Hjalti Arnason, who has been channeling his passion for and inside knowledge of strength sports into documentaries, has been busy.

"We made two 30-minute programs from the 2005 Arnold and it is on Syn Icelandic sports channel tonight at 19:00 GMT," Hjalti said. "The second part is on schedule for next week."

And for all you Jon Pall fans who are sitting on the edge of your seats awaiting Hjalti's documentary on the incomparable Icelandic strongman, there is more good news.

"The Jon Pall movie is going fine," said Hjalti. "We just located the clips from Denmark, where he tore his biceps in 1991, and he never recovered from it."

Hjalti said that he already has photos and clips from TWI, but if anyone has some others, please contact him.

There are a lot of traditions that can be passed down from fathers and mothers to their sons and daughters.


Norik (left) and Yurik Vardanian (right) in the training hall at the 2005 World Weightlifting Championships (Doha, Qatar). IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

And one of those is being a weightlifter.

Former USA Olympic weightlifting team coach Jim Schmitz gives us a recap of some of those who have this sort of legacy, so if you've got some from-whence-they-came type questions, read on. Click on the Jim Schmitz on the Lifts link on the IronMind® homepage or go directly to the Schmitz on the Lifts Index.

 

Just a reminder for those who have been asking about it: The 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man show has begun airing today on ESPN.

WSM coverage continues on December 26, on ESPN. Please be sure to check local listing to confirm the broadcast times in your area.

IFSA Managing Director Christian Fennell has released a long anticipated announcement regarding the group's TV broadcast schedule in the US.

"IFSA Strongman is pleased to announce the signing of a television deal in the US market with the cable network OLN," Fennell said. "The deal allows fans to watch Strongman action twice a week on the network, and the events will be televised to more than 63 million US homes per airing. IFSA is pleased to be joining first-class programming and best-in-class events on OLN including, among others, the National Hockey League, the Tour de France, and the America's Cup."

"Starting January 21st, Strongman can been seen on OLN every Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Starting February 24th, Strongman can be seen every Friday at 4:30 p.m. and every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. until April 20, 2006," said Fennell.

Ronald Wright has officially bent an IronMind® Red Nail™.

Recognizing his success with this benchmark short bend, Wright's name has been added to the official IronMind® Red Nail™ Roster, reflecting his certification.

Congratulations!

Karl Gillingham, a top American strongman since the late 1990s, has just been signed by GNC.


Karl Gillingham, whose consistency puts him head and shoulders above the crowd, gives it to the tire at the 1999 Beauty and the Beast strongman contest (Honolulu, Hawaii). IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.
 

"Karl's going to be a great spokesperson," said GNC Senior PR Coordinator Jaime Young. "We've very excited to have him," Young said, pointing to Karl's expertise in the field and his firsthand knowledge of the benefits of using high-quality supplements. Karl will be joining his brothers, noted Young, as both Brad and Wade also represent GNC Pro Performance.

Karl's consistency as strongman sets him apart and his top performances include winning the 2002 Northeast Strongman Showdown (against a field that included Svend Karlsen, Phil Pfister, Jesse Marunde and Jarek Dymek, among other notables), and at the most recent professional US Championships, Karl blistered the stones in American-record time.

Grip star John Brookfield has a new twist on wrist and forearm training, and the results might leave you shouting with joy.

Click here for the latest Grip Tip by John Brookfield, or follow the link on the IronMind® home page.
 

World Strongmancup Manager Martin Muhr told IronMind that this year's final event "was a fight between Jesse Marunde from America and Raivis Vidzis from Lativa and Elbrus Nagmatulin from Russia."

The contest was in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia this weekend, and Muhr said, "We had the best guys from the Worlds [World's Strongest Man] this year and the top guys from World Strongmancup there," as two of top three competitors from WSM - Jesse Marunde and Dominic Filiou - competed, along with such top Worldstrongman Cup athletes as Raivis Vidzis. "[2005 WSM winner] Mariusz was also invited," Muhr said, "but he could not get a visa, because his passport was full, and he could not get a new one till last Friday."

There were five events:

Medley: Duckwalk with 205 kg / 20 Meters and than Wheelflip with 385 kg for 6 times
Log for Max
Conan Wheel with 365 kg
Stones 125 till 185 kg
Powerstairs with 205 / 250 / 290 kg

This was not an end-of-year cakewalk, as Muhr said, "It was close till the end because Jesse was leading until the last event, but he did not do well in Powerstairs and Raivis took his chance and got the win from the Final and also from the Overall Title from World Strongmancup 2005."

