Images of 2014

Not only proving that, as they say, fit women look good naked but also that fit women look good when covered in nothing but little pieces of black tape, the very beautiful Meghan Comeau welcomes you to our final post of the year.

Part female muscle lovin’ memoir, part FMS 2014‘s Greatest Hits, these women and these images have, for one reason or another, stayed in the memory.

So many female muscle selfies, so little time! Of course, it’s only possible to actually view a fraction of the Facebook/Twitter/Instagram images available, but not all selfies are equal, and at least one that we brought you this year was truly historic – Michelle Davis‘ unprecedented, phone-in-hairband double bicep selfie.

Aside from the genius and ingenuity of mshelllll (on Instagram), FMS 2014 has thoroughly enjoyed following Anastasia Papoutsaki,  Angelica Enberg, Ariel Gail, Valerie Garcia Giovanoli, Twana Barnett Ferguson, Hanah Jamroz and Georgina McConnell just a little bit more than most, but there are two women who, all year long, have had us glued to our phones and getting all excited in inappropriate places (like work, or when out with the in-laws, etc.)

The first is Tina Nguyen (aka tinang13), particularly when she has got her sinful-thought-inducing bod all packed into a ridiculously tight and revealing outfit.

And at a very different place on my sthenolagniac spectrum, the sheer size of Canadian champ Robin Hillis (robintripledee) has regularly had my jaw to the floor and my pants tightening up with her self-portraits. Look at how you can see every one of her bulging muscles even though she’s completely covered! *SWOON*

BODYPARTS

Back: Ayanna Carroll

Not the biggest by any means, but I haven’t seen a more flawless back shot than Ayanna’s this year. Wouldn’t you like to find out if those muscles feel as good as they look? I most definitely would. And I bet they do. I bet they really really do.

Glootz I: Federica Ortu (left), Glootz II: Lea Wiehl (right)

Two very different offerings from C.Moore Glootz for our Rear of the Year. On the left, former NABBA, now IFBB athlete Federica Ortu proved this year the change of federation hasn’t made her rippling behind any less arresting. On the right, an image that could be captioned ‘This Is What Happens When You Do Squats’. What happens is you fall in love with how your bottom looks in a dress. Lea knows.

Legs: Geisi Silvia (left), Abs: who else? (right)

Two familiar sights to regular readers here. Of all the many many mouth-watering pins in Brazil, Geisi‘s remain, for us at least, the ones against which all others should be judged. He agrees, I reckon. What a sight! Similarly, Oana’s Abs Queen crown seems safe on this year’s evidence. The beauty doesn’t hurt, nor the anatomy leggings either. Perhaps they were modelled on Geisi’s exact inner structure!

Pecs: Brittni Kent

There’s nothing to feel guilty about – it’s OK to really examine her pectacular chesticles. She might look as though she’s still at school but actually Brittni’s 22, so go ahead, look at how proud she is of those pecs. She so obviously wants you to.

And here we are backstage. Specifically with Brazil’s Vascular Physique Queen Loana Muttoni, in the best example we’ve found this year of what I believe is becoming known as ‘The First Person Quad Appreciation Selfie’. Absolutely no thigh gap here, just beautifully-tanned, lusciously thick and lickable muscles. *SWOON*

And we continue our pre-show segment with the Laurel & Hardy of female bodybuilding, Moore & Rudison, goofing around, as they say, before they both competed (Rudison is in the curlers by the way) at the Omaha Pro show.

ON STAGE

Our beloved abs and thigh pose is always going to make our end of year selection one way or another, and we don’t remember a more committed or more obviously satisfying version than Roxanne Edwards‘ in Chicago. It’s also the smiliest.

Not Iris Kyle punching the air as next to her Alina wilts with disappointment, nor an image of the acrobatics of the fitness girls. Not Yaxeni’s suit-threatening side chest pose, nor the striation fest of Anne Freitas‘ squatting back double biceps. Instead, we’ve picked Alicia Coates‘ unexpected (and quite possibly illegal) flexing for the Olympia Figure judges. Trademark lip-curling snarl included. Terrific.

PARTIES I WISH I’D HAD AN INVITE TO

I: The ‘come as your favourite superhero – and then have a flex off’ party I imagine these two enthusiastic (and well-equipped) gunshowers are attending.

II: Wherever the immaculate Karina Nascimento was going on the evening this was taken. If we did a PICTURE OF THE YEAR poll on FMS, I’d definitey nominate this gem for 2014. Then I’d fiddle the results of the voting to make sure it won. *SWOON*

I’ve been a bit negative about the content of the established female muscle photo sites in the last couple of years, but in 2014 I’ve found myself appreciating the pro photographers again. Perhaps the novelty is wearing off from the glut of amateur snaps. Perhaps, for the first time in a while, I’ve had the opportunity to explore the big sites again. Whatever the reason, I thought Mike Eckstut on HerBiceps did some especially fine work with Aleesha Young, among others, but I think it was his 2014 photosets of the incredible Asha Hadley were the finest of them all.

Sun, water, a stunning beauty and all those gorgeous muscles – yes, I know we’d all like to think that, given the same location and subject to work with, we could have done as good a job as Mr Eckstut. Point is, he actually did it. No other photographer has yet done such justice to the amazing Asha, even when she’s been in a similarly mouth-watering condition. Bravo, sir! (Not angling for freebies, I mean it!)

And on the subject of things that make your mouth water, the muscle-curvy magnificence of Margie Martin has been at the very centre of our female muscle lovin’ life all year. So much so, in fact, that we found it impossible to include just one picture of Lady MVM, and could only narrow it down to four. They include a little of her work with Annie Riveccio for Muscle Angels (clearly an exciting shoot), the Fantasy You Me & Her Picture of the Year backstage with the divine Dani, Margie bulging all over the place with her competitor number, and, best for last, probably the most swoon-worthy image we have seen all year.

BEAUTY

Isn’t she just lovely? Shannon Courtney, as I’m sure you are well aware, has just kept growing and growing in 2014. And despite the assertions of some that such extreme gains can only lead to disaster, she remains an intense, radiant beauty.

