HARDBODY News & Updates

Julie Ann Kulla joined the ranks of the IFBB by winning the 2008 NPC Jr. Nationals overall figure title. She hails out of Minnesooooooota. Yes you have to do your worst FARGO impersonation when you say Minnesota. This little china doll works as a graphic designer and you’ll probably see some of her work at the Olympia. Julie Ann works with one of the biggest trade show booth companies. I had the chance to chat with her after her win at Jr. Nationals and she is a pleasure to be around. We spoke a bit more at the NPC USAs where we did a quick shoot. Despite the stupid hot temperatures, we were able to get a few good shots. Julie Ann is a a natural in front of the camera, takes direction well and isn’t afraid to turn on “the look”. She’ll be making her pro debut at this year’s NY PRO Figure contest, which is held in conjunction with the Team Universe. Don’t be surprised if you see her qualifying for the Olympia her first time out.

Julie Ann Kulla has her sights set on her pro debut.

She’s the daughter of a NFL coach. She knows what it’s like to be around greatness. She is Betsy McNally Harris - new IFBB Fitness pro. I’ve known Betsy for a few years now and she has come a long way in her routines and physique. Betsy put it all together in Chicago and when I saw her at check-in I didn’t recognize her. She had never been in the condition she was for this show and she looked like a ghost of her Jr. USA physique. I caught up with Betsy and asked her to share a bit more about herself…

Betsy showing off her strength in Chicago.

How many years have you been competing?
I have been competing in fitness since 2003 but I was a competitive gymnast for 12 years.

What changed for you in Chicago that you were able to put it all together?
Honestly, I got a divorce, new job, new trainer and was motivated by people who literally told me I couldn’t do it. I eliminated 80 percent of the stress in my life, moved into a cracker box of a studio apartment and focused on training.

I removed all the negative influences in my life and replaced them with positive people. I changed trainers and my new trainer (Michael Fuelner) made a huge difference; his nutrition plan rocked. He updated it often and held me accountable. He believed in me and saw how my body responded to different foods.

I also live in Chicago so everything was easy and I friends and clients there to support me.

How did you get involved with Jen Hendershott’s camps and are you still active in them?
YES! I still work for and am very active in Phat Camp!!

I am actually moving from Chicago to North Carolina to work full time with Phat Camp. I am nutrtion coordinator for our Live Phat program!

I used to live in Columbus where Jen and I hooked up initially because I needed advice on how to compete. She helped me with diet, choreography and we became fast friends. She hired me onto her staff and I have traveled the country doing Phat Camps with her. She is not only a great motivator but one of my best dearest friends and I am so lucky to have her as a boss and a friend.

How was it growing up with a father who is one of the top coaches in the NFL?
GROWING UP WITH JIM MCNALLY??? Haha. It was an honor. I learned a lot about professional sports, how to train, be disciplined, set goals… football was like religion in my family… no Sunday at church - we were at the stadium. I had a few rough Monday mornings at school when our team lost but for the most part there were a ton of perks…. meeting players, attending VIP events, traveling to super bowls and big playoff games… Its amazing how stressful of a job being a coach in the NFL is. I am proud of his accomplishments, 3 Super Bowls and 4 NFL teams and 30 years later, he finally retired a couple of months ago. His influence in pro sports definitely inspired me to be a Pro in mine;)

Decided when you pro debut will be?
Pro Debut? Hmmm..that is yet to be determined. I know I am not ready to jump up there with the Hendershotts, Kim Kleins and Adela’s of the fitness world yet. There are a few areas the judges told me to work on and that is my main priority. I will probably do a smaller pro show in early 2009, although my dream would be to compete with Hendershott at the Arnold one day. I would love to hang out with her backstage for the first time!!

Betsy getting her lift on at the 08 Jr. Nationals.

Thanks Betsy and all the best in the future. Tell Jim I’ll get him those photos one day.

Another 2008 NPC Jr. Nationals is in the books. We managed to avoid extreme heat and the gnarly locusts. Those who attended last year’s event know what I’m referring to with the fugly little creatures. Check out the review on bodybuilding.com.

