July 30 & 31, 2010 Las Vegas, Nevada

Pro Cards a Plenty!
Men (7 wt groups) 4 men will turn professional.
Women (4 wt groups) 2 women bodybuilders will turn professional.
Figure (6 height groups) Class winners will turn professional.
Bikini (6 height groups) Class winners will turn professional.

General Information
Event Location: Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall on the Campus of UNLV
4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154

DIRECTIONS:
Go to www.expedia.com Event Hotel: Embassy Suites, Las Vegas
3600 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NevadaSchedule of Events

Thursday, July 29th: Embassy Suites
6:30-8:00pm
Early weigh-in men bb

8:00-9:30pm
Early weigh-in women bb;
Early height-check for Figure
Early height-check for Bikini

Friday, July 30th: Embassy Suites
9:00-10:30am
Final weigh-in/height-check
(all athletes)

Friday, July 30th: Artemus Ham Hall
3:00pm: Men’s mandatory meeting

4:30pm: Men’s prejudging

5:00pm: Bikini mandatory meeting

(7pm) TBD Bikini prejudging

Saturday, Artemus Ham Hall July 31st
8:00am Women’s Bodybuilding mandatory meeting

9:00am Women’s Bodybuilding prejudging

9:30am Figure mandatory meeting

(10am) TBD Figure prejudging

5:00pm Top 15 Class Competitors Mandatory meeting (Men,Women,Figure, Bikini)

6:30pm Finals

Sakhi’s death last month at the age of 26 has shaken Afghanistan’s body building community and shown it is not beyond the reach of the shady billion-dollar business in legal and illegal supplements.

“Unfortunately using illegal supplements has been seen among our young body builders, but we have no resources to stop it,” said Ustaad Bawar Hotak, the head of Afghanistan’s Bodybuilding Federation.

“I always tell any sportsmen to use natural products instead of using dangerous supplements that damage their health.”

Hotak said there was evidence that both professional and amateur body builders in Afghanistan were using imported illegal supplements banned by the national federation.But Hotak denied “Mr. Afghanistan’s” death was due to using risky supplements, saying Arif Sakhi was poisoned by his rivals — even as fellow body builders said the champion’s liver and kidneys had been devastated by steroids.

“Everyone who prepares themselves for a competition uses steroids and other types of injections for their muscle growth,” said Haroon, working out at the Kabul Gym.
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“I do, he does and almost everyone else does,” he said, pointing to other young men working on their physiques in a gym packed with costly workout machines and weights.

The federation says there are over 1,000 gyms in Afghanistan, including at least 200 in the capital, where giant posters of famous musclemen in tiny briefs are a sometimes shocking sight in a society where many women still veil themselves from head to toe in public.

On any given day, Kabul’s gyms attract up to 300 men to work out. There are also around 15 women-only gyms drawing around 1,500 members who wouldn’t have ventured outside without a male companion during the Taliban’s regime, let alone engage in sport.

DUBIOUS SUPPLIES

Sport took a back seat in the bloody civil war that followed Soviet occupation in the 1980s, and the hardline Taliban banned most or attached conditions making it impossible to compete.

The country’s amateur boxers, for example, were barred from competitions because the bushy beards they were forced to cultivate under the Taliban absorbed punches.

Looking fit and strong is considered a sign of manliness in Afghan society, particularly among ethnic groups with roots in Central Asia. Many young men pay close attention to their appearance and even in the Pashtun south, some Taliban fighters make-up their eyes with traditional kohl.

“Nowadays bodybuilding has turned into a fashion. By looking fit you can earn respect and even girls’ attention,” said Noor-ul Uda Sherzad, the national trainer.

He said doping was a major problem facing the bodybuilding federation and both professional and amateur bodybuilders in a country where testing system does not even exist.

In Bush Bazaar, named for former President George W. Bush, dozens of shops and stalls sell protein shakes and supplements alongside combat gear and U.S. military clothes that “fell out of a container” on route to U.S. military bases in the country.

“I admit that some of these proteins are not genuine and have been refilled in Pakistan,” said shopkeeper Abdul Mateen.

“But these items have regular customers and are cheap,” he said, pointing to dozens of packets or bottles of outdated protein, creatine and steroids on the floor of his shop.

