2009 Olympia Blog

Ultimate Nutrition Presents the 2010 Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend

Farmington, CT  September  28th, 2009  — After an impressive presence at the 2009 Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend,  Ultimate Nutrition announced today their partnership with the 2010 Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend.  The Olympia Weekend, currently known as "The 2010 Olympia Weekend," shall be known as “Ultimate Nutrition presents Joe Weider’s 2010 Olympia Weekend.”
The 2010 Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend is scheduled to take place at the Orleans Arena and the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada in September 2010 and is the premier in bodybuilding competitions.

“Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend is a stage for excellence and has great synergy with Ultimate Nutrition’s excellent products,” said Brian Rubino, Vice President, Ultimate Nutrition. “At this year’s Olympia, we had great success with the Ultimate Nutrition, Full Combat, and Ultimate Gear brands as well as having great athletes like Hulk Hogan, Thiago Silva, Markus Ruhl and Jenny Lynn stop by.  Wait until you see what we have planned for next year.”

About Ultimate Nutrition.

Since 1979, Ultimate Nutrition has been fueling bodies with the best nutritional supplements to achieve your goals, whatever they may be. With Ultimate Nutrition being one of the most tenured companies in the industry, we were among the first to have amino acid tablets, carbohydrate powders, fat burners, and whey protein powder. Today, Ultimate Nutrition is among the leading innovators in the supplement industry, with products that can enhance your life no matter what your goals are.
CONTACT:  Neil Blitzer, +1-860-409-7100, nblitzer@ultimatenutrition.com

Web site: http://www.ultimatenutrition.com/

Ultimate Nutrition

“This year marks our 30th year in the business and our first year as the title sponsor of the Olympia, and we have four booths to mark the occasion,” says Neil Blitzer, vice president of brand development at Ultimate Nutrition.    

All weekend long these booths will him with giveaways, celebrity sightings and interactive fan competitions.  Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store:

The Ultimate Nutrition booth will offer their full line of supplements at a special event pricing, gift with purchases, and samples galore.  They will be debuting their new Muscle Juice Revolution 2600, Prostar 100% Whey Protein, cellsizer HSP, and Red Zone.  

Meet the German Beast Markus Ruhl, who’s coming back from retirement to compete at this year’s Olympia, Jenny Lynn, who’s trying to reclaim her title, and a surprise guest who will be sure to make it exciting, brother!  Try the strength and agility with the Ultimate Nutrition obstacle course to see how you rank against the pros.

The Full Combat booth will show off Ultimate Nutrition’s new line of supplements made exclusively towards the hardcore world of mixed martial arts.  On hand to sign autographs, will be the recent champion, Thiago Silva.

If that’s not exciting enough, visit the Energy Smash drink booth to sample the awesome new energy drink, or the Ultimate Gear booth for high quality workout gear and accessories.

Okay while in Vegas for the Olympia, I did some filming for you guys.  More of the day to day stuff, totally different than the other filming bb.com did while there.  

So the second video is now up:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2008_olympia_video.htm#dalotajr

Hear about Julie Lohre’s torn ACL in this video.

Let me know what ya’ll think!

Okay while in Vegas for the Olympia, I did some filming for you guys.  More of the day to day stuff, totally different than the other filming bb.com did while there.  

So the first video is up:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2008_olympia_video.htm#dalotajr

Let me know what ya’ll think.

Just a quick pic from Meet the Olympians…

Day 2: Fri, Sept 26, 2008

Up at the crack of dawn!  My body has decided to stick to EST, and I awaken to my belly crumbling.  I wonder what in the world will be open at 7 am Vegas time.  hmmm…  I dash through my morning rituals, I’m sure you don’t need make-up details here.  You can use your imagination.  And off I go in search of FOOD!  

The buffet was such a hit last night, and I’m thinking thats the way to go again.  I had heard a rumor while standing in-line the night before for at Meet the Olympians, that they will make custom omelets.  YES!  After being seated, I make a beeline for the omelet line.  I grab a plate and start to fill it full of veggies (you pick what you want and hand it over to the chief).  I’m hoping luck is on my side, and my new chief friend will be back again today.  No such luck!  I was yelled at in broken english, that I wasn’t supposed to use a plate for veggies, but only a small bowl.  I picked too much!  hmmm….  What to do, what to do.  I smiled and said I like veggies, please use them, and hold the oils, butter, and cheese please!  More smiling after that little speech.  Nope, he didn’t buy it.  More yelling at me, and telling me my omelet would be watery.  Okay, I smile some more (people are looking), and say "I’ll take it anyways".  Now I’m getting a little annoyed, and my belly is getting annoyed.  Obviously this man, has never dealt with a lady who is low carb.  My toe starts to tap, and I think I’m getting an eye twitch!  One more word and I’m jumping the counter and whacking him with his spatula.  Now I’m smiling for real!  So I finally get my omelet and somehow he ditched some of my veggies!  That meanie!  Ok…I’m going to be an adult (this once), and walk away.  The omelet was good actually.  And not watery!  Just sayin’!

