A Temporary Halt

New pro Dana Shemesh, tbc

Sad to say that for a while at least FMS is not going to be posting anything new.

Some real life stuff is going on that absolutely requires my full attention, and unfortunately that is going to have to take precedence. With luck, it won't be too long before FMS returns, but at the moment it's impossible to say when that will be.


2 x Ms Figure Olympia, Cydney Gillon

You might, as they are (sort of) just in, want to check out the Olympia results and galleries on NPC News Online at some stage this week - I know I will! FMS fave Cydney Gillon has defended her Figure title, and in Juliana's absence, Shanique Grant has fulfilled her destiny. UK fans can enjoy Louise Rogers (finally at the Olympia) in Figure, plus our two Fitness Olympians, Emma Paveley and Kate Errington.


Shanique Grant - (the new) Ultimate Physique

And why not check out the archive?

Over 7 years of the finest contemporary female muscle plus the occasional look back at female muscle times past. And since Saturday, 8th September 2012 (with the odd break here and there) we've endeavoured to bring you a post a day, and we started that week, appropriately enough, with seven posts devoted to... ALINA POPA!


Our first, and (almost) our last (for now)

Sadly, not all the images from the last 7 years are still up there, but my musings - inane, insane and very occasionally insightful (if I say so myself) - are 100% intact.


Dani 2014: visible ecstasy on stage in Orlando

I'm rather proud (whether rightly or wrongly) of the week that began with Dani Reardon getting "the chills" at the Orlando Pro in 2014; of the seven-part piece of fiction that makes up Prof. Pennypacker's Pectarium; and last year's Never Better.


Sarah and Simone, at their peak

I've LOVED reporting on the big pro and amateur shows, and the best of British female muscle. I've also LOVED choosing FMS' Women of the Year, and - with your very great help - compiling five lists of alternative female beauty - the Hot and Hard 100.


The Hottest Hard Woman in the World 2017-2018

I'll still be about on the forums, in the chatrooms, on Skype, on Discord, MyCircle, and Tumblr - look out for 6ft1swell (or similar) and say hi - or steer well clear, it's up to you!



Some highlights from 6ft1swell's Tumblr so far this year

I look forward to resurrecting FMS (hopefully) in the not-too-distant future.

Thank you for reading.

FMS @RP2018: No Comparison?

And we finish our week at the world's premier Female Bodybuilding contest (bit belatedly today, sorry about that) with the competitor who most exceeded the pre-contest expectations. Canada's blond bombshell Nicki Chartrand was barely mentioned in the lead-up to the event (not least by me), but ultimately walked off with the (previously monopolised by Sheila Bleck) Best Poser prize, and 4th place.



We have already waxed lyrical about her performance on the day - and particularly on the night with that scintillating winning posing routine (see Tales from the Feed ) - so instead we decided we'd try to piece together the Nicki Chartrand story so far.

Unfortunately, we didn't find much to piece together.

We do, however, know how she looked back in c.2015, when she seems to be competing at regional Canadian level, as a Bodybuilder too. The research team have really struggled to find any definitive list of her contest placings from the early part of her career - which really bothers me (can you tell?) and is the main reason why today's post has gone up so tardily. Anyway, it'll have to do. Here is our first comparison.

COMPARISON #1



Nicki v.2015 and Nicki v.2018

By 2016, we do know, she was the CBBF Nationals Women's Bodybuilding champion - a title previously held by (among others) Negrita Jade, Laura Binetti, Desiree Ellis, Sophie Duquette, Autumn Raby, Nicole Ball, and Fabiola Boulanger.

Not a bad list at all.

However, and despite being a Heavyweight, it is not in Women's Bodybuilding that Nicki Chartrand makes her pro debut, but in Physique - at the 2017 Toronto Pro.

COMPARISON #2



Toronto Pro 2017 and Rising Phoenix 2018

There's so obviously too much muscle on her for IFBB Physique judges that it's almost funny imagining their faces, and within weeks Nicki debuted as a pro Bodybuilder. At the Lenda Murray/Norfolk Pro she beat the fan fave Theresa Ivancik (also on debut) and beat her well. Then she finished off 2017 with 12th place at the Rising Phoenix.