Mateen said controllers from the ministry of health rarely visit the market, but illegal bodybuilding supplements were not on their checklist anyway.

Calling the supplements a malign foreign influence, Mohammad Nabi, who trains newcomers at a Kabul gym, said there would always be athletes who sought rewards without effort.

“Nearly everyone who goes to the gym is keen to use this in order to get muscle definition before time,” he said.

“(But) some of them can’t read or write and they buy expired drugs that can seriously damage their health within months. Why are we killing ourselves by our own hands.”

The 2010 IFBB Tampa Pro contests are coming up this weekend, and here are the tentative competitor lists for the four IFBB pro contests that will be held. It looks to be quite an interesting lineup. They are:

2010 Tampa Pro Men’s Bodybuilding competitor list:

Serdar Aktolga (Turkey)
Troy Alves (USA)
Mark Antonek (USA)
Francisco Bautista (Spain)
Damaso Chacon (Venezuela)
Darrem Charles (USA)
Brandon Curry (USA)
Omar Deckard (USA)
Constantinos Demetriou (Australia)
Oleg Emelyanov (Russia)
Vonne Francis (Grenada)
Johnnie Jackson (USA)
Michael Kefalianos (Australia)
Michael Liberatore (USA)
Manuel Lomeli (Mexico)
Alexandre Nataf (France)
Jojo Nitforo (USA)
Edward Nunn (USA)
Ben White (USA)
Hideatada Yamagishi (Japan)

2010 Tampa Pro Men’s Bodybuilding 202lb competitor list

Abiu Feliz (USA)
Clarence DeVis (Belgium)
Tricky Jackson (USA)
Luc Molines (France)
Steve Namat (Hungary)
Angel Manuel Rangel Vargas (Mexico)
Jose Raymond (USA)
Frederic Sauvage (France)
Daryl Stafford (USA)
Nathan Wonsley (USA)

2010 Tampa Pro Bikini competitor list

Dina Al-Sabah (Kuwait)
Jamie Baird (USA)
Vanessa Campbell (USA)
Jessica Clay (USA)
Janet Harding (USA)
Kat Holmes (USA)
Nathalie Mur (France)
Nicole Nigrani (USA)
Natalie Waples (Canada)

2010 Tampa Pro Women’s Bodybuilding competitor list

Lisette Acevedo (USA)
Irene Andersen (Sweden)
Nicole Ball (Canada)
Mercedes Bazemore (USA)
Helen Bouchard (Canada)
Debbie Bramwell (USA)
Brigita Brezovac (Slovenia)
Myriam Bustamante (Mexico)
Dayana Cadeau (USA)
Candice Carr-Archer (Trinidad)
Andrea Ferreira Carvalho (Brazil)
Tina Chandler (USA)
Beverly DiRenzo (USA)
Skadi Seifert-Frei (Germany)
Aurelia Grozajova (Slovakia)
Mary Ellen Jerumbo (USA)
Carmen Knights (United Kingdom)
Cathy LeFrancois (Canada)
Nancy Lewis (USA)
Beni Lopez (USA)
Tracy Mason (USA)
Wendy McCready (United Kingdom)
Emery Miller (USA)
Jennifer Sedia (USA)
Daniela Sell (Switzerland)
Antoinette Thompson (USA)
Gusmary Villalbos (Aruba)

It was a night of firsts in Hartford, Connecticut at the inaugural Europa Battle of Champions, as three out of the five winners – Ed Nunn in men’s bodybuilding, Dianna Dahlgren in bikini and Candace Keene in figure – notched the first professional wins of their respective careers. Jose Raymond and Brigita Brezovac, who each won for her first time as pros last weekend at the Tampa Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Championships – topped the standings again tonight in the 202 class and women’s bodybuilding, respectively. Nunn, in his second year in the pro ranks, moved up three slots from his fourth-place finish in Tampa last weekend. Displaying a more conditioned, fuller physique from a week ago, Nunn moved past Troy Alves – who finished as the runner-up for the second consecutive week – and Tampa PBW winner Ben White.