Now I’m ready to hit the expo!  Off we go to hop on the shuttle.  Not hard to find.  Outside there was a big sign, with the times.  Bus leaves at 9:00.  Okay cool.  Shoot!  Its only 8 am.  Not to panic, we can shop.  Small problem, the only place to shop in the hotel is the gift shop!  WHAT!  That’s crazy!  Well, the nice bellman/ valet dude says go to the Forum at Caesars Palace.  Sure there open he says… 24 hrs/day.  And then you can walk the 1 block to the expo.  Cool!  This is great!  Were brilliant strategist!  So off we go in a taxi to the Forum.

After a nice drive and a little view of Vegas, were finally taking the escalator up to the Forum.  Wait a minute!  Its dark!  What!  There isn’t anything open!  Our bellman/ valet dude WAS SO WRONG!  The shops don’t open until 10 am!  grrrrr   But sure you can look around… in the dark.  I’ll pass thanks!  So fine, we’ll walk to the expo now and wait.  What?  The bellman/valet a$$whole dude was wrong again!  Its clear across town!  *palm to forehead*  Fine, another taxi please.

Finally after another little jaunt across Vegas (I got to see alot of side streets and construction so far), we arrive at the arena where the expo will be held.  As soon as we get there, we see the BSN team gathering outside.  Cool shirts guys!  We head for the doors, and get inline at the VIP entrance.  Arriving early worked out well and were like 6th in line.  So we chat with the peeps around us to pass time.  And stare like tourist as all the exhibitors start to file past.  Holy cow!  There is so and so, from such and such magazine!  I then spy the little sign that says so video inside.  Well… its gonna be another photo mission.  Then we find out, were gonna get in 30 minutes before the general ticket holders.  Woo-hoo!  We start to plan, and I’m gonna hit the bigger booths first, before the lines form.  

So off we go!  Small problem!  The vendors aren’t ready!  Crap!  So the 30 minute window was pretty much a waste.  After I did some wondering I headed back to get into the lines for meet and greats!

Jamie is soooo nice!  And Jamie, Julie says she and Rick will work on that catch phrase for you!  lol!  Now I’m off to meet Monica!  

Very friendly, and I picked up her tank about carbs I had been eyeing!  Then off for my bb.com tee.  Its one of my favs!  And there is Charles Glass!  

WOW!  bb.com has a fabulous booth!  Way to go!

Now off I go to hit a few more booths.  I’m pretty picky about my supps, so I pretty much know what I’ll use.  And one of the samples I want is Venom Hyperdrive.  I had a nice long chat with Cody from ALR.  Very nice peeps, and thanks for the samples!  I swing by see Adelea Garcia and grab a quick pic!  **No you don’t wanna see this pic, my eye look wonky**  WORD!  

WOW, time has flown by and its time for the ladies pre-judging, and I need to grab a seat.  No problem, plenty of back seats, fronts are all taken.  Rats!  

********************too be cont!  (I need to eat and do cardio!)

At the Olympia Expo this year, I finally got to meet IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Erik “The House” Fankhouser.  I somehow had missed him at the Arnold back in March, so I was glad to finally bump into him this time.

His calves, of course, are legendary - and for good reason:

I was able to get a video interview with his wife, Heather (”The Landlord” on BodySpace), which is among 150 such interviews we got last weekend, so check ‘em all out here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2008_olympia_video.htm

Enjoy! 

Day 1: Thur Sept 25, 2008

Up at a whoppin’ 4:10 am… what 4:10 am, OMG I over slept!!! ACK!  I was supposed to be on the road by now.  This realization was followed by a mad scramble out of the bed and to throw some clothes and make-up on.  Yes make-up!  I knew there be pictures okay?  geez!  So I throw all my bags into the car, kiss the dog good-bye and hit the road.  Damn!  The car is on empty!  Grrrr!  So a quick fill-up and I’m back on the road, for the 1.5 hr drive to the airport.  There may have been some speeding involved.  And all I kept thinking was, I wonder which state Ronnie Coleman works as cop?  

