See her heat. Feel her heat.
Enjoy!
Thursday, 12 February 2015
Pic of the Week
It's not just the fan, not just the viewer, who sees the sexual appeal of the power of the muscular woman. It's also the woman herself. She feels it. In every fibre of her strong, powerful, muscular body she feels the sexual power of her fully pumped muscle.
See her heat. Feel her heat.
Enjoy!
See her heat. Feel her heat.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
The Gospel According to Denise Masino
Back in November last year, Denise Masino, owner of female bodybuilding's most famous bits, took part in an "Iron Debate" for Rx Muscle.com with Dave Palumbo, Mr Rx Muscle and (if I'm not mistaken) the former squeeze of Colette Nelson, and Chris Aceto, "Bodybuilding Guru" and the former Mr Laura Creavalle.
At an hour and a half, it's a weighty watch. The host looks somewhat sedated but he does have one of those deep and deliberate American sports broadcaster voices (like Kevin Gamble on Sky's NFL coverage), which lends the whole thing a bit of gravitas. Palumbo seems to be there to plug product and, in a bizarre moment near the start, show off his baby boa constrictor (for real). And also near the start of the show Aceto confesses he's worried Denise, the first woman bodybuilder to be invited to an "Iron Debate" will be both more attractive to look at and more intelligent than him. And with good reason. As they cover subjects relevant to female bodybuilding - from the growth pf the Physique division to the place (or not) of adult entertainers within the IFBB - Denise proves herself to be informed, passionate and eloquent - not that Mr Aceto isn't any of those things, you understand, it's just that Denise is... well, MORE!
Denise gets the lion's share of voice time, but to save FMS readers the trouble, we have sat through the whole damn thing ourselves and picked out some of Denise's best/most thought-provoking quotes from the show, and illustrated them with some recent images of the ever-smokin' La Masino for your viewing pleasure.
ON PHYSIQUE
A lot of people have a problem with Physique as a category as opposed to Women's Bodybuilding and they feel the one is undercutting the other. My perspective on it is a little bit different. Bodybuilding is an aesthetic choice, and you know the nature of the sport really is that through years of training and muscle development, you might start off in a lower level, as you continue to train you inevitably become a bigger, more mature athlete. And a lot of times you find yourself pushed from one category into the next. And it is a choice and unlike a lot of people, I think Physique is good for bodybuilding because it's bringing in more people into the sport.
We need new athletes, young athletes in our sport, just like any other sport does, in order to keep the sport alive and growing. And if you look at a professional bodybuilder, or national level... the physiques are so extreme - it's an extreme sport - the physiques feel unattainable to the average person. And unattainable is not inspiring to someone who is going to jump into something they have to commit energy, time and a lot of money into. So I think that the Physique and even the lower echelon categories are really really important. People criticise bikini, they criticise fitness, they criticise figure... And the idea in my mind is how many peope can we get into the fold to grow our sport? To grow weightlifting and training, not just working out and doing pilates and yoga. How many ways can we get people initiated? The stage creates the challenge for the athlete, it gives them something to shoot for. I think Physique three years ago represented a more "attainable" physique for women.
If you look at what happened this year in the Olympia Physique category and you look at last year and the difference between Dana as the first Ms Olympia Physique winner and Malacarne this year. I will tell you, I would say that when I was competing, I was more a Malacarne physique bodybuilder. Malacarne's carrying a lot of muscle on that body. I love it. I think she's a wonderful representative but she's a lightweight bodybuilder to my mind. And to take that point a little bit further, ALL of these women are bodybuilders. If you're in the weight room and you're squatting...
In the gyms there are so many new chicks who are squatting because the aesthetic is changing, women are feeling more empowered and not afraid of having a little bicep, delt. I think all these women are bodybuilders. It's just what level are you at right now and how far are you gonna go?
ON THE OLYMPIA
There's no Women's Bodybulding Olympia coming in 2015. We lost the Ms International stage. Those are two really really bad signs at the women's elite level. It's not a good thing. It's not something I agree with. These women, they're a spectacle, they're really really interesting to look at - never mind getting to know them because they're incredibly interesting women to get to know - but the sport is an extreme sport. It is what it is.
