2010 Iron Man Blog

I cannot beleive it! No rain on the Ironman this year, the weather is calling for 80 degrees on Friday and 72 degrees on Saturday. What am I going to do with the specially made Ironman Pro Umbrellas that we were going to hawk. Jeez. But we are lucky for on Tuesday evening, lightning, thunder and some light rain fell around the area as to warn us that anything can change.

This is going to be a good show. Friday at 4pm, the pres conference will begin with birthday boy Lonnie Teper trying to figure out how much each competitor weighs, with shoes, jackets, pants and even rocks in their pockets. If the competitors let us, they will show us a glimpse into their physique, and perhaps their might be a surprise or two from our prejudged views of the athletes. Each year, someone else gets the spotlight, and I am wondering who it will be this year.

Lots of various competitors will be giving seminars this year too. Jay Cutler, Jonnie Jackson, Gunter Schlierkamp, Lenda Murray, Mary Jo Cooke, Roland Kickinger and many others will provide info to the fans, which is a real treat, something you get no where else at an expo or bodybuilding show. I find that these are extremely informative, and you get a deeper respect for them and their knowledge.

As always when we go to this show, you never know who you are going to meet, who will glare at you for writing some things about them, and who will praise or confront you. It is always an adventure, and we should get some great stories for you guys.

Last Friday was a tough day; had to drive down to the IRON MAN studio in Gardena, about 23 miles or so away, and do a video interview with John Balik about the history of the IM and the FitExpo, give a preview of the contest on video, and do the voice over for the Mickey Hargitay “Lifetime Achievement Award”. By the way, Balik told me there’s “a chance” Mickey’s famous daughter, Mariska, could be in attendance to honor her late father.

But the most difficult job of all was agreeing to do some benching with 225 prior to my IM report. The people at the studio demanded to see some proof I deserve the moniker “Buffdaddy”, which Russ DeLuca says is absolutely warranted, so under the bench I went. The video tells the story. Like I said, needed to pump up the volume.

Don’t ever underestimate the power of the cerebral.

I am almost embarrassed to admit that I entered the 2006 Ironman Figure competition “just for fun”!  At the time, I was in the middle of my first year of studies at Whittier Law School (Costa Mesa, CA).  I had planned to take a year off from competing in order to focus on my law school career.  But before long, I started to wonder if I could train for a competition DURING my first year in law school!  After competing for the first time in 2003, I got “hooked” on the challenges of contest preparation and the sense of fulfillment and achievement that I got from reaching my goals.  (I’m sure those of you who compete can relate to that!)  So, as you can imagine, by October 2005, I was already going through “withdrawals” from the figure competition scene.  I called my trainer/nutritionist, Kim Oddo, and asked him about the Ironman Figure competition.  We decided to give it a shot! I knew that I wanted to compete at nationals in the summer of 2006, so I looked at the Ironman as a “stepping stone” to a successful 2006 season.  I was so anxious to step on the figure stage again that I didn’t care about having to diet through the holidays!!!

The diet and training were not too bad…aside from the fact that I had NO LIFE outside of the gym, the library, and the classroom! LOL!  But it all paid off when I realized that my level of conditioning going into the Ironman was my personal best!!!  Everything just seemed to be going perfect!

When I arrived at the host hotel on Friday evening (before the competition), I was surprisingly relaxed and calm.  I was excited to step on stage, but I also knew that I had already achieved my personal best…so I was happy   The next morning, I had that same calm and confident feeling…which, as any competitor knows, is the absolute best feeling ever!!!  That calm and confidence lasted even up until I stepped on stage!  After the first round of prejudging (1-piece suits), I looked around and realized that my class was by far the largest class in the competition!  There were about 20 women in my class (Class A), while there were about 7 or 8 women in the other 2 classes COMBINED!!!  That’s about when my nerves kicked in!  Going into the 2nd round (2-piece suits), I just tried to maintain that calm feeling and continue to have fun.  When I got the 1st callout in the 2nd round and heard all of my friends and family cheering for me, I got “goosebumps”!  This was the first time in my entire figure career that I had gotten the 1st callout in both rounds! I realized that I actually had a good shot at winning my class! I wasn’t even thinking about the Overall!!!

