HARDBODY Female Sports, Health & Fitness News
A Love for Sport Life.™
The top three in the 2008 NPC USA Figure F Class. Rachel Cammon went on to win the class and turn pro in her first national show. Alicia Marie nabbed a pro card at the Figure Nationals/Team Universe later in ’08. Monique Minton will try her hand at the bikini class this year in hopes of joining Rachel and Alicia as a pro. Who will come out and shock everyone this year? We’ll find out Saturday night in Las Vegas!
Tori Briggs is has won her class in every bikini competition she’s entered this year. She’s about to try her hand at another win this weekend in Las Vegas. I caught up with Tori on the day before she takes the NPC USA stage. Learn a little bit more about this Oregonian.
From: Portland, OR
Occupation: Student at Portland State University
Number of NPC shows & Results: I have competed in three shows this year…
Vancouver Classic: 1st place tall class
Emerald Cup: 1st place tall class
Oregon Ironman: 1st place tall class and overall
It has been an exciting and busy year!
What made you get into the Bikini Division?
I had competed in a figure show prior to bikini and was training for another competition when my trainer suggested I give bikini a try. After the first show I was hooked. I enjoy being on stage and being able to show some personality. I admire the condition and muscularity of a figure competitor, but I like the athletic look of bikini and it better fits my physique.
How often do you workout?
If I am preparing for a show you can see me there twice a day. Cardio and weights in the morning, then back for more cardio in the evening.
What do you say to the peopl who think bikini are just boobs and butts?
It is a physique competition, not spring break…
HAHA that’s a good one.
Goals for competing in bikini?
To earn my pro card and pick up endorsements in the industry.
How has training with IFBB Pro Kristi Tauti helped you?
I could not have done it without Kristi! She is a tough coach and mentor that always expects 110%. It has been an honor to train with her as well as team i-Physique.
Good luck in Vegas! See some of Tori’s past competition photos on bodybuilding.com.
Holy smokes there were a ton of competitors at the 2009 NPC Teen/Collegiate/Masters National Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure & Bikini Championships last weekend. If you competed in the contest or know someone who did and are looking to purchase photos – you can do so here! Check out the full results here.
Tonight the actions gets roll’n in Vegas. The early check-in for the female competitors takes place tonight at Embassy Suites. There is an additional check-in Friday morning from 9 – 10:30am at the same place.
Embassy Suites, Las Vegas
4315 Swenson St., Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
8:00-9:30pm
Early weigh-in women bb
Early height-check for Figure
Early height-check for Bikini
Stay updated via TWITTER @ Hardbodynews
Another Vegas driven tune. This time from the new INXS – Pretty Vegas.
Thumbin’ your way to Vegas, dirty
And Dreamin’ of the other side…
Save your tears and laughter because
It doesn’t matter what you find
It ain’t pretty
After the show
It ain’t pretty when the pretty leaves you
With no place to go.
Lonnie “The Swami” Teper told me I had to check out this gorgeous competitor from California. The Swami has been in the fitness biz since I was in diapers, so when Lonnie says look out for someone he’s usually on the money. Sure enough, he spotted an up-and-coming beauty in Megan Phi. Megan was kind enough to share a bit more about herself as she heads into the NPC USA contest. She’s taken top honors in her class two shows in a row. Will she make it three?
Reside:
Campbell, CA
OCCUPATION:
Personal Trainer and Massage Therapist
YEARS COMPETING IN THE NPC:
This is my first year competing in the NPC. My first show was just a few months ago at the 2009 Contra Costa Classic.
CONTEST HISTORY:
2009 Contra Costa Classic: Class B – 1st
2009 San Jose Championships: Class B – 1st and Overall
What made you decide to compete?
I have always found the sport of figure intriguing and I entertained the idea of training for a competition for a long time. The deciding factor came when my friend Paul introduced me to my coach Kevin Myles. The second I met Kevin, I knew that I wanted to work with him, and we started to train for the Contra Costa Classic, just 10 weeks away, that very day.
What type of diet do you follow?
I don’t function well when I’m hungry so I eat every three hours, religiously. I have my oatmeal and protein or eggs in the morning and have my lean meats and fishes, brown rice and yams, and veggies throughout the day. Oh, and cheat meals of course 😉
Favorite supplements?
I use Kre-Alkalyn and First Order to help me with my workouts. I also take my multivitamins and L-Glutamine every day.
Goals for USAs?
I’m just excited to experience the stage at this level of competition!!
Good Luck Megan!
I did the best I could without having a competitor list for this preview. I’m sure I missed a few names, so if you see someone who should be on the list to look for – post in the comments before. The NPC USA contest is going to be one helluva show. As a reminder you can follow all the action starting tomorrow on our twitter account @hardbodynews. I’ll keep you posted from tomorrow’s check-in, various photo shoots, the prejudging play by play, finals and any hot news that comes down. WHEW! HOLD ON HARDBODY PEEPS! It’s going to be a fun one.