I think it does create pressure for women bodybuilders who still want to compete at the elite shows and on the top stage definitely. I can imagine what it would be like for me if I was still competing, trying to make that decision. As a smaller woman it would have been easier for me because I'm petite to begin with and I was trying to compete with women who had 50 to 60 pounds on me on stage all the time. So this change would have probably benefited me when I was competing, just like the lightweight division did. But I feel for the women like Alina Popa, Yaxeni Oriquen who are amazing athletes, who now find themselves without top stages. And my gut [feeling] is that there will be top stages, it's just a question of who's gonna do the promotion, where it's gonna happen, and how it's gonna be reinvented. That's what I see happening, because it's not going to go away.
ON BUSINESS
I have been producing, publishing, promoting, selling adult entertainment with female bodybuilders as the star in those productions. I didn't reivent the wheel, I just basically took a concept that we know works - for obvious reasons - and I applied a new aesthetic to it. I said, 'Just because you're a female athlete, just because you're a female jock, just because you have muscle does not devalue your sensuality, your commercialisation abilities, your marketablility, your allure.' And in my world, bodybuilding has always enhanced my sexuality, it's always enhanced my sense of femininity. Which is why I do it. It empowers me and always has. Is it appropriate? Absolutely. 100%.
When I started, with my partners, the magazine that we published, it's almost twenty years ago, there were other publishers in the business and people who said it will never work, it doesn't go together, muscle and sex doesn't work. Well, here we are fast forward twenty years and I'm still in the game. A lot of other people are not. As they say, the rest is history.
In all the years I've been doing this and promoting the sexuality of strong women, I really have not had a lot of people confront me with criticism the way most people assume. Now, maybe that's because the conversations are happening outside of my earshot, which is the way people generally do things. What I do is not for everybody, being a female bodybuilder separates me, so I get criticism for that, but honestly, I don't care. At the end of the day it's my choice. I love what I do, I love what my sport does for me, and it's a very creative form of work for me, and that's how I feel about it.
I learned early on that sports are large entertainment businesses, and there has never been money in women's bodybuilding. Why? Because it's not viewed as enough of an entertainment sport. So this is my way of bringing an entertainment value into it, speaking to an audience that clearly was out there.
Bodybuilding for me is a hobby, a lifestyle, a passion, that I found a way to turn into an expressive, creative profession. I'm making my living as a result of what I do, not through bodybuilding the sport - because I never made enough money in purses. It costs me money to bodybuild as an elite professional bodybuilder so I had to reconcile those differences.
ON FANS
My fans have just opened up my mind in some many ways. They've shared so much about their perspective, from all over the world. I have a very rich life because of this sport, because of my participation and because of the fans. I love my fans because they love strong women. I mean how could a woman not love a man - or woman - who loves a strong woman. They champion my independence, my entrepreneurial ways, my perspective, my strength, and my individuality. And they support all of that. So I have great gratitude for my fans.
Many years ago I had a photographer tell me back when we were starting the magazine that you cannot fetishise female muscle. I think he said "it's inappropriate". And I was really taken aback because I knew that this particular photographer loves women's bodybuilding, so he was being a hypocrite and he didn't even realise it. And I told him you can't tell people what they're supposed to find alluring. Women supposedly like men in uniform. Some men like blondes. Some men like small boobs...
If anybody's going to be calling anyone a schmoe, I'll be calling myself a schmoe first because I am a fan of female bodybuilders. I think they're hot as hell.
I've learned so much by just listening to people. And part of why I do what I do, and part of why my company developed to be what it is was that my fans made me realise that they have such great admiration and respect for the strength of the woman bodybuilder that it makes them weak at the knees. And it made me think it's a universal concept, it's a universal thing - power is sexy. And my fans champion that and for that I champion them in return.
What I do think though is that fans of women's bodybuilding, athletics, whatever it is, they need to put their money where their mouth is. They need to go to events, they need to buy 8x10s, they need to sponsor athletes because at the end of the day it's the sports fans that dictate what happens with that sport.
ON THE FUTURE OF WOMEN'S BODYBUILDING
I hope it'll be different. I think the approach to promoting women's bodybuilding needs to be shaken up a little bit. I have ideas!
