After a successful comeback at the 2023 Olympia show, the future looks bright for Jeremy Buendia. In a recent interview with Phil Heath, Buendia discussed his fertility protocol, testosterone use, Olympia aspirations, and overcoming adversity throughout his career from injuries and illness.
As a four-time Men’s Physique Olympia champion, Jeremy Buendia has already achieved greatness in the sport but still yearns for more. His highly anticipated comeback came last year at the stacked 2023 Olympia competition. Having been away from the stage for five years, Buendia exceeded expectations, pushing top names in the category. In the end, he finished eighth place but left Orlando, Florida optimistic.
With Ryan Terry the newly-minted Olympia titleholder in Men’s Physique, Buendia has ambitious plans moving forward. At 100 percent, he is confident he could reclaim the sport’s greatest honor.
Jeremy Buendia Opens Up on Health, Fertility Protocol, Testosterone Use, and Goals for 2024 Olympia
In 2021, Buendia admits he suffered a low, stressing ‘it got really dark for me.’ He also shared that he was grappling with neck and lower back injuries as well as shingles.
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“I wasn’t me. And that was an issue everybody saw it. My family, my parents, I lost that drive. I lost that champion mindset. I lost that faith in myself. It got really dark for me man. Coming back and doing this prep was pretty intimidating because I had lost, I stopped working out for a year completely during Covid. Then, in 2021, I had been dealing with the neck injury and lower back injury and I got shingles really bad right before my daughter was born. That took me out for eight weeks.”
Expecting another child, Buendia talked about his successful fertility protocol which includes compounds like MK 677 (Ibutamoren), IGF, TB 500 (Thymosin Beta-4), and BPC 157.
“Having to hit the brakes and kind of go the other way. So, you know, that was something I had to come to terms with and accept. Seeing my physique kind of fade during that time period I mean it’s been three and a half months and just running fertility protocol.
I ran HCG and clomiphene and of course, I was on some other stuff from Transcend as well, DHEA and what else, BPC 157, TB 500, NAD glutathione. None of those are really going to help with building muscle. MK 677 and IGF but all the other ones are for recovery and keeping everything well-balanced,” said Buendia.
Having put on 11 pounds already, Buendia confirmed he is back on testosterone.
“I got back on testosterone. I feel better and I’m putting some size back on and it’s been like two weeks dude I’m already up like 10-11 pounds. So, it comes back fast,” adds Buendia.
As for the pressures of social media, Buendia learned quickly that competitors and influencers churn out content instead of appealing to fans honestly with their vulnerabilities.
“I understand the reality of social media. It took me a while but I finally understand the reality. I only post pictures where I look really good in. I’ll take 10 pictures in the gym, maybe one of them makes Instagram. Off-season there’s a handful of guys that have so much content that they just continue to post in the off-season so you never know when they are out of shape.
That’s where I feel a lot of people feel like they have to maintain or stay on or do certain things to their body to look a certain way because that’s what they see on social media. That’s why I’ve been pretty open about my different phases and the different types of shapes that I’m in throughout the year because I want these guys to understand, it’s okay to take a break, to relax, to not be five percent body fat.”
With lofty goals for this year, Buendia believes at 100 percent, he could pose a threat to the reigning champion Ryan Terry.
“I know what I’m capable of bringing to the stage and if I bring that 100 percent Jeremy Buendia, Ryan Terry watch out.”
“My plan was to do Men’s Physique for another year or two and then finish up my career in Classic. Not with any super huge expectations but I started out as a bodybuilder. I train like a bodybuilder. I like to pose.”
Off-season bulking efforts have been in play for Jeremy Buendia as of late. In addition to adding quality muscle to his frame, Buendia has kept his training intensity high. He recently smashed a back training session and underlined that he wants to win a Pro show before Olympia despite boasting a lifetime qualification.
“I want to win a show before I get back on the Olympia stage. There’s a lot of ground to catch up, but like I said, there’s not that much ground to catch up.”
Jeremy Buendia has yet to reveal which bodybuilding show he is considering next. Regardless, fans look forward to seeing him back on stage at the 2024 Mr. Olympia when the event returns to Las Vegas, Nevada from October 10-13.
Watch the full video from the Transcend Company YouTube channel below:
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