2009 Arnold Blog

The Arnold is next week, only 9 days till the action begins. it is the biggest Bodybuilding, Fitness and Health Expo around so make your plans to go today.

The Arnold is only 1 week away, get all your information about the Festival right here.

The 2009 Arnold Sports Festival, the world’s largest multi-sport fitness weekend, will be held March 6-8, featuring 38 events including 12 Olympic sports. Over 17,000 athletes will compete. Learn more here.

For information on Webcasts, results, reviews, pictures and more check out the 2009 Arnold Sports Festival Main Page right here.

Hotel information, directions, and all other general information click here.

Get you tickets now, click here.

2009 Fitness International: Oksana Grishina!

2009 Fitness International: IFBB Fitness Pro Oksana Grishina!

Photo Courtesy Of Isaac Hinds.

Check Out Our Upcoming 2009 Arnold Coverage Here!

Check out the new Toney Freeman wallpaper by Bodybuilding.com

2009 Arnold Classic: IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Toney Freeman!

Photo Courtesy Of Isaac Hinds.
Check Out Our Upcoming 2009 Arnold Coverage Here!

Toney "The X Man" Freeman

His body bulges at his shoulders then narrows to a thin 32 inch waist and explodes out again at his massive quadriceps, a shape by an large resembling the letter X. That is why professional bodybuilder Toney Freeman is known as “the X man.”

Like many future bodybuilders the 12-year-old Freeman was first awed by large muscles when he saw Arnold in the movie “Pumping Iron”. “I was a skinny kid” Freeman says, “When I graduated high school I was 6’2? and 155 lbs. soaking wet”. He was athletic, playing football and basketball in high school but, basketball suited Freeman better and he continued to play into college.

In 1988 his high school sweetheart showed him a picture of her friend who was a bodybuilder. Freeman was impressed and soon found his way into the gym.
The people he asked for help early on said he was too tall, too skinny and if he did try to become a bodybuilder his long legs might resemble those of a chicken but, Freeman was persistent. He went right to work on those “chicken legs”.

He idolized bodybuilding greats Lee Haney and Flex Wheeler, but it wasn’t until he saw Kevin Levrone in 1991 that he decided to become a professional bodybuilder.

[ Read More ]

For the past eight years the strongest men in the world have come to Columbus Ohio for the Arnold Strongman Classic.

Zydrunas Savickas of Lithuania has won every Arnold Strongman Classic competition except for the inaugural event in 2002, which was won by former Olympian and current pro wrestler Mark Henry of the United States. This year a new champion will be crowned because Savickas, who will appear as a judge, will take the year off from competition.

Also on hand will be strongman celebrities Bill Kazmaier, one of history’s strongest men; Magnus ver Magnusson, four-time winner of the World’s Strongest Man contest; Vasyl Virastyuk, past winner of both the World’s Strongest Man contest and the IFSA World Championship; and Mark Henry, who has the highest Weightlifting/Powerlifting combined total in history.

[ Read More ]

Here is IFBB Fitness Pro Erin Riley going through her unorthodox training routine 4 weeks out from the 2009 Ms. Fitness International. To say Erin is "hardcore" is an understatement. Look for her to have a big impact this year on the pro circuit.

These were filmed at BodyGoals in Fairfield, NJ.

The 2009 4th Annual Arnold Boxing Invitational Championships will showcase beginner to elite level USA Amateur boxers in a USA Boxing sanctioned competition. We have added another RING and ready to start the competition.

Friday March 6th, 3:00 - 6:00, Former World Heayweight Champion of the World James Buster Douglas will be appearing to welcome youth amateur boxers and to introduce USA Boxing team member Vanessa Jackson.

More info click here.

Lenay Hernandez Heads to her First Figure International

By: Isaac Hinds

IFBB Figure Pro Lenay Hernandez took the competitive figure stage by storm in 2008. She entered the NPC JR USA as her first national show and left with the overall crown. A few months later she was on the Olympia Figure stage knocking on the door of a top ten finish. Now she heads into the Arnold Classic to compete in the Figure International. I caught up with Lenay as she heads into one of the most prestigious shows in the IFBB.

What’s your name? Lenay Hernandez

Where do you currently live? Miami, Florida

How many years have you been training? 7 years

How many years have you been competing? 9 months

Your age? A quarter of a century, figure it out -ha ha

How tall are you?  5′2 1/2″  

Contest History?
1st - Jr. USA overall *turned PRO
2nd - IFBB Houston Pro *qualified for Olympia
11th - 2008 IFBB Figure Olympia

How did you find out you had been invited?
A little birdie sent me a txt message telling me the list was out, hint hint Isaac!!