When I returned to the awards show that night, I tried to remain calm, knowing that the callouts don’t always mean what you think they do   Stepping onto the stage at the Ironman Awards show was surreal…the stage lights, camera flashes and cheers/applause from the audience made me feel like I was dreaming!  When my name was called as the Figure Class A winner, I was so excited! That was my first class win!!!  Then I had to go back on stage for comparisons for the overall award!  I remember hearing people in the audience screaming out my name and my competitor number…it was crazy!!!  Then after it was announced that the judges had reached their decision, there was that infamous pause…….and then they announced me as the Overall winner of the 2006 NPC Ironman Figure competition!  I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, smile, wave, etc!!!  What an experience!

After winning the Ironman, it all seemed like a blur!  My first win definitely catapulted me onto a whole new level of figure competitions…not only did I get a lot of publicity and coverage through photo shoots and magazine appearances, but I also experienced more pressure to win (or at least to place well) at the competitions I entered following the Ironman.  Although I didn’t get my pro card last year, I still feel like my year was a success!  Looking back now, I realize that my overall win at the Ironman opened so many doors and opportunities for me…and I met so many incredible people!  I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did without the support of family, friends, and without God giving me the strength to face each day and the new challenges it brought me.

The Ironman is one of my favorite shows!  So…to all those women who are in their last few weeks of prep for the Ironman Figure competition…just remember to go out there and have some fun!!!

Hello all bodybuilding fans! And welcome to the 2007 IFBB season! Coming off the incredible 2006 season, this year promises to be jam packed with upsets, surprises, and new champions! With the Iron Man Pro fast approaching, you can bet to see fireworks right off the bat with the first show of the year.

Before I get into more about the Iron Man, let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Jeff (surfgod777) and I am a 25 year old and live in the Bay Area in California. I have lived in CA my entire life where I grew up, went to school, and now work and live. I got into bodybuilding for myself a while ago during school and have been in love with it ever since. Soon after starting training myself, I got into reading the magazines and online articles (at bodybuilding.com), which lead into an interest in the pro and amateur athletes. I soon found myself going to local shows in my area and even the Olympia the past few years (you can check out my Olympia experiences in the 2006 Olympia Blog).  I also have been tracking my progress in many journals and reviews that can be found online at the forums. Check them out and encourage me to reach my goals!

Now that you know about me, it’s time to get ready for the Iron Man Pro. This is the first stop on the 2007 IFFB season, and it promises to be a great event. What more can you ask for to start the year? The event is held in beautiful Pasadena, California. This is a perfect bodybuilding location. Close to the mecca of bodybuilding in Venice, close to the beach, and beautiful weather (it’s almost 70-degrees right now… in January!). Stay tuned in the next few days as me and the other bloggers give you our insights and predictions for the show, expo, and weekend. Take care!

What’s up guys! I’m stoked to be part of the bodybuilding.com team for the IRONMAN. I’ve been contributing to the site for awhile but not it’s time to step it up a notch. I will be flying out to LA on Thursday afternoon. Friday morning I will be hitting Gold’s Gym Venice with Ron Avidan from GETBIG.com and then we’re going to head to Pasadena for the Press Conference. Hopefully it doesn’t rain this time. No one do a raindance this year, aight? I’ll be in Pasadena until Monday, have a short little break and then it’s off to the Arnold.

An inside scoop that you may not have heard yet, but IFBB Figure Pro and Rookie of the Year, Gina Aliotti (don’t miss Gina Aliotti on the Fit Show!) will be helping out with judging duties at the NPC Figure portion. The winner of this NPC Figure event has gone on to turn pro a fair number of times.

I’ll be doing some short video interviews and backstage coverage at the event. Looking forward to this show as it is one of my favorites of the year.