Gymrat’s Weblog

Scandinavia’s No 1 meeting point for the Scandinavian market!

• Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
• Date: December 8-9

The Fitness Festival was first held in its original form in 1986. The festival has grown to become Scandinavia’s natural meeting point for the fitness and wellbeing trends of today and tomorrow. In 2007 the festival is set to be the best ever. Hopefully both where marketing and the number of visitors are concerned. visitor statistics show an ever rising number of visitors and we reckon on welcoming at least 10.000 high quality visitors this year.

The Fitness Festival represents an opportunity for club owners, personal trainers and active people from all over Scandinavia to meet under one roof. And over the course of the festival there will be activities going on all the time to attract visitors from the growing Scandinavian fitness market.

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Sports nutrition, fitness and training equipment, wellbeing and beauty, health, care and rehabilitation, consultancy for the fitness & wellbeing sector, aerobics, music and fashion.

The amateur competitors marching in and disrobing for Luciapokalen Bodybuilding:
The World’s Biggest Beginner Bodybuilding Competition!

Last year Ronnie.cz made a cool application where you could compare all Mr. Olympia contestants with each other, pose for pose (based on photos from FLEX Online from the prejudging). This year the application is hosted on www.mr-olympia.eu:

Technorati Tags: Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler, Bodybuilding, Ronnie Coleman, Olympia

In todays edition of The New York Times Eva Birath, a Swedish female bodybuilder who started competing at 47, is profiled in the article “At 51, Establishing a New Body of Work“. Visit Evas home page and blog!

Eva Birath’s decision to go from a harried marketing executive to professional bodybuilder was an almost-unheard-of career change.

In December 2002, Eva was laid off. Birath sold her house and moved into an apartment. She sold her car. She had no idea what to do next.

She began going to a nearby gym, where one of the regulars told her she had a good physique for bodybuilding. She found out about a tournament to be held the following December and she signed up, despite knowing virtually nothing about the sport — how to diet, how to train, how to pose.

“It was very unusual for someone to begin bodybuilding at my age, but I thought my age was one bit of the challenge,” said Birath, who is now 51. “I think all people have preconceptions, like that bodybuilders are all stupid. I think I probably thought bodybuilders were a bit stupid, too.”

Technorati tags: Bodybuilding, Female Muscle, Fitness, Muscle, Babes, Weight training, Gym

Technorati Tags: Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler, Bodybuilding, Ronnie Coleman, Olympia

This job ad was posted to Arbetsförmedlingen, a Swedish employment agency with over 325 local offices, on Monday:

Wanted: Posing oil smearer for the Swedish Championships in Bodybuilding/Fitness (1 Position)

We at eSunLess are looking for a nice, energetic person for helping us at the Swedish Championships in Bodybuilding/Fitness, October 13-14 (Saturday-Sunday).

Your duty will be to take care of all the bodybuilding and fitness competitors need for posing oil, right before they step onto stage.

It is important that you are comfortable taking responsibility. Send a photo of yourself.

Salary: 500 Swedish Kroner per day (about US$75).

In comments to the Swedish media (who naturally picked up on the story after it began to be e-mailed, blogged about and discussed in forums) the companys owner, Luke Ray, said:

The posing oil is extremely important, the amount has to be just right. Too much and the muscles are obscured, and the competitor can place last instead of winning.

Over 70 people have answered the ad - so far. Mostly female applicants in their twenties…

Technorati Tags: Advertising, Bodybuilding, Fitness, Viral, Viral Marketing, Fun, Jobs, Employment, Muscles, Work, Career, Marketing, PR, Babe, Girls, Guys, Hunk, bikini, trunks, Sweden, word of mouth, buzz marketing, online advertising

Update: Now Sweden’s largest tabloid has a report on it’s web-tv channel. Click on the image below to view how the pro explains to the person not familiar with bodybuilding how and why the posing oil is applied:

BSN Online, supplement sponsor to Ronnie Coleman, announces his retirement from the Olympia competition stage:

Amidst a whirlwind of speculation, Internet message board gossip, hearsay, conjecture and bodybuilding industry rumors for the last year, 8-Time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman and arguably the greatest bodybuilder of all time has just shocked the world by announcing that he will be officially retiring from Olympia competition after this upcoming Mr. Olympia contest on September 29th.