How’s your prep going for the Arnold thus far?
My prep is going great, training hard and challenging my body to the limit, it just gets better and better-a lot of work though its not easy but totally worth it.

Goal for the Arnold?
I’m not going to BS, top 6 is my goal!!!

Did you ever imagine you would be on the Arnold stage?
I did imagine it, just not this quickly.

What have you been working on in your off season?
I’ve been trying to get my delts fuller and rounder and lean my quads a little more

Give us a sample of one of your days when it comes to your meals.
We carb cycle a lot but for the most part egg whites and oat meal, chicken, telapia, sweet potatoes ( which I love) and a whole lot of broccoli. No more peanut butter.

Favorite supplements when dieting?
Glutamine, fat burners, protein, multi-vitamins and my omega 3’s.

What supplement could you not live without?
My fat burners, they get me through my cardio.

How much cardio do you do a day?
Two sessions, anywhere from and hour and a half to 2 hours.

What type of cardio do you get the best results from?
I do a lot of intervals, mostly stairs or I walk at very high incline and incorporate sprints here and there in addition to the elliptical.

Favorite bodypart to train?
Delts!!

What music are you listening to while training?
I don’t listen to music its just the weights and me. No one else I focus and its my time to grow- just me and the weights.

One thing people may not know about you?
I love sushi, napping, massages and I’m a total stay in home movie girl. I’m also a hopeless romantic.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A lawyer or a cop.

You’re also working towards becoming a police officer, tell us about  that. Where are you at on that and what’s next?
I am in the process, hopefully I will get hired very quickly we are more than half way through, after police I’m thinking of going back to school and obtaining my bachelors in something.

What will we see you eating after the show?
The vanilla cup cake you owe me w/ butter cream frosting. Haha. And most likely sushi or pasta

You like to lift heavy. Why do you lift heavy and aren’t you afraid of getting big and bulky?
I lift as heavy as I can, the more muscle u have the more fat u burn. I diet and train hard - I will not get bulky and big, its just a myth.

If you weren’t competing in figure what would you be doing?
Some sort of sport. I love being active and staying healthy and fit. It’s my lifestyle.

Any tips for women just getting started in competing?
Yes, love what you do. Its mind over matter. It takes discipline and dedication. No one said it would be easy but they said it wold be worth it!!! And NEVER give up or doubt yourself. The mind is a very powerful tool.

Thanks Lenay. We’ll see you in Columbus.
You are very welcome Isaac. Thank you for making my cardio on the elliptical go by so quickly.

My goals for the AC Figure International are to come in how my fans want to see me- conditioned and a bit more blonde! Ha!
This will mark my 15th (straight!) time at the AC Expo to work and my 8th time to be on stage between Fitness and Figure! Hard to believe I have made so many years in a row..  time flies!

I am honored to be invited and looking forward to seeing everyone again throughout the show!

Please visit my ‘On Tour’ section of my site to find out exactly what booth(s) I’ll be — might change at the last minute before the show!
Can’t wait!

Stay Fit, Love Life & God Bless U!!
Monica Brant-Peckham
www.monicabrant.com
www.femcamp.net
www.MOJOWellnessPros.com

For more on the Arnold click here.

Monica Brant-Peckham

Professional mixed martial artist and television star Shonie "Mr. International" Carter will present a special seminar at the 2009 Arnold Sports Festival.

Carter’s lecture will feature Thai-style kickboxing, throws, Judo and catch-style wrestling. It will be held Friday, March 6 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

"I have been to the Arnold Sports Festival many times and am honored to be invited to teach a seminar during this year’s event," said Carter, of Chicago. "Hopefully this is something we will be able to do every year."

Former professional NWFA Comets outside linebacker transforms into 2009 Arnold Amateur NPC Bikini competitor Leyla Yurchick has enjoyed a diverse athletic background.

One of her most outstanding accomplishments has to be the transformation she has achieved from a 175 lb. professional women’s football player to a figure contestant. In 2009 she will take that transformation one step farther.

In 2009, Leyla will take center stage at Veterans Memorial in the new NPC Amateur Bikini competition.

Branch Warren is looking bigger than ever and as ripped as we’ve seen him. His shoulders look like they’re the size of bowling balls. The hardcore bodybuilding fans who like to see the freaks should be stoked for what Branch is bringing to the Arnold. Bill Comstock video taped him training at Gold’s gym on 02.16.09.