2009 Arnold Blog

I got to ask Latisha a few questions about the Figure International at the Arnold and she is ready to go and is shooting to place in the top 5.

Here is what she had to say;

I wouldn’t say that I am doing anything new…just the old standby of training, diet and cardio. I am planning to look a bit more like I did in 2007 versus 2008.

I am always positive when it comes to my feelings about the Arnold. It is a very special show for me. My goal is to place in the top 5 again.

Get your tickets for FRIDAY NIGHT AND COME OUT TO SHOW YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT FOR THE LADIES OF THE ARNOLD CLASSIC!!!

I had the privilege to talk with Gina Aliotti  and ask her about the Arnold.
Here is what she had to say.

I started my prep 11 weeks out and I feel that I am right on target to peak for Arnold weekend.  My plan is to bring a physique similar to last years Arnold.  I will present a physique that is tighter than the Olympia but even more refined than last years Arnold. I have brought my delts up in order to have a more fuller and rounder look.  With each show, I have learned so much about my body and how it reacts to my training.

This experience has allowed me to transform my physique into what I believe to be my best package yet. Both physically and mentally, this prep has been a very smooth and a low stress process.  I had a great off-season, which has allowed my body and mind to rest and recuperate. This time allowed me to give 100% focus and attention to protecting my title as Ms. International.

I have received many messages of support and inspiration from fans and fellow competitors during the past few months. They are very encouraging and I am thankful to have so many positive people pushing me to be my best. I am excited and anxious to get back on the Arnold stage and I look forward to seeing everyone there.

I will be working the Europa booth on Saturday and would love for everyone to come say hello. I will have copies of my newly released DVD "Gina Aliotti’s Training & Nutrition" and my autographed photos.

Everyone wish her luck, Thanks Gina!

I have been very excited as I prepare to compete at The Arnold Amateur. This is only my third show, and I feel awesome about earning a spot on this stage. Figure competing comes natural to me, with two first places and one overall title.

I am bringing my best physique to this competition! I love how the stage, the beauty and inspiring physiques all come together for an amazing experience. Setting my goals high is how I roll! I expect to make an impression and go home with a trophy! Ohio here comes Momsinthongs!

Here is what Kristal had to say when I asked her about the Arnold.

“With three weeks and some change left until I step on the Arnold Classic stage again, I can honestly say, I’ve never felt better. I added some new elements of training into my program which include boot camps, sprints and track work. I’ve also incorporated some new supplements into my regimen. I’m excited to stand on stage with my fellow competitors and friends and I feel I’m bringing my best package yet!!”

My prep is the same as always, except I’m trying not to come in too lean. I lean out very easy so I’m still doing 5 days of weights/wk and 6 days cardio, but I’m cutting cardio to 20 minutes rather than 30 minutes. Might even cut back to every other day. My diet is clean year round, so the only thing that has really changed is taking out my cheat meals—which is the entire jar of peanut butter!

This will be my second year competing at the Arnold. I’m always very excited about this show, as I truly enjoy the atmosphere and competition. The fact that it is an international show brings a different element and level of competition to the stage that national shows do not have. The show was very well run last year and I’m looking forward to another great show this year.

Additionally I’ll be working with my sponsored company All American EFX during the Expo as well. The company will be previewing the newest line of supplements: Flex Wheeler’s Signature Series (FWSS), and will also be giving people the opportunity to register for and win free supplements, prizes, and even a trip so that will be guaranteed fun coupled with a super busy weekend. Check us out at www.aaefx.com.

Honestly though, I think one of the best features of the Arnold is interacting with fans and others who have a genuine interest in health and fitness. I’m also looking forward to meeting many of the people whom I chat with on the forums. I absolutely love sharing the knowledge I’ve acquired throughout the years with others, so whatever I can do to help, I am more than willing!

Looking forward to an awesome time!
See you there!

Here is an email i received form Huong, I asked her what her felling are about the upcoming Arnold and here is what she had to say.