Third-place winner from the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest Dominic Filiou was hampered by bad luck with missed connections, delaying his arrival. "Not enough rest for this big guy," Muhr said, and after Filou gave the first event a shot, but finished last, he retired from the competition. "I can understand this," Muhr said.

"This was the best year for World Strongmancup and we look positive in the future, because we have the best guys for next year, like Mariusz, Jesse, Dominic, Raivis, Tarmo, Ralf, Franz, Dave and a lot more," Muhr said, "and a great sponsor with intertops.com."

Here are the final places and points:

1. Raivis Vidzis 58 points
2. Jesse Marunde 55
3. Elbus Nigamatulin 49
4. Michael Starov 45
5. Dave Ostlund 39
6. Tarmo Mitt 39
7. Dmitry Kononets 38
8. Roland Gulbis 31.5
9. Ralf Ber 31.5
10. Igor Torlak 22
11. Franz Beil 21
12. Simon Flint 19
13. Dominic Filiou 1

Christmas is coming for strongman fans in the US: the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest begins its broadcast schedule this weekend, with the first of the eleven shows airing Saturday afternoon, December 24, on ESPN.

Five more shows will follow on ESPN that day, and then, after giving viewers a rest day so that they can recover, the action resumes on December 26, as the programming switches over to ESPN2, with the final five shows beginning that evening. Please check your local listings to confirm the broadcast times in your area.

Pudzianowski, Marunde, Filou . . . all vying for the title; John Inverdale and Bill Kazmaier as the presenters, and Nick Halling and Colin Bryce providing commentary - you've been waiting for it and here it is.

Channel 5 in Britain will begin airing the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Contest on January 1 at 4:00 pm.

The World's Strongest Man shows will continue throughout the first week of January, and the final is set for airing on January 6, but check your local listings in Britain to confirm the details.

The production quality of this year's shows is said to be spectacular, so tune in, watch the action and see what you think.

IFSA USA President Dione Wessels filed the following report on the finals from the IFSA Team World Championships.

"In the finals, It is Team Europe VS. Team Pan-America. The first event was the MHP Stones. Team USA sends out Travis Ortmayer for the first four stones, and he fails on the fifth, so he tags out with Jon Andersen. Jon takes a little more time, and loads the fifth stone, and then he tags in Van Hatfield for the sixth stone. Van loads the sixth stone in 90 seconds. For Team Europe, they send out Andrus Muremets for the first five stones, and then he tags Raimonds Bergmanis for the sixth stone. Together, they complete all six stones in a time of 69.32 seconds.

"The second event is the Wrestling. Van Hatfield and Andrus Murumets go head to head for all three matches. Van wins the first of three, Andrus wins the second, and Van wins the third, giving the win to Team Pan-America. The score is now tied one to one.

"The third event is the three man log lift for reps. and Team Europe sends out Zydrunas, Heinz, and Raimonds. They complete 10 repetitions. Team Pan-America sends out Van Hatfield, Jon Andersen, and Geoff Dolan. The three guys complete 10 repetitions before Geoff steps out and Travis Ortmayer steps in. These three complete three more reps and ties the record for thirteen repetitions and for the win. Team Pan-am is now up with two event wins to one.

"The fourth event is the two man Stone Carry. Andrus and Raimonds complete a combined total of 132.6m. For team Pan-Am, Geoff Dolan and Travis Ortmayer come out and complete a distance of 122.6m. Team Pan-Am went farther but was told to drop the stone by the head referee because Travis stepped on the marker line. The teams are now tied, and it will now come down to the last event, the Pole Push.

"For the fifth and final event, Jon, Travis, and Van Hatfield are going for Team Pan Am, and Heinz, Zydrunas, and Andrus are for team Europe. On the first pole push, both teams go the full 90 seconds, but team Europe is the aggressor in the event and gets the win. In the second pole push, the team takes out Van and puts in Geoff. Team Europe is the aggressor again and gets the win. Team Europe takes the win for The IFSA Team World Championships. Team Pan-America comes in second."

IFSA-USA President Dione Wessels filed this report of the IFSA Team World Championships, covering Team Europe vs. Team Scandinavia..

