Real Stories and Rookie Lessons From the All Novice Show

The second annual Supplement Hub All Novice Bodybuilding Show brought in 125 athletes this year, up from 115 competitors last year, proving once again that bodybuilding in the Philippines continues to grow rapidly at the grassroots level. Held on Sunday, May 17, the event opened with a prayer and the Philippine national anthem, setting a respectful tone before the first competitors stepped on stage.

The judging panel featured well known and highly respected names within the bodybuilding community, including 12 time Men’s Physique Champion Jazz Tomenio, Coach Earl, Coach Nikko, Coach Emay, and Head Judge Patrick Tan, an international judge since 2005. Veteran host Ojee kept the crowd engaged throughout the day, while the music production gave the event a more cinematic and intense atmosphere than what many people typically expect from a novice level bodybuilding show.

One question that seemed to come up throughout the day was the difference between Rookie and Novice divisions, and honestly, we had to ask too. Rookie divisions are for athletes in their very first year of competing, true novices stepping on stage for the first time and learning what it means to prep, pose, and perform under the lights. Novice divisions, on the other hand, are generally for competitors now in their second year of competing who have never placed 1st in a previous competition.

More importantly though, these divisions give the next generation of bodybuilders an opportunity to actually take center stage and shine. That is the importance of having an entire show dedicated solely to Rookie and Novice competitors. Too often at competitions, the spotlight naturally stays on the experienced names and established athletes, leaving newer competitors almost feeling like background characters in their own debut season. Shows like this create space for first timers to gain confidence, learn stage presence, and experience what it feels like to truly stand under the lights without immediately being overshadowed by veterans of the sport. That matters because today’s nervous rookie competitor could very well become tomorrow’s national champion.

One of the standout moments of the event was the Transformation Division, where eight competitors shared journeys from fat to fit. Personally, this category was one of the strongest parts of the show because it reminded the audience that bodybuilding is not just about shredded physiques under bright lights. These were real people with real struggles, insecurities, sacrifices, and stories behind their transformations.

What made the category especially impactful was how the stories were spread throughout the show instead of being lumped together all at once. It helped build emotional momentum and gave the crowd moments to genuinely connect with the athletes. If there was one thing that could have elevated it even further, it would have been short voice over introductions or reveals for each competitor to share part of their personal journey before stepping on stage. Regardless, it was one of the few categories we’ve seen locally that truly showed the human side of bodybuilding, something the sport honestly needs more of.

Speaking of newcomers, we thought we’d share some insider advice many seasoned competitors have learned the hard way over the years.

Top 10 Insider Tips for Novice Competitors

1. Don’t Forget About Water Manipulation and Stage Sweating

One thing we noticed throughout the event was the amount of athletes “bleeding” on stage. For newer competitors unfamiliar with the term, “bleeding” is when athletes sweat heavily under the hot stage spotlights, causing their tan to streak, drip, and run, and unfortunately, it can completely ruin the overall look of a stage package.

A lot of novice competitors underestimate just how hot stage lights actually are or don’t properly understand hydration and water manipulation leading into show day. The result is excessive sweating, messy tan lines, patchy colouring, and physiques that lose their polished appearance the second they start posing. Conditioning matters, but presentation matters too. You can have a strong physique, but if your tan is running down your body on stage, judges notice it immediately.

2. Expect the Unexpected

Before the show started, host Ojee shared that he purposely ran a mock show with his athletes weeks earlier and intentionally showed up late to mentally prepare them for real competition chaos. Ironically, this show itself started late due to delays from the previous night’s venue rental not being cleaned up in time. The Supplement Hub crew reportedly expected turnover around 3am but didn’t receive the venue until around 8am.

These things happen in bodybuilding. Shows run late, schedules change, music cuts out, and classes get reshuffled. The athletes who stay calm and adaptable usually perform the best because stress management becomes part of competing.

3. Practice Posing When You’re Exhausted

One of the best times to practice posing is after your workouts, when your energy is depleted and your carbs have already been used. It gives competitors a much more realistic understanding of how show day will actually feel. Holding poses while fresh is one thing, but holding them while exhausted, cramping, hungry, and under pressure is a completely different experience.

4. Trust Your Coach

By peak week, the hard work has already been done. The training, cardio, sacrifice, missed meals, exhaustion, and discipline are already behind you. At that point, competitors need to stay mentally focused and trust the person guiding them.

Too often we see athletes panic during peak week or the day before the show, suddenly believing they know better than the coach they hired. They start changing meals, adding cardio, overtraining, or ignoring instructions entirely, only to ruin the very package they spent months building. Your coach is your coach for a reason. Trust them.

5. Be Overly Prepared

It is always better to pack too much than not enough. Extra food, extra resistance bands, extra trunks or bikinis, extra glaze, extra tan supplies, extra water, and backup everything. The competitors scrambling backstage are usually the ones who assumed they could “wing it.”

