(More) Summer Lovin': Michaela's Mind

Just on the off chance you were in the mood for a bit more Physique freakery...



Erotic and genuinely disturbing in equal measure (which makes her even more erotic, the will to go to such extremes and revel in doing so!) is what I say. You say, among other things, that she is "amazing", and "awesome", and that "she's on another level now". That you look at this picture and all you can think is "I love muscle women! WOW!!!", and that "even a train would stop to look at that". "Look how happy you are!" exclaims one of Michaela's Instagram devotees. Exactly my point. What woman in their right mind would get so much pleasure from being so disgustingly muscular?!

Our kind of woman.

Enjoy!

Sunday at Sea

Imagine...

The wife has been waving cruise brochures in front of your face for years, but never managed to get you on the boat. This year, however, she just went and booked it.

Four weeks of it. Your Christmas "present".

You set sail in August, but have felt nauseous since February.

But as you arrive at the port - with a month's worth of travel sickness pills - the radar goes off like it's never gone off before. Muscle to starboard (or is it port?), and from where you are she looks HUGE! You try - and fail - not to stare. She's right there, tight shorts, loose vest and OMG she's only bloody POSING in front of the boat.



And OMG it IS her. It's KATIE LEE!!!

Katie (really) did take a well-earned break for a Caribbean cruise with friends recently - Dominican Republic, Honduras, etc. And I can't help wondering how many of her fellow passengers spent days and nights desperately manoeuvring themselves and their significant others into parts of the boat where Katie & Co. were while at the same time (and equally desperately) trying to cover up a tentpole the size of an oar...



The more successful our voyaging female muscle heads were at that - and at stalking the gorgeous Katie during stop-offs - probably had a knock-on effect on the vigour, and frequency, with which their significant other got the "benefit" of that tentpole.



Net result - your wife's now under the impression that if she wants a "romantic" holiday, then taking you on a cruise is the only way to go. "He's never like this when we do a city break," she says to herself after yet another (vigorous) pre-dinner (post-Katie-stalking) cabin romp. "Think I'll pre-book next year before we disembark."



The "Allure of the Seas", eh?

More Katie, including more Katie on vacation, on her Instagram.

Save the Date (Part 2)

Our Rising Phoenix preview continues...

SADLY NOT JOINING US



For once, we won't see her trusty black posing suit straining against the awesome power of her legendary muscles (and other bits). Yaxeni Oriquen's 3rd place package at last year's show was, it has been confirmed, her "last". She is retired now and at peace with all her success and greatness, according to Sheila Bleck.

SHEILA BLECK



So I guess that makes Sheila the most experienced woman standing in terms of pro FBBing at the very highest level. She could so easily have been the champ last year, and as always when she takes the stage, Sheila will be a serious contender again.



She never placed lower than 7th in her four Olympias between 2010 and 2014, she's never been out of the top two at the Rising Phoenix. Could this (finally) be her year?

VIRGINIA SANCHEZ



Sheila is well used to the luxury of just having one end-of-season show to prepare for, but it's a new experience for Spanish behemoth Virginia. Her 5th at last year's RP was as popular a result for this "delicious monster" as it was unexpected - nothing in Virginia's previous contest history suggested she would challenge for the top 6.



As always, I'm hoping her next show will be the show where she dispenses with the hairpiece. As always, I won't be too surprised of it isn't. Currently looking as big, bold and sweaty as ever - I'm on my way! she says. Follow her final prep on Instagram.

(SURPRISE?) DEBUTANTS



From the points qualifying zone, two women who have perhaps exceeded their own expectations in 2018 - Tananarive Huie and LaDawn McDay. The former qualified as a result of finishing 3rd in a not-so stacked line-up in Toronto; the latter a suprise 3rd at the ultra-competitive Tampa Pro earlier in the month.

MAKING IT HAPPEN



More likely to be in the mix on the judges' scorecards though iss the woman who finished one place above LaDawn in Tampa - "the outstanding amateur Female Bodybuilder of the last few years" according to no lesser source than FMS(!) after she'd turned pro last year - the sassy, sexy (and ever so slightly scary) Pauline Nelson.



She wasted no time at all putting her pro card to use - 3rd in Tampa in 2017, she didn't place at the RP last year, but this year has seen her very much embraced by WoS. Cue Pauline at their booth in some of the pulse-quickening outfits she wears oh so well.

PHYSIQUE PHENOMS (FORMER)



One of the features of this contest season has been the migration of some of the more frustrated and/or muscular Physique beauties into the WoS fold at both amateur and pro level. Amanda Smith switched mid-season, as did Jill Diorio (aka Blondin). A couple of 5th places was enough for Amanda to qualify, while Jill (who switched later in the season) was as shocked as anyone to win at her first FBBing attempt in Chicago.

AVE MARIA!



But probably the biggest Physique to FBBing success story since WoS started running the show has been that of Canada's Maria Mikola. Originally a Bodybuilder, she switched to Physique in 2013 and there she remained for three years, her placings far far down on those she had achieved previously. 2017 saw her make a long overdue return to FBBing, and since then she has not only won one pro title (Omaha last year) but also collected four runner's-up medals, three of them this season alone.



