Praetorian - this is something I've already observed at the local level. I was even told by a figure head in my organization that I would be great for the National level, but might be "too buff in the shoulders and arms for men's physique around here". Very frustrating - how does one get to the National level (where they supposedly would do well) if they can't get through the Provincial level? We'll see!

steve_d - Thank bud! I was very much over depleted for Nationals. Long hard diet really flattened me out. After Nationals this year I was very meticulous with my "reverse diet". I added calories slowly to increase my potential for intake without adding fat mass. So I got up to 3000+ calories/day, allocating as much to carbs as I could ~500g the last couple weeks. So now I'm "dieting" on 2900-3000 cals/day, and 450-500g carbs/day, which has allowed me to stay very full.

I think the Men's Physique category is largely based on stage presence. If you aren't pretty and can't smile, you're chances of winning are much less. My goal for Provincials is to not come in tooo lean, minimal vascularity, lean enough that the abs pop but chest can stay full - I really flatten out, especially in the chest, when I've dieted in the past.

I feel like my physique is comparable to the guy (Chris G) who just won his pro-card. He's a buff little dude with a short midsection. Unreal arms on him tho!