Sunday Sizzler

Phyllis Huang provides this Sunday's sizzle.



The 40-year-old Phyllis was born in China, but raised in the States, and that's pretty much all we know about her other than that she has a penchant for post-shower selfies.



Trying to be sexy, as she (perhaps too) modestly puts it.

chinesegoddess777 on Instagram

Enjoy!

Wings of Strength Goes Wild

2017 has been, all things considered, a bit of an up and down year for the Wings of Strength led pro Female Bodybuilding circus. In the first few shows of the season, the line-ups were a bit thin on quality, but Maria Mikola made a welcome return from the Physique division. Then there was the whole Aleesha debacle in Omaha before Brittney O'Veal's winning pro debut and Elena Oana Hreapca's victory in the first ever Ms Wings International made Chicago memorable, and the Norfolk Pro saw fan favourite Theresa Ivancik make her pro debut. Finally, at the beginning of the month, Tampa provided us with a "proper" line-up and a contest to match, ensuring at least that the qualification series for the Rising Phoenix ended on a high.



That high didn't last long. As soon as the list of women qualified and invited for the Rising Phoenix was published on August 9th, the proverbial shit hit the proverbial fan, and the unlikely source of the shit was Wings of Strength co-owner herself, Kristal Wood. I am absolutely disgusted with the Wings of Strength list for the Rising Phoenix!!! she wrote (in a since deleted post) on her Facebook page. What the HELL!



Kristal's issue was that those women who had received the so-called "special invites" (Jay Fuchs and Aleesha were mentioned by name, the other two - Janeen Lankowski and Cristina Franzoso not) were less deserving of their place at the show than those, Angela Rayburn was cited as deserving woman #1, for example, who had finished just outside of the qualifying places in the points list.

But why was Kristal, 50% of Wings of Strength, having a pop at her own organisation?



We are getting divorced.

Oh.



As FBBs such as Sharon Mould, Melody Spetko, Noelle Rockwell, Olivia Terry and Michelle Brent weighed in, it became apparent that there wasn't very much sympathy for Aleesha among some members of the so-called "iron sisterhood".

Quite the opposite in fact.

Michelle Brent: So Aleesha cry baby's [sic] and disrespects and then gets invited?

Sharon Mould: I think I need to message you [Michelle] private as there's so much more to all this than you can possibly imagine.

Aleesha: Message away dear and keep talking shit. I'll just keep training and being the best version of myself that I can... I'm really feeling the love from this supposed iron sisterhood that you often speak of. Have a great day y'all.

(At that point some random called "Fritz Talon" gets stuck into Aleesha on a personal level. Kristal and Noelle Rockwell leap to her defence and put the cretin in his place. Sharon Mould, however, hasn't finished.)

Sharon: Wtf is your problem, not everything is about you. Feeling a little paranoid? Get over it. And if there's a sisterhood lacking well that's because you obviously like it that way, no one is talking about you [er, yes, you were] as we have better things to focus on. Have a great day.

Noelle Rockwell: Feel like I'm watching an episode of "Wings of Strength Gone Wild"...



Where to begin?!

Well, on the plus side Aleesha at the Rising Phoenix has got to be something most of us can get behind. After Omaha and before her "special invite" she was never going to compete again. Right now she's on a mission, and Michelle and Sharon have fuelled her fire nicely. Thank you, ladies. Shame about Kristal and Jake. This can't be good for Wings of Strength and therefore can't be good for pro Female Bodybuilding, though at the same time I can't help feeling there are probably some chaps, maybe even FMS readers, out there, less married chaps than I, who are thinking to themselves that the prospect of Kristal being a single woman again isn't necessarily bad news!



With Margie and Alina not competing, and Sheila Bleck qualifying twice (from her finish at last year's RP and as the Tampa 2017 winner), three of the five pre-qualified places were already redundant. It would have been good if it had been announced what was going to happen to those places before a list was put out there. Since that first, apparently controversial, list was published, another, revised one has been put out which includes Kim McGuire, Virginia Sanchez, Tischa Thomas and Angela Rayburn - all with 3 points and the next best qualifiers. That seems fair.



Sadly, Brittney O'Veal has decided not to take up her place. So what - if anything - is going to happen to the list now Jake alone knows. Will the next woman or women in the points qualifying get to go? Will there be one more "special invite"? Sharon Mould perhaps?! Jake could sell tickets for the Aleesha-Sharon backstage showdown...



The "special invite" thing has one major flaw. If you are going to hand them out after Tampa then you are giving a Female Bodybuilder, who perhaps has been in her off-season for some time, well under two months to prepare for the biggest female muscle show on Earth. Not ideal. However, a "special invite" is given at the discretion of Wings of Strength - like them or not, this much at least has been clear right from the very first Rising Phoenix. So there doesn't need to be any rhyme or reason to them. They are, now him and Kristal are going their separate ways, Jake's toy to play with.

And much as I find the idea of Kristal's (actual) dirty laundry appealing, she shouldn't have aired it (the proverbial) in public, and the fact that the Facebook post has since been removed would, I guess, demonstrate that she realises as much.