The inaugural NPC Bikini contest caused some controversy in Columbus earlier this year when Kristal Marshall took home second place. Many felt Kristal (myself included) should have won the short class and battled for the overall title. That’s all water under the bridge now. I caught up with the former WWE diva and Price is Right girl to see what she’s been up to and what we can expect to see in Las Vegas. Kristal will be competing at the NPC USA contest this weekend and from my vantage point has all the makings to be a top contender.
What will we see different from the Arnold stage?
Well, when I competed at the Arnold, inn March, it was the first NPC Bikini contest, so nobody really knew what to expect, or what the judges were looking for. I felt like I went into it a bit blind. I sat back and let a few contests go by so that I could see which bodies were awarded and to train accordingly. I am so excited for the USAs! I feel no stress and have no expectations. This time is different in so many ways for me: I have my entire family coming to support, I got an awesome off the rack suit, My body is toned, strong and feminine… I feel so sexy.
Where did you get your suit?
I actually bought my suit at Victoria’s secret for $13! Then I took it to Christine Marsh and had her pucker the booty.
How’s baby Myles Doing?
My son is awesome! He keeps us on our toes. He just turned one and he is non-stop!! He’s my little good luck charm. He was there when I won Bikini America and hopefully he can give mommy some luck at USAs.
You’ve been keeping busy – what are some of the things you’ve been doing besides preparing for this competition?
Wow…busy is an understatement. I have been running our online supplement site Lashleynutrition.com, Training (of course), Starting Cosmetology school, renovating a rental home, being mommy and working on our new baby American Top Team Altitude. ATT is a high level MMA Professional fight gym which has trained some of the best MMA fighters around: Thiago Alves, Thiago Silva, Jeff Monson, Mike Brown, JZ, and of course the undefeated Bobby Lashley who happens to be my favorite ;-). Bobby came up with the idea to open up an ATT in Denver to take advantage of the high altitude…hence ATT Altitude. We are very proud to say that the gym will be up and running early fall of 2009. So come check it out if you are in the Denver Area.
Favorite supplements?
The cool thing about owning our own supplement store is that I can try all the new fun stuff. I really love optimum nutrition’s casein protein, mixed with oats pre-bedtime. I am a big fan of Forever Fit’s whey isolate in cran-razz (yum). Most recently I have feel in love with Recovery X’s Liquid MD. It’s a blue green algae solution, which helps with everything from arthritis to sore muscles.
What advice do you have for mommas out there who are struggling to stay fit much less compete?
With kids it is really tough and you are definitely going to have to make some lifestyle changes. Prioritize: Kids first, your health next. Working out is only 10% of the solution; diet and hydration are the other 90%. As mother we want to put the best foods possible into our kiddos’ tummies right? So put it into yours too! Make little changes to start like: Eat when you first wake up (this spikes your metabolism) and will give you energy. You want to break-the-fast so the speak, Switch to whole grains (pastas, breads, cereals), Switch from traditional salt to ancient volcanic salt (a natural brown organic unbleached salt), Cut out most white colored foods (think about it there are not a lot of natural things that organically are white), sleep when baby sleeps (I had to get that in there). Don’t be so hard on yourself; your baby has to crawl before he walks, so approach your fitness goals the same way. Most importantly stay hydrated.
Thanks Kristal and Good luck in Vegas!
Pro Bodybuilding Cindy Phillips announced today, via her blog, that she is a married woman. Sorry female bodybuilding fans but this Canadian cutie has taken herself off the market. It appears that she’s decided to put her bodybuilding career on hold, indefinitely. Cindy writes, “Hello! its been a while…from this pic you may be able to tell i am in a wedding dress! Yes, i got married!!! It was an amazing wedding, amazing day and i am looking forward to amazing life together.”
Cindy goes on to share:
It is so hard to let go of who you have “been” for so long. I don’t know who i am, if i am not “Cindy Phillips the bodybuilder”. But for me right now in my life i want to be just “Cindy”…. I do not know when or even if i will compete again, i will leave that to the passion that lives within me to decide.”
Congratulations Cindy. It’s sad to see one of the most beautiful, rising stars of the industry step aside but totally understandable. It appears you are happy, healthy and loving life. At the end of the day, if you have happiness and health you’re doing alright.
Thanks to ibarramedia for bringing this to our attention via siouxcountry.com.
Seems appropriate that we show a little love to Vegas the rest of the week. The NPC USA contest will take place this weekend in Sin City and many hardbody faithful will be in attendance. I hadn’t heard this song before last tonight but I’m digg’n Sara Bareilles’ “Vegas”.
