Mr. SMU Bodybuilding Competition
April 14th, 2011
Southern Methodist University Hughes Trigg Auditorium, Dallas Texas, USA
By Stuart Palley
© 2011 Stuart Palley for The Daily Mustang
Overview:
Mr. SMU is an annual student bodybuilding competition held at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX for the last dozen years. Competitors spend months building and sculpting their muscle groups to attain balance, symmetry, and definition. The last eight weeks of preparation for Mr. SMU are difficult and filled with restricted calorie and carbohydrate diets. This tests the endurance, discipline, and physical limits of competitors as they seek to cut down and muscularize for the judges. The bodybuilding tradition here is strong with eight time Mr. Olympia winner Lee Haney an SMU alumnus. On April 16th the discipline and dedication pay off as the student-bodybuilders take the stage to pose individually and in groups to a lively crowd of hundreds of students and friends.
The nervousness in the back stage room is palatable as months of preparation in the Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports come down to a few well placed poses. Spray cans of Pam cooking oil and light dumbbells help the competitors pump up and shine for the stage. Conversations in the green room are hushed as echoes from the announcer boom from the stage. Individual poses focus the eyes of hundreds in a judgmental gaze on the competitor. a panel of judges analyze every nook and cranny of their form. Barrett O’Neill, a Sophomore from Kansas City won 1st place and the Mr. SMU title.
It all comes down to one moment.
1. Pump Up - David Freitag poses in the mirror back stage. A competitor flexes his chest and bicep back stage while preparing for individual posing. On the left are the trophies for Mr. and Mrs. SMU, as well as medals for the best poser.
2. Tools of the Trade – Spray cans of Pam cooking oil and light dumbbells help competitors pump up and shine for the stage. Dark tanning oil is liberally applied. Conversations in the green room are hushed as echoes from the announcer boom from the stage. The apprehension is palatable.
3. Solo Pose - A Mr. SMU competitor flexes his Serratus, Deltoid, and Trapezius muscles before individually posing on stage. On his left is Lamont Stano, a fitness trainer at Southern Methodist University who helped organize the competition.
4. Yeah Buddy - Mr. SMU contestants watch their competition pose. Stephen Poulin cranes forward to see the stage while a colleague yells out in support.
5. Most Muscular – Barrett O’Neill hits a Most Muscular pose for the judges and spectators at Mr. SMU during individual posing. The Most Muscular is the last pose of O’Neill’s routine and it one of the toughest to get right, especially after weeks of lean nutrition. “I haven’t been drinking liquids for two days and I haven’t touched carbohydrates in a week so I’m pretty beat,” said O’Neill. The Most Muscular showcases the shoulder, chest, arm, abdominal, and leg muscle groups.
6. Tough Crowd - Spectators whoop in excitement at the final posing lineup of all the Mr. SMU contestants. Competitors are allowed to hit their favorite pose as the judges look on in stoic neutrality.
7. Accolade - Barrett is congratulated on his posing routine by fellow competitor NAME. They then wait back stage for the judges to tally their final scores and announce the winners. CUT PHOTO 7
8. Butterflies - Barrett, far right. nervously anticipates the name of 1st place for Mr. SMU after the second and third place winners were called. His name has not yet been called.
9. Victory - Seconds later Barrett receives first place and he breathes a sigh of relief and accomplishment on stage with his Mr. SMU trophy. To the right is runner-up Stephen Poulin. Barrett also won Best Poser.
*The Photocrati plugin is having problems (again, as usual), so the captions are not in the images and are below. I am probably going to dump the Photocrati theme and start using my own CSS.