Gymrat\’s Weblog

News from the world of muscle

Toney Freeman talks to BODY Magazines podcast, BODY Radio

BODY Radio is BODY Magazines own podcast (started this summer) and is hosted by the editor-in-chief Alex Danielsson and the writer Andreas Guiance. This week on the show Alex and Andreas talks to their first professional bodybuilding guest: Toney “The X-Man” Freeman!

In a break from preparing Thanksgiving dinner Toney tells us why bodybuilding also is a sport for the taller guys, how he trains to keep his waistline down.

Listen to the episode via the online flash player, or download the show as an MP3 file.

November 27, 2010 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Podcast | 1 Comment

Jay Cutler coming to Gothenburg and The Fitness Festival!

The beginner bodybuilding competition Luciapokalen takes place at The Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre in Gothenburg on December 11-12th, at the same time and place as The Fitness Festival fair. The competition celebrates it’s 30th anniversary this year (1980-2010) and has booked several professional bodybuilders for guest posing, foremost Mr. Olympia himself, Jay Cutler!

Jay Cutler is presented by The Fitness Festival in cooperation with Gymgrossisten.com.

Luciapokalen Facts

  • Sweden’s oldest and biggest beginners competition
  • A special atmosphere
  • Talented competitors
  • New stars are made
  • World class guest posers
  • Room for 1.500 people in the audience

In December the amateur competitors will traditionally march in and disrobe for Luciapokalen Bodybuilding: The World’s Biggest Beginner Bodybuilding Competition!

Other professional bodybuilders that are coming to The Fitness Festival and Luciapokalen: Dennis “The Menace” James, Dorian Yates, James “Flex” Lewis, and Marcus Chacon.

Continue reading

September 11, 2010 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Female Nordic Athletes, Fitness, Male Nordic Athletes, Mr. Olympia | 4 Comments

A Swedish Pumping Iron – ‘The Life of the Iron Thug’

Zone Capone together with Vincent Media Production put his film ‘The Life of the Iron Thug’ online at thelifeoftheironthug.com, payment able via Paypal or SMS. Running time: 176 minutes. Most spoken word is in English.

The Life Of The Iron Thug

Also starring: Per Juhl, Peter Forsberg, Homan Meshkat, Fredrik Jäder, Lil’T, Crazy Jojje, Kari Risberg & Mac, Göran & Anna Rosén, Jesper Kvarnhammar, Roddy & Cicci Benjaminson, Palle & Frida.

Trailer for the DVD version of the film:

Zone Capone, a street thug and former rock-star turning businessman & bodybuilding, competing on the national level in Sweden, Europe. Zone started hus website zonecapone.com back in 2001 and instantly went from an underground local oddball to a well known household name within the iron-game!

With tons of attitude and millions & millions of hits zonecapone.com spread it’s tentacles worldwide & has since then become a concept in the modern day bodybuilding world both on the net & beyond.

Despite maby not having the best competitive physique Zone himself has reached star status all over Scandinavia with his kick-ass attitude & his odd outlook on the iron game & life as a whole! Today Zone is constantly in the news both on the net & in the magazines…

More about Zone Capone in his journal on BODY Magazine forum, he also has a thread about the filming of the movie on the same forum.

February 16, 2009 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Fun, Internet, Male Nordic Athletes | | 2 Comments

This weekend in Gothenburg: The Swedish Fitness Festival!

The Swedish Fitness Festival!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.

Show Profile

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

The Swedish Fitness Festival!

The Swedish Fitness Festival!

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

December 3, 2007 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Competitions, Female Nordic Athletes, Figure, Fitness, Fitness Trends, Fun, Male Nordic Athletes, Personal Training, Seminar, Strongman | 6 Comments

You can call out the competitors at Mr. Olympia 2007!

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:

You can call out the competitors at Mr. Olympia 2007

Technorati Tags: , , , Ronnie Coleman, Olympia

September 29, 2007 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Competitions, Mr. Olympia, Olympia Weekend | , , , , | 13 Comments

Swedish female bodybuilder, 51, profiled by The New York Times

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.”

Swedish female bodybuilder Eva Birath, 51, profiled in The New York Times

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

September 21, 2007 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Female Muscle, Inspirational | 3 Comments

Which Mr. Olympia do you think will be victorious in 2007?

1) Jay Cutler
2) Ronnie Coleman
View Results

Which Mr. Olympia do you think will win in 2007?

Technorati Tags: , , , Ronnie Coleman, Olympia

September 14, 2007 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Competitions, IFBB, Mr. Olympia, Olympia Weekend | 6 Comments

Wanted ad: Person to apply posing oil on fitness & bodybuilding competitors

Person to smear posing oil on fitness athletesThis 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).

Best job ever? Wanted: Person to smear posing oil on athletes
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:

Person to apply posing oil on fitness & bodybuilding competitors

September 12, 2007 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Fitness, Fun | 1 Comment

Ronnie Coleman announces retirement from Mr. Olympia Competition

Ronnie Coleman Announces Retirement From Mr. Olympia CompetitionBSN 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: , , , Ronnie Coleman, Olympia, Bob Cicherillo, Supplements, BSN

September 11, 2007 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Competitions, Mr. Olympia | 14 Comments

Bodybuilding.com presents Jay Cutler in Olympia: The Video Series #12

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?

Bodybuilding.com presents Jay Cutler in Olympia: The Video Series #12

Complete Olympia: The Series Listing with links:

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

September 5, 2007 Posted by | Bodybuilding, IFBB, Internet, Mr. Olympia, Ms. Olympia, Olympia Weekend, Supplements, Video | 4 Comments

September issue of Muscletime Magazine now online!

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:

muscletime_sept_1.jpg

September 4, 2007 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Competitions, Internet, Mr. Olympia | 2 Comments

Arthur A. Jones, Nautilus inventor and fitness pioneer, passes away at 80

Arthur A. Jones sitting on a plane

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, , Fitness, Sports Medicine, Exercise, Exercise Physiology

August 28, 2007 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Exercise, Science, Sports Medicine | 4 Comments

Video: Bodybuilder who stops bank robber rewarded $5,000

Bodybuilder performs smackdown on serial bank robbery suspect

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:

Bodybuilder stops bank robber

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: , Police, Bank Robbery, Criminals, Robbery

August 21, 2007 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Inspirational, Video | 2 Comments

SHREDDED.TV – Bodybuilding movies on demand

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…

SHREDDED.TV – Bodybuilding movies on demand

August 21, 2007 Posted by | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bodybuilding, Competitions, DVD, Internet, TV, Video | Leave a comment

Mr. Olympia is the real Jay Cutler

Not Mr. OlympiaThe 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?

Mr. Olympia is the real Jay Cutler

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

July 16, 2007 Posted by | Bodybuilding, Fun, Mr. Olympia, Sports | 4 Comments