Sweat. Sweet! (The Smell of Female)

Question: What's the sexiest smell ever?

Answer: The smell of my wife.



Chances are your answer, dear reader, was both different and the same. There's a fair chance your sexiest smell is that of your partner - or if you don't have one right now, that of an ex-partner (apologies if this brings up any painful pangs of longing).



Ever fancied someone only to be turned off by their smell when you got intimate?

I know I have. Many years ago I pursued a woman across half of Italy only to be nothing short of disgusted by her smell when I finally got close enough to really know it. And there's a very good chance you've had a similar experience. Some people - no matter how attractive they might be in other ways - smell just plain "wrong".



There is science to this. Apparently, we are attracted to those whose genetic make-up is most different to our own. Kind of makes sense if you think about it - you wouldn't want your sister's sweaty T-shirt to turn you on now, would you? Or, to put it another, less uncomfortable way, big genetic differences produce the healthiest offspring.



Attraction, or otherwise, for us men is most significantly a response to the female pheromone "androstenol", which is (like the male equivalent androstenone) a subtle, virtually undetectable scent in the normal course of things, even more so because Western culture places so much emphasis on hygiene. Washing off or masking those sexually-charged pheromones might make you more pleasant to sit next to on a hot day on the bus, but it does significantly mute their innate power to attract.



So it's no surprise that when scientists want to discover which scents attract and disgust us, it's to the gym they go to ask for the use of our sweaty workout gear. "Sweaty T-shirt" science is what it is known as, I kid you not. We may not be able to actually "smell" those pheromones, but we sure can sense them when they're there.



So I guess my answer to our original question should not be "the smell of my wife" but "the smell of my wife when she's covered in sweat". And while I might love looking at all these wonderful muscular women, their bodies - especially their abs - all glistening and sweaty, the chances are I wouldn't actually like the smell of many (if any!) of them at all. But that's OK, because I just imagine they all smell as good as my wife does!



And we finish our week of sweet sweet sweat with this HerMuscles Hall of Famer. Her name escapes me, but her sweat can't escape the sexy ridges of her abs, gathering in shiny little pools that seem to cry out "Drink me! Drink me!". Or something...

Enjoy!

Many many thanks to everyone who has sent (scent?!) in their favourite sweat-soaked pictures. We'll be putting them all together into one pheromone-tastic post in the very near future. So, er, make sure you keep those airways clear!

Not too late to send in more: 6ft1swell@gmail.com

Sweaty Saturday

There's already #flexfriday (be warned, women AND men flexing after the jump) and even #tittytuesday (not exclusive to female muscle, of course, but Ashlee Chambers is a fan), FMS is proud to present Sweaty Saturday [actually New York got there first. There is a real Sweaty Saturday there, this year it was February 22nd - a day of fitness, health and wellness. New York City’s finest fitness studios, health brands and wellness experts will offer special classes and amazing music, and there will be plenty of nutritional advice, limited edition goodies, raffles and giveaways. A portion of the proceeds from Sweaty Saturday™ will go to Partnership for Healthier America, which is devoted to working with the private sector to ensure the health of our nation’s youth by solving the childhood obesity crisis. - ed.]




Well, what can I say? Well done New York! That really does sound like a very good cause and a lot of fun at the same time. However, it's probably not quite as much fun as I can imagine having with these sweaty six-packs... and my tongue! And I'd be happy to lick them all clean to raise money for whatever cause or charity you fancy.



I am a Crossfit woman... I sweat, grunt and curse (from the Crossfit Woman's Creed)



Seriously, I will lick Bella Falconi's abs for charity. If Bella is up for it, of course.
I'm already looking forward to taking the sponsorship form round the office...

You're doing what for charity?!

Licking clean the sweaty six-packs of muscular women. As many as I can in an hour. You can either sponsor me by the six-pack, by the litre, or, you know, you can just pop twenty quid in the envelope. What are your plans for this weekend?



You might well be thinking I am beginning to sound like one of those guys who pays top dollar for the used (and unwashed) gym attire of his favourite goddess (again, I think if you want some of that, you could do worse than follow Ashlee Chambers). And you might be right. It's not something I've ever thought about before, but one day I'll find myself needing to spend that lottery windfall somehow, and these gym heroines always seem to need to supplement their incomes, so why the hell not? Aren't you even a little bit curious to find out what these sweat-soaked tops would smell like after the workout (and a couple of days in the post following your successful bid)?