Wings of Strength Gone Wild - Tuesdays, 9.00pm EST on CBS.

Caterina Ciarcelluti & Guerrillera Fitness

This is the image that brought global attention to the crisis in Venezuela. It shows 44-year-old Caterina Ciarcelluti — who has been dubbed Venezuela’s "Wonder Woman" — in denim Daisy Dukes, a tank top, crash helmet, and aviator sunglasses. Her blonde locks are flowing as she launches a rock at the national guard during a protest in Caracas. To say that she is toned and tanned is an understatement — she looks like a competitor in a Bodybuilding championship. There’s no doubt that rock is being sent across enemy lines with blistering force. [news.co.au, May 9th]



The "face" of the Venezuelan people's fight to rid themselves of the Maduro regime turned out to have an impressive physique attached. And the media, from Australia and around the world, albeit briefly, couldn't get enough of her. So, they wondered, how does the "toned and tanned" Caterina physically prepare herself for the fight?



She "hates gyms" and instead uses the Ávila, the magnificent forested mountain that overlooks Caracas, for her daily exercise, reported The Times' Stephen Gibbs a few days before the story appeared in Australia. That involves a jog up the hill at 6am carrying weights followed by an hour and a half of exercises at altitude. By 8am, after a five-egg-white omelette, she is ready for her day job as a personal trainer for private clients. She is not especially unusual, she claimed, in her fitness regime.

Ms Ciarcelluti, who is divorced, is in considerably better shape than most of the uniformed forces she faces. "We Venezuelan women are all guerrilleras. It’s in our personality," she said, "We tend to look after ourselves physically."



By the end of July, Caterina was donning a gas mask when she took to the streets, Maduro was still doing his batshit crazy dictator thing, and The Mail was belatedly jumping onto the "Wonder Woman" bandwagon. The blonde fitness fanatic's Instagram account, which shows her exercising, posing for selfies and taking part in demonstrations, has amassed nearly 75,000 followers, noted Julian Robinson, studiously keeping the foreign politics to a minimum for The Mail's readership.



Since then, the world's media seems to have moved on from its brief but intense fascination with Venezuela and their "Wonder Woman", but it was nice (from a female muscle lovin' perspective anyway) to have a strong, beautiful woman in the headlines while it lasted. Caterina has carried on doing what she does regardless. Anyone can like a body, she noted, somewhat philosophically, about the recent media attention and increase in her following. She has more important things to think about though.



¡Viva Venezuela!

Woman of the Week: Mary Eva Simmons

Obviously I'm not the only one who had a bit of a thing for the gorgeous Mary Simmons back when she was regularly posing for HerBiceps. Mary was never the biggest, but those eyes, those lips, those long and lustrous black locks, and her standout feature, as showcased in the above edit by my fellow Mary fan who operates Wonderful Athletic and Muscular Girls on YouTube, those oh so lickable peaks.



And all her other obvious charms.

Thing was, Mary was kind of MIA after around 2012. Since then I had been fortunate enough to see one or two undeniably very watchable cam recordings of her wearing a lot less than the little she'd wear for HerBiceps, but she was hardly in top shape.




The last contest she'd done, as far as I knew then and still do, was the 2011 NPC USAs, her usual sultry, stunning self, but perhaps too smooth to make an impression on the top places. She'd been awarded 15th place, and while she did pop up on HerBiceps again in 2012, on top of the webcam stuff, that was the last I had heard of her.

Until very recently.

Checking the NPC Teen, Collegiate & Masters Nationals galleries I saw a familiar, well, semi-familiar name - Mary Eva Simmons. A winner, an overall winner and therefore a pro card winner in the Physique Over 40 class. Could it be? I clicked...




She'd dredded her long, lustrous locks, but there was no mistaking those eyes and those lips. I wasn't totally convinced by the posing suit criss-crossing her lovely back, but otherwise I was immediately in full swoon. She was much thicker than she had been back in 2012. Mary had added considerable amounts of muscle, and she wore it well.

It didn't take me long to track down her post-show interview.



Mmmm. She wears that extra muscle very well.

And, best of all perhaps, she didn't sound as though she was going to keep me, Mr Wonderful Athletic and Muscular Girls and any other paid-up member of the Simmons Swoon Club waiting another six years to see her bronzed, oiled and on stage again.



In fact, we didn't have to wait even six weeks. A month after winning her pro card, Mary made her IFBB debut in San Antonio, finishing 12th in a high class field of 23.




Glorious.

Congratulations Mary!

FBBUK: Donna Murphy's Ambition

Runner-up in 2014, ex-Bikini competitor Donna had been among the favourites to take the tall Bodyfitness title at the UKBFF British finals back in 2015, but it was not to be. Some superb physiques, most notable Donna Murphy and Rebecca Maughan, didn’t make the top six as the judges took a firm stance against the more muscular competitors, noted John Plummer in his contest report. Maybe, mused FMS at the time, Donna would need to make another switch in division and move up to Physique before she got some love from the UKBFF judges again. Well, it's taken a while but...