"Team Europe, with Zydrunas, Raimonds Bergmanis, Heinz Ollesch, and Andreas Murumets faced Team Scandinavia, which consisted of Magnus Magnussen (Iceland), Juha Pekka Aitala (Finland), and Tommi Lotta (Finland) and Rene Minkvitz (Denmark); Rene Minkvitz does not come in due to injury prior to the competition. The first event was the Strongman Wrestling. Tommi Lotta and Andreas Murumets. Tommi takes the first win of three. Andreas wins the next two bouts giving the win to Team Europe.

"The second event is the Pole push. For team Europe, it is Heinz Ollesch, Zydrunas, and Raimonds Bergmanis VS. Team Scandinavia with Tommi Lotta, Magnus Magnussen, and Juha Pekka Aitala. The first push goes for well over a minute, as Tommi Lotta does a great job as the anchor for Scandinavia. He stepped to the side, and Team Europe forced them out of the ring. So Europe wins the first of three. In the second Pole Push, Magnus Magnussen gets injured because he is standing too upright, and the win goes to Team Europe again.

"The third event of the day is the two man stone carry. Tommi Lotta and Juha Pekka Aitala come out. Together, they complete a distance of 88m. For team Europe, Raimonds Bergmanis and Andreas Murumets come out for Team Europe. They complete a distance of 77m, and the win goes to Team Scandinavia.

"The fourth event is the MHP Stone Lift. Team Europe consist of all three members except Zydrunas. They complete five stones in a time of 82.68, and now team Scandinavia comes out and complete the stones in a time of 75.73 seconds. The score is now tied 30 to 30.

"The final event is the log press. Team Europe sends out Zydrunas, Heinz Ollesch, and Bergmanis. They complete five repetitions. Team Scandinavia sends out only Tommi Lotta, and Juha Pekka Aitala. Magnus Magnussen comes out with, but does not attempt to lift due to a strained bicep. The two individuals show a lot of HEART and almost presses out the weight, but without success. Team Europe wins 40 to 35 over Scandinavia. Team Europe and Team Pan-America compete in the finals later this afternoon."

Sorry for delay in this report, but internet problems on location kept Dione Wessels from getting it to IronMind® when she originally filed it on Thursday. Also, please note that Magnus Magnusson is Benedikt Magnusson's brother, not Magnus Ver Magnusson.

It's a tradition in Columbus, Ohio: Armwrestling opens the Arnold Expo on Friday and Saturday, and 2006 promises to kick off things in grand style as the armwrestling competition is set to bring in record numbers and top talent from around the world.


Leonard Harkless (center) makes Marcio Barboza (left) and Travis Bagent (left) street legal in the 2005 Arnold Armwrestling men's superheavyweight final. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.
 

"We're really excited about all the European competitors who will be coming to the Arnold," USAA President Leonard Harkless told IronMind®. And there will be plenty of North American based talent too, with the likes of Tamara Mitts, Devon Bair, Simon Berriochoa, Gene Dunn, Vern Martel, Cobra Rhodes, Mike McGraw, Bob Brown, John & Bill Brzenk, Chad Silvers, Kenny Hughes, Travis Bagent, Ron Bath, Michael Todd and Brian Brandon set to pull.

The 2006 Arnold is March 3 - 5 and tickets are available through Ticketmaster, on the internet or by phone at 614-431-3600.

See you there!

Chances are good that early on in your lifting career, as you learned the basics, you ran into "cheat curls," and from there you learned about the general principle of adopting a looser style so that you could move bigger weights.


Scotland's famed Inver Stone: Are your values rock steady or do you blow with the wind? IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

No problem there, as long as the cheat curl was recognized for exactly what it was: a cheat curl. Things have gotten more complicated now, though, as opportunities abound to do everything from using a deep set to close a gripper beyond your actual strength to donning a series of shirts so that you could claim a bench press stratospherically higher than what you could do raw. There's a reason why we sometimes describe call short squats as being "hundreds of pounds high," and what IronMind®'s resident philosopher Steve Jeck puts the spotlight on this month is the broad subject of cheating versus being a person of principle.

Read, consider and prosper from Steve's insights . . . Follow the From the Quarry link on the IronMind® homepage or go directly to the Steve Jeck's From the Quarry Index page. 

 

If you've never seen it, the three-man log lift might be hard to picture, so here's what it looks like.