6. Don’t Pump Up Too Early

This again comes back to listening to your coach. Too many athletes get caught up in the excitement backstage and begin pumping up too hard, too fast, and way too early before they even step on stage. By the time prejudging begins, they are already flat, exhausted, watery, or struggling to maintain their pump. Timing matters, and experienced coaches understand when an athlete should actually begin pumping up.

7. Presentation Wins Shows

It honestly does not matter how much better you think your physique is if the competitor beside you knows their angles better, poses cleaner, and presents themselves with more confidence. Stage presence matters. The athlete who knows how to showcase their strengths will often beat the athlete with the “better” physique but weaker presentation.

8. Nothing New During Peak Week

Peak week is not the time for random cheat meals, mystery supplements, drastic sodium manipulation, or listening to people who have not been beside you throughout prep. Peak week has a funny way of attracting “experts” backstage offering advice. Stay locked in with your coach and your plan instead of allowing outside opinions to throw you off mentally or physically.

9. Respect the Experience and Enjoy It

Respect the athletes around you, respect the judges, respect your coach, and respect the process itself. This may have been your journey to the stage, but it was your coach’s guidance, structure, and the path they mapped out for you that helped get you there. Win or lose, never become so arrogant, or so disappointed in your placing, that you forget to acknowledge the person who stood beside you throughout prep.

Appreciate the fact that you made it to the stage because many people never will. Despite the stress, exhaustion, and nerves, competitors should also remember to enjoy the experience. Some athletes become so obsessed with chasing perfection that they forget they are living a moment they once dreamed about.

10. Know Your Why

Prep gets hard. Really hard. There will be days where competitors question themselves, their bodies, their discipline, and whether any of it is worth it. The athletes who survive long term in this sport usually have a deeper reason driving them than trophies alone. Whether it is proving something to yourself, overcoming your past, building confidence, inspiring others, or simply becoming stronger than who you used to be, knowing your “why” becomes what carries you once motivation disappears.

By the end of the day, the Supplement Hub All Novice Bodybuilding Show accomplished something many bodybuilding events struggle to do. It made the audience care not just about the physiques, but about the people behind them. From the emotional Transformation Division to giving Rookie and Novice competitors a genuine opportunity to take center stage, the event highlighted the human side of bodybuilding in a way many shows fail to do.

Credit also has to be given to the entire Supplement Hub crew for overcoming the early morning setbacks caused by the delayed venue turnover from the previous night’s rental event and still successfully delivering their second All Novice show for 125 athletes. Despite the chaos behind the scenes, the team adapted, pushed through, and created an event focused on supporting the next generation of Philippine bodybuilding, and honestly, that is exactly what this sport needs more of.

And without much ado, here is the Winner's List...

