BBC – Dorset – Bodybuilder champ’s new challenge

Bodybuilder champ’s new challenge

Former world bodybuilding champion Sean Ferguson has used his 40th birthday as a turning point in his career.

While some sports can become less accessible to people as they age, bodybuilding can attract competitors into their seventies.

Sean, who has just competed in his first international contest in an over- 40 category, says bodybuilding as a sport is genuinely open to all ages.

He began bodybuilding in 1992, and has won several competitions.

But reaching his 40th birthday, last February, means he can compete in a new category, the Masters Division.

He said: “Bodybuilding [competitors] are getting younger, but at the same time there are a lot more competitions for people who are older. Even over the ages of 60 and 70 – and I’ll 100% be competing in them when I’m that age!”

“But I can still compete against people half my age, but [competing in the Masters] is another option for me.”

Poland

Sean has just returned from Bialystok in Poland, where he took part in the International Federation of Body Builders (IFBB) Junior and Masters World Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships.

He didn’t do as well as he hoped – he failed to make the final 15: “[Competing in this group] is something new to me.

“I’m not that well known yet in that sphere, the judges haven’t seen me [before].”

But Sean, who runs his own gym in Dorchester, could be Dorset’s most famous bodybuilder.

His first wins came in the Lightweight category in 2001, before moving on to Middleweight, where he won the champion title in 2003.

Mr Great Britain

Then, in 2007 he won Mr Great Britain in the Heavyweight class.

He said: “2007 was probably my best year so far. I won competitions under two different federations.

“One of them was the title of Classic Bodybuilder for the UK Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (UKBFF), which is the biggest [bodybuilding] organisation in the country.”

He was also placed sixth in the world in a contest run by the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation (BNBF).

Sean practises ‘natural’ bodybuilding, which is training without any kind of artificial help in developing muscle, and competition entrants compete on a strictly drug-free basis.

And in this field of bodybuilding, age can be an advantage: “In natural bodybuilding, you don’t really reach your peak until your 40s.

“Your muscles mature, and it’s possible to give them more detail and more definition, to make them more rounded.”

Sporty

Sean began bodybuilding after suffering a knee injury.

He had always been very sporty, and liked to play football, cricket, and even played table tennis for his county – but when he discovered the gym there was no looking back.

He said: “I found I loved the gym even more than playing football.”

Sean trains himself, but occasionally seeks advice from British Bodybuilding coaches on “small issues”, but he says he is mainly “self taught”.

He says that “80%” of success at bodybuilding is down to correct nutrition, describing bodybuilders as “walking nutritionists”:

“The appearance you get on stage [in competitions] is very important, and bodybuilding is geared towards the diet so you can get into the state you need [to compete].”

“But it’s a combination of exercise and diet – the two really work together.”

More ambitions

Sean has recently won the UK Mr Hercules competition, coming first in the Classic Division, and is continuing to train.

In the 12 weeks before a contest, Sean will train for four hours a day – two hours cardiovascular, two hours of weights – and will eat every two hours.

He says his ultimate ambition is to win the IFBB World Classic Bodybuilding Championship and next year he is looking to take part in competitions in New York.

“I’m going to keep going, definitely. In four or five years I could be even better – bodybuilding is one of those sports where you can keep going until you drop!

“When you compete, it’s a 100% buzz. All the work and effort pay off. Only a very small percentage of people can do what we do and once you win it’s a hell of a feeling.”