Gym Bodz Special: New Year, New Members

The gym I attend is a small but serious one in a little town in a remote corner of rural England. It’s fair to say that if the EU hadn’t been enlarged at the beginning of the millennium, the gym would probably not exist, because apart from myself, it is populated almost exclusively by very large Eastern European guys called Marek, Jacek and Andrzej. These guys take their lifting seriously. There is lots of grunting and lots of dumbbells crashing to the floor at the end of sets.

But this being a New Year, new members have appeared at the gym. A few of them are, refreshingly, women. Some of them have even ventured off the machines and into the weights room, which with all the testosterone flying about in there is pretty brave, God knows I felt intimidated when I first joined!

Now, I’m a married man. But the appearance of these new lady members made me realise what a great time of year this is to be a female muscle fan in a gym.




Up to 70% of people who make a New Year's resolution decide that this will be the year when they exercise more regularly and eat more healthily. Although many of these people are, unfortunately, men, this does mean that more women will be going to the gym this month than at any other time of the year.



To many gym 'regulars' (rats, bunnies, whatever), this is hell on Earth. You might recognise the type (usually, in my experience, but not exclusively, men) who have been going to the same gym long enough to delude themselves into thinking they actually own it, and, by extension, every piece of equipment in it. They spend January in a constant state of agitation as they actually have to wait to use things, then they huff and puff home and rant on bodybuilding forums about these people who have invaded their gym.




In contrast, to the gym-going female muscle fan (the single one anyway, I wouldn't advocate any of this to those of you in relationships), January presents a unique opportunity: the gym has more women in it than ever, and they are not (yet) buff enough to cause you the kind of adrenaline rush that will tie your tongue, and leave you capable of nothing more than sneaking furtive glances at them across the gym and in the mirrors.




Grasp your chance. 60% of gym memberships go unused and attendance is usually back to normal by mid-February, says Time magazine, and according to recent surveys, nearly 75% of the people who made resolutions gave them up on or before January 10th.



So any resolutioners still at the gym at the end of January are doing better than the vast majority, and any newbies still working up a sweat by the end of February are probably the real deal.



I'm not saying you should be hitting on every new female member at the gym, it's not (and here I am probably for once in agreement with the 'regulars') a place to socialise. I'm merely suggesting you be civil (even if it is out of self-interest), and anyway, don't you want to be thought of as a nice guy (as well as having a great body)?




Any ice-breaking done now might pay massive dividends later. Be friendly to the cute but flabby woman. Who knows? By this time next year she may have lost that excess weight and gained some muscle. You never know, she might end up looking like one of the ladies in the pics I've posted here (call them 'visualisation aids'). And among all those angry regulars who stood and huffed and puffed while they waited for her to finish on the machine, it was you who gave her a smile, showed some consideration, made her feel less intimidated, and in a small way helped her towards realising her goal, consequently adding to the sum total of female muscle in the world.



And best of all, the fact that you've been passing the time of day with her while her body changes insures against blathering-idiot syndrome rearing its head when she has got all nice and buff and has exchanged her baggy gym gear for a little top and a pair of tight almost-not-there shorts. It's win-win!




Unlikely? Maybe. But bear in mind that once upon a time (not so long ago - 2006 to be exact), a woman named Tarna Alderman made a New Year's resolution...

Hot Hot Heat of the Day

Heat to Watch: Amelia Wall



Somehow the glasses just make this stunningly beautiful young woman even more attractive. I confidently predict you will be seeing more and more of Amelia this year and beyond. Let's face it, she's not even trying and she's white hot.

Hot Hot Heat of the Day

MIA Heat: Dr Dena Westerfield

What has happened to the self-styled 'Dr Sexy'? She was everywhere not that long ago, but disappeared from view last year. Is she just about to come back and knock our collective socks off with a new bigger look (still with that insane rippedness)?
Perhaps she has just been giving herself a well-earned break.

And in the meantime, we're not exactly short of Dena material to be going on with.


