Freaky Friday: Konstantina Kaskani

I have several reasons to smile, says veteran Greek muscle goddess Konstantina.

Now I remember her from the glory days of greekmuscle.net (now sadly no longer with us) as a woman who was never backward in coming forward to show off her own particular brand of ripped WABBA muscularity. Recently though, the addition of some enhancement to her pectoral enhancements has apparently made her even bolder.



And this newly-enhanced boldness reached thrilling freaky peak (so far) in early June. Gosh! exclaimed one forum poster. She's reached a whole new level. Very hot!!!

Don't you find it comforting to know that there are others, like our forum poster, out there who are just as impressed by such gnarly female muscle as you yourself are? We know full well that we could totally explain the attraction of - for example - Cindy Landolt to a non-female muscle head, but not this. Never this. This is just for us.



A lady in the street, a freak in the gym, is the philosophy Konstantina signs up to. I'm sure the first half of that is true, but a (reasonably) thorough search of her IG doesn't show a lot of evidence of it. Plenty of the other though. And not just in the gym.

Enjoy! (You freaks!)

Woman of the Week: NOT Emma Paveley

No pictures today I'm afraid. And no name.

This week's Woman of the Week is the lady I saw last week as she enjoyed some lunchtime sunshine with friends/colleagues on the green near where I'm working now.

I saw her twice. Once, very briefly, last Tuesday, and then again a week ago today.

TUESDAY, 3rd JULY

We've had a so-called "heatwave" in the UK (I'm sure we just used to refer to weather like this as "summer"!) recently. Sunshine every day, temperatures in the mid to high 20s where I am. It's been great, and when out and about, I've been as alert as always to any female muscle among the (mainly flabby) flesh on display in the heat.

Largely, I've been disappointed. The city where I'm currently based is not a large one, hardly a hotspot for female muscle, but I had some luck in the spring with sighting muscular women so I was hopeful. But apart from a few women with "toned" arms, and/or flat tummy, my female muscle radar has been pretty much dormant.

That changed last Tuesday. As I walked back to the office from a working lunch with a colleague, the radar went crazy. Ahead, to my left, was a woman in a workout vest with shoulders. Big, muscular shoulders. She was sitting on the grass, leaning back, and supporting herself on her arms, making those shoulders pop. I felt my heart rate rise, felt the adrenaline rush. I fought the urge to stare, tried to maintain the conversation I was having... But those shoulders were proper balls of muscle.

I was side on to her now as we passed, and could see a proper tricep too, bulging outwards from under her shoulder then curving back in towards her elbow. No more than a glimpse but more than enough to make me have to suppress a gasp.

My colleague has a bit of a power walk on her, and I cursed her for it. We'd gone past her too quickly, to see any more now I would have to stop and turn around. My heart still beating fast, I tried and failed to think of a reason to do just that. It was over.

WEDNESDAY, 4th JULY

Over the following 24 hours, I somehow managed to convince myself that the woman I had seen was none other than Britain's Fitness Olympian Emma Paveley.


IFBB Fitness Pro Emma Paveley - NOT the woman I saw

It seemed perfectly reasonable at the time.

For one thing, Emma is based not a million miles away from where my sighting had happened and the woman I had seen was, I surmised, more or less the right height. She was the right colouring - blond, pale - and had the right hairstyle. The muscles, I guessed, were about right too. Shockingly developed next to the "normals" she was with that day, they were still nothing like a full-on Female Bodybuilder's.

Piece by piece my Madness-stricken mind assembled the glimpses I had had of the woman on the grass, and when they were all put together they added up to Emma.

I was back at that green the following lunchtime. Waiting and watching I ran through what I would say to her - "good luck in Vancouver" and so on. Would she think it weird or would she be flattered that I knew who she was and when and where she would be competing next? My tone, I decided, would be key - that and not gushing out everything little thing I knew about her all at once. So I rehearsed as I sat watching and waiting for her. I ran through my lines over and over again.

THURSDAY, 5th JULY

She was there when I arrived at the green with my lunch. And I realised very quickly that though she did bear a passing resemblance to Emma, it was not in fact her. This was, I'll admit, somewhat disappointing, but I was glad to see she (whoever she is) was once again in a workout vest. And there was a vacant bench close-but-not-too-close to her with a great view of her arms, her shoulders, and even a little back.

I settled down and drank her in.

When she spoke even the smallest gesticulation made her muscles ripple a little, and with no one in earshot, I was able to let out little moans and gasps as she did so. It didn't take long for my loins to start acknowledging her - I did get rather hard at one point and had to cross my legs - but I felt more like an art lover in a gallery gazing at a particularly beautiful work than a man on a perving mission in a public place!

