She's So Shredded: Angel of the North

The last time we saw Angelica Enberg on FMS she had powered her way back into the Hot and Hard 100 "back into our collective consciousness and now occupying a considerably bigger space there than she ever did previously" on the back of some "massive muscular development in recent times". Around that time she treated her fans to pics of her wearing and shopping for the sort of outfits that don't just beg for attention, they guarantee it (and a loose group of Madness-stricken less-than-surreptitious female muscle head stalkers) if worn in public - eg. in a shopping mall.



And then things got even more interesting...



Angie started to get ripped. And not just a little bit ripped, either.



On the one hand, she (quite understandably) found the process something of a struggle. Staying strong mentally or physically with this percentage of body fat is definitely not a piece of cake, she wrote (perhaps intending to be funny?) one day. This is pretty horrible, she said on another. You can't live like this. On the other hand though, as what she called "the daily freakshow" progressed, she didn't seem able to stop looking at, photographing, and sharing herself. And (maybe just my imagination) but her smile seemed to get bigger and bigger with each passing freakshow day.



Pulsing veins everywhere, including her forehead. Her pecs bulging and rippling, and striations all over her gorgeous shoulders - many of them with their own striations. Her eyes - whether locked in awe on a flexing bicep or gazing straight back at the viewer - had most certainly got their sparkle back as she entered the final week of her preparations. The pain was so worth it. I'm so empty, she confessed. It's lucky it only takes a moment to get a good picture of the hardness, because that's all I've got the energy for right now. But I'm so terribly happy with my shape, I could never have imagined in my wildest imagination that I would ever come in in this form ever.



The show she was coming in for was the IFBB Sweden Grand Prix - an "Elite Pro qualifier". Everything feels great! she told her fans the day before. And the following day, glammed, tanned and finally ready to take the stage, Angie looked great too.



Ultimately though, and despite a scintillating back double biceps, and a routine that had Dani Reardon's influence all over it (plus a cheeky wardrobe malfunction!), she was outmuscled by women with many more years of bodybuilding behind them. Standing with her little trophy, she looked rather crestfallen to have placed 4th.




Heartbreaking stuff, but she wasn't pouting for long. It was super cool to share the stage with all the amazing athletes but I had hoped for a higher ranking than 4th, she admitted. The top 3 were simply harder and more muscular. I have practically devoted the last 7 years of my life to strength training - a lot, but Physique is an incredibly difficult discipline to compete in and it takes time. I'm 25 years old, so what the hell... I'll keep working hard and giving my all. I have time!



And it's not like she's starting from scratch. She's already built an amazing physique for her (or any) age, and her dazzling natural beauty won't hurt her career either. She does indeed have time, and I'm sure you have time to follow her - Angie on Instagram.



Enjoy!

January Clearance! [L-N]

"Too many to feature here" is a phrase I seem to have typed a lot over the past year, referring to the vast number of women and/or images the female muscle head is faced with in these instant information times. On the upside, you never go short. The downside for the blogger is there are far too many to feature here - there I go again.

It felt wrong just to forget about the women we intended to feature at some stage during 2017 but didn't. Firstly, the fact they have come to our attention at all is the result of some pretty solid sifting by the FMS research team, and it would just be plain rude to ignore all that hard work. And secondly, it's not the case that we once thought these women were worth posting about and don't anymore - we still do.

The solution we came up with is The FMS January Clearance - we're going to feature all the women who are taking up space in the "TBC" folder on the 2017 planner. And you're getting them all together in a sort of but not really alphabetical order (you'll see what I mean). Further your enjoyment by clicking on the names.

Five beautiful bods a day for seven days. Have fun!


LAUREN RIFFEL



This year I will be fierce, promised Lauren on January 2nd. Because Strong Is Sexy.



This 22-year-old Californian has only been sharing her "fitness journey" since October (clearly this journey began some time before that) but her grand total of 62 posts already she has attracted fan attention. Those arms, yes, but also for the attitude, the desire to "inspire our fitness ladies" through embodying the "Strong Is Sexy" mantra, but also to "be the chick in the gym who motivates every guy to push harder".



Her IG moniker - strongerthanyourboyfriendd (!)


MELINDA LINDMARK



21-year-old Swedish Physique dream Melinda first came to Swell's attention back in the summer when she was coming to the attention of a good few others too. A veritable goddess, wrote one - clearly impressed - forum poster. Look at that huge veiny bicep!



And as Melinda leaned down to compete (for the first time?) at last year's Tyngre Classic, female muscle lovin' pulses were set racing, the temperature in the FMS office soared, and Swell had Melinda (showing off her delts, her back and beautiful bum) as his screensaver (for a while, you know how easily my head can get turned).



Inappropriate though it may be for a man of my advancing years to be so ga-ga for a woman so young, I DO like Melinda. A lot. And I would guess I'm only one of many who have fallen under her spell in the last six months or so. Now it's your turn.


KIMBERLY MERCER



I have to admit that the first time I saw a Kimberly Mercer selfie it took me quite some time to realise I wasn't looking at Brooke Walker. Now I would hope Kimberly would take that as a compliment, which she should. This newly-carded pro seems, just as Brooke did in 2015, to be entering the next stage of her career already displaying the kind of quality necessary to succeed among the IFBB Physique elite.



