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 attendance to shame. World champion competitive jump rope team The Summerwind Skippers took the stage next, performing an action-packed jump routine. Pro bodybuilding superstar Flex Lewis showed off his winning posing routine, and handed out a year’s worth of supplements to the 115lb, 5’10” winner of the ever-popular Mr. Puniverse competition. To follow up the puniness, there was an Exhibition of Strength performed by champion strongman competitors Corey St. Clair and Grant Higa.

The Miss Bikini BodySpace competition kept the crowd entertained throughout the night, as members of BodySpace (Bodybuilding.com’s social network) competed for the title. Bodybuilding.com spokesperson Crystal Matthews and bodybuilder Jerome “Hollywood” Ferguson hosted this inaugural competition, and it was a close race with 12 beautiful, fit contestants. Lacey Gale (BodySpace Name: LiveandLove) took home the 1st place trophy along with a $500 prize; Laura Brooks (BodySpace Name: lcbrooks) won the 2nd place prize of $300; and Katie Horner (BodySpace Name: KatieHorner) took 3rd place, winning $200. All 3 winners received a giant bouquet of long-stem roses from ProFlowers, and all contestants took home Bodybuilding.com gym bags filled with women’s supplements and the latest from Bodybuilding.com’s women’s clothing line.

Bodybuilding.com CEO Ryan DeLuca took advantage of the opportunity to announce the winners of the 2009 Bodybuilding.com Employee 12-Week Transformation Challenge, as well as the Bodybuilding.com Employee of the Year. Ryan Suydam lost 38lbs of body fat, taking home Transformation of the Year and winning an all-expense-paid trip to the 2009 Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas. Ever-humble Human Resources Manager Staci McCulloch won the well-deserved Employee of the Year title, taking home a commemorative trophy and prizes.

This year’s most inspirational performance came from Bodybuilding.com athlete and wheelchair bodybuilder Nick Scott. Originally diagnosed as a paraplegic after a tragic car accident in 1998, Scott became depressed and basically gave up on life, letting his weight balloon to 300lbs. Scott then decided to prove his doctors wrong by learning to walk again. He didn’t stop there though; he took his rehab to the next level to become the 2009 Heavyweight Wheelchair National Bodybuilding Champion. “Once I started competing I fell in love with the sport. Seeing the other competitors on stage overcoming their disabilities, I don’t know…I just wanted to take it to that next level. To do that, I wanted to lead by example,” said Scott. He did just that at the BFE, with an amazing posing routine in and out of his wheelchair. Everyone in attendance went home a Nick Scott fan.

Bodybuilding.com knows how to put on a show, and the 2009 BFE was no exception. After putting on an even this great, the only challenge they face now is topping it next year. In response to this, Director of Marketing John Shumate said, “The show may have just ended, but Bodybuilding.com is already looking at new ways to make it even bigger and better in 2010, so stay tuned.”

UFC® JOINS WITH AMERICAN MEDIA INC. (AMI)
Las Vegas, Nev. (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization and American Media, Inc (AMI), today announced a partnership to publish a special UFC 100 commemorative edition magazine that will be available at newsstands across North America and in some international markets.

“The UFC 100 magazine will highlight the 15-year history of the UFC in a way that no other medium could,” said UFC President Dana White. “And with unrestricted access, this issue will truly capture this symbolic moment in our sport. We’re happy to do this special issue with AMI because they’ve believed in UFC’s potential since we bought the company in 2001. We’ve worked successfully with them in the past, and many of their best-selling issues have featured our fighters on the cover.”

The UFC 100 commemorative edition magazine will arrive at newsstands on June 29, 2009 and is timed to coincide with a pay-per-view event that is expected to be one of the biggest in UFC history on July 11. In the special issue, fans will get a preview at what’s ahead for this event, and it’s intended to be a keepsake that will provide a memorable look back at this UFC milestone.

“When you combine UFC, great stories about its fighters and put practical information about the sport of mixed martial arts into the readers’ hands, you have their undivided attention,” said AMI Chairman David J. Pecker. “These readers speak the language of UFC and this commemorative magazine will be about them and their relationship with the fastest-growing sport in America.”

AMI titles including Men’s Fitness, Flex and Muscle & Fitness have featured top UFC fighters, as well as UFC President Dana White and UFC® All Access™ show host Rachelle Leah, on past covers and enjoyed a surge in newsstand sales, with several UFC covers breaking all-time sales records for AMI. “We’ve enjoyed working with Dana and his team and look forward to taking our association to the next level,” added Mr. Pecker.

With a diverse, loyal fan base of millions of customers in the United States and abroad, the UFC100 Special Commemorative Issue is expected to be an instant collector’s item and one of the most popular, best-selling titles of the year for AMI’s magazine unit.

For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com, UK.UFC.com, GERMANY.UFC.com or UFCespanol.com.