Tiny though the outfit undoubtedly is, Dena is always willing, keen even, to show us just that little bit extra. And it's that attitude, revealing yet holding back, that, in my opinion, makes her hotter than a nuclear reactor in mid-meltdown.

More heat tomorrow.

Hot Hot Heat of the Day

Retro Heat: Lisa Bavington


The combination of her magnificent upper body in (near enough) it's full glory and her slightly coquettish pose make this an iconic image of a true female muscle superstar. Back at the turn of the century, Lisa's body clothed was enough to set my female muscle lovin' loins aflame, but when I came across this little throwaway candid of her actually topless, well, I don't think I've ever been so near to spontaneous combustion. The fact that I'm still here to tell the tale is testament to the speed with which I looked away and locked the image in a fire-proof container. Only now, over ten years later, have I been able to open said container.

Dust your safety goggles off and prepare for more hot hot heat tomorrow.

Muscle and Madmen

And I was thinking 2012 had been a pretty good year for female muscle in the mainstream, but if 2013 continues as it’s started, we are in for a treat!

A female bodybuilder in a make-up ad and it’s beautiful

Advertisement uses muscular female model in a non-insulting, beautiful manner

Female bodybuilder Jelena Abbou shows off her amazing physique in campaign

These headlines and more have been generated by the advertising campaign for a new cosmetics range, called ‘Strength’ (get it?), from MAC, who, apparently, are a big deal in the field. And while I have never taken much of an interest in the cosmetics industry or its advertising methods, they’ve got my attention now!

Flex your femininity with a color collection that’s fearless, elegant and strong, reads the copy. Strike a powerful pose, stand out, redefine the notion of beauty - and do it with strength too irresistible to ignore.

The most exciting thing about this is that for the first time I can recall, a muscular woman is being used in a major advertising campaign in order to associate the product with the qualities she displays. I’ve seen female bodybuilders in ads before, but it’s always been purely for the shock value. But here there’s no irony (not that you’d expect much from a make-up ad), no snigger at all. It’s almost too good to be true!

She's styled and photographed in a way that glamourizes her and highlights her beauty and her femininity, writes Jenna Sauers at jezebel.com, but the ad also does not camouflage or attempt to minimize her incredible body. In fact, Abbou's muscular arms are the focus of this picture. That's what makes this ad so striking, and so incredibly beautiful.

And Sauers’ reaction is pretty much typical. ‘Finally something different… and I love it!’ would be a fair summary of the huge number of articles the ad has generated:

As a fashion and beauty site  we have to do a certain amount of coverage of fashion and beauty campaigns. For the most part, they are uniformly boring. Because they are all the same. Thankfully, those wily pigment junkies at MAC Cosmetics just went and made our job a little more interesting…

This is a body type we’re completely unused to seeing represented in beauty advertising - so unused to it, in fact, that it’s jarring. But it’s also quite a lovely ad…

There’s no denying the image is shocking, and that’s why it’s so awesome. If only all cosmetic advertisements emphasised their subject’s unique beauty…

Admirable that MAC has cast a sort of woman who seldom appears outside of fitness magazines…

Hats off to you, MAC Cosmetics, you folks did an amazing job creating an ad campaign that shows the beauty of a muscular female body in a complimentary, gorgeous way…

The praise, from the articles I’ve read, and I’ve read more than a few, is universal. And even the majority of comments from other readers have welcomed the campaign:

It's about time strong females were used in marketing a bit more. I always see a push for more rounded ladies, but what about super fit ladies? It's great to see the beauty stereotype challenged…

I love it! She looks great and this is a great positive body shape to aspire to. She is very sexy and feminine looking. And strong…

Nice to see women with a bit of character and oomph instead of a load of uninspiring lollipop heads…

Couldn’t agree more!

This woman ‘with a bit of oomph’ was born in Serbia, but left in 1997, at the age of 20, to pursue a fitness modelling career in the USA. Now 35, Jelena has been competing at the highest level in her adopted country for the best part of 12 years.

