The highlight of the competition year is always the Arnold Classic. Produced every year since 1989 in Columbus, Ohio by promoters Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Lorimar, this event is total class through and through. In addition to bodybuilding, Jim and Arnold have also added gymnastics, dance, arm wrestling, martial arts and strongman events to the mix so now the whole weekend becomes a HUGE event. If you ever plan on attending this event in the future, you need to get your hotel reservations and tickets months in advance. I had to call seven hotels back in December to reserve a room for this year's event.

As for the Arnold Classic bodybuilding event, there is always a great turn-out of competitors since the first place prize money is $100,000 AND a brand new Hummer all-terrain vehicle. This is actually greater prize money than the Olympia when you combine the price of the Hummer along with the 100 grand.

This competition is by invitation only and is limited to 15 of the top professional bodybuilders in the world. Anticipation was high for this event when Jay Cutler announced that he would be competing along with many of the favorites who he beat out at last year's Mr. Olympia, including Chris Cormier, Kevin Levrone, Nasser El Sonbaty and Dennis James. Could Jay repeat his spectacular condition at last year's Olympia again only 5 months later? That was the burning question that everyone wanted to see answered at this year's Arnold Classic competition.

Orville Burke

That question was definitively answered as soon the impressive line-up made it's way onstage. There wasn't one bad physique up there but Jay Cutler stood out like a beacon. Jay looked simply incredible! He was even bigger and thicker than he had been at the Olympia (they announced his bodyweight at 270 pounds!) but, believe it or not, he was harder and more shredded.

I was shocked to see that, in addition to his rock-hard abs and huge, cross-striated thighs, Jay had now added striated glutes and extremely defined and separated hamstrings to his physique package. In addition, Jay had not lost any thickness or fullness to his physique despite the fact that he had continued his diet since the 2001 Olympia. The only area that Jay needs to work on is his posing. This crowd at the Arnold Classic was 100% behind him and they were waiting to see a great display of his physique at the evening finals. Unfortunately, Jay's posing routine lacked passion and it wasn't nearly as exciting as it should have been.

In second place, as expected, was Chris Cormier. Chris looked fuller here than he did at the Pro IronMan a week earlier. It looked like he was peaking for this show and I'm sure he was hoping to pull an upset here but he was throughly outclassed by Cutler. Cutler was both bigger and harder than Cormier and it was all over as soon as they stood onstage together.

Dexter Jackson was very happy with his third place finish. After years of placing lower than he (and many others) thought he deserved, Dexter finally made the top three in a major show such as the Arnold Classic. "The Blade" showed up in his customary ripped, full condition and even looked a little bit bigger than he did at last year's Olympia.

In fourth place was crowd favorite Lee Priest. Lee was in peak condition again as he was last week. Lee always shows up in shape everytime he competes and he also puts on a great posing routine. Audiences all over the world love Lee's incredible arms along with the rest of his massive physique.

Fifth place went to a disappointing Kevin Levrone. Kevin was way off for this contest and probably wishes, in retrospect, that he wouldn't have competed this evening. He wasn't nearly hard enough and many of the competitors who placed below him thought they should have beaten Kevin. Kevin performed another beautiful posing routine but it wasn't enough to place ahead of several bodybuilders who he would normally have no trouble beating. For some reason, Kevin also went back to the shaved head look.

In sixth place was the surprise of the year, Ahmad Haidar. As with last week, I thought Ahmad deserved a higher placing. His incredible abs highlight a crisp, polished physique that screams QUALITY and represents the symmetrical, finished look that has been overlooked in our sport for too long. Ahmad qualified for the Mr. Olympia with his sixth place position here so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in the biggest competition in the world.

Seventh place went to another disappointment, Dennis James. After last year's third place finish at the 2001 Arnold Classic, this had to be a real blow to Dennis. I know he was hoping to redeem himself after last year's 7th place in the Olympia and his plan for this contest was to come in with the impressive fullness and size that he normally displays in the off-season. Unfortunately, Dennis was not hard enough to finish in the money tonight. I know he was sick the week before and missed the Pro IronMan show as a result. Maybe that sickness had something to do with his poor performance at this competition.

Way down in the eighth position was Ernie Taylor. After last week's strong third place at the IronMan, Ernie had to be extremely disappointed finishing all the way back in eighth. I thought he was just as hard and finished as he had been the previous week but, for some reason, he was not awarded the same treatment. I could have seen Ernie placing fifth, ahead of Levrone and Dennis James, based on his condition alone. Maybe the judges have decided to now punish Ernie for his use of synthol.

Quincy Taylor made it to ninth place in his first Arnold Classic. Quincy is a big man and he potentially could go very far in the sport. However, bodybuilding is not all about just size so Quincy needs to bring up his weak points and come into the contest in peak condition in order to maximize his talent. Quincy has impressive thighs, delts and arms but needs to concentrate on his back to move up in the rankings. He has a slightly long torso which is not surprising for a 6'4" frame.