And then this year, she began her season early, at the Hawaii Pro, again in a less than numerous line-up, but up against a woman on debut who many fans were excited about seeing - Alina protégé Jennie Roosa. And the result? Nicki 1st, fan fave 2nd. Nicki could now celebrate her 2nd professional title and start prep for her second RP.

Which pretty much brings us up-to-date, but before we go, one more comparison.

The thought occurred to me while I was waiting for the Research Dept. to tell me they hadn't found much about Nicki's early career. There's something about her double biceps pose, the way she positions her long, muscle curvy legs when she hits it. Her general statuesqueness (well, it's a word now!), and I guess her colouring too, reminded me of a legend from the not-too-distant Female Bodybuilding past...

COMPARISON #3



Brigita MsO2011 and Nicki RP2018

Perhaps not a fair comparison in terms of where Nicki is right now, but instead a peek into the not-too-distant future at where Nicki has the potential to be before too long.

Just me?

Enjoy!

FMS @RP2018: #risingphoenix

A small selection from social media before, during and after...


Kristina womans the booth


Even THE Ms Olympia never won anything like this


WLTM: Shawna and friend, dressed for the show; next day, and 5th place Figure phenom Kristine Finsaas gets to stand next to the dethroned but still Most Muscular at the RP


Pauline was a bit hungry after


Jill's food porn


Welcome to our party...


After the feed: Virginia 


Wake up in the morning slaving for schmotographers


The muscle (gene) pool

Enjoy!

Woman of the Week: FBBUK: Emily Brand

She's my current dream girl, my internet female muscle head friend tells me - he has a bit of a penchant for the younger ladies, you see. Her transformation pics are hot af!


Relax, Emily's 20 now

To be honest, I'd never heard of Lincolnshire's Emily Brand before my friend told me about her - me having a bit of a penchant for the more mature muscle ladies, you see. And, quite honestly too, I found her transformation pics more upsetting than "hot af", because her story begins with an anorexic teenager. Her weight: 5st 3lbs (just 33kg).



At 14, Emily spent a year as a child mental health in patient. The doctors tried to put me on a feeding tube, she says. I ripped it straight out. Then they tried to get me to drink these high calorie shakes and I would just sneak out of bed and tip them out the window. Though she did get well enough to return home, she soon relapsed, and at 17 she was readmitted. This time though some tough love helped her turn herself around. When you go into the unit you're not allowed weekend home visits until you've got to a certain weight, she explains. In the end, I ate my way out. I just did what I had to do to get home. I still hadn't completely overcome the psychological side of my anorexia but I was more determined to get better and I joined the gym.



It wasn't an instant cure by any means - to begin with, and despite the fact Emily plucked up the courage to enter some Bikini shows - she was, in her own words, "still trying to function on way too few calories". It was only when she met her current coach, Rob Reinaldo, that Emily truly began to overcome her illness. And he did it with a little more tough love. He said he would train me and get me into bodybuilding but he really put his foot down when it came to my eating, recalls Emily.



A year on, and she has gained 3st (almost 20kg!) of muscle - and it shows!



As a result, she's moved up a division or two in her competitive outings. Athletic Figure (or equivalent) is I believe where you will find Emily now. And the chances are she's competed at a PCA or WABBA show near you in 2018. She'd done seven by mid-August, according to the Mail Online, and "has consistently placed in the top four and been crowned champion three times". Since then, she's competed - and won - at least once more, and with the PCA British Finals not happening till October, I wouldn't be surprised if Emily got tanned and oiled for another two or three shows this year!


To the victor... (pick 'n' mix out of the trophy!)

I can't believe how much my life has changed, says Emily. It's amazing to think I was in a wheelchair just three years ago. People say that weightlifting hurts but what I put my body through with my anorexia was so painful that weightlifting is nothing...



I really love it, and I'm loving life.



Follow Emily on Instagram. Her story was first reported by Unilad, then picked up by the Mail, and also featured in The Sun. And if you do have a moment spare, perhaps a letter to your local MP, or whoever is in charge of the Department of Health in your government right now, asking them to read Emily's (or another FBB's) story and get weight training on the list of recommended treatments for anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders. It will probably fall on deaf ears, but if you don't try...



Enjoy!