Time to celebrate fit people in underwear

This is the week when American tourists, who sometimes flinch at men wearing Speedos, pay to see close-to-naked men flexing rock-hard butts in little downtownies.

I'm talking about Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend, the Super Bowl of bodybuilding and fan expo running Thursday through Saturday at The Orleans ($72-$237; orleansarena.com).

Do you remember wearing those tiny drawers, four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler of Las Vegas?

"I did it for 24 years," Cutler answered and laughed. "The first time I had to buy those (posing trunks), I thought it was a little weird."

This year, Phil Heath is going for his fifth consecutive title, as online commenters ramp up arguments about how top competitor Kai Greene was reportedly disqualified over some registration standoff.

And Nicole Wilkins is gunning for her fifth figure-division title at age 31.

"I've been around for so long, I feel like the grandma of the group," the Southern Californian joked.

Women's events have changed. Women's bodybuilding was dropped for not drawing quite enough interest. Olympia added women's physique, which is more muscular than figure but not as bulky as bodybuilding.

Wilkins said her category is "like a beauty pageant for fitness girls."

"It's not just about the muscle. It's about the shape of your body, your skin tone, your hair, your makeup, the way your suit fits, how you present yourself onstage."

Wilkins said she enjoys the empowerment of easily tossing around her 70-pound luggage or, oh, her couch.

I asked why she hasn't been cast as a "Terminator" hero or villain yet.

"That would be cool," she said and laughed. "Do you have any connections?"

Doug Elfman can be reached at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman. Find him on Twitter: @VegasAnonymous