Vote For Collette Nelson's Sister's Baby Brynn!

Collette Nelson's sister's baby Brynn in a contest at American Baby. Give this cutey-pie a vote with a click on the title of this post!

Brenda Smith's Got A New Website!

Bodybuilder and now TV star Brenda Smith has a new website up. Just click on www.brenda-smith.com

Dr. Malea Jensen On Her Bodybuilding and Medical Careers

This is a great article on my friend Malea Jensen; and sent to me by Malea. Her website's at www.maleajensen.com

by Karris Golden - for Wartburgh Magazine:

Dr. Malea Jensen is the total package:

She's exceptionally bright.
She's remarkably attractive.
She's a doctor.
She's a bodybuilder.

"I have been competing in bodybuilding since 1996,"Jensen explains. "I placed second in my first show, the 1996 Natural Iowa. I have competed once or twice a year since 1996."

A natural outgrowth of her competitive bodybuilding has been modeling. There is a high demand for photos of muscular women who have also maintained femininity. I fit into both molds. I actually love to get in front of the camera."

Jensen, an osteopath in practice at Urbandale Family Physicians, completed medical school at the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences in Des Moines. Despite the difficulties of her academic workload, she has always balanced it with an intense physical regime.

"Bodybuilding was never a whim,"Jensen says. "I have always admired men and women with muscle. Initially, it was not my ambition to get up on stage and pose. This has been a way to extend my competitiveness. It is an ambition of mine to keep fit and look lean, with muscular detail.”

She credits her father for pushing her to "give 100 percent,"whether it was school, work or one of the many sports at which she excelled.

In high school, she was a four-sport athlete, taking all-conference in each sport. While attending Wartburg, Jensen played basketball and softball while maintaining a high grade point average and notching all-conference honors in softball.

Jensen started lifting weights in high school as a way to condition her body and improve her strength. "I was literally pushed into competing by a couple from Pennsylvania,"she recalls. "I really had no desire to get up on stage in front of a thousand people in my bikini. It is funny how our perspectives change as we gain self-esteem. Needless to say, (the couple) thought I had the body for the sport. But more importantly, they acknowledged the fact that I worked hard in the gym and was always intense with my training. Intensity and passion are the two hallmarks of a competitive bodybuilder."

These qualities are also present in good doctors. Jensen approaches her medical practice with the same determination. In particular, she is concerned with the way obesity has compromised public health.

"(Obesity) has reached epidemic proportions, and links to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases are well established,"she notes. "The effort to understand how to promote more active lifestyles has been of great importance to the health of this nation. Schools, workplaces and families need to weave physical activity into the fabric of their daily lives. The key to lifetime fitness is consistency!"

Saddened by current statistics regarding widespread American obesity, she looks to public leaders, such as Arnold Schwartzenegger, to push for change.

"There is an awareness of how we have inadvertently created an environment that promotes obesity by discouraging physical activity and encouraging overeating,"Jensen says. "As a doctor, I not only need to tell my patients to exercise more and eat less, I have to outline a program to do just that. Most people do not know what to do unless it is spelled out for them on paper. But even then, it is very difficult, from my clinical experience, to change my patients' lifestyles. It is going to take a nationwide education program."

Julie Childs Scores IFBB Pro Fitness Win In New York - Bodysport.com

Bodysport.com reports on the Fitness results at the New York Pro Show

April 24/06

Julie Wins in New York

After trying over and over to get a little respect in the IFBB, Julie Childs' ship has come in. Chalking up her first IFBB pro fitness win since turning pro in 2002, Julie is positioned to keep rolling now and become a constant force in fitness to be reckoned with. Also qualifying for the Fitness Olympia in this contest were second place Heidi Fletcher and third place finisher Amy Haddad.

New York Pro Fitness Final Results
1-Julie Childs
2-Heidi Fletcher
3-Amy Haddad
4-Angie Monteleone-Semsch
5-Mindi O’Brien
6-Sandy Grant
7-Marie Allegro
8-Amy Huber
9-Elizabeth Maurice
10-Karen Walcott
11-Katie Szep
12-Jessica Booth
13-Vlasta Gruberova
14-Bridgette Murray
15-Allison Daughtry
16-Sandra Wickham
17-Shannon Dey

2006 Emerald Cup - Candy Canary Wins! - Final Results From GeneX

Gene X Hwang's got a report on the outcome of the 2006 Emerald Cup, where Candy Canary was the overall winner. The full report's at www.ftvideo.com but you can see the summary here, below.

