Mindi O'Brien to Make Fitness Return at Toronto Pro Supershow!

As announced on Muscle Insider (http://www.muscle-insider.com/content/mindi-obrien-compete-toronto-pro-supershow) Siouxcountry (http://www.siouxcountry.com/showthread.php?t=15891), IFBB Pro Mindi O'Brien is returning to the fitness stage for the first time since the 2009 Olympia! And what better way to make her fitness comeback than at in her home country of Canada at the IFBB Tornoto Pro Supershow on June 17-18! For those that don't know, Mindi reinjured her back by cracking her L4-5 vertebra during the 2009 Fitness Olympia, and recently returned to the stage for a bit as a figure competitor. Now this summer, she will be returning to her home in fitness, and it's only fitting that she does it in front of her friends, family, and fellow competitors. We at Save Women's Fitness Now wish Mindi nothing but the best of luck to her in her fitness return!

Mindi from 2008 Olympia
Photo credit: Muscular Development

Here a video of her 2009 Arnold routine, by Team Andro:

Regaine Nails a Victory in Germany (2011 FIBO Power Pro Fitness Results)

The clear favorite going into this competition was Tanji Johnson, but due to passport problems, she could not make it to Germany, leaving Camala Rodriquez as frontrunner for the FIBO Power Pro Fitness, just coming off of a win the past weekend in New York. But two other fitness competitors had different ideas in mind. Regaine Da Silva emerged from the pact to pull off a big victory, her first pro win (I think) of her career, giving her big momentum heading into this year's Olympia and showing that she's no fluke in fitness. Diana Monteiro, in her pro debut, took runner-up honors and will join Regaine and Camala (who placed 3rd) in the 2011 Fitness Olympia. A great showing of talent overseas, and everyone that competed needs to be commented for their efforts. Congrats to you all!

RESULTS:
1. Regiane DaSilva
2. Diana Monteiro
3. Camala Rodriguez
4. Liudmila Somkina
5. Minna Pajulahti
6. Stacy McDowell
7. Ryall Graber-Vasani

SCORECARD:

Camala Shines in the Big Apple (2011 IFBB New York Fitness Results)

Congrats to Camala Rodriquez on winning the IFBB New York Pro Fitness this past weekend. She was among the favorites to win the event, and she didn't disappoint, nailing a perfect score in the physique round and was first in the routine round. Bethany Wagner continued her accent in the fitness rankings with a 2nd place finish and Michelle Blank make the most of her debut with a great 3rd place finish, thus putting her in the 2011 Fitness Olympia, along with Camala and Bethany. Save Fitness Now blog contributor and fan page administrator Stacy Wright made a huge splash as well in her pro debut with first callout in the physique round and an entertaining routine in the routine round. Victoria Larvie, fellow fan page administrator, placed 11th in a tough field of competitors. We at Save Women's Fitness Now are extremely proud of every single fitness competitor, especially the turnout for the pros this year. It's clear that women's pro fitness is alive and well in the Big Apple! :)

IFBB New York Pro Fitness Results:
1. Camala Rodriguez
2. Bethany Wagner
3. Michelle Blank
4. Kristina Rojas
5. Jodi Boam
6. Stacy Wright
7. Carrie Simmons
8. Nicole Duncan
9. Hollie Stewart
10. Sylvia Tremblay
11. Victoria Larvie
12. Allison Ethier
13. Ryall Garber-Vasani
14. Tamee Marie
15. Stacy McDowell
16. Venus Nguyen
17. Melissa Frederick

NPC Fitness Spotlight for April 2011: Meredith Miller

This month's NPC Fitness Spotlight belongs to Meredith Miller!

Photo Credit: Muscular Development

Meredith Miller is a fitness competitor from Ohio. Like many competitors, she works a very active job. She is a competitive gymnastics coach for Integrity Gymnastics in Plain City, Ohio, and also dopes personal training on the side. She loves dogs, in fact she has two dogs by the name of Pudd and Elvis. At times, they would actually sleep on the bed while she would sleep on the couch! No, I'm not making this up!