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship®
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN Entertainment, BellTV, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Viewers Choice, and WOWOW in Japan, and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand

Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa™, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.

About American Media, Inc.
American Media, Inc. is the leading publisher of celebrity journalism and health and fitness magazines in the U.S. These include Star, Shape, Men’s Fitness, Fit Pregnancy, Natural Health, and National Enquirer. In addition to print properties, AMI maintains web sites for all of its brands. AMI also owns Distribution Services, Inc., the country’s #1 in-store magazine merchandising company.

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 he was also captain of the football team, for which he was selected as an all-state guard. He began weight training outdoors at Roberts Lake in Collingswood, New Jersey, and when the lake was closed for the winter, Zabo brought home the barbells and began a gym in his basement.

In 1943, Zabo enlisted in the army infantry, along with training partner Dino Mazzo; a photo of Zabo from that year appeared in Strength & Health magazine when he was stationed in Utica, New York. During his enlistment, Zabo served in New Zealand and Australia, and he fought in three combat landings. While in Japan, he was stationed near an iron foundry and was able to improvise his training by using odd pieces of iron. However, malaria and dengue fever reduced his 185 pounds to 135.

Zabo continued his training when he returned stateside; he won Mr. New Jersey in 1948, as well as the junior and senior Mr. Middle Atlantic titles in 1950. The following year, he stepped foot on Muscle Beach in California and knew he had found home. Between 1950 and 1954, he would win Mr. Pacific Coast and Mr. California titles and enter the AAU Mr. America contest four times, achieving placings of 13th, 5th, and 3rd (two times) – while always winning best abs.

At the 1965 Mr. America, held in conjunction with the inaugural Mr. Olympia, Zabo placed third in the medium class, he won, of course, best abs. Two years later, he won the Mr. International medium class, as well as the unique title of World’s Best Abs. His bodybuilding successes led to mainstream notoriety, as he landed a part in the TV series Combat for five years, worked in movies and toured with the Mae West Show.

Evidence of Zabo’s longevity can be found in his participation in the 1970 Pro World event in Columbus, Ohio, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sergio Oliva faced off in the tall division, and Zabo landed fourth in the short class. By 1978, he was honored as the Venice Beach Bodybuilding Man of the Year. Zabo is still employed by World Gym in Venice.

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.

FLEXONLINE.com reports that Moe El Moussawi joins a short list of IFBB Pros with publication contracts. Look for Moe on stage this Saturday where he looks to redeem himself from the IRONMAN Pro.

Mo Elmoussawi signs contract with Weider Publications
Weider Publications is proud to announce the signing of IFBB Pro League athlete Mo Elmoussawi. Elmoussawi, 34, recently placed second at the 2009 Ironman Pro and ninth at the 2008 Olympia.

“Being a Weider athlete mean’s I’m one of the top guys,” Elmoussawi said. “It gives me positive energy to go all the way to the top.”

Elmoussawi’s signing comes less than one week out from the Arnold Classic, which will be held this Saturday, March 7, in Columbus, Ohio. In Columbus, Elmoussawi will be looking to improve upon his performance at last year’s Arnold, when he placed 11th. Elmoussawi’s second-place finish at the Ironman was the highest finish of his five-year professional career.

El Moussawi joins a list of athletes that includes Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson, two-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, Phil Heath, Silvio Samuel, Melvin Anthony and Dennis James.

“As far as my career it’s more of a prize of what I’ve achieved lately,” El Moussawi said of signing with Weider.

Many people are talking like the Arnold Classic is between three people. Victor Martinez, Kai Green and Toney Freeman. Don’t forget about one dude who will likely be the most muscular guy on stage, Branch Warren. Branch was looking good three weeks out and in top condition. Can he bring it to the Arnold Classic Stage next weekend? He looks great from the front but his back has held him,well back. If he’s improved his back he could cause problems for others. We’ll see what Branch brings to Columbus in a few days.

Branch Warren back to the Arnold Classic.

Yes. Toney “X-Man” Freeman will be bringing his A-game to the Columbus next weekend. One week out from the Arnold Classic, Toney is on point and will be bigger and better than we’ve seen him. You won’t read anything about the X-man passing out from doing cardio. This seasoned veteran is ready.

Congratulations to Allan Donnelly.

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ — David J. Pecker, Chairman, President and CEO of American Media, Inc. (AMI), today announced that Allan Donnelly has been named the new Editor-in-Chief of FLEX magazine. Since joining FLEX in 2006, Mr. Donnelly has been involved in all aspects of the magazine and website, rising from Senior Editor to Online Editor and, most recently, Executive Editor. His involvement with AMI and Weider Publications dates back to 2001, when he began as an Editor at Men’s Fitness and a contributor to Muscle & Fitness.

Since its inception in 1982, FLEX magazine has been the world’s leading publication for bodybuilding enthusiasts. FLEX reaches over one million readers a month.

