Anja Langer

Female muscle and fitness star Anja Langer is now listed.

Anja is a famous female bodybuilder from the '80's who was very popular during her time competing and has written a book called Body Flex - Body Magic.


Here is some background info on Ajna:

Vital statistics
* Full Name: Anja Langer
* Birthday: June 3
* Place of Birth: Stuttgart, Germany
* Occupation: personal trainer, fitness model, actress, professional bodybuilder, fitness consultant, author
* Height: 5'7"
* Weight (In Season): 142-146 lbs. (Off-Season):153-157 lbs.
* Eye Color: Blue
* Hair Color: Blonde

Contest history
* 1981 Baden-Württemberg Championships - Did not Place
* 1982 Baden-Württemberg Championships - 2nd
* 1983 NPC German Championships - 4th
* 1884 NPC Amateur World Championship - 2nd (with a partner)
* 1985 NPC Junior World Championships - 1st
* 1986 IFBB European Amateur Championships - 1st (HW)
* 1986 IFBB German Championships - 1st (MW & Overall)
* 1987 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 4th
* 1987 IFBB World Pro Championships - 2nd
* 1988 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd

Anita Ramsey

We've added the profile of Anita Ramsey. She's been a competitive female bodybuilder for over ten years and is also a competitive bencher.







Here is Anita's completive history taken from her site:

Contest:
* 1988 Boulder B.B. Championships (1st Middleweight)
* 1988 Rocky Mountain B.B. Championships (1st Heavyweight)
* 1989 NPC Colorado State (2nd Heavyweights)
* 1990 Western Cup B.B. Championships (1st Heavyweights & Overall)
* 1991 Jr. Nationals (6th place Heavyweights)
* 1992 Jr. USA (8th place Heavyweights)
* 1993 USA B.B. Championships (15th place)
* 1994 Orange County B.B. Championships (3rd place Middleweight)
* 1994 Steele Rose B.B. Championships (2nd place Heavyweights)
* 1995 NPC California State (5th place Heavyweights)
* 1995 Women's Pro Strength Extravaganza (Tied for 5th)
* 1996 New York Metropolitan (3rd Heavyweights)
* 1996 NPC New Jersey State (1st place Heavyweights)
* 1998 Southern States B.B. Championships (1st Heavyweights & Overall)
* 1998 IFBB North America B. B. Championships (3rd place Heavyweights)
* I was awarded Lonnie Teper's "Come Back of the Year" Award in 1998.
* 2008 NPC Masters Nationals Bodybuilding Championships (4th place light-heavyweights)


Bench:
* 2003 IPA Halloween Bench Bash 1st place 148 sub-masters – 215#
* 2003 IPA RexRoads Memorial 1st place 148 sub-masters – 220#
* 2006 APF World Bench Wars 1st place 165 sub-masters – 260#
* 2007 APF Metal Militia Memorial 1st place 165 masters – 300#
* 2008 UPA Metal Militia Ironman 1st place 148 masters – 305#
* 2008 UPA Metal Militia Memorial 1st place 165 masters-330#

The Muscular Asian Woman

I came across this blog the other day whilst surfing.
It's called The Muscular Asian Woman:






It's a great site that focuses on the Asian female bodybuilding & fitness scene.

This is an excerpt from the blog: "A muscular physique is a thing of beauty regardless of gender and ethnicity; this webblog attempts to show special support and consideration for the Asian female, who, in many cases, has extra barriers in pursuing athletic passions, whether they are bodybuilding, fitness, athletics, or recreation".

I couldn't say it better myself!

Angela Salvagno

Female bodybuilder Angela Salvagno has been competing since 1999. A true amazon woman, Angela is well known in the industry for her impressive physique and exceptionally well developed muscular arms.






Here are some stats from Angela's website:

Measurements
▪ Arms: 15 1/2"
▪ Legs: 24"
▪ Calves: 15 1/2"
▪ Chest: 40"
▪ Off Season Weight 155 lbs
▪ Contest Weight 131 lbs

Training weights
▪ Dumbbell Curls: 40 lbs 8-10 reps
▪ Hack Squats: 400 lbs 8-10 reps
▪ Leg press: 600 lbs 8-10 reps
▪ Dumbbell Benchpress: 80 lbs 8-10 reps
▪ Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 65 lbs 8-10 reps

48 year old mother of four: still lifting heavy

Forty eight year old Yvonne Edwards has been lifting heavy for over 20 years and has crafted a muscular physique that many women in their 30's would die for.

