Hardbody – Female Sports, Health and Fitness

The Ms. Olympia is just three weeks away. Three of last year’s top six women will not be competing this year. Lisa Aukland and Betty Pariso have both retired and Heather Armbrust is sitting this one out. Iris Kyle has dominated the Ms. Olympia the last four years. Will anyone be able to topple her this year?

Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia won this show back in 2005 but since then it’s been all Iris. Many felt Heather Armbrust had the potential to beat Iris but we won’t see that battle in Vegas. Instead, Yaxeni and new-comer Brigita Brezovac have the best chance at beating Iris. What do you think… Will Iris win her 6th Olympia title or will someone else take the top spot in three weeks?

The 2010 Olympia will be here in just a over three weeks. We’ll be there covering the action and looking forward to another great Olympia weekend. If you plan to attend or are working a booth let us know in the comments below.

Get more information and tickets to the show at mrolympia.com.

Top IFBB Figure Pro Erin Stern is back and she’s giving you an exclusive look at her return to the Olympia stage. Erin is making a run at the Figure crown and has positioned herself as one of the favorites heading into the big dance.

Contest prep is never the same from show to show. The body changes, we add more muscle, get a little older, have more/less stress, or change gyms! I started my “diet” last week… this will be my first prep in my new hometown of Tampa, Florida. Everything is great except for the EZ-Bake oven in my apartment, which makes cooking in bulk a near impossible feat. The first time I placed a pan of chicken in the oven, the oven door wouldn’t shut. Then, with a pan that fit, it took an hour to cook. So, I’m learning to love boiled chicken! I’m eating six clean meals a day and increasing the volume and intensity of my workouts. I’m lifting six days a week – with legs twice in the rotation – a heavy day with powerlifting and a functional day with more traditional bodybuilding exercises. I’ve been meeting people  for “track practice” twice a week, with a high intensity day and a sprint endurance day. It has been great because I still get the jitters (or a nervous tummy-ache) when I know the practice will be a hard one… just like I used to feel in college!!!

Physical training is going really well, I’m taking progress pictures every week and comparing shots side by side on my computer. It’s great to see the subtle changes in the pictures! For the mental preparation, I revisit “Egylo,” my alter-ego stage persona from the last few shows. Egylo isn’t me, and I’m terrible at pretending/acting… my true emotions show on my face every time (see “terror” on my face at Arnold Classic ’09, “joy” at Arnold ‘10). I really enjoy going up on stage, I just get nervous!

My goal for this show is to just be me… I can walk in heels, pose, and smile like I’m having fun…because I will be! I don’t need to hide behind a persona or squeeze into a character who just doesn’t fit me! I’m also learning that being “polished” for the stage doesn’t require a bump-it and teezed-up beehive hairdo… goodbye Aqua Net!

More to come on my Road to the O.

Erin
www.erinstern.com

Gain a little insight into Figure Olympia competitor Larissa Reiss’s prep by way of her Nutrex video blogs. Proof that every competitor is a bit different in how they prepare for a competition.

Part One:
Larissa discusses how she starts and ends her day with chanting. The Vegas resident says it’s too hot to run outside but puts on a sauna suit and hits the treadmill.

Part Two:
Larissa talks about the little details of competing and spends the majority of the video getting treatment on her hair.

The Figure Olympia will be held next month in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 2010 Fitness Olympia will be significantly different. There will be a few names missing from the usual top five. One of the top contenders will be sitting out this year’s event but with good reason. Julie Palmer is expecting her first child and will have to obviously pass on this year’s event. Does this mean we’ve seen Julie on stage for the last time?

Julie Palmer has solidified herself as a top contender in any show she enters. She took home top honors at the Phoenix Pro show and was the runner-up at the 2010 Fitness International. She had her sights set on the Olympia title but that will have to wait a bit.

I caught up with the new momma-to-be to find out her thoughts. Julie shared, “Both Mike and I are very excited that we have been blessed. I am due in January and hoping to be back on stage by next August for the Europa and qualify for the 2011 Olympia after the baby. Fitness means a lot and I have no desire to step away from the sport after the baby. I look forward to cheering on all the ladies this year at the Olympia and of course the Arnold next year.”

Congratulations Mike and Julie!

If you’ve read the current issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers, you may have seen mention of this story. I wrote about a possible return of IFBB Fitness Champ Mia Finnegan in my “Twist & Turns” column. A few people have contacted me and asked if it’s all talk or if she is really going to get back on stage. I followed up with Mia… so what’s the scoop?

