So when it came down to make the same decision this year, Greene didn’t have to give it too much of a thought judging by his – and his fellow competitor’s –  recent history. Both Phil Heath and Jay Cutler (the last two Mr. Olympia winners, respectively) prepared solely for the O and stayed away from competing until September.

Greene had a lot to prove in 2011 after a lackluster seventh place finish at his maiden Olympia voyage the previous year. He came back strong and dominated the big city stage at the New York Pro, which put him right back into the mix for a top three placing at the Olympia.

That is exactly what happened and Greene is once again in the conversation of dominating bodybuilders. He has already proven himself in Columbus on more than one occasion and he is more than ready to take it a step further.

KAI GREENE – CONTEST HISTORY

But that’s not entirely fair when Jason Arntz is in the mix. The New Jersey native may not be the flashy kind, but comes in to every contest in the best of condition. He is basically an automatic top six in the 202 division and has certainly found a home competing in the lighter class.

“I don’t get too far out of shape,” said Arntz. “For me, walking around at 225 pounds, it’s not too heavy for me. I still got to get down to 202, but I’m a lean 225 pounds.”

That will get easier for Arntz and the rest of the division when it changes to 212 and under this fall. Sure, the other guys play by the same rules, but someone who comes in as dry and ripped as Arntz does will certainly benefit from the flexibility of adding some size.

With the loaded line-up in Las Vegas, Arntz persevered and placed sixth. It may be one place lower than the previous year, but Arntz has a lot to build on as the 202…we mean 212, is being held at more and more pro shows every calendar year.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Look for our Jason Arntz feature coming up in the Winter 2012 edition of MuscleSport Magazine

JASON ARNTZ COMPETITION HISTORY

“I’m excited that I found someone that believed in me,” he said last September. “I truly feel that I can get into the top 10.”

Although he did not fare as well as he liked at the O (15th), Alves was still on the map and a threat against a line-up that didn’t include the Jay Cutlers and Phil Heaths of the world. He proved that he still has what it takes by winning July’s Europa Show of Champions and tasted victory again this past weekend at the Phoenix Pro.

Alves, 43, was able to hold off a top-heavy line-up that included Hidetada Yamagishi (second), Ed Nunn (third) and Marcus Haley (fourth) and celebrate a key win in his home town.

After turning pro in 2002, Alves has competed in multiple shows each year. In 2003, he donned the posing trunks on 10 separate occasions and although he hasn’t kept that pace up, Alves is a regular at all of the top IFBB contests. In his rookie campaign, he finished in the top 10 at both the Arnold Classic and Mr. Olympia.

Now the real test comes for Alves to see if he can maintain the proper conditioning to have an impact in Las Vegas in two weeks. He has proven that he can rise to the top in that second tier-level contest, but he’ll need something extra to do that at The Orleans Arena.

TROY ALVES CONTEST HISTORY

The Men’s Physique Division has been the subject of a number of debates, but it was hard to argue with the proverbial applause meter. Women of all ages could easily be heard and the competitors looked as if they enjoyed being a part of the show.

Panexce Pierre was one of those pro card recipients and was voted the overall men’s bodybuilding champion, and Cynthia Colon was the women’s counterpart. In the fitness category, Sheri Vucick was the overall winner and was joined by Angelica Nebbia (figure overall) and Roya Tehrani (bikini overall).

Douglas Peaney was the overall MPD winner and Jennifer Smythe took the overall top spot in women’s physique, which was another new class at the contest. The competitors were a mix between women’s bodybuilding and figure and all looked to be in great condition. This is a division to watch and it will be interesting to see which direction competitors will go in when they are preparing for show – bodybuilding or physique?

And we are proud of two MuscleSport Magazine staff writers that competed at the Team U. Allison Moyer tied for 10th place in the open figure E class and Stacey Naito placed eighth in the open bikini D class, 11th in the Masters over 35 and first in the Masters over 45. Congrats, Ally and Stacey!