Check out prejudging pics from the 2010 IFBB Europa Battle of Champions.

sourse: http://www.flexonline.com

Here are the scorecard results of the five IFBB contests held in Hartford, Connecticut on July 24th.

MEN’S OPEN BODYBUILDING RESULTS

1. Edward Nunn
2. Troy Alves
3. Ben White
4. Michael Kefalianos
5. Leo Ingram Jr.
6. Johnnie Jackson
7. George Farah
8. Michael Liberatore
9. Darrem Charles
10. Constantinos Demetriou11. Erik Frankhouser
12. Oscar Dexter
13. Jeffrey Long
14. Greg Ulysses
15. Alexandre Nataf
16. Serdar Aktolga
16. Damaso Chacon
16. Oleg Emelyanov

MEN’S BODYBUILDING 202lbs and UNDER RESULTS

1. Jose Raymond
2. David Henry
3. Luc Molines
4. Tim Martin
5. Wendell Floyd
6. Gaetano Cisternino Jr.
7. Frederic Sauvage
8. Jeff Long
9. Abiu Feliz
10. Anthony Finocchiaro
11. Emro Karadjuzovic

BIKINI RESULTS

Dianna Dahlgren bounced back from her first pro show to win the inaugural Europa Battle of Champions. She took straight firsts from the judges. Jessica Jessie was second in her IFBB Pro debut and Diana Fields moved up into third place. Jelena Abbou placed a disappointing 4th. Personally, I had her in the top 3 but I’m not a judge. I’ll share my breakdown later on the contest. Congrats to all the women going to the bikini Olympia.

1. Dianna Dahlgren
2. Jessica Jessie
3. Diana Fields
4. Jelena Abbou
5. Kat Holmes
6. Tabitha Klausen-Leandri
7. Jessica Lawrence
8. Kelly Gonzalez
9. Natalie Waples
10. Janet Harding
11. Juliette Primak

FIGURE RESULTS

Congrats to Candice Keene for her first IFBB Pro victory. She took home straight ones to win this show. Terri Turner edged out Gina Trochino by one point to take second. Gina landed in third and secures a spot in the Figure Olympia.

1. Candice Keene
2. Terri Turner
3. Gina Trochino
4. Marcy Porter
5. Hazal Nelson
6. Monica Mark-Escalante
7. Tivisay Briceno
8. Jennifer Hernandez
9. Julie Kulla
10. LaVonda Ezell
11. Caroline Hernandez
12. Jennifer DeJoya
13. Aleisha Hart
14. Jennifer Migliacci
15. Melody Clere
16. Petra Mertl
17. Mia Finnegan
17. Rachel Cammon
18. Ginette Delhaes
18. Kristin Nunn
18. Laura Sutter
18. Michele Mayberry
18. Mikaila Soto
18. Vicki Nixon

WOMEN’S BODYBUILDING RESULTS

Congratulations to Brigita on her second win in a row. The top three women are now qualified for the Olympia in September.

1. Brigita Brezovac
2. Helen Bouchard
3. Cathy LeFrancois
4. Nicole Ball
5. Debbie Bramwell
6. Skadi Frei-Seifert
7. Lisette Acevedo
8. Tazzie Columb
9. Wendy McCready
10. Cassandra Floyd
11. Beverly DiRenzo
12. Rita Rae
13. Tammy Patnode
14. Maria Calo
15. Aurelia Grozajova
15. Daniela Sell
16. Elizabeth Gomez
16. Irene Andersen
16. Mary Ellen Jerumbo
16. Sarah Bridges

BREAKING NEWS – Eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman will return to the airwaves of MuscleSport Radio on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 from 4 to 5 PM Eastern time to reveal his plans for bodybuilding’s most prestigious show in September. It was just over one year ago that ‘The King’ was our special guest and revealed that he had intentions on making his comeback at the 2010 Mr. Olympia in an attempt to beat Lee Haney’s record.

This will be an exclusive to MuscleSport Mag and MuscleSport Radio. Coleman will let everyone know if he is in fact going to compete again or possibly retire forever from the sport that he once ruled.
It was MuscleSport Radio that first broke the news live on the air that Coleman was going to forego the 2009 Olympia due to travel commitments with BSN and don the posing trunks once again in Las Vegas this year. Not much has been heard from Coleman on the subject since then and we are honored to have him give us the opportunity to once again be the first in the industry to hear of his plans.

