Tag: nEWS
Kai Greene Shows Support for Palestine Amid Recent Conflict
Kai Greene shows solidarity with Palestine.
The current conflict in the Middle East has resulted in quite a major outcry from the international community. Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed over 26 Palestinians, some of those children, as conflict continues to rage. It has caused many to speak out against the loss of Palestinian lives including Kai Greene.
The bodybuilding star with a great deal of international appeal, Kai Greene has traveled around the world and back visiting many different cultures along the way. It’s clear that because of his compassion for people of all different walks of life that Kai is expressing solidarity for those being killed in these recent conflict. In particular, Kai Greene threw his support behind Palestinians in the wake of so many lives lost.
Kai Greene took to Twitter to express his opinion on the situation and it appears very clear.
FREE PALESTINE ??
— Kai Greene (@KaiGreene) May 11, 2021
While this may be a very controversial issue, the loss of human life should never be taken for granted. Kai Greene appears to be taking this stance due to how Palestinians have who reside in the Gaza Strip have been treated. The recent airstrikes and dozens of causalities appears to have pushed Kai to issue a statement on the current events in the Middle East.
The airstrike was done in retaliation to Hamas firing rockets into Israel, injuring dozens. Hamas’s attack was in response to Israeli security forces injuring 700 Palestinians in the West Bank, including a massive crackdown on a mosque in Jerusalem.
This conflict only appears to be heating up and could prove to devastate many lives in the coming days and potentially weeks to come. This video below demonstrates how heartbreaking the situation is.
Kai Greene calling for freedom for Palestine could be viewed as controversial view. That said, the loss of so many Palestinian lives can not be overlooked.
What do you think of Kai Greene and his stance on the conflict in the Middle East?
For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Lawrence Marshall Dies At 58 Years Old
Marshall was notable for being the second bodybuilder from Trinidad to turn professional in the IFBB pro league. He was an iconic athlete in the local community for his impressive physique, local wins, and kind personality.
Lawrence Marshall held a wide array of local wins under his belt throughout the 1990s and early 2000s – eventually earning his IFBB Pro card. He had even qualified for the Mr. Olympia and placed 15th in his one and only showing.
Initial rumors began to spread that he had died due to losing a battle with COVID-19 but those reports have been debunked by his family. They have stated they are waiting for an autopsy for confirmation and cause of death.
Lawrence Marshall clearly had a massive impact on the bodybuilding community due to the outpour of support for his family and friends during this time. Despite not being a household name in the mainstream of the IFBB, he was an athletic icon and considered a hero in Trinidad representing the country on the world stage in bodybuilding.
You can watch the D’Dial Fitness Club tribute video and post below:
Unfortunately, this news comes after a series of other bodybuilding deaths have been reported including Mr. India Senthil Kumaran Selvarajan and 212 Olympia Competitor Fahd Zaid Hazzazi. Though this series of events is simply due to chance, it has been a devastating blow for fans of bodybuilding.
Generation Iron sends sincere condolences to the friends and family of Lawrence Marshall during this time. For more news updates in bodybuilding, fitness, and strength sports – stay tuned to the Generation Iron Fitness Network!
Melle Mel: “Frank Zane Is Hands Down The Best Bodybuilder Ever”
Melle Mel explains why he thinks Frank Zane stands tall as the greatest bodybuilder of all time.
During our Generation Iron interviews, we always make sure to ask who the top five bodybuilders are of all time. Each person has a different list that reveals something about how they view bodybuilding. This held true for rapper and bodybuilding aficionado, Melle Mel. He not only picked a diverse top five – he placed a wild card for the very top of his list. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Melle Mel details why he believes Frank Zane is the greatest bodybuilder ever – even above the likes of Ronnie Coleman.
Frank Zane is truly a legendary athlete. This much is known throughout the bodybuilding community. But if you were to start discussing the greatest bodybuilder of all time, Zane might not be at the very top of the list. That is usually reserved for the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman, or Lee Haney among perhaps a few others.
Melle Mel thinks it’s time for Frank Zane to get his due. Again, there is no one who undervalues Zane as a whole. He has gone down in history as a true legend in the sport. But for Melle Mel – that’s not enough. Zane should be noted as the single greatest bodybuilder of all time.
