HARDBODY Fit Female News & Events

Maxim magazine and the UFC have teamed up for next weekend’s UFC 100 FAN EXPO to crown the first-ever Maxim Maxim UFC® Octagon Girl™. If you’re in Las Vegas next weekend or have aspirations of becoming the next UFC Octagon girl, this is your chance. Let’s see a hardbody hottie join the mix!

Props: UFC.com

Las Vegas, NV – It’s the Ultimate gig in the world of sports modeling, and when The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) decided to search for potential new Octagon Girls™, it reached out to the only magazine devoted to discovering new beauty around the world: Maxim, the largest young men’s lifestyle magazine in America. The result? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for attendees of the UFC® Fan Expo™ to be on hand when the winner of the first-ever Maxim UFC® Octagon Girl™ Search is chosen at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, July 11th, just hours before the lights go down for the biggest event in mixed martial arts history, UFC 100.

During the two-day Fan Expo, the Octagon Girl Search will culminate with a live voting phase at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, on the main stage of Bayside Hall B. The event will feature UFC fighters and Maxim editors selecting the winner in a runway-style pageant during the UFC Fan Expo. The winning model will receive a UFC Octagon Girl contract and will be featured throughout the Maxim properties, including Maxim magazine and on Maxim.com.

Girls interested in entering the Maxim UFC® Octagon Girl™ Search will need to pre-register at Maxim.com or at one of Maxim’s upcoming casting events. Details on the casting events will be listed at Maxim.com. Participants must be 18 years of age.

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Momo sent us this shot of her hardware from her last NPC contest. She’s made the cross-over from Figure to Bikini this year. She won the Tall and Overall cups in Arlington, Texas. She says she’s excited to head to Vegas for the USAs in a couple weeks.

Monique showing off the hardware from her win.

We’re all looking to save a little cash these days, right? Hell yeahs. Bodybuilding.com is helping everyone save a few ducketts by offering FREE SHIPPING, but it’s only for a limited time. How can you get free shipping?

For a limited time Bodybuilding.com is offering free shipping on all orders placed within the United States totaling $99 USD and above! To take advantage of this offer, add $99 worth of merchandise to your cart, select FedEx Ground shipping (or USPS for currently deployed military), and if you are shipping to a US address (APO/FPO/DPO included), see the free shipping automatically be applied to your order. This service will replace our free gift program temporarily, but don’t worry - many of the items offered will still be available at a discounted price as in-cart specials.

Now’s the perfect time to place that order of supplements and save!

Keep your eye on this young lady… Jessie James has a powerful voice and the looks to match it. She demonstrates a little of both in the song “Wanted”. She has a bright future as a Country/Pop Singer/songwriter.

Proving she has raw talent - listen to her live version in a radio studio.

Props: FLEXonline.com

Today is the first day of a two-week online voting period, which ends on July 15. After that two-week online voting period, the 10 contestants receiving the most votes will be brought to our expert judging panel. Two winners will then be chosen and will join Month One winners Mary Jarmalowich and Katie Barnes in the 16-woman finals of the FLEX Bikini Model Search Championships in Las Vegas on Olympia Weekend!

If you missed month one and two, you still have time to enter the third and final month of the contest. The deadline to enter is July 21st. ENTER TODAY!

Jay-Z brings out a new tune and a new hair style.

It’s been a long time in the making but it’s arrived. Bodybuilding.com has launched it’s own video portal. You can now view videos from their site in one location. See a video you like? Share it via your favorite social network or embed it into your own site or blog. Have something to say about the video? Now you can leave a comment as well as rate it. It’s kinda like the bodybuilding & fitness version of youtube. Check it out!

We asked you, “Do you buy a magazine based on the cover?”

Out 100 votes the response was:
37% - Yes
18% - No
45% - Sometimes

I know I fall into the category of “sometimes”. When I’m traveling and browsing the magazines in the airport, it’s the cover that catches my attention. I’ve bought magazines based on who was on the cover, just because I was interested in their story. Example: I normally don’t buy Men’s Fitness but when UFC president Dana White was on the cover, I bought it just because of his feature.

We’ll have to wait and see how the Kim Kardashian cover did for Muscle & Fitness Hers, but one can only assume it sold more copies on the newstand because of her.

Reigning Ms. Figure Olympia, Jennifer Gates recently ventured down to New Zealand for an appearance at the 2009 NZFBB Auckland Championships. While she was there she also participated in seminars with IFBB Pro Moe El Moussawi. Jenn is slated to compete at the Atlantic City Pro show and then look to defend her Olympia title.

Moe El Moussawi, Jenn Gates & new IFBB Pro Bodybuilder, Joanne Stewart.
Photo Via: www.australian-bodybuilding.com

Check out australian-bodybuilding.com for more info on the weekend and videos of the seminar.

