Hardbody - Female Sports, Health and Fitness
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NPC figure competitor Nicole Guenther caught up with Kristin Nunn at the 2009 IFBB California Pro. Listen to the funny little story that happened to Nunn and how Chef Martin came to the rescue.
We’ll be posting a number of unseen videos in the coming weeks.
IFBB Figure Pro, Erin Stern is finishing her rookie season on another high note. She completed the 2008 competitive season by winning the Overall Figure title at the NPC Nationals. She went on to compete in the ’09 Arnold, notched a few top five placings, finished in the top six at the Olympia and was named Female Rookie of the Year by FLEX Magazine.
Next month Erin will travel to Los Angeles along with four other women in hopes of winning the Bodybuilding.com Spokesmodel Search. Last year’s winner was Allison Either.
Top NPC Figure competitor, Alexandra Porshnikoff also found her name on the final list. She was runner-up to Ava Cowan at the 2009 NPC Figure Nationals. Danny-J, Mindy Karuk and Jaquelyn Kay round out the women’s finalists.
View the finalist profiles as well as the men and more information on the contest here. Congratulations!
The last time we saw IFBB Fitness Pro Julie Lohre compete was the 2008 Fitness Olympia. It was there she suffered a severe knee injury when performing her 45-second routine. She’s since recovered from the injury and in the process built her own fitness business. Today, Julie wrote in her blog that she did not put in for an Arnold invite and in her words, “While I am too young to say I will never compete again, I do not have any plans to step on stage again at this point.”
It sounds like we’ve seen the last of Julie on the competitive fitness stage. Check out Julie’s blog where she shares more of what went into her decision and what her future plans are off the stage.
In the last few years, I have seen the top Fitness competitors get leaner and leaner to the point that there is essentially no difference between lightweight women’s bodybuilding and top level Pro Fitness. I mean no disrespect to the athletes that work so hard, many of which are dear friends, but as I look at this past year’s Arnold & Olympia, the top Fitness competitors are extremely hard and striated. For women that have to perform high level routines and skills, it concerns me greatly that they are taking their bodies to this severe point. I love having a tight, toned, healthy physique and that is something I strive for personally year round.
Visit JulieLohre.com for more info on her services and read her blog.
We’re currently in the process of making a number of upgrades to this web site. The posts may be a little slow for the next couple weeks but rest assured it will be worth the wait. Thanks for all the support and we promise to make 2010 even better.
IFBB Figure Pro Gina Aliotti is one of the top figure competitors in the figure game today. Despite being only 25 she’s accomplished more than most figure pros will in a life-time. She earned her IFBB Pro status by winning her class at the NPC USAs in 2005. Gina immediately put her name on the map in her pro debut at the 2006 Colorado Pro/Am. She placed 6th at that show, a show I felt she could and should have been placed higher at. Since the 2007 Arnold (Figure International) Gina hasn’t placed lower than second in any show she’s competed in. She’s become a force to be reckoned with in the pro ranks.
The G-Force will be stepping away from the Figure International in 2010 though. Why would she do that?
Gina will be focusing her attention on things away from the stage for a bit. The most exciting news in Gina’s life is her upcoming wedding. She’ll be traveling to Los Cabos, Mexico in March for her destination wedding. Her and her husband will stay there for their honeymoon. So while many of us are freezing in Columbus, Ohio for the Arnold. Gina will be packing her bags for sunny beaches. Gina will still be competing as Gina Aliotti, so don’t worry about trying to figure out a new name for when she returns to the stage.
Despite not competing in the Arnold she isn’t retiring. She’s never been busier in her life. In addition to planning her destination wedding, Gina’s business has been booming. Her newly launched web site (ginaaliotti.net) is taking off and she’s training/coaching women on and offline. Gina is a NPC Judge in California and if often at the mic with Lonnie Teper, emceeing Southern California shows. When I spoke with her today she informed me she’s releasing a 2010 calendar coming out as well. Ya, bored is definitely not a word in Gina’s vocabulary.
Gina’s management company FMG issued a press release which you can find on FLEXonline.com. When I asked Gina what show she’d be doing next she said, “I want to commit and follow through so not saying what show that will be yet but I will be back.”
