Pic of the Month: April

Something new to FMS today.

A chance to vote (don't worry, there's no lists of 100 women or anything!) for this month's Pic of the Month from a lovingly selected shortlist of five images.

Check them out then follow the link at the bottom to vote with a single click.

PAIGE SANDGREN: TO BE EXPLORED



Some rather racy, arty new shots of Paige on the forums recently, but we couldn't resist this good old-fashioned topless back selfie. So much to see, so much to explore...

MICHAELA AYCOCK: DRESSED UP VEINS



For the first time, Michaela has been doing a bit of glamorous schmotography work as well, and very exciting the results of that work have been. She doesn't really need any fancy lighting to bring out her freaky vascularity though. Not the tightest of dresses, and that's a good thing - if it were any tighter we'd probably spontaneously combust.

YEON WOO JHI: CELEBRITY MUSCLE



Not so much a nominee because of Yeon's physique (although those shoulders are fantastic) but more because of the sheer excitement on some of those fans' faces. This is exactly how it should be for all muscle goddesses. Adored. Idolised. Always.

ANGELICA ENBERG: DISGUSTINGLY PEELED



She's spent the best part of two years building herself up, and now it's time to reveal the results. And the results are (s)pectacular, but it's the facial expression (if you can drag your gaze up there for just a moment) that says it all: "Look what I have done to myself. I am muscle and skin and I feel AMAZING! OMG I am such a freak and I LOVE it!"

VALENTINA MISHINA: MEAT FEAST



As she's currently posting at the rate of one Hall of Famer per day, there was no doubt Valentina had to feature in our poll, but it wasn't easy to choose which pic should make the shortlist. We listened to our loins and our loins said this glute, ham and calf treat.

OK? Made your choice?

Great!

Voting is simple, CLICK HERE then select your favourite image and click vote.

We'll post the winner next month when we invite you to vote for May's best.

Enjoy! And thanks for voting.

2016 Review: April

As Hot and Hard 100 voting ended and FMS got down to the business of counting them up and getting together the posts, the doyen of British female muscle blogging, Mr PumpItUp himself, did us the honour of dropping in for a lengthy chat about the possibility that we were living in a "New Golden Age" of female muscle.

But first, we still had unfinished business...

The FMS Arnold Classic Review (cont.)



We kicked off April by doffing our hats to the more mature ladies who had featured in the Physique International. Women like the Tracy Hess, who, we thought, had to be lying about her age (surely she can't be 50!) and the ever swole 45-year-old Sherri Gray. I'm a lifting Mum, says Sherri. Like a normal Mum, only much cooler.

Then we snuck backstage for some, er, cheap thrills...



To be honest, we enjoyed the Amateur section of the Arnold at least as much as the pro show, with some of the best up-and-coming Physique muscle in the world on display in each class, all beautifully photographed by Igor Kopcek for Eastlabs.

In the tallest class, won by Julia Föry, we very much enjoyed Canada's Justine Albert with all her body art (yes, you heard) and her artistic, sexy-flexy routine.



Forum favourite Hronn Sigurdardottir and FMS fave Liudmila Goshko were standouts in the medium class, Liudmila once again wowing us with those pecs of hers. A bit less bronzed than we've seen her before, I noted, and perhaps therefore a bit less ripplely in the pec department, but I'm more and more impressed by this beautiful woman every time I see her in competition. And it seems I am not alone. At the time it was clear Liudmila was going to make her debut in the Hot and Hard 100.



With 21 of the 36 Physique competitors, "up to 163cm" at the Arnold Amateur was certainly the biggest of the three classes. It was also, in my opinion at least, the best of the three classes in terms of quality with plenty of prime muscle all the way down in the placings. And in that shortest class, among the many many delights, were the abs of Allison Sinisi and Camila Rodrigues, 6th and 10th respectively.



Goodnight Ohio!