The lyrics of “They Don’t Care About Us” by Michael Jackson are definitely some of his more powerful ones. I hadn’t seen this prison version of the music video before but it’s interesting how a song changes when you add a different visual to it.

Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, speculation
Everybody litigation
Beat me, bash me
You can never trash me
Hit me, kick me
You can never get me

The original version:

Those of you who are NOT competing (sorry Olympians) check out this opportunity to work for the best in the biz.

Hello all,

We’re getting geared up for Olympia this year, and we’re looking to fill a few final spots representing FLEX at our booth at the expo.

We’re always looking for fresh faces in the industry, so if you are a competitor (amateur or pro) who isn’t competing that weekend, are outgoing and personable, and feel you have the right look, we’d like to hear from you.

We don’t have a lot of available spaces, but if you think this sounds like you, please email 3-4 photos to Lisa Clark at lclark@flexmagazine.com. We would prefer a mix of portrait/beauty shots and physique/contest.

Final plans will be made early next week.

– Tell Lisa HARDBODY.com sent ya. Be sure to put “FLEX Olympia Booth Submission” in the subject line of the email.

This may not mean much to those of you in the United States but I can only assume it as an effect on those of you in Canada. Mark Smishek President of the Canadian Bodybuilding Federation issued the following letter:

For the past week rumors have been flowing and certain individuals have been attacking the recent decision of the Canadian Bodybuilding Federation (CBBF) to no longer recognize the Ontario Physique Association (OPA) as the CBBF affiliate in Ontario.

We do not normally respond to rumors, as all this does is open doors for more and more negativity as well as provide a forum for those who have no recourse but to attack. However, in this case we feel that we must set the record straight.

After numerous unsuccessful attempts over the last several years to work with the OPA, the CBBF Executive Committee has concluded that the policies and direction of the OPA were ineffective and unable to adequately respond to the market realities in the province of Ontario.

Click here to read the entire letter on Siouxcountry.com.

Ms. Fitness Olympia Jen Hendershott is entering into the promotion world with her own show. This all women’s weekend will take place on July 18th in Charleston, South Carolina. I’ll be on hand covering the event. This is sure to be a great event at a kick ass venue.

For more information on how to enter, purchase tickets and more visit: http://www.getphatpromotions.com

Gisela Dulko from Argentina was turning heads left and right at Wimbledon. Her tennis match against Maria Sharapova had something to do with it but she was also one of the women who looked damn good doing it. Sure looks don’t come into play on the court and tennis isn’t a beauty or physique contest. Her talent on the tennis court has earned her close to 2 million dollars in prize money.

Gisela Dulko - photo from The Sun.

If Dulko were to try her hand at a physique contest, she’d fair well in the new NPC bikini division. Chances are we won’t see her competing in that any time soon but hey, I’m just saying she could. Sure the diehard muscle fans will say she’s skinny or has no muscle but watch her play tennis and you’d have a different opinion.

See more of Gisela here.

“Smooth Criminal” By Michael Jackson is another one of his top hits. This version is from the 1988 movie Moonwalker.

Alien Ant Farm redid the song but it’s not quite the same.

There are a number of places you can go for information online. Some of it’s good, some is bad and a few are great. Keep in mind, just because someone has a website doesn’t mean what they are writing is always accurate and the information is correct. Forums are often filled with anonymous people who like to hide behind fake names and feed off negativity. Some owners of blogs have personal agendas to attack people and it’s their attempt to make a name for themselves. Remember to consider the source of the information before making any judgments or conclusions.

Eight out of the top ten most dowloaded songs on iTunes are Michael Jackson songs. One of the songs in the top 20 of iTunes downloads is Dirty Diana. This is a pretty bad ass live version below…

She’s says that’s ok
Hey baby do what you want
I’ll be your night lovin’ thing
I’ll be the freak you can taunt
And I don’t care what you say
I want to go too far
I’ll be your everything
If you make me a star

A new little feature here on Hardbody.com is “Supplement Sunday”. We’ll let you know what products we like and deals we find to help you save a little money.

Looking to save a little cash on your next supplement order? Stop by bodybuilding.com and save a little coin on your next purchase.

Monique Minton was getting a lot of buzz as being the poster child for the new bikini division but she’s been absent from the Jr. Nationals and Jr. USA stages. Monique was slated to compete at the NPC Jr. USA contest in April but landed a role in Warrior the movie. Needing to achieve NPC National status in the new bikni division, Monique competed today at the NPC Southwest Bikini competition, held in Arlington Texas. She won not only the tall class in the bikini division but also the overall. Monique tells me she will be heading to the NPC USA contest next month to compete for an IFBB bikini pro card. Congratulations and welcome back to the competitive stage Monique.