MEN’S BODYBUILDING

Overall – Panexce Pierre

Heavyweight – David Coleman

Light Heavyweight – Panexce Pierre

Middleweight – Kingsley Deslorieux

Welterweight – Bill Moschelle

Lightweight – Luis Santiago

Bantamweight – Shaun Clarida

Masters Overall – Castro Durlan

Masters 35+ >176 lbs – Paul Olivera

Masters 35+ <176 lbs – Castro Durlan

Masters 45+ – Bill Moschelle

Masters 55+ – Bill Young

WOMEN’S BODYBUILDING

Overall – Cynthia Colon

Heavyweight – Cynthia Colon

Middleweight – Pam Wentz

Lightweight – Patricia Watson

Masters Overall- Karen Gatto

Masters 35+ – Pamela Franklin

Masters 45+ – Karen Gatto

MEN’S PHYSIQUE

Overall – Douglas Peaney

A – Craig Capurso

B – Douglas Peaney

WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE

Overall – Jennifer Smythe

A – Jennifer Smythe

B – Marlinea Echohawk

FIGURE

Overall – Angelica Nebbia

A – Angelica Nebbia

B – Keisha Smith

C – Melissa Erickson

D – Amber Spina

E – Kavvy Sonhos

F – Rebecca Bowers

Masters Overall – Shannon Ditmer

Masters 35+ A – jami Frenkel

Masters 35+ B – Shannon Ditmer

Masters 35+ C – Patty Zariello

Masters 35+ D – Diana Harbot

Masters 45+ – Patricia Vignola

FITNESS

Overall – Sheri Vucick

A – Amy Peterson

B – Tiffany Robinson

C – Sheri Vucick

BIKINI

Overall – Roya Tehrani

A – Sara Moylan

B – Yeshaira Robles

C – Marisa Lee

D – Roya Tehrani

E – Heather Nappi

F – Lisa Lutz

Masters 35+ – Michelle Hutton

Masters 45+ – Stacey Naito

This news has come with mixed reviews, as the hardcore bodybuilding fan base can be heard complaining that the contests are too long as it is and adding another division will only water everything down more and that it has only been introduced to elicit more money from the competitors. Then you have the other side of the coin, where the fans will have a more diverse field to cheer for in both the men and women’s categories now.

What do you think? Where do you fall into the above categories? Why not pick up the phone and call in live and let us know. The call-in number is (347) 884-8157.

Cologlu recently won the NPC Eastern USA’s and has kicked off his career on the right foot. Tune in live or via free download to hear what he has in his sights for his future and what he feels is the benefit of the new division. Be sure to check out his recent interview on www.rxmuscle.com.

MuscleSport Radio can be heard live every Tuesday from 1:00 to 1:30 PM Eastern time on www.blogtalkradio.com and all episodes are archived on Blog Talk Radio, MuscleSport Mag and iTunes.

MuscleSport Radio has enjoyed a steady flow of special guests since launching, with famous names in the bodybuilding and sports industry such as Samir Bannout, Bill Grant, Boyer Coe, Troy Brown, Ronnie Coleman, Gunter Schlierkamp, Leo Ingram, Heather Mae French, Cathy LeFrancois, Colette Nelson, Cathy LeFrancois, Dena Westerfield, Marshall Faulk, Bill Romanowski, Tony Mandarich, “Leapin’” Lanny Poffo, Taylor Boyd, Steve Michalik, Dan Lurie, Emy Silvagni, Rae Holitt, Tom Terwilliger, Dan “The Beast” Severn, Kevin Levrone, Layne Norton, Randy Roach, Debi Laszewski, Heather Armbrust and more.

Photo Courtesy of Melih F. Cologlu

“Basically, I love your message.”

That one line could have been enough for us to welcome fitness model Heather Leff into the MuscleSport Mag family, but we were sold the minute our eyes fell on the pictures she included in her initial e-mail to us.

That message was just the beginning of what has now become a working relationship, with the addition of Leff as one of our staff writers. Starting with the Summer 2011 edition of our online magazine, the 34-year-old Malvern, Pennsylvania native will be the head writer covering women’s bodybuilding, fitness, figure and bikini. But first things first.

Upon discovering our website and the “This Is Your Magazine” section, Leff knew that she was a good fit. “Why not reach out to the ones that truly represent what I’m about?” she asked no one in particular. “And once I saw your site, I knew that you were one of those companies.”