Lebron James SteroidsSeeing as how he carries his Cleveland Cavaliers team day in and day out, many people consider Lebron James to be the best basketball player in the world.  The chiseled forward led the Cavaliers to the best record in basketball, and he finished as the second leading scorer in the NBA with 29.7 PPG.  Through his incredible accomplishments, James has become one of the leading men for the National Basketball Association.

Unfortunately for the NBA and James, this image came under fire as numerous Internet sites reported that Lebron James was taking steroids.  In fact, these sources also said that there was a positive test to prove he was juicing.  Suddenly, everyone began questioning Lebron’s accomplishments and saying “I told you so.”  After all, the big and powerful James is an exception in a league where lanky guys still fill up the majority of roster spots.

But league executives were able to breath a collective sigh of relief when it was discovered that all of those Internet news sources were wrong in accusing Lebron James of using roids.  So how do multiple media outlets across the world accuse someone who is arguably the NBA’s best player of juicing?

It appears as if a Cleveland Indians minor league baseball player was the source of confusion.  Steven Lebron, who has at least one name in common with James and is affiliated with the same city, recently tested positive for roids and was suspended for 50 games by Major League baseball.

Seeing as how most basketball analysts simply refer to James as ‘Lebron’, it’s understandable how this whole ordeal occurred.  Even still, there are plenty of people who are unhappy that James was even thrown into a steroid rumor.  Some people have even went as far as to suggest that the headlines were purposely posted to make it look as if it was Lebron James who tested positive for steroids just to get people to read the story.  In any case, I’m sure the rumors will die down and things will go back to normal for James… but will they for the NBA?

The National Basketball Association has managed to avoid most of the steroid controversies that other big sports leagues like the NFL and MLB have had to deal with.  And it’s a fact that we don’t hear about a basketball player getting busted for roids every week like we do with baseball.  But does that mean there is no steroid problem in the NBA?

Many of the aforementioned lanky guys are doing their best to bulk up since basketball has become a more physical game.  6’10” players used to be able to survive in the trenches and play the paint at around 235-240 pounds.  But all of the sudden, these 6’10’’ players are weighing in at 250-260 pounds.  And if you’re 235-240 then you’d better have a real good jump shot because you won’t be much of a post presence.

Lebron James Steroids6’10”, 230-pound forward Rashard Lewis is one player who has a jump shot, yet isn’t much of a load in the paint.  And the Orlando Magic star was looking to bulk up last season before he was busted for using a banned substance.  Lewis took a big hit as he was suspended for 10 games without pay, which caused his contract to take a big hit as well since he lost about $1.6 million.

6’9”, 235-pound forward Darius Miles was another casualty of the banned substances list since he had to sit out 10 games before his debut with the Memphis Grizzlies last year.  And while Miles may not be the player that Rashard Lewis is, it was clear that he was using roids in an effort to put more muscle on.

Sure 2 players testing positive for steroids isn’t enough to incite panic in the NBA, but it does make you wonder how many other basketball players are juicing since the NBA seems to fly under the radar on this issue while baseball, and sometimes football, take most of the heat.

Another thing to consider is that these players are fighting for millions of dollars and it’s the smallest things that can take you from a bench warmer who makes $300,000 to an all-star who makes $12-$15 million a year.  15 pounds of pure muscle could certainly make this difference in some players.

Of course I’m not really as concerned about whether or not these athletes are juicing as opposed to having the ridiculous steroid laws we have today lifted.  After all, what’s so wrong about a bodybuilder using steroids in an effort to build their body to peak physical condition?

Unfortunately, we as a society take sports so seriously that the government is more worried about keeping roids out of sports like basketball to prevent “cheating” rather than letting the masses of non-professional athletes juice.

