On this episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast, former Muscle and Fitness writer Jerry Brainum is the guest to talk about the 2024 Mr. Olympia contest. In Part Two of his interview, Jerry and host John Hansen talk about the top competitors in the contest. They also talk about the Classic Physique Olympia and the retirement of Chris Bumstead. At the end of the interview, John reads the 1985 Mr. Olympia contest report written by Bill Reynolds from the February, 1996 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine. 

Time Stamps:

2:15 - Chris Bumstead planning to compete in Open Men's Bodybuilding

4:20 - John's current diet to get ripped

10:09 - New videos up on YouTube

11:00 - Start of interview with Jerry Brainum, Part Two

11:05 - Andrew Jacked, 5th Place in the Mr. Olympia

19:45 - Hungry to win

23:42 - 2024 Classic Physique Olympia

27:00 - Chris Bumstead retires

33:30 - The popularity of the Classic Physique division

35:38 - Top competitors in Classic Physique

38:00 - Weight restrictions for Classic Physique

41:00 - Mandatory blood tests for Pro Bodybuilders

47:25 - Symmetry Round

51:00 - New divisions in Bodybuilding

1:02:50 - Prize money in the Mr. Olympia

1:15:42 - John Hansen reads the article "Haney: Two in a Row" written by Bill Reynolds for the February, 1996 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine. 

Links:

Jerry Brainum's Newsletter

Patreon Sponsor Link

John Hansen's Workout and Nutrition Programs

Bodybuilding Legends website

On this episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast, former Muscle and Fitness writer Jerry Brainum, is the guest to talk about the recent 2024 Mr. Olympia contest. In Part One of the interview, Jerry and host John Hansen review the biggest competition of the year. They analyze all the top contestants and talk about their strengths and weaknesses and what they should do to improve for next year. 

Time Stamps:

1:53 - Chris Bumstead to compete in Open Bodybuilding 

4:00 - Today's Pro Bodybuilders Guest Posing

8:50 - Start of Jerry Brainum Interview, Part One

11:00 - Perfect balance in the arms

13:10 - The 2024 Mr. Olympia review

14:30 - Samson Dauda, the new Mr. Olympia

19:00 - Bloated Bellies

21:28 - Older competitors

25:48 - Nick Walker dropping out of the Olympia

35:24 - The sad ending of Shawn Rhoden

40:37 - Hadi Choopan, 2nd Place 

47:11 - Derek Lunsford, 3rd Place

52:46 - Improving as a Mr. Olympia winner

1:01:39 - Martin Fitzwater, 4th Place

Links:

Jerry Brainum's Newsletter

Bodybuilding Legends Patreon Sponsor link

Bodybuilding Legends website

John Hansen Workout and Diet Programs

 Victor Terra, 1983 AAU Teenage Mr. America and NPC Teenage USA, NABBA Amateur and Pro Mr. Universe and the Short Class winner of the 1985 AAU Mr. America, is the guest on this episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast. In Part Two of his interview, Victor talks about competing and winning the 1985 AAU Jr. Mr. America and Mr. America competitions and his experience competing at the NABBA Mr. Universe contest. Victor also discusses the details of his contest prep and what he is doing now after stepping away from the bodybuilding stage.

Time Stamps:

2:00 - Mr. Olympia review

17:18 - Start of interview with Victor Terra, Part Two

17:30 - Winning the Teenage Mr. America and Teenage Mr. USA

21:50 - Competing in the AAU or the NPC?