It’s a theme that has run through FMS since its very beginning, and this year has been no exception – see, most recently for example, FMS On Beauty. And, while we are well aware that we are largely preaching to the converted on the blog, as long as there are those who would deny a muscular woman can also be a beautiful woman, it’s a theme we’ll keep coming back to again and again and again.

And why wouldn’t we keep returning to this theme when there are women as beautiful (well, perhaps not quite as beautiful) as Rebecca Sanders to collectively swoon all over? Heart-stopping beauty… and pecs to die for!!!

THE SUPERIOR WOMAN

Sweet and sexy at the same time, Kim Ji-Hyun and her special friend prove that it’s not just we guys who like our women to have (much) broader shoulders than us.

We’ve been enjoying images of female bodybuilders with, let’s say, more “conventionally-shaped” women since back in January when this gem starring Sexy Sophie Arvebrink was our very first Pic of the Week. “Three women, at least two different species” was our caption at the time. She’s so cocky, so self-absorbed that as well as the obvious aesthetic contrast, the huge contrast in self-confidence between the species is there for all to see and get excited about.

In fact we got so excited about it that we’ve been actively seeking out such images ever since. And, yes, we have found a couple of absolute crackers.

Exhibit A

Superior woman Claudia Bonavoglia goes to the beach. Looking all smug and flexing her abs just because she can, Claudia doubtless caused a fair bit of excitement on that day. But look at the face of the woman on the towel. No excitement there.

Exhibit B

Superior woman Ekaterina Kuznetsova goes to the gym, pumps up her mighty muscles to fabric-threatening levels and gets admired even as she admires herself.

The hyper-muscular woman. So other-worldly, so fascinating, so alluring.

Freak no. 1 Anne Freitas sits (rather regally, don’t you think?) during a photoshoot before towards th end of her preparations for her first pro show of the year.

And we dissected this image of Canadian Karen Smith to bits in April (see Karen’s XTC), and though from 1995 rather than 2014, we couldn’t hope for a better illustration of one of our other major themes of the year, The Agony & the Ecstasy of the competitive female bodybuilder. Well, the Ecstasy bit, anyway – the divine moment when her own inner vision of her body at its most perfect is realised.

2015 will mark the tenth year of PumpiItUp‘s legendary blog, and, if my dates are correct, my own personal 30th(!) anniversary of female muscle lovin’.

Neither shows any sign of waning.

I’ll thank you all for your continuing support for Female Muscle Slave (over 2 million page views!), wish you a very very Happy and Female Muscle Packed New Year and leave you with just one more memorable image from 2014… MWA!

FMS will return in January.

Women of the Year

Our first six back in 2011 were Kashma Maharaj, Fabiola Boulanger, Ginger Martin, Cindy Landolt, Penpraghai Tiangngok and Katka Kyptova.

In 2012, our choices were Sarah Hayes, Holland Canter, Helle Nielsen,
Andrea Brazier, Gillian Kovack and Tarna Alderman.

And last year the FMS team selected Shannon Courtney, Sophie Arvebrink, Shawna Pierce, Suzy Kellner, Georgina McConnell and Alina Popa.

We originally plumped for six in 2011 because it’s (traditionally) the number of women who get to posedown at the end of a contest, and we’ve stuck with that number ever since. They are in no particular order, and are selected utterly subjectively by us. We make no claims that they are “the biggest”, “the best” or anything like that – these remarkable women are simply our favourites of the last 12 months.

Welcome to Female Muscle Slave’s Women of the Year 2014.

Aleesha Young: Better Than Fantasy

Last month, the genius that is Area Orion brought us Bodybuilding Barbie. [She] is your dream girl come to life, the copy tells us. And funnily enough, one of the very first comments I read about Bodybuilding Barbie was this: She looks like Aleesha Young.

Aleesha (no surname necessary), a female muscle fantasy made flesh. A huge, muscle-curvy physique and huge you-know-whats. Ridiculously huge, some would say dismissively. Cartoonish even. But while it’s true she may not be every female muscle fan’s idea of a dream girl, there are plenty who would argue that those enhancements compliment her voluptuous muscularity to perfection. Aleesha is nothing short of amazing… the hottest, the strongest, the goddess of female bodybuilding, say the forum posters. [She is} sexier than anyone that’s ever won Ms Olympia… a perfect combination of size, strength and sexuality. Yes, there are plenty to whom Aleesha really is the living embodiment of their ultimate female muscle fantasy.

And it’s not just what Aleesha looks like, but also what she does with all that incredible muscle that brings her so much love, her skills making her probably the most “giffed” female bodybuilder ever – her jaw-dropping pec bounce in particular. FMS can exclusively report that studies undertaken by Femuscle Stat International (an organisation set up and funded by our old friend Professor Philpott Pennypacker) reveal that Aleesha has the pec bounce with the greatest vertical lift of all.

More seriously, and though we are by no means immune to Aleesha’s obvious charms, if we only thought of her as the pec-bouncing fantasy, we could have put her on any of our previous Women of the Year lists. This year, however, we couldn’t possibly have compiled one without Aleesha. In 2014, she returned to competition after a three-year break, looking to improve on her poor record at national-level contests. She had always had, in the words of Steve Wennerstrom, a gifted genetic structure and muscle shapes that even a casual observer could see was carrying scary potential. What was missing was the conditioning. But that changed at the NPC USAs in Las Vegas in July. The Heavyweight and Overall titles and the pro card were hers from the moment she walked on. She didn’t win. She owned the show. Completely.

What caused this massive improvement in her conditioning? Well, given that so much about Aleesha is unnatural – whether genetically or cosmetically so – it’s perhaps good to hear that what did it was cardio, that most traditional means of stripping the bodyfat and revealing the muscle. Then again, doing two and a half hours of it seven days a week throughout her contest prep perhaps isn’t so much traditional as super-human. But now she’s nailed it once, why shouldn’t she nail it again and again and again? She’s now a pro, and at 29 a relatively young pro, who has so many genetic gifts and the will to do two and a half hours of cardio a day to bring those gifts to the fore… Truly the mind boggles at the female muscle fantasy Aleesha might yet become.

