FBBUK @ACE 2017

A couple of years ago, FMS was getting quite excited about the fact that there were forty British women in the various Amateur classes at the Arnold Classic Europe.

Well, check it out - this year... SEVENTY!

Yesterday we met the very highest of these achievers, Danielle Osborn, who won her Bodyfitness class (and, I think I neglected to mention, was awarded 3rd in the Overall posedown). Today we meet (almost all of) the best - in terms of placings - of the rest. Sadly this time there were no women from the UK in the Fitness classes to follow in the powerfully bouncy footsteps of our new Olympian Emma Paveley, but we had British representatives in "Wellness" (you'll see), Bikini, Bodyfitness and Physique.

WELLNESS

Sandra Mackie
5th, Open



OK, so what exactly is "Wellness"? you may ask. Well, as far as I can ascertain, it's pretty much the same as Bikini in terms of presentation, but with that Brazilian-style chunkiness below the waist. So we can see why our Sandra did so well. Apparently, this class is growing like mad here in the UK, and quite honestly I'm not sure how I feel. It's not exactly what I think about when I think about female muscle, but trawling through images of the Wellness ladies to find a couple of Sandra has been far from unpleasant.

BIKINI

With 39 of the 70 UK ladies in Barcelona competing in one of the myriad Bikini classes, I'm afraid there are simply too many to mention here today, so we've had to edit this down to mentions for those that placed, and special mentions to the two women - one a Master, one a Junior - who placed in the top 3 in (one of) their respective classes.

First, the Master!

Zulmira Woodrow
2nd, Masters up to 163cm; 3rd, Open up to 160cm



It’s a massive confidence boost for me knowing I’m competing against girls who are in their 20s and beating them, says the 39-year-old current British Bikini champ, who beat a few younger women in her Open class in finishing 3rd, and took a silver in her Masters class. Her husband is said to be "really proud" of her. I bet he is. Lucky devil.

Marta Mila
2nd, Junior over 166cm; 4th, Open up to 172cm



I am obsessed with becoming a woman who is comfortable in her own skin, says Marta, who seemed fairly comfortable on the biggest stage she's been on so far. Marta is coached by our British IFBB Bikini pro Karina Skowronska, and has to be one of the favourites to challenge Zulmira for the British title in Nottingham this weekend.

And the other placing UK Bikini ladies were: Rose Inglesias (5th, Junior over 166cm), Carlie Davies (9th, Open up to 158cm), Sally Legg (10th, Open up to 162cm), Keeley Johnson (5th) and Jayne Lo (9th, both Open up to 164cm), Nikki Harvey (8th, Open up to 166cm), and Agnes Lucaszek (10th, Open over 172cm).

BODYFITNESS

When we met our Arnold Europe Amateur Bodyfitness champ Danielle Osborn yesterday, I mentioned that I thought this was the division the UK has the most talent and potential in, and the placings British women obtained in the various Bodyfitness classes here certainly don't hurt my theory any. Of our 19 Bodyfitness competitors this year in Madrid, almost half of them placed. Here they all are, in reverse placing order, if you see what I mean. See if you agree that the UK's Bodyfitness future is bright.

Sandra Lippingwell
9th, Masters



Sandra, according to Flex Magazine UK's John Plummer, has "a terrific sculpted shape", with "eye-catching legs". Great smile too. This Masters competitor provides conclusive proof that being over 35 is no barrier to success in Bodyfitness, adds Plummer.

Katalin Jasztrab
8th, Open over 168cm; 10th, Masters



After placing 2nd in her class in Barcelona in 2016, an achievement she repeated at the Arnolds in Ohio this March, the smart money would have been on Katalin being the most successful Brit at the show. Not quite how things panned out, but, as always, this (for real) former tennis pro's head-turning beauty and statuesque frame made her one of the more striking competitors from any country. Love her abs. And so does she.

