The battle
at the beach is about to begin. MD will be there, the weekend of November 20th
and 21st, at the NPC Nationals in Ft. Lauderdale— the show that
wraps up the amateur season for the whole year. This contest has given us some
of the best pro bodybuilders the sport has ever seen, such as Lee Haney, Shawn Ray, Kevin Levrone—
and MD’s own Evan Centopani, who won
the Overall in 2007. To win at the Nationals almost guarantees you a great pro
career— it’s that tough a
competition. And the lineup this year is an impressive mix of classic shape and
proportion, heavyweight mass monsters, and some of the biggest arms the sport
has ever seen.
But before
we look at MD’s top picks for the showdown, I’d like to draw your attention to
the two amazing young pros on our cover, our new team MD athletes, Fouad Abiad
and Ben Pakulski. Fouad and Ben both hail from Ontario, and both became pros by
winning the Super-heavyweight and Overall titles at the CBBF Canadian
Championships. Ron Harris talks with Fouad ‘Hoss’ Abiad and Ben ‘Pak-Man’
Pakulski about how each one got their start, their strong points— and what they
each still need to work on.
Ron also
gets them to rate each other’s physiques. “Amazing back and shoulders,” offers
Ben about Fouad. “His quads, hams and calves are at the Olympia level already,”
says Fouad about Ben. These rookies are making some big noise in the IFBB; both
of them are forces to be reckoned with! Read “Canadian Invasion!” on page 150,
for their full profiles, contest histories, and the work they’re doing with
Hany Rambod.
Lee Banks
may just be the best amateur heavyweight in America. If you’re gonna beat him—
you’re gonna have to be damn good.
Lee gave MD’s own Mark Alvisi the fight of his life in the Heavies at the USA
this year before Mark stormed the Overall. Everyone who’s beaten Lee in the
last few years is already a pro; Banks just needs to come into Ft. Lauderdale
at his best to ace his pro card. And Lee feels good about the Nationals; he’s
already beaten all the other Heavies going in. Read “Bank on It!” on page 198
by Ron Harris, to find out how this ‘body shaper,’ as he calls himself, added
quality mass to balance his physique, as he amped-up his training with Hany
Rambod, to prepare for the Nationals.
Big Robert
Burneika will be armed and dangerous
at the Nationals this year. This huge Russian diamond-in-the-rough, a gigantic
bastard about the size of Jay Cutler,
owns some of the biggest cannons in the sport. Inspired at the age of 14 by Arnold “Pumping Iron” on the silver
screen, Robert knew in that moment he would never want to work in his dad’s
autobody shop; instead, his goal would be to make his body into something
special. “I found that I was naturally very strong,” Burneika says about the
immediate results he achieved when he began lifting. Read “Lithuanian
Leviathon,” on page 210, to find out about this mass invasion, straight out of
Mother Russia!
Young
newcomer and new Team MD athlete Seth ‘Ferocious’ Feroce is training to win!
Seth carries tons of muscle and is very complete. Some say he hasn’t paid his
dues; he never competed until spring of this year, but then took
Light-heavyweight and Overall at the Pittsburgh Championships and Heavyweight
Winner in Northern Kentucky. Is he good enough for the ‘fast track’ to the
IFBB? “It all comes down to who looks best that day on the stage,” answers Seth
Feroce in “Ferocious Road to the Nationals,” on page 178.
Flex Wheeler looks at some of the
competition at the upcoming Nationals and ‘critiques their physiques.’ In
“Battle in Fort Lauderdale!” on page 166, Flex gives us the 2009 NPC Nationals
Preview. New pros, coming right up!
Classic
shape and proportion; that about sums up the amazing physique of Shawn Rhoden.
In “Shawn ‘Flexatron’ Roden’s Amazing Comeback,” on page 224, Flex Wheeler
talks with Shawn, who decided to return to competition after seven years away,
and then stormed to a Heavyweight and Overall victory at the IFBB North
American. Read about ‘Flexatron’s’ triumphant return to the stage.
This month
marks the debut of George Farah’s “The Pro Maker” on page 320. Farah gives a
detailed breakdown of his “Pre-contest Game Plan” and talks about how to create
a pro. You won’t want to miss it!
And don’t
miss “The Girls from Metroflex, Part II” on page 238. That’s right— the girls
are back in town and getting physical!
The rest of
the issue is jam-packed as usual, with the latest news, views and in-depth
scientific research from the industry’s top experts; everything you need to
know about bodybuilding. It’s all right here in the world’sbest hardcore
resource. See you next month!