When I posted the “Best in Show” photo from JR USA, the response was overwhelmingly positive. I received numerous emails and texts from women asking who’s booty it was. In fact, the only negative comment I heard was from a guy who thought it was disrespectful but later apologized and said he overreacted. I posted that image as motivation and inspiration for the number of women who visit this site and that is exactly how it was received. If you take offense to a good butt then you’re in the wrong industry. Nothing wrong with being proud of a fit booty and inspiring others to get their asses in shape as well.

We’ll be posting the occasional booty shot here to help inspire you to work yours just a bit harder for your next competition. This time around one of the best booties in the show belonged to Sonya Vecchiarelli. Sonya took home top honors in the Bikini A class as well as an IFBB Bikini Pro card. She rocked more than just a fit booty, see the photos here.

Sonya waits her turn to go center-stage.

Congrats Sonya and welcome to the pros.

Another cult classic tune… Michael Jackson’s Beat It.

No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it

Don’t forget the widely popular parody of this song by Weird Al Yankovic, “Eat It”. Ah you gotta love the 80s. LOL!

In an industry where it’s easy to get caught up in finding things wrong or areas for improvement, it’s nice to hear positive feedback. Today, I received a casual but nice note from a competitor and at the end she said,

“So glad I found Hardbody cause without it, I would never have known what the bikini division was all about! Thanks again!!”

That’s cool to hear. Thanks for continuing to visit Hardbody and we’re happy to help.

No matter what you think of his bizarre behavior, one thing is undeniable… Michael Jackson was the greatest entertainer of the world. No one has matched nor will they match the iconic status he achieved with his music. He brought zippers to jackets, made it cool to wear one white glove and introduced the moon walk to the world. The details of his death have not been confirmed but Michael Jackson passed away yesterday afternoon at the age of 50.

What’s your favorite Michael Jackson song? Many fitness and bodybuilding routines have used Michael Jackson songs over the years. The rest of the month we’ll be featuring MJ’s music as the song of the day. Billie Jean was one of his greatest hits.

People always told me
Be careful what you do
Don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts
And mama always told me
Be careful who you love
Be careful what you do
Because a lie becomes the truth

Farrah Fawcett rocked a hardbody for many years but sadly passed away this morning at the age of 62. Farrah was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and she documented her struggles with Farrah’s Story. The documentary was viewed by nearly 9 million viewers when it aired last month.

She was one of the leading ladies in the original Charlie’s Angels and scored a slew of other roles over the years. In 1995 (she 48 years old at the time), Farrah posed topless for Playboy and the issue sold over four million copies. It was the best-selling Playboy of the 90s.

Farrah Fawcett

Rest in Peace Farrah.

Cookie, Cookie, Cookie starts with C! Chicago starts with C. Hey why not enjoy cookies in Chicago? That’s exactly what NPC competitor Shelley Hillesheim decided to do at the 2009 NPC JR Nationals.

Shelley enjoying a cookie or six.

Shelley learned everything she knows about cookies from the C-monster himself.

Cypress Hil’s Tequila Sunrise reminds, “We gotta get it, no looking back, going all out for it”.

Don’t ever forget that golden rule in the game
Cheers, they all know your name, it’s like fame
Why, women and money don’t mix, like drinking an’ driving
Watch those conniving women and keep your eye out
Always be aware of what’s around you
They wanna down you, and f’n clown you

No, you can’t literally have NPC Bikini competitor Yvonne Vaicius on your desk but you can have her on your desktop, compliments of bodybuilding.com. Yvonne is this week’s wallpaper of the week. I had the chance to shoot with Yvonne in the studio a couple weeks ago and she looked great. Nice work Yvonne.

Peace out yo!

…the rockstar signs at Lonnie Teper’s Jr. Cal. Check out more photos from this contest on bodybuilding.com.

Sherilyn rock’n in Cali.

IRONMAN magazine’s Ruth Silverman caught up with the reigning Fitness Olympia Champ, Jen Hendershott on her blog.

RUTH: Last March, after your second win at the Fitness International—and second Olympia win—you seemed headed into nothing-left-to-prove mode. Will we see you onstage at the Olympia in September?

I have nothing to prove, damn right! You know that I have not made this decision. If I do compete, it’s because I can, but I will bring the best Jen Hendershott that anyone has ever seen.  If I decide not to do it, then it’s because I am ready to move on. I do know this: Retirement is for old people, and I am not old!

Photo by Michael Neveux with Jen.

Come on Hendershott, enough with the “I don’t know if I’m going to compete or not”. We know you’re going to come back and defend your title. You don’t want people thinking you’re old yet do you?

Check out the interview with Jen here.

Jay-Z along with John Legend sing, “Do U Wanna Ride“. Groovy little tune worth downloading if you haven’t already.

Diet, no sir, I ain’t lose no weight
Started from the crates now I’m sittin on a whole case
Since they got you sittin on that old case
Our dreams is on hold like Tivo
So I can’t wait ’til you get your date
I got some temp plates outside of the gate
We gon’ ride