Ronnie, knee-deep in contest prep and in all-out training camp mode, was just quoted moments ago as saying, “This is it for me at the Olympia, and September 29th will be the last time I step on a Mr. Olympia stage. I want to thank God, my family, my friends, all the great fans who have supported me over the years, Weider and especially BSN. I don’t take anything for granted and appreciate all the support from the bottom of my heart. I’ll see you all at the Olympia!”

But it is not a total retirement, as FLEX Online reports from the interview on Monday with on Pro Bodybuilding Weekly:

Coleman, however, stopped short of saying he was retiring from the sport entirely. “I like a lot of the European stuff, so maybe the European stuff or the Arnold Classic if I can get my nerves up for that,” Coleman said of where he would compete next, if not at the Olympia. “But definitely, I would like to do the European Stuff if they can have it any more over there, because the tour has already been cancelled for this year.”

When pressed by hosts Dan Solomon and Bob Cicherillo on why he would become the first Olympia winner to lose the O, then go on to compete in other competitions, Coleman answered, “The Olympia is no small task, that’s a big task. There’s a lot of pressure going into it, a lot of work you gotta put your body through and stuff. Just the Olympia atmosphere itself is so, so big. And I’ve done that for so many years now. It comes to a point where you have to move on and do some other things.”

Technorati Tags: Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler, Bodybuilding, Ronnie Coleman, Olympia, Bob Cicherillo, Supplements, BSN

In the latest installment of Bodybuilding.coms pre-Olympia video series Bob Cicherillo travels to Las Vegas, Nevada, to meet Jay Cutler for an interview in Jay’s home, and a back workout in “Jay’s” Gold’s Gym in Vegas. Five weeks out from Mr. Olympia, what are Cutler’s thoughts?

Watch Mr. Olympia himself, Jay Cutler, get ready for the 2007 Mr. Olympia rematch. Can he beat Ronnie Coleman and Victor Martinez again this year and successfully defend his crown?

Complete Olympia: The Series Listing with links:

• Introduction: Series Trailer - Date: 6/29/2007
• Episode #1: Marcus Haley - Date: 7/09/2007
• Episode #2: Annie Rivieccio - Date: 7/17/2007
• Episode #3: Silvio Samuel Saviour - Date: 7/20/2007
• Episode #4: Toney Freeman - Date: 7/24/2007
• Episode #5: Darrem Charles - Date: 7/27/2007
• Episode #6: Dayana Cadeau - Date: 7/31/2007
• Episode #7: Melvin Anthony - Date: 8/3/2007
• Episode #8: Quincy Taylor - Date: 8/7/2007
• Episode #9: Ronnie Coleman - Date: 8/14/2007
• Episode #10: Johnnie O. Jackson - Date: 8/17/2007
• Episode #11: Monica Brant-Peckham - Date: 8/21/2007
• Episode #12: Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler - Date: 9/04/2007

Technorati Tags: Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler, Bodybuilding, Ronnie Coleman, Olympia, Ms. Olympia, Bob Cicherillo, Gold’s Gym, Gym, Fitness Olympia, Fitness, Annie Rivieccio, Dayana Cadeau, Monica Brant-Peckham, Monica Brant

The new September issue of Muscletime Magazine has just been posted online. From the Content:

• News & Gossip! New Pro - Erik Fankhouser; PLUS - Eddie Abbew 4 weeks out!
• 2007 Olympia predictions! heck out our photo preview of the 2007 Mr. Olympia - the Re-Match
• More Europa pics & clip! Check out some new awesome photos and a video from Dallas Europa comparisons
• NEW Europa Snapshots: Check out some more snapshots we took in Texas
• MT Poster & Muscle History: On the poster - Ronnie Coleman; MT history - Achim Albrecht
• MT Digitorial & Reps: News from the MT crew and MT Reps with Sami Al Haddad
• Transformer - new series! Quincy Taylor in 2000 and in 2007 !
• Coming up: A sneak peak into our 2nd September issue…

Click on the image below to go to the home page of the excellent online magazine from Austria:

Ocala Star-Banner reports:

Arthur A. Jones, inventor of the Nautilus exercise equipment and founder of the Jumbolair estate in Anthony, died at about 4:40 a.m. today at his Ocala home. Jones was 80. His son, William, said he died of natural causes.

