Wednesday, February 9, 2011

2011 Arnold Amateur Competitors List (Fitness Division)

The 2011 Arnold Amateur list has been released. Here's the list of fitness competitors that will compete at the Arnold Amateur. There are 10 competitors in the short class and eight competitors in the tall class. Congrats to everyone that's on the list (in ALL divisions)! :)

Fitness Short Class (10)
Diana Paula Monteiro Noronha de Alemida (Brazil)
Maria Laura Cervelli (Argentina)
Samantha Kinnish (Australia)
Gloria Mohninger (Calgary, Canada)
Guryeva Olga (Russia)
Dawn Scholey (United Kingdom)
Stephanie Yu (Rochester Hills, Mich.)
Toni Wheeler (Morehead, Ky.)
Shalimar Wilder (Charleston, W.V.)
Paula Williams-Gulman (Hayden Lake, Idaho)

Fitness Tall Class (8)
Valeria Cristiane Aprobato (Brazil)
Angela Beavers (Smyrna, Ga.)
Tiina Kasvi (Finland)
Jayla McDermott (Trophy Club, Texas)
Meredith Miller (Westerville, Ohio)
Deborah Sizemore (Charleston, W.V.)
Czine Szilvia (Hungary)
Dvortsova Tatiana (Russia)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

NPC Fitness Spotlight for February 2011: Shelly Howard

This month's NPC Fitness Spotlight goes to figure competitor turned fitness competitor, Shelly Howard!

Photo credit: Muscular Development


Shelly is one of those individuals who lives and breathes the fitness lifestyle. In 1992, she began helping overweight individuals pass their Physical Readiness Tests (PRT) while serving in the U.S. Navy. After 4 years in the Navy, she ended up becoming a personal trainer at Gold's Gym Hawaii. After marriage, she was hired as Fitness Specialist at the Naval Hospital, where she helped active duty and post-rehab patients get back on the road to fitness after injury or illness.

When she moved to Japan for a while, that's when the fitness bug kicked in. She's one of the few competitors to have competed in fitness, figure, AND women's bodybuilding. In addition to competing, she's a personal trainer and fitness coach. She's also coached a few figure competitors here and there as well. She's recently returned to fitness after competing in figure for a while. Fitness is where she can showcase her physique a bit better, as she tends to come in a bit harder than what is preferred in figure these days. Should she continue to stay in fitness, expect her to make a major run in attaining that exclusive pro card that few have been able to earn.

Photo credit: Muscular Development


COMPETITION HISTORY
2010 4th Place Fitness, Class B, IFBB North Americans
2010 2nd Place Fitness Over 5'3", 3rd Place Masters Figure 40+ Tall, Emerald Cup

2009 10th place Figure Class F, 3rd Place Masters Figure, Class D, IFBB North Americans

2008 6th place Tall Class, NPC Nationals, Atlanta GA
2008 4th place Tall Class, NPC Jr USAs, Charleston SC
2008 1st place Tall Class, NPC Metrolina

2007 Figure Nationals, New York, tied for 16th
2007 Jr Nationals, Chicago, IL, tied for 16th

2005 3rd place Masters Figure Tall, North Americans, Cleveland OH
2005 5th place Figure Tall, Body Rock, Fairfax VA

2004 8th place Figure Tall, North Americans, Cleveland OH
2004 11th place Figure Tall, Junior Nationals, Chicago IL

2003 5th place Figure Tall, Sacramento Championships, Sacramento CA

2002 5th place Figure Tall, Emerald Cup, Bellevue WA

2001 1st place Fitness Tall and Overall, Okinawa Japan

2000 2nd place Bodybuilding, Okinawa Japan

1999 Top 15, Galaxy Competition, Venice Beach CA
1999 Bodybuilding, Springdale MD

1996 Galaxy Competition, Venice Beach CA

For more on Shelly, visit her website at http://www.trainingbyshelly.com/index.htm.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

IFBB Fitness Spotlight for February 2011: Tanji Johnson

This month's IFBB Fitness Spotlight belongs to one of the best competitors in the world today, Tanji Johnson!

Photo credit: Iron Bizz
When you think of IFBB Fitness, you can't help but think about Tanji. Her passion for the sport is second to none, a true ambassador to the sport. She's always been an athletic person, competing in track and field and being captain of the dance team in high school and serving for her country as part of the United States Air Force Academy. She ended up graduating from the Academy with a B.S. in Humanities and a commission as an Air Force officer.

She started to compete in 1998, so she's been doing this for quite a while. This year will mark her making this year her 13 year in fitness, with her being a IFBB pro for 10 years! She has competed in numerous Arnold and Olympias, with last year being the closest she's ever been to winning the Fitness Olympia title. In addition to competing in fitness, she has formed a team and movement called Tanji Johnson's Save Fitness. She created this in hopes of helping resurrecting the fitness division, by holding seminars and training camps. She even went on to showcase her athletic prowess on national television, as she appeared on NBC's American Gladiators as "Stealth", who was short on words but not on talent. While she has accomplished a LOT in her career, I feel that the best is yet to come for this amazing individual.



Photo credit: Rebodybuilding.com

COMPETITION HISTORY:
2010 Fitness Olympia 2nd
2010 New York Pro Fitness 1st (6th Pro win)
2010 Fitness International 3th
2010 Arizona Pro Fitness 2nd
2009 Fitness Olympia 2nd
2009 Atlantic City Pro 2nd
2009 Fitness International 10th
2008 Fitness Olympia 5th
2007 Fitness Olympia 4th
2007 Europa Pro Fitness 2nd
2007 All Star Pro Fitness 1st (5th Pro win)
2007 Fitness International 4th
2006 Fitness Olympia 4th
2006 Europa Pro Fitness 1st (4th Pro win)
2006 All Star Pro Fitness 1st (3rd Pro win)
2005 Emerald Cup 1st (2nd Pro win)
2004 Fitness Olympia 8th
2004 Fitness International 9th
2002 Jan Tana Fitness Classic 2nd
2002 Toronto Fitness Classic 1st (First Pro Win)

For more on Tanji, visit her official website at http://tanjijohnson.com/OfficialSite/ and her Save Fitness site at http://www.savefitness.net/.