(IFBB) Pro Twins: Erica & Sondra Blockman

Where?
Originally from Mt. Shasta, California.



Who's bigger?
Need you ask? Sondra is an IFBB Bikini pro; Erica an IFBB Physique pro.



Sondra, a pro since 2015, was last seen at the 2016 Tampa Pro (above), where she finished 10th, while Erica, who won her pro card at the Jr Nationals in 2013, has moved on to Crossfit training (and I believe an upcoming competition) since her second (hopefully not final) Physique Olympia appearance (also above) last year.



You don't need me to tell you that these are two of the most stunning women in the whole of Bodybuilding. My feelings for crackerjack firefighting goddess Erica are well-documented here on the blog, Sondra (aka "The Hair"), has never featured before, and to be honest, I'm wondering why. Involved in sports from an early age, Sondra has been into martial arts, gymnastics, and through college track and field at a national level. As a trainer, she says, it is important for me to be a walking poster board for my work, to look the part. Don’t talk the talk if you can’t walk the walk!



For Erica, it's been all about "the fitness industry and the world of competitive bodybuilding since a very young age", but there is that other thing she does too, that swoonworthiest of occupations. The challenges I have faced as a female in the fire service have helped to shape me into the woman I am today, she says.



Quite a woman.



You can follow Sondra and Erica on Instagram. Sondra will be "walking the walk" on an IFBB Pro Bikini stage again real soon, and Erica will be doing her Crossfit (for now).



Both were interviewed recently on Promoting Real Women Talk Radio. The quality of the recording might not be as classy as the interviewees, but it's well worth an hour or so of your time while you do what you do when listening to the radio.



Enjoy!

That's it for twins on FMS for now. Thanks again to B for the idea and the suggestions.

A New Golden Age? Part III

PIU: Britanny Finlay is another self-promoter who I found by discovering a few teasing shots of her via Instagram. She became the IFBB Ms Fitness Australia 2014 at, wait for it, aged 19!

I paired her with the feline Sharon Bruneau mostly just because they are both looking lean in an "Oh My God" sort of way.

FMS: Lots of OMG moments back then with Sharon! Another great beauty - as we've discussed before, it's no wonder we got so addicted. Sharon had a movie star aura, I always thought. Real charisma on stage.

Brittany Finlay I have never heard of before. Great picture though. Love that super lean look, which again is probably due to the fact that was the prevailing look of the women in those 80s magazines.

Ok, next up, Sandy Riddell and Erica Blockman. Not trying to be cryptic, am sure you will get the connection!



PIU: Ah, Sandy and Erica. Which brings me to the thought about FBBs etc. needing other jobs or not.

I doubt the proceeds from comps in the past was enough to retire on, but perhaps the internet age allowed more to flourish with merchandise, sponsorship, personal training related work and for some, sessions and (sometimes adult) video and photo work. But we also have the weekend warriors, the fit moms, the crossfitters, who probably have another life between posting their physical perfection on Instagram etc., as Erica does.

Two more choices each tomorrow.

And in case you didn't know, Sandy and Erica both work(ed) as firefighters.

A Week of Favourites: Erica

Even the muscle haters have to drool...
Forum post, Oct. 2015



Personally, I'd rather the haters just left well alone - whether they're drooling or not. I can't get enough of Erica Blockman, and haven't been able to for some time. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not in the mood for sharing her with the unenlightened.



2015 proved to be a real breakthrough year for this stunningly beautiful woman, following up two top three finishes with 8th place in her first Olympia.



I personally don't believe women should be praised or showcased in the line of fitness for being skinny, starving or being great lingerie models, that's a different field. I believe sports models should represent what athletes really look like and embody the intensity of their training that everyone works so hard for. It is important that our society and even more imperative that our younger generation of men and women know the look of strength and athleticism, not just the look of "Look I am holding a dumb bell and I am sexy". This is just my opinion.
Erica Blockman



There's so much more to this woman though than the droolworthy looks and the stunningly honed physique - another reason not to share, they just won't appreciate her like we do. She's a brave firefighter, a qualified paramedic, a certified personal trainer and posing coach, and, as the above quote illustrates, not short of an opinion about her sport and its portrayal in both the mainstream and the muscle media.