I made it to the airport in about an hour.  Shhhhh!  I know, I was speeding!  But missing the plane, would have been a disaster of epic proportion! As I walk to the terminal to wait to board, I look around an see some Olympia bound peeps (checking out their shirts is a big hint).  Since I’m sporting my figure team warm-ups, its pretty clear where I’m going!  Now seems like the perfect time to eat my protein muffins.  Yummy!  

Onto the plan we go to take off at 7:00 am.  As luck would have  it, I got an isle seat with a nice older couple, on their way to do a few days of gambling.  She was pretty curious about what I was doing in vegas and what my warm-up logo meant.  Well, I gave her the whole spiel on figure (by now I pretty much have this down after being asked so many times).  All this was followed by her fondling my bicep.  ummmm… okay.  So we settled in for a long flight.  After an hour of listening to the drunk guys from Mansfield, sitting behind me I was not so amused.  To appreciate their humor, you would have to be drunk with them at 7:30 am.  Which I was not.  Okay, I’m getting restless.  Not to mention the grand idea of getting a tan for the Olympia, was not a good one.  Which ended with me getting a burn in strategic places needed for sitting on a long flight!  Just sayin’!  And now I realize I didn’t pack anything to read or do.  DAMN!  Okay, not to panic I’ll read the airline mags.  Again.  And again.  Holy cow!  I’m going nuts!  And the drunks are drunker!  And I took my fat burner!  *palm to forehead*  And my a$$ is on fire.  How much farther to Vegas!!!!!

After landing at Vegas at 8:30 am (gotta love that time difference), and I’m starving!  And making a shake on the plane is not fun.  Using room temp water is NOT recommended for optimal shake taste!  I start mad texting everyone, while waiting for my friend’s plane to land.  After she arrives, we are on our way.  Sorta!  She met a friend who is going to give us a ride to the hotel.  Cool!  

Finally at the hotel!  WOW!  This place is BIG!  From the minute we walk in the door I start seeing bodybuilders and figure chicks.  This is my kind of place!  We check in and decide to drag our luggage with us to have brunch.  The cafe had a special menu, catering to our diets.  Can I move in here, and stay for my whole comp prep?  Mind you I’m really hungry.  And ordered an egg white omelet and chicken breast with lots of veggies.  Yummy!  I’m in heaven… until the bill came.  Ouch!$!$  

Dragging the luggage around is getting old, so off to the room we go.  Toss down the luggage and were off to pick up our Platinum Olympia package.  Then to meet Richard from bb.com to pick up my Olympia package.  We have got to rush, the press conference is in an hour.  

I gave my trainer IFBB Fitness Pro Julie Lohre a call, and off to her room we go, to hang out for awhile and chat.  She look fabulous!  She is getting ready to tan and I need to get to the press conference.  

Some how we were told to sit in a VIP box, and had great seats.  The Olympia guys are hamming it up, and are too funny.  On our way out of the press conference, we got talked into looking at the Olympia jackets for sale.  The next thing I know were modeling the Fitness and Figure winning jackets.  Holy Crap!  There is something about sporting the Figure Olympia jacket that makes you wanna do quarter turns.  Not that I did…okay I DID!  But you would too!!!!  Just sayin’!  Talk about a rush!  While still on that rush, I some how became the owner of my very own Olympia jacket.  Ummm…okay.

So while cheesing for the camera pretending I’m a Figure Olympian, Gina Aliotti walked by.  And stops to talk to us about our jackets.  We all have a good laugh.  She is super sweet!  I’m now a Gina fan!  Next we meet the chicks from Southern Muscle Magazine.  Super nice too.  And we had a long conversation.  Thanks for the encouragement gals!

Crap, its getting late, and I rush up stairs to log onto bb.com to make a quick post.  The internet here is super slow, so I keep it simple.  Now off to the room to get ready for Meet the Olympians!

After getting ready in record time, and making a mad dash to get in line with our fancy-smancy VIP passes.  Holy Crap!  The line wrapped around the darn building.  Okay, time to amuse ourselves and wait. I got to meet some really nice peeps.  Finally its our turn to go in.  WOW!  Thankfully the room is huge!  Quickly I make a plan on who all I want to meet and get pics with.  And off I go.  I rush to hug Julie and say “hi”, and see there is others waiting too, so I move on.  I then meet up with Gina, and got a pic this time, and chatted some more.

Now I’m off to meet Jen H.  Now this chick is so personable.  What a true champ should be.  I told her how excited I am to see her routines and how I missed the “Hooter” one, and she said she would try and get it onto her site!

