Global Gossip

Since back in Nov 08 my business partner Peter had an ideal for a web site that would assist people with their diets and training programs.  The site has a video section showing the viewer the correct way to perform their exercises.  There is a supplement guide that explains the proper use of these supplements.  We also have a nutritional section that explain the different food groups.So take a look at instructionalfitness.com .  We would love to hear your feedback

Check out some awesome footage of Monique Minton, Nicole Wilkins-Lee and more of you favorite fitness and figure models in The Making of The 2009 FLEX Swimsuit Issue.

Also check out some of the Behind-the-Scenes photos here.

Strikeforce: Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith added to June 6!
MMAjunkie.com

While Strikeforce took a recent hit with the loss of Renato "Babalu" Sobral for its June 6 event in St. Louis, the organization has rebounded in style with the addition of a 180-pound catchweight bout between Nick Diaz (19-7) and Scott Smith (15-5).

Both Diaz and Smith were victorious at Strikeforce’s April 11 event in San Jose, Calif.

Headlined by a 182-pound contest between Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields, Strikeforce’s June 6 event from the Scottrade Center will be broadcast on Showtime.

The signing of the bout was first reported by Sports 1140 KHTK-AM in Sacramento, Calif., and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) was able to confirm the addition to the card with Strikeforce Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz.

Diaz is currently riding a four-fight win streak, including a second-round TKO of MMA pioneer Frank Shamrock at Strikeforce’s April 11 event. While Diaz is one of only three Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu black belts, his current streak has been built on the strength of four TKO wins.

While looking forward to the contest, Diaz stated in an official release from the organization that he’s upset that he’ll be forced to hurt Smith in the presence of his children.

"I think this is a great fight for me, but I really hate that [Smith] brings his kids to every one of his fights because now I’m going to be made out to be the bad guy or some sort of villain after I beat him up," Diaz stated.

Smith is currently riding a two-fight win streak of his own. Both victories were earned under the Strikeforce banner, including a stunning, come-from-behind win over Benji Radach at the April 11 event.

"Diaz is a great fighter," Smith stated. "He’s going to come in there and out-grapple me and out-strike me so what I have to do is go in there and beat him up.  I actually think this is more of a dangerous fight for him than it is for me."

While Smith typically fights as a middleweight, "Hands of Steel" has admitted in the past that he believes he could compete below the 185-pound weight class. Thirteen of the California native’s 15 wins have come via knockout or TKO.

While the original report from KHTK-AM stated that Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem was set to return to action in a title defense against undefeated challenger Brett Rogers, Afromowitz said that report was simply untrue.

"We’re looking at a lot of options for both Overeem and Rogers right now," Afromowitz said. "Nothing has been signed for either of them."

Afromowitz said that a bout between the two heavyweight sluggers was certainly a possibility but that neither fighter was currently guaranteed to appear at the event. Overeem hasn’t fought for Strikeforce since winning the title in October 2007.

Paul Perschmann AKA “Playboy” Buddy Rose has passed away at the age of 56.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at his home in Vancouver, WA.

Doctors say the death was from natural causes.

Rose was trained as a professional wrestler by Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson in the early 1970s and worked nearly everywhere over the course of his 20-plus year career. Rose found, perhaps, his greatest success in the Pacific Northwest; however, also had successful runs in the AWA, WWF and Florida.

Rose was honored with a Men’s Wrestling award by the Cauliflower Alley Club in 2004.

Last weekend after the Europa contest IFBB Pro Troy Alves headed to Venice Beach Ca to do a photo shoot here at Golds Gym.  What a day it was, with Silvio who was looking in great shape was training along with Hide and the amuture winner of the Europa.  Even with all these great bodybuilders Troy really stood out with his great back and the detal he had was the best condition I’ve seen him in as a pro.Troy who is now a young 43 yrs old just goes to show that this is a sport you can get better at as you age.  Good luck Troy

Mousasi, Sokoudjou, Sapp and Jose Canseco set for DREAM.9 tourney
By: Dann Stupp on Apr 30, 2009 at 9:15 am ET, mmajunkie.com

The Japanese-based DREAM organization today announced an open-weight tournament that features, among others, UFC veteran Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, K-1 star Bob Sapp and former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco.