Beaten only by the might of Margie Martin in Chicago. Maria looked better than ever, and if she brings anything like her Chicago package to Scottsdale, she'll be sure to improve on her 14th place on debut last year. She certainly got the attention of a lot more fans after Chicago, including one of the author's own contacts. We need to talk about Maria Mikola, he told me at the time. He did most of the talking.

OUR ROCKSTAR



Gorgeous, glamorous, and this year a winning pro - in Omaha - Isabelle Turell is proper FBBing royalty these days. She took a year off last year, but WoS were canny enough to make sure she felt like she was one of their most important ambassadors during that time, and that investment in her has paid off handsomely for them.



Isabelle's appeal lies, I believe, in the fact that she fetishises her muscles probably more than anyone in the line-up with the exception of Margie Martin. She's probably not jaw-droppingly huge enough to improve on her 13th in 2016, but she will nevertheless be one of the most fervently supported competitors in the contest, and, I wouldn't be surprised, feature pretty heavily in the show's marketing as well.

UNCROWNED



Fresh from her first ever pro win in Tampa, Alina is probably as keen to compete at the RP again as we all are to be in the same room as her naked body. Four times she went up against Iris at the Olympia, and - particularly on the last two of those occasions - the female muscle lovin' world yearned for her coronation. After a year off in 2015 she competed at the 2016 RP, not exactly a shadow of her former self, but certainly not the force she had been. "Pro FBBing has moved on," we noted as she placed a distant 3rd behind Sheila and Margie. There few complaints on the forums. Had her time passed?



It was a new look Alina in Tampa. Enhancements have been bought, and not everyone is pleased. Again, however, there were few complaints about the result, but there has been some scepticism as to whether she can challenge for the title in Arizona. I'm not sure. She's definitely lost a lot of the shock and awe she had at those Olympias, but she'll almost certainly be in the first callout, and if she can improve on her Tampa package, the most popular FBB of her generation may yet get to wear the crown.

QUEEN OF MUSCLE



Thankfully, her "retirement" didn't last long. A year off, a new man, and adjustments to the enhancements later, and Margie was back. She picked her show well, and in the most predictable result of the year, utterly dominated the "competition" in Chicago.



It's been a ride and a half to follow Margie on social media as she prepared to return, won in Chicago, and then started her prep to win back the title she abdicated last year. She is, remember, unbeaten at the Rising Phoenix as yet - two appearances, two wins - and she currently looks head and shoulders (and arms and pecs and legs and all the rest) above any other FBB on the planet. So despite the quality of the line-up this year, I can't help feeling - even three weeks out - there's only going to be one winner.

Save the date - September 8th.

Save the Date (Part 1)

In just over three weeks from now, the greatest female muscle show on Earth will be getting under way in Scottsdale, Arizona. This will be the fourth running of the contest the ladies themselves call "our Olympia", and - of Wings of Strength's own pre-show blurb is to be believed - the first to which no "special invites" will be handed out.

The reason for no invites, as far as I can tell, is that the line-up is already "stacked". Although not 100% confirmed as a line-up, with twenty-four women already qualified from placing high at last year's RP, winning a pro show in 2018, or earning four or more qualifying points, the show promises to be the biggest, best RP to date.

So I'm getting the preview in early...

HELLE TREVINO



The reigning Queen of Female Bodybuilding has done her bit at WoS booths during the course of 2018, but otherwise she's been fairly low profile - and that's just the way she likes it. Helle is not the biggest fan of the likes of us - who can blame her?! - so rather than Instagram, her YouTube channel is the place to go if you want to see the kind of shape. Watch her destroy (male and female) training partners in clips with names such as Funny Chest Workout, Building Massive Legs and Monster Calves & Shoulders.



Though the champ, she probably isn't the favourite, but discount her at your peril - she's never turned up for the Rising Phoenix in less than immaculate condition, has only been out of the top two once, and deserved better than her 4th two years ago.

LE DUE ITALIANE



For the first time since the days of Claudias Profanter and Montemaggi, two Italians will strut their stuff at the world's premier female muscle show. Barbara Carita and Cristina Franzoso were the sole FBBs on show at the new-look San Marino Pro in June. Barbara earned her pro card the day before then outmuscled her veteran compatriot. Cristina, however, picked up four qualifying points for 2nd as a result, and added to the four she'd already got at the Galaxy Pro a couple of weeks earlier, she flew to the top of the points table, and has been there ever since.

MUSCLEDOLL



Also getting her RP qualification in early was Maryse Manios, winner of that Galaxy Pro in Bari, Italy. She regally dominates... A true MASSIVE MATURE MUSCLE QUEEN! proclaimed one of her many devotees on the forums after her victory, but 5th in Toronto (out of 7) was probably a better reflection of where Maryse truly is in the grand scheme of IFBB Pro Female Bodybuilding these days. Highly unlikely that she, or either of our two Italians will make the placings, but they all deserve their place.