Juliana Malacarne: Campeã

She was the star (male or female) of the Olympia this year. Commentators marvelled at her “flawless symmetry and balance”, and her “pleasing muscle shapes in every bodypart”. She was “full, balanced, and perfectly conditioned” and her showdown with 2013 champ Dana Linn Bailey was much-anticipated. With the result in doubt to the very end, it was also genuinely exciting. Close, but the right woman won. As one report put it, “Even the most diehard DLB fans had to admit that Malacarne was the right choice for first place.” Seven years ago I came to the USA with $3,000, a pro card, and a dream. Today, that dream came true, said an emotional post-win Juliana.

Images of Juliana’s triumph are among the most memorable not just of the Olympia, but of the whole year, a selection of which we have here, above and below.

She was deemed too muscular to be a Figure competitor, her low-point probably came at the 2006 Sacramento Pro when she finished tied in 20th. As recently as 2010 (her last in Figure) she was placing 16th at the New York Pro. The years she spent in the Figure division after turning pro tested her resilience and perseverance beyond the tolerance of the average competitor, says Steve Wennerstrom. Then again, he adds, Juliana Malacarne is not your average athlete. A lesser competitor would have drifted away from the competitive stage. Not Malacarne. How times (and fortune) have changed for Juliana! Since Physique was introduced in 2012, she has only failed to win one contest she has entered. And this year, as well as the Olympia title, she won the Europa Pro show in Dallas and – for the 3rd consecutive year – the New York Pro.

So, given her contest record in 2014, we thought we should go beyond the more common adjectives Juliana’s admirers use on the general bodybuilding and femuscle fan forums, as well as on Juliana’s Instagram/Twitter etc. Of course we agree that she’s ‘beautiful’, ‘sexy’, ‘amazing’, ‘perfect’, ‘classy’. All good words, but we’d suggest the best description of Juliana in 2014 would be ‘champion’, or as she might say, campeã.

And though her dream has come true, Juliana is by no means finished. She is already in preparation for the first ever Women’s Physique contest at the Arnold Classic next March, and you wouldn’t bet against her. In a division packed with beautiful muscular women, Juliana Malacarne is now the muscle beauty to beat.

FMS Loves Lisa Cross

You really haven’t been paying attention if you’re a regular reader and you’re in any doubt about how FMS feels about the National Treasure that is Lisa Cross. We got so excited last year when Lisa returned to competition that we devoted a whole week to the divine Ms Cross, and consequently we were utterly incredulous when you voted her as only the 35th hottest hard woman on the planet in February. 35th?!

We’ve waxed lyrical about Lisa in the past, then. So what more can we add? Well, with the vast majority of magnificent women we have written about, no doubt we’d be lost for new words. But not with this endlessly fascinating woman. Not with Lisa.

We’ve already talked about that lush body of hers. We’ve told you about her journey from anorexic to muscle goddess, of her contest highs and lows, and of Lisa the purveyor of Hot Muscle Packed Raw Power. We’ve also, hopefully, given readers an insight into Lisa’s mind. It’s a mind that is fluent in Russian, French and Japanese as well as in her mother tongue. It’s a mind broadened by travel and higher education. It’s the mind of an author, a businesswoman, a sexual mind, a creative mind. And, we might humbly add, Lisa revealed this year that it’s a mind into whose consciousness our little blog has entered. *SWOON* The mind of a truly liberated woman.

In 2014, Lisa has published her first book, gained her pro card, continued to purvey her Hot Muscle Packed Raw Power, competed in her first pro show, continued to travel the world, and, most recently, finished constructing a new gym cum studio on her property in order to take her fans (and herself) to new levels of interactive delight.

Albert Camus, who, like Lisa, combined both literary and sporting achievements, once said that The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. I’d like to think Lisa would agree it is an apt description of her approach to life, and it also serves to pretty much summarise what FMS most admires about her. And the fact that Lisa could read Camus in the original French, well, I’m not ashamed to confess to you that that thought turns me on about as much one of her members’ clips does, and even more so if she were reading it personally to me, in the original French, all bronzed, naked, oiled, and flexing…

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet: The Queen (and Face) of Crossfit

For the first time, a non-bodybuilder is one of our Women of the Year, so those who think I am breaking some kind of unwritten code by including a Crossfitter should probably just scroll on. She is Canada’s Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, and this year she earned the right to call herself “The Fittest Woman on Earth” at the CrossFit Games.

Actually, Camille didn’t so much win the CrossFit Games as dominate it from qualifying to finish. She had been the number 1 ranked athlete after the open, and went on to win, again, in number 1 ranked style, the Canada East Regional. At the Games, despite a late rally by Iceland’s Annie Thorisdottir, the result was never really in doubt.

As one commentator has noted, There aren’t many of either gender who could even survive the CrossFit Games, never mind excel, so for Camille to be its champion would be reason enough to include her on our list. However, more than her triumph, it’s the effect of Camille’s success on the women of the world that makes her so important.

The seemingly inexorable rise of CrossFit continues, and, for those of us who dream of a world with more female muscle in it, that can only be a good thing. Whether we FBB fans like it or not, CrossFitters really do inspire the women that bodybuilders don’t reach, and Camille is inspiring many many more than her peers. In the words of CrossFit magazine The Box, she is the Face of Fitness — an athlete with stunning looks and elite-level status. And even before her victory at the Games this year, The Box were advising CrossFit affiliates that all they needed to do to seal the deal with potential female members was to put up posters of Camille all over their gyms.

It’s understandable advice. Who wouldn’t want to look like Camille? She may only be one of many many factors turning women off the skinny ideal and encouraging them to lift weights and get strong, but it’s undeniable that she is a very very important one.

The Talented Ms Ripped: Alana Shipp

I’d like to be able to say that the catchy moniker above is my own invention, but in truth it comes from an article in The Times of Israel that was published just over two years ago. At the time, Jerusalem-resident Alana was being congratulated on her 3rd place finish at the NAC Universe in the Ms Physique (ie. bodybuilding) category. At the time, “The Talented Ms Ripped” had only been training for a year and a half, and her only previous contest experience had been her win in the Ms Fitness category at the NAC Ms Israel earlier in 2012. At the time she said, I am so overwhelmed by the success I’ve achieved in bodybuilding in such a short amount of time.