"Hi Dean,

The Arnold Figure International is fast approaching with 25 more days left. I’m excited to be back on stage and to be able to compete with some of my buddies. I’ve been working really hard and at this level of competition every bit of detail counts. I want to enjoy the whole experience and have the expectation to do well too. I want to thank my husband, family, Kim Oddo, friends and fans for their outpouring support. Make sure you come by the Tight Curve Booth/BodyWell Nutrition and say “Hi”.

Thanks again!
Huong Arcinas
IFBB Figure Professional
2008 Sacramento Grand Prix Pro Figure Champion
Team Tight Curve Member
www.fithuong.com"

Hello everyone!

I’ve taken the time to create a page dedicated to the women competing in the Arnold Classic on my website, FitGems Nation (http://www.fitgemsnation.net)

It’s not completed, but it’s a little something for the female stars out there. Just trying to show them some love, too. Here’s the direct link to the Arnold page:

http://www.fitgemsnation.net/page/arnold-classic-2009

Hope you enjoy it, and good luck to everyone (male and female) at the Arnold!

The Arnold Sports Festival was all I dreamed it would be: an expo as crowded as the seventh lair of hell, a funky cocktail of free stuff to get totally wired, and -to my delight- a 4th place finish in the B class of the Arnold Amateur Figure!  I’ll strike next at the Ronnie Coleman Classic in April.

When I got lost on my way back to the dressing room (despite the near hand-holding of some very handsome, large escort), I had my own crew of 17-year-old fans that took cell phone pictures with me.  What’s a girl to expect from running around a conference center in a near thong?

I learned that out trophies have a wire piece in the middle that holds the whole thing together.

I’ve also learned how to spell the word “amateur.” When I glanced down at the crack that would have severed my bronze statue’s feet from the rest of her perfectly sculpted body, I noticed I had a trophy for the “Arnold Amatuer.” I googled it just to be sure, and breathed a sigh of relief.

As we know, expos are a great time to make connections, in addition to competing or enjoying free caffeine-spiked goodies.  While at the Arnold, I met up with two men - one a best-selling fitness author and the other a prominent lawyer- who are writing a novel fitness and transformation book for men.  The authors learned about my writing through a new fitness marketing site, www.fittron.com, and recruited me to help edit and add to the nutrition tidbits in the book.  It’s an exciting opportunity–I’m looking forward to telling you all the details when it’s about to the hit the presses!

Two of my professors at Baylor also presented at the strength training summit, which is a conference held in conjunction with the sports festival put on by www.strengthpro.com.   All three of us took the same flight back to Waco, and I had the chance to pick their brains a little.    Dr. Willoughby is a stellar muscle researcher; this work significantly influences the recommendations for practical aspects of training and supplement formulations; he also does a significant amount of supplement testing.

Starting this month, I am going to review his studies on my blog and deliver practical, do-it-now tips based on Willoughby’s research.  The first blog, which is set to be posted this week, will review the Novedex XT trial done at Baylor University.  I have been perusing the forums and will address specific concerns I have seen there, including the effects of an increase of DHT, what an aromatase inhibitor does, etc.  Stay tuned!

One of my dearest friends in the biz and a straight shoot’n New Yorker, Tara Scotti shares her first encounter with 2008 Ms. Figure International Champ Gina Aliotti. It’s a rather amusing account of how she came to meet Gina. Tara then breaks down how she saw the Figure show go down. As a figure pro herself she gives you a unique perspective as she’s  "been there - done that".

2008 Arnold Recap - "Who’s Gina?"
By IFBB Figure Pro, Tara Scotti
Before I give my opinion on the Figure results for the 2008 Arnold, I wanted to preface it with the first time I actually met Gina Aliotti, the 2008 Figure International Champion.