2010 Europa Battle of Champions Mens Open

1 – Serdar Aktolga (Turkey)
2 – Troy Alves (USA)
3 – Damaso Chacon (Venezuela)
4 – Darrem Charles (Trinidad)
5 – Oscar Dexter (Tahiti)
6 – Oleg Emelyanov (USA)
7 – Erik Fankhouser (USA)
8 – George Farah (USA)
9 – Leo Ingram Jr. (USA)
10 – Johnnie Jackson (USA)
11 – Emro Karaduzovic (Montenegro)
12 – Michael Kefalianos (Australia)
13 – Michael Liberatore (USA)
14 – Jeff Long (USA)
15 – Alexandre Nataf (France)
16 – Ed Nunn (USA)
17 – Ben White (USA)

2010 Europa Battle of Champions Mens 202lb and under

1 – Feliz Abiu (USA)
2 – Anthony Finocchiaro (USA)
3 – Wendell Floyd (USA)
4 – David Henry (USA)
5 – Tim Martin (USA)
6 – Luc Molines (France)
7 – Frederic Sauvage (France)

2010 Europa Battle of Champions Women’s Bodybuilding

1 – Lisette Acevedo (USA)
2 – Irene Anderson (Sweden)
3 – Helen Bouchard (Canada)
4 – Brigita Brezovac (Slovenia)
5 – Sarah Bridges (United Kingdom)
6 – Maria Calo (USA)
7 – Tazzie Columb (USA)
8 – Cassandra Floyd (USA)
9 – Skadi Seifert-Frei (Germany)
10 – Elizabeth Gomez (Mexico)
11 – Aurelia Grozajova (Slovakia)
12 – Mary Ellen Jerumbo (USA)
13 – Cathy LeFrancois (Canada)
14 – Wendy McCready (United Kingdom)
15 – Elizabeth Meza (Mexico)
16 – Tammy Patnode (USA)
17 – Rita Rae (USA)
18 – Daniela Sell (Switzerland)

2010 Europa Battle of Champions Figure

1 – Tivisay Briceno (USA)
2 – Rachel Cammon (USA)
3 – Melody Clere (USA)
4 – Jennifer DeJoya (USA)
5 – Ginette Delhaes (Canada)
6 – LaVonda Ezell (USA)
7 – Mia Finnegan (USA)
8 – Aleisha Hart (Canada)
9 – Caroline Hernandez (USA)
10 – Jennifer Hernandez (USA)
11 – Candice Keene (USA)
12 – Julie Ann Kulla (USA)
13 – Michele Mayberry (USA)
14 – Petra Mertl (Czech)
15 – Jennifer Migliacci (USA)
16 – Hazal Nelson (USA)
17 – Vicki Nixon (USA)
18 – Kristin Nunn (USA)
19 – Marcy Porter (USA)
20 – Katherynne Ramirez (USA)
21 – Mikaila Soto (USA)
22 – Laura Sutter (USA)
23 – Gina Trochiana (USA)
24 – Terri Turner (USA)

2010 Europa Battle of Champions Bikini

1 – Dianna Dahlgreen (USA)
2 – Kelly Gonzalez (USA)
3 – Janet Harding (USA)
4 – Kat Holmes (USA)
5 – Jessica Jessie (USA)
6 – Tabitha Klausen-Leandri (USA)
7 – Davana Medina (USA)
8 – Natalie Waples (Canada)

Why A Low Calorie Diet Can Extend Lifespan — Even If Adopted Later In Life

New research being presented this week is giving scientists new insight into why a restricted diet can lead to a longer lifespan and reduced incidence of age-related diseases for a wide variety of animals. Scientists have known for some time that a restricted diet can extend the lifespan of certain animals but this work shows how it affects ageing mechanisms – and significantly has also shown that the effects occur even if the restricted diet is adopted later in life.

The work could help scientists to better understand, and ultimately, prevent a range of age-related diseases in humans.

The research is being presented at the conference of the British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA) in Newcastle. It was conducted by scientists at the BBSRC Centre for Integrated Systems Biology of Ageing and Nutrition (CISBAN) at Newcastle University.

Working with the theory that cell senescence – the point at which a cell can no longer replicate – is a major cause of ageing the researchers set out to investigate what effect a restricted diet had on this process. By looking at mice fed a restricted diet the team found that they had a reduced accumulation of senescent cells in their livers and intestines. Both organs are known to accumulate large numbers of these cells as animals age.

