Lifting Nerds
Adrian Ma and Brandon Emslie share discussions and interviews with the fitness community's best science-based researchers and coaches.
Lifting Nerds
S3E2: Leo King conquering the Stage in Natural Bodybuilding and the Rise of the Classic Physique Division
Natural bodybuilding is on the rise, and Leo King, a key figure in the community, shares his insights from a stunning 2024 season. From detailed preparation techniques to the mental challenges faced by athletes, Leo emphasizes the importance of balance, nutrition, and adaptability in competition.
• Overview of Leo King's competitive history and recent performances
• Discussion of training approaches and nutritional strategies
• Insights into stress management during intense competition
• Exploration of new classes being introduced in the WNBF
• Vision for the future of natural bodybuilding in Canada and beyond
Instagram: @leo.kingfitness
Kings Fitness: @kings.fitness
WNBF Canada: @wnbfcanada
IG: @liftingnerds
Youtube: liftingnerds
Host
@_adrianma
@brandonemslie
Welcome back everybody to our second episode for our this year's seasons lifting nerds podcast. Today we have a very important person, also a very big part of the, you know, evidence based lifting community, which had a fantastic season last year in his natural bodybuilding road. We have the amazing, amazing Leo King with us. So welcome to the show man. It's an honor for you to actually be part of the show and having you coming on and talk about a lot of very interesting topics, and it seems to be a very, very, very big year this year for everybody in the natural bodybuilding community as well. So we're very excited to uh, you know, have you uh, spill your two cents on a lot of our questions today, welcome, awesome.
Speaker 2:Well, the honor is all mine. I appreciate you guys inviting me on your podcast. I'm looking forward to speaking to you guys today about all the topics I think.
Speaker 1:All right, so let's let's start off with a. You know the very, very easy questions first. You know, as, as all the fans out there has followed you, you have been competing last year for your last season.
Speaker 2:You know how did? How did that go? I think it went really well. Honestly, I uh, so this was my, I think, shows 12 to 14, so I started competing back in 2011. Um, so I've been doing this over a decade now and this was my. It's probably my sixth or seventh season in reality, but I was, you know. All in all, I think it went really well. I ended up competing in three shows One in the Washington State Naturals, just outside of Portland, oregon, and then I had the honor of going over to Switzerland to compete in the Swiss Pro Championships and then finishing off with the World Championships in Boston, which you know for the listeners out there. It was just an incredible year for natural bodybuilding. Uh, it seemed to be the year where everyone came out to play and, honestly, it was just an amazing experience, just the greatest space, the stage with so many amazing athletes yeah, 100 like it's, because I think, from all the worlds that I've seen, that's probably one of the most competitive worlds, probably that there has ever been.
Speaker 3:Would you agree with that?
Speaker 2:For sure. So I'd say you know most seasons, you know certain classes are stacked, but this, like 2024 season, it was like all classes, all divisions amateurs and pros. It was like it was insanely competitive, right. So I think there was almost 60 pro bodybuilders, which is probably the biggest of the classes, so they had four divisions, uh, effectively four classes of 15, um, and and for there to be that amount of, yeah, just incredible athletes on stage, you just know how high the competition, the standard was, but not just the bodybuilding classes, whether you know the physique and the fit body, the bikini, the figure, like everyone was, it was stacked from top to bottom. So, yeah, just really awesome experience. The energy, uh, the audience, the uh, I mean the judges, had the work cut out for them. So kudos, kudos to them and uh, yeah, and honestly, it's just yeah, an incredible, uh, you know, week experience that show is yeah really.
Speaker 1:It's really. We had like, um, I mean, we had barbica come back, uh, to compete, and that was insane. There was yeah, you're absolutely right about that. You know there was a really really stacked um class for every single division yeah, and I was lucky, he was.
Speaker 2:Uh, I got to compete against him on the same stage in switzerland as well, which took everyone by surprise. No, was lucky, he was. Uh, I got to compete against him on the same stage in Switzerland as well, which took everyone by surprise. No one knew he was showing up to that event and you know, you just walk in backstage and you're like this is this is awesome, but uh, it's scary at the same time, right, so like damn you, why are you here?
Speaker 3:how? How much does he weigh on stage like? He just looks so dense, like that guy is, he's a middleweight.
Speaker 2:So I think you know, realistically he's probably only 175 pounds, but he's probably about 5'4" and yeah, so I mean his mass on that frame is just, yeah, just stacked.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Sweet.
Speaker 3:In terms of this last prep for you. What was there anything specifically that you changed from your prep? I believe it was back in 2021. Compared to last year's prep, Was there any specific different approach that you took, or was it relatively similar?
Speaker 2:I'd say it was similar for the most part. Um, we take the long approach. So my prep started probably almost a year in advance. Um, you know, we've heard it coined before a bit of the pre-prep, um, so I did a bit of a pre-prep sort of, you know, months 14 to 12 out from the show and then, um, kind of just to tighten up and, uh, see how everything was looking. And then I took the next sort of four to six months where I just slowly building up food again. So that took us around to about April and I started prep quite early. Realistically I only had about 15 pounds to lose, maybe 17.