September 23, 2006 in Anaheim California was the site of the 2006 Tournament of Champions. It was the last show of the year before the Olympia. I was coming along very nicely in my prep for the Olympia, so I decided last minute to enter the show. It was the first show of my career that my boyfriend (now husband) could not make the trip, so I was a little nervous. I woke up the morning of pre-judging, went to Jan Tana’s room to get my color, then my hair and makeup right after. When I got back to the room, I was looking at myself in the mirror in awe. Yes, I was sweating myself. Every once in a while a competitor has that moment when the pre-contest prep is going just as planned, your tan is the perfect shade, your hair is beautiful, your skin is glowing and all the planets and stars are lined up perfectly. This is what we strive for. This is when we want to step on stage. Only one other time in my career, the 2005 Olympia did I peak like this. Even though I did not place well at that contest, it was the best condition to date for me. Now here in Anaheim I at least matched that condition; maybe surpassed it. I was ecstatic. I headed over to the venue for pre judging alone in my usual get up, a Juicy Couture jump suit and a NY Yankee hat. I normally don’t talk much backstage, I just listen to my IPod and mostly keep to myself. I just want to see what the other girls look like. Even though we all play it cool backstage and greet each other warmly with smiles and kisses, we still want to size each other up. It’s the nature of competition. Anyway, it’s about 25 minutes to show time and most of the girls are warming up backstage and already in their suits. Of the 22 girls competing, I sized up 17 or 18 of them. Now I was feeling very confident. So I went outside to call my boyfriend.

The phone call went something very similar to this:
ME " Hey Babe, I am about to win my 2nd pro show”
HIM “Wow, that’s a pretty bold statement”
ME “Babe, trust me. I am peaking like I did at last year’s Olympia, and I saw almost all the girls backstage, I am not losing this show!! "
HIM “Simmer down cowboy. What about Gina Aliotti? "
ME "Who’s Gina?”
HIM “Gina Allioti, my sources in Anaheim tell me Gina is looking really good."
ME: "Who the f**k is Gina Allioti, and who the f**k are your sources?”
HIM: (laughing) Babe relax. You competed against her a few months ago in Colorado. You placed ahead of her. You don’t remember her? "
ME: "I have no idea who you are talking about. And if I already beat her, why would I lose to her now?"
HIM: “Gina is one of the new girls. She is very young, very pretty, has a great physique, flowing lines. If this kid can get her conditioning down, forget it, lights out. She is the future of Figure babe. It is what it is. Just relax. Just do your little thing on stage, and let the cards fall where they fall. You’re going to do fine, you always do.
ME: " Jesus, by the way you are talking, you sound like you are the president of her fan club. Why don’t we just break up and you can start dating her yourself."
HIM: “You know what, that’s not a bad idea. See if you can get me her number when you talk to her."
ME: (CLICK)

This jerk is trying to take the wind out of my sails. So I hung up on him and turned my phone off. So now I went from confident to shaky. My mind is starting to race. Who the f**k are his sources? Probably that nut case Isaac Hinds. Wait till I see him.

So now I am heading back to the dressing room area and there she is. I obviously didn’t see her before. I recognized her from the Colorado Pro Show a few months back. She is one of the newer girls I really didn’t know. I think I was even introduced to her for a quick minute, but there were so many new girls rising up in the figure world about this time, I just did not know who was who. She was exactly the way Dominic described her. Great lines, great symmetry, and to top it off, she was pretty. Why did this bitch have to be pretty? Why did she have to be so young? I mean this girl was born the same year I was listening to Madonna records in my bedroom back in Queens, NY. If Dominic attempted to take the wind out of my sails, seeing this Gina chick backstage did the trick. I went from confident, to shaky, to defeated. All in a 10 minute time period.

During prejudging, Gina and I were called out in first call outs in both rounds. We were also positioned next to each other. I knew the judges had us 1 and 2. Actually, I also knew the judges specifically had her 1 and me 2. While we were standing back in line watching the rest of the call outs, we were both smiling. Only her smile was sincere and mine was fake. She was genuinely happy that she is going to win her first pro show, and I was not happy I was being denied my 2nd pro victory. I knew I would be retiring soon and it would have been a great way to go out. So now I was figuring out a way to overcome this. Maybe after prejudging I could sneak into her hotel room and poor ex lax in her water. Or maybe I can invite her to lunch, kidnap her, keep her locked up in my car trunk until the show is over. She can’t win the show if she doesn’t show up to the finals, right? Ok, calm down people, I only had these thoughts for like 30, 45 seconds tops. I am standing on a stage under blaring lights, dripping orange paint off my body, I am dehydrated, and I haven’t had any water or real food in my system. Cut me a little slack. I still cant believe I have to call Dominic and tell him Gina won, and I took 2nd. I hate when he is right and I am wrong.

