Tuesday 31 January 2017

Tube Watch

FMS picks a few of the very best new clips from YouTube from the first few weeks of January for your viewing pleasure in our second installment of Tube Watch.

MICHAELA FAILS...

But only after a mind-boggling 225lb (just over 100kg) 32-rep set of deadlifts.



The woman is a freak. More jaw to the floor stuff from Michaela on her channel - 111 (yep, one hundred and eleven) squats with her bodyweight (circa 60kg) on the bar.

For Your Consideration

And staying with the WPD, defending Physique Internationsl champion Autumn Swansen's preparations are being documented by Midwest Muscle Report. You can watch an interview with her in a bikini in the ocean (actually it's not quite as sexy as a beach shoot with Autumn should be, but her velvet Southern accent saves the day - for me anyway!). You can also follow her as she builds up to and performs a shoulder/ bicep workout. Not as intense as Michaela, it's true, but lawdy that accent...

BAYRES NOT BARE!

Probably better-known for being a muscular woman not shy about taking her clothes off and getting up to all sorts of naughtiness, Karyn Bayres is clothed unusually modestly while pumping up and flexing in this Double Biceps preview.



Bet that look she gives the camera at 1.39 had you imagining all sorts of naughtiness.

Satisfy your cravings on her blog.

For Your Consideration

And elsewhere in Europe, Zoltan Veigh continues to find more beautiful, sexy muscle models to shoot in his own inimitable way. FMS recommends pretty much everything he's ever done, but this "Behind the Scenes" look at Karina Gavrikova and her tanned, vascular midsection is brand new and well worth a minute of your time.

RENE DOES ARNOLD

Remember that scene from Pumping Iron (not II) where Arnie goes on about the pump making him feel like he's "cumming day and night"? Ever wondered how it would sound if a female bodybuilder re-enacted the scene? Well, thanks to London-based director Emile Rafael with help from Rene Campbell, you don't have to wonder anymore.



How I missed this when it went up in September is beyond me.

The research team have been most righteously chastised.

Tube Watch will return towards the end of February.

Monday 30 January 2017

Around the World: Iran

Around the World will be an occasional series celebrating the female bodybuilders of a particular country, and examining any issues peculiar to muscle women there.

Today, from bad to worse in Iran.

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The last time FMS reported from Iran, female bodybuilders were being summoned to court for taking part in an international competition. Some male athletes have trained women and arranged for these half-naked pseudo-athletes to compete in competitions abroad, reported Mizan, the news agency of the Iranian judiciary, in September. Now their semi-nude photographs are everywhere on social networks.

According to IranWire, on October 2, Tehran’s prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, confirmed that the male coaches involved in training two female bodybuilders had been banned from continuing their athletic activities and banned from travelling.

Now it seems one of these women has actually been jailed.

A female bodybuilder was arrested on January 17 after she posted a "semi-nude" photograph of herself on Instagram, according to government sources, and was jailed after she was unable to pay a bail amount of 200m tomans (about $62,000).

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The news was picked up by the Mail Online, who added that, though "unidentified", it is thought she may be Shirin Nobahari, one of the two female bodybuilders who had been banned from bodybuilding as well as travelling outside Iran last September.

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From there, the story went, as these things always seems to do nowadays, global, with the Mail's text repeated almost verbatim, and images of Shirin from her Instagram (@shirin_muscleking), "semi-nude" as the mullahs would tut, for illustration.

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Whether the arrested woman is, in fact, Shirin Nobahari is still - as far as I can ascertain - unconfirmed. On the one hand she has, if anything, toned down her posts somewhat in the last few months, with the only skin on display being that on her striking face. On the the other hand though, she had been warned, and she is still, quite obviously, defying the ban imposed upon her bodybuilding. Furthermore, her Instagram - with its 70,000+ followers and three duplicate "fanpage" accounts (no doubt there as insurance should one or more be shut down) - makes her by far the most high profile Iranian bodybuilder still pumping iron in Iran, and therefore a prime target for a regime obviously keen to set an example to bring others into line.

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This is not the first time Shirin has faced opposition. My parents were university professors, the 27-year-old said in an interview with a dissident Iranian news source at the end of 2015. One of my sisters has a Master’s in Food Sciences and the other sister a Master’s in Physiology. One of my brothers is an inventor and has a few inventions registered to his name. The other two are graduates of Computer Science and Accounting. Unsurprisingly, her parents tried to persuade to follow a similar path into a "good" profession rather than pursuing her passion for muscle.