About American Media, Inc.
American Media, Inc. is the leading publisher of celebrity journalism and health and fitness magazines in the U.S. These include Star, Shape, Men’s Fitness, Fit Pregnancy, Natural Health, and The National Enquirer. In addition to print properties, AMI manages 14 different web sites. The company also owns Distribution Services, Inc., the country’s #1 in-store magazine merchandising company.

SOURCE American Media, Inc. 

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

8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman recently shared in a radio interview that he gets $5-6,000 per guest appearance. DAYUM! That’s some solid cash for an appearance.

Fans can see Ronnie guest posing this April in Illinois.

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 tells us the truth on what happened, we will just have to wait.

Kai intends to come into the Arnold Classic at 270 pounds. He is currently at 276 pounds, from his original off season weight of 303 pounds. 

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 in first place.

2 – Branch Warren.  What? The man from Texas in second place? No way? Well, once again, we have a competitor who was injured going into the 2008 Mr. Olympia, and is very hungry on proving that he is on top of the bodybuilding world. Branch has been training very hard in Texas, and judging by fellow reports out there, he is ready to go, and will look his best at the Arnold. Branch should surprise the rest of the top competitors.

3 – Toney Freeman.  I didn’t predict Toney would do well at the 2008 Mr. Olympia, and boy was I wrong. And Tony let me know it too! Toney backstage before he even went on at prejudging blasted me and said ‘I will prove you wrong’. And he did.  But this is a new year, and it looks like Toney could of perfected his style and his physique in terms on final preparation. Toney will look good, and will impress all of us again.

4 – Kai Greene.  Kai  Greene was third last year at this contest, but also was injured soon afterwards. Kai is looking good now, and he may have a chance to be in the top two. However, reports of Kai being 292 pounds has worried some that he may not be able to shed all that weight and look 100% great for the Arnold in time.  Thus, I am putting Kai in 4th place.

5 – Silvio Samuel. Silvio let me know it big time when I chose him in second place in my predictions for the 2009 IFBB Ironman Pro. Said how can I not predict him in first at that show. At the time, Moe El Moussawi looked great, but in the last few days, faltered in his preparations, in which Silvio handily won the 2009 Ironman.  But the 2009 Arnold Classic is a much tougher competitor field. The top four above Silvio did not compete in the Ironman, and rumors are they will look great. Have we seen the best of Silvio at the Ironman? Or will Silvio step it up a little more and beat my prediction of 5th place.

6 –  Dennis James.  Two shows last year, the Tampa and the Europa, Dennis James came in second place, with Toney Freeman beating him. Dennis was not happy with those results, because Dennis looked real good.  At the Olympia, Dennis was one spot behind Silvio, which means that Dennis is going to have to look spectacular in order to move up from 6th place here.  Go Dennis Go!

7 – Moe El Moussawi.  We had such high predictions for Moe for the 2009 Ironman, but Moe just wasn’t 100% there.  In terms of getting ready, Moe gained 10+ pounds, but lost some of his shredded look.  Moe has beat Silvio in the past, and if Moe can come back to his shredded look, and take his time in getting ready in the final days of the show, he may surprise us all, and place higher here. And if he doesn’t, then Ronny Rockel, Gustavo Badell and Johnnie Jackson just may pass him up.

8 – Ronny Rockel.  Surprised us all at the 2009 Ironman, which many saying that he should of placed second there above Moe El Moussawi.  So Ronny has something to prove, coming into the Arnold with a motivation to show others that he is better and will be more shredded at this show.

9 – Gutavo Badell. Gustavo was supposed to compete in the Ironman, but dropped out, due to family obligations.  But with Gustavo, you never know how good or bad he will look on stage.  I hope he looks good, and comes back to the overall shape he was at one time, but this year may be difficult. We will see.

10 – Johnnie Jackson.   Johnnie entered into the 2009 Ironman at the last possible minute, and looked much worse than any of us predicted we will be.  Johnnie could and should of looked much better than what he did, and I know he will improve coming into the Arnold Classic. The question is, with this tough lineup, can he do better than 10th place.

11 – Ahmad Haider.  At the 2009 Ironman, Ahmad qualified for the Mr. Olympia by placing 5th. He looked good, but I am not sure how much more can Ahmad improve, giving his fellow competitors an edge. I may be wrong, but Ahmad by just place out of the top 10 here in Columbus.

12 – Marcus Haley.   A tough lineup here, and his will be good experience for Marcus. Whereas Marcus will not crack the top 10, he does have a change to prove he is the best poser, with only perhaps Kai Greene, and maybe Toney Freeman challenging him for that. Have fun Marcus, the Arnold is one great contest.

13 – Sergey Shelestov. Wow – not sure why Sergey even wants to compete in this tough lineup, with almost no chance of not placing last, no matter how many people are in the lineup.  A very interesting choice to be invited for the Arnold.  Enjoy the show, and come in shape please!