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

Women of the Year

In 2011, it was Kashma Maharaj, Fabiola Boulanger, Ginger Martin, Cinderella Landolt, Penpraghai Tiangngok and Katka Kyptova. Last year, FMS selected Sarah Hayes, Holland Canter, Helle Nielsen, Andrea Brazier, Gillian Kovack and Tarna Alderman.

It’s that time of year again.

Just to remind you, we are not, in any way, claiming that these are the six biggest or best female bodybuilders in the world today (although on this occasion you will probably agree that one of them is, indeed, the best). Rather we are simply celebrating six of FMS‘ many favourites from the last twelve months.

Why six? Well, six was the number we decided on the first time we did this in 2011, and we chose six because it is the number of finalists in most bodybuilding contests (if there are at least six competitors anyway). They are in no particular order, they are Female Muscle Slave’s Women of the Year 2013

Shannon Courtney: Bodybuilder

FMS has already written plenty about Shannon, devoting a whole week to this incredible young female bodybuilder, just over a month ago. In a nutshell, we wanted to celebrate Shannon’s decision not to switch down to the physique division. It was a decision she made after much umming and ahing over a period of months that had Shannon devotees constantly on the verge of tears (if not hara-kiri) dreading that she would, as threatened, ‘go physique’. Fortunately, this never happened, and in October, on her Facebook page, was the news the world, well, the female muscle lovin’ world at least, had been waiting for: Screw this Physique transformation, she wrote, I Can’t Hide the BODYBUILDER inside. #fbb #forlife Back to real training!

Cue scenes of jubilation the world over, not to mention an impromptu party at the FMS office that only started to fizzle out three days and several arrests later.

It’s a testament to her popularity with the fans that for the first time in a long time Alina Popa has serious competition in the Muscle Goddess of the Year poll on the forum whose first rule is that you do not talk about it. And yet, Shannon didn’t even win the NPC USAs, where she was awarded her pro card. Know who won? Margie something, wasn’t it? Exactly. So what is it Shannon’s got that other recently anointed pros haven’t got? Well, except for the youth, the beauty, that smile, those funky eyebrow raises, hamstrings that make male bodybuilders find a quiet corner and weep a little, a quad sweep that has addresses in two different postcodes, and an upper body known to intimidate bull elephants, what exactly is it that Shannon’s got?

Star quality. The kind of thing you can’t put your finger on but you know when you see it. And that, I reckon is why we fans are getting all excited about Shannon. In her we see media, a woman who can bring female bodybuilding back to the outer fringes of the mainstream. I swear that every time I see a new pic of her I start to hear the Stone Roses’ song ‘This Is The One’ in my head!

However, whether Shannon is ‘The One’ or not is largely irrelevant – to her anyway. Shannon sets herself goals, then goes and achieves them. Her first goal was to find out what division she should compete in. With that sorted (hopefully once and for all) she wanted to get her pro card. Check. What matters to Shannon now is making it to the Olympia (no doubt while it’s still there for female bodybuilders).

Strap yourselves in for Shannon Courtney in 2014.

Sexy Sophie Arvebrink

It was back in February, I think, that I started to suffer from this strange affliction, writes 6ft1swell. I’ve since sought all kinds of cures – from hypnosis to acupuncture, from psychoanalysis to anti-psychotic drugs, and there have been no tangible results. And what exactly is this affliction of which you speak Mr Swell? Well, since I first wrote about sexy Sophie Arvebrink I have been quite unable to type her name without adding that word in front of it. Try as I might not to, my fingers just type it. And I’m beginning to think there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it…

The rest of us at FMS, while sympathising with Swell’s plight, honestly don’t see how it’s that big of a problem. Sophie is, after all, well, you know… sexy. It’s not as if he’s typing some inappropriate adjective. Sexy suits Sophie 100%.

What the rest of us at FMS spend more time worrying about is what exactly it is that Sophie does, because it seems to us that her entire life consists of the gym, taking pictures of herself, posting said pictures, getting a bit of sleep (probably, we can’t confirm this but we seriously doubt anyone can look as fine as Sophie does without a fair bit of shuteye), and, er, that seems to be about it. Occasionally, Sophie posts pictures of herself in her trademark vest and tight tight leggings (naughty naughty thoughts) in some sunny location like the south of Turkey, but even then all she seems to do is work out and take pictures of herself, post those pictures and…

You get the idea. I think there’s only one way to find out. I think we need to send Mr Swell to Stockholm. I think he needs to track Miss Arvebrink down and get to the bottom (right to the tight little bottom) of this question of Sophie’s activities. Perhaps then, and only then, will he be cured.

Sophie says: 1½ years. Strong Is the New Sexy

Meanwhile, we can only go on what her sexiness posts on her Facebook page for clues about her life and her future plans. My motivation? Well. I will never be the biggest girl, or the strongest one. I will probably never be the most ripped one, or some sexy bikini fitness girl. And I don’t feel like competing. All I ever wanted is to be the best version of myself. And that’s plenty enough to motivate me. Now let’s GOOOOO!