Longtime industry insider, Lonnie Teper put me in touch with Mia at the 2010 Arnold Classic and I had a chance to speak with her for a couple of hours. It was the first time I had met Mia and it was cool to chat with one of the pioneers of fitness. Mia has an extensive background in gymnastics and a resume full of impressive accomplishments. Mia brought her gymnastic skill set to the 1995 Fitness Olympia and left the first ever fitness champ in the IFBB.

Mia Finnegan at the 2010 Arnold Expo. Looking great at age 43!

Three kids and fifteen years later, the original Fitness Olympia champ is back. She confirmed with me that she will be competing in the 2010 Fitness Olympia at the age of 43. Mia says she’s never felt better and in the shape of her life. It’s a full-time job with children at ages 10, 7 and 4 so why come back now? When I asked her, she mentioned it’s something she wants to do and is physically able so why not? Hey can’t argue with that. As a past Olympia champion, Mia is pre-qualified to compete in the fitness portion of the Olympia. This holds true for all Olympia champs in their respective discipline. She couldn’t come back and compete in the Figure Olympia unless she qualified to do so.

Mia confirmed with me that she is coming back and she will be competing on the 2010 Fitness Olympia stage. When asked if she was certain of the comeback she shared, “Yee ha, rock-n-roll. Suit, music and routine moves selected, just putting it all together.” In case you doubt her commitment she knew exactly how many days it was until the show. Mia went also shared that she will be competing in the 2010 Europa Connecticut show. The event doesn’t have fitness so she will be competing in the figure division for the first time in her IFBB career. Why compete in figure before the Fitness Olympia? “It’s just as a warm up to the Fitness Olympia as I have not been on stage in 14 years,” Mia shared. She last competed in the 1996 Fitness Olympia where she finished in the runner-up position.

It will be interesting to see how she fairs against today’s pros. Can the original champ hang with the likes of Adela Garcia and Jen Hendershott? We’ll find out in September when Mia returns.

FLEXonline.com has announced that Gina Aliotti will skip this year’s Olympia. Those of you who visit hardbody.com often know that Gina skipped the Arnold and tied the knot last month. She tells FLEX that she is focusing on her marriage and her web site. You can read the entire story here.

photo from FLEXonline.com

Fans of female bodybuilding will want to hop over to IFBBpro.com and check out some of the mandatory moves from the Ms. Olympia competition. Photos taken by yours truly.

Did you catch all the video interviews from the 2009 Olympia? If you haven’t checked them out, click on over to bodybuilding.com where you can see Jen Hendershott, Mike O’Hearn and others get their interview on. Some are funny, some are cheesy, some might leave you wondering What The…?! but there’s a little something for everyone.

Here’s an interview with Ms. Figure Olympia Nicole Wilkins-Lee. Jen Hendershott tries to recruit Nicole to compete in Fitness and in case you didn’t know, Jen wasn’t competing this year. This video was taken before the show where Nicole went on to win the title in Figure.

Check em out on the bodybuilding.com video portal.

We caught up with the newest BSN girl, Natasha Wicks at the 2009 Olympia Expo. Natasha won the UFC Octagon Ring Girl search in July. In case you missed the profile on her, check it out here. The Olympia Expo was just getting started when we chatted with the rising star.  Natasha is a very sweet girl and welcomed addition to the BSN roster. Check out the video to find out more about this blonde beauty.

Natasha at the BSN booth during the 2009 Olympia.

You never know who you’ll see at the Olympia Expo. Our West Coast man, Ron Avidan was scouring the scene for bodybuilding.com and snagged this photo of two former WWE super stars. Former WWE star turned UFC champ Brock Lesnar poses with former WWE Diva Trish Stratus. The two were on hand signing autographs for fans during the Olympia weekend. Brock could be seen at the Dymatize booth while Trish was at the Oh YEAH! booth. Both drew huge crowds during the Olympia Expo.

Brock Lesnar and Trish Stratus at the Olympia.

Check out more expo photos from the Olympia weekend on bodybuilding.com.

Figure women are a gang of their own. Figure Olympians Sheryln Roy, Jessica Paxson-Putnam, Nicole Wilkins-Lee and Erin Stern took a break from pumping up to throw up their best signs. HOLLA HOLLA FIGURE LAAAADIES.

Watch out for this gang of figure chix.

See more photos of the figure gang backstage at the Olympia here.

