Results are in! She returns to bodybuilding competition Saturday June 24th at 49 years old and after a 6 year break
The Results of Sarah-Jane Bussey’s OCB Competition are in…
If you read the article below that we published last Sunday, June 18 then you know the story (if not scroll down and read it first). So here is how Sarah-Jane Bussey did….3rd Place Figure 45+
5th Place Figure 35+!!!! I followed up with her this evening and asked her some quick questions:
- Did you meet your goals?
Yes. I did meet my goals to improve on what the judges feedback was from previous competition. - Did the competition go smoothly?
I did break my shoes. Thankfully a fellow competitor let me borrow her spare pair of shoes! - When are you competing again?
I am planning on doing another mid December after the competition. - What was your after competition treat?
Pizza at Sal’s!
She returns to bodybuilding competition, Saturday June 24th at 49 years old and after a 6 year break.
It was a decade ago when Sarah-Jane Bussey first found herself in a tiny bikini, tanned, toned and walking in impossible heels across a stage at a bodybuilding competition. And now a week out from her 10 year anniversary she is back at it again but now at 49 years old, it’s a different game.
A decade ago, Sarah-Jane was just shy of 40 and working out with her girlfriends at the local “Y” when she learned about the world of competitive bodybuilding. Two of her workout buddies had started training to compete. They had coaches, work out plans, and were counting their macros (proteins, carbs and fats). Since Sarah-Jane was already training with them, one of her friends asked her if she ever thought about competing. Knowing she liked having a goal and thriving on the energy of competition she said she decided to “bring it to the table” at home. Competition takes a significant amount of time and is a financial commitment. And even though, the first time around, she didn’t know the extent of the time and work involved- she did know it would be enough to affect her family, so getting their buy-in was the only way she felt it would work.
Her family was all-in, and so she decided to give it a try. She didn’t have a coach or a trainer. She shadowed what her friends were doing and the result was placing in the top 5 in her first competition. She learned a lot in that competition, most importantly that she was competing in the wrong category for her body. Sarah-Jane switched from “Bikini” to “Figure”. After getting judges feedback she learned that the Figure class suited her naturally more muscular build, but that she wasn’t going for the next category “Physique” because that was more muscular than she was naturally and would change her look in the off season. Everything from the first show was a learning lesson that she would build on for the next shows.
She learned that she really liked the process of transforming her body and the regiment of the workouts. For Sarah-Jane, having a routine was great, but having a goal was key.
She went on to compete again in 2014 and then in 2016 and 2017 – always placing and always learning some new way to build muscle, to lean out, and to reach goals. She would always make sure to solicit judges feedback and then adjust her workouts and diet for her next show.
Ironically, right before she started a job at Ironbound Gym in 2018 she had decided to take a break from bodybuilding. Even though working at a gym makes the workout sessions more convenient, the sport is all consuming when you are training. Sarah-Jane puts in 20 to 25 hours a week in the gym. She has to prepare meals on Sundays because her diet is entirely separate from what her family eats. And she has to eat the same 6 meals a day 3 to 6 months. Financially, the cost of food, trainers, coaches, gym memberships, competition suits, shoes, spray tan and competition fees all ads up. The break that she needed then turned into years, 6 years to be exact.
Rounding the next decade in her life, she started thinking about returning to the body building stage. Again, she started by talking it over with her family; she said that this sport takes a village and she definitely needed her family on board. Once again they encouraged her and this time, being the Manager of Ironbound Gym, she found herself at the gym as soon as her work day ended, which saved a little time. Between working 40 hours a week, working out 25 hours a week, and having a husband, two teens and two dogs…family support is essential.
Originally, she only planned to do this weekend’s Saturday, June 24, 2023 OCB competition, but decided to add in a competition in April 2023. Sarah-Jane thought it would be a good way to get her feet wet and get the judges feedback, since she had been out of the circuit for six years. She was glad she did, as the feedback did change how she trained. For the first time in all her years of competing she decided to train with a trainer. She worked with Matt Flowers at Iron-Bound Gym. She also switched to a coach, Lynn Combs, who she already knew and was also at Ironbound Gym. Sarah-Jane is excited to receive the feedback from the judges after this weekend’s competition, to see if the changes she has made will be reflected in their comments.