I had a chance to meet up with Khristy Poteat at the 2008 NPC Jr. Nationals, where she was competing in Figure. She’s a super sweet girl that has an All-American, buff Barbiedoll look. Khristy was looking to improve on her Charleston showing (the Jr USA) and present a slightly different look. She definitely accomplished that goal. At the JR USAs Khristy was very well conditioned, however the look was too hard and she appeared too muscular for figure. Thursday night she told me she was coming in a bit softer and had worked on her posing. I could tell in her face that she wasn’t as hard as when I saw her in Charleston. It was a good thing for her and when she took the stage it was a much, much better look. Her posing was good this time and the softened look was in line with what the judges are rewarding. Despite not placing as high as she would have liked she was in good spirits after the show. What’s next for her? She hasn’t decided but she has a great physique and you can see her on the cover of the current Southern Muscle Plus issue. Congratulations on the cover Khristy!

Khristy showin not only her cover but also her eye catching smile.

Check out all the photos from the NPC Jr. Nationals on bodybuilding.com. A few of the backstage photos from the show. This show is one of the best to be able to go in and out of the press pit and get good backstage photos during the night show. Everyone is a little more laid back and relaxed at the evening events.

Mary having some fun before going on stage.

Nita Marquez smiling for the camera backstage.

The six overall figure winners backstage.

A look from behind the stage during a posing routine.

Catherine Holland stood out at the 2008 NPC JR USA, where she won her class in figure but missed snagging a pro card. I felt she could of have turned pro there without much argument. She proved my sentiments to be correct when she took the stage at last weekend’s 2008 NPC Jr Nationals and not only one her class but also nabbed one of the four IFBB Figure pro cards. Catherine has a very sexy physique and quite confidence on stage. I had the opportunity to shoot with her the day after the show and saw another side to he bag of tricks… her mad modeling skills. Catherine knows how to work the camera and this isn’t something everyone is good at. It takes practice and skills to be a good model and it was clear she wasn’t a rookie to the lense. Don’t be surprised if you see Catherine in a number of publications strutting her stuff in the months ahead.

Catherine Holland shows off her hard work.

Catherine was kind enough to share a bit more about herself with HARDBODY.com. She’ll be taking the rest of the year off from competing as the Jr Nationals marked her third show of the year. This Oregonian (for now - she’ll be moving soon) will be absent from the pro stage in 2008 but it watch for her to light it up in her debut next year.

You’ve competed in 11 NPC shows, how did you get your start in figure:
I was inspired by another young woman at my gym that trained for Figure competitions. After being an athlete for years and always looking for new outlets of fitness, I decided to take my training to the next level and compete in Figure. Having always been naturally inclined to watching what I eat and eating healthfully, competing was a natural fit!  In addition to this, I loved the toned look of the Figure athlete and I felt my physique had the potential to be a good match for the sport. I was so inspired and empowered by taking my physique to levels of conditioning I never thought possible, that I knew this was something I would doing for awhile.

Favorite past time when not lifting weights or cooking chicken:
Traveling and visiting new places, walks to Starbucks and golfing with my boyfriend, quality time with friends and family.

What’s your favorite supplement:
I am currently an ON/ABB Reps and Sets Sponsored Athlete, so I use a lot of their Whey Gold Standard Caramel Toffee Fudge Flavor and Diet Turbo Teas…SO good!

Guilty pleasure:
Massages and Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory!

Catherine points to the bizarre hat and gloves that were on our shoot location.

Congratulations to all the winners at tonight’s NPC JR Nationals contest. Below is a flash report of the winners for the women:

The six new female pros (there’s one more but missed the photo)

Fitness -
Short Class: Stefanie Irick and overall champion
Medium: Melissa Frederick
Tall: Betsy McNally Harris

Figure -
A Class - Sue Upson and new IFBB Pro
B Class - Julie Kulla and new IFBB Pro & Overall winner
C Class - Teresa Gillian and new IFBB Pro
D Class - Terri Turner
E Class - Catherine Hollan and new IFBB Pro
F Class - Jennifer Martin

Female Bodybuilding -
Middleweight - Heather Bayer
Light Heavyweight - Justine Dohring
Heavyweight - Amber Defrancesco and Overall Winner

Congrats to all! Today the vast majority of the women looked better than on Friday night. Most likely it was because they had some carbs. Ladies talk to the judges and get feedback. Many of the women I saw compete at JR USAs who competed here looked much better.

All the photos from last night are now posted on bodybuilding.com in the NPC JR Nationals section. There are shots of all competitors. Check back as more are added throughout the weekend
Check out the over 2,000 photos here.