25:30 - Entering the NABBA Mr. Universe

29:45 - 1984 NPC Nationals

32:00 - Competing in the '80's

36:00 - 1985 Jr. Mr. America

37:24 - 1985 AAU Mr. America

41:00 - Guest posing in Europe

48:00 - Competing in the NABBA Mr. Universe

1:00:00 - The difference between the 90's and today

1:06:00 - Keeping the waist small

1:10:00 - Bodybuiders Victor admired

Links:

John Hansen Training and Diet Programs

Become a Patreon Member

Bodybuilding Legends website

Victor Terra, 1983 Teenage Mr. America and Teenage Mr. USA, NABBA Mr. Universe and Pro Mr. Universe and Short Class Winner at the 1985 AAU Mr. America, is the guest on this episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast. In Part One of his interview, Victor explains how he started bodybuilding and meeting his mentor Bob Gruskin. Victor also talks about his succes competing in the Teenage Bodybuilding contests by winning both the AAU Teenage Mr. America and the NPC Teenage Mr. USA in the same year. 

Time Stamps:

2:46 - Florida Hurricanes

4:04 - Mr. Olympia this weekend

8:50 - Start of interview with Victor Terra

12:23 - Meeting Bob Gruskin

17:00 - Competing in teenage bodybuilding contests

22:00 - Victor's genetic potential

27:35 - 1983 Teenage Mr. America

32:00 - Intense training

35:00 - Victor's future after bodybuilding

39:15 - Victor's training to get bigger

43:40 - Developing weak points

46:30 - Keeping a 28 inch waist

50:30 - Stopping competition

55:10 - Visting Gold's Gym in the 80's

Links:

John's Workout and Diet Programs

Become a Patreon Member

Bodybuilding Legends website

Bob Cicherillo, 2000 NPC USA Champion and the "Voice of Bodybuilding", is the guest on this episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast to talk about his long career in bodybuilding. Bob began competing at only 13 years old in his hometown of Rochester, New York. He won the 1987 NPC Junior Nationals and battled his way to the top through the competitive ranks of the NPC until he finally got his pro card by winning the 2000 NPC USA Championships. Bob talks about what bodybuilding was like in the 1980's and '90's, the current judging standards of the IFBB and should the posing round be judged on this episode of the podcast. At the end of the interview, host John Hansen reads the article "The Junior Nationals Champ Doesn't Train for Second Place" written by J.M. Manion from the April, 1988 issue of Flex Magazine. (Time Stamps below). 

Time Stamps:

3:00 - Reading the book Mister America

4:30 - Emails to the Podcast

10:55 - Start of interview with Bob Cicherillo

12:00 - When Bob started bodybuilding

19:30 - Competing against Shawn Ray 

21:30 - When the NPC started

29:20 - Bob's first Mr. Olympia show

32:35 - Winning the Jr. Nationals

37:00 - The Incumbancy Factor at the Mr. Olympia

44:07 - Judging all 3 Rounds in Bodybuilding

1:07:30 - Predicting the 2024 Mr. Olympia

1:17:52 - Host John Hansen reads the article "The Junior Nationals Champ Doesn't Train for Second Place" written by J.M. Manion from the April, 1988 issue of Flex Magazine.

Links:

John's Training and Diet Programs

Become a Patreon Member

Bodybuilding Legends website

Bodybuilding Legends on Instagram

Bodybuilding Legends on Facebook

Mike Mentzer Original HIT Workout

Mike Mentzer: Life, Death and the Night of the Champions

Dan Solomon, the President of the Mr. Olympia competition, is the guest on this episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast. Dan talks about the events that will take place for the 60th Mr. Olympia competition which will take place in Las Vegas on October 10-13, 2024. Dan gives the details on the new venue for the Mr. Olympia and what goes into putting on the biggest bodybuilding competition in the world. At the end of the interview, host John Hansen reads three articles from some old bodybuilding magazines including the 1968 Mr. Olympia report from Muscle Builder magazine, the first article written about Arnold Schwarzenegger written by Joe Weider in Muscle Builder magazine and a great article from Rick Wayne about Arnold's only real competition from a 1975 issue of Muscle Mag International. (Time Stamps below)

Time Stamps:

3:25 - Emails to the Podcast

8:08 - Interview with Dan Solomon about the 60th Mr. Olympia

10:40 - Remembering Joe Weider

14:08 - Former Mr. Olympia champions onstage this year

17:10 - Bodybuilding is bigger than ever

19:00 - Mr. Olympia back in Vegas

25:40 - Gold Sandow Statue

26:30 - The power of social media

28:50 - No one person is bigger than the sport

31:18 - Current Olympia Champions

33:00 - Future goals for the Mr. Olympia

39:58 - Mr. Olympia Watch Party

43:55 - John Hansen reads the article "The Frosting on the Cake" written by Dick Tyler about the 1968 Mr. Olympia contest from the January, 1969 issue of Muscle Builder magazine.

