Written by Steve Blechman
27 October 2013

In This Issue: December 2013

Phil Heath lands another cover!

13issue-philThe Mr. Olympia contest is bodybuilding’s version of Mount Everest. Many great bodybuilders have tried to make it to the top, but since Joe Weider created and staged the first contest in 1965, only 13 have been successful and earned the right to be called Mr. Olympia – the greatest bodybuilder on earth. Only eight competitors have won the Sandow more than twice – and this year was historic because three-time Mr. Olympia Phil Heath joined that elite group of Sergio Oliva, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Lee Haney, Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman, and Jay Culter. Phil is now a member of Mr. Olympia royalty, as he has created his own “Health era” of domination – by setting a new standard for size, shape and conditioning and carving out his place in bodybuilding history.


md-dec-2013-coverThe 49th Mr. Olympia contest was also historic for other reasons. This year was the first time in 29 years that three Mr. Olympia winners – Jay Cutler, Dexter Jackson, and Phil Heath – competed on the same stage. MD’s Peter McGough a veteran bodybuilding journalist, was there the last time it happened in 1984, and he reflects on its significance this month in “3 Kings: On the Same Stage….On the Same Night!” by Dan Solomon.


On a more somber note, this year’s Mr. Olympia was the first to take place since the death, at age 93, of its creator, the Father of Bodybuilding, Joe Weider last March 23, 2013. In “the House That Joe Built – and Why it Will Stand Forever!” Peter pays homage to the Master Blaster – and explains how Joe brought each and every one of us to his house, his world of bodybuilding, and built the industry to what it is today.


As Dan Solomon points out in his feature, “The 2013 Mr. Olympia contest was a night we will never forget, and a moment that will live forever.”


The rest of the book is packed to the binder as usual – with all the latest cutting-edge research and information on bodybuilding by the industry experts and insiders who make it all happen.

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