Gonna sell my car and go to Vegas
‘Cause somebody told me
That’s where dreams would be
Gonna sell my car and go to Vegas
Finally see my name upon the Palace marquis
It’s that time of the week again Hardbody. Two new wallpapers of the week compliments of Bodybuilding.com. The images are from two recent shoots I did with bikini competitors. New IFBB Pro Bikini Pro Sonya Vecchiarelli and I shot in my studio earlier this month. Sonya was great in front of the camera and don’t be surprised if you see more of her in the coming months. April Curry… you’ve seen her here lately and the image is one of the many cool pics we snapped in Charleston.
April’s Wallpaper of the Week.
Check out FLEXonline.com for a few women to watch this weekend at the NPC USA contest.
The one time Ms. Figure Olympia, Jenny Lynn is looking to get back on top after slipping to fourth at last year’s Olympia. Jenny was in attendance at the Teen Collegiate Master’s Nationals where she was dressed as her IRON SIRENS character. She swapped outfits and dawned the posing to suit. Here’s a sneak peak at what she looks like two weeks out from her return to the stage.
Jenny is already qualified to compete at this year’s Ms. Figure Olympia where she looks to regain her title. In my opinion, she looks better in this photo – two weeks out, then she did at last year’s Olympia. We’ll have to wait and see how she fairs in a couple weeks but it looks like she’s back on track. Thanks to J.M. Manion for providing the above images.
NPC Bikini competitor April Curry continues to heat things up on and off stage. The 21-year old hardbody is featured in a MTV commercial for the “Nivea Bikini Challenge”. Check it out…
Here’s another shot of April in Charleston, SC from out photo shoot. Look for her to be back on the national bikini stage sometime this fall.
Our West Coast man, Ron Avidan, was at the NPC Los Angeles contest covering all the action. The bikini division continues to improve show to show as you can see from the photos at this event. Check out all the contest photos on bodybuilding.com.
If you were a competitor in last weekend’s NPC Jen Hendershott All Women’s Weekend or know someone who was, photos from this even are now available for purchase. You can order prints here.
Show Results:
Fitness A Class
1st Place Karey Akai
2nd Place Brittney Franklin
Fitness B Class
1st Place Morgan Spoon
Masters Figure (One Class)
1st Place Shannon Ditmer
2nd Place Mary Roberti
3rd Place Tammy Miller
4th Place Susie Torres
5th Place Monique Blythe
Figure A Class
1st Place Shannon Ditmer
2nd Place Kerry Akai
3rd Place Susie Torres
4th Place Becki Cohen
5th Place Brittany Franklin
6th Place Mandy Wade
Figure B Class
1st Place Annette Baker
2nd Place Morgan Spoon
3rd Place Regina Lehman
Figure C Class
1st Place Tammy Miller
2nd Place Stephanie Edwards
3rd Place Laurie Yahl
4th Place Yasmin Francis
5th Place Shelley Smythe
6th Place Maria Carson
7th Place Heather Hancort
Bikini Class A
1st Place Chrissy Jarman
2nd Place Jessica Sheppard
Bikini Class B
1st Place Carmen Stewart
2nd Place Jennifer Nielsen
3rd Place Sarah Turner
4th Place Renee Smith
Bikini Class C
1st Place April Curry
2nd Place Jessica Reynolds
3rd Place Traci Abraham
4th Place Ashley Axson
Overall Fitness Winner – Morgan Spoon
Overall Figure Winner – Shannon Ditmer
Overall Bikini Winner – April Curry
Find out more about the show and Jen Hendershott at getphatpromotions.com.
If you haven’t entered, today is your last day to do so for the FLEXonline.com Bikini Model Search. ENTER HERE! The voting will begin August first and the lucky winners will each receive:
– $250 first prize
– $250 gift voucher from Amazon.com
– Free Ed Hardy swimwear
– A profile in FLEX magazine
– A part in the totally hot photo shoot in Las Vegas that will be featured in a future issue of FLEX
This is a great chance to get exposure. Good luck to all the hardbody ladies.
In the fitness industry it’s often about always being better. Some times in life it’s not always about being better than. The lyrics to John Butler Trio’s “Better Than” are a great reminder of that. Have a listen and think about it for a minute.
All you want is
What you can’t have
And if you just look around man
You see you got magic
So just sit back relax
Enjoy it while you still have it
Don’t look back on life man and only see tragic
Because you could be better than that
Don’t let it get the better of you
What could be better than now
Life’s not about what’s better than
You can be better than that
Don’t let it get the better of you
What could be better than now
Life’s not about what’s better
Proof that MMA is gaining further mainstream appeal. What does this have to do with anything related to women? Well, first most women are drawn to UFC fighter Georges St. Pierre’s looks. He was voted the most popular athlete in all of Canada last year. When Gatorade features you in an ad, you’ve officially arrived. As the mainstream media features the world of MMA more, the people in and around it benefit. There are many supplement companies who are marketing to the MMA industry. Most if not all MMA fighters weight train in some fashion. As more MMA fans are converted into supplement taking, gym going people… The fitness industry benefits.