Speaker 2:But yeah, so we started in, let's say, may and just again, nice gradual approach, you know, started moving steps up, started bringing food down a little bit. You know, just a very easy, calculated approach. But one thing that we I was actually around July time I got really lean really fast, just almost out of nowhere. So we actually then took almost two months of building food up. You know we were eating at that time like uh to 3500 calories a day for, um, you know, seven days of the week, right, and um, you know, cardio was was zero. I didn't do anything other than steps and um, so that kind of put us in a really good, healthy spot and then, literally like two weeks before the first show that's actually when we actually started dropping calories again, so it was.
Speaker 2:So it was almost like unnecessarily long, I, I would say at this point, maybe potentially, but, um, you know, it all worked out right.
Speaker 2:I felt, I felt great, I think I looked okay and uh, um, uh, and then we just yeah, from the rest of the shows, we just kind of used the information given on the first show, but mostly with regards to the peaking process, um, I knew that there was a potential for there to be a bantamweight class, which would be 150 pounds or less, um, so I did dig a little bit harder for worlds, um, because I had five weeks between shows two and three, um, so I did dig a little bit more just to get down to that sort of 147 148 mark.
Speaker 2:Um, I weighed in at 148 on the day and uh, um, yeah, so I did, did sneak into the, the bantamweight class, which was kind of my goal because, as with any athlete, I think you prefer to be in the top end of a weight class as opposed to the bottom end of an even more stacked weight class. But yeah, just taking information from the previous shows with regards to food intake on a peak week, making sure we're hydrated, sodium and all those things, and then just adjusting on a per show basis, okay nice.
Speaker 1:Would you say that um would your preps get easier every single time that you compete?
Speaker 2:I would say yes, in a way, anything that comes from experience as well, um for sure, um, you know knowing when to push and why to push and and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:And uh, as you said kind of earlier, they have many hats right, like lots of positions in this industry, and so you are also trying to balance out those things as well. So I think it's not letting the less stressful things stress you out in a way. Right, try and take a big sort of holistic view of the whole thing, and I always just remind myself that, heck, we all do this for fun, right. Try and take a big, big sort of holistic view of the whole thing, and I always just remind myself that, heck, we all do this for fun, right. Yeah, so I want it to be a good experience, not just for me, but obviously the people around me as well. So I always kind of come back to that sort of philosophy of just hey, we're having fun with this, we're trying to challenge ourselves, obviously but I don't want it to affect anything else that we have going on.
Speaker 1:I think that's also a very good point that you make. Uh, you make that, you make that statement, um, because we, we, if you talked about this on the first episode, where we're talking about, um, you know, brandon's, your prep, and then having that mindset, uh, in behind competing, um, you know, a lot of people go, you know, head into competition for the wrong reasons. For the wrong reasons, where winning is your first priority, versus, you know, having to enjoy the actual process of it. I think we talked about a little bit this last time, so you guys haven't heard. Just refer back to our first episode. We're we're not going to dig too deep on that. However, you know, I think you also make a really good point is, uh, having different positions, and the good segue into into a new, into this next topic, is, uh, you having many hats. You're a father, you are an athlete, um, you're a president of the wm canada. Uh, what other hats are? Do you have a husband?
Speaker 2:of course, yeah, so I, so I run a coaching company as well. Kings Fitness is also a gym owner.
Speaker 1:Yeah, coaching company, you have many, many hats on and you have the stress management. I would say it's unbelievable. So I'm glad you actually talk about how you actually manage stress and make it fun for the people around you. It's easier said than done, but what is some of the things or some of the tactics that you might use if you feel like you're kind of like trailing off?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I think, in general, it's just how you're setting things up Right, so you're always going to make things a priority.
Speaker 2:So, again, if the competition season, that's going to be the priority, right, but ideally you've, you know, maybe you've um, um, you've planned out all your meetings with regards to business or you've, uh, front loaded a bunch of your client programs and things like that, so you're kind of getting ahead of the game on those other things, um, and then then when the time matters and you know you need to travel, to compete, or you know it is peak week and you just need to just focus on yourself for that that week more, so, you you're at least taking care of of that everything's kind of this dial approach, right, so you can kind of dial some things back and you know other things, other things forward, right.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, and it's you know, making sure all those things are taken care of, right, whether it's you know family as a, you know a dad or a husband, um, like you said there, um, and they're not, yeah, on the business side of things as well. So I think it's yeah, just making, yeah, making sure you know you are prioritizing some things, but it's not like you're cutting everything out of the whole picture, right. And then when in like, on the other side of things, you're trying to then dial those other things back up to bring them back up to speed, et cetera, right, so with with your schedule, like do you find you schedule everything out to like the hour of the day, or like what?
Speaker 3:what does that look like from like a scheduling? Or like how do you go about organizing? Organizing your day, would you say, like I know you mentioned.