Yvonne's best lift of 80 pounds in a one-armed, bent-over dumbbell row is truly impressive for a 5-foot-3, 48 year old women. And as if that is not enough, she is now working towards the 100 pound challenge!

Female bodybuilder Yvonne lives an athletic lifestyle: Coached by her husband Paul, she works as a personal trainer and when not competing she teaches her female clients the importance of developing strong muscles as well as focusing on basic cardio training.

Amy Schmid

Female bodybuilder Amy Schmid has been added to the Female Muscle & Fitness listings. When not competing, Amy who has developed an impressive muscular physique, works in the industry as a fitness and wellness coach.

Amy maintains a regular blog where you can catch up on her latest news.

Recognition for Rosie

Female bodybuilder Rosie Trimble has been awarded the Leeton Sportsperson of the Year award.

Hailing from Australia, Rosie competed in the 2008 New York World Natural Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF) championships where she placed a respectable sixth in the International Figure World Titles and 10th in the International Fit Body World Titles.

The WNBF describes itself as a “truly drug-free bodybuilding, figure and fitness federation” and athletes must pass both a polygraph and urine test.

Rosie also competed in the Australian Masters Fit Body Titles where she took third place.

It's encouraging to see the increasing recognition of female bodybuilding. Awards like this help bring the sport into the mainstream where it belongs.

Amanda Dunbar

Amanda Dunbar has been added to our growing directory. Amanda is a great looking female bodybuilder who turned pro with the IFBB in 2005. When not competing, Amanda works as a gymnastics coach. You can find out more about Amanda at her website or myspace page.

Dorra Zaier stirring it up in Tunisia

Dorra Zaier has been breaking a few taboos in her home country of Tunisia. According to a recent article from Reuters, it seems this dynamic 28 year old female bodybuilder is leading the way in a country where attitudes towards a strong female physique are less accepting than many countries.


















Later this year Dorra will be entering a female bodybuilding competition: there are only two contestants and the event is to be held in private as Tunisians are not used to seeing muscular women flexing in public.

It may seem archaic to some, but at least it's step in the right direction. I always admire anyone who challenges the status quo: way to go Dorra!

Alina Popa

Alina Popa is now featured on the site.

Alina competed at the IFBB Santa Susanna 2008 and was the over 55 kg category winner and overall winner female, bodybuilding. Since winning the show, the internet's been buzzing with news and pictures of this amazing woman.




Video of Alina's routine at the IFBB Santa Susanna 2008:

Tamiko Shibata banned for life

Female bodybuilder Tamiko Shibata has been banned from the INBA for life.

Tamiko Shibata, an amateur competitor from the USA has received a lifetime ban from the INBA (International Bodybuilding Association) after returning positive WADA tests. Tamiko, who won first place at the 2008 Natural Olympia in San Francisco, subsequently tested positive for the following compounds: Clenbuterol, Letrozole Metabolite and Tamoxifen.

Tamiko placed well from 2002 until 2005, when she stopped competing for two years:

2008
Natural Olympia - INBA, Short, 1st (revoked)
Natural Olympia - INBA, Overall Winner (revoked)

2005
California Natural - ABA, Winner
Pacific USA Naturals - NPC, Physique, 6th
US Armed Forces Championships - NPC, Physique, 3rd

2004
Los Angeles Natural - ABA, 3rd
Natural Universe - INBA, Short, 3rd

2003
Natural Universe - INBA, Short, 3rd

2002
California Natural - ABA, Short, 2nd

(info from musclememory)

It's easy for folks to dismiss Tamiko with the typical 'serves her right' atitude, or ask how she could have thought she was going to get away with it at a tested event.

I don't condonde Tamiko's actions. After all, she was competing at a natural show, however I do understand the intense pressure to achieve and perform that female bodybuilders face on a daily basis and that means I can empathise with her.

