Ultimate Nutrition presents the 2013 Joe Weider’s IFBB Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend, brought to you by Bodybuilding.com. The bodybuilding and fitness industry’s biggest event is a four-day extravaganza headlined by IFBB Professional League action the Mr. Olympia, 212 Showdown, Ms. Olympia, Figure, Fitness, and Bikini Olympias, and Men’s and Women’s Physique Showdowns (both new additions) but there’s much, much more to see and do. Most of the action will take place Friday and Saturday during the Olympia Expo at the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Luckily, if you’re staying at the Orleans Hotel, free shuttle service will take you back and fort between the two venues.
Here, we’ve compiled a list of 12 events you don’t want to miss; but keep in mind that there’s a lot going on, so get the full schedule or download the Olympia app at mrolympia.com!
12. Mr. Olympia Press Conference
■ A war of words kicks of O Weekend as the best bodybuilders on the planet gather for the Olympia Press Conference. Yes, these guys respect each other because it takes a lot of hard work to make it to this stage, blah, blah, blah but that doesn’t mean they’re besties. Verbal arrows will be slung and insults traded as the tension mounts the day before they take the stage to determine who can back it up and become Mr. Olympia.
WHEN: Sept. 26, 12 noon; Orleans Hotel Showroom
DON’T YOU WISH: Just this once, Kai Greene would get to the point before you’ve forgotten what the question was in the first place?
11. MEET THE OLYMPIANS
■ It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for: a chance to get up close and personal with the stars of the bodybuilding and fi tness world. Reigning two-time Mr. Olympia Phil Heath, Kai Greene, Shawn Rhoden, Jay Cutler, Dennis Wolf, Figure Olympia winner Erin Stern, Nicole Wilkins, Ms. Olympia Iris Kyle, Fitness Olympia champ Adela Garcia, Oksana Grishina, and the rest will all be there to pose for photos, shake hands, and shoot the breeze with fans.
DON’T YOU WISH: You hadn’t been wearing your one-size-toosmall muscle shirt when your buddy took that picture of you shaking hands with Phil Heath?
BONUS: You can show your disbelieving friends (and rightfully so) back home the photo of you and reigning Bikini Olympia champ Nathalia Melo, insisting that you had a “thing” with her but felt it would be best to break it of , as long-distance relationships rarely work. And it was mutual.
10. OLYMPIA PRO POWERLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
■ It’s man versus iron, and once the world’s biggest and baddest powerlifters are fi nished with it, iron won’t be showing its face in public anytime soon. These guys put the “pow” in powerlifting, and they’ll prove it by slamming up weights in the power squat, power bench press, and power deadlift that will leave you wondering if they aren’t really shaved-down gorillas. Be prepared to see world records fall!
WHEN: Sept. 27 & 28, 10 a.m.
DON’T YOU WISH: You hadn’t bragged to that big dude about to bench press the equivalent of an SUV that you’re the strongest SOB in your gym last night in the buffet line?
For more PRESS NEXT PAGE –>
9. BSN’S OLYMPIA GRAPPLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
■ Arm bars, guillotine chokes, full guard, full mount these are part of our everyday vocabulary thanks to the wild popularity of MMA. The thinking man’s methods of handing out beat-downs, with muscle, technique, and brains (yes!), all contribute to victory. You’ll see just how intense it gets as grapplers from all over the globe hit the mat to twist their opponents into shapes you thought were possible only in cartoons.
WHEN: Sep. 27 & 28, 10 a.m.
DON’T YOU WISH: Pinning your opponent’s thumb in a thumb-wrestling match qualified as an of cial grappling submission hold?
8. OLYMPIA ARM WARS
■ Since the dawn of time, a good old-fashioned arm wrestling match has been the decider of many a dispute and the most undeniable way to say, “I’m better than you!” Arm Wars: High Stakes went over the top when it debuted here last year and was aired on TV in both Europe and Asia. Now it’s back with Arm Wars 19: Vengeance! Featuring the top arm wrestlers in the world battling for six high-octane rounds, this year’s event promises to be an all-out war!
WHEN: Sept. 27 & 28, 10 a.m.
DON’T YOU WISH: You knew the secret arm-wrestling technique to beat the 110-pound female arm wrestling champion who just shamed you in front of the entire North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center?
