Mrs Swell's Easter Surprise: Stronger Than Me

Mrs Swell is a competitive sort. From big contracts to trivial knowledge, she likes to win, and she very much takes that spirit into her workouts. Me, I don't seek to up my PBs, it just kind of happens, but the lady is always looking to go heavier, for more reps, with better form. Is she stronger than me? No. Not even close, but she does make more progress more quickly, so perhaps I should be looking over my shoulder a bit more!



Today I thought we might dip into the world of powerlifting, where you will find women who are shifting the kind of weight that others can only marvel at. If, as people are always saying these days, strong is the new sexy, then women like Crystal Tate (above) could make a reasonable claim to be the sexiest women in the world.

Tate weighs in at 198lbs (just about 90kg), which makes her about 10 kilos lighter than yours truly. However, she did a 700lb (317kg) squat at the end of last year, and in March at the Arnolds performed a world record 600lb (272kg) deadlift.



Tate is one of eight women "who squat weight that makes spectators' jaws drop" recently picked by the powerlifting blog BarBend. "These are female athletes who can be described in many ways, but usually incredible is the best word for it."



These include Kristy Hawkins, familiar to FMS readers (most recently seen here on Then & Now: 2007), and Becca Swanson, also (briefly) once a competitive bodybuilder, who has deadlifted more weight (672lbs/304kg) than any other female on the planet, as well as performing an 843lb (382kg) squat back in 2010.



And among BarBend's picks from the lighter weight classes, we find women who don't conform to the popular image of a powerlifter, but can nevertheless squat between three and four times their own bodyweight. Sweden's Isabella von Weissenberg, for example, is a two-time European champion with the looks of a model and a squat of 424lbs (just over 192kg), a world record for her under 72kg weight class.



My personal favourite though weighs in at just under 60kg (132lbs), not much heavier than Mrs Swell. From Austin, Texas, Nicole Gonzalez, aka Nikki Gunz, has a competitive 410lb (186kg) squat, Erica Blockmanesque looks, AND abs!



Sthenolagnia - sexual arousal from displays of strength or muscles.



Replace the "or" with an "and" and Nikki's appeal is very apparent.



Enjoy!

Tube Watch

FMS picks a few of our favourite new YouTube clips in February for your viewing pleasure in the latest chapter of our regular muscle in motion fest: Tube Watch.

I'D SAY SHE'S READY

Czech pro Margita Zámolová looks like she is ready for this weekend's Physique International at the Arnold Classic. Brace yourself for some seriously pumped up and vascular muscularity as she works out in two different outfits, both giving us plenty of opportunity to ogle her ripped upper body in particular. Horký materiál!*



Margita, a former Arnold Amateur Europe Physique champion, is definitely on the bigger, thicker end of the WPD lady scale. Check out a few images of her at last year's Arizona Pro here if that's your kind of end of the scale, and/or Margita's Facebook.

For Your Consideration

Unsurprisingly, there's been all sorts of "Countdown to the Arnolds" type stuff posted in the last month. FMS recommends continuing to follow Autumn Swansen's journey via Midwest Muscle Report (episode 3 features posing, serious weight, and an interview with Autumn and a very very large man). Gorgeous Figure contender Cydney Gillon filmed by NPC News Online training back 5 weeks out is not to be missed, and Physique pro Tamara Qureshi gives a sweaty interview to a local newspaper, the Calgary Herald. An unusual source, and not your average FBB clip.

ZOLTAN'S MAGIC

The amazing Zoltan Veigh has been bringing us photos and clips of some of the hottest fitness women from his native Hungary and elsewhere for years. And for my money the quality has never tricep dipped below 5-star. In the last week or so seven new previews have gone up on his channel, any of which I could have easily picked for the post.

In the end, I've gone for...



Mainly because I've had a soft spot for Melinda for quite some time, and indeed any woman who can do what she does right at the start of the video! Check out all his other clips from this month and beyond - with a special recommendation for his latest crowdfunding campaign - three plus minutes of sizzling mitteleuropäische muscle.

"MISS FIT"

Also known as Denise Masino.



We've always been at least as fanly about Denise with her clothes on as Denise with her bits out, so we're delighted she's putting out this and other similar clips on her YouTube channel these days. Naturally Denise being Denise, those workout tops don't leave too much to the imagination. Age shall not wither her. Nor her nips.