Speaker 2:Yeah go ahead. Yeah, I have a weekly, uh, weekly, planner and it is actually done by the hour. But I'm not that anal, so to speak, where it's like, yes, it's this and this and this, but you, you obviously are blocking time slots for certain things. That, um, in particular, you know, training becomes that priority where you just need to get it done right. So I do block those in in between some of my other things that I have going on, um, yeah, so, focusing on those, those big, big bricks first, uh, blocking them in and then understanding that other things have flexibility, right. So, heck, as long as I get my 10 000 steps in the day, or whatever that number is, it's like, okay, I could front load it in the morning, go for a morning walk, walk. You know the dog always needs walking, right. So it doesn't matter when it goes out, but as long as it gets taken out, who knows, maybe it's between a couple of clients in the afternoon or just in the evening when the kids go to bed, right?
Speaker 2:So I always also did find that, you know, to a point, the closer you do get to competition, the routine does become more and more similar and more and more predictable. So we all talk about. You know, we love flexible dieting, we love the whole flexibility about life and that's definitely got so many merits and so many values that people can learn from. But I do find that the more and more routine and predictable you can make things again, talk about stress management before it you just you just become less stressed, right, because you're not thinking about things as much really like.
Speaker 2:Your meal plan generally becomes a bit more like a meal plan for the most part, right, like you know, there's some nuances day to day and you're filling things in that here and there, but for the most part, my breakfast, my lunch, my dinners and my snacks are, you know, 90 the same, and then it's just adjusting as as sort of needed right. So, um, I think that's that's kind of key. Uh, a key approach is knowing when again, when to push things and when not to, and when to make things more routine and when, when not to right makes sense, yeah is there like?
Speaker 3:is there any times where you find, like during prep, like I know for me personally, sometimes in those digging phases, like everything can just be overwhelming and I find, for me personally, I I like to do a little bit of meditation or do like journaling or something to kind of just get away from that for a second? Do you personally have a approach like that that you utilize when you feel like you're starting to get overwhelmed, or do you find yourself even really getting to that point?
Speaker 2:uh, you do always get overwhelmed. I think, yeah, taking a break from whatever you're doing is going to be key, whether it's going and meditating, reading, going for a walk or just, you know, going into a quiet room and just breathing for a few minutes, right like I think it's. Yeah, you have to know what brings you back and what grounds you again. Um, I, I do like like we're talking about just the journaling and stuff like that and, again, as long as things are structured in a in a way, it generally does help to keep, um, things from being overwhelmed and stuff like that. But life happens, right, you know, shit always goes wrong and, uh, you know, things happen. You just need to deal with it, especially as, you know, a business owner in a gym, something breaks down. It's like, hey, that's going to take your, you know, immediate focus, depending on no matter what you have going on so makes sense makes sense.
Speaker 3:Yeah, um, well, in terms of, uh, I just want to circle back to your, your last prep as well. I know you mentioned that you think maybe the prep was just slightly too long, as you guys had to bring the calories up a bit more. Do you think your next prep you do like I'm assuming you'll probably be competing again in next, like five years or something, uh, but we can talk about that too do you think you'll shorten the prep just a little bit more so you don't run into that issue?
Speaker 2:again, I think. So, assuming I'm in that sort of same sort of position with regards to, like, a level of body fat position and stuff like that and being healthy, I think I would shorten it by a little bit. I do like the approach. Um, so I work with dr joe kamsuski, um, who I'm sure many of your audience will be at least familiar with the name. But, um, we, we generally like to build up food into shows, for sure, um, but I think it was like you know, we were so far out that we had, and we had to do it for so long that you, you know, you just start losing some of that crispness, right, that fullness becomes almost a little bit too big. So that's why we had to then drop calories back down and kind of peak again.
Speaker 2:Um, I think, 2021. We did it perfectly where, sort of the last six weeks, we were basically linear, loading every single week into the competition and it was like you perfectly timed that, that peaking process to the point where that final week you could have stepped on stage any moment of any second of the day, sort of thing. Right, you know, cars were nice and high, you know you're always hydrated and stuff like that Right. So I think next time probably would shorten it a little bit um for the, for the most part, um, I, yeah, I think it would just be a little bit more beneficial. Maybe, and again, maybe it's just a little less mentally draining, right, because, uh, a lot of preppers are, you're still going to be, you know, draining the uh the engine so to, so to speak there.
Speaker 2:So, um, yeah, and then we do. We always do a kind of a linear load. We'll probably talk about peak weeks, but we always do a linear load throughout the, the peak week itself as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, sure, yeah so you would start a little bit on the low end and just slowly ramp it up with carbs, I'm assuming, towards then.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, yeah, usually adding, you know, 25 to 50 grams a day for the most part of carbs mostly, and some fats as well. That's something we did. Probably a little bit different this time is we were fats were kept a lot higher this prep and I really noticed it made a difference with just um, digestion and just overall hunger signals were generally a lot, lot better. Uh, cravings were much down. So that was. That was actually a nice change that we kind of made and it was the difference of probably 10 to 15 grams of fats on the daily. But you know fats can get quite low. It makes a difference okay, makes sense.
