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news, tidbits and more uncovering the world of women's bodybuilding, fitness, figure and female muscle.

Nikki Perry set to make her pro debut in 2018

Wednesday, November 15, 2017 4:10 PM Genex Magazine

You may remember seeing pics of Nikki Perry like this one at Nationals in 2012, when she placed second in the heavyweights behind overall winner Juanita Blaino (more pics from the show here). At the time she was working with Chad Nicholls – Kim Chizevsky’s husband and trainer – who tweeted that she was one of the few female bodybuilders that had the specific look that he liked. Five years later, after a series of ups and downs, Nikki is finally set to make her pro debut in 2018. “I’m excited – and nervous!” she says.

A 40 year-old physical therapist from New Jersey, Nikki turned pro by winning the heavyweight and overall at Masters in 2015. After relocating to Las Vegas, she had planned to make her pro debut this year but in February she badly hurt her back. For weeks she couldn’t sit down and began to think she would never be able to train again, let alone compete. “That experience changed my perspective on life completely,” she says. But she gradually recovered and was able to get back to intense training and put the size she had lost back on. She now plans do make her pro debut at either the Omaha or Chicago Pro next year. After everything she has been through, we can’t wait to see her onstage and think she is going to do great as a pro!

Juanita's Tampa disaster

Thursday, August 15, 2013 5:47 PM Genex Magazine

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Juanita Blaino says she is excited to make her Ms. Olympia debut next month – despite the disaster she had at the Tampa Pro last weekend. The 44 year-old Cook County cop was one of the favorites going in to the show after winning the overall at Nationals last year (left) and placing second on her pro debut in her hometown in July. She says that her prep went well and that, the morning of the show, she looked as good as she did in Chicago. “I was ready!” she says. But just as she was leaving her hotel room to go to pre-judging, her fingers and toes started to cramp and she took magnesium to combat it. She thinks that was probably the reason her body suddenly “fell apart”. When she didn’t make the second callout, she “knew something had to be wrong”.

A lot of people at the show thought Juanita should have made top 10 on the basis of her size and shape alone – it seemed like they were judging her against her previous condition rather than the other competitors onstage. But although she didn’t place, she already had enough points from placing second in Chicago to qualify for the O regardless of what happened in Tampa – though she didn’t realize that until after the show. “Had I known that I already qualified, I would not have done Tampa”, she says. “I didn't need a first place win or the money – I work for a living!” But even though it turns out she competed unnecessarily, she says she has no regrets. “I learned a few lessons from Tampa, so it was worth it!” she says. Next up: the Olympia in Vegas on 27 September. “I’m going to get to live my dream of being on the O stage!” she says.

Helle's insane legs at 6 weeks out

Sunday, June 30, 2013 12:32 PM Genex Magazine

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Helle Nielsen sent us this insane pic of her legs at 6 weeks out from the Tampa Pro. The 37 year-old who first exploded onto the scene exactly 10 years ago when she won the 2003 Jan Tana on her pro debut relocated from Copenhagen, Denmark, to LA last year. She now trains at Gold's in Venice, where she has been using all the equipment to fill out the gaps in her physique and especially to hit her back from every possible angle. "I've leaned so much since I moved to LA", she says.

At 5-foot-5, Helle is currently at around 175 pounds but says she isn't sure what she will weigh onstage in Tampa on August 9. "I've been too weight fixated in the past", she says. "This time I want to focus on the look rather than my weight." From the pics we've seen, she definitely looks like she is ahead of schedule. "Usually I'd be flat as a pancake by now" she says. "One thing is for sure: I'll be bigger, rounder and harder than ever."

It sounds as if there is going to be a stacked line-up of female bodybuilders in Tampa - the last chance to qualify for the Ms. O in September. But Helle says she is not thinking about who she might be onstage with. "I don't even know who's competing", she says. She is also not worried about the rumors that, after the Arnold dropped women's bodybuilding, this might be the last Ms. Olympia. "I don't believe that", she says. "But I do believe we need a new ambassador for our sport to lift it and blow some air into it."

Shannon "bringing it all" to the USA

Friday, February 15, 2013 7:58 PM Genex Magazine

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There is a lot of buzz right now about 21 year-old national-level female bodybuilder Shannon Courtney, who is about to start her prep for the USA in Vegas in July. "I am so excited for this prep", she tells us. "I am bringing it all to the USA!" California girl Shannon placed third in the light-heavyweights at the USA last year on her national-level debut (left). At 5-foot-2 and 130 pounds onstage, she looked incredible. What made it even more impressive was that she turned 21 just a couple of weeks before the USA (she had her first legal margarita after the show!). In his contest report, women's bodybuilding historian Steve Wennerstrom said she had "beautifully shaped thighs" and predicted a big future for her. Since the show, Shannon has been focusing on bringing up her upper body to match her legs and especially on lower lats and biceps. She says she's had her "best off-season yet" and thinks she'll be around 138-140 pounds onstage this time. Her role models in bodybuilding are Anne Freitas and Debi Laszewski. For more on Shannon check out her facebook fan page - she describes her interests as "moving heavy ass weight!" - and follow her on twitter.

