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Bodybuilding.com, the Internet’s most-visited bodybuilding and fitness site and largest retailer of nutritional supplements, held its 8th Annual Bodybuilding.com Fitness Expo April 3rd at the Knitting Factory Concert House in celebration of fitness and health, and in true BFE fashion it was bigger than ever! Free admission, free supplements, and the promise of a night to remember drew in a record crowd for the event. For those who weren’t fortunate enough to attend (or were stuck at the end of the never-ending line) here’s what you missed: Mr. USA, Masters Champion, IFBB Pro and Bodybuilding.com-sponsored athlete Bob Cicherillo hosted the event with his usual flare, pulling the hottest stars on stage throughout the evening. Such celebrities included: Kim Lyons (trainer from The Biggest Loser); Mr. Universe Gunter Schlierkamp (seen in Warner Bros. “Beerfest”); UFC Light-Heavyweight Champ Rashad Evans and UFC Welterweight Champ Thiago “Pitbull” Alves; Pro Bodybuilders “X-Man” Toney Freeman, Trey “Phenom” Brewer, Hall of Famer Kevin Levrone and Flex Lewis; 2x Ms. Figure Olympia Jenny Lynn; and many more! The Bodybuilding.com stage was packed with live entertainment. Pro Bodybuilder Marika Johansson (“The Viking Queen”) kicked off the night with a stunning posing routine, putting most of the men in…

The Olympia weekend’s prize money just got bigger, to an incredible $800,000, an increase of $45,000 from last year’s prize money. And what does the winner of the 2009 Mr. Olympia get? $200,000 – currently of which their is no clear front runner, although Dexter Jackson has the title and will be defending it against a myriad of top bodybuilders, including Victor Martinez, Jay Cutler, Phil Heath, and Kai Greene. Thanks to our friends at flexonline.com, who gave us the heads up of the total prize purse.  It times of a recession, and some of the toughest days, it is great to see AMI supporting and putting more money into the best bodybuilding contest! To purchase regular or VIP tickets for the Olympia, please go to this link http://www.mrolympia.com/2009/tickets.html

The 2009 NPC Max Muscle Natural Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini contest was held at the Veterans Auditorium in Culver City, California, on Saturday, March 28th.  There were 105 competitors competing, which was a record amount of competitors for this show.  Here are the results and pictures from the contest. 2009 NPC Max Muscle Naturals Results http://contest.bodybuilding.com/results/6932 2009 NPC Max Muscle Naturals Mens Bodybuilding Pictures http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6932/event/1/ 2009 NPC Max Muscle Naturals Figure Pictures http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6932/event/3/ 2009 NPC Max Muscle Naturals Bikini Pictures http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6932/event/6/ 2009 NPC Max Muscle Naturals Womens Bodybuilding Pictures http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6932/event/2/ 2009 NPC Max Muscle Naturals Misc Pictures http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6932/tag/5/

Sunday afternoon, I received the news from Lonnie Teper that Irvin ‘Zabo’ Koszewski has passed away, at the age of 84.  While I didn’t know Irvin, I had heard his name a number of times from the past, as he was considered a great bodybuilder. Here, from the ifbb.com website, is all about the Bodybuilder Hall of Famer. Irvin ‘Zabo’ Koszewski was born August 20, 1924 in Camden, New Jersey. In the history of our sport, perhaps no one has been identified with – and applauded for – a particular Bodypart more than Irvin “Zabo” Koszewski; so much so that his nickname is better known and more used than his proper first name. Throw in the fact that he has been a Muscle Beach fixture for more than 50 years, and it is clear why he was elected to the Hall of Fame. Zabo’s quest for a perfect midsection began at the age of seven, after seeing photographs of Eugen Sandow’s abdominal development. This early determination would serve him well later in life, when he would seldom fail to win best abs in the contests he entered. While in high school, athletic Zabo lettered in track, swimming and wrestling, and…

I will heading down to the evening part of the 2009 NPC Max Muscle Natural competition this weekend, on Saturday, March 28th.   While last weeks NPC San Diego had over 130 competitors, this contest already has 100 competitors, which is a new record for this competition.  It is in Los Angeles, aka Culver City, at the Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium.  As for the emcee in the evening, it is none other than the best one in the business, Lonnie Teper himself, one of the ‘Experts’ at the mike! See you there…

The NPC San Diego contest was the first NPC show in California to feature the new NPC Bikini division, and a lot of people were anticipating to see exactly what were they look for, and what the differences would be between Figure and Bikini.  This was a big local show, over 130 competitors, and there were some surprises, plus some promising competitors that will do quite well this year.  There was also a lot of novice competitors, and it was nice to see people go up on stage and feel good about themselves, through training, diet and discipline. Here are some pics and the results from the event… Results http://contest.bodybuilding.com/results/6922 Men’s Bodybuilding Pics (Novice and Open) http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6922/event/1/mode/will/ Women’s Bodybuilding Pics http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6922/event/2/mode/will/ Figure Comeptitor Pics http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6922/event/3/mode/will/ Bikini Competitor Pics http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6922/event/6/mode/will/ Misc Pictures from the event http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/6922/mode/will/page/756 Thanks for making it a great show!