In 1970, he introduced Nautilus equipment, “the first of its kind marketed to utilize the principle of variable resistance to develop muscles and build strength,” according to MedX.

The article concludes with this quote:

“I hope that Arthur Jones’ contributions in the fields of fitness, sports medicine, exercise physiology and orthopedic rehabilitation will be recognized and appreciated,” said MedX executive Jim Flanagan, who worked with Jones from 1971 to 1996.

For much more on Arthur A. Jones, visit Arthur Jones Exercise, where you can read Arthur Jones’ written works free online, hosted by the Personal Trainer Certification I.A.R.T. Also visit the web site for MedX Corporation, which Arthur Jones created in 1986.

At Dr. Ellington Darden’s High-Intensity Training forum the thread about Arthur Jones’ passing is moving reading.

Nautilus, Inc. recognizes the passing of the founder of Nautilus Equipment:

The Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE: NLS) staff and board sadly acknowledge the passing of Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus® training equipment in 1970 that has served as the standard of strength training equipment for nearly four decades.

“The fitness innovations Mr. Jones brought to market are what first established the Nautilus brand as the gold standard in fitness,” said Bob Falcone, Chairman and CEO of Nautilus, Inc. “We are pleased to carry on his legacy of innovation with a complete line of cardiovascular and strength equipment bearing the Nautilus brand.”

Update: Both New York Times and The Washington Post now has articles about Mr. Jones passing:

Mr. Jones was a rough-and-tumble character who had six wives, a nearly lifelong smoking habit and an affection for exotic animals like rattlesnakes and crocodiles, which he kept at his farm, the younger Mr. Jones said.

He tinkered with exercise equipment for more than 20 years before creating his first Nautilus machine, called the Blue Monster, in the late 1960s. Mr. Jones presented the equipment at a Mr. America contest in California and started Arthur Jones Productions to sell the equipment. The company’s name was later changed to Nautilus, because the cam, or gear, that was crucial to the machine’s success resembled a nautilus.

Technorati Tags: Arthur Jones, Arthur A. Jones, Nautilus, MedX, Bodybuilding, Fitness, Sports Medicine, Exercise, Exercise Physiology

The Seattle Times reports of a story that has gotten worldwide attention in bodybuilding discussion forums. An amateur bodybuilder, Todd Jewell, was able to subdue a serial bank robber, ultimately crushing the mans ribs after he wouldn’t succumb:

“Old School” was expelled Friday, thanks to a world-class body builder.

It all happened in Lynnwood when a robber, known to the FBI as the”Old School Bandit” because of a bandanna he always wore across his face — an old-school disguise — tried to rob a Banner Bank.

He was ambushed by a customer who just happens to be a top bodybuilder, Todd Jewell, 26, of Yakima.

Q13 Fox News reports:

Jewell grabbed the man and wrestled him to the ground, bank employees helped out. And while vigilante justice may not always be wise, Jewell says seeing the teller in jeopardy outweighed any worries about himself.

As long as he didn’t have a gun, yeah, I’d definitely do it again,” says Jewell.

KEPR CBS 19 has the video story of the incident, and an interview with Todd Jewell demonstrating his technique:

Edit: Update - good thing come to those who deserve it, reports Yakima Herald:

Now the Yakima bodybuilder and 1999 Eisenhower High School graduate will receive a $5,000 reward from the FBI for capturing the man the federal agency dubbed as the Old School Bandit at a Lynnwood bank Friday afternoon.

We’re working on the paperwork as we speak,” said Larry Carr, an FBI agent based in Seattle.