Although she began working out at the age of 16, Leff considers her ‘training’ to have commenced in her mid-20s. But she was far from your average young lady in the gym. “At first I bought into the light weight/high rep philosophy,” she recalled. “Then it clicked that the only way I’d see my muscles grow was to switch up my game and move heavier weight.”

Waking up at 5:00 AM six days a week to train is hardly an inconvenience for Leff. As a matter of fact, she treats it as if it were a second job. “Just saying I’ve made the gym a lifestyle isn’t an option,” she says rather convincingly. “I walk the walk.” She treats her diet the same way and quipped, “That’s all part of the deal. Can’t walk that walk without both feet in.”

Personal tragedy plays a part in Leff’s commitment to being healthy and fit. In 2008, she sadly lost an older brother to addiction and confided, “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him and the choices he made. That’s my motivation for only turning to positive things that make me feel good and are good for me.”

Asked when she knew that she had something special going, Leff told us, “I knew when I was voted into second place in this year’s Bodybuilding.com BodySpace spokesmodel semifinals. The response was overwhelming and it gave me the drive to make an impact.”

Leff has made such drastic gains that many people just assumed that she was a competitor, which she finds hard to believe. “Coming from the mindset where you never think you’re ‘enough’ is a difficult self-perception to shatter,” she said regarding her decision to wait until the time is right to enter her first show. “When I really think about it, I know I could do it. Part of my charm is being an overachieving perfectionist. So we’ll see what the future has in store.”

The one thing that we do know about the future is that MuscleSport Mag is a better product with Leff now on board.

Be sure to check out Heather Leff’s interview with Fit Over Fat.com:

http://www.fitoverfat.com/heather-leff-interview/

http://www.fitoverfat.com/wp-content/uploads/heatherworkout.pdf

Her Bodybuilding.com BodySpace page:

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/zephyr893/

Her interview on Cut and Jacked.com:

http://www.cutandjacked.com/interview-with-HeatherLeff

And follow her on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/#!/hleffer

‘This is Your Magazine’ is merely one of the reasons why MuscleSport Mag is far and wide better than any other publication out there. What other media outlet features the up and coming athlete, the same as if he or she was a professional in their industry? This is the place to get your face and story out there, and who knows what opportunities may arise from that type of exposure?

Called “The Godfather of Fitness,” LaLanne literally hit home with this writer a long time ago. As a young child, foggy memories cause a smile from mornings spent in front of the television set mimicking him leading the way in a precursor of the fitness class. “The Jack LaLanne Show” became the longest running exercise program and was a staple of society for generations.

In a day where doctors and pregnant women found nothing wrong with smoking cigarettes, LaLanne taught the world how to not only exercise, but eat properly. A big proponent of fruits and vegetables, he was frequently seen plugging his inventions on TV commercials and a good amount of households had items such as his Power Juicer.

The next time you’re in the gym and using a Smith machine, leg extension or anything using a cable pulley system, be sure to quietly thank LaLanne for them. He was an innovator and opened his first ‘health spa’ in Oakland, California back in 1936. Jack LaLanne’s eventually became what is now known as Bally Total Fitness, the most popular of it’s kind throughout the world.

Not accepting medical advice against weight training, LaLanne proved that this ridiculous diagnosis not only did not cause heart attacks and loss of sex drive, but actually improved them. He set the standard of everything we have today in the sport of bodybuilding, fitness, figure and even bikini.  Athletes in every category train and diet in a fashion that LaLanne scratched out and we all should be grateful.

LaLanne brought all forms of exercise and introduced it to housewives, the sick and elderly. These people became healthier with his programs and it proved that it wasn’t just for muscleheads.

We will never have another one like Jack LaLanne and his memory will live forever.

The Westchester County Center at Little Theater in White Plains will be the place to be on July 24 at 6 PM. Not only will there be 23 classes of amateurs on the stage, but also two current pros and one sure-to-be have signed on to guest pose. Jason Artnz, P.J. Braun and Craig Richardson are all scheduled to appear.