As I start to make my way back to say bye to Rick & Julie, I see Kim Lyons.  She was so warm and friendly, and really takes an interest when people are chatting with her.  She is working on a TV show pilot which will focus on the concept Fitness 911, and helping people make changes!  I can’t wait to see that on TV!  Way to go Kim!  

I meet some not so nice Olympians too.  Which I no longer will be rooting for.  WORD!

By this time, its time to eat again.  So off to the buffet we go.  And yes, you can eat healthy on the buffet.  The chief making the stir-fries was so nice and offered to make me something using lemon juice.  I almost jumped the counter and gave him a big hug!

Now that my belly is full, its off to bed.  Tomorrow will be a long exciting day!

After my last post I went upstairs to meet the Olympians and was stunnedby how many people were there. I could swear there were at least a thousand people lined up outside with the line going all the way back to the escalators and wrapping around down the hall. Wow!

After I got inside the room I could the long lines of people waiting to meet their favorite pros and get signed photos and even pics with them. I wondered around a bit and finally met up with Ron Avidan who is shooting photos and video interviews for us. Let me tell you, Ron is a funny guy and fun to work with. We walked around a little and managed to snag a couple of great interviews with Craig Richardson and the "The Gift" Phil Heath.

Now when Ron does an interview be ready. He is very good at it and will ask some very off topic questions. One such question was about shopping, porn and many others. Check the Olympia Main page on Bodybuilding.com as we will be updating this page off and on every day.

2008 Olympia Main Page.

Peace,

Scott
AKA “The Crush“

*Due to circumstances out of my control my avatar and a link to my BodySpace will not be displayed. I will make it clear at the end of each post who I am.

Day one of the Olympia is in the books. I caught up with a number of the females competing this weekend and most are in great spirits.

Nicole Wilkins is competing in her first Olympia. As if that wasn’t enough to keep one’s nerves on edge, Ms. Wilkins tells me she will be getting married in four weeks. Yep, that’s correct she has been planning her wedding AND getting ready for the O. She will be going on a honeymoon to Belize after the wedding. Congrats!

Felicia Romero tells me she has brought up her legs since Houston. She’s sporting some blue streaks in her hair to match her blue suits. She is always a stunner.

Jane Awad tells me the casting for the new TV show went great and a decision on who is in could come as early as the next two weeks. Jane’s stoked to be competing and says the high fat, no carb diet has worked wonders for her. Her and her husband have been busy with their "Train with Jane" facility in Canada.

Teresa Anthony is also competing in her first Olympia. When not eating Orange Roughy she seems to be enjoying the experience of Vegas. I caught up with "T" after a rather large, sweaty man seemed distraught. The gentleman was upset that the women were not included in the Press Conference. Teresa said she didn’t mind cause it was her first time at the Olympia. I assured her she missed out on nothing and it seems the fans are more upset than the competitors.

Bernadette Galvan looks stunning. She feels she’s found a good look for her physique after competing for months on end. Bernadette is a very friendly woman and looks great. Don’t be surprised if you see her compete in another show this year.

Jenn Gates has point blank never looked better. This little woman is spot on and she came to shake things up. One thing is for certain, nothing will be shaking on her this weekend. She has a glow about her this weekend and exudes a sense of confidence I’ve never seen from her. Don’t be surprised if the announcement of "Jennifer Gates" is higher than 3rd place.

Lenay Hernandez is a little Cuban spit fire who loves to bust my chops. Lenay will be a bit lighter than Houston, where she placed second, and is genuinely excited to be at the show. She still needs to work on her wide-grip pull-ups as she is only at 20. Kidding, this 25 year old beauty will be turning some heads this weekend.

Julie Ann Kulla also in her first Olympia is sporting a slightly darker hair color. Striking as always, Julie Ann is ready to take the stage and has high hopes for her first dance.

Jessica Paxson-Putnam looks hotter than ever. This blonde beauty turns heads every where she goes. Despite the challenges of her husband getting ready for Nationals, Jess has been able to focus on bringing her best to the stage. Definitely one of the few women who looks every bit as good on contest day as they do in the off-season.

Julie Palmer and I at Meet the Olympians.

Heather Armbrust is crabby and tired, which means she’s ready. Heather had a long line of fans throughout the Meet The Olympians. She’s definitely one to watch and could definitely shake things up today.

Jenn Hendershott is full of energy. SHOCKER! I know. Jenn tells me to shut my yap about her dancing too much and to wait till I see her routine this weekend.

Tracey Greenwood has never looked better. It must be those happy pills she’s taking because this girl is here to make some noise. I look for her to have her best Olympia placing this weekend.

