Jeremy Buendia has traversed a tough road in his comeback after surgery.

This September’s Olympia show is sure to be one for the ages. The rapidly growing Men’s Physique division is especially exciting due to the uncertain status of returning 4-time Champion Jeremy Buendia.

Buendia underwent surgery for a catastrophic pec tear around six months ago and has been on the road to recovery ever since. Doctors initially prescribed Buendia a four-month recovery, and many initially doubted whether he would even elect to defend his title.

Almost all the information about Jeremy’s recovery has been disseminated over his Instagram, and as such should be taken with a grain of salt. Competitors are often known to post strategic pictures in the lead up to a big show, and Jeremy is in a special position to do just that. Yet he is an unusually open and candid individual, and seems to be keeping the public genuinely abreast of his progress. Five weeks ago (around 15 weeks out) he posted this video.

Hardly back to his former glory, asymmetries left by the injury were clear- but it was also clear that Jeremy is regaining size rapidly.

The other astonishing aspect to Buendia’s road to recovery has been his level of activity outside the gym. The champ has made several trips to his ancestral home of The Philippines, doing charity and promotional work both by himself and along with his trainer and Evogen developer Hany Rambod. As anyone who follows Jeremy on Instagram knows, he has been equally busy developing his team Hero competitors for various shows.

Buendia also made headlines with various comments about the role of Physique and Bikini divisions in ‘reviving’ the sport of bodybuilding- making the entire competitive scene more attractive to new fans. Although there certainly is some merit to his claim, many adherents of old school bodybuilding took umbrage at comments they perceived to be disrespectful to the sport in which Buendia has made his name.

With so much going on outside of the injury, there were serious doubts as to whether Jeremy would be able to grow enough to dominate the stage. Leading a pack of hungry challengers, same as last year, is Andre Ferguson, who appears to be in top shape. Around 11 weeks out (5 days ago) Jeremy posted this:

His physique looks impressively recovered. Buendia’s genetics are phenomenal, not only in his sheer ability to grow, but also in his physical proportions for the Physique class. He manages to keep an extremely small waist while boasting a massive shoulder girdle and arms. He is also an intelligent competitor who know’s how to win, taking advantage of a relatively neglected area last year, showing off his well-built legs in flatteringly tight shorts.

That’s likely to be a opportunity his competitors won’t miss this year. With only around ten weeks to go, precision is everything in training. If he can win a solid 5th championship after the pec tear, Jeremy will be cemented as head and shoulders above the other Physique competitors, and perhaps ideally primed for a move to Classic Physique.

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