Of course, this comes back down to the debate of size versus aesthetic. Bodybuilders like Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman changed the game. The limits were pushed into inhuman levels and created the term mass monster. Ever since then, the broader and heavier look has reigned supreme.
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Check out our latest GI Exclusive with Melle Mel above!
For Melle Mel, Frank Zane represents a perfect physique before the world turned towards mass monsters. His aesthetic, conditioning, and size all came together into something perfect. More reminiscent to a Roman statue than The Hulk. It showcased a true mastery of bodybuilding without the bigger health risks.
Melle Mel believes that health should still be more of a consideration in pro bodybuilding. He prefers classic physiques of yesteryear because they still mastered muscle without taking it to extremely unhealthy places. It’s an opinion that he shares with a sub category of fans. Their outcry eventually led to the creation of the Classic Physique division.
Melle Mel even draws direct comparisons to Ronnie Coleman. Typically, Coleman is placed as a contender for the greatest bodybuilder of all time. Melle Mel thinks this is misplaced. Coleman certainly is one of the greatest but the sacrifice he paid for that physique promotes unhealthy choices. To Melle Mel, that’s not what bodybuilding should be about.
“Everybody loves Ronnie Coleman. He’s a great guy. I met him, I love him,” Melle Mel states in our interview. He continues:
“The difference between him and Frank Zane is like… I could look like Frank Zane… But you’re never going to look like Ronnie. And if you do there’s a price to be paid to look like Ronnie. And he’s paying the price and he’s a great man because he don’t shy away from it… but there’s a price to be paid because to look like Ronnie Coleman you will pay the price.”
You can watch Melle Mel list off his top five bodybuilders of all time and go more in-depth on Frank Zane by checking out our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
Jose Raymond Breaks Down His Bodybuilding Comeback Training Routine
Jose Raymond shares insight into his comeback training claiming it’s the first offseason he’s ever had in his life.
In our previous interview segment, Jose Raymond confirmed that he’s planning on making a comeback to Men’s 212 bodybuilding. Or at least, he’s training to compete again to see how his body reacts. If he’s happy with the results, he will pick a show to compete in and re-ignite his journey. But after many years away from tried and true contest prep, what is Jose’s tactic to get back on the saddle? In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Jose Raymond breaks down his bodybuilding comeback training routine.
Jose Raymond had a series of unfortunate situations that prevented him from competing over the past few years. But after full recovering from surgery, he’s ready to jump back into action and return to a competitive level of training. During our recent video conversation, we asked him to share what that comeback training looks like and how it differs from his past tactics.
“This is the most different I’ve ever been in my life”
Right off the bat, Jose Raymond makes a point to say that this training process is different than he’s ever experienced before. More specifically, he claims it is the first true off season he’s ever had in his life. Throughout his career, he’s always competed in so many shows – that he never had time for a real off season. He always had to stay in a contest prep level of conditioning due to a competition right around the corner.
So perhaps for the first time since he originally started bodybuilding, he is going into a true offseason bulk phase. Meaning that he can focus purely on building size without worrying about strict conditioning.
In terms of diet, Jose Raymond is currently eating 100 grams of carbs per day. He’s not the kind of bodybuilder to eat sloppy – but he’s also using this opportunity to really focus on building size and worrying less about conditioning at this moment. That means allowing for more heavy foods and carbs in his diet.
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Check out our latest GI Exclusive with Jose Raymond above!
Lower weight with high volume… with a few exceptions
Jose Raymond also dives into his training regimen. He’s doing very little cardio. This is again because he’s focusing on building mass at the moment. He does about 30 minutes of cardio, very light, on a treadmill or stepmill.
Being a bit older and wanting to prevent injury, Jose Raymond is focusing less on heavy weight and more on high volume. In a traditional set he aims for approximately 12, 15, or 18 reps. Though he admits sometimes he will feel energized and try and go all out with some truly heavy weight.
He also does, in a sense, drop sets. Thought perhaps not as strict as a traditional drop set would be. After he gets to a point with his high volume sets where he can only do six to eight reps. He will do one extra set. He lowers the weight and tries to do as many reps as possible. Sometimes reaching up to 20 or 22 reps. This is to make sure that he’s truly exhausted the muscle.