The eight-man tournament kicks off at DREAM.9.

The event, which also features the second round of the organization’s featherweight grand prix and a middleweight title fight between Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Jason "Mayhem" Miller, takes place May 26 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan.

The open-weight tournament, roughly translated as the "World Superman Championship," will continue later this summer with a semifinal round and a grand finale.

Other participants and opening-round match-ups include Sapp vs. Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa, Jan Nortje vs. Sokoudjou, Gegard Mousasi vs. Mark Hunt, and Hong Man Choi vs. Canseco.

Mousasi, who will vacate his DREAM middleweight championship, will be the tournament’s smallest competitor. Although he recently stated he wanted to move up a weight class to light heavyweight, Mousasi will still be giving up more than 100 pounds to fighters such as Nortje, Sapp and Choi. He’ll give up approximately 60 pounds to Hunt, his opening-round opponent.

Canseco, meanwhile, makes his MMA debut after an MLB career that concluded with a tell-all book about steroid use in baseball (and a subsequent cold shoulder from the industry). Canseco, who claims to be a decorated martial artist, has been competing in exhibition boxing matches as of late. Former NFL player Vai Sikahema recently defeated Canseco via knockout, and former child actor Danny Bonaduce recently fought him to a majority draw.

The full card includes:

    * Gesias "JZ" Cavalvante vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
    * Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller (for vacant middleweight title)
    * Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto vs. Joe Warren*
    * Bibiano Fernandes vs. Masakazu Imanari*
    * Yoshiro Maeda vs. Hiroyuki Takaya*
    * Abel Cullum vs. Hideo Tokoro*
    * Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa vs. Bob Sapp+
    * Jan Nortje vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou+
    * Mark Hunt vs. Gegard Mousasi+
    * Jose Canseco vs. Hong Man Choi+

This will be interesting to see what develops…

    According to the SGMA, Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI) has introduced the Personal Health Investment Today Act of 2009 (PHIT) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Zach Wamp (R-TN) joined Kind in sponsoring the PHIT Bill.

    The PHIT Act would change current federal tax law to allow for the deduction or use of pre-tax dollars to cover expenses related to sports, fitness and other physical activities. Americans could invest up to $2,000 annually to pay for physical activities by investing money in existing pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Medical Savings Accounts (MSA) and/or medical reimbursement arrangements.  PHIT would only expand the expenses eligible for reimbursement to include physical activity costs as a form of prevention; PHIT would not increase contribution limits to these accounts. Once an individual or family spends 7.5% of their income on qualified medical expenses, they could deduct physical activity expenses directly.

Check out the full article at hardbody.com

Champion Nutrition & TapouT Announce Licensing Agreement

I have a feeling you’ll be seeing more supplement companies looking to tap into the success of the MMA world. Champion Nutrition takes a bold step by teaming up with TapouT, one which no other supplement line has done to date. Good move? Only time will tell but if you were going to partner with a successful brand in MMA, TapouT is a logical choice. You’re sure to see a TapouT shirt or hat at any bodybuilding/fitness event and go to a MMA event you can’t blink without seeing the logo.

Check out the whole article here.

I attended FIBO 2009 in Essen, Germany this past weekend and had a great time.  Check out these photos I took - it was a great event! 

With such fierce competition today it’s hard to measure how much dedication a bodybuilder has.  For example a bodybuilder might be in great shape and condition but has no dedication because this person might get into shape easy.  My friend and photographer Josef introduced me to one bodybuilder who is dedicated named Petr Brenza who is from the Czech Republic.  I ran into Josef and Petr at Golds Venice where they were looking the place over to do a shoot.  Petr who is from Czech came to California to have Josef, who is also from Czech.  All that way just for some good photos.  Petr, who is the 2007 Czech champion weigh in at the shoot at 266 and looked very massive.