OK, Swell. Let’s give it another go. Let’s see if you can type ‘The Self-Motivating Sophie Arvebrink’ as the title of this piece. Go on, give it a go. Oh dear. Better get on that plane to Stockholm. Wait a minute! Why’s he smiling? Get after him and get those tickets cancelled! It was a cunning plan all along!!!

[Swell’s Postcard’s from Stockholm is a new series coming soon on FMS]

Shawna Strong: Shawna 2.0

2013 didn’t begin well for Shawna Pierce. In fact things hadn’t been going well for a couple of years. Tough economic times meant that her personal training clientele had dwindled. I ended up giving up most of my possessions, I lost 2 animals tragically, and my relationship fell apart with my then boyfriend, she says. However, this prompted a change of location, new friends and enrollment on the Dietetics program at Arizona State University. Reinvigorated, she entered the 2011 NPC USAs and made a bid for her pro card, but only managed 9th. I was disappointed yet not totally discouraged, she says. I needed to make changes; to decide to stop competing or push forward and continuing to improve.

To be a bodybuilder has always been Shawna’s dream. All my friends wanted to play house and with dolls and they wanted to be models and I was obsessed with muscles and superheroes. Then I discovered bodybuilders and their ‘superhero presence’ on a cover of a magazine in the grocery store when I was 12 years old. I asked my mom to buy me Muscle & Fitness magazine and she looked at me weird, but after a little begging and pleading she let me buy it. I saw my first heartthrob Arnold Schwarzenegger there… Holy Moly! I was not only hooked on him, but on the sport itself. I hid in my bedroom and read up on nutrition and exercise techniques, and would study the pics & workouts of bodybuilders nearly every day. Before long she was also hooked on Cory Everson’s ESPN workouts, but being a small town girl I didn’t have access to a gym, so I did what I could with my limited weight set at home, and the TV show.

She graduated, joined the military, got married. She met a female bodybuilder at a gym, followed her to a competition and asked to be trained by her. After six months she couldn’t afford her FBB trainer and started a workout program with a friend’s aunt online. By 2003 she had her BSc in Community Health Education, gained her personal trainer qualifications and had entered her first competition. She began working as a personal trainer on her own time, full-time after a move to Arizona in 2006, then independently from 2008.

Fast forward again to the beginning of 2013. I was in a very dark space, she says. And then, I went back to directing my attention on the 1 thing that empowered me the most, bodybuilding. February 20th, 2013 is when I invented Shawna Strong, and my whole life took a 180 degree turn.

I started a new social network, changed my look, started self-promoting and getting into modeling, and set a goal to reach professional status in bodybuilding… this time with my whole heart in it. I achieved just that, the dream person I imagined at age 12. On July 19, 2013 I won my Pro card, and felt the most amazing feeling aside of love that day. Don’t you just LOVE a happy ending?

Quite a story. And quite a woman. I very much doubt her story ends here.

Follow it on her website.

Suzy Kellner: The Joy of Muscle

Looking at the physique of Hungary’s Suzy (Zsuzsanna, ain’t those Zs’s zsexy) Kellner, it’s hard to believe that like Lisa Cross (reported by FMS in October) this zsexational woman is one of those ex-anorexic turned bodybuilding athlete success stories. A body like hers would be achievement enough if she’d been relatively healthy when she started out. The fact that she has built her zspectacular physique out of the body of a chronic anorexic makes her achievement all the more admirable.

Suzy’s condition was once so bad that she had to be hospitalised, and it was at that point that she says she decided to make a change in my life. Starting with capoeira and ‘acrobatics’, she began her journey back to health, but even then when she first entered a gym and started to work out seriously, she weighed in at a mere 39kg (which is a touch over 6st, or just under 86lbs depending on your location).

Maybe this is why Suzy gives off such great vibes when showing herself off, whether it’s on stage or in the many many clips she has made for her own website and others. Not since the days of Dr Dena Westerfield, in my opinion anyway, has a female bodybuilder communicated the joy of being in her own muscular body with such aplomb. She eyes up her own bicep as she flexes it with a killer combination of pride and desire. She flexes her abs and runs her hands over the muscle in the classic ‘washboard’ style, then looks to camera and winks. She finishes a set of shoulder presses and proceeds to check herself out in the mirror with a 1,000 megawatt smile.

Of course, Suzy has been showing us the joy of muscle for a good few years now, so why one of the Women of the Year in 2013? Well, first of all there’s her website, which has really only got up and running in the last few months. There’s also the fact that she competed at the Arnold Amateur in 2013, winning over all and sundry backstage with that body and that smile, and finishing in the top 6 in the taller physique class.