I'll tell you something I think is funny. When I started out twenty years ago the question was can women's bodybuilding survive? Fast forward twenty years later... To my mind women's bodybuilding is bigger than ever because more women than ever are weightlifting. You want to focus on the elite category, the hyper-muscular women, well, I feel that women's bodybuilding will still be here twenty years from now. And we'll be asking the question again!
Watch the whole "Iron debate" on the Rx Muscle channel
Keep up with Denise in a (sort of) safe for work way via Instagram and Twitter
Plenty to mull over there. Not least how FMS has now managed two Denise Masino posts without a single image of those mighty bits of hers. Enjoy!
At an hour and a half, it's a weighty watch. The host looks somewhat sedated but he does have one of those deep and deliberate American sports broadcaster voices (like Kevin Gamble on Sky's NFL coverage), which lends the whole thing a bit of gravitas. Palumbo seems to be there to plug product and, in a bizarre moment near the start, show off his baby boa constrictor (for real). And also near the start of the show Aceto confesses he's worried Denise, the first woman bodybuilder to be invited to an "Iron Debate" will be both more attractive to look at and more intelligent than him. And with good reason. As they cover subjects relevant to female bodybuilding - from the growth pf the Physique division to the place (or not) of adult entertainers within the IFBB - Denise proves herself to be informed, passionate and eloquent - not that Mr Aceto isn't any of those things, you understand, it's just that Denise is... well, MORE!
Denise gets the lion's share of voice time, but to save FMS readers the trouble, we have sat through the whole damn thing ourselves and picked out some of Denise's best/most thought-provoking quotes from the show, and illustrated them with some recent images of the ever-smokin' La Masino for your viewing pleasure.
ON PHYSIQUE
A lot of people have a problem with Physique as a category as opposed to Women's Bodybuilding and they feel the one is undercutting the other. My perspective on it is a little bit different. Bodybuilding is an aesthetic choice, and you know the nature of the sport really is that through years of training and muscle development, you might start off in a lower level, as you continue to train you inevitably become a bigger, more mature athlete. And a lot of times you find yourself pushed from one category into the next. And it is a choice and unlike a lot of people, I think Physique is good for bodybuilding because it's bringing in more people into the sport.
We need new athletes, young athletes in our sport, just like any other sport does, in order to keep the sport alive and growing. And if you look at a professional bodybuilder, or national level... the physiques are so extreme - it's an extreme sport - the physiques feel unattainable to the average person. And unattainable is not inspiring to someone who is going to jump into something they have to commit energy, time and a lot of money into. So I think that the Physique and even the lower echelon categories are really really important. People criticise bikini, they criticise fitness, they criticise figure... And the idea in my mind is how many peope can we get into the fold to grow our sport? To grow weightlifting and training, not just working out and doing pilates and yoga. How many ways can we get people initiated? The stage creates the challenge for the athlete, it gives them something to shoot for. I think Physique three years ago represented a more "attainable" physique for women.
If you look at what happened this year in the Olympia Physique category and you look at last year and the difference between Dana as the first Ms Olympia Physique winner and Malacarne this year. I will tell you, I would say that when I was competing, I was more a Malacarne physique bodybuilder. Malacarne's carrying a lot of muscle on that body. I love it. I think she's a wonderful representative but she's a lightweight bodybuilder to my mind. And to take that point a little bit further, ALL of these women are bodybuilders. If you're in the weight room and you're squatting...
In the gyms there are so many new chicks who are squatting because the aesthetic is changing, women are feeling more empowered and not afraid of having a little bicep, delt. I think all these women are bodybuilders. It's just what level are you at right now and how far are you gonna go?
ON THE OLYMPIA
There's no Women's Bodybulding Olympia coming in 2015. We lost the Ms International stage. Those are two really really bad signs at the women's elite level. It's not a good thing. It's not something I agree with. These women, they're a spectacle, they're really really interesting to look at - never mind getting to know them because they're incredibly interesting women to get to know - but the sport is an extreme sport. It is what it is.
I think it does create pressure for women bodybuilders who still want to compete at the elite shows and on the top stage definitely. I can imagine what it would be like for me if I was still competing, trying to make that decision. As a smaller woman it would have been easier for me because I'm petite to begin with and I was trying to compete with women who had 50 to 60 pounds on me on stage all the time. So this change would have probably benefited me when I was competing, just like the lightweight division did. But I feel for the women like Alina Popa, Yaxeni Oriquen who are amazing athletes, who now find themselves without top stages. And my gut [feeling] is that there will be top stages, it's just a question of who's gonna do the promotion, where it's gonna happen, and how it's gonna be reinvented. That's what I see happening, because it's not going to go away.