IFBBPro.com has featured the Figure Olympia One Piece from JM Manion. Check out the photos here.

Mindi O’Brien pulls off some crazy moves during her fitness routines. While performing her two-minute routine at last weekend’s Fitness Olympia, Mindi left the stage holding her lower back.

Mindi has battled with nagging injuries throughout her IFBB Pro fitness career but has managed to always bounce back. She shared on her blog what she was going through leading into the Olympia. She writes, “As it got closer to the Olympia, my back has proceeded to get worse and I have been on anti-inflammatories, receiving treatments (massage, physio and chiropractor care) I had x-rays taken a week before the Olympia and it turned out that my back was a lot worse than I had expected. My spinal cord is impinged and my vertabrae are all out of alignment (from the neck to the lower back) and my hips are totally locked up.”

She goes on to share, “It’s going to be a long journey, but I am excited on getting healthy and getting back on track and having the opportunity to progress onto bigger and better things…I am not calling it a day just yet, but right now my focus is getting my mind and body healthy again…..I only have one body and it needs to last me a long time!!!” Mindi shares more about her Olympia experience in detail on her blog.

Get well Mindi and thanks for the always entertainin routines.

She wasn’t a competitor. She wasn’t talking about her tan being off. She wasn’t stressing about having the right suit. Nah, none of those things stressed out this bubbly woman full of life. It was a refreshing conversation about life, setting goals, never giving up and a variety of other things in a span of about 10 minutes. There are times when you meet people and think, wow that was a cool. The woman I’m talking about is Arlene Ann Latona. Arlene is the proud mother of FLEX Bikini Model Search winner, Amanda Latona. Arelene’s 60th birthday was last Wednesday and she has more energy than most the 20-somethings working the expo. A supportive family is refreshing to see and should be the norm but unfortunately many times in the fitness industry the exception.

Amanda and her mom after her win in Vegas.

Arlene give a thumbs up at the FLEX booth with some dork in a blue shirt.

A big HARDBODY shout out to Arlene for reminding us all to have fun and stay the course.

You never know who will show up at the Olympia. One celeb in attendance was Busta Rhymes the man behind “Touch it”. Busta was a super cool guy backstage and told me he was like a kid in a candy store being there. He was stoked to join Ron and I as our new “expert”. Sorry Lonnie, Ron and I trade up when we cash in a new expert.

Busta joining Ron and I for the “Yogi Point”.

Another Olympia is in the history books and we have thousands of photos to document it. This weekend was an incredible weekend with each contest creating new superstars and unexpected surprises. We were all over the place… taking photos from in front of the stage, backstage, in the expo and places in between. Check out the thousands of photos from Olympia weekend on bodybuilding.com.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2009-olympia-pics.htm

Nicole Wilkins-Lee took home top honors on Saturday night becoming the fourth Figure Olympia winner. Past winners are Davana Medina, Jenny Lynn and Jenn Gates. Congratulations to everyone who made it to the big dance. Look for a report/review coming soon.

1. Nicole Wilkins-Lee
2. Gina Aliotti
3. Heather Mae French
4. Kristal Richardson
5. Amy Fry
6. Erin Stern
7. Jenny Lynn
8. Jessica Paxson-Putnam
9. Felicia Romero
10. Monica Brant
11. Sonia Gonzales
12. Larissa Reis
13. Alicia Harris
14. Kristi Tauti
15. Meriza DeGuzman
16. Teresa Anthony
16. Houng Arcinas
16. Krissy Chin
16. Patricia Mello
16. April Rountree
16. Sherlyn Roy
16. Brenda Marie-Smith

Adela Garcia returned to the Olympia stage for the first time since 2007. A knee injury kept her out of competition until the 2009 Europa Super show, which she won. Adela came into Vegas the show the odds-on favorite and she lived up to the expectations. She was consistent in each round and it lead to her 4th Fitness Olympia title.

2009 Fitness Olympia winners.

Many felt she’d be pushed the hardest by Tracey Greenwood but it was Tanji Johnson that came the closest to the title. Tanji brought her best physique ever and coupled it with two great routines. She also can say she won the last IFBB pro fitness 45-second routine.

Tracey Greenwood slipped to third in large part for not being at her best in the routine rounds. She did improve the balance of her physique but it leaves you wondering… Will Tracey hang it up or will we see her back again next year? She wouldn’t give me an answer but enthusiastically told me, “you’ll be the first to know Isaac, well second after J.M.”

