Backstage of the Day

Paint & Glue

While that might sound as if today's post is more about DIY than female muscle, paint (body paint) and glue (posing suit glue) are two things a competitor needs to have with them in preparation for taking the stage, according to former figure competitor Rebecca Slatt.

Since taking your suits on and off has a tendency to rub some paint off, I have discovered that it is best to saturate a sponge with the paint you are using and put it in a plastic ziplock bag, says Rebecca. I do however, bring an extra bottle of paint just in case I really mess myself up! Rebecca recommends wearing powder-free latex gloves during painting, oiling and subsequent touch-ups.


Competition suits barely cover anything anymore, says Rebecca (and 'amen for that', says Slave). Rebecca continues, Since you need to make sure you are 'secured' in your suits, make sure to bring some suit glue! Bikini Bite is easy to find and easy to use. Bikini Bite? Sounds like something that would get you into trouble, but apparently is a best-selling suit glue. Who knew?! Anyway, Rebecca says this is a particularly vital thing to remember, and not only because (although we fans love it!) you don't want any wardrobe malfunctions on stage. Would you want a stranger borrowing your glue? Probably not. Remember to bring your own glue. And on a practical note, Also bring a plastic baggie to store the suit glue in so it doesn't get on anything else in your suitcase.


And there is a whole lot more to remember to put in your bag before a show (including chapstick, dental floss and a sewing kit) but if you want to know about those, you can read Rebecca's Bodybuilding.com article here.

Thighs of the Day: Know Your Thighs

The quads, quadriceps, quadriceps extensor, or, to give it its full name, the quadriceps femoris is a muscle group - and a large one at that - that includes the four major muscles on the front of the thigh. Apparently, 'it is the great extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large fleshy mass which covers the front and sides of the femur'. In fact, quadriceps femoris means ‘four-headed muscle of the femur’ in Latin.

left: Rene Marven right: Kashma Maharaj

Kashma has already competed, taking the heavyweight class at the Arnold Amateur recently. Rene should, all being well, take her pro bow at the start of June at the Toronto Pro. So there's four four-headed muscles of the femur to watch in 2013.

The quads is, unsurprisingly, subdivided into four ‘heads’, each with its own name. And there are worse ways of getting to know the four heads than looking at pictures of female bodybuilders and their sexy, ripped thighs. It's certainly more fun than looking at anatomical diagrams, isn't it? Imagine you're a medical student. Which image would you recall more readily? Could female bodybuilders be a potential teaching aid?



left: Fabiola Boulanger right: Gillian Kovack

Considerably more interesting to look at than an anatomy book.

The rectus femoris occupies the middle of the thigh. The vastus lateralis is on the outer side of the femur, and the vastus medialis (can you guess?) is on the inner thigh. The vastus intermedius is the one muscle of the quads you are unlikely to see unless you are a surgeon, as it’s under the rectus femoris. Female bodybuilding judges are only really concerned with three of the four 'quads' then. Interesting...

left: Roberta Toth right: Anne Freitas

Even in their native Brazil, where most women's thighs seem to have impressive structure, muscularity and tone, Roberta and Anne's three visible heads are standouts. Coxas muito sensuais, as they say in Bahia. Probably.

All four of the quads are extensors of the knee, and come in handy if you want to walk, run, jump or squat. They can be trained by doing leg presses, squats, or, if you really want to isolate them, leg extensions are boss.

left: Lisa Giesbrecht right: Amy Sibcy

Just look at the vastus lateralises and the vastus medialises on them, he said.
To which I could only reply, And their rectus femorises ain't bad either.

More quadriceps femorises (femori? femorae? help!) tomorrow.

Enjoy!