Speaker 3:Did you notice that you you got a little bit more fullness too, with, like having a bit more fat because I know, like I think there's certain triglycerides that get stored in your muscle belly as well and like sometimes that can maybe influence. Do you notice when you had the fat a bit higher, that you generally had a bit more total fullness than just ramping up carbs?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think on both sides of it but one hunger, because this slows the digestion down but it also just slows the process of. You know, maybe it's just an insulin response as well, right, you're not generally getting as much of that, that sort of fast acting response when fats are lower. So I think in the forest of the muscle bellies as well can can help. I'm not sure the absolute physiological process behind that, but I'm sure there's many guys that can kind of talk about it, but generally that's why we use fats in peak week as well, and fats will be increasing along with the carbohydrates and it's, and it's for those kind of two reasons yeah, okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 3:Uh, with with water, I noticed you mentioned you kept water high, like do you typically drink a little bit more water during peak week than like other weeks, or what does that typically look like for you?
Speaker 2:probably a little bit more. Yeah, yeah, I think if you add, you add a liter or so to baseline is probably pretty good there. Um, yeah, so I think peak week we were probably around five to six liters a day and then normally I was probably around four liters or so. Um, and then I even went into the show morning as well, I think, on on worlds the morning, uh, we actually did a full full workout, full upper body workout.
Speaker 2:The morning of, um, uh, the world's, which was, which was fun, um, and you know, uh, down the two liters of water with some electrolytes and stuff, uh, on wake up before the workout and you know our goal was just to get really full, really early. So I have a very like fast metabolism, a little bit more on the ectomorphic side of things. So we were just trying to not get behind on that side of things and, um, yeah, I think that was that one we did. We were a little bit more aggressive for for worlds this year, bigger stage, bigger, bigger competition, so to speak, right, so yeah, makes sense.
Speaker 3:Makes sense, um with that, uh, because I think worlds it was a little bit behind this year too in terms of scheduling. Excuse me, um, did you find uh with that? Like you guys probably do. You find that adds stress to the peaking at all when you notice the show is behind, or I guess you've probably done it so many times that you guys probably just have a game.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you just have to manage your food. If it was only about an hour probably behind um when I got on stage, um, I think as the show went on because of the the competitiveness they, they probably were a little delayed, but you know, in reality, um, so my my eye opening experience with that was generally bodybuilders compete in the morning, okay, so that's, you know I was, we were on at 11 o'clock, I think. In washington I was on at nine or ten o'clock, um, and and that's fairly normal. So generally you can one, maybe two meals in advance. But you know, generally you're still quite tight from the morning and in general right as the body still warming up. But in Switzerland they make the bodybuilders go very last, and not only have I traveled across the world to compete with them and jet lag and all of this sort of stuff.
Speaker 2:You know it's we had to be very sort of calculated with eating our food throughout the day, but it was. It was interesting in the fact that you know, we didn't get on stage at nine o'clock at night or something like that, and I'd been up to 6am in the morning. It's just like every three hours we ate and we kept drinking our food and adding our sodium and all of that stuff and every sort of check in throughout the day. I just kept looking tighter and fuller and it was just like this incredible process to watch you throughout the day. So that was.
Speaker 2:I think that did definitely help with the stress for some things, right, cause normally you're like, oh, the more I eat, the more I bloated, I look off or like you know in your head you look and how you feel and such. But having a coach behind you, you can really assess what's truly going on. Um, but that was very helpful for me just again being able to be on stage so late, which was atypical for a bodybuilder, at least in in, uh, north american shows anyway, yeah, no, that makes sense I wonder, because that's pretty much.
Speaker 3:Yeah, all north american shows are always typically bodybuilding first.
Speaker 2:That, yeah, that makes sense, we like to prioritize the bodybuilders. I get why they did it. It was uh kind of an audience thing. It was uh, um, they really heavily, they heavily focus on the bodybuilders, so they like that to be their like main event, so to speak. Um, but, of course, uh, we've done that with our pros. Uh, at our calgary show in the past I think 2022 that happened, but the pros were on so late. And again, our goal is to always we want them you know they've earned their status to be at that level, so we want to prioritize them in an event, which is why we effectively and I changed the topics here, but we effectively moved created a whole second day event was for the pros, just to make sure that they are being taken care of and, uh, they're not stressed and all of that stuff yeah yeah, I think that's a really good strategy too, you know, having a, an amateur day, and you know I know it's kind of a segue going into like talking a little bit about the.
Speaker 1:Our wmbf canada shows um but 20, but I think 2022 was was. Was that the last show that it was um like a one day show, or was that a two day show? That was the one that. Was that the last show that it was um like a one-day show, or was that a two-day show?
Speaker 1:that was the one that was the one day show that was the one day, that was the last one day show for, for, for calgary, yeah, I remember I was an hour and that, yeah, I think it was a really good strategy in me moving into a two-day show where, um, you know, the pros are taken care of.
Speaker 1:they have, they had, uh, the saturday to, you know, get ready for their big day on sunday, um, and it's just the, it's just the you know amount of people that amateurs, uh, that showed up for for the calgary show, um, everybody's just trying to, um, you know, get their program on that, on that specific amateur day, and then move into sunday and into their first pro show.