(Left to right) Jon Andersen (USA), Van Hatfield (USA) and Geoff Dolan (Canada) combine forces in the three-man log. IronMind® | Photo courtesy of Milton Peters Photography.

The action in the IFSA World Team Championships continues today, as Team Europe faces Team Scandinavia.

Dione Wessels filed this report from the IFSA Team World Championships today.

"The first event for the IFSA Team World Championships was the three-man Log Lift for reps. Team North America, which consisted of Jon Andersen, Van Hatfield, Geoff Dolan, and Travis Ortmayer was up first, and they put up a solid 11 repetitions. Team World, which consisted of Eddy Ellwood (UK), Mark Felix (Grenada), Mikhail Kokliav (Russia), and Adam Daraz (Hungary), finished with 9 repetitions in the log.

"The second event was the strongman wrestling. Van Hatfield comes out for Team North America, and Mikhail Kokliav for Team World. This event is the best two out of three. Mikhail is faster, and Van goes down first, giving the first win to team world. In the second match, the same two guys go, but Van is faster and gets Mikhail down, so they are tied 1-1. In the third match, Van goes down, so the win goes to Team World and the score is now tied.

"The third event is the Pole Push. Van, Travis and Jon go in for team North America, and Adam Daraz, Mikhail, and Eddy Ellwood go for Team World. Team North America wins the first and the second out of three in this event. The score is now 25-20, Team North America is winning.

"The fourth event is the Two Man Stone Carry. The Island stone is 175 kilograms for a max distance. Mikhail Kokliav and Adam Daraz they complete a total distance of 111.5 meters. For Team North America, Jon Andersen and Geoff Dolan goe for a distance of 117.4 meters for the win!!!! Team North America may have sealed up the win, but there is still one more event left.

"The MHP Stones is the fifth and final event. Team World sends out Adam Daraz for the first and fourth stone, Mark Felix for the second stone, Mikhail Kokliav for the third stone, Mark for the fifth stone, and Mikhail for the fifth stone. Mikhail struggles a bit with the fifth stone before the time runs out. Team World is credited with 5 stones in a time of 103.26 second.

"Team North America sends out Travis Ortmayer to do the first five stones and he completes them in a time of 38.80 seconds. Van Hatfield comes out to do the 6th stone, and gets it in his lap and to the platform before the stone falls to the ground twice.

"Team North America wins 45 points to 30 and will be in the finals tomorrow. The stone weights were 130k, 140k, 150k, 160k, 170k, and 180k. Tomorrow, it's Team Europe with Zydrunas, Raimonds Bergmanis, Heinz Ollesch, and Andreas Murumets versus Team Scandinavia, which consist of Magnus Magnussen (Iceland), Juha Pekuta (Finland), Tommi Lotta (Finland) and Rene Minkvitz (Denmark)."

Gary "The Brick Man" Brown succeeded in officially bending an IronMind® Red Nail™. Brown, whose nickname reflects his interest in and skill at hoisting impressive piles of bricks, has been added to the official IronMind® Red Nail™ Roster, recognizing his certification on this benchmark short bend.

Way to go, Brick Man.

Magnus Samuelsson won this weekend's Sweden's Strongest Man contest and he filed this report.

"It has been a series of competitions over the year that decided the lineup of athletes for the main event and this year the competition was made in a new way," Magnus told IronMind®. "Instead of having heats and the finals like in the past, we had a system where 15 athletes started in the first two events and after that the last three athletes in the competition had to step aside. After the next event, another three athletes were out, and after the fourth and last event of day one, there were only six athletes left. The last day, six athletes did the first two events, and after that only four did the last two events," explained Magnus.

Strongman fans worldwide would expect to hear that Magnus Samuelsson won the contest, and he did, for the ninth time, and, in fact, he won every event but the last one (which he didn't enter). Magnus reported that they had a new event this year, the stone lift for repetitions, which he described as: "Same size and weight of the stone as the fifth stone in World's Strongest Man was to be lifted up to a 138 cm platform." Is it a surprise that the man nicknamed "The Stone King" won, by knocking off 11 repetitions?

Magnus said that Anders Johansson looked good, "placing second in the competition, but he had to fight hard to shake of Robert Brolin. Robert is a very strong, nice and tough athlete, and there were only a few points between them in the end," Magnus said.

