It was in 2017 that Yukon bodybuilder Ben Wondga last set foot on stage. Competing in the Knight of Champions, Wondga claimed the top prize in the light heavyweight division.

In winning his division back in 2017, the then-39 Wondga qualified for the Canadian Nationals and a Pro Qualifier, but did not attend.

His main reason for taking a year off was he wanted to spend time with his two daughters.

"In 2018, I wanted to spend the summer with my kids, so I decided not to compete that year," said Wondga.

There were other factors as well. If he was going to compete in larger competitions, he wanted to do it right.

"More than anything, I wanted to make improvements because I knew there were improvements I needed to do to do better," said Wondga. That was the main reason.

Also, to a certain extent, financial and the kids too. Prepping for a show takes a lot of time and a lot of money.

"Last year, I just had a difficult year, so I wasn't prepared to do those two shows which are much bigger shows and of much higher quality. Because I gave up my qualifications, I had to re-qualify so I had to do another regional show.

Now 41, Wondga made his way back to the stage on Aug. 17 in Vancouver for the Knight of Champions competition. He saw success again, placing first in the Master's division and second in the heavyweight division.

Wondga, a fourth-grade teacher at Jake Hulland Elementary School, has competed in four shows since taking up the sport. Three of those competitions have been the Knight of Champions.

"I picked Knight of Champions more than anything because I really like the promotor; I've been friends with her for a while and secondly the timing," said Wondga.

"Obviously, working in schools, it's nice to be able to compete and prep while you aren't in school."

The heavyweight division Wondga had entered was not on his radar when he registered.

"What ended up happening because there weren't enough entries in my weight class, I'm not a heavyweight, they moved me up," said Wondga. "I was competing with guys, anywhere from 20-40 pounds bigger than me.

"So there was quite a weight discrepancy and size discrepancy, but because of the conditioning I brought, I could hold my own with those guys."

Conditioning in bodybuilding, Wondga explained, is having very low body fat (five per cent or less), being dehydrated so the skin is very thin, revealing muscle separation, striations, and vascularity. His conditioning is a sense of pride, but he says it is not healthy to remain that way.

"I didn't even feel human, almost feeling out of my body, lightheaded isn't even a way of describing it," said Wondga. "To be as dehydrated as you need to be to look how I looked you have no water in your system. My lips are blue and I'm freezing; I had no body fat and no water in my system."

Although the heavyweights had pounds and height on him, Wondga himself said he is not a tall guy; he felt he could have been named the winner.

"To be honest, I think I could have won," said Wondga. "The judges went with a guy that I don't feel had conditioning as good as mine but he had nice shape. He was probably about 30 pounds bigger than me … it's not that he wasn't a good bodybuilder; he looked good; I give him tons of credit."

On competition day, Wondga weighed 183 pounds with less than five per cent body fat. Five days later, he was back up to 205 pounds.

It was after the competition and he had some time to mull over the judges' decision did he realize his accomplishment.

"I was happy with my placing," said Wondga. "At the time, obviously a little disappointed, but once I had a little bit of time to reflect and think about not competing in my weight class, it was pretty validating to get that second place.

"It was a big lineup. There were 10 guys in the lineup and the top five were stellar. Everyone was in good shape. To get second in that lineup, it was a good accomplishment."

When in a lineup with other athletes, it is a good indication the judges like you if they move you to the middle of the line. Wondga found himself moved to the middle almost immediately.

"It was pretty much right away," said Wondga. "It was me and the guy who ended up winning who got moved to the middle right away and then they just moved guys around us as they went."

Having done three prior shows, the formatting for the most recent show threw him off a little bit.

"The formatting was quite a bit different than the last time I competed," said Wondga. "Normally you compete in the lineup in the morning and then you compete in the lineup at the night show as well.

"This time, we only competed in the morning and then at the night show was singles routines, then they called us out and gave us our awards. A little bit different formatting."

The heavyweight competition started with 10 bodybuilders before being whittled down to a top five.

Before the lineup, Wondga said, each competitor had 30 seconds on stage to do their five or six best poses. For him, that is showing his arms, chest, and deltas.

In the lineup, in the evening portion, the athletes take the stage together and hit a mandatory seven poses as called out by the judges.

"If you have two guys like me and the first place guy that were really close, they continued to call out mandatory poses so they could continue to compare us," said Wondga.

"The top five that were left, the same thing. They will call out mandatory poses while moving you around."

In previous competitions, Wondga said, in the lineup, he would be shaking because of nerves.

"In the past, I was insanely nervous but having said that, in the past, I wasn't nearly as prepared as I was this time," said Wondga. "I knew the package I was bringing was solid so I had confidence in that and it being my fourth show you are more comfortable standing up there in those little shorts and you know what to expect in the lineup."

Having had good showings at Knight of Champions, he once again qualified for Nationals and Pro Qualifiers. At the moment, he is not sure if he will begin the process of preparing for the two events.

"Initially, yes, that was the goal," said Wondga. "Moving forward, it's a little bit tricky, to be honest. I'm not going to beat around the bush. It is a very time-consuming thing and it costs a lot of money, especially food.

"In the offseason, you have to eat like a horse for me to make the necessary improvements that I would have to make for the National or pro-qualifier level next summer. I'd have to eat double what I was eating during prep, minimum."

Improvements Wondga said he would have to make include adding 25 pounds of muscle to his weak areas – not that he looks weak at all. He outlined his legs, back and upper-chest as needing more muscle.

After the competition, Wondga said he experienced what he and the bodybuilding world describe as the "post-show blues".

"There is a relief, but there are the post-show blues," said Wondga. "You've been so focused, so regimented for a good period of time. It's a focus like no other, everything else in life gets cut out.

"Obviously, I had to spend quite a bit of time preparing for the upcoming school year and I did some coaching courses for hockey but for the most part, it's tunnel vision.

"Then you do the show and it's like, ‘what do I do now?’ A lot of guys get down, and I do too. Also physically, this was probably the worst one. Because of the level I took it to this time, took my body to where I got it, it was really hard coming off it and returning to a normal state."

Now in the offseason, Wondga said he is happy to enjoy some sweets with his two daughters, but his diet remains 90 per cent clean.

Wondga wanted to thank his coach, Antoine Vaillant, his gym sponsor, Cliff and Erin Shultz, and his sponsors Ryderwear, RedCon1, IronBull Strength, Saxx Underwear and Yukon Nissan for helping him get back to a competitive level.

If anybody is looking for some advice about the sport or just want some tips at the gym (he trains at Peak Fitness), he said they can absolutely come ask him.