Back Is Beautiful: Brigita's Beautiful Back

I was going to call this post "Brezovac's Back", but given that Brigita retired from competitive bodybuilding after the Ms Olympia last year, I thought that might be slightly misleading and make some of you think she'd changed her mind. Sadly, she's not "back", but this little tribute is going to showcase her beautiful back.



Slovenia's greatest export (can you think of another?) started lifting weights at the age of 14 as part of her training for karate. In that time I lived only for karate and practising with weights which brought me very good results, I was national champion... for few years competing up to 116lbs and my body looked amazing.



Her inspiration was a picture of Cory Everson that she saw at her then boyfriend's garage gym. I immediately knew I wanted to build the body she had, she has said. That meant first moving from karate to fitness, but then in 2004, she was told by judges at the IBFA World Championships she could not compete in fitness, and was forcibly moved to the bodybuilding category. She won the title.



And over the next few years she won a few other titles competing in a variety of federations. In 2005, IBFA European Champion. In 2006 she defended that title successfully, and also won the NAC Universe, the IBFA Worlds (again), and the oddly-named WPF World-Universe title. In 2007, she was NAC Universe champion again.



The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was to find a way to compete in IFBB federation. Our country didn't care about the IFBB and finally I managed to pull things together with the big help of Balkan IFBB president, Nenad Vuckovic and then represent my country at World Women's Championship 2009. Well, well done Mr Vuckovic (there I go again congratulating an IFBB man - see Lisa Cross IFBB Pro).



Brigita didn't win the title (Simone Linay of Germany did), but she did get a pro card for the IFBB and arrived in Tampa in 2010 for her first pro show. She won. I just couldn't believe this is really happening for a long time after the show was over. I was working for that success for many years, keeping my biggest goal, step onto the sacred Ms Olympia stage. At the beginning of my career it was only the big dream which seemed almost impossible to reach. But we have to have our dreams and I believe if we work hard for them, one day they become reality.

top: Tampa 2010 & 2011; bottom: Olympia 2011 & 2012




After finishing 10th in that first Ms Olympia, Brigita returned the following year with a 3rd place in Tampa and a win in Toronto under her belt. She came 3rd, the highest placing by a European since Marja Lehtonen had finished 3rd in the lightweight class in 2004. In 2012 she was 6th at the Ms International, 5th at the Olympia, and in 2013 she was 4th at the Ms I, and 5th again at the Ms O.

top: Ms International 2013; bottom: Ms Olympia 2013



I love the way of life being a bodybuilder. I like the food and diet regime because I can always have my body under control, I like working out and I like that I'm different from the average person. But Brigita, what do you enjoy most about being a top female bodybuilder? If I tell you the truth, the thing I most enjoy is the attention.



Since retiring from competition, Brigita has become an IFBB judge. And she has been passing on her knowledge and experience to others. Does anybody have a better job than me? she recently tweeted with a pic showing her putting three shirtless men through their posing practice paces. All in good shape, they look tiny next to her.



Finally, Brigita battering that big and beautiful back of hers...



More Brigita via Twitter, her website, and her excellent (and often updated - if you are a fan of candids, you will love it) blog. Another (longer but lower quality) clip of Brigita training her back from 2011 here, and an interesting compilation Brigita Brezovac Over the Years, which includes all sorts of things, including snippets of an interview.

Enjoy!

[More Brigita on FMS passim]