Speaker 1:You know from us, and I think you know from us, and I think you know. Going back to scheduling, I think also everybody's trying to schedule it that way, trying to get their pro card on that day and then do their first pro show. I think that's a really, really a very smart way to to to schedule it and I think it worked out very well last year. Last year it worked really really well. You know, everybody had a really good time as well. So I think this is a really good segue. To talk a little bit on one of your hats on, you know, the future of WMEF Canada yes, yeah, totally, I think we, I think we covered my prep side of things, but I didn't.
Speaker 2:I didn't mention my placings, I guess, but I, I did play top five at all three shows. I played second in washington and then fifth in the next two shows, uh, but again, that caliber of that competition at worlds, uh was just like we said, it was just so incredible. I think the top 10 were from 10 different countries in the bantamweight class, um, which just goes to show how, uh, worldwide, thenbf is coming from all over and again, these are the best bantamweights in the world that all showed up in the same season. So again, I was very, very happy with with placings and again, like you said, you never know who's going to show up, and sometimes a fifth placing can be better than actually winning, depending on who you're actually up against, right?
Speaker 3:So yeah, yeah. So no, that's. That's awesome man. Congrats on the shows. Like you looked. Unreal man, absolutely unreal. Yeah, like.
Speaker 2:I would say that was from.
Speaker 3:Like even just looking at your photos, like you even look like you packed on some more size, have more fullness and everything. So like, yeah, it's crazy how competitive it is, but like even placing yeah, it's crazy how competitive it is, but like even placing yeah, top five at Worlds like that's just insane. With the group of guys that was there, I remember watching it live and I'm just like whoa, this is a whole other level. So yeah, that's crazy man.
Speaker 2:Super fun. Just exciting for the Federation and what's to come for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. So to bring it back to the WMBF, canada, um, what? Uh, like I think we were chatting a little bit before this about, uh, the new class. Uh, maybe this would be a great opportunity to chat a bit about the new classic physique class that's coming so this was, yeah, just released, so it is new.
Speaker 2:So, again, this is all the information that I have and reasonings and stuff like that. So, um, for the longest time, the WMBF have been kind of like classic, natural bodybuilding is classic physique or classic bodybuilding. Because there's only a limitation that you know, naturally we can do and again, this is why this, you know, from 50 years ago, this was again more of your normal natural sort of physiques. So how do you really differentiate sort of natural bodybuilding from classic? But at the same time, we understand that there is a huge piece of the market that are potentially being missed. Um, and if a lot of potential young athletes who are looking up to these, you know untested classic physique athletes and going through the same federations that they are, you know they're potentially making some early mistakes, you know by using drugs that they may not have known otherwise. So we want to again, it's again a girls is always athlete experience but we want to provide that platform for those to compete on naturally in a true and level playing playing you know, drug tested level playing field. So that's kind of the why a lot of affiliates.
Speaker 2:Again, wnbf is in over 65 countries, right, so every region is different and has different exposure with types of athletes. So certain regions classic physique it doesn't really matter to them. It doesn't really matter to them. But in a lot of regions as well, um, including north america, uh, classic physique is one of the fastest, if not fastest, growing uh physique class that there is. So we wanna um, we wanna uh, yeah, new obviously provide that platform for them. Uh, but we we need to do it in a way that separates, that really does distinguish the classes from bodybuilding to classic physique and then again to men's physique as well. So there are some things in the works and I know there's still a lot of discussions around it, but hopefully in the next couple of weeks there'll be more of a judge's criteria and an athlete criteria in general. But I know that we will be offering it in all our shows this year and the goal is to have a pro division in calgary as well.
Speaker 3:That's awesome, yeah do you know with, like the posing criteria, any of those kind of things yet, or is it still kind of on the fence there?
Speaker 2:yeah, they're still being finalized, but you know it's going to not be dissimilar to what's out there already. We're not going to reinvent the wheel. The wheel's been invented, so to speak. But but there probably will be.
Speaker 2:You know, you're going to have your, obviously your quarter turn poses, which won't be any different, but I believe there's going to be five mandatory classic physique poses, with two optional ones which will be of choice, and we're just kind of distinguishing which ones are going to be included, right, so yeah. And ones are going to be included, right, so yeah. And I'm going to say a lot of the earlier shows will be a lot of this sort of, you know, making sure that things are working out, making sure the judges are trained properly, lots of judging workshops and those sort of things so that everyone's on the same page before the show start happening. But yeah, I think it is ultimately a good decision. Um, as much as I, as much as I do agree that classic and uh battle bodybuilding is classic, I think it's if it, if it, we're going to do it right and well, it is going to be a a different Makes sense.
Speaker 1:That actually, you know, creates a question that I wanted to ask, for, you know, as you said, lightweight or bantamweight bodybuilding versus, you know, classic physique. Of course you know there's the difference between the trunks. And the second thing is, you know, how would we, you know, divide them, you know, by weight classes and height? You know, how would we, you know, divide them, you know, by weight?
