pretty lofty goal, but with determi-nation, hard work, and the support of his manager we know this will come true.

He counts Jay Catli along with Phil "The Gift" Heath as his idols in the sport. One of his proudest moment in his pretty young career in bodybuilding was when he got the Overall Mr. Philippines title last May 5 in Greenhills. It was here that Rocky Dauden christened him the "Crying Champion" as it was an emotional and sweet moment after all the hard work and sacrifice.

He loves his chest workout routines but abhors his forearm workouts. He is one of the few I know that does not hate leg days. 

He mainly uses Muscletech products, giving special praise to NeuroCore, a pre-workout stimulant to help boost the energy during workout.

Aside from bodybuilding, he has done a few Indie movies. One of the more mainstream was Zombadings, where he plays a muscled phantasm. He plans to pursue the acting field aside from his bodybuilding career.

He's hoping to land a movie role next year. Could this be his next big movie role? Attack of the giant ants!!!

We wish you all the best in representing the country in the World's Bodybuilding Competition next month.

Here are some of his achievements for the year so far...

Cabanatuan: Mr New Ecija: first runner up in Lightweight category (70 kg) 
Baguio: Mr Philippines UBFFP: second runner up in Lightweight category (70 kg)
Santa Cruz, Laguna: Champion in Lightweight category (70 kg) 
Greenhills, Manila: Mr Philippines PFBB: Overall Champion
Greenhills, Manila: Mr Philippines PFBB: Champion in Lightweight category (70 kg)
Tacloban: Mr Sangyaw: Overall Champion
Tacloban: Mr Sangyaw: Champion in Lightweight category (70 kg)
Pasig: Ginoong Pasig: second runner up in Lightweight category (70 kg)
Hong Kong: HKFBF: Champion in Novice Lightweight category (70 kg))

Sambuokan Festival 2012 Bodybuilding Competition

It's fiesta time once again in Mati City, Davao Oriental. On their annual Sambuokan Festival, we see another perennial 

favorite in Mindanao's Bodybuilding scene - Jawn Fajardo. 

Congratulations are in order as he clinched 3 awards. First, he was champion in the max rep benchpress compeition. Second, he was champion in the Mr. Sambuokan heavyweight category. Third, he got the title of Mr. Sambuokan 2012!!!

From my limited knowledge of the visayan dialect, I believe the term Sambuokan, came from buok - e.g. "usa ka buok" (one whole). So my guess is this festival is for the celebration of the community's unity. But don't hold me on that, I am NOT a native visayan speaker.

There were 3 categories in the bodybuilding event. They were the Bantamweight, Lightweight and Heavyweight. 

Jawn is also planning to compete in the NAC 
Mr. Universe in Hamburg, Germany next month. So good luck to you and may you bring home the bacon.

Ok, so enough talk from me. Here are the pictures of the competition...

#8 is Eliaquim Balbero, Mr. Kayadaywan 2012 Chamipion

 #4 is Jawn Fajardo, Mr. Sambuokan  2012 Overall Champion

Photos courtesy of Jawn Fajardo.