Tim Martin Q&A

[Sporto]

This is just my opinion, but I believe these natural organizations simply didn't want an established NPC/IFBB athlete doing well in their contests. At the end of the day I have pictures to document the condition and shape I brought to the stage, so where the judges in these organizations choose to place me really doesn't carry much weight in my perspective.

Judges from natural organizations tend to place emphasis on different criteria than the NPC/IFBB does. Depending on the show/promoter and the judges they use (I know many of these people personally), I seriously doubt you placed 4th because they just didn't want an NPC/IFBB guy doing well. If that was really the case, do you honestly think you would have even placed at all? I am pretty shocked that this is the conclusion you draw from not placing as high as you had hoped. Coming from a seasoned bodybuilder, you should know better than most people that this is a subjective sport where 7 strangers will all have their own personal interpretation of what everyone brings to the stage.

On a side note, there is a trick to putting Dream Tan on correctly. If you decided to go outside of your normal coloring procedure simply because "that's what most competitors in the natural shows seems to use" it would have helped you to ask around about the application of it. I know Brian Whitacre and myself both wrote extensive posts covering the process. It will always look muddy and blotchy if you just try to rub it on.

By the way, still to this day I do the abductor machine the way you do with the hips up off the seat. I can't tell you how many weird looks I get every time I do these lol.

Sporto

[Tim Martin]

I'm glad you like that exercise, I think it's one of the best for glutes. Regarding Dream Tan, I've used it in 25-30 shows so I'm familiar with the proper application, but I did sweat a lot in the shows so it definitely looked muddy. Saying that natural organizations have different judging criteria is like saying its OK for different baseball leagues having different strike zones. Bottom line is that I stand by my opinion and have moved on.

[Sporto]

I'm glad you like that exercise, I think it's one of the best for glutes. Regarding Dream Tan, I've used it in 25-30 shows so I'm familiar with the proper application, but I did sweat a lot in the shows so it definitely looked muddy. Saying that natural organizations have different judging criteria is like saying its OK for different baseball leagues having different strike zones. Bottom line is that I stand by my opinion and have moved on.

I love that exercise, even with the stares! When someone my size is doing it, it usually captures an interest from the bro crowd...like they all think they are missing out on something secret lol.

Gotcha on the Dream Tan, just by reading the final report, I wasn't aware you've used it before. Even from the pics, it didn't look bad, but I understand. Most NPC shows ban that stuff, and I knew you were a big NPC guy, so I didn't know your experiences with it.

I get what you are saying. But if you think about it in that context, the college strike zone is a lot different than the MLB strike zone (I know as I played both college and the pro level). Same game, different zones. The umpires have different criteria as to what they deem a strike. It's ok to have the opinion that the reason you placed fourth was simply because the judges didn't want you to do well because you were already an established NPC/IFBB guy. There's no harm in agreeing to disagree on that one

So in your opinion, what criteria should be emphasized when competitors are close in competition?

Sporto