ON BUSINESS
I have been producing, publishing, promoting, selling adult entertainment with female bodybuilders as the star in those productions. I didn't reivent the wheel, I just basically took a concept that we know works - for obvious reasons - and I applied a new aesthetic to it. I said, 'Just because you're a female athlete, just because you're a female jock, just because you have muscle does not devalue your sensuality, your commercialisation abilities, your marketablility, your allure.' And in my world, bodybuilding has always enhanced my sexuality, it's always enhanced my sense of femininity. Which is why I do it. It empowers me and always has. Is it appropriate? Absolutely. 100%.
When I started, with my partners, the magazine that we published, it's almost twenty years ago, there were other publishers in the business and people who said it will never work, it doesn't go together, muscle and sex doesn't work. Well, here we are fast forward twenty years and I'm still in the game. A lot of other people are not. As they say, the rest is history.
In all the years I've been doing this and promoting the sexuality of strong women, I really have not had a lot of people confront me with criticism the way most people assume. Now, maybe that's because the conversations are happening outside of my earshot, which is the way people generally do things. What I do is not for everybody, being a female bodybuilder separates me, so I get criticism for that, but honestly, I don't care. At the end of the day it's my choice. I love what I do, I love what my sport does for me, and it's a very creative form of work for me, and that's how I feel about it.
I learned early on that sports are large entertainment businesses, and there has never been money in women's bodybuilding. Why? Because it's not viewed as enough of an entertainment sport. So this is my way of bringing an entertainment value into it, speaking to an audience that clearly was out there.
Bodybuilding for me is a hobby, a lifestyle, a passion, that I found a way to turn into an expressive, creative profession. I'm making my living as a result of what I do, not through bodybuilding the sport - because I never made enough money in purses. It costs me money to bodybuild as an elite professional bodybuilder so I had to reconcile those differences.
ON FANS
My fans have just opened up my mind in some many ways. They've shared so much about their perspective, from all over the world. I have a very rich life because of this sport, because of my participation and because of the fans. I love my fans because they love strong women. I mean how could a woman not love a man - or woman - who loves a strong woman. They champion my independence, my entrepreneurial ways, my perspective, my strength, and my individuality. And they support all of that. So I have great gratitude for my fans.
Many years ago I had a photographer tell me back when we were starting the magazine that you cannot fetishise female muscle. I think he said "it's inappropriate". And I was really taken aback because I knew that this particular photographer loves women's bodybuilding, so he was being a hypocrite and he didn't even realise it. And I told him you can't tell people what they're supposed to find alluring. Women supposedly like men in uniform. Some men like blondes. Some men like small boobs...
If anybody's going to be calling anyone a schmoe, I'll be calling myself a schmoe first because I am a fan of female bodybuilders. I think they're hot as hell.
I've learned so much by just listening to people. And part of why I do what I do, and part of why my company developed to be what it is was that my fans made me realise that they have such great admiration and respect for the strength of the woman bodybuilder that it makes them weak at the knees. And it made me think it's a universal concept, it's a universal thing - power is sexy. And my fans champion that and for that I champion them in return.
What I do think though is that fans of women's bodybuilding, athletics, whatever it is, they need to put their money where their mouth is. They need to go to events, they need to buy 8x10s, they need to sponsor athletes because at the end of the day it's the sports fans that dictate what happens with that sport.
ON THE FUTURE OF WOMEN'S BODYBUILDING
I hope it'll be different. I think the approach to promoting women's bodybuilding needs to be shaken up a little bit. I have ideas!
I'll tell you something I think is funny. When I started out twenty years ago the question was can women's bodybuilding survive? Fast forward twenty years later... To my mind women's bodybuilding is bigger than ever because more women than ever are weightlifting. You want to focus on the elite category, the hyper-muscular women, well, I feel that women's bodybuilding will still be here twenty years from now. And we'll be asking the question again!