Here are the final places:

1. Magnus Samuelsson
2. Anders Johansson
3. Robert Brolin
4. Kalle Lane
5. Peter Rundberg
6. Stefan Bergqvist
7. Daniel Johansson
8. Lasse Frank
9. Niklas Hult
 

Manfred Hoeberl, one of the biggest names on the professional strongman circuit in the mid 1990s and one of the biggest names in the world of big arms ever, gave IronMind® an update on what he's been up to lately.


Manfred Hoeberl and his two-foot arms: In 1994, IronMind® sent its ace MILO team over to Scotland to cover the European Muscle Power Championships and the World Muscle Power Championships - it was another IronMind® first and a wave of interest in strongman followed. Dashing, outgoing and a top performer, Manfred Hoeberl immediately impressed us as he won both contests. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.
 

"Unfortunately, since my last motorcycle May 2002 crash, I can't train anymore," Hoeberl told IronMind®. "A car hit me front on while I was waiting for that car to pass since I wanted to turn left into another road. The car hit me at approximately 80 mph so I am kinda lucky to be alive.

"Anyway, when I was in the hospital I dropped to about 100 kg, but now my weight is back up and believe me even with my many accidents I will never look as bad as some guys when full in training." And for anyone who ever saw Manfred Hoeberl in person in his heavy training years, this seems very easy to believe.

The Polish Team won the Poland Versus the World strongman challenge today and Aneta Florczyk (Poland) won the Europe's Strongest Woman contest.

"We did really well," Odd Haugen said of the World Team: "We came in second."

That's the kind of contest it was, hard but fun, and Haugen said that it was a great crowd, as usual, and that the World team got almost as much support as did the Polish team. "Well, maybe not quite as much as Mariusz got," Haugen added.

In the spirit of the contest, World team member Svend Karlsen kidded Mariusz Pudzianowski just before the Power Stairs started and said, "After you're done, come and help us finish." Sure enough, after the Mariusz had worked his magic for the Polish team, he took over for Odd Haugen, who had gotten the final weight (320 kg) up the first step - Mariusz took it up the remaining four steps.

"One of the most amazing things was seeing Aneta Florczyk do a 300-kg silver dollar deadlift," Haugen said, marveling at her ability to pull so much weight.

Coming off surgery to treat his prostate cancer, Slim "The Hammerman" Farman told IronMind, "I'm not allowed to lift, and it's getting me down."


Getting ready to put the pedal to the metal, Slim "The Hammerman" Farman warms up at the 2003 AOBS dinner. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

The man whose name is synonymous with levering heavy sledge hammers said that he has been working on his gym, and that he's looking forward to returning to the stage: "I'd like to do shows until I'm 80," said Slim, who is a big draw wherever he performs.

"I lost an inch and a half off my arms," Slim said, noting that he wasn't happy about that, but he added, "My arms are still pretty fair for an old dude."

The 2005 Mohegun Sun Grand Prix, which was part of the 2005 World's Strongest Man Super Series, will be on Eurosport this Friday.

Programming time is 10 pm CET, December 9th.

Weighing the same 135 kg as when he won the 2001 World's Strongest Man title, Svend Karlsen told IronMind® that he feels great, is in good overall shape, has no injuries, and is already looking forward to the 2006 Norway's Strongest Man contest.


Svend Karlsen reps out on the Apollon Axle™ deadlift at the 2003 Super Series (Honolulu, Hawaii). IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Currently, Karlsen told IronMind®, he is not doing any event training, but he is lifting four times a week and doing cardio work three times a week. To give you an idea of just how light his training is at the moment. Karlsen, who has squatted somewhere north of 350 kg, said that he is doing reps with 180 kg right now - very light, allowing his body to heal and get ready for the 2006 season.

"I hope next year all strongmen of the world will be united," Karlsen said, "with nobody claiming the right to own strongman. I hope everybody will join together." Things such as coordinating the competition schedule, not dictatorial control, should be the focus of a strongman organization said Karlsen, explaining the direction he would like to see the sport go next year.

Scheduled for May, the 2006 Norway's Strongest Man contest is going to be big, Karlsen said, with TV time already set and plans in the works to make this a terrific competition in the land of Viking Power.

Polish Strongman Federation President Jarek Dymek told IronMind® today that this weekend's contests, besides featuring some of the world's top competitors, is significant in terms of drawing together key players as the sport moves forward in 2006.