Helle hits the "Mecca"

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 6:11 AM Genex Magazine

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Helle Nielsen tells us she is happily settled in LA after relocating from her native Denmark in October. “I love it!” she says. “20 degrees, a blue sky every day – it’s just great to be here!” Helle lives two minutes away from Gold’s in Venice where she now trains. “It’s really motivating because there’s a lot of great athletes and the best trainers in the world”, she says. The woman who Steve Wennerstrom called “Denmark's queen of density” plans to compete at the Tampa Pro in August. Last year she placed 9th at the Europa, 2nd at the Chicago Pro and 12th at the Olympia – the first time she had ever done 3 shows in a year. “It was hard”, she says. She says she was disappointed with her placing at the O. “I didn’t achieve the look I wanted”, she says. After taking seven weeks off, she started training again after the holidays. Currently at around 185 pounds, the 37 year-old is focused on getting more depth and detail into her back and improving her lower traps to compete with Ms. O Iris Kyle. She is using all the different machines at Gold’s to hit her back from different angles: “I’m like a kid in a candy store!”

Lisa Giesbrecht on track for the 2012 Ms Olympia!

Thursday, September 27, 2012 2:45 PM genex magazine

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Here's Lisa Giesbrecht earlier today before her athlete checkin. She's looking lean and ready to hit the stage tomorrow!

2012 NPC USAs!

Sunday, July 08, 2012 11:44 AM genex magazine

The 2012 NPC USAs is coming up later this month and we already know of a ton of great athletes that'll be competing. Check out the flyer and make sure to get your tickets, or if you can't make it, we'll be posting updates from the weekend online as well. We talked to promoter Jon Lindsay yesterday and he told us it'll be one of the largest fields ever so expect some amazing new talent to be discovered in the desert!

Katka: bodybuilding or physique?

Sunday, June 10, 2012 2:27 PM Genex Magazine

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Five months after Katka Kyptova posted on her blog that she planned to compete in the new women’s physique division, she tells us she is still dreaming of competing as a bodybuilder and may not be done yet after all. "I love bodybuilding!" she says. She has applied for a pro card in physique but says she is also thinking of competing as a bodybuilder at the Arnold Amateur Europe in Madrid in October. At 5-foot-5, she now weighs around 170 pounds – around 10 pounds less than when she was prepping for the Arnold – and is enjoying the off-season. But she says that although likes being a little smaller than she was last year, she is still thinking about competing with the big girls. She says that, when she looks at photos of herself in contest shape last year, she can’t imagine losing the size she has taken so long to develop. “I see 12 years of hard work,” she says. “I don’t want to lose it!”

Brigita Brezovac focuses on Ms. O

Monday, April 16, 2012 2:23 AM Genex Magazine

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Brigita Brezovac tells us she is determined to come in in great shape at the Ms. O in September after a six-month off-season that will give her time to recover and improve. The Slovenian sensation says she was disappointed with her condition at the Arnold, where she placed sixth. “My body wanted to rest but I forced it to do another contest”, she says. The 32 year-old pro did three shows in 2011, culminating in third place at the Ms. O – an incredible achievement for a sophomore pro. “I’m still like, ‘Omigod, really? Me?’ For me, placing behind two legends – Iris and Yaxeni – was like winning the Olympia.” Brigita is now relaxing and letting her body recuperate before she goes into contest prep again in the summer. She plans to prep for the Ms. O in Australia, where she is going to spend three months from June to September. At 5-foot-4, she is now around 160 pounds and plans to compete in Vegas at around 145. We can't wait to see how she looks onstage!

Herman Cain and female bodybuilder Kimberly Vay

Thursday, December 01, 2011 10:23 AM genex magazine

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We were surprised to see more Herman Cain coverage but this time with someone we had just met at the 2011 NPC Nationals in Miami, female bodybuilder Kimberly Vay. It's probably crazy for her now with even Fox News identifying her and mixing her up in the Herman Cain craziness.

More photos of Kimberly from Nationals are posted here:

http://tour.ftvideo.com/showgal.php?g=content/genex/contests/2011/Nationals/8544/7_1&s=6

Female Bodybuilder Kashma Maharaj

Thursday, November 24, 2011 1:59 AM genex magazine

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We shot a lot of video footage with Kashma Maharaj down in South Beach during the 2011 NPC Nationals. She looks amazing and we expect you'll appreciate her physique as well. Her upper body reminds us of Kim Perez in the way that she packs on the muscle – what do you think?

Carmen Tocheniuk's new look

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 9:43 AM genex magazine

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Female Bodybuilder Carmen Tocheniuk had kept a low profile going into the 2011 Canadian Nationals but we caught up with her after the show to shoot. Here's a sneak peek!

More at: http://tour.ftvideo.com/showgal.php?g=groups/4895/12_1&s=51

Lisa Giesbrecht fresh off her Masters Overall and turning pro

Monday, October 17, 2011 10:23 PM genex magazine

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Here's a peek at Lisa who's now an IFBB Pro bodybuilder. She won the Masters Overall at the 2011 Canadian Bodybuilding Nationals recently and we shot with her the morning after where she was still crazily vascular – look for the photos and video soon!

You can see more of Lisa on the website: http://tour.ftvideo.com/showgal.php?g=groups/6866/12_1&s=51