Julie Palmer was also thought to be a contender for the title but wasn’t as sharp as she needed to be this time out. Her conditioning was a bit off in the prejudging, particularly in her glutes and hamstrings. Her evening routine has some good gymnastic skills however it lacked the flow needed to be in title contention. It looked like Julie knew she was off when she took the stage by the expression on her face. Look for her to bounce back at the Arnold with her conditioning and make a run at the top spot.

I was the most impressed with Tina Durkin and had I been a judge (which I’m not) she would have been one or two in the physique rounds but she landed in fourth. Keep your eye on Tina, she’s one who will be a contender in the years ahead. She nailed her physique conditioning at the Arnold and here. I thought her routine was good and continues to evolve.

Myriam Capes has also come a long way with her physique and her routines are solid. I’m very impressed with what she has done in two years. I’d never guess she could transform her physique the way she has and has made a believer out of with her potential.

The rest of the pack…

I caught a lot of slack from some women for me predicting Trish Warren in the bottom spot. It’s nothing personal peeps. Where did she finish? Well, next to the bottom and would have most likely been in that spot had Mindi not injured herself during the two-minute routine. Again nothing personal and just stating my opinion, which apparently was shared with the judges this weekend. Trish’s routine needs to continue to evolve to be a contender. The Jen Hendershott choreography influence could be seen with the attitude and dance moves but a little too much dancing, in my opinion. She did have some of the best toe touches though. Her physique improved and if she can bring a better routine to the stage she can be in the money.

Trish flying through the air on Saturday night.

I think we saw Shannon Meteraud take the fitness stage for the last time and again it’s nothing person but her physique looked like it was tired. Nicole Duncan has mad potential and great routines. As she continues to find the formula for competing in multiple shows look for her to be a top contender in a couple years.

Congratulations to all the ladies for making it to this level. Many attempt to reach the Olympia but only the best do. View photos from the Fitness Olympia here.

Fitness Olympia Results
1. Adela Garcia
2. Tanji Johnson
3. Tracey Greenwood
4. Julie Palmer
5. Tina Durkin
6. Myriam Capes
7. Shannon Meteraud
8. Nicole Duncan
9. Regiane Da Silva
10. Trish Warren
11. Mindi O’Brien

How did the “experts” fair in their top six? Well not to toot my own horn but I was the only one who had the top six pegged, albeit not in the correct order but close.

Isaac’s Predictions:
1. Adela Garcia
2. Tracey Greenwood
3. Tanji Johnson
4. Julie Palmer
5. Myriam Capes
6. Tina Durkin

Ruth’s Predictions:
1. Adela Garcia
2. Tracey Greenwood
3. Julie Palmer
4. Tanji Johnson
5. Regiane DaSilva
6. Myriam Capes

Lonnie Teper’s Top Six Predictions:
1. Adela Garcia
2. Julie Palmer
3. Tracey Greenwood
4. Tanji Johnson
5. Regina DaSilva
6. Tina Durkin

Ron Avidan’s Predictions:
1. Adela Garcia
2. Tracey Greenwood
3. Julie Palmer
4. Regaine Da Silva
5. Tanji Johnson
6. Shannon Meteraud

Here’s a quick rundown of when things will take place at the Olympia.

9:30 AM – Olympia EXPO – Early Entry for VIP & Platinum Members
10:00 AM – Olympia EXPO
11:00 AM – Prejudging
- Fitness Olympia 2 Piece
- Figure Olympia 1 Piece
- Fitness Olympia 1 Piece
- Ms. Olympia
- Figure Olympia 2 Piece
- Fitness Olympia 45 Second
2:00 PM – FLEX Magazine’s Bikini Model Search
7:00 PM – Fitness & Ms. Olympia Finals

The Figure Olympia Predictions. You’ve hounded us in person and online asking where they are. Well here they are. I’m sure there will be some unhappy campers out there after reading this. I got some evil eyes from a few pro fitness competitors and had a couple angry fans ask me what the hell I was thinking. Remember, these are our opinions and done to get people talking. Don’t take things personal and if you’re a spouse or loved one of the competitors, listen we get it. We wouldn’t expect you to think your darling was anything but the best. That doesn’t mean we dislike them or that they aren’t worthy. This is the Olympia. Twenty two women are taking the biggest and best stage of their competitive careers. That really, truly is an honor and should be applauded. Every woman on this stage deserves to be there and for the first time since the inaugural Figure Olympia, it is anyone’s game. Hell I struggled to put together a list of top 6 and it could go any number of ways. I’m confident that no one has any idea how the exact order will go. So confident in fact that I will put up $100 to anyone who posts their top six in the comments field and it turns out to be true. EXACT ORDER and BEFORE PREJUDGING. So you only have a few hours to cast your vote.