Voting for the FMS Hot and Hard 100 2016 will open soon.

Take a wild guess who one of my top ten might be...

FMS Hearts the WPD Olympians: Erica

Relax. Physique is Lightweight, Middleweight and Light-heavyweight Bodybuilding in disguise, or at least that's what it has turned out to be, despite the complaints of some of the (less muscular) Physique women themselves. And until the IFBB/NPC bigwigs do see their plans to "tone it down by 10-15%" come to fruition, that means there's lots and lots of beautiful female muscle in the division, especially when the cream gather as they did in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. Yes of course we miss the Ms O, but that didn't stop us enjoying the Physique Olympia, and all this week on FMS we're going to be paying tribute to these spectacular, muscular women.

So relax, get comfy, and enjoy!

ERICA BLOCKMAN: ON FIRE




Ever since being introduced to the famous bodybuilders, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger as a child, I had fantasized myself one day being successful on stage in the bodybuilding industry and standing on the stage at the Olympia...
Erica Blockman, 2014



So here's another Olympia debutante who seemed to never stop smiling as she fulfilled a lifelong dream over the Olympia weekend. And I know this is totally subjective and all but for my money, in a field packed with beautiful women, Erica is simply the most beautiful of all, a prime candidate for what I like to call The Mavi Gioia Experiment*.



Here she is (above) preparing for a pre-Olympia photo shoot, and isn't she just breathtaking? Curiously, Erica confessed to her Instagram followers that during the shoot she felt good about her physique in this outfit because she was "showing less skin", while at the same time admitting this does sound "kind of funny".



If you consider that only a week or two before that she had proudly displayed more of her beautiful body than was absolutely necessary, then yes, for her to say she was more comfortable "showing less skin" does seem rather hard to believe. But on the other hand, in a way it is comforting to know that even a woman as gorgeous from head to toe as Erica has those moments, those days - perhaps even those weeks - when she's not feeling it. And the fact that Erica is not afraid to say so only makes her even more loveable if you ask me. Nevertheless, what's most important for Erica (and all female bodybuilders) is that however much self-doubt they might experience during their preparation, it's when the dream-fulfilling moment comes and they finally step onto the stage that they reach their absolute peak and feel ready to shine in the spotlight.




Now I (as you may have guessed) pay a fair bit of attention to how Erica is getting on, and I reckon that when she stepped onto the stage at the Olympia, she looked better than ever by some distance. And felt it. Qualifying on points rather than by winning an event hardly indicated she would finish as high as 8th. But she did, and I reckon (OK, biased but...) she looked good enough to have merited 6th or even 5th place.



Very happy with the package I brought to the big stage, she said a few days afterwards as she posted yet another of her favourite shots of herself at the O to her Instagram - the ex-firefighter sizzling in her specially designed posing suit.




And then, just a few days and a belly full of treats later, and she was not (albeit jokingly) feeling so good about herself anymore. Spent all that time in the gym for nothing, she moaned. Now I'm fat. I hate you sushi! How loveable is that?!



Enjoy!

* The Mavi Gioia Experiment involves showing a professed "female bodybuilders look like men" type two pictures of, for example, Mavi, Erica, or the (undeniably) conventionally beautiful muscle woman of your choice. The first should just be of the face of your chosen goddess. After your subject has said something along the lines of "Wow, she's absolutely gorgeous!" you show them a second picture, a full body shot this time, muscles on display. "So, they all look like men, do they?" is your line at that point. Now, I've never actually performed this experiment on anybody, but I have often imagined doing it. I'm sure though that some of you lovely readers are braver than I and I (and our other readers) would LOVE to hear about how it goes if you are!