Women's Bodybuilding

Overall: Candy Canary

Lightweights:
1) Jennifer Valadez
2) Gina Parise
3) Roseanne Blackburn-Desmarais
4) Cindy Goodrich
5) Julie Fielding
6) Teddy Breeze
7) Mary Burke
8) Lisa Schlachter
9) Adriana Medina

Middleweights:
1) Karin Kimura
2) Kimberly Agnew
3) Shari Cole
4) Janice Gaines-Ehlen
5) Shawna Davenport

Heavyweights:
1) Candy Canary
2) Audra Kimsey
3) Mary Hallman
4) Lorilee Sweeney

Masters

Overall: Kay Friend

Over 35:
1) Kim Olsen
2) Liann White
3) Teresa Mason

Over 50:
1) Kay Friend
2) Janet Guenther
3) E.Q. Pruitt
4) Stephanie Meece
5) Ann Gannon
6) Ita Pantilat

Kristi Hawkins Video and 2006 Bodybuilding Schedule

When she's not working on her PhD at CalTech, well-known bodybuilder Kristi Hawkins is getting ready for the following guest shows this year:

California State BB Championships
May 26-27, 2006
Culver City, CA

Junior California BB Championships
June 3, 2006
Pasadena, CA

Los Angeles BB Championships
July 22, 2006
Culver City, CA

NPC USA Championships
July 28-29, 2006
Las Vegas, NV

She will not be officially competing in contexts until this fall, as of this writing.

Her website's at www.kristyhawkins.com

You can see Kristi in action in this You Tube video take by TomNine



Here's another video of Kristi; this one from www.femflex.com. Thiis clip shows her amazing combination of Super Woman arms and beauty.

Introducing Candy Canary Via "You Tube" Video!

This is Candy Canary, who Gene Hwang reports is one of the favorites to win the 2006 Emerald Cup this weekend in Bellevue Washington! This video is from "You Tube"

Kelly Ryan and Craig Titus Denied Bail

Looks like there's no leaving Las Vegas for these two. At least not before the justice system has its way with them.

I must admit, this is a difficult news item to report as a person in support of the positive framing of the amazing sport of bodybuilding. I hate it when sports that are rarely allowed page space or air time only make the front page when the news concerning them is negative and sensational. But it's news nonetheless, so for now, here's the latest.


Bodybuilding Couple Denied Bail Before Trial in Las Vegas Slaying

LAS VEGAS - A Las Vegas judge denies bail for husband-and-wife professional bodybuilders accused in the murder of their live-in assistant.

Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan were arrested last December in Stoughton after an initial interview with police in Las Vegas shortly after Melissa James' death.

The judge ruled that Titus and Ryan pose a "significant" flight risk in refusing bail.

Lawyers for the two argued that prosecutors haven't shown how they think James died before her body was found in the trunk of Ryan's burned-out and abandoned Jaguar last year.

Titus is a 1996 bodybuilding champion and Mr. Olympia competitor. Ryan is a past Fitness America and Fitness International winner.

An alleged accomplice - 23-year-old Anthony Gross - is accused of helping torch James' body. He's posted 13-thousand dollars bail and is under house arrest.

From: 2006 Associated Press

Happy Birthday, GeneX!

We take time to celebrate the recent brithday of the king of Women's Bodybuilding photographers, Gene X Hwang.

Happy Birthday!

Lisa Aukland - Missundaztood - What it Means to be a Female Bodybuilder

We had to have this classic work on the site. Worth reading!

By Dr. Lisa Aukland, IFBB Professional Bodybuilder (link to orginal in the title of this post)

Just as the artist "Pink" declares on her new CD- "It's not that complicated, I was misunderstood", I feel similarly misunderstood as a professional female bodybuilder. It really is not that complicated to figure out why. We are judged by our appearance, thought to be rollin' in the dough, and sorely underrepresented in our sport. Hopefully this writing will further your understanding of our sport and why we carry on.

Are we really all that different from other members of our gender? Certainly not! I understand the fact that it is second nature to judge a person by their appearance. You know how it goes -- fat people are lazy and blondes are dumb. Likewise, female bodybuilders are judged by their physical shell. We are considered odd by many who judge us only by the body we possess

However, outside of the competitive world we have the same goals in life as regular people. We are still mothers, wives, sisters, and professionals in other fields. We enjoy time with family, we spend time socializing, and we go on an occasional vacation that does not revolve around a competition. We even take pleasure in a variety of hobbies and attend the same movies. Maybe we don’t include the popcorn and Goobers, but you get the idea. Female bodybuilders are more alike than different from other members of our gender.