Headlining the Europe's Strongest Woman contest are World's Strongest Woman winner Aneta Florczyk (Poland) and Heini Koivuniemi (Finland), and the women will be alternating events with the men, who compete in the Poland Versus The World contest.

The men's competition continues the tradition of pitting a four-man Polish team, headed by Mariusz Pudzianowski, against four top international strongmen. This year's world team comprises Svend Karlsen (Norway), Janne Virtanen (Finland), Odd Haugen (Norway) and Jesse Marunde. Pudzianowski, Karlsen and Virtanen have all won the coveted World's Strongest Man title, and Marunde was this year's runner-up, so this underlines the quality of the field competing this weekend Dymek said.

Calling all weightlifters: Make good on your New Year's resolution and if you're in the Pittsburgh area, get ready to lift, load or cheer at the Allegheny Mountain Association Winter Classic at the Martial Arts & Sports Complex in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania on January 29.


Just because 2004 Olympic gold medalist Milen Dobrev (Bulgaria) won't be there doesn't mean that you can't be: It might be the next step toward making an Olympic team yourself. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

This meet is "open to all USA Weightlifting-registered athletes." Please contact Rege Becker (rbecker@ppg.com) or Kathie Brenneman (k.brenneman@worldnet.att.net) for details.

Odd Haugen told IronMind that he has closed out the entries for the 2006 FitExpo Pro Strongman Challenge and his field is going to contain at least six competitors with World's Strongest Man experience.


Making everyone else look bad and creating shade at the same time: Jon Andersen's traps, shoulders, lats and arms can cast quite a shadow. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Scheduled to run all three days of the 2006 FitExpo, in Pasadena, California, the competition will begin on Friday March 17 and finish on Sunday March 18, with seven events deciding who will get what from the $10,000 prize list.

This contest will be a qualifier for the World's Strongest Man Super Series, which is the gateway to the World's Strongest Man contest, and the confirmed starting field includes Jesse Marunde, Mark Philippi, Dave Ostlund, Odd Haugen, Jon Andersen, Josh Thigpen and Kevin Nee.

Congratulations to Anson Castelvecchi and Scott George for getting certified on the IronMind® Red Nail™ - the benchmark short bend.

Recognizing their accomplishment, IronMind® is proud to add their names to the official Red Nail roster.

Way to go, guys!

Columbus, Ohio - Kicking off the first of the three chairperson meetings that lead up to the 2006 Arnold Fitness Weekend, Jim Lorimer said that even though over 120,000 people attended the 2005 weekend, projections are for a much larger crowd in 2006.


Mark Coleman, an OSU wrestling star who has gone on to become a mixed martial arts headliner, attended the 2006 Arnold Chairperson meeting today in Columbus, Ohio. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.
 

The man who began this massive enterprise 31 years ago, in partnership with Arnold Schwarzenegger, modestly attributed its success "to the great effort of the people in this room," but when you listened to the chairpersons report on their areas, one of the common themes was a sense of gratitude to Jim Lorimer for giving them an opportunity to be a part of what just might be the world's largest multi-sport expo.

To handle the growth of the 2006 event, the merely 1,700,000 square foot Greater Columbus Convention Center wasn't large enough, so the Lorimer–Schwarzenegger extravaganza will include figure skating, hockey skills and martials arts at the Nationwide Arena across the street. Fighting - as in both boxing and mixed martial arts - will be in that new venue and a marquee event will be the Friday Night Fights.

Calling it "strength heaven," Lorimer said the Arnold will once again include arm wrestling, strongman, powerlifting, bench pressing, and weightlifting. Running through the 2005 highlights for each of these, Lorimer praised the upper-body strength of the arm wrestlers, and he cited the high numbers posted in the WPO meet. The Arnold Strongman contest quickly established itself as one of the biggest contests on the professional strongman circuit and Lorimer said that in 2006 Zydrunas Savickas, Vasyl Virastiuk, Brian Siders and Mikhail Koklyaev will be among those vying for prizes that include a Hummer. Turning to weightlifting, Lorimer explained that in addition to the meet run by the Columbus Weightlifting Club, IronMind®'s Randall Strossen had brought over the two Chinese men who were Olympic champions in Athens for a special exhibition and that Strossen, with Lorimer's support, was developing a similar program for 2006.

March 3 - 5 are the dates for the 2006 Arnold Fitness Expo and tickets are available through Ticketmaster.