And then there was her work with fitvids this year. Their clips of Suzy working out are probably my pick of the year. In a tiny black vest and the kind of skin tight shorts that don’t so much cover her beautiful muscle bottom as frame it, Suzy is in top condition just after the Arnold. She pumps up her arms, bis and tris, and preens and poses for the camera (and herself) in the mirror. At this point, how the guys in the background attempting to work out while this is going on don’t just all run towards the changing rooms with their hands firmly on their groins I really don’t know. But then, unbelievably, it gets better. Suzy puts her gorgeous, tanned and defined abs through a punishing set, then walks away towards the changing rooms herself. If the sashay she does that ensures everyone in the place is going to notice her glutes doesn’t do it for you, then the fact that just after she’s walked right past the noses of two or three lucky guys she turns back to camera and flexes her upper body before blowing a kiss right at you, the viewer, is bound to. Quite honestly I’m not absolutely sure what happens after that. I think she turns around again and keeps sashaying away from camera as the clip fades out. I’m temporarily blind at that point, you see.

If we had an FMS prize for ‘Performance of the Year in a Gym-Based Clip’, Suzy would be a zshoe-in. Maybe next year… when I’m sure we’ll have witnessed plenty more of this amazing woman’s ability to get across the joy of muscle.

Georgina McConnell: Mission to Hyooooge

How could Georgina not be one of FMS‘ Women of the Year? We’ve written as much about the teenage (not for much longer) sensation from the north-east as about any other woman this year. Back in March we noted her breakout onto the fan forums (Future Star); in July we told of the press she was getting in the British muscle media and her victory at the UKBFF North (Haway the Lass); then in September it was all about Georgina and Me when the planets lined up, a story on Georgina in the British press went global, and Georgina herself name-checked FMS on her Twitter – quite possibly, no, absolutely our finest moment thus far!

Granted, our most recent post concerning Georgina didn’t bring the greatest of news, as FMS reported her disappointment at (what she called) her ‘stupid body’ not exactly showing itself at its best for the day of the UKBFF British Championships. However, even then there was no little optimism from our growin’ lass, as she vowed not be ‘stuck in physique forever’ and instead to focus on getting ‘hyooooge’.

And why wouldn’t she be optimistic? Here she is, ‘three and a bit years’ from her starting point. Imagine the damage she is going to be doing to female bodybuilding stages (if there are any, that is) in another three and a bit!

Even since our last check-up on Georgina, things have moved along. There’s evidence of even more hyoooogeness, and what’s more, Georgina has designed herself a T-shirt – email her on musclesport@ymail.com for more details.

And even better, at least for fans wanting to throw some pennies in Georgina’s direction, she has most recently revealed plans for a bit of camming after Christmas: Gunna be setting some kind of cam up for a bit [of] funding etc and obviously because people have been asking. After Christmas… Would anyone be interested? Funny how the words ‘woods’, ‘does’, ‘bear’ and ‘shit’ just popped into my mind the first time I read that. Oh, you too? Now that is strange!

And, as I always seem to finish off whenever I’m writing about Georgina, British!

Alina Popa: The (Uncrowned) Queen

There’s a clip on YouTube of Alina Popa’s posing routine at the 2013 Ms Olympia taken by a (female) fan who (judging by the other clips) had travelled to Las Vegas for the event. The fan wasn’t filming in the auditorium but off a big screen, so the image, although very watchable, is slightly skewed. What’s interesting about it is that at the start of the clip you can hear the fan say something (in Russian I think) and ‘Popa’. Now I don’t speak Russian, but it sounds, to my overactive imagination anyway, that what she’s saying is ‘Be quiet, it’s Popa’, or ‘Drop what you’re doing and come watch, it’s Popa’, or perhaps even ‘Oh my God! Look at Popa!’

I may be totally wide of the mark with my imaginary translation, but the point I’m trying to make is that whereas in 2012 she had appeared at the Ms International, in 2013 she did not. Whereas in 2012 she had done countless photo sets and video shoots, there have been precious few this year. She gave us less, but it amounted to more, and it made Alina’s appearance at the Olympia an event.

We wondered if it was possible that Alina would be able to improve on the package she had brought to the 2011 and 2012 Olympias, but we also knew that she had gone high up into the Rockies to train with Mr Olympia Phil Heath at a gym run by Heather Policky’s ex-husband. If there was anywhere where she could find that little extra, it would probably be there. And when showtime arrived, and Alina took to the stage, and we saw the results, we were not disappointed. It had been worth the wait.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying for a moment that Alina’s ascent to the top of the female bodybuilding tree happened overnight. Her glorious physique is quite obviously the result of many many years of relentless dedication and effort. She has been the fans’ favourite for some time now, and anyone else who’s seen the Muscle Angels clip where Annie Riveccio has to lie down after worshipping Alina’s pre-contest body won’t be in any doubt that she’s been admired by her fellow female bodybuilders for some time too. It’s just that this year she’s gone to another level.