The finals came and Gina Aliotti won her first IFBB Pro Figure Competition deservingly. I took 2nd place and 3rd place went to another new girl I did not know, Sonia Adcock, who coincidently, was competing in her pro debut. Gina turned out to be a sweetheart. She is very nice and we always have time to chat when we run into each other.

Now onto the Arnold Figure…

Arnold Figure
As I sat in for the Figure pre-judging, you could tell there was a little more excitement in the air from previous years.  With Monica, Valerie, Jenny and Mary not in the lineup, this was definitely going to be a top 6 unlike any of the last 4 years.It was wide open at this point. I was very surprised at some of the call outs.  For the most part, the judging seemed consistent, except for a couple of surprises.

Actual Top 10
Gina Aliotti
Jennifer Gates
Amy Fry
Chasity Sloan
Sonia Adcock
Paola Almerico
Latisha Wilder          
Catherine Anderson  
Natalie Benson                                  
Krystal Richardson

Tara’s Top 10
Gina Aliotti
Jennifer Gates
Chasity Sloan
Amy Fry
Paola Almerico
Catherine Anderson
Juliana Malacarne
Sonia Adcock
Krystal Richardson                              
Latisha Wilder

Gina Aliotti has a perfect balance of muscularity and symmetry for the Figure division. Gina is THE girl to beat right now in Figure. I can’t wait to see her on the Olympia stage this year. At 23 years old, she has not yet peaked. I can only imagine Gina at her best.

This was the first time I ever laid eyes on Jennifer Gates. I was very impressed. She was put together well. Her suits looked great, overall very complete package.

I had Chasity Sloan in 3rd. Chasity is a seasoned competitor. I have been competing with Chasity since my pro debut in NY in 2004.  Chasity continued to improve over the last couple of years and I think she is at her best or near best right now.

I think the biggest surprise was the judges placed Juliana Malacarne 12th. That’s a bigger mystery to me then the tattoo’s on Lee Priests face. Juliana was the most conditioned girl on stage in Columbus and probably the most improved competitor in the last year. The judges asked her to lose some of the muscle and she did. She is still a little bit too muscular for Figure, but not enough to have her out of the top 10. This girl has crazy genetics.  If she tones it down a little bit more, she will be a top 5 competitor on the smaller shows.

I have been reading a lot about Sonia Adcock and her winning ways lately. I was looking forward to seeing her and I was expecting to be very impressed. I have to be honest; I wasn’t seeing what the judges were seeing. I did not like the cut of her 1 piece suit; it made her midsection look blocky. So I found myself mostly staring at her midsection while she was doing her quarter turns. I think she needs her suit redesigned because she did look better in the 2 piece.  But I also would like to see her with a bit more conditioned. She is very pretty; I just think she can improve significantly.

Latisha wilder is one of my favorite competitors. Like Chasity, I been on stage more times with Latisha than anyone else I think. I was always neck in neck with her. Her beating me a few times and I beating her a couple times.  This was the least conditioned I ever saw Latisha, so I had her lower than the 7th place the judges had her. Latisha has so much poise when she is on stage, it clearly shows. She walks, and does her quarter turns with a coolness that no one else has.  Her skin is perfect, she is very pretty, and is always a threat when she competes.
        
I think it was a great Figure show overall, and with the new faces, this could be the best version of the Figure Olympia to date. Stay tuned.

The women’s show took place last night and there were a few surpsises. Let’s start with the women’s bodybuilding…

The biggest news hit fans when defending champ, Iris Kyle failed to make the top six. Iris finished in seventh place when the dust cleared. You may be wondering why the defending champ fell so far down in the placings. It was obvious when I shot the prejudging that there were more than a couple indications Iris could and should be knocked down in the judging. Why? Well, despite her being called out in the top 3-5 at the prejudging, the judges felt they needed to send a message. What message? I spoke with a couple judges after the show and they informed me that Iris was out of the top six because of the marks on her physique. If you look at the photos, pay attention to her shoulders and her buttocks… You’ll see what I am talking about.