Twitter is becoming less confusing to some but still like having five thumbs to others. I’ve seen more and more competitors tweeting while others could care less. What’s your take… If you have a twitter account, post it in the comments. You can find HARDBODY on twitter at twitter.com/hardbodynews.
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IFBB Figure Pro, Kristal Richardson has gone brunette in her off-season. You can catch a glimpse of the new hair in this video for TOP SECRET.
Will we see her on stage again at the Arnold in March? I’d bet on it.
U2 LIVE from the Rose Bowl. I dig “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” from this concert. These guys are bad ass.
IFBB Bikini Pro Monique Minton finds herself on yet another cover. The newest cover added to her resume is the February 2010 issue of Muscle & Fitness. She does have the share the cover with rapper 50 cent but I she’s not complaining about that. The issue hits shelves this week. Congrats Monique.
This is an interesting battle to watch in the coming weeks… Muscle & Fitness Hers (like most magazines) does “test covers” to see which image/layout gets the best response before going to print. Many times it’s the same model with different outfits, poses and color schemes. Other times the test covers will feature two or three different models. Yesterday, Muscle & Fitness Hers tweeted regarding an upcoming cover.
What do you think hardbodies.. will the figure competitor get the nod over the bikini competitor for the cover? Perhaps the bikini competitor was a better model and will prevail in the rest over the figure model. Many factors to consider with the cover but if we boil it down to figure physique vs bikini physique… Who wins for the cover? Let Muscle & Fitness Hers know via twitter and let us know in the poll below.
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Chris Daughtry is one of my favorite artists. “What about now?” is one of his better songs and this is a cool version.
Peanut Butter. It’s one of the healthy treats many competitors enjoy even while dieting. There are horror stories of people eating entire jars of the nutty goodness. Are you one of the people who can’t get enough or are you one of the apparent few who take a pass?
I’ve been working with on photography side of things for Bodybuilding.com’s exercise database. The team at Bodybuilding.com is doing a tremendous job with this huge project. It’s always challenge to do a video and photo shoot while others are training in the gym. There’s always someone wanting to chat or have a cameo in the video. It’s always amusing to see guys show off when an attractive woman is around and get some attention. I’m not sure if the guy in this video was trying to show off but clearly he failed at his lift. Check out this video of Jamie Eason performing cable flies and note the dude in the background.
One of the top trainers in the land is Ohio’s own Mike Davies. Mike runs The Fitness Factory and trains some of today’s top amateurs and pros. If you’re looking for Holiday gift ideas head over to his site where there are ebooks, training dvds, posing guides, clothing and more. If you’re in the mood for a Holiday butt-kicking give one of his boot camps a try. You can check it all out on www.mikedaviesfitness.com.
Enjoy your Tuesday with Jet’s “Are you Gonna Be My Girl?” ROCK ON!
Check out IFBB Bikini Pro Kristal Marshall lay’n the smack down on TNA Wrestling. “When I a bark that man over there he bites,” Kristal says in the video. The man she is referring to is TNA wrestler and MMA fighter, Bobby Lashley. Again I ask you, who says bikini competitors aren’t tough? 
Thanks to J.M. for the video link.
Check out bodybuilding.com for full results and photos from the NPC Excalibur.
SPIKE TV has a show called “MANSWERS” where they answer fairly ridiculous requestions that guys ask. In this clip they ask, How can boobs wash your car? You might recognize “Dillion” in this clip. Check out the video of this silly little clip on SPIKEtv.com.
Spike TV’s Manswers’ ladies.
“Dillion” soaps up for Manswers.
Ron Avidan was in Cali over the weekend capturing all the action at the NPC Excalibur competition. Check out the candid photos from the event here. There were a number of NPC and IFBB competitors on hand for the last big event. The competition has 240 total competitors. I think Ron is still backstage snapping photos.
IFBB Figure Pro Gina Aliotti was on hand at the show.
IFBB Bikini Pro Dianna Dahlgren & IFBB Figure Pro Mindi Smith.