Barbara Kiss
8th, Open up to 163cm



Am I disappointed that I didn't win or make top 6? Very! says Barbara, British champion in the up to 163cm class she competed in here. But... Show after show I have learned more and more about the sport and accepted that the only thing I have control of is my own performance, that I do everything possible to bring my absolute best and improve every time I step on stage. And she was "very proud" of the package she brought to Madrid, rightly so I think - her legs are simply amazing. This sport can be very unfair at times, adds Barbara philosophically. But such is life. Accept it.

Emi Wokoma
6th, Open over 168cm



Emi only made her competitive debut last year but has already made waves in the UKBFF Bodyfitness world, winning that debut show - the Kent Classic - and the Fitcon Classic and South Coast Championships this year. "Tall, beautiful, superbly balanced, her proportions are breathtaking," gushes John Plummer. UK readers may think Emi is strangely familiar. Well, if you watch Eastenders, Casualty or the daytime TV soap Doctors you might have seen her in her other life as an actress. Or you might have seen her as Tina Turner in the West End musioal Soul Sister. I wasn't intending on competing at the Arnolds but very glad upon reflection that I did. I learnt an incredible amount. she said. So, this is her not 100% prepared then... Wow.

Connie Slyziut
5th, Junior; 9th, Open over 168cm



Still only 21, Connie is, for my money, getting better all the time. Stage shots don't perhaps do her justice like her early morning or post-workout Instagram selfies do, and, like Emi Wokoma, there's more going on with this talented young woman than "just" muscles - did you, for example, know she plays the viola? She has had better ACE's than this one but she doesn't give a monkey's about her placing here now I would guess because last weekend she won her class at the Ben Weider Legacy Cup in Finland, which may or may not make her a pro, but she did describe it as "a dream come true". You could think of her as Britain's answer to Natalia Coehlo. Or something.

Samantha Forbes
3rd, Open up to 163cm




Same placing as last year, but Samantha was happy because "it was twice as hard". And she was well worth the bronze I reckon. Huge quads, tight abs, deliciously meaty lats... looking awesome! Who the hell beat her?! Can we ask for a stewards enquiry, please?

Watch Samantha strutting her considerable stuff in Barcelona here.

Do you believe me now when I say Britain's got Bodyfitness talent?

PHYSIQUE

Lorna MacDonald
9th, Open up to 163cm




Lorna was a somewhat surprising judges' choice as British Physique champion this time last year, and she's found it hard to find judges as sympathetic since. The trend towards smaller women continued... with Lorna's tight physique finding favour with the judges, noted John Plummer in his 2016 UKBFF British report, rather damning her with faint praise methinks. Hardly Lorna's fault she rode the zeitgeist to that British trophy, and if she keeps turning up in the condition she was in here, I'm sure she'll find some more sympathetic judges again sooner rather than later. I thought her chest looked absolutely spectacular on this occasion. Too spectacular for the judges?!

No UK representatives in the taller of the two Physique classes, but also flexing open-handed for Britain in the up to 163cms were Ade Bishop, Ece Kilkis, and...

Find out who tomorrow.

FBBUK: Danielle Osborn

We have a new champion.

In the Amateur contest at the Arnold Europe recently, rising British Bodyfitness star Danielle "Dani" Osborn won her "up to 168cm" class, and though following in the footsteps of Carly Thornton ("short" Physique, 2015) and Emma Paveley ("short" Fitness, 2016), she's the very first British Bodyfitness athlete to be a class winner there.



Congratulations Danielle!

We can't, sadly, say we know a whole lot about our new champ, but we do know that she hails from the north-east, the Middlesborough area (Wendy McCready country!) and while details of exactly which shows she has done is sketchy, particularly her early shows, we can say that ever since her career started - either in 2014 or 2015, depending on where you get your information - she's been a serial winner.



After just six months of training, Dani started competing in NABBA "Athletic Figure" (don't ask, just look!), and won British Classic title in 2014 - her very first show.



