Arnold- Bridging the gap between Weightlifting an Bodybuilding

At the 2011 Arnold sports Festival, the Risto Sports Team was competing in weightlifting as well as expo-ing our products and services . We were in full force competing and sponsoring the weightlifting competition.



Carlos and Yoni Andica won cash prizes, after being coached by Risto Sport's Ivan Rojas and lifting in Risto gear to boot. For a complete rundown, see www.ristosports.com/blog (top photo shows Carlos and Yoni being congratulated by Arnold, second photo shows Arnold delivering his speech in front of the Risto Sports banner, and the third photo shows LG getting an autograph with me by her side).

Per tradition, Arnold Schwarzenneger stopped by the weightlifting venue on Sunday. (I love Arnold movies and action movies in general. C'mon, you didn't figure me to be a chick flick kind of person?). Being able to literally touch Arnold, one of my heroes, was awesome. Unlike most celebrities, Arnold, in person, does not disappoint. He looks and sounds fairly similar to what you'd expect. More importantly, he delivers articulate and inspiring speeches.

Arnold commenced his appearance with a brilliant monologue that tied his Olympic weightlifting beginnings to his bodybuilding career. He described that weightlifting served as a foundation for his bodybuilding career; he indicated it gave him the strength foundation to commence bodybuilding. Specifically, he mentioned that Olympic weightlifting provides critical balance to the bodybuilder's physique as weightlifting develops the back, traps, and shoulders. He went as far as to say that he felt sorry for any bodybuilder who does not have a foundation of Weightlifting-- pointing out several other weightlifters turned Mr Olympia, like himself, such as Tommy Kono and Sergio Oliva (of course Tommy Kono is a double Olympic Gold medalist in weightlifting). Overall, I have only great things to say about Governator.

I found Arnold's speech fascinating. Being a weightlifter, I never thought, deeply about which exercises bobybuilders would share in common. Afterall, a weightlifter strives for compact, explosive muscles, while a bodybuilder is striving for size and balance.

Being myself, I took the fantastic opportunity to speak with several Pro Body builders--they happened to be down the hall from Olympic Weightlifting in the Expo. Indeed, many squat like Olympic lifters or, even, lifted before becoming a bodybuilder. Also, they were all very approachable and had a great attitude. Hence, there is great opportunity to knowledge share between the two communities. In other words, the next time my blog is referred to as a bodybuilding blog, I'll take it as a compliment (Hey, I can provide some really good advice on squatting and lifting shoes --and I really need to get ripped like a fitness model;).

Pro bodybuilder, Andy Haman, was in attendance at the weightlifting competition as his children competed in weightlifting at the Arnold. Andy also indicated he had lifted before bodybuilding.

Personally, I thought it was very cool to see another weightlifting family, and Andy is an awesome person. Yes, weightlifting is an awesome family activity!

Below, LG and I are pictured with Andy; pictured in the lower photo is one of his daughters competing.