For Your Consideration

More workout action, this time from Britain's IBFA champ Christal Cornick, all smiles and beefy lats as she trains off season. And recent HD Physiques previews, starring Brooke Walker and her legs, and Autumn Cleveland and her invitation to join up, have got me wondering whether I should get the wallet out and see more.

Tube Watch will return in March.

Enjoy!

* Unlikely to be Czech for "Hot stuff".

Tube Watch

FMS picks a few of the very best new clips from YouTube from the first few weeks of January for your viewing pleasure in our second installment of Tube Watch.

MICHAELA FAILS...

But only after a mind-boggling 225lb (just over 100kg) 32-rep set of deadlifts.



The woman is a freak. More jaw to the floor stuff from Michaela on her channel - 111 (yep, one hundred and eleven) squats with her bodyweight (circa 60kg) on the bar.

For Your Consideration

And staying with the WPD, defending Physique Internationsl champion Autumn Swansen's preparations are being documented by Midwest Muscle Report. You can watch an interview with her in a bikini in the ocean (actually it's not quite as sexy as a beach shoot with Autumn should be, but her velvet Southern accent saves the day - for me anyway!). You can also follow her as she builds up to and performs a shoulder/ bicep workout. Not as intense as Michaela, it's true, but lawdy that accent...

BAYRES NOT BARE!

Probably better-known for being a muscular woman not shy about taking her clothes off and getting up to all sorts of naughtiness, Karyn Bayres is clothed unusually modestly while pumping up and flexing in this Double Biceps preview.



Bet that look she gives the camera at 1.39 had you imagining all sorts of naughtiness.

Satisfy your cravings on her blog.

For Your Consideration

And elsewhere in Europe, Zoltan Veigh continues to find more beautiful, sexy muscle models to shoot in his own inimitable way. FMS recommends pretty much everything he's ever done, but this "Behind the Scenes" look at Karina Gavrikova and her tanned, vascular midsection is brand new and well worth a minute of your time.

RENE DOES ARNOLD

Remember that scene from Pumping Iron (not II) where Arnie goes on about the pump making him feel like he's "cumming day and night"? Ever wondered how it would sound if a female bodybuilder re-enacted the scene? Well, thanks to London-based director Emile Rafael with help from Rene Campbell, you don't have to wonder anymore.



How I missed this when it went up in September is beyond me.

The research team have been most righteously chastised.

Tube Watch will return towards the end of February.

Crossfit in the UAE

Bodybuilding, it was reported recently, is taking off in the United Arab Emirates, and there was more than a little (English and Arabic language) media coverage given to Dubai-based personal trainer Haifa Musawi, aka "the first Gulf Arab female bodybuilder", at the start of this year. Now comes news that Emirati women are taking up Crossfit in ever-increasing numbers. And crucially, unlike the female bodybuilders, it's a sport in which they are able to compete for their country.



The name at the forefront of Emirati women's Crossfit is Nuha Almarri, the first woman from the UAE to have competed in international events. There were very few Arab girls initially, she says. I clearly remember in 2014 there were only seven Arab girls competing in Kuwait at the Battle of the East. That number went to 10 the following year. The interest is growing and more Arab girls are being drawn to the sport and even taking it up as a profession.


Nuha competes in her first Crossfit competition, August 2014

Her passion for sport was ignited at school, where she did gymnastics, then basketball and athletics, and while doing her Business Management degree in Dubai she continued to run, and also started weight training. Then, in 2013, she discovered Crossfit and was immediately hooked. I like the challenge it provides, she says.



If you are waiting for the "overcame cultural prejudice about women in sport" bit, then here it comes - she found it quite difficult to convince her mother that Crossfit was the profession for her. But over a period of time she realised that my heart and soul is in it, says Nuha. When your family starts backing you in what you do, then things become a lot easier. And Nuha's sister, Latifa, has also taken up the sport.


Nuha (centre) with sister Latifa (left)

Latifa says that she was "into Muay Thai" before she discovered Crossfit "was more fun", and if this isn't sounding like the kind of story you would expect to hear when reading about Emirati women and sport, then believe me, it isn't the kind of story I expected to be writing! Where's the prejudice?! Where's the struggle?!



Actually, the Almarri sisters do acknowledge they haven't had it as tough as the majority of Emirati women, and the numbers actually participating in Crossfit and Crossfit competitions are hardly earth-shattering. But when you consider that just a few years ago the number of women would have been zero, you can see why organisers like Dunia Khaleel are getting excited about the future. The sport is making giant strides within the UAE, she says. Around 15 Emirati women athletes participated in the Abu Dhabi Throwdown. We didn’t do any advertising for the event and still so many ladies came, and we had competitors from Qatar and Oman as well.