Imagine how she feels now. 2013 saw her win Lightweight and Overall titles at the NPC New York Metropolitan, then she went on to win the Middleweight class at the NPC USAs. A new pro for 2014, she finished 2nd in her first contest (the IFBB Toronto Pro), 5th in her second (Omaha, the following week). With two of the four qualifying events still to go, Alana had already qualified for the Ms Olympia, and there, in perhaps what is her most impressive achievement so far, she finished 4th on her Olympia debut.

To put Alana’s year in a little context, of this year’s Ms Olympia top 6, only Debi Laszewski (3rd in 2009), and Iris Kyle (in 1999) can better or match Shipp’s debut placing. Of her fellow pro card winners in 2013 (at the NPC Nationals/USAs etc.), only FMS fave Margie Martin (6th in Toronto, 2nd in Omaha, 10th at the Olympia) has enjoyed a debut season worthy of mention in the same paragraph as Alana’s.

And it’s even more amazing when you consider that Alana had no sporting background whatsoever. I’ve never been very athletic, she says. In fact, I’ve always been awkward when it comes to sports. After having her two children, she entered her 30s overweight and, in her own words, “frustrated” at her own appearance. She decided to do something about it and took up weight training. I developed a love for the gym, she says. It felt like a home away from home. I began developing my body way beyond my expectations: the better I looked, the better I wanted to look.

From being overweight and working out for the first time to the Ms Olympia in three and a half years. From Ms Fitness Israel to the first callout at the Ms Olympia in two. No doubt she hasn’t had time to reflect on what she accomplished yet, noted Steve Wennerstrom immediately after the event, but it’s pretty heavy stuff in this day and age of long journeys to the Olympia by way of women’s bodybuilding.

Danielle Reardon: Monstar, Inc.

At the St. Louis Pro show, Danielle Reardon‘s first show this year, Tanya Hyde grabbed her for a pre-contest interview at the end of which, Tanya invites the beautiful and beautifully-tanned Dani to show her (and us) what she’s shortly going to be bringing to the stage. With very fake and very cute coyness, Dani unzips her tracksuit top. Then she lifts her vest… The perfect, and I mean perfect, abs (abs that Dani understandably is obviously gagging to show off) thrilled female muscle fans all over world, provided me with one of my highlights of 2014, and gave us all (courtesy of the genius of Muscular Girls in Motion) what I reckon is the Gif of the Year.

When she did take the stage she was glorious. She ended up in 2nd place, too ripped to win over the judges perhaps, but plenty ripped enough to win the collective heart of the female muscle lovin’ brethren. From St. Louis on, through the shows in Orlando, Omaha, and lastly, Tampa, Danielle was the fans’ favourite every time – though only her Best Poser Award (in Tampa), rather than her placings, would reflect that.

So popular has Dani become that in the last couple of days she has even nicked Juliana Malacerne‘s title of Physique Goddess of the Year, winning by a country mile, on the influential fan forum whose first rule is you do not talk about it.

Speaking of things you don’t talk about, we won’t revisit Dani’s brush with the law in September, except to say that it doesn’t seem to have done her any harm at all, especially if you bear the old adage that ‘no publicity is bad publicity’ in mind. Her star has continued its steady rise since then. The infamous boyfriend incident has, if anything, made her even more in demand for guest posing slots. Her clothing line – launched this year – seems to be doing well. Her new workout videos with Shannon Courtney are the hottest watch around right now, and you can even watch Dani cooking in the first of what is planned to be a series of “Lil Cooking Monstar” episodes.

Watch Dani cooking? I’d watch Dani watch paint dry. I think we all would.

Your Women of the Year? Same? Different?
Please comment below or email 6ft1swell@gmail.com

Merry Christmas!

IT’S CHRISTMAS!!!

OK, OK, not the most original joke, but anyway…

Here are some real Christmas female muscle treats…

Well, if only this had been posted a few days earlier, I’m sure a lot of wives and girlfriends would have found themselves with a pair of bling dumbbells like VeVe’s under the Christmas tree. I know mine would! There’s always next year…

A very Merry Christmas to all you lovely readers

Winners of 2014: Part Two

WBPF International Austrian Championships (Bodybuilding)
OANA HREAPCA

Her absness cropped up this year at the World Bodybuilding & Physique Sports Federation’s Austrian Championships and (I think) found herself in a field of one. However, she didn’t seem to mind and looked as thick and gorgeous as ever.

Watch a man who can’t help himself

NPC North Carolina State (Class B & Overall Physique)
IFBB North American Championships (Class B Open & Over 35 Masters Physique)
GILLIAN WARD

Former gymnast, dancer and martial artist Gillian Ward has had quite a first year as a Physique competitor. I am intensely driven and truly believe that I am capable of anything that I put my mind to, she says. Well, believe! She won her first ever contest in April, and by the end of August had won open and over 35 classes at the North Americans and was promptly awarded her pro card. I know nothing other than being strong, says Gillian, in reference to her athletic achievements both past and present. I very much enjoy it. Being strong makes me feel capable and empowered.

Watch Gillian’s gymnastic fantastic routine

IFBB Brazilian Championships (Bodybuilding)
IFBB South American Championships (Bodybuilding)
SELMA LABAT

The next Brazilian female muscle sensation off the rank, Selma Labat also graduated to the pros in 2014. We haven’t been able to find too many images of Selma’s triumphs, but we have managed to find her routine from the Brazilian Championships.

Follow this glorious woman on Facebook

NAC Universe (Physique)
MONIA GIOIOSA

Isn’t it good to know that somewhere there’s a federation where hardcore female muscle is still appreciated? The NAC judges its “Physique” women on muscular development, muscular proportions, symmetry of development, and muscular definition, allowing the biggest hardest woman to win every time. Monia Gioiosa was that big hard woman in 2011 and 2012, and won for the third time this year.