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She describes herself as a "one-woman army", and compares the authorities to "crows and vultures". She told her Instagram followers last autumn - around the time of her previous collar - that "however we live it is important to live with dignity". What a tragedy if attempting to do so has meant she has been robbed of her freedom.

Sunday 29 January 2017

Thunder! Irene Mateos

We don’t usually talk about female genetics, but Iree Mateos has such an impressive physique it’s hard to simply ignore. You’ve heard of alpha males before I’m sure. There’s no doubt in our minds that Iree Mateos is certainly an alpha female.
Generation Iron, "Iree Mateos is the Definition of an Alpha Female", 11/11/16

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Barcelona's Irene ("Iree" is her social media moniker) Mateos has received a fair bit of coverage in the mainstream (ie. for dudes) bodybuilding media in the last few months, none of it actually shedding much light on her story. Other than the fact that she’s a Figure class fanatic, we couldn’t find out much else about her! BroScience exclaimed. But let’s be honest... you’re not really bothered about her bio...

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Well, actually...

I guess this is what separates me from the brahs.

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In the absence of bio, we will have to make do.

Sigh.

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Her role models are, as BroScience points out, mainly from Figure. Cyd Gillon's tiny waist is "perfection", Nicole Wilkins is "the kind of woman who inspires me", and Swann De La Rosa "is Bodyfitness". Her brah-magnet Instagram also features Candice Lewis-Carter, Tina Nguyen, and Joan Smith among others.

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But she's also featured Dani Reardon, Olga Belyakova, and Heidi Vuorela - "great examples that teach us that having muscle does not mean being male, or having a big jaw" - and lately, one of FMS' 2016 Women of the Year, Anastasia Papoutsaki - "a beautiful woman, strong, feminine and incredible!" - who all compete in Physique. In fact, Irene, despite her protestations that "I do not use photoshop on my waist...", is given to occasionally putting up fakes of herself as a Physique competitor.

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I wouldn't complain. Though it might be too much for the Brahs.

The one on the left at the bottom is the fake. In case you were wondering.

Saturday 28 January 2017

Thunder! Juliana Mota

I know I know... this pose belongs to @bakharnabieva but I love her, so I do it too.

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And I know I know, I kind of promised you at the start of the week that there wouldn't be any Brazilians, but in my defence Juliana Mota does currently reside in Paris, and, you know, surely any woman who recreates the "Bakhar pose" with such gusto - not to mention all the appropriate assets - has got to be worth a closer look, hasn't she?

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You'll see my picture and will think: 'it is impossible for me', Juliana says.

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Gosh! She's modest, isn't she? Oh, wait, she hasn't finished... You'll see my picture and will think: 'it is impossible for me, I cannot afford to be like that'. That's what most people do with themselves, self-sabotage. In a certain period of my life, I also saw these beautiful women with shapely bodies, and thought it would almost be impossible for me. But in my case it was only 'almost', I never gave up, even when my goal seemed very far away, and what you see is the result of years of training.

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Given Juliana is only 22, she must have started young.

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And unlike the majority of women we've featured this week, she's not averse to the idea of competing. Far from it, in fact. Last year, before she had relocated to Paris, she competed in the "Wellness" category at a show in Brazil. And loved it. It was so magical, everything turned out so perfectly, she says. I long for the stage, the smell of the oil, even the completely regimented routine, counting up the minutes of sleep. I even miss the hunger that was my most faithful companion! I felt so free on stage, everything went just the way it was meant to. It didn't look like it was my first time. It's a huge motivation to achieve even better shape, and I will. I can hardly wait!

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Perhaps this means we'll be seeing a contest ready Juliana in 2017?

I can hardly wait.

Friday 27 January 2017

Thunder! jennifersueee

The tiger and lion may be more powerful, but the wolf doesn't perform in the circus.

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It's the quote that jennifersueee has pasted across the top of her thightastic Instagram, so I guess we can conclude this lady values her freedom above all.

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And if you suspect this rather leftfield opening means FMS hasn't managed to find out much else about this powerful and free-spirited young lady, then you'd be right!

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Guess - on a certain level - she values her privacy too.