Nuha at the recent Abu Dhabi Throwdown

This all sounds rather hopeful - and not at all what I would have expected to find in a country and region that my own ideas about clearly need recalibrating. I want to qualify for all the major CrossFit tournaments globally and try and win medals there, says Nuha Almarri. My goal is to put UAE on the map and show that UAE women are not behind in anything. She can already count me as shown!



استمتع!

Picture Perfect

Having gone into a bit more detail than originally intended with last week's Summer Break @NPC USAs posts, I find myself playing catch-up. No time for very much at all, I'm afraid, so this week I'm having to go a bit PumpItUp - one picture every day.

One perfect picture.



JANAINA PINHEIRO



We've already established Janaina is an exhibitionist of some note (see FMS passim), but being in contest shape recently seems to have made her turn it up to 11.

And you know the longer I look at this picture, the more I like it.

When you've exhausted the possibilities, there's much much more here.

Champion of the Day: Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir

Crossfit Games Fittest on Earth



The winner of the 2015 Crossfit Games is once again the Fittest on Earth in 2016. Katrin became only the second woman to win the Games two years in a row (her compatriot Annie Thorisdottir in 2011-12 was the first). In fact, the top four, Katrin, Australia's Tia-Clair Toomey, fellow Icelander Sara Sigmundsdottir, and Britain's Samantha Briggs (in that order), all took the same places they had in 2015.



It still seems kind of unreal, she told Men's Fitness soon after she'd completed her triumph. It still seems crazy that it's actually over. I was going to be happy with the weekend regardless of the outcome, but the win is such a big bonus. Indeed. Katrin pockets a winner's cheque for a cool $275,000 plus about $13,000 in performance bonuses! But of course it's not about the money. Her prize also, rather controversially, included a gun donated by one of the Games' sponsors. Really. She won a handgun, and apparently they are going to allow her back into Iceland with it.



Anyway, back to our champion. Enjoyed every second out there, she told her Instagram followers. And if the pictures are anything to go by, she really did.



You may remember that at the Games the individual events aren't announced until just before the competition starts. Each Games is therefore unique, and athletes have to prepare for pretty much anything from ocean swimming and rope climbs to handstand walks and whatever "The Separator" is. To win last year, and then to win again after a different set of twelve events is, I think you'll agree, quite an achievement.



So, what's her secret? I strive to be excellent, she says. I strive to excel at anything that I do. I take care of every single percent that I can take care of. I do that. I make sure I sleep enough. I make sure I eat perfect. I make sure I warm up well. I make sure that I lift well. I make sure that I give everything that I have to every workout. I want to constantly become solidly better than how I woke up.



She's not the worst advert they could have for the sport, is she?



Til hamingju Katrin!

Obsessions New & Old: "The One"

It was only as recently as April this year that pictures of Cassandra "Cass" Martin started to appear on the forums. And she's already quite a female muscle celebrity.



Her Instagram @casssmartin (the extra "s" is for "sizzling hot", one fan reckons), already has 92,000 followers, and not all of them are wide-eyed female muscle heads like you and me. Her social media popularity (and perhaps her looks) has quickly led to all sorts of fitness-related sponsorship - many of her Instagram posts feature some kind of product or other, everything from clothing to drinks containers.



She's clearly been lifting for a while but is just starting out in the industry. She's just 20, and although she describes herself with the one word we all love hearing - "Bodybuilder" - she has never (as far as I know) competed as a bodybuilder or anything else. Nor does she (again, as far as I know) have any immediate plans to do so.



Actually, she is quite mysterious. I have been all over her Instagram since I first found her on the forums and I can't tell you where she's from exactly. And I'm not the only one who's in the dark. There's a fan on the forum whose first rules is who asks, about once a month, if anybody knows what her plans are and has never received a reply. She keeps her cards close to her impressive chest. And somehow this lack of information, this mystery (on top of those looks perhaps) make her all the more alluring.



One thing that everyone knows about her though, mainly because she's quite happy to share it, is that she is freakishly strong. 130lb dumbbell rows, 90lb dumbbell chest presses, 315lb deadlift... Tried the 75s today, Cass told her followers a couple of weeks ago. Only got 3, so I dropped back down to the 70s for reps. Next time you are in the gym and there aren't many people about, try picking up two 70lb (just over 30kg) dumbbells and doing seated shoulder presses with them. Then try it with 60s.