Watch Monia’s surprisingly (?) graceful winning routine

IFBB North American Championships (Class D Over 35 Physique)
TWANA BARNETT-FERGUSON

She’s a loving wife, a Krav Maga expert, a rare beauty and now an IFBB Physique pro. Twana caught our attention earlier in the year and has held it tight ever since. Has there been a woman in 2014 who has enjoyed her stage experience more than TBF?

Marvel at her muscular beauty on Instagram

IFBB Tampa Pro (Bodybuilding)
SHEILA BLECK

She’d been MIA since 2012, so it was great to see the legendary Sheila Bleck return to competition in 2014, bringing her trademarks – incredible conditioning and the captivating artistry of her posing – back with her. She won the Tampa Pro and consequently qualified for her fourth Ms Olympia, where she finished 7th.

Watch Sheila’s post-win interview

Enjoy!

Winners of 2014: Part One

Our look back at the year gone by begins with a celebration of some of the women who have fulfilled the dreams for which they have sacrificed so much and worked so hard.

IFBB Omaha Pro (Bodybuilding)
ANNE FREITAS

Her best year yet, 2014 saw Rio’s freakiest Anne Freitas become the first winner of this event and then go on to her best placing at the Ms Olympia to date. She is a veritable powder keg of muscle, gushed Steve Wennerstrom in his contest report, the title of which refers to Anne as “The Brazilian Anatomy Chart”. Two other South Americans won pro events before the Ms Olympia, but Anne remains the heir to Yaxeni’s crown as the premier female bodybuilder from that continent.

Watch Anne’s post-win interview with RxMuscle

WABBA Universe (Bodybuilding)
SILVIA MATTA

Silvia’s big, curvy muscles counted against her at the NABBA Worlds in June, where she was deemed far too bodybuilder-y for the Trained Figure class and placed 5th. But those same muscular curves were the very reason the WABBA judges awarded her the Ms Universe title in Helsinki last month. What a difference a consonant makes!

Watch Silvia’s ridiculously muscle sexy WABBA Universe routine

Ronnie Coleman Classic (Class A & Overall Figure)
NPC Nationals (Class C Figure)
TINA NGUYEN

Personally, I’d rather see one of Tina’s own selfies (you know, one of those where’s she’s packed into a tight dress, or one where she’s showing off her table top glutes in a thong, perhaps) than a dozen shots of her on stage, but my love for her selfies should by no means distract us from her competitive achievements in 2014. She boasts a 2 for 2 contest record this year. And while she didn’t win the Overall title at the NPC Nationals (bottom four pics), she did win her class, which means Tina’s an IFBB Figure pro now.

Fall in love with the Tina selfie on her Instagram

NPC Nationals (Light-Heavyweight Bodybuilding)
MIAVA NELSON

Miava Nelson is a personal trainer from Atlantic City and a former winner of Muscle Beach and New Jersey State championships. Like Tina Nguyen, “Miss Miava” won her class at the Nationals and with it her pro card. Before anything I am a lady, she says. Whether I have baby muscle or mega muscle I am a lady. Strong is sexy.

Watch Tracy Hess‘ interview with Miava from back in March this year

CBBF Canadian Bodybuilding Championships (Heavyweight Bodybuilding)
ROBIN HILLIS

Massive Attack! There may only have been three competitors in the Heavyweight class at the Canadian Nationals, but when those three are Robin “Triple Dee” Hillis, Caissie Liberatore and Michelle E. Russell, I think you will agree that as three-women fields go, this was one of the best (and biggest). Good to see that size (still) matters in Canada, and Robin was a worthy winner. Bodybuilding is bodybuilding. Male or female. It should be the same, she says. The complete package should win. On this occasion, it most certainly did. At 43, Ontario’s most muscular is finally a pro.

Marvel at her size and cuts on her Instagram

NABBA Universe (Trained Figure Class II & Overall)
DORA RODRIGUES

And we finish today’s post back in Brazil via Southport in late October, when Anne Freitas‘ fellow Probiotica athete, Dora Rodrigues, won her second Overall NABBA Ms Universe Figure title five years after her first. Now 33, Dora says she’s been training for 19 years, and looking at her finely honed champion body, I believe her. Sadly, there are precious few pictures of the event, but at least (as always with the big NABBA shows) we have Dora in motion, which I’m sure is no small consolation.

Explore Dora’s website

Six more winners in Part Two tomorrow…

FBBUK: Rebecca Maughan, All Smiles

Normally, I put the clip at the end. But not today.

Watch this…

Now, if that didn’t get your female muscle lovin’ juices flowin’, you should really get yourself some medical attention because, mate, you are dead below the waist.

Rebecca Maughan. Previously on FMS in June. Just a couple of paragraphs. We tell you she’s from Hull, she was NABBA Miss Britain (Toned Figure) in 2013. She’s “very beautiful”, we say. And we predict we’ll be seeing her again. We were not wrong.

Admittedly we don’t know much more about Rebecca now but we have learned a little. That 2013 NABBA Britain win, for example, came, we now know, in her very first year of competition. 2014 has been her second, then. We’ve learned she’s got a bit of a thing for baseball caps. Not the sort that fit snugly around the top of your head. Rebecca likes a high crown, as I believe they are called. We’ve found out her supplements are provided by PhD Nutrition, and that her favourite body part to train is her glutes.

So now we can give you Rebecca’s entire contest history.

Year 1: 2013
NABBA North-East, Toned Figure, 2nd
NABBA Britain, Toned Figure, 1st
NABBA Universe, Toned Figure, 6th

Year 2: 2014
NABBA Britain, Toned Figure, 2nd
NABBA Worlds, Toned Figure, 4th
NABBA Universe, Toned Figure, no placing
NABBA UK, Athletic Figure, 1st

Notice the last contest. The new category. More muscle than Toned Figure.

2011. Rebecca is preparing to go to Ibiza. I really wanted to get toned to look good for the holiday, she says. 2012. Rebecca continues training. Well and truly bitten by the workout bug. 2013. Competition. Rebecca grows, Rebecca tones. Rebecca goes through contest prep three times. She finds she enjoys competing. She can’t stop smiling after she comes off stage. 2014. More muscle. She preps for the NABBA Universe with Sarah Hallett. Results are not so good in terms of placings. Her body has outgrown the category she started in, and she decided to give the new ‘Athletic Figure’ a try. By the end of the year she’s NABBA Miss UK.