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She is contactable though, although you had better have your wallet handy when you do. For $6.99/month her connectpal will give you access to "sexy exclusive 18+ photos/videos that do not appear on any other social media site, new content uploaded everyday!" You will be able to directly message her - she promises "daily interaction" - and the warning that you MUST (her capitals) be 18 or over to subscribe is probably all the info you need to know to know what you're going to get.

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And no, I haven't. Not yet anyway.

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If you do, would you mind asking her a few questions for me?

Thursday 26 January 2017

Thunder! Kortney Olson

Just wanted to give a mad shoutout to the MFCEO of @grrrl_clothing, this amazing company/group/movement - so many things, there's even a GRRRL conference in Vegas this May - Kortney Olson is a fierce, candid, real-talking goddess!

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So, Kortney, erstwhile competitive bodybuilder, immigrant to Australia (where she became the country's first female armwrestling champ), recovering alcoholic, newly vegan, and officially (well, according to Stan Lee's Superhumans anyway) possessor of "the strongest thighs on the planet", now has her own clothing company, GRRRL.

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But this beast (company, not Kortney, though on second thoughts it's pretty much the same thing) has become slightly more than just another fitness line. As the above quote illustrates, Kortney has kind of become - wittingly or unwittingly - the leader of some kind of female muscle movement. GRRRRL Power? You bet she has some.

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Kortney, despite returning to the stage as a bodybuilder last year, has found her calling. And women all over the world are answering her call to "VAGUP" (really).

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Now all of this might seem a tad intimidating to a certain kind of chap.

But, being the intelligent human being that she is (notice how carefully I'm choosing my words today, I should probably make a habit of it), Kortney sees it for what it is.

To the boy who called me disgusting: I forgive you.

I understand you're worried your identity is being taken away. You're supposed to be the rock. The strong one. The one who can have multiple wives. The one who is smarter. The one who makes everything OK. But that paradigm is gone.

Your reign is over. We're no better than. We're no less than. We are #Gquals.


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So there's another hashtag for you to explore. Kortney's got a few originals. I couldn't possibly list them all here, #brickhouse is a personal favourite, and if you like thighs of thunder, the occasional picture of an actual house made of bricks, and all manner of other weirdness, check that out along with the many others on her Instagram.

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And check out the grrrl army too.

I guarantee you'll be surprised by some of those Kortney's enlisted.

Wednesday 25 January 2017

Thunder! Kiki Vhyce

Absolute female perfection!

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So says one of Instagram sensation Kiki Vhyce's growing legion of male fans. Her growing legion of female fans aren't any less gushing. So pretty, such a unique look about her, says one. Gorgeous quads. And I'm so envious of her tiny waist!

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A statuesque 5'10" (1.78m), Kiki started lifting in 2011, fed up with her skinny frame.

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"Built by deadlifts" is how she describes herself now.

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She has competed in the past, at local bodybuilding shows in and around her native Melbourne, but it's the social media following she has built that has attracted the attention of sponsors and provided her with countless fitness modelling assignments.

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Her development recently has been spectacular, and suggests we'll be hearing a lot more about Kiki this year, not to mention swooning over her again on FMS real soon.

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More Australia-based Thunder! tomorrow.

Tuesday 24 January 2017

Thunder! Bakhar Nabieva

What's this? There is a part of her above the waist? (forum post)

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Despite her best efforts, it's still Bakhar's lower body her fans - and The Sun - get most excited about. Last seen on FMS as recently as October, we doubt the complaints desk will be fielding too many calls bemoaning the fact we've brought her back so soon.

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I have competed in Bikini, she says, but currently I have no interest in competing. You have to be on a very restricted diet, no carbohydrates, and the training is no fun when you have no energy. I do not want to expose myself to such torture.

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Fortunately though, when it comes to exposing herself for the benefit her sponsors, not to mention the delight of her Instagram followers, Bakhar is plenty interested.

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Unsurprisingly, Bakhar is a big fan of the "Brazilian look", and has revealed her number 1 is Gracyanne Barbosa. But can you imagine Gracyanne saying anything like this?

Why do people say "grow some balls"? Bakhar asked us recently. Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding.

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Bakhar started lifting because her classmates teased her about her "skinny legs". I decided to change the situation, she says. I was tired of people looking at me.

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Her "situation" has, indeed, changed. People still looking though.