I was really motivated to do Physique, says Donna. I could really see that class going into the whole feminine muscle thing, which I love. To have size, and still be girly.



Since last December, Donna has been under the wing of Mr Corinne Ingman, JP Petersen, and the results are, I think you will agree, impressive. [He's] had a HUGE impact on my bodybuilding, she says. Everything from my training to nutrition; from my self-belief and the way I approach prep to my health. And for the first time she's having to work out a routine. Something new to me but something I've fallen in love with, she says. Just music and me moving and getting creative. It's brought me a new aspect of Bodybuilding and reminded me how much I love being in a studio.



As a British female muscle fan I can't help but be excited at the prospect of seeing her compete in Physique, and she would make a great British champion, not least because she has, I think, the same kind of star quality (though less naughtiness) as our current #1 pro Female Bodybuilder, Lisa Cross. The camera quite simply loves her.



So only natural she should get together with premier female muscle photographer, film maker, and, we are proud to say, friend of the blog Rebecca Andrews. Ambition, as plugged by Donna in her intro to today's post, is the result of a match made in heaven.



Donna on Instagram.

Rebecca Andrews' website  (RAP Media) is currently under construction. In the meantime, check out her Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channel for more.

Enjoy!

Beautiful Bodies @Tampa Pro 2017

Best show so far this year! So many beautiful ladies with their oh so beautiful bodies...



I'm pretty sure the above forum poster was referring only to the Female Bodybuilding ladies with their oh so beautiful Female Bodybuilder bodies, but nevertheless I'm going to quote him and apply it to the whole damn show. From Elise Pecini, Bikini winner - surely only the most militant female muscle fan could be immune to her considerable (Brazilian) charms - to Tischa Thomas, bigger than the majority of the men competing at the show, Tampa was a serious feast for female muscle lovin' eyes.

Today, we proffer some of the tastier dishes for your viewing pleasure.

FIGURE



The ever classy, ever gorgeous Maria Luisa Baeza Diaz won the Figure class, with the Latin charms of Odalys Ferreira (left) in 5th and Michele Pinto in 4th the other standout swoons. How the air must get sucked out of the room when any of these three walk in. How much must they make other, "ordinary" women feel inadequate with their long long legs and muscles. So superior. And it may just be me projecting my fantasies and all, but I reckon - see how damn proud they look - they know it, and LOVE it.



MEANWHILE, IN A TAMPA HOTEL ROOM...



A beautifully bronzed Virginia prepares to create some shock and awe.

FITNESS



Myriam Capes (above) was the Tampa champ in the Fitness class, and that, if I may say so, is a damn sexy position to be able to get into. Nice of her to share it with us, don't you think? It is always slightly frustrating when there isn't video of the all-action Fitness routines, so big up fbbspy for capturing a couple from this particular show.

Check out (most of) 4th place Sara Kovach's breathless performance.



MEANWHILE, NOT FAR FROM THE VENUE...



Female muscle photographers suffer for their art.

Honestly, they must tape it down or something, tie a knot in it perhaps? How do they manage to hold the damn camera steady? How do they manage to get through their contest shooting days in the same pair of trousers they put on that morning?



Hardest job in the world.

PHYSIQUE




Many of Swell's (and yours, if the Hot and Hard 100 voting is anything to go by) favourites were flexing it in Physique in Tampa. Rosie Harte (5th) flew the flag for the UK in her usual sexy style (that's her bum in the top of the two pictures "not far from the venue", by the way) and Diana Schnaidt was, as always, at or near the top of the (fictitious) Best Abs in Show table even though she was only awarded 12th. Gorgeous Cris Goy Arellano broke into the top 10 at only her second pro show, but the glorious Katie Lee was, inexplicably, once again way down in the placings.




Less familiar, perhaps, but still making me get my swoon on were Keri Ann Heitzman (magnificent, and in good company in the "unplaced" section with Katie); Shawna Pringle for the first time in about 3 years, also unplaced; over 40 pro Isabelle Jackson who won her pro card at the NPC Universe this year and who, yes, you guessed it, was also unplaced; and the sultry Jenna Reid, a high-flying 4th.

MEANWHILE, IN A TAMPA RESTAURANT...



Honestly, too many Physique beauties to mention here today. I'd need a week to cover them all. Here's just two more, covered-ish - Mikaila Soto and Nicole Mudafort. No doubt the star attractions wherever they rock up in those outifts.

BODYBUILDING




Yes, and although we did smear the Pro Tan of the FBB class yesterday, we might as well go deeper into the big girls' class while we're still in Tampa. Angela Rayburn (12th), happy Hanna Hallman (9th), Jay Fuchs (5th) and Dawn Alison (15th) brought considerable beef to the Tampa stage, with forum fans feeling that "Jay was robbed", and that "seeing Dawn Alison live would give me a woody for a week".

Nice.

AND MEANWHILE, AS THE SUN SETS...



Aftershow party anyone?

Enjoy!