Why does she continue to compete? Sarah-Jane said she loves the self challenge – with every training cycle she pushes herself to see how close she is able to get to the goal she sets. It is a hard sport and subjective. While the judges have training to be a competition judge, the event can be subjective. She walks in on stage and does her poses. She then competes on stage in a line of women in the age/height categories she is signed up in. This Saturday, she is doing 35+, 45+ and open – where she could be up against women half her age. They move the competitors around on stage lining them up based on the best symmetry and a host of other factors until they have selected a winner. You are competing against yourself, in the sense that you are competing against your past performances, but you are also competing against the other women standing and posting right next to you for the win. You have to be confident in your body and yourself as you are wearing very little while the judges look at your musculature for any reason to move you down from the top spot.
You also have to be really dedicated. Eating the same six meals for three to six months at the same time everyday might be enough to stop most of us from even considering this sport. Add in the time, the intense workouts, the regiment, and the competition itself, on top of work, family, and general life responsibilities, you can see why the numbers at the competition level are not in the hundreds.
Before I left the gym where we interviewed today, I sat in on a posing session with her coach Lynn Combs. Her coach, also a former bodybuilding competitor, had Sarah-Jane stay flexed in each pose for 30 seconds, before moving immediately to the next pose for 30 seconds. She then had Sarah-Jane walk to another spot in the line, and then pose again. This repetition was to build stamina for next Saturday. If Sarah-Jane doesn’t practice this flexed posing, repeatedly (including her smile), her muscles could shake as she stands on stage next weekend. After all the incredibly hard work, dieting, time and effort to lose points on muscle fatigue from flexing would be a rookie mistake, and costly.
As she nears next week, her consumption of water will increase to about a gallon and a half a day, then she will cut back towards Saturday. They call this water loading. She will carb load (increase her carb intake) to pump up the look of her muscles closer to Saturday. In the next six days her body will transform into an even more lean and defined shaped figure than she was today – and today was already impressive. (Image below was from 6/17/23 a week out from competition. The image on the right is Sarah-Jane at the competition in April)
I asked her if notice any differences in training this time around compared to the first time 10 years ago. She said that her body muscle has good memory and so unlike the first time, her muscles came in faster. But unlike the times in 2016 and 2017, she found being older it is harder to build muscle. Luckily, that is offset by things like knowing what to expect from the diet, the workouts, and the competition. Plus, having a trainer this time, who pushes her more than she could push herself, is helping her build muscle better and in the right symmetry. Also, she says she has the confidence that comes with being older.
Will OCB on Saturday be her last competition? Absolutely not. Next year she can continue to compete in younger categories but looks forward to the 50 + category. In next week’s show there is only one competitor in the 50+ women. She is aiming to grow that category and encourages women to compete in their 50s and beyond. The men’s 50 and older category has plenty of competitors, so she is happy to increase the women’s 50+ list at least by one next year.
How will she place on Saturday June 24th? Don’t worry, we will let you know and do a quick follow up interview with her.
Until then we asked her to give us a list of some of her favorite items that help her prepare for competitions:
- Best place to buy chicken breasts in bulk family packs: Walmart and Food Lion
- Your favorite protein powder: MRE Protein powder
- Your favorite spray tan: tanning is arranged by the competition promoter
- Your favorite workout leggins: a wide variety of brands from Amazon, Old Navy, 90Degree
- Your favorite workout socks: Puma, Under Armor, Reebok
- Your favorite workout shoes: Reebok Nano
- Your favorite workout song (do you have a playlist): Music all depends on my mood. Everything from Country, Classic Rock.
- Your favorite cardio machine: Stair Mill or the Elliptical
- The first food or drink you will have after the competition (that’s absolutely not on your diet): Each time I crave something different. This time I’m looking forward to anything but chicken……lol
- Best thing to do to ease muscle strain or pulled muscles: Stretching is key!
- Your favorite gym: Iron-Bound Gym
Check back the week of June 26 for the updated story and her competition results. And if you see her around town this week wish her well and….just ask her what she is eating today, she loves that question. (note the sarcasm) The answer: the same things she has eaten everyday for the last six months!
Good Luck Sarah-Jane!
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