50:40 - John reads the article "Arnold Schwarzenegger" written by Joe Weider for the May, 1969 issue of Muscle Builder magazine.

1:12:42 - John reads the article "Don't Kid the Kid" written by Rick Wayne for the Summer, 1975 issue of Muscle Mag International magazine. 

Links:

Mr. Olympia website

John's Training and Diet Programs

Become a Patreon Member

Bodybuilding Legends website

Nicolas Chemla, author of the new book Mister America, is the guest on the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast for Part Two of his interview. Mister America is a novel about the life of bodybuilder Mike Mentzer. Originally published in France in 2019, Mister America has now been translated to English and is available in the United States. In Part Two of his interview, Nicolas talks about Mike's trip to see the first Mr. Olympia contest in 1965, Mike's friendship with Dave Mastorakis, meeting Arthur Jones and Casey Viator in 1971, Mike's relationship with Joe Weider and the eventual decline of his life. At the end of the interview, host John Hansen reads the article "Mike Mentzer - A Future Superstar" written by Armand Tanny for the January, 1976 issue of Muscle Builder magazine and then John reads an excerpt from the book Mister America when a young Mike Mentzer goes to see the first Mr. Olympia contest in New York in 1965. 

Time Stamps:

3:05 - Upcoming Mr. Olympia

4:00 - Emails to the Podcast

7:07  - Start of interview with Nicolas Chemla, Part Two

7:41 - Meeting Larry Scott and Dave Draper

10:30 - Joe Weider vs. Bob Hoffman

13:45 - John Ziegler and Mike Mentzer

24:30 - Rolling Stones concert

33:00 - Meeting Arthur Jones and Casey Viator

41:20 - Mike's relationship with Joe Weider

50:20 - Mike's magazine Workout

55:40 - The decline of Mike's life

59:30 - John reads the article "Mike Mentzer - A Future Superstar" by Armand Tanny from the January, 1976 issue of Muscle Builder magazine.

1:09:10 - John reads an excerpt from the book Mister America.

Links:

Mister America book on Amazon

John Hansen's Training and Nutrition Programs

Become a Patreon Member

Bodybuilding Legends website

Nicolas Chemla, author of the book Mister America, is the guest of this episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast. Mister America is a novel about the life of bodybuilder Mike Mentzer. Originally published in France in 2019, Mister America is now available in the United States and translated to English. In Part One of his interview, Nicolas talks about why he decided to write the book about Mike Mentzer and the people he interviewed for the book. At the end of the episode, host John Hansen reads the first article written about Mike Mentzer from the April, 1976 issue of Muscle Builder magazine. 

Time Stamps: 

4:40 - Emails to the Podcast

6:30 - Start of interview with Nicolas Chemla, author of the book Mister America

1:02:12 - Host John Hansen reads the first article written about Mike Mentzer from the April, 1976 issue of Muscle Builder magazine. 

Links:

Mister America on Amazon

John's Online Training and Diet Programs

Become a Patreon Member

Bodybuilding Legends website

John's YouTube Channel

On this episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast, host John Hansen reads four selected articles from the bodybuilding magazines during the 1970's-1980's era. These articles include a report of the 1977 NABBA Mr. Universe, Lee Haney's article after winning his first Mr. Olympia title, Frank Zane's thoughts about retiring from bodybuilding competition and an interview with Rick Wayne from 1987. 