A good 45 minutes I spent like that, melting into a full-on swoon at one point when she leaned back on her arms (as I had seen her first), triceps and shoulders bulging, and stretched. As she did so her quads visibly flared in her tight leggings. I felt my eyes widening, my loins tingling, and bit my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood.

I desperately wanted to see her stand up so I could get a better look at those legs, desperately wanted to watch her walk so I could see if her glutes were as tight as I imagined. She remained on the grass, however, and I really had to get back to work.

It wasn't difficult - and nor, at the time, did it seem in any way wrong - to take a few long range pictures of her, and I later spent some of the afternoon at my desk cropping them to focus on her, delighted her impressive definition came out.

That evening I spent some quality time with those pictures, then deleted them all - partly because of the surge of guilt I felt immediately after I had paid my secret tribute to her, partly because I knew deep down I would never have been able to keep them to myself and by sharing them open myself up to all sorts of embarrassing (and possibly legal) situations, and partly because I wanted to spare her the shock of one day coming across a bunch of photos of herself she never knew existed.

She may well be aware the muscles she has built give her more than just physical power. She certainly wasn't shy about showing off her arms and shoulders, quite rightly - I hope and expect she is very proud of the physique she has. She'll never know what she did to me, though. Never know the power she had over me for those few days last week, and clearly continues to have over me as I sit here writing now.

She's my woman of the week without question - whoever she is.

Emma, by the way, finished 3rd in Vancouver, so she didn't manage to defend her title. She was nevertheless "feeling really proud at being soooo much better than ever before" at the show. If I see her, I'll tell her I thought she's never looked better either, though the chances of that are slim. Yes, she's based not a million miles from where I'm currently working, but the only public place Emma ever seems to be is in the gym.

Tube Watch

Our irregularly regular feature rounding up some of the best new(ish) clips of fine female muscle on You Tube returns for the first time since the end of May.

(I'M STILL) HEAD OVER HEELS FOR JESSICA



I've got such a crush on her.

Dan Ray must have been really really good in a previous life...

For Your Consideration

NPC News Online, specifically Ray and his probing camera, was backstage at the Jr. Nationals. The Physique ladies' edit is definitely worth a look, if only for the marvellous footage of the entire "C" class (Destinee Bruch, Paige Sandgren, Emily Reed, and Kristina Vanderwaal Shober) all doing press-ups in a semi-circle - fast forward to 3.40 if you can't wait. Glammed, tanned and pumping up Figure phenoms from the same show come in two parts - here and here, and you might also want to check out their NPC Universe backstage edits - Physique here, and Figure here and here.

BODYBUILDING BABES & WILD FBB

"Instagram clips pasted together" is a very current and very popular formula for female muscle channels. I believe Bodybuilding Babes was one of the originators of the style, and though I'm rarely a fan of the choice of music, you have to doff your cap when over three and a half years and 32,000+ subscribers later, it is still going strong, pumping out an average of two clips per week every week. They either focus on a particular woman (eg. Strong Cosplay Girl Renee Enos) or come as compilations with names like Best of Strong Girls in Sleeves or Best of Girls with Abs Part 4. Here's a taste:



Based in India, Wild FBB is an altogether newer concern, promises "strong females, muscular females and daring females". These apparently include muscle women of all shapes and sizes, some very current, some a little off-radar these days. Currently Wild FBB is posting their edits at the dizzy rate of 30 or more per week! They're not all winners, but almost 8 minutes of Maria Rita Penteado is not to be sniffed at, and though considerably shorter, this Laura Pintado edit is just as unforgettable.

This though, is the jewel in their crown so far - The Queen around the time of her win in Toronto. "OMG" may be overused these days, but it's entirely appropriate here...



RIPPED AND VASCULAR BEAUTIES

Another new(er) channel that brings both current Instagram swoons and treasures from the archive to the same place is the "admiring muscular ladies" channel Ripped and Vascular Beauties. In the former category, you could do worse than join them in admiring Figure phenom Michele Da Silva, while fans of the so-called "old school" will be more partial to, for example, 12+ minutes of WPW Charla Sedacca footage.

Personally, I don't think Ripped and Vascular Beauties hits the spot quite as often as Bodybuilding Babes or Wild FBB do, but when they do nail it, they really nail it.

I recently came across barenaked cam footage of the ripped and vascular Heidi Worrell-Osborne in one of the murkier parts of the internet, but quite honestly, I think I actually prefer this shameless display of rock hard vascular eroticism...



But even Heidi can't match 16+ minutes of Angelica.

Get comfy...



Enjoy!

