Samir Bannout - Mr. Olympia
At the 1978 International I met Bill Reynolds, who was then editor-in-chief of Muscle & Fitness magazine. Bill interviewed me for my first article in an American bodybuilding magazine, christening me "The Lion of Lebanon". The nickname became very popular with my fans, who have sent me literally hundreds of lions from around the world - stuffed lions, lion statuettes, paintings of lions, lion etchings, and even a doorknob shaped like the head of a lion. Bill felt I had the potential to one day become Mr. Olympia.
Another man who encouraged me greatly was Mike Mentzer, Mr. America, Mr. Universe, and soon to be runner-up in the 1979 Mr. Olympia show. Already one of the world's greatest bodybuilders, Mike had guest posed at the Mr. Michigan competition, which I won. Mike could see my potential and told me I would one day become a Mr. Universe and perhaps even a Mr. Olympia. He predicted I would become an all-time great, which inspired me to train even harder than before.
After the 1978 International, George Turner invited me to move to St. Louis to manage his gym and train for the Universe. Compared with my dull job at the Ford Motor company plant, this was an irresistible offer. I moved to St. Louis but didn't forsake my dream of living and training in California. I remained with George Turner for only a few months, however, before I was overwhelmed by my California dream. Again packing my possessions, I realized one of my greatest ambitions by moving to California in early 1979.
I felt at home immediately and eked out a living through personal training and writing articles for Joe Weider, until I was able to land a few posing exhibitions. I trained like a madman for the upcoming IFBB Universe in Columbus, Ohio, a city that had become a hotbed for bodybuilding competitions through the promotional efforts of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Lorimer. A visa foul-up had scrapped my plans to compete against my friend, Tom Platz, at the 1978 Universe in Acapulco, so I felt 1979 would be my year.
In August 1979, I geared up for the Universe by winning the IFBB Mr. World title in Warrington, Pennsylvania, defeating Greg DeFerro and several other very good American amateurs. It felt good to become Mr. World, but I couldn't become complacent after my victory. The IFBB Universe was less than a month away.
The 1979 Mr. Universe competition was held in conjunction with the Mr. International and Mr. Olympia contests, making the overall show one of the greatest in bodybuilding history. My most formidable competition came from Ron Teufel, who had the Teenage Mr. America and Mr. USA titles to his credit. Ron was in great shape, but I had also done my homework and won the IFBB Mr. Universe title, reaching a goal I had set six years before.
Immediately turning professional, I competed in the Canada Cup at Hamilton, Ontario late in 1979, placing sixth with Chris Dickerson winning the first of his many IFBB pro titles. Between late 1979 and the fall of 1982 I had an up and down career, competing at every opportunity, looking great in one show and terrible in the next.
I consistently placed low at the most important shows because of a mysterious water-retention problem. It took more than three years of careful observation and investigation to discover the root of my problem and ensure optimum condition for every show. I'm a very intense competitor and was building up too much personal stress before each show. When I was overly stressed by an upcoming competition, my body reacted to the stress by releasing large quantities of the hormone aldosterone, which caused my body to hoard sodium. In turn the sodium retained excess water, which blurred out my best cuts (the grooves between and across each major muscle group).
I finally discovered a method of circumventing the aldosterone problem. Part of the plan was to learn to relax more. But more importantly, I learned to consume relatively large amounts of sodium up to 3 days prior to a competition which would dampen the aldosterone output. Then I went to very low sodium for three days. In only three days, the aldosterone release couldn't kick back in and I was able to free my body of sodium and water, coming in ripped to shreds for every show.
My first real success with the anti-aldosterone plan came at the 1982 Mr. Olympia show at Wembley, England. I placed fourth, much higher than I'd finished in previous Olympias. I personally felt the show was between Casey Viator and myself, but we must always accept judging decisions gracefully. Casey ended up in third place, while Frank Zane was second and Chris Dickerson first.
The ultimate goal of my lifetime was finally reached when I won the 1983 Mr. Olympia title at Munich, West Germany. I had been a little more ripped the previous year, which means that almost all my cuts showed. But I was more massive in 1983, so in toto I was in my best all-time shape. Winning the Mr. Olympia title was an incredibly sublime experience.
You can be sure that the Lion of Lebanon will roar again. My love of bodybuilding has never been greater than it is today!