I hope we see a variety of comparisons. Like Heather Mae French, Nicole Wilkins-Lee, Sonia Adcock and Jessica Paxson-Putnam. Erin Stern, Amy Fry and Jenny Lynn. Monica Brant, Kristal Richardson, Huong Arcinas and Gina Aliotti. April Rountree, Felicia Romero and Kristi Tauti. There’s a variety of physiques on display today and with Jenn Gates, Zivile and Mary Lado out that’s three of last year’s top six out. Let’s get onto the predictions from the “experts”.

Isaac’s Top 6:
1. Gina Aliotti
2. Kristal Richardson
3. Amy Fry
4. Heather Mae French
5. Nicole Wilkins-Lee
6. Sonia Gonzales

IRONMAN Magazine Ruth Silverman’s Top 6:
1. Jessica Paxon-Putnam
2. Jenny Lynn
3. Gina Aliotti
4. Amy Fry
5.  Kristal Richardson
6. Monica Brant

*Read More on Ruth’s predictions here.

IRONMAN Magazine Lonnie Teper’s Top 6:
1. Gina Aliotti
2. Jenny Lynn
3. Jessica Paxon-Putnam
4. Heather Mae Frnech
5. Kristal Richardson
6. Amy Fry

Ron “Yogi” Avidan’s Top 6:
1. Gina Aliotti
2. Sonia Gonzales
3. Heather Mae French
4. Jessica Paxson-Putnam
5. Jenny Lynn
6. Kristal Richardson

As you can see the predictions are all over the place. Cast your top six in EXACT ORDER BEFORE PREJUDGING begins and you will win $100. There are a number of very, very good women that aren’t in our top six. As of writing this over 250 of you voted and many of you have Felicia Romero winning this show yet none of ‘the experts’ even mention her in the top 6.Cast you votes to win via the comments field and let us know who you think will be the most accurate in their predictions.

n

Photos from the three events on Thursday that we took, the Men’s Press Conference, the Women Athlete Meetings and the Meet the Olympians event. The atmosphere at the Orleans Hotel is charged up and with what we’ve seen so far there are some in shape competitors. Check out the photos…

Press Conference Photos:
http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/7992/site/3/

Women Athlete Meeting Photos:
http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/7992/event/2/site/4/

Meet the Olympians Photos
http://contest.bodybuilding.com/gallery/contest/7992/site/11/

I ran into Tina Durkin and she found her mom. Mom, hubby and daughter are all good. If you’re wondering what the heck I am talking about, when I last saw Tina she was in the airport looking for her mom. She was thrilled with the photo I posted of her. I assured her I’ll get a better one at the athlete’s check-in when I use a camera other then my iPhone. Yes, I am well aware of my dork status.

I ran into IRONMAN magazine’s Ruth Silverman and applauded her for finally making Olympia predictions. Lonnie Teper tells me he will be pulling double duty as IRONMAN reporter and Orleans hotel host. Look for video of that later.

Canada’s Mindi O’Brien was checking in and looks great. She represents our friends to the North well.

I’m embarking on a road trip to Whole Foods, stay tuned for that play by play as I’ll be joined by rookie figure Olympians Erin Stern and Sheryln Roy. Erin is hilarious and I’m sure we’ll have some type of amusing photos to share.

This year’s Figure Olympia is wide open. Zivile won the Arnold but is out. Jenn Gates won the show last year but is out. Mary Lado was top 6 last year and yup she’s out too. Three of the top 6 from last year are out of the running this time. Who do you think will win the Figure Olympia this weekend?

n

One day left to go, and everyone is gathering in Las Vegas, with the men’s press conference set to begin at 1pm at the Orleans Hotel.

Here are the final competitor lists of the 2009 Ms. Olympia competitors, in alphabetical order. They are.