Check out Georgina McConnell’s Instagram, for example. There are lots of pictures of Georgina, her meals, and other amusing stuff. And then there’s Popa. OK, there’s also Debi Laszewski, Tina Chandler and so on. But there’s only a pic or two of them, while there’s lots and lots of Popa. Check out other FBBs’ Instagrams, Facebooks. Witness how many images of Alina they post as inspiration. You’ll find Georgina’s is typical. Tarna Alderman (an FMS Woman of the Year in 2012) cited Alina’s influence when she tweeted her decision to stay with bodybuilding in October: @ALINAPOPA1 shows it can be feminine! I’ve been a big fan of Alina since I got into bbing, [she’s] literally the only reason I’ve stayed with bbing, very inspiring. Check out other FBBs’ Twitters for references to Alina’s inspiration. You’ll find them.

This is what we were getting at when FMS wrote, back in November in our Ms Olympia review, that Alina is now ‘the leading female bodybuilder in the world’. She may not be wearing the crown yet, but for the fans, and, more importantly I think, for her peers, she is the de facto Queen of the sport.

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

Women of the Year

Last December, FMS selected six women: Kashma Maharaj, Fabiola Boulanger,
Ginger Martin, Cinderella Landolt, Penpraghai Tiangngok and Katka Kyptova
as our Women of the Year 2011.

The introduction read:

It’s that time of year when idiot journalists and TV producers make stupid lists of The Best/Worst/Biggest/Dumbest/Most Earth-Shattering Moments/Men/Women/Songs/ Whatevers of the year. You can’t turn on the TV for these shows. So I’m not going to do that. It’s not a list, it’s a collection. It’s not the same thing at all. Really.

I’ve chosen six because six is the number of finalists in most bodybuilding contests (if there are at least six competitors anyway – aren’t those scenes of female muscle contests where there is only one competitor in a class odd?). Six it is. And they are in no particular order. They’re all winners.

I’m not saying they are the best bodybuilders in the world today, nor that they have been the best in the world in 2012. But I am saying that these six women, some new to me this year, others familiar from 2011 or even before, have been on Swell’s mind (and screen) rather a lot this year.

We’re not the type who change our ways in a hurry. The deal is exactly the same now as it was then. So, here we go again. Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present:
Female Muscle Slave’s Women of the Year 2012

Sarah Hayes: SuperWoman

Sarah has been on the FMS  radar since 2008ish, but this year, as another blog pointed out, perhaps less eloquently than we would, she has become ‘Super Muscular FBB Woman’. Sarah unveiled her 2012 model at the IFBB Europa in June, where she placed fifth, and then, after a heroic total of twenty-two weeks of dieting, won the Tampa Pro in August, her first win as a pro, to qualify for the Miss Olympia for the first time.

While her legs, by her own admission, still need improvement, since last year every muscle on her body seems to have gained inches. She is truly huge, particularly in her upper body. Apparently, her biceps have been measured at eighteen inches, which, I believe, is about as big as they can get without exploding out of the skin, and while it’s always a good idea to take these measurements with a pinch of salt, even if it’s an inch or an inch and a half too generous, just use your eyes, and you’ll see that’s a serious pair of guns she’s sporting.

In 2012, then, Sarah joined the big league, but it’s the fact that she’s done so without sacrificing her looks that has impressed me so much. She is living proof that, as she says herself, Women can have muscle and maintain their femininity and beauty. To this fan, she’s the best thing since Gina Davis, and from me there’s no higher praise than that.

Sarah is the kind of female bodybuilder that makes you wonder why most guys don’t like women with muscle (or at least they claim not to). In fact, she is the kind of bodybuilder that makes me feel lucky that I am one of the female muscle lovin’ brethren, because if I weren’t, I would probably never have heard of her.

I honestly think she has the potential to appeal to an audience outside the bodybuilding world, and most people would agree that the sport needs a woman like that. But whether that happens or not, in the parallel universe that exists inside my head (!), all the women are muscular. And Sarah Hayes is the super-model.

Holland Canter: Action Girl

Named after my favourite country (probably), Holland has competed twice this year, to my knowledge. Her best result was sixth at the NPC Nationals last month. Inspired by Oksana Grishina, she may switch to Fitness in future, but for now, she’s in the Physique class, competing, she says, as a hobby (!).

I discovered Holland on the forums this year and I am very very glad that I did. Remarkably, this young woman has only been lifting for just over a year (I know, it’s hard to believe, isn’t it?) but this is far from the only remarkable thing about her.

If Holland Canter didn’t exist, I’d probably have to make her up as some kind of ideal Fantasy Action Girl. OK, so she’s a bodybuilder. What else? Gymnastics? Yes! Let’s make her a former national level gymnast. Strength and flexibility, and her legs would be really muscular. All good so far. And a climber, how about making her a climber? That would give her really big forearms and lots of upper body strength. OK, so far we have bodybuilder, gymnast and rock climber. Anything else?