And she can’t stop smiling…

With her looks, sponsors are queuing up. PhD Nutrition we’ve mentioned. But she’s also got a blog for Monster Supplements as a “Fitness Guru”. She also has a blog on Fresh Food Guru. Previously on FMS we reported her dream was to become a professional fitness model. Looks like it’s coming true. Another reason why she’s smiling, perhaps?

Rebecca says: I’ve always said if I can inspire 1 person to live a healthier life by exercising & eating healthy to achieve a toned figure then my job’s done. I would like to think I have helped some girls lift weights and put an end to endless cardio.

Check her Instagram, check her Facebook. Check the comments. Ignore the ones posted by guys like you and me. Don’t you agree that Rebecca has inspired considerably more than 1 person? She probably inspires five a day. Job done.

More smiles.

But most of all, FMS gets the impression that Rebecca is smiling because she’s gaining muscle. And she likes it. Loves it. Loves the body she is building, the progress she’s making. The muscle that’s growing, Check her Instagram again if you must. Check her Facebook. Go back to the beginning and watch her progress chronologically. Is it just me or is the smile getting wider and wider as she grows and grows?

2015. Year 3 in Rebecca Maughan‘s competitive career. In the first two she’s already outgrown one category and moved up to the next – and the move led to an instant success. By the end of next year I wouldn’t be surprised if I was talking about Rebecca Maughan, Trained Figure competitor. And her smile (along with her legs, her arms, her shoulders, her back…) will be even wider than now.

Today my journey for 2015 begins.
I will work 100 per cent 365 after yesterday’s win.
I will stay hungry!
Rebecca Maughan, after her 2014 NABBA UK win

Normally, I finish up my posts by encouraging you to ‘Enjoy!’. Not today.

Today I’m going to tell you how much I enjoy putting these posts together.

Researching these amazing women is a consistently rewarding experience. Finding out about the women, looking beyond their magnificent physiques and into their lives only increases my admiration and respect for them, one and all. But the more remarkable the woman, the more enjoyable it is to compile the post. Some posts are more of a pleasure to put together than others. Today’s has been one of them. In fact, I’d say that this one of the three or four most enjoyable experiences of all.

I know you’ll remember her body. I know you’ll remember her smile.

Well, research her for yourself if you are not convinced, but I’m telling you, this is one very very special young woman. Remember the name. Rebecca Maughan.

[Well, we’ve only been back for a couple of weeks but it’s time for our Christmas break. Don’t worry, there will be posts, but instead of daily posts there will be ‘Year in Review’ type stuff – Winners of 2014; our end-of-year selection of images from 2014, and our fourth annual selection of our six Women of the Year. So stay tuned. Daily posts will return in early January. Have a lovely holiday season. 6ft1Swell]

FBBUK: The Fit Writer

OK, let’s start with a question.

Can you name Britain’s one reigning World Champion female bodybuilder?

Didn’t think so.

Until a couple of weeks ago, I wouldn’t have known the answer to the question either. Wouldn’t have known that Britain even had a female World Champion. But we do.

It’s time we met her. Say hello to Nicola Joyce, World Champion.

The fact that Nicola is a World Champion yet remains unknown even to fans of female muscle is easily explained. You see, she’s a natural bodybuilder, competing in natural shows and let’s face it, these natural shows and natural women get only a fraction of the attention that non-natural contests attract – unless, of course, Jodie Marsh is competing, in which case they are on TV and all over the print media!

Actually, Nicola is not just a World Champion, she’s a two-time World Champion, having recently retained the title she first won last year in Boston in November.

She is also a distance runner, an international triathlete, and an open water swimmer with a string of achievements – for example, she’s swum up Lake Windermere, swum round the island of Jersey, and swum across the English Channel – twice.

But it’s what’s going on between Nicola’s ears that has really got my attention.

Despite her physical prowess, I found out about Nicola via her blog.

“The Fit Writer”, as she calls it, has reports of her runs, her triathlons, her open water swims, and her bodybuilding contests. It has fitness-related product reviews, and advice for bodybuilding competitors (both male and female). But of most interest to me, and I’m guessing to you too, dear reader, is the insight it provides into her own daily bodybuilding life. If you want to know how crazy a female bodybuilder can go when she’s prepping for a contest, her blog will tell you. Ever dreamed of dating a female bodybuilder? Nicola will tell you what you’d be letting yourself in for. Know a female bodybuilder and want to say the right things? Check with Nicola.

But it’s not just the content of the blog that I like. Nicola writes with some style.

Here she is at the UKDFBA this year. The winner will get a WNBF pro card…

I’ve either won it or… I haven’t, frankly. One matters, one doesn’t matter. That’s how I see it. One is a win, the other is not a win.

The head judge was saying that it was incredibly close… that, in fact, it was a tie-break. We were tied for first place, and the result of the tie-break is…

“In second place…”

Me.

Sigh.

OK. Smile, smile, don’t cry, look up, smile, walk forward, shake the winner’s hand, stand there and smile.

The winner was then called forward, and offered WNBF Pro status.

My emotions have been up, down and all over the place since. At the time I felt absolutely gutted and disappointed, but not so bad. I felt happy, in that I knew I was my best ever (so far!), very happy personally in how I looked and how I’d posed, etc. Happy that I’d improved a placing in a year (I was 3rd at UKDFBA last year) and happy (although it’s a bitter happiness!!) that it was so close. You can’t ask for much more (other than winning, obviously) than being in a tie break situation.

But I have also gone through a slew of negative emotions: sadness, disappointment, feeling absolutely gutted, and (if I’m honest), angry. I’m not sure at what. Myself, I think. Angry that I didn’t get on stage absolutely dominant, that I left it up to the judges to make the decision, that I didn’t step up there and make their job easier for them. I won’t be making the same mistake again. Believe me, there’s nothing like losing something so important to you on a tie-break decision to focus the mind.

