Pro/Am Contests Blog

Here are some partial results from this past weekend’s 2007 NPC Steel Rose competition:

http://contest.bodybuilding.com/contestresults.php?compid=1501

More to follow, but Toney Freeman won the Sacramento Pro. Silvio Samuel took second, Hidetada Yamagishi third, Ahmad Haider the number four spot and Marcus Haley came in at number five.

Heather Policky made a hard dash into the top women’s bodybuilder spot with Antoinette Norman taking the top light weight women’s bodybuilding win. She beat the crowd pleasing and stunning Cathy LeFrancois by only one point. That was a really tight race. The finals photos are up in the galleries now so take a look!

Be sure to check out the full results on Bodybuilding.com.

A new locomotive came through Sacramento today and it is called Toney Freeman on track to make 2007 a big year for the X-Man. The call outs put big Toney in a clear number one spot. He looks much more on track than he did last week at the Iron Man. He is lean and hard. So will he keep the conditioning to make it to the Arnold? We shall see. But right now it looks like he has the 2007 Sacramento Pro in his gym bag.

Now it looks like Silvio Samuel is headed for the number two spot and it is well deserved. Maybe overlooked at the Iron Man last week, Silvio looks darn good. The guy has obviously worked hard last week under the watchful eye of Milos Sarcev. From the call outs today, it looks like the second place stop for him.

The number three spot will be a tougher call just based on the call outs. But the other top picks were Marcus Haley, Ahmad Haider and Hidetada Yamagishi. So we will see what tonight brings!

2007 Sacramento Pro pre-judging photos are now available on Bodybuilding.com.

Check them out, here:

Men’s Bodybuilding Pre-Judging Photos
Women’s Bodybuilding Pre-Judging Photos (Lightweight)
Women’s Bodybuilding Pre-Judging Photos (Heavyweight)

Cathy LeFrancois-Priest:

Well, the 2007 Australian Pro is going to be a great one. There is a fantastic list so far with some of the worlds top competitors coming down to join in. The list includes:

Aiman Faour (Lebanon)
Wong Hong (Malaysia)
Dexter Jackson (USA)
Moe El Moussawi (New Zealand)
Vince Taylor (USA)
Marcus Haley (USA)
Mustafa Mohammed (Lebanon)
John Hodgson (UK)
Ronnie Rockel (Germany)
Toney Freeman (USA)
Luke Wood (Australia)

With this being probably the strongest lineup in years it should make for a thrilling contest!

Need info on this weekend’s NPC Steel Rose figure competition?  Click here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2007npcsteelrose_info.htm

Don’t forget to check out our 2007 Sacramento Pro Main Page:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2007ifbbsacpro.htm

With the 2007 Iron Man Pro just days away, competitors are rounding the final stretch and are making the final preparations to their physique. We are also discussing the Iron Man in the Arnold Classic blog because many of those competing in the Arnold Classic will be competing in the Iron Man. The names of these competitors are Toney Freeman, David Henry, Sergey Shelestov, Mark Dugdale, and Luke Wood. It also worth noting that all but one of these aforementioned competitors (David Henry) will be competing at the Sacramento Pro, just one week after the Iron Man and one week prior to the Arnold Classic. In addition, Marcus Haley, who is also competing in the Arnold Classic, will make his presence felt at the Sacramento Pro.

For some, success in the Iron Man Pro has translated into success at the Arnold Classic. For example, in 2005, Gustavo Badell won the Iron Man Pro and finished third in the Arnold Classic against a much stronger field. For others, success at the Iron Man Pro has not led to success at the Arnold Classic. In 2006, David Henry finished second at the Iron Man pro and followed that up with a dismal showing and an eleventh place finish at the Arnold Classic.

Obviously, the time between competitions can allow a competitor to improve upon a specific weakness they may have. It allows time for these competitors to tweak their body and improve upon any flows they may have found in their body and their contest preparation. However, it can be quite difficult to maintain your appearance when one is competing in a number of shows in a short period of time.

We will see how this group of competitors handles everything. It will be interesting, to say the least, to watch how things pan out. Be sure to check out the Iron Man webcast on bodybuilding.com, free of charge. I hope you all enjoy the show.

In closing, I would like to commend my fellow bloggers on some great posting. It has been a joy reading your posts thus far and I look forward to continuing our work on this blog and making it the best blog in recent memory.

See you all soon. Everyone stay safe and warm.

- Kyle

Are you competing in an NPC, IFBB, WNBF, INBA, CBBF, NABBA, MuscleMania, WNSO/FAME or other show this year?  If so, please join us here in the Pro/Am Contests Blog as a contributing writer, and share with all of us your thoughts, prep details, anxieties, and experiences throughout the process!

We’d love to hear about your journey along the way!  (PM me or email me to join.)