May Day Mmmmonique

A big beautiful muscular woman in a cute sexy dress. It doesn't get much better.



Indeed not. And, according to Mmmmonique, this is no one-off. The first of many more pin-up shoots to come, she recently promised her Instagram followers.

It's the juxtaposition that makes it such an instant classic. The contrast between that very feminine dress and her massive, muscular physique is simply astounding, one forum poster writes, impressively articulate given the circumstances.

And it's given us our theme for the week - contrast (or lack of it). Can't say I've totally thought it through, but there we are, I've committed to it now. We'll see how it goes!

Enjoy!

Mo' Single Than You Think

That's just over 90kg.

And in this case, the "me" is Moe, Mmmmmonique Jones.



Now, I've always suspected that this isn't just the stuff of our female muscle fantasies, that if there's a muscular woman in the room - any room - then she gets her pick of the men (or women) (or both). She gets to feed first, as it were. And I find it rather exciting to have that acknowledged by one of the women themselves. Or better yet, not acknowledged, asserted.




Light-hearted as I'm sure this post on her Instagram was, Mmmmmonique claims to stand at a knee-weakening 6'2" in her heels (1.88m in Euros). I bet she sucks the air out of every room she walks, no, swaggers into whether she's got those heels on or not. And those women with a personal best squat of under 200lbs must surely sense that power. Maybe that's why so many women are so negative about muscular women. Maybe that's why so many more women are working on that squat PB these days!



You're about to enter a season of consecutive wins... Mmmmmonique told herself and her Instagram followers recently. Seems to me she is feeling even more assertive than normal right now. Better get yourself a girlfriend if you're in the Moe area. If you are just plain single rather than single by squat PB, the alpha goddess might not see you as a worthwhile challenge. And she'll never sling you over one mighty shoulder and your woman over the other...



Now that really is the stuff of my female muscle fantasies!

Sweat. Sweet! (Sweat Is Sexy)

SWEAT 101

Perspiration (aka "sweating", or "diaphoresis") is primarily a means of thermo- regulation in humans, achieved by the water-rich secretion of the eccrine glands. Its evaporation from the skin surface has a cooling effect. Hence, in hot weather, or when the individual's muscles heat up due to exertion, more sweat is produced.
Wikipedia, "Perspiration"



SWEAT SONG

You know what I want
You know what you got
I'm thinking you and me
Somewhere getting sweaty
Ne-Yo, "Sweaty"



MORE IS LESS

Women have more sweat glands then men, but men's are more active.
US National Library of Medicine, "Sweating"



MORE IS MORE

The most in-shape will sweat the most, and the most quickly, because their bodies are conditioned. Regular exercise allows your body to cope with the heat generated by muscle contractions. One, the volume of blood carrying oxygen to the muscles is up to 20% higher, and this provides the fuid for your sweat. Two, you start sweating sooner because your body is programmed to recognise the need for cooling. Plus, the more effectively you sweat, the more sodium you hold onto, and that prevents muscle cramps, and that, in turn, means you can work out for longer.
Diane Stopyra, "Why Sweating Is Good for You"



MEDICAL OPINION

A sweaty body looks attractive to people, implying active, fit, tough, and resilient.
Dr Mike Bergeron, National Institute for Athletic Health & Performance



BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

Bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking.
Mia Hamm, "The Vision of a Champion"



SWEAT EXTRA

A sweaty - and breathless - Monica Mollica.



Enjoy!

BODYBUILDER! Moe's Muscular

OK, hands up who else fully expected Mmmmonique Jones to walk off with the Omaha Pro title last weekend. I mean, I don't know anything about judging and stuff, but as I mentioned earlier in the week, of the ten women on that stage, only Monique had previously won a pro show, so if you think about how these things usually go - bodybuilders, female or male, who win something tend to win again and again - you see where I got the idea. And it wasn't just me thinking along those lines. One preview of the show confidently predicted that it will be Monique Jones and everyone else, and furthermore that even an 80% Monique could walk away with the win.



But the main reason why I expected her to win was that I follow her Instagram, and amid all the inspirational quotes and amusing picture captions (she's a bit of a one for that sort of thing) her progress pics had been jaw-to-the-floor-worthy for some time before the show. It takes size to win, and Mmmmonique always has plenty of that, but it also (they tell me) takes conditioning. And to my untrained eye it seemed that Mmmmonique had been all conditioned and ready as hell for weeks.