Mindi O’Brien is ready to rock but tells me she re-injured her calf. She’s had to back off on her routines this past weekend as her calf has been bothering her since the Atlantic City. This girl is full of energy and I don’t see a silly calf holding her back.

Regiane Da Silva is nuts. This woman is straight up crazy and I love it. She will rock the routine rounds today and look for her to make a move into the top 6. She has more energy than a kid on a Halloween sugar binge.

Julie Palmer looks great and will undoubtedly be in the first call-outs for the physique rounds. She tells me that she’s left the monster props behind and the only thing she’ll use in her routine fit in her carry-on luggage. Julie could have her best Olympia placing here. She’s worked on her gymnastics since the Arnold and says she’s ready.

First time to the Olympia in famed Sin City

September 25, 2008, Straight from the Orleans in Las Vegas Nevada!

As with any new adventure one is never quite sure what to expect when attending something for the first time. This was certainly no exception.

After arriving in Vegas we got checked into the hotel ate some food and relaxed a bit as the next three days were going to be none stop. Thursday morning rolled around and we were off to the Orleans for the IFBB Pro Men’s Press conference and Meet The Olympians later in the evening. This was quite the experience. We got our equipment set up in the back and waited for the fireworks to begin.

The press conference started and we were not disappointed as Bob & Dan went immediately into action by asking questions that would surely get them fired up. With Bob setting them off with intimidating questions and the bodybuilders themselves poking fun at each other it was very entertaining and the crowd absolutely loved it.

Dexter seemed to dish it out and take it the most but to be fair the jabs really did came from all of them and they seemed to enjoy it a great deal. Then their was the comment from Ronny Rockel, whose English has improved, but when he said "best package" the crowd broke out in hysterical laughter. You had to be there to really know how it happened, it was very funny! And with standing room only there was a ton of energy filling the entire room. This just proved to me that the days to come would be even better.

Of course I would not be a true tourist to the Sin City if I did not mention the gambling. It is everywhere and crazy to say the least. Unless you are outside during the day you will lose all sense of time and wonder where your money went. I know… my money is already gone. Well almost. I think I will have enough left for the cab ride home. Hehe. Kidding.

I am about done for the day and will be taking off soon. For those of you who have not had a chance to make it to the big show in Sin City then I would say try sometime. It is a surreal experience.

Did you see the Press Conference on Justin.tv? Let me know what you thought. I would love to here what you thought of it.

I will be writing more as the 2008 Olympia Weekend continues. Check back as I write part 2 where the real fun begins with prejudging of all the athletes.

All results, video, galleries, replays and more will be available right here:
2008 Olympia Main Page.

Peace,

Scott
AKA “The Crush“

*Due to circumstances out of my control my avatar and a link to my BodySpace will not be displayed. I will make it clear at the end of each post who I am.

We recently held a Pre-Olympia contest on the forums, where one lucky winner would win $1,000 USD for helping Bodybuilding.com gather Olympia video footage, both before the trip (gotta love a roadtrip!), and at the Olympia Expo and contests.  Well, the contest is over, and the winner is…

BodySpace member “Dalotajr” (Tracy)!

Tracy will be filming her trip as she travels today from her hometown to Las Vegas for this weekend’s Mr. Olympia contest.  She’ll be meeting up with BB.com staff during the weekend to hand over some great footage, and we’ll have it online and available for viewing next week before the dust settles, LOL.  We really appreciate Tracy’s willingness to help us gather a fan’s viewpoint of the weekend, and she will earn herself $500 in cash for gasoline expenses, and $500 worth of supplements from the BB.com online store.

BodySpace Member “Dalotajr”.

She also gets a video “shoutout” from Jay Cutler, 2 full-access passes for this weekend, and her story featured on the Bodybuilding.com Supersite in our 2008 Olympia coverage.

Tracy has been blogging here already about her predictions and thoughts about this upcoming weekend’s events, so look for her avatar as you peruse this blog, as you’re in for a treat! 

Can I get a woot-woot??  

The Olympia is only a couple weeks away!  And guess who is going? ME!  Thats right, and I’ll be an Olympia & Vegas newbie.  Oh, and did I mention I’ll be comp dieting the whole trip!  Crazy I know.  But doable.  But still crazy.  But I’m pretty sure others will be doing the same.

Oh, and one of the coolest parts……. I’ll be hookin’ up with bb.com to bring you my TOTAL Olympia experience.  It will be like you were there too.  Plus you get a little look into what its like living a pre-competition lifestyle.