Iron Man magazine has been around for decades and is one of the top national bodybuilding/fitness magazines. It’s everywhere.

They are featuring BodySpace on the FRONT cover this month, along with two separate multi-page features in the middle of the magazine. Notice the “BodySpace” mention on the cover in the MAIN headline.   Pretty cool stuff!

Also one of the ads showcased the Bodybuilding.com Supplement Awards right in the ad. Many of our vendors do this with the Supplement Award logos that they win (on TV, on their sites, in their print ads, in their brochures, in their event booths, etc.).   Check out the Supp Awards in the bottom area of an Optimum Nutrition ad that was in many national magazines. Optimum is our biggest vendor.

This year we will give out our 5th annual Supplement Awards. We give out the awards on the MAIN stage at the Olympia… the biggest bodybuilding show in the world.

Thursday, April 23, 2009, Sherdog.com

In MMA’s pound-for-pound world, there’s Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and Fedor Emelianenko. Then there’s everybody else.

Unfortunately for those seeking clarity as to who MMA’s greatest fighter is, UFC 97 did very little to resolve debate. Incumbent pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva added to his resume with his unanimous decision over Thales Leites, but his reputation soured some among fans and pundits alike.

Still, after another dominant victory over a top-10 fighter, Silva remains the sport’s pound-for-pound alpha dog. The contents of his performance were hardly those that the world has come to expect from the often offensively brilliant Silva, who has been less than thrilling in his last two middleweight title defenses. Whether he’ll continue to hold the pound-for-pound mantle as St. Pierre and Emelianenko head into potential high-stakes summer affairs remains to be seen.

1. Anderson Silva (24-4)
There is not much more to be said for Silva’s victory over Thales Leites. objectively, however, the victory adds yet another top-10 middleweight to Silva’s resume. The decision over Leites gave him his 10th win in a row — a streak that includes the likes of perennial standouts Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson. Silva’s last two performances will continue to engender debate over his enthusiasm for the sport. Fortunately, his standing means that whether it’s at 185 or 205, his next bout will be against elite-level opposition.

2. Georges St. Pierre (18-2)
Given the debate over the sport’s preeminent pound-for-pounder created by Anderson Silva’s performance against Thales Leites, St. Pierre’s pound-for-pound clash with Thiago Alves looms large for UFC 100 on July 11. Though the specter of his loss to Matt Serra still remains in pound-for-pound arguments, a victory over the outstanding Alves would cast serious doubt over whether any 170-pounder in the world can challenge GSP.

3. Fedor Emelianenko (30-1, 1 NC)
No MMA fighter has enjoyed the long-running success that Emelianenko has had. The only thing preventing him from topping this list is that over the last three years, he has not faced many of his most outstanding contemporaries. This trend has been changing, though, as the last year has seen Emelianenko flatten two former UFC champions in Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski. The summer should provide another strong opponent for Emelianenko — perhaps Josh Barnett — should Affliction stage its third event

4. Miguel Torres (37-1)
Few fighters have done more for themselves in the last 18 months. As the star of MMA’s emerging bantamweight class, Torres has shown championship poise and all the traits that are associated with the sport’s 135-pounders. After taking a thrilling five-round decision over top-five opponent Takeya Mizugaki on April 5, Torres’ focus now turns to his next WEC bantamweight title defense, likely against undefeated Georgia native Brian Bowles come August.

5. B.J. Penn (13-5-1)
Penn has long been thought of as arguably the sport’s most talented competitor. However, with this tag, he has sought many fruitless challenges above the 155-pound division where it seemed he could always reign. Penn will finally make the second defense of his UFC lightweight title on Aug. 8, when he squares off with red-hot challenger Kenny Florian in the marquee bout of UFC 101.

6. Rashad Evans (13-0-1)
Evans has continued to be scrutinized by fans and pundits alike who wonder if the Greg Jackson disciple is in fact the sport’s top 205-pounder and a legitimate pound-for-pound entrant. Fortunately for him, Evans’ pound-for-pound fate is in his own hands: He’ll take on undefeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 on May 23. A victory over the seemingly untouchable Machida would not only bolster Evans’ resume but also set up a high-profile clash with former UFC champion Quinton Jackson later this year.

