FMS @RP2018: Swell Digs

Six women across three divisions (sorry Benny Boy, no "proper" FBBs today) that made quite the impression on ol' Swell during (and since) last weekend's IFBB Arizona Pro.

In the order they stepped on stage...

FITNESS

KRISTINE DUBA




We've already featured Kristine's breathless routine (see Tuesday's Tales from the Feed) but any excuse for a few more of Gene X's pictures of this bouncy blond goddess. She's been a Fitness pro for five years now, and though - amazingly - she's never won a title, Kristine has been to the Olympia twice - 8th in 2016 her best placing. She won't, sadly, be there this weekend though. Sadly for the Olympia audience that is.

FIGURE

TRACY WILLIAMS




Earlier in the week I may have been guilty of giving the impression the Figure division was a bit of a one-woman show - that woman being Cydney Gillon - but in fact there were 24 other women in the line-up. And in a division that only lets in bottoms that provide the most extreme aesthetic pleasure for the viewer, the pleasure was all mine when Tracy Williams faced the back. Probably the most ripped Figure competitor on the night, Tracy (11th) was not as loved by the judges as she was in my house.

KAREN REYES




We couldn't help but notice her in Tampa (when James Cook took a LOT of photos of her - see FMS passim) and she finished 15th on her pro debut. Here, she had enough going on to finish just outside the top 6. Karen hasn't got much attention from the female muscle lovin' community thus far, but I'm sure it won't be long before her smouldering beauty and banging Figure bod start to get much more IG monitoring.

PHYSIQUE

RESHANNA BOSWELL




Any women who starts her thirty-second "presentation" with a full frontal most muscular (even Physique-style) is fine by me, and Reshanna went on to display her obvious charms with similar gusto for the other twenty-nine seconds too. Sadly, as she finished outside the top 10, we didn't get any more of this gorgeous woman in the evening, but she's on the FMS Watch List now, so she can expect a bit of Instagram surveillance. "Bigger and better" next time, promises this mouth-watering hunk of Chicago-based muscle. A physique worthy of the biggest division of all?

DENISE CADENAS




The Physique Masters Winner, the well-enhanced Denise finished 7th in the Open class. Like Reshanna, Denise added a full frontal most muscular to her presentation, and thankfully so. It's the only angle from which the judges (and audience and 600+ live feed viewers) could see past those mighty enhancements to her (almost as) plentiful pec meat. With all that going on upstairs her posing suit was in mortal danger - note her tight, tanned, muscular glutes and what's trying to disappear between them.

AMANDA PTAK




And our last bit of diggery may be somewhat sentimental, but all the same we very much dug the fact that finally the woman formerly known as Amanda Folstad got to make her pro debut. Once (in a galaxy far far away, ie. 2011) Amanda was a young Heavyweight(!) at the NPC Nationals. Eight long years later and now an Over 35, she won her pro card at the NPC Masters Nationals earlier this year. Great to see the Viking Blond Goddess pose on a pro stage, however briefly. She had "zero expectations" on this occasion, but is determined to be back. Much to improve on! she says.

Enjoy!

(More) Summer Lovin': Julie Mayer in Motion

I really like to perfect what I'm working on...

She turned pro way back in 2011, a shadow of her present self, and has been to two Olympias since (2014 and 2015). But for my money Julie Mayer has never looked better than she does this year. Her extensive stage experience gives her presentation polish, and that beautiful body does indeed appear to be honed to absolute perfection.

This monster 8-minute edit from Best Muscle Video of Julie at the Europa in Dallas (where she placed 4th) gives you ample time to fully appreciate all her hard work.



Enjoy!

(More) Summer Lovin': Dressed to Impress

I see the girls go by dressed in their summer clothes...



Except none of them ever look like this!









Dressed up muscle is just about - after glammed, tanned and oiled on stage muscle - my favourite thing. Not so much because of the obvious masculine (muscles) v feminine (style) juxtaposition, more I think because they just look so damn amazing. Women who don't lift can look good if they know how to accentuate their assets and cover up their faults. Women with muscle, however, look great whatever they're wearing because their entire physique is one great big asset and they literally have no faults.