It was a sold out venue here in San Diego as promoter Jon Lindsay had another spectacular event with over 130 competitors, and a standing room only crowd that spilled into the expo area. Here is a picture of the overall competitors, including Rob Pyfer, Jennifer Nixon, Michelle Gullett, and Ron Sargeant with promoter Jon Lindsay. Diana Feather (women’s bb) is not pictured. Here is a picture of Super Heavyweight Ron Sargeant, Heavyweight Jamie Grote, and Light Heavyweight Rob Pyfer at the final comparisons. Here is a picture of Middleweight Craig Jones, Lightweight Enrique Ortiz, and Bantamweight Tyler Anderson in the final comparison round.

The first NPC California show of the season, and the competitor that brought out the biggest buzz from the audience was Ron Sargeant, a massive 280 pound guy who was competing in his FIRST show.  Ron won the overall novice, and when you look at the picture of the novices, he dwarfed them all, buy height and size.  Ron told me that he isnt even in shape yet, that he is preparing for the NPC Orange County Muscle Classic, where he will be ready, and just wanted to get on stage here in San Diego to see what it was like. Here are some pics of Ron.

Hidetada Yamagishi, Idrise Ward-El, Kris Dim, Brandon Curry and many others were in full force supporting and checking out the 2009 NPC San Diego bodybuilding, figure, fitness and bikini competition at the Scottish Rite Auditorum on Saturday, March 21st.  Hidetada told me that he currently is in better shape that he was at the 2009 Ironman, and will make the top three and qualify for the 2009 Mr. Olympia when he gets on stage in Orlando. Here are some pics.

Lonnie Teper is once again the 2009 Arnold Classic bodybuilding emcee, and a part of our little group of ‘experts’, in which we try to accurately predict who will place in the top 10 of various contests. In his current blog, LT details how Isaac Hinds, Ron Avidan and LT differs in their predictions. Who do you predict, and can you outpredict the ‘experts’? Here is the blog with all three of our predictions. http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/blogs/lonnie/?p=877

Monday morning, and a lot of rumors were started on the Getbig boards that Kai Greene, while training at Gold’s Gym of Venice over the weekend, passed out while doing cardio, and someone called 911 to get him help. Furthermore, they said he was taken to the emergency room too. Well, I received a few calls today on this matter to set the story straight.  According to various people, Kai was training and working on his third round of cardio. When he finished the cardio, he was quite tired, and laid down in the back of the gym to catch his breath.  Some member of the gym saw him back there, and ran up the to front desk, and told them that somebody was passed out in the back of the gym.  According to them, no one called 911.  Kai rested, then got up, walked to his car, and drove himself home.  Now, another confirmed source said that he DID pass out.  He was on a stairclimber, doing cardio, and missed a step, whereas he fell off and passed out. They did call 911, but by the time they got there, he was ok, and he left on his own. So until Kai…

Rain, snow or shine, on March 6th, we will be heading to the 2009 IFBB Arnold Classic in downtown Columbus, Ohio.   And as we do every year, many of us like to predict on how will win and who may not be the best at the contest.  Of course this is just for fun, because in reality, none of us know how one is going to look in stage that day, but via rumors, reports and talk from follow competitors, fans and training and diet partners, the hype has begun. So who do I think will place well at the 2009 Arnold Classic. Here it goes, based on the 13 athletes that should be there. 1 – Victor Martinez.  Yes, a knee injury sidelined Victor from competing in the 2008 Mr. Olympia, in which many thought, if he had been healthy, could have been the new king. Instead, Victor now has some doubts from his fans, and others around the globe, on whether Victor will be ready when he gets on that state. Yes, he upper body should look fantastic, but will his legs match his incredible physique??? I think it will, and at the end, Victor will be crowned…

  Las Vegas is where it will be happening on September 24-27 for the Olympia contest. The updated Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend 2009 site is up and revamped, with ticket sales beginning on February 28, 2009.   The site is located at www.mrolympia.com, so go check it out.  The Olympia Weekend is the biggest bodybuilding event of the year, with almost all of the top competitors in bodybuilding, fitness and figure competing.  The fun begins on Thursday, September 24th with the Mr. Olympia Press Conference at 1pm at the Orleans Hotel’s Showroom , followed by the Meet the Olympians at the Orleans Hotel’s Mardi Gras Ballrooms. The Olympia Expo begins on Friday, September 25th, opening at 10am, with early access at 9:30am to VIP and Platinum members. The expo is located at the Las Vegas Convention Center., and ends Saturday at 5pm. On Friday, at 11am, the Figure, Fitness and Ms. Olympia prejuding will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center stage.  On Friday at 7pm, the Men’s Prejudging and the Finals of the Fitness and Ms. Olympia will be held at the Orleans Arena. On Saturday, at 10:30am at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Men’s 202lb and Under Showdown Prejudging will…