Wrap Up
Ultimately, Jose Raymond is excited to be able to focus on building as much size as possible. He’ll see how his body reacts. And then will evaluate his options and decide what show he wants to compete in. Once he decides that, of course, real contest prep begins. He’ll go back to what he knew for most of his career – focusing on conditioning. We can’t wait to see what show he’ll appear in and how he’ll compare to the new era of competitors.
You can watch Jose Raymond go into even more detail about his bodybuilding comeback training regimen in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
Mr. India Senthil Kumaran Selvarajan Has Passed Away
Another young bodybuilder has passed away.
Senthil Kumaran Selvarajan, Mr. India and a promising up and coming bodybuilder, has suddenly passed away. The Indian bodybuilder joins a long list of young bodybuilders who have passed away recently. His death like so many others has come as major shock. According to sources, his cause of death was due to a heart attack.
The bodybuilder from Tamil Nadu won Mr. India and placed second at the Sheru Classic back in 2013. He possessed a truly impressive physique and was a well respected and prominent athlete in the Indian bodybuilding scene. Senthil Kumaran Selvarajan certainly had the potential to change the landscape of bodybuilding in his home country.
Gone too soon…
RIP Senhtil Kumar @senthil_kumaran_selvarajanOne of India’s finest bodybuilder, gone too soon ??
Senthil Kumaran Selvarajan was very active on social media and did his best to motivate his followers. Sadly his final post to his Instagram showcased a man with big dreams of hitting the international stage and pursuing his bodybuilding passion to the fullest.
Wait…will wait…until the day of my life on the International Stage.Soon…
While achieving his status of Mr. India, seeing that he had ambitions of taking his career to the next level just makes his passing all the more sad.
It seems that so many young bodybuilders are passing away so suddenly. During these tough times it’s truly been sad to witness the loss of so many young lives. Senthil Kumaran Selvarajan is survived by his wife and son.
The Generation Iron team extends condolences to the family and friends of Senthil Kumaran Selvarajan. Another bodybuilder gone far too soon.
For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
212 Olympia Competitor Fahd Zaid Hazzazi Has Suddenly Passed Away
Fahd Zaid Hazzazi joins a long list of bodybuilders who have passed away far too soon.
Some sad news to report as 212 competitor and Olympia veteran Fahd Zaid Hazzazi has passed away. The news comes as a shock to the bodybuilding world as his trainer Milos Sarcev reported the news on Instagram. The cause of death has not yet been determined but speculation points to SUDEP or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.
Fahd Zaid Hazzazi had a history of suffering from epileptic seizures. According to Milos Sarcev, Hazzazi’s wife took the bodybuilder to the hospital, already unconscious. He was later pronounced dead.
Milos Sarcev posted a lengthy post on his Instagram page, mourning the loss of the young bodybuilder.
I am in absolutely devastated and shocked with the news about the sudden death of my dear friend and athlete @fhf13 Fahd Al-Hazzazi. I was praying that news are not correct, as it happened already once few months ago…when he was implemented in the hospital due to Epileptic Seizures. His wife brought him to the hospital unconscious. I got numerous messages about an hour ago…but I didn’t want to believe it. His nephew unfortunately confirmed ?. Fahd was without a doubt one of the nicest guys I’ve met…Super passionate about bodybuilding and needless to say absolute physique phenomenon. He posted a segment from his training about 6 hours ago…and I heard from the guys that saw him training today. Nobody noticed anything! Cause of death is unknown as of yet, but there is speculation of known “SUDEP” (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy). May he Rest In Piece ?? and Good Bless his soul. ❤️ Condolences to his family, friends, fans, Countrymen and all the loved ones.
This is truly sad news, especially when considering how young Hazzazi was. Definitely gone too soon from this Earth.
The Generation Iron team extends condolences to the family and friends of Fahd Zaid Hazzazi.
For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
Blessing Awodibu Reacts to Third Placing at Indy Pro, Looks Forward to NY Pro
Blessing Awodibu speaks out about his Indy Pro performance and looks forward to the NY Pro.
So the Indy Pro didn’t turn out exactly as Blessing Awodibu hoped. In his IFBB Pro League debut, the outspoken bodybuilder took third place. While he was one of the favorites to win the show, that honor belonged to Justin Rodriguez who showed up in impressive shape. Never one to shy away from success or failure, Blessing Awodibu issued a statement on his performance at the Indy Pro and his intentions for the NY Pro.