Speaker 2:classes and height. You know how would we, you know, approach this? Yeah, I think, um, I me personally, and again, this is one of the things that still needs to be ironed out but I like this height to weight ratio because it really does then, um, like, uninclude some of those at least top level bodybuilders, right, um, because they will be too heavy for their height, right, especially, like, I mean, a babacar is always going to be a bodybuilder, he's not a classic physique, but but you know, in, in essence, you put him on, uh, you, you take his height and you take his weight and it's like, okay, you're out of the upper limits of this, this range, so you cannot compete. So, um, I think that's going to be the best way for us to do it. But we have had quite a few affiliates that have had their own versions of Classic Physique, but they weren't obviously included with a pro card and those sort of things. It was kind of like an optional. We even included one in our Ontario show. So we have data that we can sort of start to work off and sort of build these parameters for what the division actually entails.
Speaker 2:But I think having this height to weight ratio is probably going to be the best way to do it. Yeah, just to remove those, the absolute bodybuilding physiques who will typically be heavier on a shorter on a shortest height, gotcha. And then you said the. The trunks will be different, the poses will be different. They are going to make it more presentation based as well. So for those of you who don't know, bodybuilding is, for the most part, 100% physique based. You can break ties for the most part with regards to posing and some things like that, but, like, classic physique will be a little bit more on the presentation and posing side as well. So, still physique based, but having a little bit more of that influence where they can shuttle up and down quite a few places.
Speaker 3:That's great when it comes to conditioning with bodybuilding versus classic.
Speaker 2:Is it going to be slightly less conditioned too, or are you guys still trying to figure that one out as well? So you still want to see quad separation. You still want to see a light glute striation likely, which is why we're doing the trunks the way they are. They're not going to be kind of those you know speedos which come all the way down, sort of idea, right, but yeah, in essence it's the same with bikini and men's physique, right, like it's not like they're any less conditioned than the other classes, but it's just that the top athletes, their build and their musculature is is a way that doesn't make them look as striated, as hard or whatever as sort of those other classes. So I actually think it's more of a genetic thing than uh, than anything else. But again, it's still going to be heavily conditioned. Just maybe, like you said, it's just going to be not quite that extra one percent that bodybuilders are going that need to go for, should go for whatever yeah, makes sense.
Speaker 3:Makes sense, um with with wmbf, canada too. Is there anything else in the works that you guys are thinking of doing in the future or anything else that you're thinking of incorporating?
Speaker 2:I. I think that's a big one. We have some things that maybe in 2026 that we're looking at doing, but again we're just discussing ideas and stuff like that. But you know, we're always looking at moving the needle forward and also as well, I think this isn't just within Canada, but the WNBF. There was six countries that just released the WNBF Galaxy Pro I think it was what it's called where six affiliates actually have come together creating these sort of like more bigger regional events, which increases the prize money, it attracts more more athletes, attracts more athletes to the federation and it ultimately just improves the level that we can all compete at Right.
Speaker 2:So I think that's that's kind of what the future entails is again, more of these collaboration sort of events. Collaboration sort of events. For the most part, you know we're trying to heavily invest in our just like you know, just the exposure and just the athlete experience and getting the word out there, obviously for WNBF Canada still, but we're trying to be consistent with all our events, which I think we've done a really good job at is you know, whether it's a Vancouver event, a saskatchewan event or ontario event. We're trying to make you know things consistent on that side of things as well, right? So when an athlete shows up, they know exactly what to expect. Um, yeah, and again, talk about stress management before. That's the best way to do it, right so?
Speaker 3:yeah, 100. When it comes to like the prize money for that show, I think they're giving out like a hundred thousand dollars or something prizes. Is that a lot from like investors investing into it or how? How does that work to get those that amount that high like?
Speaker 2:I assume there's, uh, there is some people with with some investments you're talking about countries as well that do they do heavily invest in in things as well. I think we're a little it's a little unfortunate here in north america, uh, but think they do have some, probably some big companies on board and things like that and obviously, having you know, five or six countries that can do it, they can all pull their funds together. But yeah, with prize money that high, it's going to come from probably outside sources. You're not getting that from. Registration is no way.
Speaker 1:That's what I was thinking, yeah yeah, um, but speaking of, uh, you know, new plans for uh, new wmbf canada was um, just a side question that just came into my mind while you were talking about it, uh, something that may happen in 2026, um, I think you also mentioned that. You know that, getting the word out for wmf canada, I think it's been a very successful year. Uh, in 2024, very 25, yeah, 2024. Uh, I think we've done uh, I've seen a lot more international um athletes, you know reaching out, you know wanting to come to Canada to to compete in some of our shows, I think, which is fantastic. So the word is actually, you know, I think it's working, it's getting out Experience.
Speaker 1:I've spoke to some of athletes and, being a past athlete myself, I think that you know the WNBF, you know, provides a wonderful schedule. Everything is, you know, very fairly on time. I would say you know you're not, you guys are not very too far off from you know what has been posted, so I think that's uh, that's really really good. Um. The side question was um, would there be, you know, potentially even more shows, uh in canada for throughout the year?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think one of our goals is we would like to go further to the east as well, um, so we do have athletes out on the east coast that do travel to our events, um to compete, um, and so we would like to obviously uh create an amateur event over there, so kind of nova scotia or newfoundland or something along those lines. Uh, that way we are truly like east coast to west coast, um. Another idea that we're kind of playing around with is potentially having two calgary shows, um, and because, again, it is by far our biggest show, we've already had to make it into two-day events, um, but, uh, that's one thing that we would like to potentially do as well, and ideally I'd love to have this tiered system. So in the uk I think they do it really well whether you've got these novice first timers events, you have to qualify for your sort of kind of super pro event, um.