Nutrabolics is on a role, first signing MMA fighter Frank Mir, who will appear at their booth at the 2009 Arnold Classic Weekend, and now also has signed IFBB pro Ben White. Ben White was the 2007 NPC USA Overall champion, and startted his IFBB pro career at the 2008 New York Pro, only to fall short of a qualification to the 2008 IFBB Mr. Olympia by one place.  This year, Ben is going to try again by competing in the 2009 New York Pro bodybuilding contest. In a press release, Ben said “I would like to thank my new sponsor Nutrabolics for helping me to get ready for the 2009 New York Pro Show. I am very happy to be part of such a great time of athletes and I would like to thank all my fans for their contrinuing support. As everyone knows, I took the whole 2008 off to work on impriving and perfecting my physique. I have made great strides and gains, and I look forward to competing in the 2009 IFBB schedule in the best shape of my career.”

For the last few years, only the top two men out of all the classes turned pro with the IFBB. This year, the NPC has added one additional slot for a person to turn pro. So instead of two, three competitors that has won their class will turn pro. Also, the Bikini division has been added to this years show, with each of the class winners turning pro (six total).  Add 2 pro cards for Women’s Bodybuilding, and 6 pro cards from Figure, and that makes a total of 17 new IFBB Pros come the end of the July. For those of you that wish to compete or attend, the event will be held on July 24-29 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  For complete event information go to www.musclecontest.com.

It begins…. because of the peanut recall from PCA (Peanut Corp of America), companies like Forward Foods, which makes the Detour Bars, are suffering big time. On Tuesday, they filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Recall insurance is expensive, and many of these companies just don’t carry it.  Here is the press release on it.  NEW YORK, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Forward Foods LLC, the maker of Detour energy bars, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday after a tainted peanut recall by its supplier, Peanut Corp of America, forced the company to recall many of its own products on fears of possible salmonella poisoning. Forward Foods, which makes high-protein, snack and meal replacement bars primarily under the Detour name, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, saying that a “significant” amount of its inventory must be condemned. The company on Jan. 29 had voluntarily recalled all Detour bars that contained roasted peanuts from Peanut Corp. A salmonella outbreak traced to one of Peanut Corp’s plants led to one of the biggest product recalls in U.S. history. The salmonella outbreak sickened 600 people, more than half of them children, and it may have killed nine people. The contamination has been traced to a Peanut…

Lee Priest is most definitely out of the 2009 Australian Pro, which has disappointed thousands of fans who wanted to see the comeback of one of the most prolific IFBB competitors, who was suspended when he left for a while. Lee is going to have surgery this Wednesday in Australia (that is Tuesday here in the US) on a torn tendon, which needed to be screwed back on to the bone and stitched (Lee’s words). After that, he won’t be able to move the arm for six weeks. We wish Lee a speedy recovery. For all those fans in Australia, Lee is still supposed to be at the 2009 Australian Pro, just not competing on stage, but to greet the Australian fans.

Lee Priest anticipated return to the IFBB pro circuit at the 2009 Australian Pro five weeks away has been talked about for a long time now, and here are a few pictures of Lee Priest. You can see more pics and a discussion of Lee Priest on the Getbig Boards at Lee Priest has new pics

“In light of recent circumstances, I feel it is my responsibility to clear the air and explain one of the many reasons why both Dave Palumbo and John Romano were terminated. Dave was hired two years ago to be Editor-in-Chief of the Muscular Development website. During the first year, he was instrumental in helping to grow it. During this past year, Dave’s interests were focused increasingly on his side businesses of training athletes and launching his supplement line. John was hired by Dave as a paid employee to endorse and promote this supplement line. Because of this, John’s position as Senior Editor was compromised. Together they were using MD and the website as a vehicle to further their own interests, and as a result, less time was being spent on increasing the website’s potential and taking it to the next level. During their employment, Dave and John’s contributions were very much appreciated, and they were well compensated. Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editor are full-time positions and we require those who hold these titles to be willing to give their total focus. This was not the case. Dave and John have not worked onsite in the MD offices for over one year,…

Monday began with a jolt in the small world of bodybuilding, as we learned that Dave Palumbo and John Romano, were both let go by Muscular Development.  Robbie Durand has been appointed the new editor in chief of Muscular Development’s web site. After Romano was fired by MD, he sent the following statement to PBW Radio about the situation.  (John’s statement was read by Dan & Bob on the PBW’s Feburayr 2nd show).    “After 18 years of dedicated service to Muscular Development Magazine, and more recently its website, the relationship that saw me rise from a mere contributor to Senior Editor has come to – as all things inevitably do – an end.  However, the end was not unforeseen. My gradually eroding confidence in the manner in which business was being conducted, and the decisions that were being made, painted a very telling picture of things to come.  Clearly, the direction the magazine and website are now headed counter my beliefs, not to mention those of my radio partner, and former Editor-in-Chief of the Muscular  Development.com, Dave Palumbo.  As you all probably know, Dave’s relationship with MD also ended today.  The manner in which the end unfolded was rather unfortunate,…