Time Stamps:

2:20 - New book about Mike Mentzer

5:00 - New Videos on YouTube

6:16 - John's Physique Transformation

7:45 - Emails to the Podcast

9:07 - John reads the 1977 NABBA Mr. Universe report written by Robert Kennedy for Muscle Mag Annual 3.

20:35 - John reads the article "How I Won the Big O(ne)" written by Lee Haney from the April, 1985 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine.

27:00 - John reads the article "Frank Zane is Letting Go" written by Jeff Everson for the August, 1986 issue of Flex Magazine. 

39:20 - John reads the article "Is It Live or Is it...?" written by Mashay Bernstein for the March, 1987 issue of Flex Magazine. 

Links:

Become a Patreon Member

John Hansen's Online Training and Nutrition Programs

John's YouTube Channel

Bodybuilding Legends Website

On this episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast, guest Jerry Brainum joins John Hansen for Part Three of their interview about the history of the Mr. Olympia contest. On this episode, Jerry and John talk about the Lee Haney Era (1984-1991) in which Lee Haney set the record for most Mr. Olympia wins. They also discuss the Mass Monster Era which started when Dorian Yates was winning the Mr. Olympia contest from 1992-1997. Dorian was followed by Ronnie Coleman who tied Lee Haney's record of 8 consecutive wins. At the end of the podcast, John Hansen reads the article "Once Upon a Time in Australia" about the controversial 1980 Mr. Olympia contest. 

Time Stamps:

4:55 - Emails to the Podcast

15:08 - Start of interview with Jerry Brainum

15:10 - The Lee Haney Era (1984-1991)

19:10 - The Incumbency Factor

21:47 - The Mass Monster Era

30:50 - Ronnie Coleman Era (1998 - 2005)

32:40 - The Winning Look for the Modern Bodybuilder

35:30 - The Jay Cutler Era

37:04 - Phil "The Gift" Heath

41:45 - When did the bloated abs look start?

46:00 - Overall thoughts on the Mr. Olympia History

48:09 - Favorite Era of the Mr. Olympia

58:50 - "Once Upon a Time in Australia"

Links:

Jerry's Newsletter

Become a Patreon Member

John Hansen Fitness Programs

John Hansen's YouTube Channel

Bodybuilding Legends website

On this episode of the Bodybuilding Legends Podcast, guest Jerry Brainum joins John Hansen for Part Two of his discussion about the History of the Mr. Olympia contest. On this episode, Jerry and John talk about the Columbus Years (1976-1979) when Arnold and Jim Lorimer promoted the Mr. Olympia in Columbus, Ohio. They also discuss the Controversial Years (1980-1981), the two most controversial Mr. Olympia's in the history of the event when both Arnold and Franco came back after a five year layoff to again win the title. Finally, Jerry and John talk about the In-Between Years when Chris Dickerson (1982) and Samir Bannout (1983) both won the title for the first time. At the end of the interview, John reads three articles about these years in bodybuilding. These articles include an opinion piece about Frank Zane winning the 1979 Mr. Olympia and also two articles about Arnold and Franco's comeback. 

Time Stamps:

2:40 - Andrew Jacked

6:50 - Emails 

11:00 - Interview with Jerry begins

11:10 - The Columbus Years (1975-1979)

19:05 - Arnold promoting bodybuilding

25:00 - The Controversial Years (1980-1981)

40:15 - The In-Between Years (1982-1983)

48:40 - John reads the article "In Defense of Zane" by Garry Bartlett for the May, 1980 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine.

55:00 - John reads the article "How I Saw the Mr. Olympia" by Steven Robinson for the March, 1982 issue of IronMan Magazine. 

1:01:04 - John reads the article "Olympia Report" by Jack Neary for the February, 1981 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine. 

Links:

Jerry's Newsletter - Applied Metabolics

Workout and Diet Programs by John Hansen

Become a Patreon Sponsor

Bodybuilding Legends website

John's YouTube Channel

Bodybuilding Legends on Instagram