And then, after our little chat about then and now with PumpItUp, it was time to reveal who you'd voted for. Time to reveal the FMS Hot and Hard 100 for 2016...



We got as far as #41 before April ended. There were many, many new entries, one notable re-entry, and plenty of the usual suspects. Liudmila came in at #90, Nicky Foord "with a bullet" at #87, an unprecedented eight-woman tie at #74, and a certain Mr Ozzy was apoplectic to find that his beloved Anne was "only" #70.



Sandra Grajales Romero debuted at #49, Gracyanne rose again from #69 in 2015 to #48 this year, as did Zoa Linsey (#82 to #42). But Tina Nguyen surprisingly dropped from #33 to #44. And we revealed that Kim Ji-Hyun had taken over as top Korean from Yeon Woo-Ji as the female muscle world held its collective breath (in my head it did anyway) and Swell put in some shifts to get those last few posts just right before we counted down to #1 at the beginning of May... Oh the suspense!

FBBTV: The Far (Out) East

Don't ask me what is going on in today's selections from Chinese TV, I have a feeling that even if I understood what they're saying I still wouldn't be any the wiser.

Seemingly more hosts than guests, wacky sound effects, even wackier animations, and production values that would put Eurovision to shame. Oh, and Julia Vins.



More Julia on Chinese TV here.

And also from Chinese TV, Korean muscle beauty Yeon Woo-ji. Again, exactly what is going on here is beyond me. But it is definitely a lot of fun trying to work it out!



If you can take anymore, parts 2 & 3 are here.

Media Watch: Korea

[With the usual reservations about the transliteration of Korean names...]

Despite an emphasis on appearance that has fueled a $5-billion plastic surgery industry, until recently, physical fitness was not much of a priority for Korean women. Thinness was so prized that young women often steered clear of sports such as hiking and cycling, for fear they would leave them with thicker legs. But the ideal of beauty is evolving, and women's fitness has become a growth business, say purveyors of health products, from diet supplements to dumb-bells. "Women used to starve in order to lose weight, said celebrity trainer Ray Yang. "Now they exercise."


Myeong Ju-Gwon is all about the gainz

This story, picked up by FMS last week via Reuters, since repeated - verbatim - all over the place, seems to be very good news. We have known (or at least suspected) for some time that Korea was starting to punch well above its weight in terms of female muscle (see our week of Koreans from September last year). But it seems Korea is not just producing many of the most outstanding female bodybuilders in Asia but also undergoing a cultural attitude shift towards female muscle that the dreamy optimist in me imagines will result in the country becoming the Brazil of its region.


The beautiful back of Kim Yeong Ah; Kim Mi-seon flexes sexy abs on stage,
and, in the mirror, #1 Korean, Yeon Woo-Ji shows off impressively shredded legs

Are women like Yeon Woo-Ji, probably the most successful Korean female bodybuilder ever at international level, responsible for this shift? I wondered. Sadly, according to the article, "no" seems to be the answer to that question.

"Many fitness conscious Korean women are adopting as role models well-toned celebrities, from domestic K-pop girl group Sistar's Hyorin, to global figures such as U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge," said Kim Min-jeong, a professor of Global Sports Science at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. "The strength, the outer beauty of muscles, the positive attitudes and energetic images of these women have become the motivation."




Not quite what I had in mind, but though the above examples may not represent what you or I consider to be muscular, if I'm a Korean female muscle head and these so-called muscular celebrities are getting more Korean women to the gym, I am not complaining. Female bodybuilders have always been the kind of avant garde rather than the mainstream ideal of women's fitness anyway, no matter what the country, always several muscular steps ahead of current female body aspirations.


Song Naeun pumps up backstage

Nevertheless, when I see clips of Korean bodybuilding shows, I can't help being struck by the incredible production values. Take, for instance, this clip of the absolutely spectacular Kim Ji Hyun at the Korean Musclemania show from this year. I'm not saying the Rising Phoenix was amateurish, but there are aspects of the camera work, the lighting and so on apparent in this clip that make the coverage and production of that showpiece female bodybuilding event look rather amateurish in comparison.