Alongside this the CISBAN scientists also found that the telomeres of the chromosomes of the mice on restricted diets were better maintained despite their ageing. Telomeres are the protective ‘ends’ of chromosomes that prevent errors, and therefore diseases, occurring as DNA replicates throughout an organisms lifetime but they are known to become ‘eroded’ over time.

The adult mice were fed a restricted diet for a short period of time demonstrating that it may not be necessary to follow a very low calorie diet for a lifetime to gain the benefits the scientists found.

Chunfang Wang, the lead researcher on this project at CISBAN, said: “Many people will have heard of the theory that eating a very low calorie diet can help to extend lifespan and there is a lot of evidence that this is true. However, we need a better understanding of what is actually happening in an organism on a restricted diet. Our research, which looked at parts of the body that easily show biological signs of ageing, suggests that a restricted diet can help to reduce the amount of cell senescence occurring and can reduce damage to protective telomeres. In turn this prevents the accumulation of damaging tissue oxidation which would normally lead to age-related disease.”

Professor Thomas von Zglinicki, who oversaw the research, said: “It’s particularly exciting that our experiments found this effect on age-related senescent cells and loss of telomeres, even when food restriction was applied to animals in later life. We don’t yet know if food restriction delays ageing in humans, and maybe we wouldn’t want it. But at least we now know that interventions can work if started later. This proof of principle encourages us at CISBAN in our search for interventions that might in the foreseeable future be used to combat frailty in old patients.”

CISBAN is one of the six BBSRC Centres for Integrative Systems Biology. The centres represent a more than £40M investment by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to support the development of systems biology in the UK. The centres are also supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Systems biology uses the study of a whole, interconnected system – a cell, an organism or even an ecosystem – with computer modelling to better make the outputs of biology more useful to scientists, policymakers and industry.

Prof Douglas Kell, BBSRC Chief Executive and keynote speaker at the BSRA Conference, said: “As lifespan continues to extend in the developed world we face the challenge of increasing our ‘healthspan’, that is the years of our lives when we can expect to be healthy and free from serious or chronic illness. By using a systems biology approach to investigate the fundamental mechanisms that underpin the ageing process the CISBAN scientists are helping to find ways to keep more people living healthy, independent lives for longer.”

For optimal back size and shape, is it better to do wide-grip pulldowns or reverse-grip pulldowns? We decided to find out.

So many grips, so little time. When it comes to pulldowns – which can help you to widen out your lats – it can be tough to figure out which grip works best. Both can stimulate the upper lats but is one better than the other for building out the top of the V-taper you seek?

THE MOVES

>> Wide-grip pulldowns
Take a wide-as-possible overhand grip on a lat bar attached to the high pulley of a lat pulldown station. Keep your chest up and your lower back arched as you pull the bar down, and let your elbows go out to your sides and down as you bring the bar to your upper chest, pulling your shoulder blades together. Hold the contraction for a moment and then slowly return the bar to the top position.

>> Reverse-grip pulldowns
Take a shoulder-width, underhand grip on a lat bar attached to the high pulley of a lat pulldown station. Keep your chest up and your lower back arched as you pull the bar down to your chest. Keep your elbows close to your torso as you bring them as far back behind you as possible; focus on pulling your shoulder blades together. Hold the contraction for a moment and then slowly return the bar to the top position.

THE EVIDENCE

During wide-grip overhand pulldowns, the elbows move from above the shoulders down toward the sides of the torso while staying in the same plane as the torso. The upper-lat muscle fibers and teres major have the best line of pull to move the arms through this range of motion. This was demonstrated in a research study performed at the University of Miami (Coral Gables, Florida). During an underhand-grip pulldown, the elbows move from above the shoulders and in front of the body to behind the back. The lower-lat muscle fibers have the best line of pull to move the arms through this range of motion.

THE VERDICT

The wide-grip overhand pulldown is actually best for building a wide back. It better stimulates the teres major and upper-lat fibers, which gives the appearance of winglike lats. The underhand grip pulldown better stimulates the lower-lat muscle fibers, giving the appearance of thick, full lats all the way down to the waist, a la Dorian Yates. You should routinely include both exercises in your back program for the best overall lat development.

source : http://www.flexonline.com