JACQUELINE "JAY" FUCHS



Another Euro muscle legend, however, is - particularly if current form (see above) is maintained - going to be in the mix for a automatic qualification for next year. Jay's 3rd in Chicago was met with consternation by her band of merry men, but they (and she) didn't have to wait long before she was handed a big (first place) sword.



To me she never looks quite as breathtaking on stage as she does off it (not the only woman I could say that of), but a week after the Chicago show, Jay was crowned at the Lenda Murray Pro in Norfolk, and most recently placed 5th in Tampa in the best line-up of 2018 so far. She was 12th in her one and only RP appearance (last year), she could well break into the top 10 this time. Loyal fans will be hoping for even more.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE



Over 55 as long ago as 2014, Patricia "Patty" Corbett just made it to the show on points, as did the equally long-serving (but a good ten years younger) Angela Rayburn - who of course has been to the RP before. Expect wardrobe malfunctions and a big bulge from Patty, that signature pose and a big bulge from Angela...



Tara Silzer, meanwhile, with not quite as many years behind her as Patty and Angela, spent the first couple of years of her pro career slumming it in Physique, but a decision this year to "go big" has paid off handsomely. She was immediately into the prize money as runner-up to Jay in Norfolk, and now she's prepping for Arizona.

FBBUK



With no Lisa Cross this year - her 4th in Tampa wasn't enough (and wasn't right as far as I'm concerned either!) - British fans will be hoping that 2017's surprise RP package Wendy McCready can repeat the trick. Like Queen Helle, Wendy tends to keep a pretty low social media profile, but one thing we can say is that she's rather excited about going back again this year. Just under 7 weeks until the greatest female bodybuilder competition in the world! she wrote just over a month ago. My MONDAY, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday MOTIVATION!!!

NICKI CHARTRAND



Whacky hair days notwithstanding, Nicki Chartrand is, I think, one of the shrewder operators in the WoS schedule game. Consequently, she's one of the bigger success stories of the last couple of years, apparently coming from nowhere to last year's Rising Phoenix (invite) and then her first pro win (Hawaii) at the start of this season.



"Nicki! What's your secret?" is, she says, a question she gets asked a lot. Maybe I DO have a few tricks up my sleeve, she says - not that she wears sleeves much, and who can blame her? But despite promising a new website where all will be told, so far those tricks are staying put. 12th on her RP debut, she'll probably do better than expected.

YER MS. INTERNATIONAL



Crashing back into the collective consciousness in Chicago this year, the woman formerly known as Susanna (Bet You Can't Keep Your) Hand(s Above the Table) won the Ms International Classic in Chicago under her married name of Susanna Jacobs. Who is this woman? I, and I imagine many like me wondered as we clicked on her name at the Maximum Muscle Report gallery. Oh! It's her... we sighed, swooning, before reliving what we always used to do when Susanna was in her pomp.



Susanna had nailed the conditioning like never before - good enough to place 4th the next day at the pro show - and although, yes, there's clearly been a bit of facial work, her eyes still have that same smouldering intensity when she wants to turn it on.

SADLY NOT JOINING US



Jennie Roosa, qualified on points thanks to her runner's-up finish behind Nicki Chartrand in Hawaii, won't, unfortunately, be making her RP debut this year. Jennie and her fella are expecting their first child, and we wish them well. I do hope this Alina-trained phenom will be back one day, but fear that day won't be anytime soon.

Our RP preview will conclude later this week.

Tampa: Big

Irene, one week before the Tampa Pro

One of the observations I made when I wrote Monday's post last Friday (confused? read Monday's post!) concerned Irene "Too Big for the World" Andersen. Emerging from the pool, she displayed "incredible muscle mass", and looking again at the picture (below), I'm even more impressed - not least by that big, bulging, beautiful trap.



One of Wings of Strength's innovations - first in effect at last year's Rising Phoenix I believe - is that there should be, on top of the prizes for placings, a "Most Muscular" award as well. Aleesha was the first winner of it at the RP, but this season either I haven't been paying enough attention or they haven't had one at any of the previous shows in 2018. No prizes for guessing who took it home from Tampa though.



You can't please everyone, and the prize - or rather the need for the prize - has had plenty of criticism from fans of the "big is always best" variety. Admirable though there commitment to pure size is, occasions when the biggest FBB in show has been the winner are few and far between in FBBing history - IFBB FBBing history at least.



By introducing the award, WoS have at least acknowledged those FBBs who choose mass over all other considerations have a right to do so, and allowed them to go against current judging trends and still earn some prize money. I'm pretty sure Irene would have preferred the judges to award her a top 6 placing - she was 8th - but at least she was acknowledged with a prize (and she got a little share of that prize pot).



"Too Big for the World" she may be, and she's certainly "too big" for the IFBB judges. But on this occasion, Irene was just big enough to be the "Most Muscular" woman in show.



Size still matters. Especially in such a great posing suit!

Enjoy!

More from Tampa tomorrow.