A compelling read, don’t you think?

Unsurprisingly, given her ability to tell a story and her all round way with words, Nicola earns her corn as a freelance Sport and Fitness Writer and Fitness Copywriter. One who just happens to be a runner, a triathlete, an open water swimmer, and, er…
Oh yeah, I almost forgot! A two-time natural bodybuilding World Champion.

Please enjoy Nicola’s blog responsibly!

FBBUK@ NABBA Universe 2014

On October 26th the oldest bodybuilding show of them all, the NABBA Universe, took place at its long-time home of Southport on Merseyside. Since 1966, a Ms Universe has been crowned – 48 consecutive years by my reckoning – and Ms Universe 2014 was Brazil’s Dora Rodrigues. But, as always, there was a large contingent of fine British female physiques in the three “Figure” classes, doing their thing in their thongs.

TONED FIGURE

In recent years, this class has been the one where British women have enjoyed the most success, and this show was no exception, with Brits first and second.

You have to think that sooner or later that former UKBFF British Bikini champ Kelsey Yung (aka “TinkerKel”) will walk off with the winner’s trophy. She finished second (to the gorgeous Nicola Bentham) at the 2013 Universe, and also finished second (to Brazil’s Caroline Crozeta) at this year’s NABBA Worlds in Belfast in June. And here, once again, Barrow-in-Furness’ finest had to settle for second place, though the fact that she is the reigning NABBA Ms Britain is probably some consolation.

Beating Kelsey on this occasion was 26-year-old Charlotte MacGill from Bolton in Lancashire. Charlotte works (all these NABBA women are amateurs remember) as a sports rehab physio. It was only when she got her current job that she began training, inspired and encouraged by her bodybuilding boss, Stuart Cosgrove. He got me interested in weight training, she told a local newspaper after her win. I started to notice the changes in my body and went from there.

Within a year she had won the NABBA North-West show, and now has her first international title. Competing in international competitions is very rewarding and a lot of fun, she says. Especially so when you leave as the champ, I imagine!

TRAINED FIGURE II (short)

This class was packed with quality. This year’s and last year’s Overall Ms Universe winners (Dora Rodrigues and Italian NABBA veteran Flora Conte), the reigning NABBA Ms World (Auren Malvestiti of Brazil) and FMS fave Cinara Polido (with her involuntarily twitching glutes) made up the top four. However, two British women muscled their way into the placings, finishing in the same order as they had done at the NABBA Britain five months previously.

Corinne Ingman from Harlow in Essex was awarded 6th place. She’s a British powerlifting champion, a NABBA Figure competitor, and for her next trick she fancies taking on the UKBFF Physique class and gaining her pro card, apparently. Given the current trend towards muscularity in that class, she looks as if she has a great chance of making her mark there, which is slightly ironic when you learn that officials from the UKBFF once told her she was “too muscular” to be a Physique competitor!

I think Corinne looks like the kind of woman who’s prepared to strip down to the bare minimum and give everyone in the gym a good gander at her progress anytime she’s feeling nice and pumped. In other words, she looks like FMS‘ kind of woman. One to watch for sure – and you can do so via her (regularly updated) Instagram.

Sadly, there’s no video we can find of Corinne at the NABBA Universe, but we did find a clip of her routine at the NABBA Britain in May. So why not?

But we had the opposite problem for the woman who beat Corinne to the NABBA Britain title and finished one place above her again here. Despite an exhaustive search, we failed to turn up a single new picture of NABBA favourite Kay Goodwin that didn’t have a big bad watermark on it – though we did find video (see below). You may remember Kay from previous posts, when, among other things, we reported that she had moved category from Toned to Trained Figure this year.

Success has followed. In 2014 she won her first (regional) show in the class, took the Ms Britain title, and has finished as top Brit at both the NABBA Worlds and now the NABBA Universe. Guess more muscle suits her! I first caught the “bodybuilding bug” after going to see a friend compete in a show, Kay says. Seeing all the girls on stage, all glammed up looking fabulous and the physiques on display was inspiring and got me thinking “could I really do that?” Turns out she could. She really really could.

TRAINED FIGURE I (tall)

Northern Ireland’s positively Amazonian Linda Cassidy finished 5th in the taller of the two Trained Figure classes, and I can pretty much guarantee that though her routine (as with all NABBA routines) is over too quickly for my liking, you will not forget it once you’ve seen it. Linda is a personal trainer at The Columbia Gym in Banbridge, County Down, who specialises in “high risk” clients – ones who have been referred to the gym via their GP, that is. Seems to me having Linda put you through your paces would be pretty “high risk” to most male heart rates…

And finally, the familiar face of Wales’ most muscular female firefighter, Sarah Hallett, who placed 3rd, higher than any other British Trained Figure competitor.

She says she’s gone through some “big life changes this year”, but the package she brought to the Universe stage was just as hard and vascular as she always seems to be. Readers may be familiar with her work for Fit Vids, and I can assure you that if you do decide to put your hand in your pocket and fork out for the whole video set, you will be treated to some of the most insane vascularity you have ever seen. Highlights include the cameraman’s audible gasp as Sarah flexes her abs, and a seemingly never-ending set of bicep curls that leaves her entire upper body covered in pumping cord-like veins. Seriously, buy it (he said, shamelessly angling for a free Fit Vids pass!!!)

Sarah’s on Instagram

Congratulations to all the UK’s NABBA Universe women, whether they’ve made it into the post or not. We’ll be meeting one more on Friday, but in the meantime, enjoy!

FBBUK: Rene Goes Public (FMS Stays Private)

When was the last time female muscle fans were in the mainstream media?

As far as the UK is concerned, the last time I can recall was the rather infamous segment of Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends when the eponymous presenter meets a few at the Jan Tana, as well as Maria Calo and her (then?) husband.

Since then, Brian Eno has said he likes a muscular woman (see FMS passim), but I really can’t remember another instance – and please to tell me if I’m wrong – where us fans of female bodybuilding have been given either airtime or column inches.