7. OLYMPIA COMBATIVE SPORTS
■ If it involves punching, kicking, takedowns, submissions, or anything else having to do with handing someone their ass, then we guarantee you’ll fi nd it here in this brand-new Olympia Weekend event. Headed by martial arts and sports entertainment maverick Terrance “Tokey” Hill, Olympia Combative Sports is the modern-day gladiator games (minus the annoying death part, of course), featuring boxing, grappling, karate, taekwando, kickboxing, and wrestling. Prepare to be KO’d by excitement!
WHEN: Sept. 27 & 28, 10 a.m.
DON’T YOU WISH: All those years of playing Street Fighter translated into real-life skills?
For more PRESS NEXT PAGE –>
6. MHP’S OLYMPIA’S STRONGEST MAN
■ If there’s a better way to define manliness than by picking up, carrying, or pushing heavy stuff all over the place, we don’t know about it. The American Strongman Corporation is bringing its brand of ballsto- the-wall entertainment to Olympia Weekend for the fifth consecutive year, and with two American records and one world record in its storied past and of course, the ever-favorite MHP fan experience this year is shaping up to be the heaviest of all time.
■ Warning: The following is for extreme athletes only. Combine CrossFit with the Rhino Obstacle Course to come up with 16 tests of strength, speed, athletic prowess, and stamina; throw in the most hardcore fittness athletes in the world, and you have the inaugural Olympia Rhino CrossFit Championships. You’ll need king-size stones and the heart of a champion to run the gauntlet and win the $5,000 first-place prize.
WHEN: Sept. 27 & 28, 10 a.m.
DON’T YOU WISH: You hadn’t gone back for thirds at the breakfast buffet?
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4. MEN’S FITNESS ULTIMATE ATHLETE
■ Sports are a metaphor for life, as the old saying goes. Screw that! We say: Sports equals life! And the Men’s Fitness Ultimate Athlete will determine who is the ultimate man among men. Do you have the skills in basketball, baseball, and football, and the all-around fi tness to rise above the rest? Then suit up and show the world! On the line: a $5,000 fi rst-place prize (5 G’s, dude!) and official “In your face, b**ch!” bragging rights.
WHEN: Sept. 27 & 28, 10 a.m.
DON’T YOU WISH: You’d warmed up properly prior to throwing that first pitch?
3. MUSCLE & FITNESS MALE MODEL SEARCH
■ Gut-busting workouts, intense cardio, eating superclean you do it to look good. Now you can enter the Muscle & Fitness Male Model Search, and have of cial judges and the audience tell you (and everybody else) just how good. The winner earns an exclusive photo shoot that will appear in the pages of Muscle & Fitness and drum roll, please the opportunity to appear on the cover (“Hi, Mom!”). Hey, guys need to get rewarded for looking good, too.
WHEN: Sept. 27, 1:30 p.m.; Sept. 28, 2 p.m.
DON’T YOU WISH: You’d passed on the bag of pork rinds and gone for that extra session on the treadmill?
For more PRESS NEXT PAGE –>
2. BPI FLEX BIKINI MODEL SEARCH CHAMPIONSHIPS
■ Has it really been seven years since the fi rst one? Time sure fl ies when you’re gawking at gorgeous girls showing of just for you (and the judges). Spread out over two days to keep your body from shutting down due to babe overload, this is a bikini-fest like no other. The winner will get an exclusive modeling contract with AMI/Weider Publications, and the top three will don their tightest, skimpiest dresses to present awards at the Mr. Olympia finals on Saturday night at the Orleans Arena. P.S.: Get there early for a front-row seat!
WHEN: Sept. 27, 1:30 p.m.; Sept. 28, 2 p.m.
DON’T YOU WISH: You had backstage access?
1. OLYMPIA SUPERSTAR SEMINAR
■ With the 2013 Mr. Olympia, 212 Showdown, and Figure Olympia winner crowned the night before, and the Ms. Olympia, Fitness, and Bikini Olympia winners and Men’s and Women’s Physique Showdown winners all in attendance, this is the perfect opportunity for fans to get to know the lighter side of the athletes now that all the hard work is behind them. The top five Mr. Olympia competitors will be there, too, and athletes stay after to sign autographs and pose for pictures.
DON’T YOU WISH: You weren’t the guy who asked that really dumb question that sucked the air out of the room and made everyone turn around and stare while the guy next to you asked, “Dude, seriously?” – FLEX
