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.

Athlete in Focus: Sandy Bontuyan

I've been trying to write this piece last week, in fact I have 
already
uploaded the pics. But the temptation of Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomrat-    chaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit  was just too much. Unfortunately when I opened the blog to continue writing yesterday, I found all the pics gone. So here's to fresh starts...

Sandy is originally from Talamban, Cebu City. He started bodybuilding in 2004, but only started competing in the last couple of years. I've haven't actually seen much photos of him on competitions. So he might not have been doing the bodybuilding competition circuits as most do.

The best part of his physique is his back. So he pretty much nails the back double biceps and the back lat spread. I only see one guy in the Cebu competition that comes close in terms of back development.











He said he needs to improve his abs and legs. At first I wouldn't have agreed with him, until I saw the Thai  champ whose quads have cuts so deep, it would have been a wooden sculpture ala Machete. But still, not bad...

Sandy works as a personal trainer in the then Elite Fitness Gym, which is now bought over by Gold's in Makati. He also trains in his home gym in Taguig as well as Dondon's Gym for serious hardcore training.


He is one of the few athletes that qualified for the NAC Mr. Universe 2012 in Germany. Unfortunately, he did not get the first place in the men's overall category. That's why he needs sponsors to help him with the preparation for the upcoming international competition. As you might expect for  bodybuilders, he would be on a 5-8 meals a day eating plan. So all those fish, eggs and chicken bills do add up. Plus the ever present whey protein that seems to be the staple of most bodybuilder's supplementation. If you want to help out, please spread the word or contact him through facebook.

He is actually pretty light in terms of supplemen-tation. As he uses only whey protein, and relies instead on strict diet. He consumes as much as 3 kilos of real food in 8 to 10 meals a day.  For whey protein he uses Syntha Six, Ultimate Nutrition and the new local brand, Aftershock.









It makes you wonder where all those food goes, as he maintains a competition weight of a little less than 70kg in his 5'3" frame.

He started competing upon the prodding of his friend Reysan Nonepara in the La Laguna in 2010. But that did not end well, so he doubled his efforts and won the succeeding competitions... 

2010:
Mr. Philippines Novice Champion
Mr. Philippines Small Category - 2nd Place
Mr. Masculino Small Category Champion
Mr. Asia Pacific Small Category - 2nd Place
HKFBF Bodybuilding Invitation 70kg Category - 2nd Place

2012:
Mr. Laguna Overall Champion
Mr. Laguna Lightweight Champion
Mr. Phil-Asia Small Category Champion
Mr. Phil-Asia Overall - 2nd Place

As I finish writing this, I read Rocky Dauden's post on the pic welcoming the Arnold's Amateur athletes, where Sandy played a cameo. I agree with him, someday he would be king. I guess this picture shows Sandy sitting in his new throne. All hail the king!!!

Mr Phil-Asia Short Category - No SMALL task

Last month's 2nd Phil-Asia competition in Cebu had quite a lot of great athletes competing. Athletes from Malaysia, Japan, New Zealand, Middle East and not to forget our boys from up North in Baguio and the Cordillera to down South in Zamboanga came down to Cebu for the competition.

There were 6 divisions for the men. Short, Medium, Tall, Masters, Novice and Athletic physique. While the women have 4 divisions: Figure, Fitness, Bikini and Physique. 

Of all the division, the toughest was the Men's Physique Short Class.  Short is a description on the athlete's height, I'am not sure what the maximum height for the competition is as different bodybuilding organization has different height for their "short" class. 

As most Filipinos are not known to be tall, this is our sweet spot in international competitions. And boy the Top 5 in this category are all of international calibre. 

You can find their one minute free posing here. 

Mr. Bacoor Muscle Man 2012

News just in: Yesterday, 7 October 2012, our Athlete in Focus Johnald Romero won the Mr. Bacoor Muscle Man Overall title. Congratulations Johnald!

Congratulations also to Rodney Castillo, for bagging the Championship title in the small category and to John Rey Prado for winning the medium category title. 









Below are the pics of the competition for the overall title.

Johnald Romero on the left, the tall division champion. John Rey Prado on the right, the medium division champion.

Photos courtesy of Johnald Romero

Athlete in Focus: Johnald Romero

It's been roughly a year since I've met Johnald Romero in Cebu for the 1st
Phil-Asia Bodybuilding Championship. My first impression of him was he was the silent type.  But at the back of my mind, I thought maybe it was the diet and water depletion that sucked all the strength out of him. Well true enough after the competition when he got his food and water that he became more amiable. Although still making me feel like a professor with all those "sir".

Johnald hails from Misamis Occidental and graduated from Alfonso D. Tan College with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Economics.  It was in his college days in 2004 when he was prodded by his track and field buddy, Jason Lalaan, to enter bodybuilding. This was a shift from his sports then which was the discus and hammer throw events.  That was the start of fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming Mr. Philippines.

