blogg

http://www.metrobloggen.se/jsp/public/index.jsp?article=19.13800178

Dear Fans,


One of my greatest dreams has come true! I have now finally qualified to Mr
Olympia with my runners up placement at the Phoenix Pro. Despite my
disappointment over not succeeding last year, my planning, hard work and all
of your support has finally paid off.

The past four month have been an amazing journey in my life so far and I
could not be more satisfied with what I have been able to accomplish. And of
course there has been a fair amount of activities since you heard from me
last including the opening of our new gym AA Elit Fitness, my family and of
course my preparation and success in Phoenix Pro.

It all really kicked off after the Fitness festival last year when I
received notice that the new machines for the gym were on the way from the
States which meant that a lot had to be in place for the opening ceremony of
the gym. And then of course I got the fantastic news that our first-born is
expecting in the beginning of May. So all this meant that I needed to
reconsider my contest preparation plans for the rest of the year if I wanted
a chance to qualify for Mr Olympia 24th September 2010. Of course the most
important thing in life is the family although with careful planning it is
still possible to make room for work, career and training. There are no
excuses!

So I decided to put all my efforts into the Phoenix Pro which was earlier in
the year to try to make the top three for a ticket to Mr O. By doing this I
took the risk of maybe not being as heavy as I could have been if I
continued preparing for a later contest in the year although I also knew
that my chances to qualify would likely improve based on that the line-up
might not be as competitive closer to September. And I am glad that my
calculations paid off since although the line up was good it was comparably
less tough to my contests last year and of course I got my preparation spot
on and was in the best shape possible.

I started my diet 10 week pre-contest which is unusual since I usually start
12-14 weeks pre-contest. This is mostly to avoid the stress since I still
have to continue working in spite of being Pro and mostly have various
commitments during my diet including planned photo shoots or guest posing
events which of course require me to be in top shape. And this time around I
also had a couple of photo shoots which of course is fun but very demanding
physically. Well I guess that the price I have to pay to live up to my
reputation as Pro.

As for the contest, I had my good friend Oliver with me who competed in the
open category where the competition was very tough. And in spite of that
Oliver was in very good shape, he didn't get the result he had hoped for.
But me and Oliver spoke a lot during our journey on areas of improvements
and about expectations as Pro so it's all about getting back in the gym and
I am convinced that you'll see a new and improved Oliver back on stage
shortly.

Following the contest, I quickly had to get back to work on the opening of
AA Elit Fitness Gym which was opened on the same weekend as I returned to
Sweden. So no rest and little sleep and instead full pace trying to get the
last in place for the ceremony which went above my expectations.

Now it's all about increasing our supplement range and starting to serve
fresh juices, protein drinks, sandwiches, salads in the cafe...so I guess I
won't have much rest ahead but I couldn't be more grateful for this
opportunity to work with what I love the most.

I'll of course also start getting in shape to give 100% to get better for Mr
O where I'll be competing in the 202lb class on the 25th September as the
first ever Swede/Iraqi!

pre-contest support, to the opening ceremony of AA Elit Fitness Gym. Without
your help all of this would not have been possible.


Thank you for living up to your word and keeping your promises.
I hope you'll take the chance to come and visit me in the gym


Best wishes,


Ahmad

SORRY ALL IT WAS LONG TIME AGO!

NEW VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsUJm6oOxME

AND NEW BLOGG

www.metrobloggen.se/aaelitblogg

AA

Dear Fans,

You might be wondering how my training and plans are going?

So far so good...I had some aggressive plans to try and reach 100kg before
the end of the year. And I'm delighted to have achieved this small little
milestone already. My next goal is to focus on maintaining mass and weighing
in 105kg at a suitable contest next year. Gaining weight is easier for some
than for other depending on body type and metabolism. Myself, I have no
problem losing weight and getting into contest shape, on the either hand my
high metabolism means that it is a real challenge to put on extra mass.

What else is new? Well I was pleased to see another cover in the new
Norweigan magazine Treningsforum magazine which can be order or checked out
at www.treningsforum.no A pretty nice mag with good quality articles.

Next week I'll be heading off to China which is going to be a real
adventure. A new country and culture for me and I'm very excited. The
purpose of the trip is a bit of pleasure and a bit of business and although
I don't usally train while on holiday, now that I'm a Pro I thought that I
would make sure to get a couple of session done while away.