At the 1978 International I met Bill Reynolds, who was then editor-in-chief of Muscle & Fitness magazine. Bill interviewed me for my first article in an American bodybuilding magazine, christening me "The Lion of Lebanon". The nickname became very popular with my fans, who have sent me literally hundreds of lions from around the world - stuffed lions, lion statuettes, paintings of lions, lion etchings, and even a doorknob shaped like the head of a lion. Bill felt I had the potential to one day become Mr. Olympia.
Another man who encouraged me greatly was Mike Mentzer, Mr. America, Mr. Universe, and soon to be runner-up in the 1979 Mr. Olympia show. Already one of the world's greatest bodybuilders, Mike had guest posed at the Mr. Michigan competition, which I won. Mike could see my potential and told me I would one day become a Mr. Universe and perhaps even a Mr. Olympia. He predicted I would become an all-time great, which inspired me to train even harder than before.
After the 1978 International, George Turner invited me to move to St. Louis to manage his gym and train for the Universe. Compared with my dull job at the Ford Motor company plant, this was an irresistible offer. I moved to St. Louis but didn't forsake my dream of living and training in California. I remained with George Turner for only a few months, however, before I was overwhelmed by my California dream. Again packing my possessions, I realized one of my greatest ambitions by moving to California in early 1979.
I felt at home immediately and eked out a living through personal training and writing articles for Joe Weider, until I was able to land a few posing exhibitions. I trained like a madman for the upcoming IFBB Universe in Columbus, Ohio, a city that had become a hotbed for bodybuilding competitions through the promotional efforts of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Lorimer. A visa foul-up had scrapped my plans to compete against my friend, Tom Platz, at the 1978 Universe in Acapulco, so I felt 1979 would be my year.
In August 1979, I geared up for the Universe by winning the IFBB Mr. World title in Warrington, Pennsylvania, defeating Greg DeFerro and several other very good American amateurs. It felt good to become Mr. World, but I couldn't become complacent after my victory. The IFBB Universe was less than a month away.
The 1979 Mr. Universe competition was held in conjunction with the Mr. International and Mr. Olympia contests, making the overall show one of the greatest in bodybuilding history. My most formidable competition came from Ron Teufel, who had the Teenage Mr. America and Mr. USA titles to his credit. Ron was in great shape, but I had also done my homework and won the IFBB Mr. Universe title, reaching a goal I had set six years before.
Immediately turning professional, I competed in the Canada Cup at Hamilton, Ontario late in 1979, placing sixth with Chris Dickerson winning the first of his many IFBB pro titles. Between late 1979 and the fall of 1982 I had an up and down career, competing at every opportunity, looking great in one show and terrible in the next.
I consistently placed low at the most important shows because of a mysterious water-retention problem. It took more than three years of careful observation and investigation to discover the root of my problem and ensure optimum condition for every show. I'm a very intense competitor and was building up too much personal stress before each show. When I was overly stressed by an upcoming competition, my body reacted to the stress by releasing large quantities of the hormone aldosterone, which caused my body to hoard sodium. In turn the sodium retained excess water, which blurred out my best cuts (the grooves between and across each major muscle group).
I finally discovered a method of circumventing the aldosterone problem. Part of the plan was to learn to relax more. But more importantly, I learned to consume relatively large amounts of sodium up to 3 days prior to a competition which would dampen the aldosterone output. Then I went to very low sodium for three days. In only three days, the aldosterone release couldn't kick back in and I was able to free my body of sodium and water, coming in ripped to shreds for every show.
My first real success with the anti-aldosterone plan came at the 1982 Mr. Olympia show at Wembley, England. I placed fourth, much higher than I'd finished in previous Olympias. I personally felt the show was between Casey Viator and myself, but we must always accept judging decisions gracefully. Casey ended up in third place, while Frank Zane was second and Chris Dickerson first.
The ultimate goal of my lifetime was finally reached when I won the 1983 Mr. Olympia title at Munich, West Germany. I had been a little more ripped the previous year, which means that almost all my cuts showed. But I was more massive in 1983, so in toto I was in my best all-time shape. Winning the Mr. Olympia title was an incredibly sublime experience.
You can be sure that the Lion of Lebanon will roar again. My love of bodybuilding has never been greater than it is today!