Well, I do like a woman in uniform. Army? No, Air Force is so much cooler. A kick-ass bodybuilding, rock climbing ex-gymnast Air Force babe. Sweet. And the funniest thing is, Holland Canter actually is all of these things. And, incidentally, as you can see for yourself, a total babe. And she speaks French. Mercy!

I think what little girls of today need is the ‘Holland Canter Action Figure’ to play with. An improvement on the Barbie ideal I think you will agree. After all, these are the women of the future we’re talking about. What better role model than Holland? I’m going into business with her on this one. I think we can have them ready for the shops for next Christmas.

Helle Nielsen: Respect

Back in 2003, Helle Nielsen was a sensation. While still in her twenties she won the Jan Tana and finished fifth at the Miss Olympia at her first attempt. For such a young woman, this was unprecedented, but it was no fluke. Helle had the muscles (her jaw-dropping legs in particular) and the conditioning to go all the way. It was just a matter of time.

Then in 2005, a serious back injury, a herniated disc, destroyed her career. At first, walking was a challenge, but slowly she started to recover. Incredibly, and despite medical advice that she would never be able to train, let alone compete again, last year Helle took to the stage once more.

Even more incredibly, she won that first contest, the 2011 FIBO Power Pro, and eight years after her previous Olympia appearance, competed there again. And this year she competed in two pro shows in the US, qualifying for and competing at the Olympia as well.

Helle’s ninth place at the Europa in Hartford was downright disrespectful, although she then placed second (that’s better) in Chicago, beating women who had finished above her in the former contest. Now, I may have been a little disrespectful myself by not including Helle on the list last year, but I’m not going to make the same mistake again. Sadly, not so the Olympia judges, who placed her fourteenth last year and twelfth this year.

Now, say what you want about her lack of conditioning, about the vagaries of bodybuilding judges in general, and female bodybuilding judges above all. Say what you like about how competitive the Olympia is, about how finishing twelfth in such a high-class field is an achievement in itself. Personally, I think it’s a disgrace. Now, I like Michelle Cummings, don’t get me wrong, but by any objective criteria, Helle is a bigger, better bodybuilder than Michelle, and any judge who places Helle below her is just being rude. Helle will never be the contestant she once was, but we’re talking about one of the all-time greats here. So show some respect.

Andrea Brazier: Fitness Diva

It’s easy to make assumptions. When I first came across this sensationally sexy woman I assumed she was from Brazil, an Andressa Vieira type, but leaner. I assumed she was in her twenties. I assumed her surname sounded English because her family had emigrated to the New World a century or so ago. And I assumed there wasn’t much more to her than her beauty and her deliciously defined abs. Well, I was right that she was from Brazil. And she is beautiful and her abs are truly wonderful. But I was wrong about so much else.

Firstly, it may be hard to believe, but she’s not in her twenties, she’s in her thirties. In fact, she’s in her mid-thirties. And Brazilian she may be by birth, but she resides in London. She’s been here a while, but she didn’t just turn up and walk into a job. She gave up a modelling career in Rio to move to the UK, and when she arrived in the capital she worked as a cleaner, collected glasses in a pub, and did time as a cloakroom attendant while she improved her English.

Now she runs the fitness studio Total Body Conditioning with her English husband, Tom, hence the very un-Latin American surname. But Andrea isn’t just the pretty face of the business (although it probably doesn’t hurt). She has a list of personal training qualifications as long as your arm, which isn’t surprising when you learn that she has been training herself since 1993.

And she’s a champion. I’m not exactly sure what a Fitness Diva competition involves, but it seems to culminate in dressing up as if you are going to dance at Carnival (which surely gives the Brazilians an advantage). However, I do know that Andrea is the WBFF Pro Diva Fitness Champion for 2012. I was determined and ready for the victory! It feels great. I had a goal and I achieved it! WBFF Pro Diva Fitness was my second time on stage and each time it gets easier and better, she says. She also won a contest in Miami earlier in the year, so I guess that she is two for two on the contest front.

So much more to her than meets the eye, even if what meets the eye is volcanically hot. And I can’t help feeling a bit of patriotic pride. She married one of us, after all, so that pretty much makes her a Brit, doesn’t it?

Gillian Kovack: Beauty and the Beef

Like Sarah Hayes, Gillian was on the FMS  radar before 2012, but it’s this year that she has become one of our very favourites. Regular readers of the blog will know how Swell feels about blondes who switch to brunette (he likes them, very much), and when we realised Gillian had done that in 2012, we really started to take notice. But above all, and again, there’s a similarity to Sarah Hayes here, it’s the beef that Gillian added to her beauty this year that really cemented her position on our list.

Watching her pose at the Toronto Pro earlier in the year, Swell experienced a kind of ‘Road to Damascus’ moment. He says, I’ve always been an abs and thigh man. I’d always thought of the back poses as something I had to sit through before I got my favourite pose. The back double biceps and lat spread sort of got on my nerves as a result. I was always thinking, ‘Come on, let’s get to the abs’. But then I was watching Gillian do the back poses in Toronto and it was like being struck by lightning. Not just her back but the whole back view. Thick, thick hamstrings. She has single-handedly converted me. Suddenly, I’m a back pose man.