It’s funny that the only negativity I’ve managed to find about the whole thing has come from female muscle fans themselves, bemoaning the fact that Jelena isn’t a ‘proper’ bodybuilder, only a figure competitor. Sure, the people at MAC have chosen their model well. Ripped she may be, but Jelena is also one hell of a looker.

The PR people have gone for a woman with plenty of the requisite ‘conventional’ beauty. So what? What’s significant is that the model involved has any muscularity at all, and furthermore, that those muscles are the focus of the image. The apparent success of the campaign only helps to further the ‘Strong Is Sexy’ cause. It’s a bit unrealistic to expect the admen to adopt someone like Alina Popa or Sarah Hayes, beautiful as they are, to front a major campaign at this stage.

Interestingly though, while MAC might not be ready to use a fully-fledged female bodybuilder in their ad campaign, it’s quite likely that Alina or Sarah have been using MAC for some time. MAC products are of professional standard, specifically engineered to stand up to the lights and subsequent heat of a live performance. Consequently, the range is widely used not only by theatre actors and pop divas, but it’s also apparently the favoured make-up of female bodybuilders in competition. (Now that’s something that I’d never thought about in all these years of female muscle lovin’ - what make-up do they use?!)

Anyway, back to the point. I, and perhaps you too, dear reader, have often dreamed of a world where muscular models strut the catwalks and adorn the pages of fashion magazines. At the beginning of 2013, it seems to me, the success of this campaign means that dream is a little closer to reality, and that should be something to celebrate.   

Well done MAC, and well done Jelena!

Practising for the MAC shoot?

…for more of Jelena, visit her website and youtube channel

Hot Hot Heat of the Day

Webcam Heat: Femme Fatale

In her own words, she is old enough to be a real femme, young enough to be fatale, and with caps like these, you don't need to have had a webcam show with Femme Fatale on HerBicepsCam to imagine how sensationally hot she is - but it helps.



She says that her best bodyparts are her abs, eyes, brain and pecs, though not necessarily in that order. We say, she's all good. Highly recommended.



More hot hot heat tomorrow. Just you go and cool down now.

Hot Hot Heat of the Day

Jamie Pinder



Jamie transformed herself from, in her own words, a bad bikini competitor to a pro in the Physique division in just one year. The results speak for themselves. A word of warning, though. Don't spend too long drooling over her magnificent bod. I've already had two screens melt on me as a result of the hotness she emits. You could cook an egg on those big juicy biceps of hers. And cook it quickly at that.

If you want pics of Jamie winning her pro card at the  2012 NPC Nationals (and I think you do) they can be found at Bodybuilding.com or RxMuscle.com, among others. You might also like to see her amazing transformation pictures for yourself on Sioux Country - it's a treat.

Hot Hot Heat of the Day

Happy New Year to you, dear reader. Swell is back from warmer climes, and though it's been a good break, it's also good to be back. The one thing I'm struggling with, though, is the temperature. Having spent the last month and a bit in a T-shirt and shorts, the northern hemisphere winter has been a shock, to say the least.

I need some heat. And I couldn't think of anything else when compiling this week's daily picture post. So heat it is. Hot hot heat from the hottest of the hot...


The magnificence of Tina Chandler from a guest posing routine last year. I'm not sure if it's the pose, the discarded whip or the way she's eye-balling the guy in the front row that makes this image sizzle. Maybe it's the thickness of her legs and arms, or the way her hair is hanging down just right that's making it feel like summer in here all of a sudden. Maybe it's all of these things. Whatever it is, she is smoking like Vesuvius the night before it buried Pompeii. Can you feel the heat?

A New Page At Female Muscle Slave Up Today: A Shared History of Female Muscle Fandom

Check out the new page A Shared History of Female Muscle Fandom, new today.

Have a look and if you want to add your own memories or experiences to it, please comment (anywhere on the blog will do) or email directly to 6ft1swell@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

The original post, explaining the project and asking for contributions, can be read here.

Enjoy, and thanks to Aiden for getting the ball rolling.

Happy New Year

Ruthie says...

Happy New Year to all our wonderful friends and readers  x

Best wishes for 2013!