When I return, it's time for two beginners competition (which is where it
all began for me 9 years ago): The December cupen and the popular Lucia
pokalen which will run at the same weekend as the Fitness festival.

Oh how these two contest bring back memories, almost feels like
yesterday...well this time I have been helping three of the contestants so
I'm very excited about finding out how they will perform on the day.

Until next time, take care.

Best wishes,

Ahmad

Dear Fans,

Now I have returned home and started to recover from my US trip. After my
contest I travelled on to Los Angeles and stayed at a hotell next Venice
Beach (yepp that's the beach you always see on TV when they're filming in
California). And of course I was not going to miss the chance to train at
the class Gold's Gym where I met many of the famous bodybuilders around. If
you ever need inspiration then Gold's Gym is definitely worth a visit.

Then I had my photosession with Ironman magazine which went great and I
can't wait to see some of these pictures. I will of course share them with
you on the website. I also used my trip to LA do some business, as you might
know I have had some plans to get into the gym business so I met with some
representatives of a major gym equipement company. And I am glad to announce
that I will indeed be importing many of my machines that can only be found
in the US.

For the rest of my visit....well I mostly spent it eating, lying in the sun
and meeting some friends. California is really beutiful, I can see why so
many professional body builders end up moving to LA, I would probably have
done the same had not been for the fact that I would have been so far away
from my family and friends in Sweden.

So what does the future hold for me?
Well, not really sure at this point in time but I know that I will have my
hands full setting up the gym which should be complete over the next
couple of months. And meanwhile I will focus my plans on putting on some
more mass since this will be needed for any future success at the ever more
competitive pro level. It's interesting...in the pre-70's a muscular upper
body was more than enough to get noticed, late 80-90's size started playing
a more important role in succeding followed by a more recent increasing
focus on symmetry and proportionality. Now most have the complete package,
mass, definition and symmetry. How? By focusing on the what ever is lagging
behind (mass, legs, definition). Some are more difficult to change than
others but they all require dedication and hard work.

Now that I have a better understanding of what is required from me to
compete at the top, I can focus my efforts on achieving my dreams. And of
course one could not be more inspired than from watching the recent Mr
Olympia...

I'll also be visiting the Swedish National championships and catch up with
my sponsors PF. And I am hoping that my good and talented friend Ahmed
Sakawan who I have been helping for the past 12 weeks will be successful.
His shape and symmetri are the results of a lot of hard work and should
surprise many.

I hope to see you at the Nationals, if not then best wishes. Work hard and
look after your health, we only get one body so let's work with it and make
the most of it.

Best wishes,

Ahmad

Dear Fans,

Here is a summary of my recent experience at the Atlantic Pro city. After arriving to New York after an 8 hours flight I had another 8 hours to wait before meeting my Dutch friends before hiring a car to drive to Atlantic city. So I decided to spend some time being a tourist and made the most of my precious time by jumping on a sightseeing bus in NY. And what an impressive experience. During my guided two and a half hours I got to see the best of this amazing city and although I was a complete stranger in this enourmas city this tour will go down as one my best tourist memories and I can truly recommend this city as a place worht visiting.

After chilling out at a local cafe and having to wait for a delayed flights me and my friends were finally off by rented car towards our hotel. All in all the entire journey from Sweden and door-to-door took nearly 25 hours and this indeed had an interesting effect on my body which ballooned up from all the retained water.

On the next day, Wednesday, it was time to start loosing some water and so me and my friend Khalid who was preparing and qualified for the open category went to visit the local gym. A secret for those wanting to loose additional retained water is to head out into the city and go shopping... For Thursday, it was all rest and mental preparation for my part, my body had by now recovered nicely and was starting to get excited about the competition on the following day.

Looking over the list of contestant I felt that I stood good chances to place at least in the top 5 but as I would soon realise; one never knows who will show up on the day... It turned out that 22 contestants showed up on the Friday ready to fight it out for a qualifying spot to Mr Olympia. Believe me that when you stand next to all these other contestants who have worked as least hard as yourself, some even being able to committ themselves full time, then you do really put things into perspective.