7. Quinton Jackson (30-7)
“Rampage” added yet another top-10 notch to his belt by earning a hard-fought decision in March over Keith Jardine. With a win over nemesis Wanderlei Silva as well, Jackson’s loss to Forrest Griffin last July seems ages ago. However, Jackson’s path back to the top of the light heavyweight division will run through an undefeated fighter, as he awaits the winner of the May 23 clash between Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans.

8. Mike Thomas Brown (21-4)
Three years ago, the idea of an unassuming Brown emerging as a pound-for-pound entrant would have seemed bizarre if not laughable. The powerhouse featherweight’s massive improvement has shown in the cage, though, as he’s wiped out three consecutive top-10 featherweights with increasing dominance. On June 7, Brown could cement himself atop the 145-pound division if he replicates his first victory over divisional poster boy Urijah Faber when the two rematch at WEC 41.

9. Forrest Griffin (16-5)
After winning the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter," few would have pegged Griffin for pound-for-pound success. However, Griffin’s improvement led him to the top of the 205-pound division, taking pound-for-pound quality victories over Mauricio ‘Shogun" Rua and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Coming off his loss to Rashad Evans in December, Griffin’s road back to the top will run through once-beaten Brazilian Thiago Silva, whom Griffin meets at UFC 101 on Aug. 8.

10. Thiago Alves (16-3)
Few if any fighters had a more successful 2008 than Alves. In a sport where a single top-10 win can rapidly propel a fighter, he strung together three in a row, besting Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck. Alves’ sensational run has earned him a massive pound-for-pound matchup when he faces UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100 on July 11.

Training at Golds in Venice you tend to see a lot of big people all the time so it takes a great deal to catch your attention.  Well that’s just what Alex Nataf has done.  Alex who is 34 yr old has visited Golds before so he’s not a new site but this is the first time I’ve seen him in contest condition.  Alex who works in the medical field back in France told me he’s been training for about 16 years and last year walked away with 1st place at the French Championships.  So with that victory he tried his luck at the Arnold but didn’t make the top five.  Alex then went back to France and gave 110% and last weekend he walked away with 1st place at the super-heavy class at the Europa.  It’s hard to miss Alex with all his mass so keep your eye on this guy.

If we were to go back in time to the late 80s I remember being here in California on vacation and seeing most of the top Pro bodybuilders training at Golds here in Venice and how impressed I was with the massive Gary Strydom.  About five years after that I went to use the restroom while I was at a nightclub in Bangkok and when I came out I was surprised to see Gary Strydom there in Bangkok.  It’s been about 12 years since then and Gary and I became both training partners for about 3 years along with being great friends.  I don’t think I have trained with anyone more intense then Gary and Chris Commier had said the same thing when we were talking about taking workouts to a different level last month.  So about 7 months ago I was sad to see Gary move away to Thailand but I was happy for him because he’s now living his dream.  He sent me an e-mail last week saying he was going to make some appearances regarding his new supplement line.  From looking at his pictures I can see he hasn’t slacked off on the training since moving.

The other night my training partner comes into the gym and tells me in a upset tone “Where have you been I been trying to call you all day lets go.” I’m thinking go where because were here at the gym now.  Well, he was referring to us meeting the Big Ronnie Coleman himself for a workout.  I’ve seen Ronnie about two years ago when I was with Jay Cutler in Hawaii but now that he’s retired I was still surprised to see the size that Ronnie was still carrying.  Ronnie always trains in the day when he’s in Venice so I was surprised to see him at Golds at night training.  Ronnie said they want me to make a comeback but I just couldn’t get him to confirm who he was talking about.  That night Ronnie was full of laughs the whole workout but come time for his sets you would see a different side of Ronnie a serious Ronnie.  It reminded me of how Mike Christian and Berry Demay use to train back in the 90s.