Many in the bodybuilding community may be cheering that Blessing Awodibu took third place in his IFBB Pro League debut. There are a large contingent of fans who dislike Awodibu’s brash personality and were pleased that he was unable to take first place at the Indy Pro.
It’s certainly a negative mindset to say the least. Celebrating the failure of a competitor capture their goal perhaps isn’t the best use of time. That said, when you talk as much trash as Blessing Awodibu the owness is on him to back it up.
That said, Blessing Awodibu did look pretty impressive in his debut. His legs were far more impressive than many had thought. He came in pretty solid condition, but it wasn’t enough to beat Justin Rodriguez.
Blessing Reacts
Now that the NY Pro looms, Blessing Awodibu had his own thoughts on his performance at the Indy Pro as well as his intentions for the future.
This pic was taken just before tanning but anyway, I just wanna say thank you to everyone for tuning in, think we set a record yesterday for the the live stream ???.Also thank you all for all the love and support, it truly means a lot ??.Shoutout to @davebowersproductions @dave_bowers @ifbbindypro for putting together an amazing show .Yesterday’s show was a try out before the main event – NY pro! Having been away from competing for 4 years, stepping back on stage is extremely hard, to nail peaking and timing.Yesterday we learned a ton, we messed up pre judging and we knew exactly what went wrong , we tried to fixed things but it was a lil too late. Still we were able to move up in placing.We will be ready to battle at the NY proStay tuned it’s gonna be epic ? Big shoutout to @justindifbb he brought it yesterday. Well deserved win but I’ll see you again next week.
It seems that Blessing Awodibu was treating the Indy Pro as a test show. He calls the NY Pro the main event. While some may say this is merely deflection on Awodibu’s part, we won’t know until the NY Pro rolls around.
What do you think of Blessing Awodibu taking third place at the Indy Pro? Do you think he can bounce back at the NY Pro?
For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
Arash Rahbar: The Best Pump You’ll Ever Get Is From Sodium
Arash Rahbar reveals the misconceptions behind sodium for bodybuilders.
For the average person interested in fitness, one of the biggest things you’ll hear is to avoid sodium in your diet. Sodium can lead to high blood pressure and weight gains. If unchecked, it can lead to some serious heart problems long term. While this is true, removing sodium completely from your diet is also not the answer. Like many things, it’s all about moderation. This becomes even more complicated, though, for bodybuilders. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Arash Rahbar details the misconceptions people have about sodium in a bodybuilding diet.
In the modern world, everything has added sodium. According to Arash Rahbar, this is for two reasons. The first is as a preservative. It helps keep food longer which is essential for our current era of canned goods and instant meals. The second reason for sodium is more simple – it makes things taste better. You’d be surprised how many processed foods actually contain sodium – even sweet food. It’s a key ingredient to making things taste better.
Of course, we know that relying too much on processed foods is bad for you. It all contains too much sodium and when eaten consistently can lead to high blood pressure, weight gain, and long term heart problems. But when it comes to bodybuilding, things get a little more complicated.
A competitive bodybuilder’s main goal is to appear as dry and conditioned on stage. This is to show off the massive muscle they have built. But sodium plays a key role in that process. If a bodybuilder were to remove sodium completely, not only would they feel worse, they would also appear “flat” on stage.
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Check out our latest GI Exclusive with Arash Rahbar above!
Without getting into the science or technical details, Arash Rahbar explains how sodium essentially regulates your blood pressure. This is why too much gives you high blood pressure (also known as hypertension). In fact, having high sodium is the best way for a bodybuilder to achieve the pump during a workout.
It might sound backwards, but it’s true. Arash Rahbar keeps himself on a high sodium diet. But he makes sure to stay as healthy as possible in his overall diet. His sodium isn’t coming from chips and snacks. Much like anyone, balanced sodium in your diet is important. For bodybuilders – what is considered “balanced” might be a bit different than the average person.
Arash Rahbar admits that he is no doctor or scientist. But he does know from years of experience and experimentation that no sodium in your diet is also bad for you. For bodybuilders it’s even worse. It can lead to bloating and when combined with fasting – can make your muscle look flat.
Of course, too much sodium can also lead to more water retention, which will make a bodybuilder’s muscle puffy and soft. It’s all about balance. What that balance is might be different for each bodybuilder.
You can watch Arash Rahbar go into even more detail about sodium in bodybuilding by watching our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!