If the above paragraph gave you the impression I have tried some of Cass's lifts myself, then I'm sorry to disappoint you but I've been lifting for a while and I know my limits and I don't want to be wheeled out of the gym and into an ambulance. Others , though, are not so savvy. I tried a few of her lifts, one fan revealed last month. A few I managed - with great difficulty. Other lifts I couldn't even do, especially the rows. I probably outweigh her by 100lbs [45kg]. She's so f**king strong it's mind-boggling.



And of course the other thing we all know about her, simply because we all have access to her photos and clips, is that Cass is a remarkable beauty. An absolute stunner.



She's so good-looking, in fact, that the thought has crossed my mind that she actually doesn't exist and is a sophisticated computer-generated avatar designed by a marketing company to get us to buy all those products she endorses. Kind of like that CG woman the guy falls in love with in that film (whose title escapes me).

 

Not, I grant you, very likely, but I have another theory about Cass, and I promise it's better than that. It concerns one of our collective obsessions - the "Obsessions" of the title of this week's posts are not only mine, you see - the emergence of a female bodybuilder who will take the sport back into the mainstream. AKA "The One".



Once upon a time, it was Cindy Phillips. More recently, it was Shannon Courtney. There have been others, those that combine a mainstream beauty with a truck load of muscle and remain - at least in our eyes - feminine with it. Now, I have some serious reservations about this whole idea, the first of which would be that even in the so-called Golden Age of Cory Everson et al, female bodybuilding was never really mainstream in the first place. But let's say it was, and let's say it is possible one woman can take it back there. It hasn't happened with any of the candidates we've collectively assigned that role to so far. My theory is that Cass Martin will be our next.

  

I haven't seen anyone tout her as the new "One" yet, but I bet it's coming. I don't like women with muscles but for you I'll make an exception, reads one comment on Cass's Instagram, the author no doubt intending to be a lot more complimentary than he actually is. More importantly though, this is exactly the kind of thing that makes us fans suspect that Cass could be on the verge of cracking the mainstream.



She isn't. Nor was Cindy Phillips, Fabiola Boulanger, Kris Murrell, Gina Davis and nor was Shannon either (see She's Not the Messiah, She's a Very Beautiful Female Bodybuilder for more of FMS' take on this). Cass, as far as I can tell, is not thinking much beyond new PBs for her lifts and bigger muscles all over as a result. She is, in her own words, just "putting in the work", and this is very much working for her so far.



She's already shown that she can create a very nice career for herself without ever stepping onto a stage. It's working for Sophie Arvebrink, for example, and coincidentally it wasn't that long ago yours truly was utterly obsessed with her.


 

So, tempting though it might be to think otherwise, Cass Martin is not "The One". Sorry to those who still dream of Rising Phoenix coverage in national newspapers or whatever "mainstream acceptance" means to you. It ain't going to happen via Cass or anyone else. But - however inappropriate it might be for me, a man of advancing years, to be so enamoured with a woman of 20 - definitely one of my latest obsessions.

Sorry Sophie.



Obsessions all week on FMS. Old, new, borrowed...

The Games Are Coming: Célia Gabbiani

CELIA GABBIANI France



The last of our Crossfit correspondent's "talent" before the Games hails from the beautiful area around the city of Nice near the French-Italian border.



Célia, like yeaterday's talent, Jeanne Rossarie, is both French and failed to qualify for the Games (which kick off on Tuesday next week, the 19th). But I doubt there'll be too many complaints that our correspondent has included her in his selections.



A former swimmer, 5'4" Célia is 26, and discovered CrossFit in late 2012. In CrossFit my evolution has been much more rapid than in swimming, she explains, as that sport requires longer periods of discipline to achieve much slower growth. She has certainly packed on a lot of muscle since 2012. And it's getting her noticed.


Célia in 2013 (left), and this year

It took female muscle lovers a few years to find her, but she's very much on the collective radar now, fans of Célia noting how "rock solid" she looks, and admiring her penchant for concluding successful lifts with her "million-dollar smile".



Magnifique!



Célia is on Instagram.

And a massive thank you is due to Aiden for all his hard digging. I think it paid off rather well, don't you? Tune into the Games via the CrossFit megasite and YouTube channel. Keep your eyes peeled for some of the talent we've featured this week, as well as perennial favourites such as Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet, Stacie Tovar, Britain's Samantha Briggs, those Icelandic woman mountains, and many more more.

Enjoy!