And did you know, the more muscle she has, and the heavier she gets, the more sweat she can produce? For example, gorgeous Amanda Folstad Ptak (FMS Hot and Hard 100, see #51) recently told us that she "can fill a bucket with it these days".



If I'm all alone on this one and you've all stopped reading in disgust, then FMS may be taking a large financial hit in the very near future. You see, FMS Inc. has recently invested a not inconsiderable sum in a joint business venture with Virginia Sanchez Macias. If we (and Virginia) have misjudged the market for her post-workout sweat in a bottle, and this product sells as badly as the "Holland Canter Action Girl" figure, it could mean financial ruin (for FMS that is, Virginia should be OK. She can always auction off her tiny sweat-drenched workout vest to make ends meet, after all!)




Sudor de Tora will be available in the shops by the summer.

Enjoy!

Hand Bras

This week, FMS returns to the familiar format of seven posts with a single theme.



Hands up anyone who doesn't like a hand bra on their muscle woman?

OK, you can put your hands above the table again. I don't expect too many hands went up there. I mean, what's not to like? Seems to me it's a similar deal to the 'maximum muscle minimum clothing' image. You get to see all the muscle, and there's just a little bit denied to you, and it's that little bit you can't see that turns the eroticism up to 11 by sending your female muscle lovin' imagination into overdrive.



I guess the first 'hand bras' I would have ever seen were in the muscle mags of my teenage years. I certainly remember the shot of Paula Bircumshaw (right), although I seem to remember it as a whole page photo rather than as it is here with text. In the muscle mags, hand bras were about as racy as it was ever going to get, as it ever could get, so each one was a pretty big event in Swell's teenage bedroom as I recall!




Nowadays, you can get to see it all as often as you like - don't get me wrong, I like a shot of a topless or naked muscle woman as much as any of the female muscle lovin' brethren do, as long as there hasn't been a plastic surgery disaster, of course - but still, the tease of the hand bra always has that extra special something.




So, you lucky people, it's not quite topless muscle beauties all week.

Enjoy!

Muscles of the Week: Abs

The only women I've seen with abs along with being dedicated to their workout regime, eat completely clean. No additives, preservatives, no alcohol, like never ever ever. Only whole unprocessed foods, some strictly organic...



One of these women at my gym is in her late 30s and has unbelievable abs, and there's also a trainer at my gym who is 26 and in fantastic shape but lacks definition due to not eating clean (her words). I think the proof is in the (lack of) pudding.
(posted on Calorie Count forum, about.com)



I think we can all agree there is a shortage of perfect female abs in the world, so it would be wrong not to celebrate the women whose six-packs make you lick your lips...



This week's Muscles of the Week: the rectus abdominus. 'Abs' to you and me.



Three, and sometimes four, bands of connective tissue called the tendinous intersections traverse the rectus abdominus, which separate it into six or eight distinct muscle bellies, respectively. The appearance of these segments has led to the rectus abdominus also being called the 'six-pack', according to Wikipedia.



And down the middle? Well, that's a band of connective tissue known as the linea alba, or 'white line'. Not the kind of white line that blows away.



Fortunately for us, when her body fat is so low that those six (or eight, as in Oana) muscle bellies get all distinct, she definitely tends to want to show them off...

Here's the beautiful Bella Falconi, her rectus abdominus showing beautiful tendinous intersections and a rather pronounced linea alba. And her dog.



If Bella is new to you, you're welcome but what have you been doing? If she's not, and you want more (and you do, don't you?), check out her website or Instagram.



Ah, yes, the magnificent sub-genre of abs selfies that is the POV...



And the magnificent examples above and below belong to the marvellously named Olivia Vanderslice. Really. That's her name. Now as far as I know 'van der' in Dutch means 'of the', so 'van der slice' could mean something like 'of the cut'! I can't think of a more appropriate name for a woman with such a pronounced rectus abdominus (that linea alba really is something, isn't it?) can you?!



Olivia's on Facebook, as 'dancingdollxoxo', and looks probably a bit too young for a man of my age to be getting worked up about. So, let's move on, shall we?



Back on safer ground with two of the best sets of abs in Europe, FMS Abs Queen Gabriella Bankuti (left) and Italian NABBA legend Federica Ortu (right).



And we stay in Europe to count the hairs along Silvia Sarti's beach-bronzed mid-section. Ready? Uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque, sei, sette, otto, nove, dieci...

Bravo!



More Silvia up close.



And finally today, NPC figure competitor Kylie Marsh, who recently came to the attention of FMS via an interview on the excellent Sexy Female Abs blog. If we haven't sated you with our selection today, you might want to head there next.

Enjoy!