Day one is in the books and the competition will be some of the toughest the NPC figure has seen. Last night the men and women weighed in and had the ladies heights were checked. You will see a number of women moving around in height classes from last year. This year the classes were changed in an effort to even the numbers out, particularly the A and F classes. We’re still getting a feel for how this plays out on the National stage.

The schmonation is running strong and you will see a variety of the individuals I wrote about in my photographers post. Another item I’ll be writing about later is something I hadn’t given much thought, until last night. The “schmodels”. These are the women who thrive off the attention of posing, flexing, smiling for anyone who has a camera. Ladies if you’re a fitness or figure competitor and you’re flexing your biceps for a dude with a camera phone - YOU’RE A SCHMODEL. I’ll save this diatribe for another time.

The weather in Chicago is nice, not too hot and the crazy bugs from last year are no where in sight. I ran into a few familiar faces and some new ones yesterday. When I met up with the PR Team they informed their fearless leader, IFBB Carla Sanchez, was not let on the plane with them because she didn’t have the right credit card that the ticket was booked with. What a load of poo. The women forged ahead and were sporting matching outfits for their photo shoot with JM Manion.

JM photographing the Peformance Ready girls.

It as amusing to watch traffic come to a hault and random people stop to take photos of the scene. All five women looked great and in a conversation with Jamie Meade, who is making her first trip to the national scene, I was reminded of something. No matter where you finish in this show you should be proud and happy to be on stage. Why? She works with handicapped people every day who can’t walk or have disabilities that prevent them from doing every day things. I love her outlook and she reminded me to not loose sight of the big picture.

Then there is Liza Kampstra. Liza will be a force in the B Class and one to watch. She had some fun with the group and one point sported a blonde wig. Her altered ego - “Larrissa” came out for a few shots and it was comedy at it’s finest.

“Larrissa” wanted no photos from the paparazzi until he she was ready.
Just kidding it was actually hilarious.

Betsy Harris leaner than ever and ready to take the stage.

I had a chance to chat with Paola Almerico and her husband Nelson a bit yesterday. Two good peeps who are always fun to be around. Paola just finished shooting for OXYGEN magazine in Canada. The husband/wife duo prepped two figure competitors for this show. You may recall, they worked with the overall champ from JR USAs, Lenay Hernandez. Paola was chatting with a variety of people including “the man with the big book” John Stutz. She also smiled pretty for a dead ringer of IFBB Pro Mary Lado. Yes, there is a Mary Lado lookalike at the show and she calls Dallas home. Monique “momo” is stunning and you have to do a double take when you see her as she is a spitting image of Mary. Keep an eye on her in the coming shows, she isn’t competing in this show but is a striking woman.

Poala with Momo, the Mary Lado lookalike.

I’m off to get my cardio on and hit the second check-in that will be held at 9am this morning. I’ll squeeze in a couple photo shoots before tonight’s prejudging which starts at 5pm. Tonight it’s all about the women and good luck to all of them.

I survived the flight from Denver to Chicago and happy to report I have a good internet connection from the hotel. I’ll be doing most of my blogging for the show on bodybuilding.com’s BodySpace this weekend. Check back for more updates on the things going down in Chitown.

My NPC Jr. Nationals preview is up and I know I left a few people off and if you were one of them don’t take it personally. There are close to 200 figure competitors in this show. I’ll be photographing the weigh-in/check-in tonight so look for some photos from that later on. This should be a kick ass show.

The women of the NPC will take to the stage beginning at 5pm on Friday, June 20, 2008. This year’s NPC Junior Nationals is a pro qualifier for the figure and new this year, the fitness! It’s coined “Fabulous Female Friday” for good reason, many of the best physiques in the world will hit the stage. One of the coolest women you’ll ever meet, promoter extraordinaire Pam Betz tells me there will be over 180 females competing this year. Personally, I look for that number to be over 200 come show time. Competitors are notorious for procrastinating and sending in their entry forms at the last minute. Shocker, I know. The event will be held at the Regency O’Hare Hotel Ballroom, just minutes away from Chicago’s O’Hare airport. If you haven’t booked yet make certain you fly into O’Hare and NOT Midway airport. I made that mistake two years ago and it ended up being a $50+ cab ride to the hotel.

This is one of my favorite shows of the year and everything is in one spot. The venue and host hotel are connected which makes things very easy on everyone. There are a number of quality competitors from across the US competing in this show and will definitely be worth the price of admission.

Visit: npcjrnationals.com for tickets and more show information.