Finishing up in the tenth position was former Olympia runner-up Nasser El Sonbaty. I'm afraid Nasser is in his twilight years as a top IFBB professional bodybuilder. I'm sure Nasser is still as commited and dedicated as he used to be but his body is just not the same. I remember how impressive his physique was back in 1995-98 when he was a genuine threat for the Olympia and he actually outmassed Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates on more than one occasion. I think that the incredibly hard training and the advanced pharmacological aids he has no doubt taken part in over the years have taken their toll. Nasser is no longer the biggest man onstage and his arms even looked small. Since he doesn't have the symmetry and aesthetics of Wheeler and Ray, Nasser needs that overwhelming mass combined with rock hard muscle to move up in the rankings. Also, Nasser's use of synthol in his shoulders was quite obvious. If there were any doubts about Nasser's use of this "banned" substance, they were immediately erased when the huge screens on each side of the Veteran's Memorial Auditorium showed a close-up of the (infected) injection site on one of his rear delts.

The Arnold Fitness Expo was, as usual, packed with 600 booths and brought in over 60,000 people over the three day weekend. Everyone who is anyone in the sport of bodybuilding is at the Arnold Expo each year. Some of the sights I witnessed during the weekend include:

• King Kamali was, as he promised on his website, a very big 300 pounds (actually 295). Kamali was friendly to his fans who were taking photos and asking for autographs from the King. Kamali told me that he was attempting to help out promising new pro Victor Martinez on Friday night. He said he was literally forcing food down Victor's throat so he wouldn't be flat for Saturday's pre-judging. Unfortunately, Victor was still a little flat for the show and he placed down near the bottom (13th place). Look for big things from Kamali at the Olympia this year!
• Orville Burke was looking large and in charge at the Iron-Tek booth. If you've never seen Orville in person, he is one of the widest bodybuilders I have ever seen. Orville said he was weighing 285 pounds.
• Shawn Ray was busy selling his new video as well as a Shawn Ray bobble head
  doll. Shawn is the first bodybuilder to sell a bobble head doll although many other sports stars have them. Shawn was also on hand to do commentary for Physical TV who will be broadcasting the contest on Fox Sports Net in the near future.
• I talked to new pro Art Atwood from Wisconsin. Art was the impressive super heavyweight champion at the 2001 Nationals. Art said he is going to enter the Toronto pro show in May but is skipping the Night of the Champions until he makes his mark.
• Dexter Jackson was posing with his shirt off after the pre-judging at the Muscle Tech booth. Dexter was in the best shape of his life for this year's Arnold Classic and was very happy with his third place finish.

The following day was the Arnold Classic Seminar which is also held at the Veteran's Memorial Auditorium. Most of the big bodybuilders don't attend this seminar as they figure they know it all and won't learn anything from it. However, if you are a big Arnold fan like I am, this is a must see.

Arnold Schwarzenegger himself leads off the seminar taking questions from the audience on any subject. It's pretty wild to see The Man himself onstage, up close and personal, after witnessing him surrounded by bodyguards all weekend long. Any one who is a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a fool to miss this seminar. Arnold started out talking about what is happening in his life right now. He talked about his recent motorcycle accident in which he broke 6 ribs and punctured a lung (Ouch!). He also mentioned that "Terminator 3 - The Rise of the Machines" will begin shooting April 15 in Los Angeles. He mentioned that his acting career is his big motivation in keeping in shape (Arnold will be 55 years old in July and he still looks great!). Arnold knows that he will have to be filmed without his clothes on for the opening shot of "T3" and is training hard to look good for that shot.

I asked Arnold about the HBO special on the 25th Anniversary of the film "Pumping Iron". Two years ago at the Arnold Classic, HBO filmed interviews with all the leading stars of that ground-breaking documentary including Arnold, Franco, Lou Ferrigno, Mike Katz, Ed Corney and Bill Grant. Arnold answered that HBO will be showing the "Pumping Iron" anniversary special this spring. It will be shown in 3 parts - 1.) The movie "Pumping Iron" itself, 2.) Outtakes from the movie 3.) Interviews with the stars from the film and what they are doing now.

Jay Cutler was the next speaker. Jay looked as wide as a 747 in his loose fitting silk shirt as he took the podium. He was very laid back and seems to really have his act together for a 28 year old bodybuilding superstar. Jay is still hungry but is very focused and definitely will not get cocky or over confident as he gets ready to take on Ronnie Coleman for a rematch at this year's Olympia.

All in all, the Arnold Classic for this year was another great event! If you are a fan of bodybuilding, you really need to make the trip to Columbus, Ohio next year for this exciting competition. Make your reservations early and enjoy the trip!