But a couple of weeks ago, FBB fans found themselves in the very mainstream UK magazine Closer as part of a story about the ever-beautiful Rene Campbell.

Strangers love my muscles and beg me to marry them! it reads on the front cover.

Inside, under the headline: Bodybuilding Mum: “Men think my muscles are sexy – strangers ask to marry me!”, we learn that Bigorexic Rene Campbell says she gets more attention from men as a bodybuilder than when she was a petite size eight.

There’s Rene, NUDE! And only her tastefully positioned legs and well-placed arm preventing that week’s Closer from having to be displayed on the topmost shelf.

Her muscles, the story continues, have made her an unlikely sex symbol with thousands of men viewing her pictures online everyday. Well, OK. I, and I dare say you, dear reader, may have been guilty of a bit of that. But there’s more…

Rene, 37, has had more than 10 marriage proposals from strangers and last Valentine’s Day received several bouquets of flowers from secret admirers. “Men tell me I’m sexy and I’ve had marriage proposals from guys all over the world.”

Really?

I’ve been writing this blog a while now, and as a result I’ve had the pleasure of contact with a number of fellow female muscle fans from both the UK and elsewhere. Now, I wouldn’t say that all of them are exactly what you’d call “normal” (who among us is?) but they are most certainly not in the business of asking Rene Campbell – or any of their favourite female bodybuilders for that matter – to marry them.

So, who the hell are these guys, these poor souls who, without any hint of irony, write forum posts like ‘If only Aleesha Young were single…’? Who are they and why do they get all the attention? Why isn’t Closer writing about professional men in their late 30s, not at all the kind of timid, skinny live-with-mother types some would paint all female muscle fans as. They’re moderately successful, they’re property-owning, educated, eloquent guys who just happen to have a thing for muscular women…

Well, I have a confession to make.

I had the opportunity to talk to a journalist from Closer and I didn’t take it.

Now, unlike the marry-me-Rene brigade, I am not deluded – well, not as deluded at least. I’m not saying it would have changed anything about the Rene story, nor that Closer would have been interested in what I have to say and published ‘my’ story instead or as well as Rene’s. If I’d made out I was a proposal maker or bouquet sender then maybe – maybe – I’d have had a little quote in there somewhere.

In fact, I procrastinated for some time after I was contacted (not by the magazine, note, but by an intermediary), and let the moment pass. Now I somewhat regret that the opportunity to represent the silent majority of female muscle fans, to paint an alternative picture of us, has gone, but, though tempted, being the spokesperson for the entire female muscle lovin’ brethren is not something I would want to be.

But anyway, about Rene.

Seems she’s on a bit of a publicity mission. Not only has she got her name (and naked body, remember) in mainstream print, but she also made an appearance, in late November, on The X-Factor (about as mainstream and prime time a TV show as you are ever going to get) as part of a backing act for one of the performances.

And Rene has starred in a music video as well. I mean, really starred.

The Closer story then (new pictures of Rene and bonus clip of her working out all pumped up aside), not really worth the read. The X-Factor appearance (aside from Rene’s own Facebook pictures of the day), not really worth bothering with.

But the music video, which was directed by Jack Newman for Bullion Productions, is definitely worth four minutes and twenty-four seconds of your time.

Oh, what a surprise – I recommended by far the least mainstream thing!

This is 6ft1swell, for FMS, staying well out of the limelight…

FBBUK: Exciting Times with Laura Madge

It seems to me, having done my research (of course), that there is a wave of new young British female muscle talent on the cusp of international success. Yesterday, for example, we highlighted the prodigious achievements of our 23-year-old Fitness champ Emma Paveley. Readers will already be familiar with the likes of Ria Ward and Hayley Brylewski, who have already competed in the US, and Georgina McConnell, who will surely be doing the same before long. And later in the week we will be meeting an emerging talent competing in the world of NABBA.

Exciting times.

Laura Madge is another of these emerging talents. As gorgeous and muscular as any of the women in this British new wave, it could be argued that Laura is, perhaps, our most exciting prospect of all, simply because she has, uniquely among her peers, already won an international amateur competition and achieved professional status.

Her win came in Las Vegas this August at the WBFF Worlds. Laura was crowned Diva Figure Model, achieving pro status in only her second year of competition.

True, the WBFF (World Beauty Fitness & Fashion Inc.) isn’t exactly the IFBB, but all the same, she’s now entitled to go sparkly bikini to sparkly bikini with some high calibre physiques. Emily Stirling, Anne-Marie Lassere and Louise van der Nat are all top WBFF Pro Figure competitors, as is Northern Ireland’s finest, Leslie-Ann Armstrong, who became a pro after having finished runner-up to Laura in Las Vegas.

For Laura to have gone from winning her very first show as a Bodyfitness competitor – a regional UKBFF national qualifier – to winning her pro card in a touch over twelve months is impressive stuff. I am so proud of what I have achieved in a short space of time, says Laura. And FMS, at least, thinks she damn well should be.

Her success is no doubt partly down to the fact that from the age of 5 to the age of 23, when an injury ended her career, Laura was a gymnast. Her professional and personal alliance with her fiancé Scott Leeson, himself a successful WBFF Pro, and the man who has been her coach since the beginning of her muscle journey has also been crucial – and at this point I should warn fragile egos who are going to get depressed when they see the body of the man who snags a woman like Laura that Mr Leeson features prominently (and always shirtless) on her Facebook and Instagram.

Sport and training have always been a massive part of my life since such an early age, she says, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a lifestyle. And you wouldn’t bet against Laura’s relentless energy and competitive nature taking her to the very top of the WBFF very very soon. [I’m] Already so excited about competing at the WBFF Worlds Pro Figure next year, already working hard on my weaknesses.

So I guess this is where I have to admit that the aforementioned Mr Leeson is probably a better trainer than I could ever be, because when I look at Laura, I’m afraid I don’t see any “weaknesses” at all. And by the way, he’s also a photographer, so he gets to snap his soon-to-be missus in lingerie in their down time, don’t you just hate him?!

And we leave you today with Laura’s trailer for her work with FitVids.

Enjoy! And remember no fragile egos on her Facebook or Instagram!