Fan-favorite Jeremy Buendia is inching closer to his comeback at the 2023 Mr. Olympia show taking place this November. As the most successful Men’s Physique Olympia on the planet, Buendia will aim to collect a fifth title upon his return. In a recent YouTube video, Buendia shared why he’s coming back now and laid out his primary goal for the season, which is to be competitive against Erin Banks and Brandon Hendrickson.
From 2014-2017, Buendia, equipped with a brash attitude, dominated the annual Mr. Olympia competition. He showcased an impressive v-taper, along with symmetrically balanced arms, and a huge chest. The 32-year-old attempted to capture another title back in 2018 but was denied by the former three-time Men’s Physique Olympia Brandon Hendrickson.
Buendia remains one of the most popular athletes in the category despite not competing in years. He teased a return back in 2020, though it never came to fruition. Last September, Buendia announced that he would again make a play for Olympia’s Men’s Physique title, currently held by Erin Banks. He revealed that his plan was to bulk up to 220 pounds before plotting his next move.
In addition to sharing intense training sessions, Buendia has invited fans on his journey back to the stage with a handful of YouTube videos. In one of his latest ventures, Buendia shared the 4,000-calorie bulking diet he’s implemented in the off-season to hold his own against the best of his category.
Jeremy Buendia Talks Comeback, Motivations, and Competing Against Top Names in Men’s Physique
Buendia admits he had a lot of growing up to do before committing to his latest comeback.
“Man, why now, it’s been five years since my last Olympia, since I competed. I had to go through a lot of growing pains the past five years to get back to this point where I’m at right now where mentally and physically, I had a lot of growing up to do in order to get back in the right mindset to be able to compete again.”
“Now, at this point in time in my life, I think I’m going to be able to bring my best and have a more mature physique and a more mature mindset. I’m excited to get back up there and show the world I still have it. I’ll be 33 coming up in October, so I’ll be 33 stepping on stage this year,” said Jeremy Buendia.
Reflecting on his career, Buendia believes he let others influence the way he conducted himself back when he was an Olympia champion.
“At a certain point in time, you have to grow up, you have to make changes and recognize the things you did in the past weren’t the way you want to portray yourself in the future. I have a family and a daughter I represent now. My daughter, I want her to be able to look back and be proud of the man her dad was.”
“That is the real me, but like I said, towards the end of my reign as an Olympia champion a lot of things got to my head. I started doing really well financially, I had a lot of people coming in and out of my life and feeding ideas into my head. I was trying to fast-track my success do certain things and live a lifestyle that wasn’t really who I am. And people can see through that real easily.”
With 2023 Olympia approaching, Jeremy made it clear his chief goal was to be competitive on stage against Brandon Hendrickson and the reigning champion, Erin Banks.
“The sport has changed a lot, it’s evolved a lot. So, the past few years I’ve been hearing – I fell out of shape, I stopped training for a while, I dealt with a lot of injuries and I fell behind big time. The last couple of years I heard the sport has passed me up. It evolved too much, you won’t be able to hang with these guys in the size. That’s kind of what kept me away from the stage until recently.”
“The past year I’ve been back on my training packing on the size again and catching back up to where these guys are to a point where I can be competitive again. Ultimately, my goal is to be competitive with Erin and Brandon this year. We’ve done a good job of getting myself back to where I am now. Now we’re here 16 weeks out from the 2023 Olympia.”
According to Buendia, Erin Banks might be at a disadvantage in the final call-out this year if most of the men standing next to him are significantly shorter.
“They’re tall dudes, Erin is like 6’2″ and a half, then again, you got Brandon about 5″9′, you got Diogo the same height as me. It’s going to very interesting to see how things shake out this year. I see what’s happening is a median of the class in that top call out. If we have five out of the six guys in that top call out that are 5″10′ Erin is going to stick out like a sore thumb and maybe get pushed out, maybe he won’t, we’ll see.”
“I got to make sure I bring my weight down [for next year]. One way I do that is to limit my leg training. If I do that, that’s obviously going to push Classic out for a few years if that’s something I decide to do,” added Buendia.
The 2023 Mr. Olympia show takes place Nov. 2-5 in Orlando Florida. As one of the most exciting divisions in the IFBB Pro League, fans can’t wait to see the rivalry settled between the reigning Men’s Physique Olympia Erin Banks, and the former four-time champion, Jeremy Buendia.