SUPPLEMENT HUB ALL NOVICE BODYBUILDING SHOW

Sunday, May 19, 2026

Palacio De Maynila

Organized by Supplement Hub

Presented by JFit

MEN'S CLASSIC -- TEENS

1st Rovi Gailbert A. Manulid, 17

2nd Charles Ethan Moais, 106

3rd John Gabriel M. Bautista, 8

4th Gabriel Gohann C. Salva, 76

MEN'S CLASSIC -- JUNIORS

1st Sidney Miguel Monsod, 35

2nd Joseph Alcantara, 101

3rd Liam Kanahashi, 5

4th Antonio Flores Madiclum III, 92

MEN'S CLASSIC -- MASTERS 35+

1st Paul Ignatius Adao, 84

2nd Victor Lim, 98

MEN'S CLASSIC -- ROOKIE

1st Arnold Paulino, 110

2nd Ariel Manansala, 10

3rd Paul Ignatius Adao, 84

4th Domalsin Keanu, 73

5th Prist Villanueva, 54

MEN'S CLASSIC -- TRUE NOVICE SHORT

1st Paul Ignatius Adao, 84

2nd Melchizedek Bicua, 79

3rd Enzo Morelos, 114

MEN'S CLASSIC -- TRUE NOVICE TALL

1st Domalsin Keanu, 73

2nd Kyle Gyani Dela Cruz, 91

3rd Prist Villanueva, 54

4th Angelo Carlos, 52

5th John Kevin Miguel, 12

MEN'S CLASSIC -- NOVICE 1 SHORT

1st Paul Ignatius Adao, 84

2nd Enzo Morelos, 114

MEN'S CLASSIC -- NOVICE 1 TALL

1st Kyle Gyani Dela Cruz, 91

2nd John Kevin Miguel, 12

3rd Liam Kanahashi, 5

BIKINI -- ROOKIE

1st Jennalyn Manalili Andriatico, 97

2nd Genevieve T. Lopez, 86

3rd Rizza Riofrio, 42

4th Shiella Ruth Austria, 120

5th Ylesa Puente, 75

BIKINI -- TRUE NOVICE SHORT

1st Genevieve T. Lopez, 86

2nd Shiella Ruth Austria, 120

3rd Rizza Riofrio, 42

4th Bianca Marie De Lima, 68

5th Paula Alinea, 18

BIKINI -- TRUE NOVICE TALL

1st Jennalyn Manalili Andriatico, 97

2nd Nikka Quimbo, 6

3rd Ylesa Puente, 75

BIKINI -- NOVICE 1 SHORT

1st Genevieve T. Lopez, 86

2nd Shiella Ruth Austria, 120

3rd Jenyva Natividad, 100

4th Bianca Marie De Lima, 68

5th Paula Alinea, 18

BIKINI -- NOVICE 1 TALL

1st Jennalyn Manalili Andriatico, 97

2nd Nikka Quimbo, 6

3rd Ylesa Puente, 75

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- TEENS

1st Jhay Roel Alaman Ferrer, 33

2nd Cristopher C. Faminia Jr., 45

3rd Reinert Pascual, 57

4th Charles Ethan Moais, 106

5th Bryan Rosales, 24

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- JUNIORS

1st Lester Vetuz, 56

2nd Dalisay Andrei Russel, 36

3rd Rhean Kyle Casiano, 70

4th Khalil Van Ahiah Balis, 31

5th Sidney Miguel Monsod, 35

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- MASTERS 35+

1st Engr. Julizer, 118

2nd Ken Eles Esperanza, 83

3rd Rafael Alberca, 69

4th Charles Jerome Resma, 25

5th Jape Forcadilla, 77

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- NATURAL ROOKIE

1st Rhoneil C. Olimpo Jr, 23

2nd Lexare D. Villanueva, 38

3rd Ryan Christian Pago, 112

4th David E. Ibanes, 117

5th Bryan Inocencio, 63

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- TRUE NOVICE SHORT

1st Ryan Christian Pago, 112

2nd Gerald Masotes, 105

3rd Matt Condez, 121

4th Albert A. Giray, 30

5th Almar Dela Cerna, 95

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- TRUE NOVICE TALL

1st Lexare D. Villanueva, 38

2nd Rhoneil C Olimpo Jr, 23

3rd Dy, Darryl Justin Torres, 115

4th Reynaldo Calajate, 46

5th. John Daniel Dela Cruz Santos, 59

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- NOVICE 1 SHORT

1st Matt Condez, 121

2nd Jhay Roel Alaman Ferrer, 33

3rd Gerald Masotes, 105

4th Aeron Solis, 119

5th Clark Kent Galleguez, 104

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- NOVICE 1 TALL

1st Lexare D. Villanueva, 38

2nd Dy, Darryl Justin Torres, 115

3rd Reynaldo Calajate, 46

4th Enzo Morelos, 114

5th Ezekiel Santos, 62

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- ROOKIE

1st Eizen Joseph Rosalejos Mariano, 51

2nd Christian Rosales, 44

3rd Siege Alfred Limpo, 60

4th Ryan Christian Pago, 112

5th Angelo Carlos, 52

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- TRUE NOVICE A

1st Christian Irvin R. Rosales, 44

2nd Lester Vetuz, 56

3rd Engr. Julizer, 118

4th Michael Haries Ibea, 39

5th Ken Eles N. Esperanza, 83

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- TRUE NOVICE B

1st Siege Alfred Limpo, 60

2nd Angelo Carlos, 52

3rd Reuben James Garlo, 19

4th Christian Angelo C. Maramba, 78

5th Michael Perez, 37

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- TRUE NOVICE C

1st Eizen Joseph Rosalejos Mariano, 51

2nd Christian Acutim, 22

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- TRUE NOVICE D

1st Michael Jhan Ramos, 40

2nd Excellance Gungon, 16

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- NOVICE 1 A

1st Christian Irvin R. Rosales, 44

2nd Ken Eles N. Esperanza, 83

3rd Joemarie Tangalin, 111

4th Reynard Ramirez, 21

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- NOVICE 1 B

1st Kit Sarsuelo, 15

2nd Christian Angelo C. Maramba, 78

3rd Reinert Pascual, 57

MEN'S PHYSIQUE -- NOVICE 1 C

1st Rafael Alberca, 69

2nd Charles Jerome Resma, 25

ATHLETIC MODEL

1st Dy, Darryl Justin Torres, 115

2nd Almar Dela Cerna, 95

3rd Aeron Solis, 119

4th Daniel Vincent Delantar, 89

WEIGHTLOSS/TRANSFORMATION

1st Julius Hussien Dominguez, 14

2nd Christian Acutim, 22

3rd Marvin Mathew Santos, 99

4th John Paulo Ramientos, 103

5th Alvin John Bayacan, 96