Speaker 2:I would like to have this sort of tiered system where we've got um sort of calgary is one of them and potentially, like another, you know, ontario show, where you've got these sort of all events, you have to qualify for that event, uh, which will probably be pro shows as well. So you've got this like elite show with the pros, um, and those are the ones that then qualify for our world's team. So, um, ideally, uh, you know, we, we always do well with having a great number of athletes come to the world with us. So last year we had around 30 or so, both on the amateur and the the pro side. But you know, is is we. We want to up our competitiveness as well.
Speaker 2:So, again, having this sort of a little bit more tiered approach which will ultimately make the best athletes qualify for for the world championships, on the amateur and potentially, the pro side too so I think that's that's our sort of grand vision in the next couple of years is, you know, obviously you need to increase the foundation of all events, right, you need to have them, enough of them throughout the year, but then also have that tier where they can kind of work up to right.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, and we've got, and to do that it's, you know, you need a successful team around you and I'm not going to be the first one to say that we've done it ourselves, because we have an amazing, incredible team of promoters and athletes and um and volunteers and stuff throughout the whole country, um, that all believe in kind of the goal of the wnmbf right and providing that platform for natural athletes to complete feed on um and the athlete experience that goes along with it. But, um, you know, it's that that's. You know, all the success has been down to the help that we we've had, for sure makes sense.
Speaker 3:Um. I'm trying to think what else let's see um no, but that's that's awesome, the shows. I think that's a really good idea just to make Canada even more competitive, like having it ramp up there, and it seems like, yeah, the WMBF is getting so competitive in other countries as well, so it's just nice to be able to get up there as well. But, yeah, no, I'm definitely excited. I might even end up doing the Classic Physique this year too. So we'll see with that um I was thinking of just doing.
Speaker 3:Random will be our poster boy there we go, but uh, do you think you'll do classic? Are you gonna continue sticking with bodybuilding or do you think you'll? You'll try out classic as well, or?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think my structure is bodybuilding. Um, I think that that look is different. Uh, for us some examples there, like having like a dirk, he's, you know, not dissimilar in a way where we just have like this little bit more thicker but like just grainier, harder sort of look, and I think that's going to be the look of the bodybuilder. Um, that, or your, your, your zeban, who ended up winning the bantamweight class, who's just got so much muscle bellies on him, that that's not the sort of the classic look. And I also think having this weight to height sort of ratio will impede that sort of look for the classic. But obviously I think, yeah, having that nice small waist, having those nice, like still nice flaring lats, you know, having legs on them, but again, not overly hard and grainy, and that sort of thing. I think structurally I'm not going to be a classic guy, yeah, so I'm going to stick to my roots.
Speaker 3:Makes sense, makes sense well that reminds me with the posing routine. So for classic, I know posing is a little bit more important. Um, with the actual posing routine itself, is that going to be? Uh, are you going to be getting points for for that as well?
Speaker 2:yeah, from, uh, my understanding. Yes, there will be obviously an individual routine to own music, similar to how we do bodybuilding as well, but again, the there's the. The presentation is going to include the routine itself, so you're going to have your how how well do they pose on stage as a group? But also the individual posing routine. Um, just to build up that final, final score there yeah, okay, makes sense, makes sense sweet, oh yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, no. It's just going to be a really big big thing. Um, it's because we've been, you know, getting I think it's been two, two, three years already. We've been getting I think it's been two, three years already. We've been actually having athletes asking if the WMBF has Classic. So I think it's a really good thing that we announced it and I can just foresee there's going to be there's a lot of noise already as soon as the post come out. There's a lot of noise. There's a lot of past athletes who a lot of um, past athletes who are very, who show like a very big interest in that, as already it just elevates the game of the wmbf as well.
Speaker 2:Like we said, it fills a gap. Um, because there are certain physiques that they they will do well in natural bodybuilding but they just won't do that well. But again, this would just be a little bit more tailored towards, uh, again, a different look. Again, it's making sure that look is differentiated. One of the big actually, this is just a fact more than anything is, we've seen a lot of federations do it in the past and their bodybuilding classes have been destroyed, right, because everyone's gone over to classic physique, and in my opinion, it's because they didn't distinguish the look enough Effectively.
Speaker 2:You're just taking the same guys, but they just moved over into shorts and posed a little differently, right, and they're still big and hard and grainy and all of that stuff. So I think it's like it needs to be. That's what I said needs to be done right. We need to keep the natural. We need to keep the competitiveness on the natural bodybuilding side, just as competitive, which you know again this year as well. So just as competitive, which you know again this year as well. So we had 60 pro men's physique bodybuilders on stage, right. So I think, uh, there is enough, uh, competitive athletes, that it won't hurt that side of the sport, um, but again, it still opens up a different avenue for athletes to to choose to compete right.