Congrats to Yaxeni for winning the Ms. International. When I saw her at prejudging, I had her pegged as the champ. She looked great and brought the physique we have grown to love when she brings it. She was in excellent condition and brought great symmetry combined with just enough mass, to the stage.

As predicted, Gina Aliotti walked away with victory in the Figure International. I’m a huge fan of Gina’s and she never looked better than she did last night. She presented a balanced physique with just enough hardness to reign supreme. Jennifer Gates showed that a competitor can change drastically in three weeks. I had a sneak peak at what Jen was looking like before the show and I thought she was behind in her prep. I ate my words of predicting her fourth and knew when I saw her at the check-in Thursday that she was ready. Jenn presented a very balanced physique and look amazing. You can see her on the next issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers in a couple weeks. Paola Almerico grabbed a top six placing which was a tremendous accomplishment from her. The most overlooked competitor had to be Juliana Malacarne. I know the judges probably thought she was still too muscular but overall, she is still the most balanced competitor on the figure stage. She has it all from top to bottom when it comes to rock’n the figure stage. Amy Fry landed in third, as I predicted, and looked great. She towered over her competition but showed why she is one of the best competitors in the biz today by bringing a balanced physique to the stage.

Fitness super star Kim Schiedler rocked the stage in Columbus. I hope I spelled her last name right as her father corrected me a couple times backstage on her name. Those who aren’t aware, Kim has had a number of personal issues to deal with while prepping for this show. I won’t go into great detail but long story short, she is getting a divorce and dealing with the stress attached to that. Kim’s physique was much improved from the Olympia and you could tell she was much happier. Her routine was reflective of where she’s at in her personal life, check out the webcast to see it. Jen Hen was in second and I love Jen but I honestly wasn’t that impressed with what she brought this time around. She looked good in the physique rounds and her routine was funny and full of high energy but had too much dancing and booty shaking for my liking. I’d like to see more strength moves and less dancing out of her, but it was still fun to watch and photograph. The biggest gift in the show was given to Julie Palmer in my opinion. I love Jules as a person and this no knock on her but she was not a top three competitor in this show, at least from my vantage point. Her physique was good in prejudging and she placed well in those rounds. I thought her routine had too much set up and was a little hoaky. I didn’t feel as though her routine was that good and I would have her out of the top ten when it came to the routine rounds, but I’m not a judge and making those calls. The judges liked what they saw and placed her high in the routines. Julie Lohre has never looked better and brought a great routine and physique to the stage. She should have been second in my opinion but again I’m not a judge. Oksana was highly favored by many going into this show and while she performed a great routine her physique looked the worst I’ve seen from her since hitting the pro show. Her waist is a little too wide and it looked like she was overdieted. I’d like to see her add some size to her shoulders and improver her lats to give the illusion of a smaller waist.

I’m off to the expo to do some more videos with some of the IFBB’s hottest women. Check back for more info, photos and videos through out the weekend.

The Preliminary results from all 3 of the Ms International contests (Ms. Int’l, Figure Int’l, Fitness Int’l) are now available on our 2008 Arnold Results Page:

http://contest.bodybuilding.com/results/2542

Female Bodybuilding:

1 - Yaxeni Oriquen
2 - Dayana Cadeau
3 - Lisa Aukland
4 - Betty Pariso
5 - Brenda Raganot
6 - Cathy LeFrancois

Figure:

1 - Gina Aliotti
2 - Jennifer Gates
3 - Amy Fry
4 - Chastity Slone
5 - Sonia Adcock
6 - Paola Almerico

Fitness:

1 - Kimberly Klein
2 - Jen Hendershott
3 - Julie Palmer
4 - Julie Lohre
5 - Tracey Greenwood
6 - Regiane Da Silva

A heartfelt congratulations to IFBB Figure Pro Gina Aliotti and IFBB Fitness Pro Kim Klein for winning their respective Figure International and Fitness International contests!  =)