IFBB Pro Julie Lohre has just released a new posing guide for bikini competitors. Julie not only competes in the IFBB but she also trains a number of women for competitions. When asked why she put out a Bikini Posing DVD Julie shared, “With this new division I am having so many women contacting me that want to get involved, but do not really know what it is all about. The DVD takes you step-by-step through a Bikini show. Everything from what the judges are looking for to suit selection to tanning to the model walk and how to pose. There are tons of photos and videos that demonstrate the specifics of Bikini. My goal is to give women the information they need to decide if Bikini is right for them and if it is, to walk on stage posed and confident.”
Julie tells me that her Figure Posing DVD has received tremendous feedback over the year and hopes to do the same with this one. The DVD is 26 minutes long and covers a variety of topics. “Competing and teaching are my passions and I love sharing my experience and knowledge with other women. I want to take away the guess work and provide as much information as possible,” Julie shared. The DVD is available on JulieLohre.com. Check back soon as we’ll be giving away a few of these DVDs exclusively on HARDBODY.com.
Check out the trailer for the new DVD.
The IRON SIRENS comic book made their presence known at last weekend’s Steel City Con. IFBB Pros Sonia Gonzales and Adela Garcia were in character the entire weekend. They posed with a variety of characters at the event and signed autographs for fans. Top national NPC bodybuilder and Muscle Tech athlete Dr. Victor Prisk stopped by to get a photo with the ladies.
Iron Sirens at the Steel City Con.
The ladies pose with a couple TNA wrestling girls.
Darth Vader joins the Sirens for a photo.
Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters with Iron Sirens creator J.M. Manion
Who says Bikini competitors don’t work out and can’t hang with the “real athletes”? Obviously, those people haven’t met and tangled with IFBB Bikini Pro Monique Minton. Monique continues to work on her MMA training and does very well at it. Over the weekend she competed in Florida State Championships and won her class, open class and gi. She took home first place (by submission in each one) every match. Congrats!
Monique putting a beating down on an opponent.
Those of you wondering if Monique has hung up to bikini for good, not so fast. She tells me she’ll be competing next year in the new IFBB Bikini pro division.
Five Finger Death Punch remake of “Bad Company” is pretty bad ass. I hadn’t heard it until someone walked out to it at a local MMA event. Good stuff.
Good tune to add to the playlist. Mudvayne’s Scream with Me.
Now this is cool. IFBB Pro, Shannon Dey passed along this photo of “Blaze Star”. She tells me the Pomeranian is a big fan of the site and absolutely LOVES the new Bikini Division. Can’t argue with that.
Blaze Star rock’n the hardbody.
I ran across this update regarding 2010 Arnold. There’s a little added incentive for the winners this year. Sounds like a cool idea and will be sweet to see the finished product.
Winners of the IFBB professional events at the 2010 Arnold Sports Festival will receive unique body sculptures courtesy of Eaglewood Sculpts of Imlay City, MI. Eaglewood and owner Clay Williams will award Custom Body Sculptures to the winners of the Arnold Classic, Ms. International, Fitness International and Figure International.
The sculptures, valued at a minimum $2,200.00 each, are created using a process called “Cold Cast Metal” and the sculptures awarded to the Arnold winners will be made using Cold Cast Bronze.
“We are proud to partner with the Arnold Sports Festival for the first time and look forward to making sculptures of some of the best-defined bodies in the world,” Williams said. “Our sculpts will capture the winning competitors’ bodies in peak condition and provide a lifelong keepsake of their victory at the Arnold.”
The winning athletes will have an actual mold taken of their bodies in peak physical shape using skin safe materials. Williams will create the custom sculpt that will be suitable for hanging on a wall.
The winning athletes will have their choice of poses and parts of their physique that they want to capture.
Williams and Eaglewood Sculpts will also have a booth at the 2010 Fitness EXPO. For more information, visit www.eaglewoodsculpts.com or contact Williams at 810-358-0209.
This is a different approach to marketing a gym. A poster for Forma Total Gym in Brazil uses a modeling compound for people to shape their body.
Props to Ads of the Wold for the image.
An oldie but a goodie. Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer”. Ah takes me back to the days of a junior high dance.
IFBB Pro Adela Garcia and Sonia Gonzalez will head to Pennsylvania this weekend for the Steel City Con. This Toy, Comic and Pop culture convention takes place December 4, 5 & 6. The ladies will be in costume representing the IRON SIRENS comic book. For more information visit www.steelcitycon.com.
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