Check out that back. Take your time, click on the thumbnails, have a good hard look, you shouldn't rush your admiration of such monumental muscle. In fact it's so wide the single "a" doesn't really do it justice. It's not a "back" but a "baaaaaaaaaack". Words failed me when I first saw the pictures, they're failing me now, and they probably always will do whenever I revisit them in future (they went quick snap to the "Special Favourites" folder, naturally). I don't know about you but I am in full swoon.



Granted, Mmmmonique's back - sorry, her baaaaaaaaaack - is kind of a given when it comes to swoonworthiness, but in the past she'd lacked ever so slightly against the very top women when it came to the leg department. But this time around those lusciously long pins (at over 5'7" - 1.75m - she is taller than most of the big girls) looked both bigger and more chiselled than I remembered seeing them before.



Clearly, Mmmmonique had been putting in the work - and not just with the heavy shizzle, either. Stretching, for example. As an aside from the main event here I just want to have a little dig at those of the "I am sexually attracted to female bodybuilders but I am derisive at the same time because all they do is take steroids" brigade (which, rather annoyingly, seems to be growing in number every day on the boards and so on). Look at the effort, hell, look at the position she has got that mighty physique into. I wouldn't care to comment on whether Mmmmonique (or any other female bodybuilder) was using certain substances or not, but I will say that it seems to take a whole lot more than just "using" to achieve a body as spectacularly thrilling as hers.



Anyway, back to Mmmmonique. In a lift, days before Omaha. If I had got into that lift they would have had to clean me up with a mop and bucket because I would have just melted. Like chocolate. Or something. And it was these images that led me to get a post all ready to go with her as the winner. This isn't a diatribe against another poor judging decision - I couldn't be happier about the result - but because Mmmmonique came second that post has morphed into one about why I thought she was going to win.


Mmmmonique "being silly backstage", with her medal, and with her idol

After the show, she was as philosophical as ever. What truly matters to me more than winning is to have that individual approach you and tell you how much of a positive inspiration you have been for them, she wrote. Impacting on others is my biggest reward and always keeps me motivated to do more within this sport.



And she's been making that impact on many many others, both as one of the sport's inspirational elite and, more personally, as a coach to the women she calls "my girls". They call me "Momma Moe", she says. Not because I'm old (because I'm totally not) but because they trust me and look up to me. I try to be as good a role model as I can for them. I have their best interest at hand. They also know I'm honest, tell it like it is and never sugarcoat anything. That's just tough love! I love what I do and it shows.



And even more than Wings of Strength and Mr Gardner, the thing that keeps female bodybuilding alive is love like Mmmmonique's. Gigantic. A big BIG love.

No room for a separate Gif of the Week post this week. Will this do?

Muscle in a Dress of the Day: Mmmmonique

The magnificent Mmmmonique Jones, two-time Toronto Pro champ and Victoria's Secret fan says, Although I'm in gym attire 90% of the time, I love me some dresses!



Well, here at FMS, we love us some Mmmmonique in a dress 100% of the time...



...and so we kick off a week of Muscle in a Dress on the blog with just a small selection of some of our favourite mouth-watering Mmmmonique moments.





Mmmmonique believes, "The less you reveal, the more people can wonder", a motto that could easily be applied to her classy choices of attire as well as the fact that it's not clear to me whether she will be defending her Chicago crown next month!



More Mmmmonique on Twitter and Instagram.



And more Muscle in a Dress tomorrow and all week. Enjoy!

Pic of the Week

When photographing anything MONUMENTAL - whether it's the Pyramids, Mont Blanc, Mmmonique Jones or the Taj Mahal - it's always a good idea to have something or someone else in the photo to provide the viewer with some SCALE.



Now, that, dear reader, is MMMUSCLE.

Enjoy!

Back Is Beautiful: Gif of the Week

Mesmeric muscle in motion from ShirtrippersX and the mighty Mmmonique Jones.

Elle est magnifique. Ou encore mieux, elle est Mmmonifique!

Back Is Beautiful: Champion Backs

A veritable meat fest today as Back Is Beautiful continues with the magnificent backs of a selection of champions, both professional and amateur, from 2013.