FBBing Wins! Chicago 2018 (Part 1)

Kristina Mendoza looks pretty damn pleased with her runner's-up medal, don't you think? Those around her - Alina, Lenda and WoS main man Jake Woods - had just as much - if not more reason - to be cheerful. This year's Ms Wings International Classic and the FBBing portion of the Chicago Pro were, as far as I can see, an utter triumph, and the latest and perhaps most convincing indication we've had that the Wings of Strength regime has not just helped IFBB/NPC Female Bodybuilding survive, but is also busy working on its future, one that may be as bright as Kristina's smile.



Why am I so convinced? Well, I have reasons. Enough to fill up two posts (kind of). So we'll get to why I am so happy about what I saw of the pro show later in the week. Today, it's all about the night before - the second Ms Wings International Classic.



With just the one Lightweight, and only three Middleweight competitors, the main event was the Heavyweight class. Paige Sandgren made her (eagerly anticipated in my house and, I expect, many other houses) FBBing bow, and placed 4th. I didn’t get a pro card, she wrote in her post-show afterglow, but that doesn’t even matter to me right now. I feel as if I found my home and a new family tonight. It just felt... right.




Looked very right to see Paige flexing with her fists. Very very right indeed. Looked like it felt right too. Look at her smile, look at her eyes all lit up. Paige has dipped her body in the new FBBing scene, and now there's nowhere else she'd rather be. Physique has lost one the sport's brightest young stars. 1-0 to Jake, Alina and Lenda.



One place lower than Paige, but scarcely any less enthused, was the Wings of Strength booth regular at previous 2018 shows, the gorgeous Noelle Rockwell. So grateful for the opportunity to compete with these beautiful women and represent the sport, she reflected. I definitely brought my best package to date, and I’m not done yet!




It was Noelle who last year weighed in with the comment that coined the phrase as Wings of Strength went wild on Facebook after Jake and Kristal split, and bad feeling exploded after the Rising Phoenix invites were announced. Re-reading the post I did then, I can't help wondering whether that was the moment that the (now) WoS prime movers started to wonder whether they should perhaps start to pursue a policy of recruiting youth over experience, whether bringing on a new generation of female muscle was going to be a lot easier than keeping the old guard happy! Either way, when the season dawned this year, it was women like Noelle and Kristina Mendoza who were at the booth at the pro shows, not the outraged from the previous summer.



Just saying. If there was a change in policy, it's working.



Noelle's "expo bestie" similarly brought her best, biggest and most ball-draining package to date [please tell me you didn't just say THAT! - ed.], and was duly rewarded with her best ever placing - runner-up in the Heavyweight class.



Previews of pre-contest photo shoots with Sean Nelson of HerBiceps had been suggesting it was going to be hard for fans in the audience to keep it in their trousers [is this going to be a thing, this... new, shall we say "spicier" style? I'm not saying I'm against it - ed.], and that was exactly how it was - I imagine, I haven't heard a peep to the contrary, but haven't exactly had it confirmed either. What I will say is this, legendary lensman and Mr. Annie Rivieccio James Cook couldn't keep his legendary lens off Kristina. I've counted and he took more photos of her than of any woman on stage. So, James liked what he saw, and I like what James saw...




Her lush, powerful body is such a turn on, says James... Just kidding! It's a forum comment re Kristina, potentially by one of the members of the audience in Chicago who faced a fight or flight (to the gents' for some relief) when Kristina was on stage.



Those legs!

And to think, there are some men in the world who would claim to not find a body like Kristina's attractive! Surely one of Wings of Strength's biggest assets, amateur or pro.



It was always going to take a special body to beat Kristina in this shape, and that turned out to be the relatively unheralded (and considerably more mature) Tina Williams.



Tina was, if you noticed her at all, last seen just about making the top 3 in her Physique class at the NPC Masters Nationals in 2016, and only committed to moving up to FBBing last autumn. She did, however, have coach Melody Spetko to help her...



At the NPC Muscle Mayhem at the start of June she won a one-woman FBB class and also picked up the "Kim Chizevsky Extreme Conditioning Award". [This award is] special to me, she said afterwards. Conditioning is the hardest thing for women, but the plan my coach put into place focused on just that. And so Tina came into Chicago not only motivated but also battle-hardened. Coach Melody's plan to get Tina's conditioning in well before the Ms Wings then maintain size worked like a dream.



All the class winners got pro cards. Tina was back on stage the following day.



A more familiar body and face with a less familiar name would take the Overall title, however. When I saw the list of entrants I wondered who Middlewieight Susanna Jacobs was. When I saw the first pictures - despite some less than subtle facial work - I remembered she had "famously" got married at the Olympia a few years back. This was Susanna (bet you can't keep your) Hand(s above the table), competing under her married name for the very first time. Same effect though, they're still down there!



