For someone who's competed on the national level, I don't know why you're asking for a lay opinion. I guess it's not that important to you. Usually, when you need brain surgery, you wouldn't ask a peer to do it, let alone a layperson. You'd seek out the best neurosurgeon.
Having said that, from how you described your placing, it sounds like you got killed with mass and conditioning. It's not uncommon for competitors to take time off to put on mass and they usually come back bigger and better. Look at what Gunter Schlierkamp did in 2002. If you put on the mass and get the conditioning you're hoping to get from taking a year off to be able to place in the top 5 at the national level, a qualifying show should be a walk in the park.
I know this gets into bodybuilding politics but I had lunch after prejudging at a local show with a few of the competitors and the guy who would win the show that night said he was "nudged" by the promotor to to do the show because he was already in shape and the other guys weren't ready to compete at the national level. He had no other reason to do the contest since he was already qualified for the show that he picked up his pro card at a week later. The point is, if you're big enough and in good enough shape, doing a qualifying show should be a mere annoyance.
I don't know if you're watching the Olympics at all but right now, alot of the competitions they're airing are just qualifying heats for the finals later. It's standard protocol in competition.
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