With her physique, she could have easily done figure, but chose to go the fitness route mainly due to her gymnastic background and her love for performing on stage. She's an international competitive gymnast.

Meredith has consistently placed in the top 3 in her National competitions thus far, with a top five finish at the Arnold Amateur this year. It wouldn't surprise us to see her nail that coveted pro card and compete with the elite ladies of the IFBB.

Photo credit: Fitness Rx Magazine

COMPETITIVE HISTORY

2011 Arnold Amateur, Fitness Tall Class (5th)
2010 IFBB North American Championships, Fitness Class B - Fitness (2nd)
2010 Team Universe, Fitness Tall (3rd)
2010 Jr National Championships, Fitness Class C (3rd)
2009 Arnold Amateur, Fitness Med Class
2007 NPC Ohio State Overall Fitness Champion

For more on Meredith, check out her interview with Physiqueness here.

IFBB Fitness Spotlight for April 2011: Oksana Grishina

This month's IFBB Fitness Spotlight goes to one of the most amazing fitness competitors our there today, Oksana Grishina!

Photo credit: Muscular Development

There are fitness competitors....and there are fitness ARTISTS. When one thinks of Oksana Grishina, you can't help but think of the team "artist". In every fitness competition she's ever entered, she's entered as a fan favorite. People anxiously await her turn to the stage at every competition she's ever entered. Very few competitors can grab the attention of the audience like Oksana. On top of her jaw-dropping routines, she has an incredibly built physique to go along with her routines, making her one of the most complete fitness competitors in the world today.

Oksana is from Kaliningrad, Russia. When her father was assigned to Riga, Latvia, she took gymnastics at an early age by her mother as a way to unleash her energy. It worked and she was hooked on it ever since. Fitness was and is a big part of her life. She went a University in Kaliningrad and earned a degree as a specialist in Physical Training and Sports. During that time, she organized her own ballet entitled “Antares”.  I also worked as a choreographer with children at the Tchaikovsky School of Music and Art in Kaliningrad.

At that time, there were no gyms in Kaliningrad. When the first gym opened in 2002, a friend suggested that she work as a fitness and aerobics instructor. From there, trainers mentioned that she should try fitness. It didn't take long to see that fitness competitions were for her. In 2005 and 2006, Oksana was awarded the title of “Best Non-Olympic Sportswoman of the Year” in the Kaliningrad Region, while winning fitness competitions on the international stage at the European and World Championships, finally earning her IFBB pro card to compete in the 2007 Olympia.

She now lives in the United States for over three years and now live in California. She's still a personal trainer, fitness consultant and fitness model, as well as play the piano and act in her spare time, which has been a big part of her fitness routines. It's only a matter of time before the judges wake up and realize how amazing of a talent they have with Oksana.

 

Photo credit: Fitness Rx Magazine

COMPETITION HISTORY
1993 “Master of Sports of Russia” in Rhythmic Gymnastics
2000 Kaliningrad State University Diploma DVS, Specialist in Physical Training and sports; Teacher
2004 “Master of Sports of Russia” in Bodybuilding
2004 “Master of Sports of Russia of International Class” in Bodybuilding
2004-6 Russian Championship, Overall Fitness Champion
2005-6 Awarded Best Non-Olympic Sportswoman of the Year in the Kaliningrad Region
2005 European Championship, Overall Fitness Champion
2006 World Championship, Overall Fitness Champion
2007 All Star Pro Fitness, 3rd Place
2007 Europa Super Show, Fitness, 16th Place
2007 IFBB Olympia, Fitness, 7th Place
2008 New York Pro Fitness Classic, Fitness, 7th Place
2008 Arnold Classic, Fitness, 10th Place
2009 Arnold Classic, Fitness, 9th Place
2010 Phoenix Pro, Fitness, 4th Place
2010 Arnold Classic, Fitness, 5th Place
2010 IFBB Olympia, Fitness Division, 5th Place
2011 Arhold Classic, Fitness, 8th Place

For more on Oksana, go to her website at http://www.oksanagrishina.com.