Perhaps this is because she spent the best part of two years upgrading her body from Figure (where she did well enough to compete at national level) before entering her first Physique contest. At the IFBB North Americans last year she finished runner-up in her class, good enough to get the card, but also already looking every inch the pro.



She looks pretty damn good in or out of her her (Onslow County, North Carolina First Responder) work clothes too. Evidence since her contest suggests she'll be even bigger and better when she makes that pro debut - hopefully not in another two years.

SWOOOON!!!


SUSANNE NAAMANI



Oh, she's new, I say as the FMS work experience boy plops the Susanne Naamani file down on my desk. And then he tells me that she's been around since 2010. Ugh.



I console myself with the fact that I wasn't the only one who was taken by surprise. Susanne's popularity on the forums peaked around 2011-12, and has only recently enjoyed a resurgence. Damn! She got big! notes one forum bod who knew her earlier in the decade. Damn! She is big! says another on a different forum who didn't.



As well as admiring how pleasingly big Susanne indeed is these days, I've also been catching up with her past via her blog - SUZIE - which she kept up for a couple of years. Although it does also contain stories of everyday disasters like getting locked out of her own house, it is pretty much the story of her "fitness journey". Having said that though, I doubt you'll ever read a more wildly entertaining one. She crayzee!


SHEIKHA NGUYEN



New Nguyen on the block!



A fitness and lingerie model, (amateur) IFBB Physique competitor, and personal trainer, Sheikha is based in Singapore. She is, in her own words, "here to inspire".



Now there's a rather famous picture of Sheikha having the spray tan applied (version 1 - here, version 2 - here) which I'm sure has inspired all sorts of reactions from the brethren... Meanwhile though, Sheikha posts equally impressive (if a lot less naughty) updates on her IG and Facebook on a somewhat irregular basis, and fans can also contact her on HerBicepsCams, where she's Asian Iron. A lot of them do, I'm told.


Five more muscle women for your viewing delight tomorrow!

She's So Kuhl

Adriana Kuhl, Swedish entrepreneur, friend of sexy Sophie, and sizzling muscle heatsress, is in the business of taking more than her fair share of topless, "hair bra", selfies. Look at all that hair. It can't all be Adriana's, can it? Of course not.



Adriana, you see, is also in the hair business, with her Stockholm salon, Wendy's Hair, and her online sales of hair extensions. So, what you're really looking at is not just a titilating female muscle selfie (I can't help myself with the puns and double entendres this evening), it's an advert for the very stuff that puts protein on Adriana's table.

And, I imagine, a very effective though not very expensive one.



Thing is, imagine the same shot by a more conventionally-bodied woman. Perhaps an equally driven entrepreneur thinking about joining Adriana in the hair business. She wants to show off her extensions, she's followed Adriana's model closely. She lets those extensions hang down, and snaps away. To her horror, what she sees is more of a hair tunic than a hair bra. She doesn't have half of Adriana's body. Literally. No boulder shoulders, no muscular back, and thus no width. No hard pecs to keep those extensions in place - no abs to show if she could get the hair away from her tummy.



Adriana has the body to wear that much hair. Our fictional unmuscular entrepreneur though would be positively drowning in it. Muscle women do it better. Again.



Adriana also flogs Brazilian gymwear - like the hair extensions, she models it herself, and she models it very nicely indeed. Join her 100,000+ followers on Instagram for more Kuhl. Her YouTube channel, Adriana Kuhl OFFICIAL, is worth a look as well...



Enjoy!

And Happy St. Valentina's Day!

The Strong Arms of the Law

After yesterday's Bad Girls, today it's the Good Cop. A bikini-clad Swedish police officer has been praised for tackling a suspected thief while she was off-duty sunbathing with friends in Stockholm, said the BBC, while The Sun (as you'd expect) somewhat more dramatically headlined the story: The incredible moment swimsuit-wearing off-duty cop pins down thief who stole sunbathers’ mobile phones.



He seemed a poor homeless guy trying to do the right thing, selling newspapers rather than begging, said the "bikini-clad Swedish police officer" who posted the pic to her Instagram. When we didn't buy his newspaper he tried to steal my cell phone!



He had picked the wrong woman to steal from. Mikaela Kellner is not just a police officer who has appeared on the Swedish version of Ninja Warrior, but also describes herself as an athlete, a powerlifter and a Crossfitter - "toughest competitor alive". This was the first time in my 11 years as a police officer that I have intervened while wearing a bikini, she said. I must say it was pretty good fun and rather pleasant.



The BBC made no mention at all of Mikaela's athleticism. Not so The Sun. There can be no dispute about who came out on top, exclaimed reporter Danny Collins, with the muscle-bound cop holding the man in an arm lock. He may have thought twice had he known that the sunbathing policewoman was a champion bodybuilder!



Mikaela and friends, including (top left) Amanda Almroth and (bottom right) Jenny Adolfsson

Mikaela's muscles hadn't escaped the attention of the fan forums even before the incident, but after the story broke she was dubbed "the sexiest superhero alive", and her collar "the luckiest thief". This guy just wanted a gorgeous woman to handcuff him, claimed one fan, and offers "to play the bad guy next" have been plentiful.



Mikaela's back in training after a summer break. Thieves beware!