And it only takes a small percentage of the ladies inspired by the zeitgeist for female fitness to take their interest to the next level to add up to a significant increase in the amount of female muscle in the country. And following on from there, even if only a small percentage of those women decide a bona fide muscle goddess like "Chunri" is the body idol they really want to emulate, then rock sttar productions such as this can only add to the attraction. Minimum net result? More beautiful Korean muscle.

Sounds all good to me!

Read the full article here.

한국인 of the Day: Yeon Woo Ji

She is probably the sole woman featured this week who needs absolutely no introduction whatsoever to any of you lovely readers. Yeon Woo Ji cemented her place as the first Korean female muscle superstar last year with her Overall Physique victory at the Arnold Classic Europe and, of course, with her appearance at #26 in the FMS Hot and Hard 100, the only Korean and, behind Penpraghai Tiangngok, the second highest-placed Asian-born hot and hard woman on the list.



Seriously though, her rise into the IFBB pro ranks before she had turned 30, like her rise in notoriety and popularity among fans from all over the world, is, of course, mainly due to the winning package of muscularity and femininity she is able to bring to the stage - and methinks the stunning exotic beauty doesn't hurt either. But me also thinks Yeon Woo Ji's somewhat unusual (for a Korean, anyway) competitive history has also played its part in enabling her to be the first Korean woman to hit the kind of international heights that her compatriot sisters of iron have failed to reach.



The man who has to take most of the credit for transforming Yeon Woo Ji from skinny to international female muscle star is also responsible for the ring on her finger. Jong Sup Won, a bodybuilder himself, introduced her to the sport, first became her trainer, and later became her husband. And it was, I believe, his decision to compete in the USA that resulted in his wife following him as supporter and competitor, and led directly to her gaining greater exposure to the international brethren.



Her competitive career (as far as I know) began, conventionally enough, as a figure athlete and bodybuilder in Korea. But not for her the typical progression from Korean champ (which she has never been) to the IFBB Asian and then, perhaps, World Championships made by Mi Hee Yu or Lee Hyeon Joo (to name but two examples). Instead, as noted above, Yeon Woo Ji went to California with her husband in 2011.



At the 2011 NPC California State Championships she competed in Figure. Although she didn't place in that show, the wheels had been set in motion. She returned to California to compete at the Memorial Day Muscle Beach Event later in the year, won her class (OK, she was the only one in it) AND the Overall Figure title. Then, in December 2011 she was back in California again and finishing 2nd, as a bodybuilder this time, at the NPC Excalibur. By then, she had come to the attention of more than one high profile female muscle website, and suddenly she was all over the fansites.




Back in Korea in 2012 Yeon Woo Ji finished just 3rd in the national championships, but also - if the prevalance of clips out there of her appearing on Korean (and Chinese) TV is anything to go by - gained a measure of mainstream media exposure. More importantly for what followed, though, she also made the fateful decision to focus her efforts on Physique (hubby probably had something to do with that too!).



Which brings us to her triumph in Madrid last year. At the time (see Contest of the Day, November 2013) FMS reported that though we found her to be looking "sensational" in photos of the event, footage of her posing had left us a little "underwhelmed". Having revisited both in the course of putting this post together, I stand by that appraisal. I'm not saying that she didn't look as sexy as hell during her free posing routine - a dazzling vision of feminine muscularity - just that she didn't MOVE quite as sexily as hell as she had done in my imagination when I saw the contest photos. Thus, underwhelming.




But my own ignorant opinion shouldn't in any way detract from what was an undeniably incredible achievement. In winning the Arnold Europe, not only did Yeon Woo Ji become the first Korean IFBB Physique Pro, but she also entered the history books as the first Asian to win such a high profile international title.