Speaker 3:So yeah, are they doing that in the states as well? Are they opening up classic there too and at worlds? Or is that just a canadian thing right now?
Speaker 2:no, no, it's worldwide okay, yeah no, this was actually announced by wmbf official first. Okay, um, you know, there was, there was, you know talk beforehand and everything else. But, uh, yeah, officially they, they announced it and then we we just we just followed followed suit because, um, again, consistency is number one with any brand, so we want to be as consistent as we can with them so that the athletes know exactly what to expect wherever they choose to compete. So, yeah, we'll offer it, same with, they'll be offering it and from my understanding, it's going to be offered at Worlds and everything as well. So, yeah, perfect.
Speaker 3:That's awesome. That's awesome Sweet. I think that's all the questions I had. Do you have any other questions you wanted to ask, adrian?
Speaker 1:no, you, you filled in, uh, pretty much all the, all the questions that I had like right here.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, it's pretty much the same questions.
Speaker 1:We talked about, um, the most, yeah, the most ones that I actually wanted to really get into was the um, you know his prep, all the questions you already asked on things he did, you know, has his approach. I actually asked yeah, I already filled one about you know how he uh like would it feel different, like, oh well, the other side question is kind of just that I had like, like like his, his prep thing you know we're going back was, uh, you know, because we understand, you know the body actually adapts differently as we age and you know just how. How would that, you know your body composition look different? You know, maybe his like weight differences between his uh his prep versus now and then uh like versus his last year's uh body weight, like does he look any different? That was the only side question I actually had here, but I think it, yeah, he, I think the way he, I think leo just talked about it, like it's pretty much yeah fairly, fairly easy for him well, yeah, I was gonna say quickly on that my weight hadn't.
Speaker 2:My weight was the same back in 2021. Uh, that was the first time that I'd actually seen, uh, an increase, uh, in all shows. So typically I was around 139 to 140 pounds for my first like four seasons, uh, and then I think it was just again better preps, slightly slower preps, slightly better preps, keeping food a little higher, a little less cardio, et cetera, uh, but I, like I said I was 147 pounds. The last two shows effectively Right, so yeah, yeah, makes sense, makes sense.
Speaker 1:That's awesome.
Speaker 2:Is there any questions that you have for us? No, I mean, I think in general, you know, keep spreading the word of natural bodybuilding in general and competing and coaching and all that good stuff and the information that you know evidence-based lifting that we do, obviously good stuff. And the information that you know, evidence-based lifting that that we, we do, obviously. Um, our season on the wmbf starts in may, may 3rd in vancouver, um, followed up by colonna on may 17th, and then we have uh winnipeg I believe it's june 6th, and then two weeks later is um edmonton, and edmonton we're actually going to offer pro masters bikini for the first time and then into our full shows. We've got ontario, which is in toronto this year, when we're super excited for, followed by saskatchewan and then our two-day calgary event. So, um, worlds this year is in in los angeles. Um, it's always a fun, fun time, great event. Um, yeah, I'm just looking forward to the season and again seeing you guys in in person. Uh, this, this next uh season, yeah, sounds good, I'll be on state.
Speaker 3:Are you going to be judging some of the shows this year or going to be helping backstage kind of thing, or um, I'm usually around helping out more than anything.
Speaker 2:I don't typically judge our canadian shows, um, uh, for the most part, um, unless I'm needed to. Um and one. It just depends on if, on, if I do have any clients, because if I have clients I don't judge at all, I just remove myself there. But I will be judging a few shows in the States this year. That's usually my sort of travel plans is go and help out and help some friends run their shows and help and go judge their events and, yeah, nice there, nice, do you know what's happening for the Federal Way show?
Speaker 3:some friends run their shows and help that and go judge their events and yeah, nice there, nice.
Speaker 1:Do you know what's? Uh, what's happening for the? The federal way show? Like it's june 14th, or am I tripping?
Speaker 2:I believe, I believe it's right in between. No, I think it's, I think you're right. There's, um, yeah, still still the same venue and everything else that they have going on. I've seen katie. Katie wayman, right, is the promoter down there. She's been posting fairly frequently about it, so yeah, Okay, okay, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Okay. Well, thank you so much for your time, leo. We're just going to keep you around after recording just a little longer, but yes, tell the audience where we can find you. Obviously, yeah, for sure, but yes, tell the audience where we can find you?
Speaker 2:obviously, yeah, for sure. I mean I got lots of handles. I guess my main personal page is leokingsfitness on Instagram. My gym page is kingsfitness on Instagram, and then WMBF Canada and all the affiliates shows have their own city name. That's probably the best places to reach out. You can, yeah, direct message me on any of those platforms. If anyone has any questions about competing as an athlete or clients or whatever, then yeah, I'm an open book. I'm happy to let anyone know whatever they want.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I can vouch for that as well. So, you guys, the first wmbf show is going to be the spring show, at may 3rd, uh, in vancouver. So uh, sign up now and um, yeah, and we'll hope to see you all there. So thanks today for uh, our episode and thanks again to leo. We will see you next time. Bye.