Here is the classes: Men’s Open (6 classes), Women’s Open Bodybuilding (3 classes), Novice Men (3 classes), Masters Men 35+ (2 classes), Masters Men 45+, Teen (2 classes), Fitness, Figure (2 classes), Masters Figure 35+, Bikini, Bikini Masters.

In addition to the regular awards, there will also be a presentation for the Steve Stone Best Poser Award.

MuscleSport Mag is a proud sponsor for the second consecutive year for the NPC Empire States.

LOCATION:

Westchester County Center at Little Theater

198 Central Avenue

White Plains, NY

Check In/ Weigh In: 10 AM sharp

Pre-Judging: 12 noon

Finals: 6 PM

TICKETS:

Pre-Judging: $17.50

Finals: $27.50 (assigned seating), $37.50 (VIP seating)

For more information, please visit www.npcempirestates.com.

MEN’S BODYBUILDING

1- Edward Abbew

2 – Melvin Anthony, Jr.

3 – Grigori Atoyan

4 – Moe Bannout

5 – Lionel Beyeke

6 – Gus Carter

7 – Adorthus Cherry

8 – Oamr Deckard

9 – Alfonso Del Rio

10 – Constantinos Demetriou

11 – Tarek Elsetouhi

12 – DeShaun Grimez de Garcia

13 – Andy Haman

14 – Daniel Hill

15 – Johnnie Jackson

16 – Randy Jackson, Sr.

17 – Rusty Jeffers

18 – Michael Liberatore

19 – Cesar Mendible

20 – Farnklin Roberson

21 – Heinz Senior

22 – John Sherman

23 – Quincy Taylor

24 – Hidetada Yamagashi

MEN’S BODYBUILDING – 202

1 – Eric Castagnet

2 – Sean Jenkins

3 – Rod Ketchens

4 – Bola Ojex

5 – Roc Shabazz

WOMEN’S BODYBUILDING

1 – Myriam Bustamante

2 – Zoa Linsey

3 – Gayle Moher

4 – Colette Nelson

5 – Yaxeni Oriquen

6 – Jeannie Paparone

7 – Betty Pariso

8 – Akila Pervis

9 – Maria del Carmen Segura

10 – Diana Stanback

11 – Antoinette Thompson

12 – Dena Westerfield

FITNESS

1 – Oksana Grishina

2 – Tanji Johnson

3 – Nita Marquez

4 – Camala Rodriguez

FIGURE

1 – Listy Allen

2 – Crystal Chiles

3 – Lynn Cimmino

4 – Linda Fodor

5 – Sabrina Taylor Gibson

6 – Lydia Haskell

7 – Jennifer Hernandez

8 – Jaime Meade

9 – Jodie Minear

10 – Karen Mullarkey

11 – Amy O’Neil

12 – Debbie Patton

13 – Felicia Romero

14 – Mendi Sakamoto

15 – Midi Smith

16 – Chaundra Tanji

17 – Angela Terlesky

18 – Kathleen Tesori

19 – Ann Titone

20 – Taylor Waldrop

The obvious fan favorite was Connecticut’s P.J. Braun, who brings a mixture of confidence and insanity to the stage. He definitely had his guns loaded and won the heavyweight class. Lithuanian Audrius Jegelevicius, who won the NPC Metropolitan overall in this very same building in April, was named the super heavyweight winner.

A good showing was also made by Paul Sousa, who won the Masters 35+ Heavyweight and Masters Overall. He finished as the runner-up to Braun in the open heavyweight category.

Perhaps the most impressive of all the competitors was Nick Medici, who was named the champion in the Teen B, Teen Overall, Novice Light Heavyweight and Novice Overall divisions. This young man definitely has a future and it would not be a surprise to see him gracing the pages of the muscle magazines very shortly. Definitely the earner of a future pro card.

In women’s bodybuilding, Andrea Giacomi won the overall over Myra Adams and Maria Rita Penteado.Ava Cowan won the overall figure while Sue Dent took the fitness and Monica Eiler the bikini.

Kai Greene, the 2009 Arnold Classic winner, really blew things up with an excellent guest posing appearance. The Brooklyn native possessed an incredible set of wheels and a lat spread that could gather frequent flier miles.