Furthermore, popular belief holds that once you are an IFBB Pro, you've got it made in the shade financially. Yes, the money just rolls in and you can start your new collection of sports cars -- NOT! At least not for the women involved in this sport. Male bodybuilders have a whole different story to tell. I can't begin to count how many people thought that I would actually quit my day job after I turned "Pro."

The truth is my job is what pays for this bodybuilding pastime of mine. Supplement companies do NOT come knocking at your door with a wad of cash, magazines do NOT hound you for pictures and personal data, and there IS no legitimate money for women in this sport.

We put thousands into preparing for a competition. The receipts add up quickly: posing suits, hair, makeup, music compilation, tanning products, six meals a day, supplements, airfare, hotel, time out of work, and kennels for the dogs. All of this with only the possibility of winning a very small pot of prize money. Outside of the top winners, everybody else goes home with empty (or emptier) pockets. I am one of the fortunate few that have a sponsor to help bear some of the expenses. Not all Pros are as fortunate. In a nutshell, this is not a financially rewarding sport. My whole goal here is not to retire in wealth, but to merely break even. Any amount over that would be considered as icing on the cake.

To make matters worse, female bodybuilders are not fairly represented in the sport's many publications. I can hardly blame the public for misunderstanding us when our own sport fails to properly recognize our value as athletes and as people. We cannot expect the public to support us when our own organization chooses to ignore us.

I understand the economics of muscle touting publications. Their readership is primarily male so obviously they cater to men. However, they certainly do not give women any reason to support their magazines. A page count in several prominent muscle magazines revealed female bodybuilders on a mere 5 to 9 pages out of 300 to 400 pages of magazine. I am not talking about female "profiles" -- just a tiny picture, and I included advertisements.

The whole reason I even started to exercise was because I saw bodybuilders such as Cory Everson and Rachel McLish in magazines and loved the way they looked. After seeing they lifted weights to look that way, I was drawn into the gym. That was many years ago. At the time, magazines portrayed female bodybuilders in a positive light, seducing many women desiring a firm physique into the gym. We are no longer supported in the sport's premier publications and that is such a shame to miss out on an opportunity to be role models for other women.

Why continue in a sport that is so unrewarding professionally and financially? My heartfelt response is for the love of it. You'll get that same reply from most IFBB Pro women and amateurs alike. We love the sport even without the professional, financial, and public support. While it gets tiring to be judged by appearance alone, we love the look and feel of having muscle. The self confidence and empowerment of feeling strong is immeasurable. It may be financially draining at times, but we put together other resources to continue on.

The media may choose to ignore us, but we are slowly realizing other ways to promote ourselves. If given the chance, we have much to contribute to society, even if it is just inspiration to look strong and feel healthy. It really is not that complicated -- with a little understanding.

Gina Davis's First Pro Show Will Be The Europa August 25th and 26th

Gina Davis -- who has a cut set of legs as the photo shows -- reports on her blog that her first show as a professional bodybuilder will be the Europa on August 25th and 26th in Arlington, Texas at the Arlington Convention Center.

"I am so ready to get the show on the road...after sending Andy my update I was looking over the pics and videos and kept thinking "cannot wait to see what's under all that!" I am still weighing around 191lbs and it will be interesting to see how much muscle I have gained in two years.



I weighed in at 156 in 2004(after a week of being very sick and losing some size) so I think I should at least be around 160 for the Europa. 20 weeks out this weekend and have 4 weeks to get to 185lbs to start my prep...it's a done deal. Exciting stuff and it only gets better as this contest journey begins. I will have a "Countdown to the Europa" section where you will see THE MOST phenomenal contest progression pics ever. People could not get over my "Road To Victory" section in '04...oh yea...it begins again very soon. Gosh! Just so much swirling through my head right now-can't wait! yippeee!!!"

Liz Kinsella - UK's Fitness Champion's Going Pro

Liz Kinsella -- the current British fitness champion -- informs GeneX that she's in the process of applying for her pro card this year.

Her website is at http://www.lizkinsella.co.uk

Collette Nelson On AXE Body Wash TV Commercial Campaign

Pro Bodybuilder Collette Nelson's making a big splash on TV -- litterally! She's the featured woman in a provacative commercial which sees her working out and then working on a rather meek but willing male charge.

It's a great platform for female bodybuilders in that the commercial is unforgettable, and thus you won't forget the product. Plus, Collette looks good.