2015 saw her add the NABBA Ms Athletic title to her nascent collection, and then in 2016 she has switched to the UKBFF and Bodyfitness. One show she didn't win was in Leicester late that year, but she did finish high enough to qualify her for international competitions in 2017 so looking back now, her 3rd place there was somewhat crucial.



And the next time she pops up is in UK muscle scribe John Plummer's report from the North-east Championships in August. It seems Dani made quite an impression.

Bodyfitness champion Danielle Osborn was the day's standout female athlete, he wrote on the UKBFF's Facebook page. Her classy shape and condition immediately caught the eye in the front poses and she looked equally polished in the side and rear poses, where her back, glutes and calves were all spot on. Lots of people were talking about Osborn and she definitely looks like a British finals contender.



Turned out she was much more besides.

Quite honestly I have no idea if she'll be competing at the UKBFF British Championships this weekend, competitor lists being somewhat hard to come by and all. But I do know this. British Bodyfitness has been threatening to give us a worthy successor to Louise Rogers and Maria Scotland for some time, but never quite delivered. Danielle seems to have the coach, the genetics, and the class to succeed where others have almost succeeded. Trust FMS to be following her in future as closely as the information that floats out of the UKBFF from time to time allows.



And you can follow Danielle on Instagram.

Abs Week: 50 Year-Old Abs

For no other reason than we haven't had one for a while...

Welcome to ABS WEEK on FMS

And we begin our look at a few of the more magnificent midsections of the world with one belonging to France's Valerie Texier, who just happens to be 50 this year.



Valerie competes in Bodyfitness, recently at the IFBB French Championships in Biarritz, which is where we see her backstage (above), and posing (and making women considerably younger than her feel wholly inadequate) by the pool (below).



Now I can't say I know much about Valerie other than she's a personal trainer, but I do know that the closer we get to her incroyables abdominales, the better they look.



This black and white gem was taken after a "dure séance d'abdos" apparently, during Valerie's prep for the European Championships, where she represented her country in the 45+ Masters Bodyfitness class. The detail, I think you will agree, is astonishing (among other things). Glistening ridges of muscle, so dure and so so sexy.



We leave you though with those abdos in full colour and tan, another from Valerie's poolside downtime after the French Championships. It's not often we feature French women on the blog - the country, historically, has punched well below its weight in terms of female muscle - but something tells me we may meet Valerie again...

In the meantime, follow her on Instagram.

Abs Week continues demain.

"The Rise of the Female Fitness Model"

We've had "The Rise of the Fit Over 50s", "Disordered Eating and The Rise Of The Competitive Fitness Model", and "The Rise of the Female Fitness Guru". Now it's...

THE RISE OF THE FEMALE FITNESS MODEL

Click on it. Don't worry, it's the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation!)

Interesting stuff.



The rise in UK gym membership in recent years has been well-documented, and has in no small measure been powered by the rise in the number of women working out at least four times a week - see "The Rise of the Protein Princess", and "How Women Fell in Love with Working Out and Fitness (Finally) Became Fashionable", for example.



Now, it seems, record numbers of women are competing as well.

At last year's UKBFF British Championships, for example, there were so many entrants in the Masters Bikini category that for the very first time the competitors were split into two height classes, and at the other end of the age scale a staggering (for the UK at least) 35 young ladies made up two Junior Bikini classes. There were over 50 T-walks for the judges to enjoy in the Open Bikini classes, and over 30 across two Bodyfitness (ie. Figure) classes. Even the Physique class, which has not always been blessed with a plethora of competitors in the past, had 20 women flexing off for the British title.



Numbers of female competitors are also up at NABBA events, and with more and more PCA events on the calendar as well, the opportunities for women to get truly ripped and show off their muscles in thongs and heels is also on the up and up it seems.

The internet is a powerful tool, says Olly Upton, COO of BodyPower, in the BBC clip. Social media, fitness professionals and celebrities who are pushing it...