OVERALL champ and new IFBB pro!!! What an incredible weekend! gushed Mrs Jacobs after day one of two. I gotta do this whole pro debut thing tomorrow...



Having produced an amateur show that brought pleasure to (at the very least) me and James, the Wings of Strength team would, like Susanna and Tina, be back the next day with some fully paid-up members of "the big girls' club" - the pros. And, as promised, we'll be seeing how that event was just as much of a triumph later in the week.



While short on the international flavour that was its stated aim at its outset, this year's Ms Wings definitely raised its own bar. Unlike last year's predictable coronation of Elena Oana Hreapca, this was a genuine contest, and the Heavyweight line-up was at least as good as any we have seen at the NPC Nationals for some years. Among that line-up were two of the sport's most wanted, one of them poached from the WPD. If you were not impressed, you are a harder man to please than I. Or James.



Check out all of James Cook's work from the first day in Chicago at Gene X magazine. We have only scratched the surface of the Ms Wings line-up here today, and, lest we forget, some rather exciting pro Physique and Figure ladies were on show as well.

Enjoy!

Pic of the Month: July

Once again there were two clear readers' favourites for June's poll, but ultimately Sarah Fechter's muscle beauty couldn't compete with muscle-woman-of-the-moment Shannon Seeley - even when we only see her in silhouette!



And so to this month's five to choose from.

Check them out, follow the link at the bottom, and vote with a single click.

FAY ELLIS - BRITISH BEEF



Fay brings "Cool Britannia" back with this instant classic. Big, bulging bicep, and that forearm - check that out and swoon! Take in the styling though, the beautiful skin, the lush, pouting lips. Effortlessly strong and effortlessly sexy at the same time.

SELINA FRY - AIRBORNE ABS



To be honest, I liked this picture a whole lot more when I didn't know anything about it. My imagination ran riot - as just one example I imagined this was proof to a doubtful fellow passenger that she really was in the fitness game. Sadly though my wilder musings were cut short as I not only got a name, but then an Instagram, and then a caption telling me this was Selina en route to Singapore and the WFF Universe recently, her head "pure chaos" as she tried to assesss the shape she was in. Consolation - my imagination is now wondering if she felt the need to assess any other body parts while in the air. Perhaps there are more pics from the flight to come...

EMMA TALL - AMBUSHED?



Found this apparent candid of Crossfitter Emma Tall (good name!) on a Tumblr. Caption: "You Can Run (But I Can Hide in the Bushes with My Camera)". Say what you like about Crossfit [is that still a thing, anti-Crossfit? really? - ed.], but it has given us some absolutely stunning women with some proper thick muscularity. I do like her minimal clothing, and that big thick glute we can only see one side of.

GINA CAVALIERO - THE PUMP IS REAL



One of many eye-popping pics that Florida NPC Physique competitor Gina has posted on her Instagram over the last few weeks, you may not be surprised to learn that she has been to visit the ER at least once during this prep. Top doctors may not recommend pushing one's body to such extremes, but that just adds to the thrill for me, and apparently also for Gina. Woman on the verge of an IFBB pro card...

Or perhaps an extended stay in hospital!

NAILAH GREEN - SERENITY NOW



One woman who is a new IFBB pro is superior Figure phenom Nailah Green. This was, I believe taken backstage before she won her Over 35 class at the recent NPC Universe. I do love a backstage selfie, and a woman this gorgeous really doesn't have to try harder. Get the feeling she was confident about that class win? Yeah, me too. And by the way, this is not a before-she-donned-the-hairpiece-to-go-on-stage pic. This is her look - on and off the stage. Clearly it works for her, and it really works for me.

Made up your mind?

OK, to vote you just need to go HERE and make your selection.

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

Enjoy! And thanks in advance for voting!

The Sexhibitionists: Cindy's Game

And so, to end our week of show offs, perhaps the greatest tease of them all.



These days with Cindy it's a lot more about the t&a than it is about the muscle, and it's pretty much been that way since she unveiled her enhanced look a few years ago.

Few women show so much so often but Cindy never shows it all.



It's the hook that keeps us coming back for more. How exactly is she going to expose herself without actually exposing herself this time? we wonder, imaginations running wild. How could the next photo shoot possibly be any hotter than the last?



Most recently though, there was a kind of new land(olt) mark in this ongoing saga.

I confess I did have to look at the pic long and hard before I could truly believe what Cindy was giving me the privilege of seeing for the first time after all these years...



There they are. Zoom in - the pic can take it - and enjoy.

Where will she go from here?!