And so is that Swell’s favourite clip of the year? Actually, no. A few weeks’ ago I saw a preview clip. It consisted solely of Gillian walking, the camera behind her. The shot is quite low-angle, so you’re looking up at her slightly, and from behind. And all she does in the clip is walk. And it is one of the sexiest things I have ever seen. She’s just got that X-factor. Undoubtedly my clip of the year.

But we like Gillian from the front, too. Beef everywhere, and a smouldering beauty very different from someone like Sarah Hayes. Sarah we can imagine taking home to mother. Gillian, well, it’s probably best we don’t describe what we can imagine doing to Gillian (or rather what we can imagine Gillian doing to us). We will say though that the way her sexy dark eyes bore into the camera and the semi-smile she wears in a lot of clips we’ve seen, half-amused, half-knowing, well, that look absolutely slays us.

Six months after walking into a gym for the first time she quit her job as a Doctor of Geology, something that took her years to become, with little hesitation and no regrets. She’s proper bodybuilder, and we really like Gillian. A lot.

Tarna Alderman: Transformer

Probably the most amazing transformation in the world. Ever. In 2006, Tarna Alderman made a New Year’s resolution and the results, well, you can see the results for yourself.

I was overweight and decided to get my act together. I realized I was the only person who could make myself happy and took action on it. I got online and found some forums and magazines, did some research and saw what it was gonna take. For me bodybuilding was the most common sense way to lose weight.

Well, she has certainly achieved that. In just six years, she has gone from hating my body 24/7 to a woman who says I have been surprised at the amount of women who say I inspire them and have become a fan. I think that makes me feel better than any male attention because it’s not about having a good body or looking cool or sexy. its inspiration from my story. Her story should be in everywhere. The headline should be ‘Yes, you can!’ I truly believe Tarna’s story has the potential to inspire millions of women into lifting weights. Heavy ones.

But even if that would satisfy her more than any male attention, she doesn’t mind a little of it: I was at Costco and a little kid just dropped his jaw and said ‘Oh my God, Dad’, it was the cutest thing, so funny. We hope she doesn’t mind a bit more of it here. I am a man, after all, and Tarna now has the kind of body that certainly grabs my attention: muscular curves everywhere.

She announced her switch from bodybuilding to physique this year, after finishing second overall in this year’s Emerald Cup, but we forgive her. Let’s face it, she’ll look good however she competes. And quite honestly, with her combination of muscle and femininity, she’ll probably make an instant impact in the division. But whatever she does in the future, this incredible mother deserves our congratulations and encouragement as she continues her unique journey.

Watch zennie 62’s breathless tribute to Sarah Hayes and the clip of Gillian Kovack that Swell rates so highly
Visit Helle Nielsen’s training website and Andrea Brazier’s training website
Follow Holland Canter and Tarna Alderman on Twitter

Tube clips of the Women of the Year will go up in January.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Women of the Year

It’s that time of year when idiot journalists and TV producers make stupid lists of The Best/Worst/Biggest/Dumbest/Most Earth-Shattering Moments/Men/Women/Songs/ Whatevers of the year. You can’t turn on the TV for these shows. So I’m not going to do that. It’s not a list, it’s a collection. It’s not the same thing at all. Really.

I’ve chosen six because six is the number of finalists in most bodybuilding contests (if there are at least six competitors anyway – aren’t those scenes of female muscle contests where there is only one competitor in a class odd?). Six it is. And they are in no particular order. They’re all winners.

I’m not saying they are the best bodybuilders in the world today, nor that they have been the best in the world in 2011. But I am saying that these six women, some new to me this year, others familiar from 2010 or even before, have been on swell’s mind (and screen) rather a lot this year.

So, without further ramblings, I give you what is the inaugural
Female Muscle Slave’s Women of the Year.

Kashma Maharaj: The Caribbean Queen

Unknown to me at the start of the year, Kashma’s magnificently muscled body was all over the forums by the summer, even if often mistakenly identified as being from India! When we all realised where she was really from, this year’s national championships in Trinidad suddenly became an event that was eagerly anticipated. And I for one was not disappointed by the clips of her victory once they in turn had been posted. In the last couple of months, photo sets and clips on female muscle sites have been appearing, and she’s spoken of plans to compete in the USA in 2012.

Kashma is clearly a very smart woman. Apart from having impressive professional qualifications in Finance, the fact that she has come so far in so little time is all the more impressive as she has made such a splash while coming from a part of the world where widespread recognition has traditionally been hard to get without relocating to North America. And nobody can she that she’s unambitious: My goal is to be the future Miss Olympia and revolutionise this sport with a new look and attitude, encourage more women to compete and adopt the BB lifestyle and be a role model for a healthy lifestyle to all people. ‘All people’? Wow.