Watch the whole "Iron debate" on the Rx Muscle channel
Keep up with Denise in a (sort of) safe for work way via Instagram and Twitter
Plenty to mull over there. Not least how FMS has now managed two Denise Masino posts without a single image of those mighty bits of hers. Enjoy!
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
Spot Virginia Competition
This month's winner reaches out and touches Virginia's lats...
It could be you. Really. For your chance to feel Virginia up while she works, complete the following sentence in 100 words or less and send it with your name and location to spotvsmcontest@femalemuscledreamscometrue.com
I would like to be Virginia's spotter because...
Winners will be notified by 25th February and must be available to claim their prize in person in Madrid between the 2nd and 29th March. Open to over 18s only.
Good luck!
It could be you. Really. For your chance to feel Virginia up while she works, complete the following sentence in 100 words or less and send it with your name and location to spotvsmcontest@femalemuscledreamscometrue.com
I would like to be Virginia's spotter because...
Winners will be notified by 25th February and must be available to claim their prize in person in Madrid between the 2nd and 29th March. Open to over 18s only.
Good luck!
Monday, 9 February 2015
Media Watch UK: The Hull Muscle Honeyz
Some unexpectedly good New Year news landed in the FMS inbox in the first week of 2015 in the shape of an article from regional news source the Hull Daily Mail. Hull, for non-UK readers, is a city (officially Kingston-upon-Hull) on the east coast of England in the county of Yorkshire, notable to female muscle fans (up to now) only for being where FMS crush and total Muscle Honey Rebecca Maughan hails from.
However, Rebecca isn't one of the Muscle Honeyz in the article, which is kind of what I expected when I read the headline! In fact, we learn that they are a group of 30 women from Hull on a mission to get themselves in tip-top condition this year.
The Muscle Honeyz are embarking on their fitness campaign as part of their preparation for this year's Mr and Mrs Hull show and train at Workout Gym in Ropery Street, near Hull Arena, under the watchful eye of Mr Universe Dan Welburn.
And aiding and abetting local hero Welburn is a woman who is no stranger to winning at bodybuilding shows, 2013 Miss Yorkshire Toned Figure Becky Rowley.
Toned Figure champion Becky Rowley trains Muscle Honey Alex Greenwood (top), competing in her first show in 2013, ready to go at the Muscle Honeyz gym in Hull, and proudly holding up her substantial silverware.
Thirty of them! And they're preparing for a show?! I couldn't help wondering how long it would take to turn the UK into the female muscle paradise I'd always dreamed of if there were thirty women in every gym in every city all training for their first bodybuilding shows... Not very long is the answer I came up with.
But before we get too excited, fact is, as the article tells us later, not all the Muscle Honeyz are actually looking to compete. Some of us are trying to get fit and healthy, says Muscle Honey Gemma Hornby, but others are getting into bodybuilding.
Muscle Honey Gemma Hornby (left) and her woman crush, Paige Hathaway.
22 year-old Gemma, who works for the newspaper in the marketing department and on her Twitter admits having a big old woman crush on fitness model Paige Hathaway, seems to be something of an advocate for the lifestyle. Before I started training and taking care of myself, I was always sick. It felt like I was always poorly. But since I began to look after myself, my health improved so much. I'm a lot stronger physically and it's transformed my health. I had no energy before. Now, I'm training five to six days a week, I'm eating well and I feel so much better.
Muscle Honey selfies by Gemma Hornby.
People should get involved, says Gemma. They will see a massive improvement in their lives. They'll have more energy, they'll feel better in themselves and it'll be great for their health. Just give it a go. We are one big team and we're all in it together.
Muscle Honeyz Emily (left) and Laura.
While some of the Muscle Honeyz are, like Gemma, "just giving it a go" in an effort to look and feel better, others are either would-be competitors or former competitors training for their return to the stage. Some of the Muscle Honeyz are established clients of the gym and its trainers, others have only recently joined up.
Muscle Honeyz Jenni (left), and Jo.
But what I really like about all this - apart from the 'imagine this was happening all over the UK' daydream - is their choice of the word MUSCLE. They're not the Gym Honeyz, not the Hardbody Honeyz, not the Fit Honeyz. They are MUSCLE Honeyz.
And you can follow their collective adventures, marvel at their transformations, and watch them as they prepare for the Mr and Miss Hull 2015 on the Muscle Honeyz Facebook page. The show is in May. There are going to be a few "purple sisters" in their Team Muscle Honeyz purple bikinis on that stage worth watching.
