2008 Arnold Blog

First I want to thank Bodybuilding.com for the privilege to tell their reading audience a little about Sunrider International’s participation both as a sponsor AND a competitor at the 2008 Arnold Sports Festival.

Sunrider as Sponsor

My name in John Teng and my official title at Sunrider is Sales Manager North America.  One of the main reasons Sunrider started sponsoring the Arnold Sports Festival in 2006 was to provide financial support to showcase top athletes from China.  This event would also provide a great venue to introduce the attendees to our very successful company that has been providing “Health and Wealth” to the world for over 25 years.

Sunrider was delighted this year to sponsor Zhang Jie and his teammate Lu Changliang, Junior champions from the Chinese Weightlifting Association.  Both of these amazing athletes wowed the crowds on center stage with their performances as shown below:

As the readership for Bodybuilding.com is obviously fitness oriented, I am very proud to announce that Sunrider International was also chosen as the sole nutritional supplement provider for the Israel Olympic team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  

When people ask me “What is Sunrider?” I often give them the following quick 30 second response:

• 25 years of stable financial growth
• Currently doing business in 42 countries
• Self manufacturer of over 400 exclusive products
• Own and operate over 2 million square feet of manufacturing facilities in 4 countries which house the finest pharmaceutical-grade machinery
• Opportunities to own a business system we consider to be better than a franchise.

Here are some approximate details about the newest addition to our manufacturing plants which is currently under construction near Los Angeles, CA:

• Nearly million-square feet of working space
• 150 million dollar estimated total investment
• Perimeter of the project is approximately 1 mile long
• Ribbon Cutting ceremony scheduled during our Worldwide Grand Convention in July 2008.

Sunrider as Competitor

Although I have always enjoyed bodybuilding as a hobby, I became really excited about competing in the sport because of Sunrider’s sponsorship presence at the event.  Being surrounded by thousands of athletes and fitness enthusiasts really gave me the inspiration to take my love for bodybuilding to the next level.  So last year I set a personal goal to compete in my very first amateur bodybuilding show and I took third place in the lightweight division.

A few months later I found out that my third place finish had qualified me to compete at the 2nd annual amateur bodybuilding competition during the Arnold Sports Festival!  Sunrider was already planning to send me back in 2008 as a sponsor representative anyways, so now I could also participate “on stage” instead of just watching the action from the expo floor- this was to be the perfect mix of business and pleasure!    

My exercise regimen consisted of working with a professional fitness trainer twice a week for about an hour, and then a one-hour per day work out 4 more days during the week by myself, and then resting on Sundays.  My dietary supplementation for this show came only from Sunrider’s exclusively formulated “foods” made with Sunrider’s own pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing equipment to ensure the highest quality foods.  From where I started before beginning this journey to compete as a body builder, I can enthusiastically say that I looked great and felt great on stage!  

Here is a shot of my “Archer Pose” that was taken after the prejudging competition:  

This next shot was taken of me with my exhibitor badge at the Sunrider booth after placing 5th in the amateur welterweight division.

All in all Sunrider was honored to participate both as a sponsor and as a competitor during this very special anniversary year for the Arnold Sports Festival.  More photos here:

http://sunriderintl.blogspot.com/2008/03/2008-arnold-sports-festival-was-big-hit.html

Photos courtesy of and copyright 2008 John Teng.

The latest previews and interviews are really starting to come in now. Find out how everything is getting fired up right here.

2008 Arnold Classic

FREE WEBCAST!

Also make sure to check us out on game day. We will have FREE LIVE webcasts of the men’s and women’s competition.

Only one or two paragraphs, how can I sum up what I’ll be doing at the Arnold Sports Festival in that small number of words? I’ll try…

For me this event is three days to meet, see and learn from the top professionals in the fitness business. I am planning this as a working (or better yet workout) vacation.  I went last year, but was only at the expo for a couple of hours on Saturday, it was a total crush and I don’t think I saw nearly as much as I had planned. The following morning was busy for me too, I had my event to compete in, but I did manage to squeeze in watching some gymnastics, power lifting and fencing. What a combination that was! But as a newbie I didn’t realize you have to plan out your trip. This is a science, the Arnold Sports Festival, so I have the schedule and I am working on the perfect plan so I can hit all the events that I wanted to last year but didn’t.