It's a great competitive atmosphere and you will find noone who is as self critical and humble as the serious bodybuilder. Keeping my hopes up I was still optimistic for a top 5 place. Although after not being called up during the first or second call out my hopes started diminishing...finally on the third call I got my chance and then again on the fifth and then I knew I might stand a chance if I could get the chance during the free posing routine the following day so I kept my hopes up. But in spite my efforts I had to be content with an 8th spot for this year contest. Many have asked if I was disappointed. Of course, you have to always strive to achieve your goals and when your efforts don't meet your expectations feelings of disappointment arise.

And of course even when you achieve your goals you must aim to exceed them, to get better and remain hungry for success. Look, you can only influence yourself, the great thing with bodybuilding is that you have noone else to credit for your success or failure except yourself, what others are doing is beoynd your control.

An example: Melvin Anthony, an excellent bodybuilder who expected to win the open category. He was great but still had to be satisfied with 4th place. Competing at the IFBB pro level takes serious committment. If a guy like Melvin who can committ full time to bodybuilding from sufficient income from supplement and magazine contracts and still have to be humbled by not making the top three then someone like myself who still works full time and have only recently become pro must be patient and realistic. The great thing is that only the truly great bodybuilders such as Anthony, Dexter Jackson, Jay Cutler and a few others will take every disappointment and turn it into motivation to influence and improve that which is within our control = ourselves.

Follow the history and developement of any Mr Olympia and you will note that these champions didn't just appear one day, most had to fight disappointements for many years before finally getting to the level where there efforts were rewarded. Now that is what bodybuilding is all about. And so I will harness this experience and get back to work on fulfilling my goals and my dreams, defeat was a word only invited by those who never dreamt of success.

So count on it that I'll return bigger and better than before. This doesn't happen over night and it will take a couple of years before I weigh in closer to the 202lb (rather than my current modest 190lb) but God willing and I'll one day make it Las Vegas.

Now I'll be continuing my journey to LA where I'll be for a week to takes some photos and sort out a couple of business matters.

Thanks to all my fans for writing and supporting me (you know who you are).

And to all my sponsors especially ProteinFabrikken for their generosity and support. Finally, thanks to my family and friends and most importantly to my wife Rawa for her enduring support especially during my dieting and preconstest preparations.

Photos to follow shortly.

Best wishes, Ahmad

Dear friends,

So now I’m on my way to compete at the Atlantic City Pro in the 202lb
category and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity of displaying the
results of all my hard work over the past year. During the past 12 weeks my
conditioning has greatly improved as a result of all my efforts with both
the dieting and the many hours of morning walks and cardio in the gym.
Last weekend I had the honour of guest posing at the Swedish Strong Man
completion which was a first time attending this type of event. A clip of my
routine can be found at the below link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI6AfwCOwVI

I have to admit that one doesn’t appreciate how impressive these strong men
athletes truly are until you see it with your own eyes. A huge
congratulation to the impressive young Proteinfabriken talent Johannes Årsjö
who at the age of 24 years won the 2009 Swedish Strongman Championships. The
day after, I went to Norrköping for a photo session for my sponsor
Proteinfabriken who will be launching the new hardcore brand Ironcore in the
near future. Although I always enjoy the opportunity of guestposing and
photo shots it was a real challenge so close to my competition especially
when the normal dieting and pre-contest routine is interrupted. But it was a
lot of fun and I’m grateful for the positive feedback and the opportunity to
work with PF who have been incredibly supportive during my pre-contest
preparations.

I’ll be travelling around in the US and will be in Atlantic city until the
15th September after which I’ll get the chance to have a photo session with
various photographers in LA including one session with Ironman magazine.

All going well in Atlantic city and I’ll continue my journey to compete in
Las Vegas in the 202lb in Mr Olympia. But for that I’ll need to make the top
three in Atlantic city. I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life and
whatever happens I know that will have done my best to get this far.

Some new pics http://forum.body.se/showthread.php?t=38516&page=37.

So my friends, if you don’t hear from me before then I hope that you will
wish me luck on the 11th when I will fight for my chance to achieve a
childhood dream of competing in Mr O.

Thanks as always for your support.

Best wishes,

Ahmad

Dear Friends!

Always nice to appear on in a good way.

Most recently I have got an article in a local newspaper after my gym gust appearance in Gislaved!

http://vastboandan.lokaltidningen.se/article/20090821/ARTIKLER/441128937/1840

AA