The real question to ask is; how personally rewarding would the victory have been had she not been caught?

Aimée Molleman

We've added Aimée Molleman to the site. Born in 1982, Aimée is an up and coming young female bodybuilder from Holland. She has incredible development for such a young age and is destined to go a long way. Watch this space. You can find more photos of this amazing women here at the Dutch site performanceonline.


Aimée Molleman & Saskia Salemink at the 2007 Dutch Nationals:

Insulin-like growth factor: the sci-fi future of bodybuilding?

IGF or 'Insulin-like growth factor' (IGF-1) is a naturally occurring muscle-mass promoter. It is often speculated that serious bodybuilders inject this directly into their muscles to improve mass and size. The only problem is that it works locally and quickly wears off.









A wired article reports: "Enter biotech, which can not only synthesize the protein from scratch but also package it in the form of engineered viruses that insert IGF-1 genes directly into muscle cells, allowing them to produce their own growth factor indefinitely."

Genetically engineered viruses delivering hormones directly into your muscles? Sounds like the beginning of the bionic female bodybuilder. And all this time you've been relying on protein shakes....

Arnold Classic 2009: official line-up

I received the official press release for the competition.

The Ms International, Figure & Fitness invitees are all detailed below. There are some top names on the list - this should be a great year!

Here it is: the official line up for the 2009 Arnold Classic in Ohio. Just click on the image to see it full-size.

Female Muscle

FemaleMuscle.com did a write up on the directory a couple of days ago. You can see it here.
Always good to have some promotion. If anyone else would like to help spread the word, you're more than welcome!

The difference between bodybuilding, figure & fitness (or why we should all get along)

I've spent a long time trying to understand where, why and how people draw the lines between bodybuilding, figure & fitness. Indeed, do we need to draw a line?

The term aesthetic is, by it's very nature, subjective. One person's rose can be another's thorn; and there lies the rub: we all have our own interpretation of beauty. When it comes to crafting an aesthetic physique, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder: size, symmetry and shape all play their part; so why are we obsessed about categorizing this into the simple classes of big, medium and small?

In many respects, there really is no line between bodybuilding, figure & fitness - they each represent various points on a spectrum. Try thinking about it another way; look at the image below:














Where does the red end and orange begin, or the green turn into blue? There really is no absolute difference, no place to draw a line. And yet when it comes to bodybuilding in it's various forms, we seem compelled to break it down into simple groups.

Much of this is driven by the shows and competitions, after all, it's difficult to judge between a bodybuilder and fitness competitor as they each have a very different personal preference for their own physique, not to mention how they may or may not temper this in order to please the judges depending on whatever the official 'flavor of the month' is at a given moment in time.

People have written and blogged about this a thousand times - here's a great example. So, back in the real world, the one we all inhabit when not competing or viewing a show: does it really matter?

Of course not. As TC writes in this post: Believing that.."anyone with a different philosophy or goal is an asshole, is misguided... The truth is, we're all freaks and there's plenty of room in our circus."

See what I mean?

Be who you are, do what you enjoy and cut the others a little slack. We spend enough time dealing with the haters out there who don't like the sport at all to waste it by fighting amongst ourselves.

Female Muscle & Fitness Blog

Welcome to the Female Muscle & Fitness blog.

Female Muscle & Fitness promotes the sport of female bodybuilding, figure and fitness.

As we all know, it takes a lot of hard work, dedication and focus to be a bodybuilder; particularly at competition level. Although bodybuilding itself has moved into the main-stream, female bodybuilding is still some way behind in terms of public acceptance and support.

To help change this, Female Muscle & Fitness has been set up as a central hub of all things related to the sport. It has listings of the home pages of female bodybuilders, figure and fitness competitors (as well as information on other female muscle related sites) and works hard to promote the sport in an honest and favorable light. The site helps raise awareness of the sport and provides web-traffic and exposure to the individuals themselves.

fbblinks is young and growing faster every day, so if you are a female bodybuilder, figure or fitness competitor, own a site that is directly related to female bodybuilding or you are an aspiring competitor with a web presence, please get in contact with me and I'll be only too happy to help promote you by listing your own website in the directory.