I'm all over Right Move looking for property in Hull...
Enjoy!
However, Rebecca isn't one of the Muscle Honeyz in the article, which is kind of what I expected when I read the headline! In fact, we learn that they are a group of 30 women from Hull on a mission to get themselves in tip-top condition this year.
The Muscle Honeyz are embarking on their fitness campaign as part of their preparation for this year's Mr and Mrs Hull show and train at Workout Gym in Ropery Street, near Hull Arena, under the watchful eye of Mr Universe Dan Welburn.
And aiding and abetting local hero Welburn is a woman who is no stranger to winning at bodybuilding shows, 2013 Miss Yorkshire Toned Figure Becky Rowley.
Toned Figure champion Becky Rowley trains Muscle Honey Alex Greenwood (top), competing in her first show in 2013, ready to go at the Muscle Honeyz gym in Hull, and proudly holding up her substantial silverware.
Thirty of them! And they're preparing for a show?! I couldn't help wondering how long it would take to turn the UK into the female muscle paradise I'd always dreamed of if there were thirty women in every gym in every city all training for their first bodybuilding shows... Not very long is the answer I came up with.
But before we get too excited, fact is, as the article tells us later, not all the Muscle Honeyz are actually looking to compete. Some of us are trying to get fit and healthy, says Muscle Honey Gemma Hornby, but others are getting into bodybuilding.
Muscle Honey Gemma Hornby (left) and her woman crush, Paige Hathaway.
22 year-old Gemma, who works for the newspaper in the marketing department and on her Twitter admits having a big old woman crush on fitness model Paige Hathaway, seems to be something of an advocate for the lifestyle. Before I started training and taking care of myself, I was always sick. It felt like I was always poorly. But since I began to look after myself, my health improved so much. I'm a lot stronger physically and it's transformed my health. I had no energy before. Now, I'm training five to six days a week, I'm eating well and I feel so much better.
Muscle Honey selfies by Gemma Hornby.
People should get involved, says Gemma. They will see a massive improvement in their lives. They'll have more energy, they'll feel better in themselves and it'll be great for their health. Just give it a go. We are one big team and we're all in it together.
Muscle Honeyz Emily (left) and Laura.
While some of the Muscle Honeyz are, like Gemma, "just giving it a go" in an effort to look and feel better, others are either would-be competitors or former competitors training for their return to the stage. Some of the Muscle Honeyz are established clients of the gym and its trainers, others have only recently joined up.
Muscle Honeyz Jenni (left), and Jo.
But what I really like about all this - apart from the 'imagine this was happening all over the UK' daydream - is their choice of the word MUSCLE. They're not the Gym Honeyz, not the Hardbody Honeyz, not the Fit Honeyz. They are MUSCLE Honeyz.
And you can follow their collective adventures, marvel at their transformations, and watch them as they prepare for the Mr and Miss Hull 2015 on the Muscle Honeyz Facebook page. The show is in May. There are going to be a few "purple sisters" in their Team Muscle Honeyz purple bikinis on that stage worth watching.
I'm all over Right Move looking for property in Hull...
Enjoy!
Sunday, 8 February 2015
Julia Vins: Powerlifter
There seem to be very clear parameters when it comes to describing the subject of today's post, the 18-year-old powerlifter from Engels in Russia, Julia Vins.
She's the Bodybuilding Barbie. A doll-faced Russian teen [who] has arms that could crush you! She's King Kong Barbie, the girl with the Barbie face and the muscle body. Don't be fooled by the doll-like face, they warn, Julia Vins is one tough chick.
And after the lack of imagination in the headline, whether the sub-heading promises she could beat the crap out of you, break your arm, "destroy" you, or rip your face off (I made the last one up), it's the the same story every single time. Without exception.
And the story is... pretty much what was covered in the headline. She's beautiful, she's strong. Or she's beautiful and powerful. Or she's beautiful, she's young, and she has "a body like the Hulk". The horror! The horror! Conventional beauty from the neck up, "manly" from the neck down. And only 18. The horror! The horror!