It may be his background on sports that favors fast twitch muscles that helped him maintain an athletic physique in bodybuilding. He doesn't carry much mass, but his body symmetry and aesthetic is one of the best. He'll easily gets the best torso award if there is one, and he has no distended gut to speak of even when not posing. Johnald says his best body parts are his abs and shoulders. Well just look at the pictures and tell us what you think.

Of course, his body is not perfect. His body is still continually under construction. He says he needs to improve his back, which needs more definition and width. He trains five times a week, and being a personal trainer in Fitness First Greenhills helps him put in those hours in the gym.

Two of his Mr. Olympia idols are Frank Zane and Phil Heath. Actually, two very different bodybuilders. One has a classic lean ectomorph body, while the other has the bulkier mesomorph physique.  It seems Johnald needs to get more bulk to reach his dreams to be a world class bodybuilder like the two legends. 

He also wants to be known as a good fitness trainer.  He is  certified in Fitness First's Personal Training Foundation Program -  Silver and Gold level, TRX suspension, and most importantly, first aid and CPR.  So for those of you who want to train safely, you can head out to Fitness First Greenhills and ask for him.

He has won quite a few competitions since he started bodybuilding in 2004. His most important achievements to date are the Championship award he got from the 2010 Mr. Philippines Lightweight Division and the 1st Phil-Asia Athletic Class in 2011.

Johnald is currently preparing for next year's Mr. Asia Pacific in Boracay and the Hong Kong Bodybuilding Invitational.  He takes IS Gainer Whey and Creatine Monohydrate during his off season. He switches to Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey, Creatine, and USPlabs' Anabolic Pump, Prime, and PowerFULL when preparing for a competition. 

Johnald stands 5'6" with a competition weight of 170lbs. This puts him in the short category (NAC Class 1, NABBA, WFF Class 3) and the very competitive below 80kg category (IFBB, WBPSF).  Lastly, what's an athlete profile without the achievements, so here it is. We wish Johnald continued success in the future.

2004:

Mr. Doc Fitness center Novice Champion

Mr. Hardcore Paperweight Champion

Mr. Iron Man Novice Champion - Feb 28, 2004

Mr. Jemenez Small Division Champion

2006:

Mr. Musculo Novice Division 2nd place - June 28, 2006

R.M Fitness Center Gym Novice 2nd place - May 18, 2006

Mr. & Ms. Universe Philippine Team Quilifier Novice 2nd place - July 15, 2006
2007:

Del Monte SK Gym Youth Bber Club "Bakal laban sa Droga" Lightweight Champion - Feb. 4, 2007

2008:

Mr. FIT and Hip Caloocan Medium Division Champion - Dec 24, 2008

Mr. Valentine Lightweight Champion - Feb. 14, 2008

2009:

Mr. Muscle Proud Bodybuuilding Contest Lightweight  Champion and Best Poser

1st Open Invitational Bodybuilding Competition Medium Divion 2nd place - Nov. 17, 2009

Mr. Iron Man Lightweight 3rd place - May 18, 2009

1st Invitational bodybuilding competition Lightweight 3rd place - May 30, 2009

2010:

Mr. Valentine Amateur Division 2nd place

Asenso ng Bayan sigurado Program Bodybuilding Comp. Lightweight 2nd place

BJ Gym 6th Invitation Bodyshaping Competition Openweight Champion

Mr. Anatomies Lightweht Champion

Philippine Federation of Bodybuilders, Inc. (PFBB) Lightweight Champion - Feb. 28, 2010

FAME Fitness and Modeling expo Philippine Open Category 4th place - April 24, 2010

2011:

Muscle Mania Riders Club Lightweight 3rd Place - Feb. 12, 2011

The Philippine Federation of Bodybuilding Inc., (PFBB) Lightweight 3rd place - April 9, 2011

Mr. Power Gym  Medium Division 2nd place - March 26, 2011

Phil-Asia Int'l. Bodybuilding Championship Atheletic Champion - Oct. 21, 2011

Phil-Asia Int'l. Bodybuilding Championship Medium Division 4th place - Oct. 21, 2011

2012:

Mr. BiÑan Laguna Welterweight 2nd place - Sept. 19, 2012

Introduction to Muscle Pinoy

Greetings! I decided to create a blog to balance out the massive photo gallery of Filipino and Asian Bodybuilders I've created in facebook.  The page has reached more than a thousand likes, which is quite a feat considering that most of the bodybuilders I cover don't even have a facebook account. Most of them I do not know personally, so I have no way of tagging the pics. For people who wants to see the page just point your browser to  http://www.facebook.com/musclepinoy or for the twitter fanatics, it is on  http://on.fb.me/musselph. For the video fans out there, I also have a youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/musclepinoy, where you can find raw and unedited videos of Bodybuilding competitions in the Philippines and the region.

I'll try to limit the number of pictures on this blog and make more articles about the personalities we have in the Philippine bodybuilding scene.