Backstage of the Day

Ever been backstage at a female bodybuilding show and seen those magnificent contest-ready bodies up close? No? Didn't think so. And neither have I.

If female muscle worship is a religion, if we, the female muscle brethren, are the mad monks, then the backstage area, the 'pump room' at a female bodybuilding show, especially a big pro show, is the holiest of holies.

If the show itself is the place of pilgrimage, backstage is the forbidden inner sanctum. Like the Catholic who travels to Rome and sees the Pope on the balcony but doesn't get an audience, you might get to the show, but it's unlikely you'd get yourself backstage, no matter how good your blagging skills are.

And speaking for myself, that's probably a good thing. I've always had serious doubts about my ability to control myself in an environment crammed with the women I adore in their peak condition. All that oil, all those tanned, glistening bodies, all those pumped-up carbed-up muscle on show - I'm sure I'd end up being escorted from the premises if I was lucky, and carried out on life support if I wasn't.

Fortunately, there are better men than me who not only make it backstage, not only remember to take their camera with them, but also manage to hold themselves together and get some wonderful images so the likes of you and me can see exactly what we're missing.

This week on FMS, thanks to these heroes, we're going backstage.


Absolutely the kind of scenario I couldn't be trusted to handle. I'm pretty sure that this is Fabiola Boulanger's rear view that we're looking at here, and if I'm not mistaken, that's Gillian Kovack on the right. Way way too much excitement for Slave. In fact, I'm starting to feel quite dizzy just looking at the image, so I'd better move on.


I've heard it said that competitors do a lot of eyeing each other up in the backstage area. Here, in this image from the olden days, there doesn't seem to be much of that. Instead, there seems to be a lot of mirror-gazing self-admiration. Me? I can't take my eyes off Tazzie's upper body. Her golden posing suit, her bloated abs, the way she's looking so intently at herself in the mirror and above all, those veins popping out of her bicep. Yeah. Couldn't be trusted here either!


Or here. Talus, Cadeau, Masino and more backstage at the 2001 Miss International.



Pump room gold.

Enjoy!