Estonian bodybuilding and fitness championships 2012

Comments on the 2012 Estonian championships: Estonian championships

In some earlier years, too, I have shared my impressions split into positives and negatives. This time, unfortunately, very little ends up on the plus side… The Estonian championships showed particularly clearly how much depends on the depth of a sport’s talent pool.

Bikini fitness aside, the number of participants had shrunk critically! Almost every division suffered from a lack of competition. It reflects the “breadth” of our talent pool: it takes only three or four of the best athletes staying away for the whole thing to turn dull. At the same time, a disturbing number of competitors took the stage poorly prepared. In this case we probably have to be grateful that they showed up at all…

Athletic fitness

The two women give no cause for criticism. Eli showed a very solid level for a junior in the strength round (17 + 19) and in rowing (3:50), and Esta’s physique is, as is well known, one of the best in the world. Her strength round of 20 + 23 also marks slight progress. I see room for improvement in rowing (3:54), and it makes sense to get help from a specialist in that discipline to close the gap.

Among the five men, the only junior, Marius, could have offered competition only in pull-ups (26x, the third-best result), but there is time. Kristjan, fourth in the world, won every round, as befits that status. The physique needs a lot of hard work if there is to be any hope of a higher placing at international competitions. It was precisely with their physiques that Allar and Ants, who finished second and third overall, surprised; the physique and proportions of the former would even make you think of classic bodybuilding.

Athletic fitness is a serious sport, and in the years we have had it here I expected the number of competitors to grow faster. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. When the question “so now I have to start practicing rowing as well…” reaches my ears, something is rotten in the understanding of the sport. In multi-event disciplines it is self-evident (and unavoidable) to train 2x a day. Of course rowing, too, has to be trained more or less every day!

Body fitness

The number of competitors has fallen, and there is a logical explanation: the “emergence” of bikini fitness. All five athletes who took the stage were in good shape (for themselves), and nobody had come to joke around. Praise for such an attitude! In the duel between Esta and Merike, Esta came out on top. At the Estonian level both could be “accused of bodybuilding”, but given what is happening around the world, the result is logical.

Bikini fitness

has become a lifeline for those whose vanity is greater than their desire to work hard in the gym. In the two categories combined, 15 young women came to show themselves off. All very lovely women, without exception! But what does that have to do with sport…
Of course, two physiques were trained and in a class of their own: Egle and Reet. The overall win, as expected, went to Egle, fourth at the World Championships. At world level, bikini fitness can be taken seriously as a sport too, more so with every year. Still, I am left tormented by the question: why was this discipline needed at all?! Body fitness already existed. With judge training, adherence to the judging criteria and consistent application, the IFBB should have kept body fitness clear of so-called bodybuilders. Now it seems that body fitness is starting to replace bodybuilding in the world…

Bodybuilding

featured 4 youth competitors, 2 juniors and 10 men. Among the men were 4 classic and 6 “real” bodybuilders. The youth winner, Marko, showed that getting on stage takes actual training, which cannot be said of all the competitors in that class. The junior win went to Siim, and decisively, but to my eye Sten Richard also showed quite solid preparation.
I see good prospects for both men in the men’s class of classic bodybuilding.

In the open men’s competition (for the overall title), the top three were each at their own level. Janar, the classic winner, surprised with the sharpest condition of the competition and gave Oti serious competition. Oti’s relative muscle mass and compactness nevertheless settled things. The previous Nordic competition was presumably still in the muscles, and the price was paid in sharpness. Rain’s homework was also done properly, earning second place in bodybuilding and third overall. On the positive side I would also put Sten Erik’s performance in classic bodybuilding, which was solid for a debut competition.

Author: Indrek Otsus

Source:Turg.Fitness.ee

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