Technorati Tags: Bodybuilding, Police, Bank Robbery, Criminals, Robbery

Australia’s GMV Bodybuilding har the largest selection of bodybuilding movies on DVD. Their new venture with UK’s Globalfibre.tv enables you to rent streaming titles from GMV. They also plan to offer selected movies from other producers. 500 titles is planned by the end of the 3rd year, yikes!

SHREDDED.TV is a new joint venture between GMV and Globalfibre.tv presenting the world’s first internet TV station devoted exclusively to bodybuilding and fitness. This website is like a TV station on the internet and features both professional and amateur athletes. It will also include contests from around the world. Shredded.tv is not a video download site, it is a streaming media internet TV station.

Also note that all the people involved in this project either currently is or has been a competitive bodybuilder. A guarantee for a dedication to the hardcore soul of bodybuilding…

The Pueblo Chieftain Sports Editor Judy Hildner writes in the article And now, will real Jay Cutler please stand up? about the two Jay Cutlers in the news. There’s the one playing as quarterback for Denver Broncos (online profile):

Jay Cutler looks like just another nice, young guy. Pounding the weights hasn’t melted away the little double chin that softens his face and belies his status as the new Denver Broncos’ quarterback savior at the age of 24.

And there’s the Jay Cutler that is Mr. Olympia:

Then there’s the other Jay Cutler, a one-man operation, a 33-year-old professional bodybuilder who was born and raised in Massachusetts.

His job is bodybuilding. In his autobiography on the Web site, Cutler said he played football in high school but loved the competition of bodybuilding the first time he stepped on a stage wearing just a skimpy bathing suit.

Finishing the article, she writes:

The Broncos’ Cutler is a cottage industry connected to every Denver fan in the Rocky Mountain area. The spotlight will be unbearably bright for him at times.

Jay Cutler the bodybuilder has to create his own bright lights.

Things sure were easier when the names Ronnie Coleman or Dorian Yates currently was associated with the Mr. Olympia title…

Which Jay Cutler do you think is the more famous? World wide, which is the biggest celebrity?

Technorati Tags: Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler, Sports, Fun, Bodybuilding, NFL

Monica Mollica, née Wieckowski, debuted her revamped web site mowifit.com (now in English) on her birthday, April 14th. Monica has written both heavy and lighter scientific dietary articles for the Swedish bodybuilding magazine where I am employed since the beginning of this millennium. Go check her web site out - she knows her stuff!

Frank Zane won Mr. Olympia 1977, -78 and -79. In December 2006 he peaked and shot some new photos. In his monthly newsletter Frank tells us that he’s found it harder and harder to get in really good shape the older he gets. The latest diet and training program he used is outlined in the Winter issue of Franks own Building the Body Quarterly Magazine/Newsletter:

I was able to get in my best shape in over a decade and this Winter issue describes all the details of my workouts, diet, and motivation along with photos of the condition I achieved by the middle of December 2006. You may want to subscribe if you don’t already.

Most of all I proved to myself that age is no barrier to physical improvement and I intend to be in even better shape in 2007. One thing I did learn is that as you get older you have to allow more time to get in shape. I did everything possible to reach peak condition, dieting, training two even three times a day, 1000 reps of abdominal work daily, and eventually 1 and a half hours of aerobics a day.

Technorati Tags: Mr. Olympia, Frank Zane, Bodybuilding, Diet, Exercise, Inspirational,

The movie Alpha Dog premiered this weekend, and stars amongst others Justin Timberlake. The story is based on a real kidnapping- and murder case. The brother of director is Frankie Cassavetes, which after 27 years in United States Marines switched to a civilian career as personal trainer and strength coach.

He’s said to be one of the most busy trainers at Gold’s Gym in Venice and has trained many well-known actors such as Denzel Washington (John Q), Robert Duvall (Assassination Tango), Ray Liotta, Sean Penn and Charlie Sheen. He’s also helped train IFBB pros such as Kelly Ryan, Flex Wheeler, Chris Cormier, Paul Dillett and Craig Titus…