It's the kind of thing that can provoke the (normally peaceable) female muscle brethren into lashing out. We read the dumb comments attached to the stories and our ire gets ignited. For me, it's not even the ones you expect that get me riled - "that is a man" or some similar variation is so old, and so obviously nonsense that I don't get wound up by it anymore. Instead it's the ones who lay out their theories of what a woman should look like that rub me up the wrong way. Take this masterpiece on the subject of Julia's breats: I am mostly against community standards and believe everyone is free to do whatever they wish and people shouldn't negatively criticize them about it BUT it is horrible to lose a part of your body because you are dedicated. Breasts are awesome to look at. There really is nothing that signposts impending stoopidity like a big old BUT in the middle of a sentence, is there?
Most recently, I found myself feeling the exasperation of a fellow female muscle head when he posted this on his excellent Tumblr, Mike 'Mires Muscular Maidens...
So this popped up in my Facebook news feed today. Naturally I recognize her as Julia Vins, who is kind of internet-famous for being both feminine and muscular.
(Gasp!)
I followed the link to the clickbait-y article, which has you click through no fewer than 8 pages. The commentary on the pictures isn’t as offensive as it could be, I suppose. (There’s a “joke” about how she might beat you up if you ask her out, ha, ha.) I always shake my head when I see people who are floored that a woman can be beautiful and have muscle all at the same time. For some reason, the misconception persists that muscles are just for men, and women with muscle must be “manly.” At least articles like this spread the word that that’s not the case.
It's not often I agree 100% with anybody, BUT on this occasion...
At least articles like this spread the word. So true. And the main reason I should calm down, stop reading the comments and see these stories in a more positive light.
The fact that Julia has become the (doll-like) face (and Hulk-like body) of so many stories, or more accurately, so many versions of the same story, has got her a legion of fans, both male and female. It's hardly surprising. Despite her youth, she is, after all, a powerlifter of some note. Already a national champion, her "best lift" stats continue to rise - most recently, as far as I can ascertain, she improved her squat to 180kg. Initially, I set a goal to become stronger because I have absolutely no confidence in myself, she says. I do what I want. This is my life. There will always be people who respect my choice, but it's impossible to please everybody. I am following my dream.
Guess I shouldn't worry so much.
Check out Julia's website and/or follow her Instagram. There are a plethora of clips of her on YouTube, and not just on her channel. A good example of the typical Julia story can be found here, and an appearance she made on Chinese(?) TV here.
Enjoy!
Saturday, 7 February 2015
GIFs of the Week
In a bumper week for GIFs (or my discovery of them at least), it was impossible to choose just one, so, you lucky people, today we have not one, but two magnificent muscle women for your viewing pleasure, in no fewer than FIVE genius gifs.
They are taken from a new Tumblr blog, It Is What It Is. (full stop included), which, I should warn you, is most definitely not safe for work (least of all because of the Health & Safety implications), and is not exclusively a female muscle blog.
To start with, it's Shannon Courtney. To the power of 3!
At first, she's all smiles...
But pretty soon Shannon is gurning like a raver...
And you can feel the intensity of her effort as her huge arms (and everything else) assert their power over the iron. Grimacing yet insanely gorgeous, Shannon is oblivious to the guy who seems to have wandered into her domain by mistake, his attempt at looking casual (ie. act as if he hasn't come to ogle the Queen of the Gym) fails miserably, the gif loop turns him into one shifty-looking mofo!
Just imagine what the view must be like from back there. The Courtney glutes snug inside her tight light blue leggings, her lats and rear delts exploding out of her vest as she curls the weight... No wonder his hands are in his pockets!
And meanwhile, in another gym on the other side of town...
Dana Capobianco is feeling rather good about her chest.
Now, I am putting these gifs in the opposite order to the original poster for good reason. Drink in the muscle (above), because the second one is all about the expression on Dana's face - although the viewer should spend a little time looking at Dana's top and noting that her pump has extended to, has stimulated, all parts of her chest...
That look off camera with the tongue action and the smile - I don't know who or what she is looking at, but if I was it, I think I would just die right there - then her eyes roll back in ecstasy as she clenches her teeth, hits the pose, and ripples..
I think I need a lie-down.
Enjoy!
#my gifs on deliciousyleftarcade
They are taken from a new Tumblr blog, It Is What It Is. (full stop included), which, I should warn you, is most definitely not safe for work (least of all because of the Health & Safety implications), and is not exclusively a female muscle blog.