1. Heather Armbrust (USA)
2. Lisa Auckland (USA)
3. Nicole Ball (Canada)
4. Dayana Cadeau (Canada)
5. Tina Chandler (USA)
6. Gale Frankie (USA)
7. Kristy Hawkins (USA)
8. Rosemary Jennings (USA)
9. Iris Kyle (USA)
10. Debi Laszewski (USA)
11. Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia (Venezuela)
12. Betty Pariso (USA)
13. Betty Viana-Adkins (Venezuela)

Here are the competitors of the 2009 Fitness Olympia. They are, in alphabetical order,

1. Myriam Capes (Canada
2. Regiane Da Silva (Germany)
3. Nicole Duncan (USA)
4. Tina Durkin (USA)
5. Adela Garcia (USA)
6. Tracey Greenwood (USA)
7. Tanji Johnson (USA)
8. Shannon Meteraud (USA)
9. Mindi O’Brien (Canada)
10. Julie Palmer (USA)
11. Trish Warren (USA)

Here are the competitors of the 2009 Figure Olympia. They are, in alphabetical order,

1. Gina Aliotti (USA)
2. Teresa Anthony (USA)
3. Huong Arcinas (USA)
4. Monica Brant (USA)
5. Krissy Chin (USA)
6. Meriza De Guzman (USA)
7. Heather Mae French (USA)
8. Amy Fry (USA)
9. Sonia Gonzales (USA)
10. Alicia Renee Harris (USA)
11. Jenny Lynn (USA)
12. Patricia Mello (Brazil)
13. Jessica Putnam (USA)
14. Larissa Reis (Brazil)
15. Kristal Richardson (USA)
16. Felicia Romero (USA)
17. Sherlyn Roy (USA)
18. April (Fortier) Roundtree (USA)
19. Brenda Smith (USA)
20. Erin Stern (USA)
21. Kristi Tauti (USA)
22. Nicole Wilkins-Lee (USA)

Here’s a look at the room key for The Orleans Hotel, which serves as the host hotel for the Olympia. There’s been some upgrades to the hotel and it looks much nicer in the lobby. There’s even a chocolate store right next to the elevators. Probably not the best for competitors now but it will be come Saturday night.

The official room key of the 2009 Olympia.

A shout out to Tony who stopped me in the hallway and tells me he loves Hardbody. Thanks for visiting Tony. It’s cool to hear guys and girls are checking out the site daily.

Just landed at Las Vegas and ran into IFBB Fitness pro Tina Durkin. She was looking for her mom who was, “by a slot machine”. As Tina said, “that narrows it down mom”. Good luck Tina!

Tina Durkin in the Vegas airport.

This may be one of my favorite images of the year. Frame right you have one of the top female bodybuilders in the world, Heather Armbrust. Frame left you have the sad reality of what many Americans look like. Talk about capturing the extremes of body fat…

Heather eating at the Denver Airport before the Ms. Olympia.

Heather tells me she will be around 161lbs on stage which will be about 10-11 pounds lighter than she was at the Arnold. She is definitely lean and about ten minutes after she ate you could see her fill up and the veins popp’n. Heather is ready and sporting a darker hair color with no highlights.

I’m trying something new for this year’s Olympia. I’ll be posting here on the blog via my iPhone and see how it works. There may be a few kinks to work out along the way. Spelling Police stay at home for now as I’m sure there will be plenty of errors.

As always, I’ll be tweeting the action @hardbodynews. Follow along there for the fastest, quickest news.

I’m headed to the airport now & my bus driver thinks he’s a NASCAR driver in this little tin can. It’s a welcome change as usually the parking lot shuttle is turtle speed. This dude is hauling ass.

Here’s a look at how I’m rolling. Lights, luggage and camera gear. Always a fun challenge traveling with camera gear. Let’s hope it makes it.

At the airport check-in now and they are scanning my lighting equipment. Major pain in the ass. Apparently something set off the alarm. Thousands of dollars in that box and they like to toss stuff around like trash. Ugh. In the end it’s worth it because light makes a huge difference in capturing quality images. This is also why I no longer do free shoots.

Sweet… made it through but now flight is delayed. Blasted.

Off to find some terminal food. Stay tuned and post in the comments if you like this sort of thing.

You may be asking who the hell is April Rountree and how did she qualify for the Figure Olympia? I was baffled at first but alas April Rountree is the same woman as April Fortier, the one who qualified at the 2008 IFBB Sacramento Pro show by placing third. She may be bringing a different name to the stage but rest assured she’ll still have an Olympia caliber physique. April shared these photos taken just over a week from her first big dance. If her backside is tight enough she could move up much higher than most would expect.

April heading to her first Figure Olympia competition.

A preview of what April will bring to the stage in Vegas.