Yes, but there's a world of difference between doing 4-5 days in the gym per week and actually prepping for a contest. Celebrities - some of whom we featured here on FMS not so long ago - might get women buying little weights in Argos, or get them to the gym, but kids don't want to be football players because they've seen their favourite celebrity having a kickabout, do they? If you want to explain why more and more women in the UK are actually getting covered in Liquid Sun Rayz and oil, surely the "fitness professionals" responsible are the women who actually compete already.




Women like Brittany Rhodes (see FMS passim) and 2016 NABBA and PCA British Athletic Figure champ Bethany Lord, both whom have over 12,000 Instagram followers. Connie Slyziut, UKBFF Junior Bodyfitness champion is just 20 and already experienced in international competition, and can boast a whopping 56,900 IG followers at the time of writing, while the not much older than Connie Kristina Vassilieva, as savvy as any at the social media game, has over 65,000.



Let's hear it for them and the (increasing number of) UK women who take it to competition level and inspire yet more to do the same. Absolutely amazing!!! exclaims a follower of Bethany's, well-placed, if her Instagram is anything to go by, to succeed on a stage before long. Such motivation to work hard every damn day!!!



And to keep working (and getting) harder and harder.

Arnold Classic 2017: FBBUK

It's pretty rare to see just one British female in the line-ups at the Arnolds, so the fact that this year there were three women - two of them amateur - who made the trip to Columbus to fly the flag for the United Kingdom would be reason enough to celebrate.

Let's find out how they got on, shall we?

GERALDINE MORGAN
Arnold Classic: Physique International, unplaced

This time last year we were surprised and delighted to find out that the lovely Geraldine was now competing as a Brit. It was a positive immigration story that now we can categorically say had little effect on the outcome of a certain referendum.

Of course despite the very British-sounding name, Geraldine is originally from Chile, but here, once again, she was the lone woman in the Arnold Classic who was listed as representing the UK. We'll take that. Or at least I bloody will. If the scorecard says Geraldine's British, then as far as I'm concerned, she's as British as Prince Phillip.

Especially when she looks like this in prep!



11th last year, Geraldine was slightly miffed at her non-placing this time around. I lost 5kg since my last show, and worked SO hard on so many details, she said afterwards. Happy with my work, sad about the result. They said they're looking for symmetry, harmony, definition and muscularity. as they said. Too bad I didn't qualify.




You can follow the self-proclaimed "Vikinga" on her Instagram as she goes about her mission to "help the world to push beyond through unconventional teaching".

KATALIN JASZTRAB
Arnold Amateur: Bodyfitness up to 170cm, 3rd; Master Bodyfitness over 168cm, 2nd



More medals for this former Playboy model (hard to believe, I know) and former Hungarian (oh yes, another positive UK immigration story) to add to the silver she won when FMS first met her at the Arnold Classic Europe in October last year.




I reckon that makes Katalin the UK's most successful current amateur Bodyfitness goddess, and with those looks and those legs and those long, lean muscles I don't see any reason why she shouldn't get even more successful in the very near future.

KATE ERRINGTON
Arnold Amateur: Fitness, WINNER!



We also met Kate for the first time at the Arnold Europe last year, and found her to be extremely easy one the eye. Her 6th place there little suggested that within six months we would be celebrating her for pulling off that rarest of achievements - a British female winning at the Arnolds in the US - but that is exactly what we're doing.



Granted, she only had to beat two other women to win the crown, but you still have to win it, and after "a perfect Figure round" and her "new Popeye routine going down well", Kate was proclaimed champion, got to meet Arnie (real and statue), the whole bit.



I think I'm right in saying that the win also means she's an IFBB pro now. And to think, it was only last year that she made the move out of the Bikini class and into Fitness.



AND Kate happens to be a burlesque performer too. You may like to investigate Friday nights at MuMus Restaurant, Cocktail Bar & Nightclub near Maidstone in Kent.



Ooo I say Ms Errington!



Follow Kate on her website and Instagram.