To start with, it's Shannon Courtney. To the power of 3!
At first, she's all smiles...
But pretty soon Shannon is gurning like a raver...
And you can feel the intensity of her effort as her huge arms (and everything else) assert their power over the iron. Grimacing yet insanely gorgeous, Shannon is oblivious to the guy who seems to have wandered into her domain by mistake, his attempt at looking casual (ie. act as if he hasn't come to ogle the Queen of the Gym) fails miserably, the gif loop turns him into one shifty-looking mofo!
Just imagine what the view must be like from back there. The Courtney glutes snug inside her tight light blue leggings, her lats and rear delts exploding out of her vest as she curls the weight... No wonder his hands are in his pockets!
And meanwhile, in another gym on the other side of town...
Dana Capobianco is feeling rather good about her chest.
Now, I am putting these gifs in the opposite order to the original poster for good reason. Drink in the muscle (above), because the second one is all about the expression on Dana's face - although the viewer should spend a little time looking at Dana's top and noting that her pump has extended to, has stimulated, all parts of her chest...
That look off camera with the tongue action and the smile - I don't know who or what she is looking at, but if I was it, I think I would just die right there - then her eyes roll back in ecstasy as she clenches her teeth, hits the pose, and ripples..
I think I need a lie-down.
Enjoy!
#my gifs on deliciousyleftarcade
Friday, 6 February 2015
Swell Digs: The Hot and Hard 100 2014 pdf
I would love in a near future to be able to go to the newsagents and come across a beautiful edition of the FMS Hot and Hard 100, just like FHM.
So wrote one reader (and voter) after last year's Hot and Hard 100 poll, prompting FMS to dream big and put out an appeal to you readers to produce a pdf, a slideshow or a compilation clip of the women you voted the hottest and hardest of all.
Even at that early stage just after the results had been posted, I was delighted to report that an offer to make a pdf had been received, and promised to make it available as soon as it is ready. Well, it turns out that it took a while (!) but almost a year on from our first Hot and Hard 100 poll, here it is...
THE FMS HOT and HARD 100 2014 pdf
My thanks to its creator, our old friend, the UK's Female Muscle Blogger in Chief, PumpItUp, for giving up so much of his precious time and energy to put it together. It is, by his own admission, a bit rough and ready, but no less special for that.
Not quite the same as the dream of walking into the newsagents, but it's a start. If you think you can do better, you'll soon have your chance to prove it. Voting is open for the FMS Hot and Hard 100 2015 and the last day for votes February 20th. The results will be posted here at the beginning of March (with a bit of luck).
Check the rules and how to vote here.
Visit PumpItUp's Female Muscle.
Katia Callegari (last year 28th) & Zsuzsanna Toldi (47th)
Jamie Pinder (last year 79th) & Loana Muttoni (19th)
Where will they come this year?
Start making your Hot and Hard 100 2015 list!
So wrote one reader (and voter) after last year's Hot and Hard 100 poll, prompting FMS to dream big and put out an appeal to you readers to produce a pdf, a slideshow or a compilation clip of the women you voted the hottest and hardest of all.
Even at that early stage just after the results had been posted, I was delighted to report that an offer to make a pdf had been received, and promised to make it available as soon as it is ready. Well, it turns out that it took a while (!) but almost a year on from our first Hot and Hard 100 poll, here it is...
THE FMS HOT and HARD 100 2014 pdf
My thanks to its creator, our old friend, the UK's Female Muscle Blogger in Chief, PumpItUp, for giving up so much of his precious time and energy to put it together. It is, by his own admission, a bit rough and ready, but no less special for that.
Not quite the same as the dream of walking into the newsagents, but it's a start. If you think you can do better, you'll soon have your chance to prove it. Voting is open for the FMS Hot and Hard 100 2015 and the last day for votes February 20th. The results will be posted here at the beginning of March (with a bit of luck).
Check the rules and how to vote here.
Visit PumpItUp's Female Muscle.
Katia Callegari (last year 28th) & Zsuzsanna Toldi (47th)
Jamie Pinder (last year 79th) & Loana Muttoni (19th)
Where will they come this year?
Start making your Hot and Hard 100 2015 list!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)