Her dark, exotic looks, her Trinidadian accent, and her big sexy muscles have certainly all worked their magic on me. I could watch her pert Caribbean bottom walking along the beach till the sun goes down, and her whole upper body is beautifully developed. I could spend hours rubbing my hands over that deliciously wide back. In fact, I have probably spent hours fantasising about it this year!

Some men are intimidated by me, not only because I am a female bodybuilder but also because I am a smart, independent and extroverted woman naturally. Women have questioned my sexual preference and even made suggestions to me but while I may entertain conversation, I make it quite clear that I am totally into men. Good. That’s cleared that up. We can all go on dreaming.

Kashma says, I love being big, strong, powerful and seeing the changes in my physique. I also love getting up on stage and posing. I love watching her being big, strong and powerful. I take great pleasure in seeing her physique change, and when she gets up on stage, ripped, oiled and strutting around in her bikini, well… let’s just say it gets the blood pumping. Are we sharing the same dream?

Predicting big things for Kashma in 2012. If she keeps on achieving like she has been this year, the world will be hers before long.

Fabiola Boulanger: Professional Female Bodybuilder

This year, Fabiola Boulanger joined the pro ranks, her victory at the Canadian Championships no surprise as her body has been a thing of wonder for the last couple of years. There are few women in the sport now (and not that many women in the sport ever) who have the ‘total package’. Fabiola is most definitely one of them.

Those shoulders, like plates of armour. Huge, pulsating veins snaking all over. Her abs, so thick and defined. Solid solid pecs, beautifully striated. And her legs! Definition everywhere. Look at the teardrops above the knees, have you ever seen anything so kissable? A sight to set a female muscle addict’s heart racing.

She is covered, top to bottom, with the kind of bulging, rippling muscularity that I am more used to seeing in female muscle art than on real female bodybuilders themselves. She’s like a fantasy superheroine. I can totally see her in a skin tight bodysuit with a big F on the front, flexing her biceps before saving the world. Perhaps in her first pro routine she will whip the audience into a frenzy by flying around the auditorium and back to the stage as a big finish!

I wish to show the world that female bodybuilders can be feminine and beautiful, says Fabiola, and I think we can all agree that she’s certainly doing that, and is certainly not a woman who could be accused of ‘looking like a man’. She hasn’t sacrificed any of her femininity while getting such mouth-wateringly huge muscles, and I think as a direct consequence of that she received quite a lot of media attention in Quebec after her win at the Nationals.

From the articles and TV appearances of hers I’ve seen and my O-level French can make out, Fabi makes a fantastic spokeswoman for the sport. I’m proud of the way I look, and will stick to my regimen forever because I couldn’t stand to look different. It gives me confidence and great self esteem. I have a healthy lifestyle and it gives me the independence that most women could just dream to have.

Fabiola is going to be competing in the USA in 2012. Competing and winning I dare say. And fighting crime and injustice in her spare time. Go Super Fabi!

Ginger Martin: Hot Muscle (Grand)Mom

I am a sucker for her husky Southern accent and the way she obviously loves showing off every inch of her hard work. Her clips on Gincraze2009, her You Tube channel and the previews at Physique Dreams on Daily Motion are all winners, and I’ve also seen a few webcam clips of her that are so hot they can roast your chestnuts. She’s got four children, and this year became both a grandmother and overall champion at the NPC Texas State Championships.

Now, if I was a teenager with a friend whose Mum looked like Ginger, well I’d probably be doing all I could to spend as much time as possible at their house. Ginger working out in the garage, me sneaking away from the Xbox party to watch from the bathroom window… And if I was the father of one of her kids’ friends, I wouldn’t be complaining about picking up my spawn from Ginger’s house. Ginger working out in the garage, me casually strolling up the drive and offering to spot her…

But enough of that. Seriously, what an advert, what an inspiration to women. Middle-aged? Not getting the admiring looks you once did? Train the Ginger way and soon men half your age will be tripping over their tongues as you walk by. Set yourself up for a webshow and watch the schmoe dollars cascade into your bank account. More older women training and looking like Ginger? Por favor seňor!

The pics from her Texas win show her very very ripped and very very vascular, a look I go completely gaga for. So part of me is sad that she has decided to focus on the Physique Class next year and won’t be going for the same pumped-up look. But at the same time, she does seem to be more naturally suited to that category, and if she’s successful, the fact of her age will hopefully be enough to generate a bit of positive media for the sport. Here’s hoping!

Remember. This woman you are drooling over is a grandmother!

Cinderella Landolt: Fitness Princess

Once upon a time there was a beautiful fitness fanatic from Switzerland, whose face was so beautiful and whose body was so fit and sexy that when she posted pictures of herself on the internet, lots and lots of men from all over the world started to send her money… check out her website if you have some spare cash … and she became more and more famous and more and more people signed up for her training programs. And she lived happily ever after, and so did her fans, whose insatiable appetite for images of this fairytale princess had made her rich, and no longer in need of a prince charming, although she could still have one if she wanted. But on her terms.