(left) Tana McGowan, CBBF Champion

(right) Olga Belyakova, IFBB World Amateur Champion

Belated congratulations to Tana, Canadian champion at the 7th attempt (she won the Masters 35+ title for the second consecutive year as well). And spare a thought for those women who sought to follow in Olga Belyakova's footsteps and become IFBB World Amateur Champion because currently the IFBB have decided to eliminate the bodybuilding class from that contest and all other IFBB amateur shows. Olga, sadly, may well be the last ever World Amateur Bodybuilding Champion.


Monique Jones, IFBB Chicago Pro Champion

One of the wonders of the female muscle world, Mmmonique displays her monumental back during a guest posing routine. I believe this is from a couple of years ago, and she hasn't stopped growing in the meantime - she's even bigger now! Swell's been having a recurring dream involving Mmmonique's back, some soft lighting, a bit of mood music and a bottle of massage oil. He's been going to the laundrette with his bed sheets a bit more often than normal, too.


Virginia Sanchez Macias, Arnold Amateur Europe Champion

Virginia in bulbous off-season shape on the left, and lean and sweaty in the gym on the right. Hard to imagine the power those muscles contain (and what she might use the power they contain to do to me!) Did I say "hard"? I meant "fun".


Victoria Dominguez, NPC Nationals Champion

As noted on FMS last November, Victoria (aka Mistress Treasure) became quite probably the naughtiest professional female bodybuilder by winning the NPC Nationals. The Muscled Dominatrix dominated her way to victory in the heavyweight category! she blogged after her win. Her back provides an almost perfect illustration of the wider the back, the tinier the waist seems. In 2014, she says she'll be not only dominating behind closed doors, but also looking to dominate the stage.


Silvana Imbrogno, UKBFF Champion

As reported on FMS in November, Aussie-born Silvana not only became the reigning British champion in 2013, but she also made bodybuilding history. At the UKBFF Midlands show Silvana became the first woman (we know of) to stand on stage and compete against men. By all accounts, she almost won the world's first unisex posedown. There must be at least a couple of top male amateur bodybuilders around the Midlands who have taken inspiration from Silvana's mass and conditioning.

(left) Jennifer Abshire, IFBB Toronto Pro Champion

(right) Shawna Pierce, NPC Masters Nationals Champion

Hot and Hard 100 #21 Jennifer Abshire reckons her legs are her best body part, but looking at her from the rear during her victory at the Toronto Pro last year, Swell is sorry, but he has to disagree. And I reckon that beautiful back of hers goes at least part of the way to explaining Mrs Megan Abshire's "surprise" win at that show, which was her first show as a pro and her first for three years. Shawna Pierce ,aka Shawna Strong, meanwhile, has had a slightly longer road to pro status but this FMS Woman of the Year 2013 has finally made it. Here we see her showing all the men and the rest of the women on the beach exactly who the boss is.


Tammy Jones, IFBB Tampa Pro Champion

Over ten years after her first competition (as a figure competitor), Tammy Jones won a highly competitive event according to one report, beating the likes of Rita Bello, Tina Chandler and Helle Nielsen to triumph in her first show as a pro. She's an inspiration to single mothers everywhere... Well, no, actually she isn't.
But she damn well SHOULD be!


Shannon Courtney, NPC USA Champion

Witness the thickness. Witness the MEAT on FMS Readers' 2nd Hottest Hard Woman in the World and genetic envy of budding female bodybuilders everywhere. Chocolate Muscle on Tumblr, for one, says, Shannon stresses me out!!! She has probably the best physique I’ve seen in a while, but at one point in time she almost decided to throw that away because she thought that IFBB was getting rid of FBB. That was until they came out with the IFBB 2014 schedule and there were not 4 (like last year), but 5 shows. Since then she has kept with bodybuilding. What stresses me out is that she almost got rid of it to compete at a smaller physique. Man, if I had her body... fuck competing if they cut FBB. I’d keep it just to keep it.



Iris Kyle, Ms International & Ms Olympia

And finally, it has taken years and years of work from some of the top minds in the world to find a dress fabric strong enough to contain the mighty mass of muscle that is Iris Kyle's back without ripping apart. And if you're familiar with what happened straight after this photo was taken, you'll know those fine minds are still at it.

Enjoy!