So, what's the next move for the trailblazing Yeon Woo Ji?

Whatever it is, the female muscle fan world will be watching...



You can watch Yeon Woo Ji's Arnold Europe routine on You Tube thanks to videosmusculares, follow her on Facebook, and fill your boots with her pics and clips on Female Muscle Clips, HD Physiques, Her Biceps, Krivs Studio AND - in Madrid from last year and at her most groin-activatingly gorgeous and BIG - on Female City Flex.




And we finish both this post and our week of the country's fine female muscle with 3+ minutes of Korea's gorgeous and very first female muscle superstar. Enjoy!

100 Biceps: Day 1

001, 002

At the risk of going too damn big, bad and beautiful too soon, the first two of the hundred biceps coming your way on FMS this week are just that. Robin "Triple" Dee has, whether you're a fan of the tats or not, got quite a package going on here, and those magnificent mounds of muscle on her arms are a big part of said package. If you can look at that beefy vein running along the base of her left bicep and keep your hands above the table, then I tip my hat to your powers of self-control.

003, 004

Arrogance. There will be plenty of it this week. And while the ever-classy Lisa Carrodus isn't overdoing it here by any means, the sparkle in her eyes and that knowing smile tell me she is far from unhappy showing off her hard and sexy peaks.

005, 006

19-year-old (!!!) Brazilian Livia Possebon, her guns, and what appear to be some rather curious nutritional choices. Don't be fooled by the slightly dorky glasses, though, Livia's an all-action muscle-hungry little beast. Not the biggest biceps we will see this week, but beautifully formed nevertheless. And GROWING.

007, 008

Attitude. Plenty of that this week as well. Muscle babe and "Hip Hop Honey" Yves "Nunu" Nunez gives it loads in (what I assume is) a snapshot from a cam show. Attitude is sexy. But attitude backed up with a pair of bulging biceps like the ones "Nunu" is so very aggressively displaying here is, well, let's just say Yves calls her fans "pups"... I don't need to tell you how bitches feed their pups, do I?!

009, 010

A look reminiscent of the (apparently) trendy "fashions" of the 1940s, of the iconic US "We Can Do It" poster, and a look (and smile) that says this lovely lady is both pleased with the progress her biceps have made so far AND inspired to work on making them bigger and better and sexier yet. FMS says, You can do it, girl!

011, 012

And here's another look of love. Online bikini fitness coach Andrea Pasutti (you'd probably recognise her better with dark hair) can't help smiling as she flexes her bodacious biceps in this 2012 shot. Andrea has more reasons than most to celebrate her hard body, reasons you might want to read about on her Facebook page.

013, 014

How hot is Margie Martin? we asked in our Toronto Pro contest review recently, before answering the question ourselves. Margie and her incredible, groin-tingling biceps are, for me anyway, the ultimate hands above the table challenge right now - you've no idea how long it has taken me to type these few sentences, nor how much mess I've made while doing it. Actually, you probably do have some idea!

More Margie coming up later in the week...

015, 016

Seeing Yeon Woo-Ji flexing her oh-so lickable biceps on a computer screen is one thing, but just imagine the intensity of "The Madness" that seeing her doing exactly that only feet away from you would set off. I wonder if the guy in the background here can tell us about it - assuming he made it out of that park alive, of course.

017, 018

Wow!!! Renata Hronova seems to be really really enjoying herself here, really really enjoying flexing her big ol' biceps. I mean really really enjoying herself. Either that or it was really really cold in that gym. One might say Renata is properly "fully armed" because she clearly has both the guns AND the bullets!!!

019, 020

And finally today, the results of the hard work and genetic gifts of modern-day Greek fitness goddess and former sprinter Anastasia Papoutsaki provide yet another "where to put my hands to put my hands to best use" type conundrum for the female muscle lover. That should keep you busy till tomorrow's bicep installment.

Enjoy!