More seriously, is this a blueprint for female fitness women or what? I’m not saying Cinderella invented this career path, but she’s pulling it off very slickly, don’t you think? Mind you, she has a first-rate product to market. Tall, athletic and stunningly beautiful, and with one hell of a memorable name, she does have everything going for her. But still, you have to run with it, and she is sprinting.

Long dark hair, and a set of abs that were made to be massaged and licked all night. Eyes shine with health and vitality, and then there’s her long shapely legs. And she’s very friendly on the forums, always replying to compliments from other members and seeming genuinely pleased to hear from fans. ‘You’re so beautiful – awesome physique.’ ‘Cindy, you’re an angel. We love you.’ ‘Simply the hottest female fitness model out there now.’ ‘The body you have built is perfect.’ ‘I’m sure that you were just as lovely before you ever touched your first weight.’ Now what woman wouldn’t want to get compliments like this on a daily basis? And how many women would be able to deal with it so nicely?

She says, It’s ALL down to the Alp air and Swiss cheese.

PS. I haven’t been able to locate any clips of Cindy for the downloads or tube videos pages. Just want to be clear that this is due to lack of material. It’s certainly not that I don’t think she’s worth watching in motion!

Penpraghai Tiangngok: Webcam Star

Another woman on the list who was utterly unknown to me at the beginning of the year, and furthermore, a woman whose name I am not 100% sure how to pronounce, Penpraghai, like Kashma and Cinderella, came to my attention on the forums, and I have spent more and more time ‘with’ her as the year has gone on. This is mainly because I’ve got hold of some of her webcam clips, and they are among the most stimulating I have ever had the pleasure of viewing.

But before I go on to wax lyrical about this exotic beauty’s sensational physique, there’s something that needs to be said. WTF can’t people look at a gorgeous muscular Thai woman without thinking that she must have been a he once. For God’s sake, or maybe that should be Buddha’s sake, not all Thai women used to be men! And what exactly is it about her that makes these people think she’s a transsexual, or a ladyboy? Can’t see it myself. She looks like she’s all woman to me, and she’s got more of what most women want than most women have. Pure sex appeal. Feminine sex appeal. Now please, put your stereotypes in a box and throw them in the river. That’s better.

She is also a really really exciting poser. She really seems to understand the fetishism of sthenolagnia, the thrill of seeing muscles displayed. As mentioned before, her webcam clips are off-the-scale hot, full of knowing glances to camera, and adoring gazes at her peaking biceps as she flexes. She knows how to rub the oil on and make you wish it was you doing the rubbing, and she’s also a muscle control pro, especially good with her glutes. Check out the downloads page if you don’t believe me. Or check it out anyway if you do. I’m sure my words aren’t as erotic as the clips are!

After viewing her latest webcam clip, a friend of mine said she made him think of a tribe of exotic, strong Amazons all looking like Penpraghai. I knew what he meant immediately. Who among us hasn’t dreamed of a strange island populated by gorgeous muscular female warriors who need a man to mate with them? When he washed up ashore a group of female warriors welcomed him, tended to his wounds and took him to their queen, who was the strongest and most beautiful of all, and who told him that he would die unless he mated with the entire tribe…

Katka Kyptova: Horký Materiál

According to Google Translator, that’s Hot Stuff. And although I doubt that works, I like the sound of the word, horký, sounds like a combination of hot and horny with a k in it. Katka Kyptova, definitely one of the horkíest women alive.

Let’s not relive her 2nd place at the Arnold Europe, collectively we have said enough about it, see previous post. What I want to talk about, and what makes Katka one of my Women of the Year was the decision she made before the Arnold Europe to dye her hair black.

Don’t get me wrong, I thought Katka was well horký with blond hair. But I’ve always preferred sultry, dark-haired women, so when I first saw Katka had gone that way, she went off my horký scale completely.

Worryingly, she also announced that she was quitting bodybuilding. I wish she wouldn’t. Her horkíness aside, there’s something about Katka, that star quality that female bodybuilding needs. Someone who has the ability to reach out to people outside the female muscle sub-culture, someone who cannot be dismissed as a manly steroid-freak, and make them see muscle women in a new light.

Ravishing. I look at this picture long enough and I actually feel like she has ravished me. Those eyes, those lips, and oh my, those pecs! Phwoarrr! And another bonus we’ve had this year from Katka is that she has spent more and more time taking her top off and getting her groin-tingling pecs out in all their glory. Horkíssimo!

Let’s hope Katka continues dying her hair, taking her top off and, most importantly, bodybuilding in 2012. It will be a sad loss if she turns her back on it.

Check the tube videos and the downloads pages for more from my Women of the Year.

Enjoy! Horký Christmas and an even horkíer New Year!