Muscle women can expose as much - or indeed as little - of their beautiful bodies as they wish. Often, and quite understandably, they wish to expose a lot. Particularly beloved of female muscle heads are outfits you can see the muscle through, and for me, abdominals straining against tight fabric is the hottest hard thing of all.



Pity the women who have to grin and bear it while a glamorous muscle goddess sucks all the air out of the room and gets all the attention. If you don't want to be completely upstaged, on no account should you invite a Paige or a Marjorie to your wedding...





Ooops! Too late.

At the time of the pic, Paige's friend was still managing a smile. I do though wonder how long that lasted. Marjorie looks like she knows how her dress is going to go down at the reception. And that raised eyebrow tells me that's exactly the way she likes it.



And Paige's and Marjorie's outfits are relatively modest. Nothing see-through...



And they expose the upper but not the lower body, not both.



The fact Samantha Frost (above) has chosen to preview her dress in the gym seems to be really rubbing it in. You know how good I looked in my leggings and vest, sweating and groaning as I powered through my workout, all the boys drooling all over the place. Well look at me after my shower, glammed and dressed to impress...

Or at least that's what I imagine she's thinking!



To be the man who helps Audreana Cornilissen with her dress choice!

Does my back look big in this?

Massive, darling, but why not try that tighter, shorter one again?





Even bigger beasts are on the way, but first, proof that despite my assertion at the top of the post, muscle women can make mistakes when it comes to their outfits.



You could, as Lauren Finley clearly has done, incur the wrath of the undisputed undefeated Ms Physique Olympia and wear a slightly too-similar outfit to the party.



Or, like Suzanne Davis, you might make a slight size miscalculation.

Although to be honest, the thought of being at a party where you can witness the sight of a muscle women literally bursting out of her clothes is not an unpleasant one.

And so to the big beasts...

I honestly tried to find recent dressed up pics of as many Rising Phoenix qualifiers as possible. Know how many I actually found - recent ones? Just these two.



The ever dependable Ms Martin.



And Virginia, busting out everywhere.

What a sight!

Enjoy!

Tampa: Closer

See the sweat - damn you can even see the pores on some!

As we noted the other day (see Triggers), James Cook does take you to the parts other photographers don't reach, and in Tampa, Mr. Rivieccio went in really close during the Figure presentations. Now the idea that muscle women (and in the grand scheme of things these Figure phenoms are HUGE) "look like men", is, sadly, still prevalent, but for me at least, he's really captured the beauty of these phenomenal ladies...



Even as their Protan begins to streak!

Download and zoom in (the pics are easily hi-res enough to take it) and you'll see that even though Tiffany Laumeyer (left) really is sweating profusely, whoever did her tanning application should definitely consider doing a bit more training before their next show. You'll also see where little beads of sweat have collected into tongue-tip size pools where the flawless Danielle Rose's neck meets the top of her pecs.



The big winner in the day was Canada's Melissa Bumstead (below, left). There are so many strong candidates for "The Most Beautiful Woman in Figure" that it could be a conversation that, once started, might never end. Melissa would definitely be part of that conversation though, and her somewhat wild-eyed excitement at being front and centre in the first callout only makes her even more beautiful to my eyes.



Next to Melissa (here, not in the first callout), Maggie Watson gets a bit of a raw deal - the expression on her face at the exact moment Cook clicked could have been more flattering for sure - but again, zoom in and perhaps think about how good the sweat making her neck shine would taste. Or that on her shoulders. Or the trickle running down her pec line... Would you wait for it to trickle down onto her abs, or not?



Amber Eutsey (left, she of the unabashed bicep flex - see Monday's post, Tease), looks like she felt powerful even when she wasn't showing off "illegally", while Mexico's stunning Georgina Lona has the expression of a woman who can't quite believe what she's standing next to. Or perhaps it's what that guy in the front row is doing...



But while Cook went in close on many of the Figure Phenoms, he only stayed in close on Puerto Rican sizzler Karen Reyes. The camera really loves her, as it were.




Should Annie be worried? I doubt it. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she were controlling the whole thing from the comfort of wherever she was, ordering Cook to take more of this girl, more of that girl, and much much more of Karen. The idea that after the show Annie and James reviewed all these pics together (and naked) from the comfort of their hotel bed is perhaps the hottest one I've had all week!

Enjoy!

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Tampa for another year.