I’ve met (through BodySpace) a great deal of people on Bodybuilding.com so first and foremost is attending the events that support them, so if you’ve let me know you are going to be there competing I’ll be there cheering wildly! Then there is the learning - the amateur and professional prejudging is where I will learn the most (imho), things that can help me in my quest for fitness and the other sporting events is where I will see motivation, the young people competing in events like gymnastics and power lifting is great too (how do I go about adding springboard diving to next year’s calendar? - then I could really make it a family trip). And all of this is wrapped up around the carnival like atmosphere of the EXPO where I will have my new racing shoes, so get your pens ready I need all the encouragement I can get and I want to cover my shoes with all the strength as speed that is available there (by way of autographs), and lots of photo ops, and did I mention that I’d really like a moment or two or even a picture with Governor Schwarzenegger (I may live in GA, but I’m a CA girl at through and through).

My event is on Sunday morning, the 5K Pump & Run; it combines my two favorite things – lifting and running (yes they can coexist in this world). Last year it was really cold (17 deg and snow) so let’s hope its a little warmer and no comments from the locals about runners wearing shorts being more serious than those of us running from out of town (I am 1 of 3 from GA this year, I’d say I was serious).  Since the “pump” part of the event is early in the morning I am sorry to say I won’t be at the Classic Finals or partying Saturday night, maybe next year. So have fun for me, I’ll save my celebration for after the race and the fitness fashion show which I will participate in too.  (TIP:  by day three all the salads are gone in the food court, can someone ask them to plan this, salads go better with my tuna).

Predictions? I don’t have any.  I am still educating myself in this sport. Can I say I want everyone to win? Or that I am the big winner when I get to see your hard work evidenced the day of the competition?  Men, women, fitness, figure, bodybuilding, amateur and professional alike, it’s the training in the gym that makes you winners.  I feel very fortunate to share this love of the sport of fitness, continuing to work towards goals.  Attending the Arnold Sports Festival is the icing on the cake (well some might eat cake or cookies or candy as a cheat meal) and is one way we can share experiences, goals, dreams and ideas.

Ok, so I couldn’t do it in two paragraphs, I could probably write more, I am 25 days away from my workout vacation, training hard, running to maintain my speed (hoping to break 20:00 this year) and if I can’t see everything this year, there is always next year!

Here’s some more video footage of the 2007 Arnold Expo and the main stage strongman competitions from high atop a scissor lift behind the scenes!

There were something close to 130,000 people in attendance at the Arnold this year, and you can almost see everyone one of them in this video clip!  Also catch the cameo appearance by noted photographer, Gary Gardiner!

Having problems with the video?  Click here for the downloadable Windows Media version.

Tip: Did you catch the first bird’s-eye video clip?

I stopped in for a few minutes to watch the spectacle that is powerlifting.  Wow, what a show!  Under all the bright lights, cameras, and loud music was just a guy (Shawn Frankl, a big-a$$ guy, mind you!) trying to move some serious weight.

If you missed the show, check it out for yourself and see what you missed!

Having problems with the video?  Click here for the downloadable Windows Media version.

I stopped in for a few minutes to watch some of the female weightlifting competitions, and snagged this brief lift on tape.

Although it was declared a "no lift," she obviously still hefted that 100 kg (220 lbs.) barbell over her head…  Impressive.  =)

Having problems with the video?  Click here for the downloadable Windows Media version.

Press passes are wonderful things… We went backstage behind the 2007 Arnold Expo main stage in the convention center during some of the strongman competitions and caught this warmup video footage!

See how the big boys lift!

Having problems with the video?  Click here for the downloadable Windows Media version.

We went up in a scissor lift behind the main stage at the 2007 Arnold Expo and got this great bird’s-eye footage of one of the strongman competitions!

Watch and see what the stage looked like from the ceiling!

Having problems with the video?  Click here for the downloadable Windows Media version.

Doctor David Ryan is not only a writer for Bodybuilding.com, but also a regular fixture at all pro bodybuilding and powerlifting contests, including this year’s Arnold Sports Festival.

Trust us, Dr. Ryan is the guy you want to be there in case something goes wrong, especially if you’re attempting to lift a 525-lb. stone!

Having problems with the video?  Click here for the downloadable Windows Media version.

We caught up with teen powerlifter, Amanda Harris (a.k.a. Barbie Barbell) and her family behind the scenes at the Arnold Expo in the powerlifting warm-up area.

Click the play button to see what Amanda (7-Time World Female Powerlifting Champion) and her father, Mark Harris, had to say!

Having problems with the video?  Click here for the downloadable Windows Media version.

Tip: We have two other interviews with friends of Amanda’s from this weekend, so be sure to check them out, too:

• GeneX Hwang Interview
• Melissa Dettwiller Interview

These pictures were taken during the Deadlift Competition. Check out the Hummer tires are the bar (900 - 1000 lbs).

</a" />

</a" />

</a" />

</a" />

</a" />

</a" />