GSP – women want him and guys want to look like him. Hard to dislike the guy.
The first annual NPC Jen Hendershott’s All Women’s Weekend ended Saturday evening in downtown Charleston, SC and after the event I caught up with the promoter. Check out what Jen had to say about promoting her first show, future plans and what is next. Will she be competing in the Olympia? What’s up with the champ?
Vote for Jen’s supplement line in the bodybuilding.com supplement awards.Check photos from the event available for purchase here.
Many of you know Monica Brant as the figure competitor but for those of you who are newer to the industry, check out Monica Brant the fitness competitor. This video shows Monica’s winning routine at the 1998 Ms. Fitness Olympia. The women’s Olympia stage has come a long way in the last 11 years. Check out what the Olympia looked like when it was held in Nice, France.
You can purchase tickets to this year’s Olympia, held in Las Vegas, at mrolympia.com.
The 2009 IFBB Jacksonville Pro Figure will take place on August 1, 2009. It will be the first pro figure event since Memorial Day weekend and sure to be a competitive line-up. As of today here is the official competitor list:
Tivisay Briceno
Krissy Chin
Melody Clete
Alicia Harris
Alana Hernandez
Jacqui Jarrett
Kandice Keene
Jenny Lynn
Amanda Merinelli
Petra Metrl
Sandra Simmons
Amy Stephen
Erin Stern
Sabrina Taylor-Gibson
Siobhan Tewari
DJ Wallis
Tessa Wood-Thomes
I know there will be a few more names added to this list so check back for a complete list as the competition nears closer. Can Jenny Lynn, the past Ms. Figure Olympia, return to the top spot or will some one be able to beat her? Valerie Waugaman defeated her at the Colorado Pro show…Anything is possible.
Here’s something you rarely see in competition.
Elissa Schlichter won the Masters 45+ Figure and qualified for IFBB Pro status. The Masters 35 overall comparisons had yet to take place. Elissa was eligible to compete in the Masters 35 Overall Figure, by winning the Masters 35 Figure C Class. Elissa showed what true class is all about, since she had already qualified she voluntarily took herself out of the Masters 35 Overall contest which gave someone else the chance to earn their pro card. There was no gaurantee that she would have won the second overall title but none-the-less a classy move on her part.
Lonnie “The Swami” Teper poses with the NPC Los Angeles bikini champ Amanda Latona. Look for Amanda to heat up the Vegas stage this weekend at the NPC USA contest. LT will be at the mic once again to introduce the competitors on Saturday night.
Bikini Competitors don’t work out? Phhh… I present Exibit A from Los Angles…Amanda Latona’s guns. Do those look like the arms of a bikini competitor who doesn’t work out?
Here’s a look at a HARDBODY’s trip to the grocery store. This cart belongs to one of our favorite shorties in the pro ranks, Andrea Watson. Andrea is recovering from her appendix surgery and back on her feet. Does your trip the store look like this?
This doesn’t necessarily apply to the women here but it is a good reminder to pay attention to the details of the entry form. Ben was actually 20 at last weekend’s competition which rendered him ineligible for the contest. The following press release was issued by NPC President Jim Manion regarding the issue:
Due to age ineligibility Benjamin Loehrer has been declared ineligible as the 2009 NPC Teenage National Light-Heavyweight & Overall winner. Overall runner-up Uriah McGee will be awarded the Overall title & also the trip to Los Angeles for the Flex Magazine featured article & photo shoot. Also, all competitors in the Light-Heavyweight class will now move up a placing.
Jim Manion
NPC President
Props to Jim Manion and promoter Gary Udit for addressing the situation before it was blown out of proportion online.
Rob Thomas and Santana team up for “Smooth”. Get your groove on this Monday morning Hardbodies.
And if you said this life ain’t good enough
I would give my world to lift you up
I could change my life to better suit your mood
‘Cause you’re so smooth
Breaking Benjamin’s “Away” is a pretty kick’n tune. Crank it up.
I see you
Cause you won’t get out of my way
I hear you
Cause you won’t quit screaming my name
I feel you
Cause you won’t stop touching my skin
I need you
They’re coming to take you away
Congratulations to Mary Ann Newman for taking home the second figure pro card last night. Mary Ann has battled her way through the NPC ranks and last night everything came together. She shared on her facebook…
“so excited to be an offical pro figure athlete. I am on cloud nine, being the Masters National figure winner…. Thanks to you all for my well wishes and a special thanks goes out to my wonderful husband for helping me get there.”
Nice work and welcome to the pros!
Congratulations to Amanda Latona for winning the overall bikini title at the NPC Los Angeles. Amanda now heads into the NPC USAs with a big win under her bikini belt. Congrats Amanda!
