he official schedule has not been released yet for 2011, but as far as things go for 2011, fitness might have a smaller presence in 2011 than in 2010 and in previous years. There's been a pretty lengthy discussion on Siouxcountry about this.
The shows that will take place next year are:
Fitness International (invite only)
New York Pro Fitness (open to anyone)
Canada show
Germany show
Olympia (invite only)
Chicago (open to anyone but qualifies for 2012)
Ft Lauderdale (open to anyone but qualifies for 2012)
So for Americans, your options are far less than they've ever been,unless you want to travel to Canada or Germany. IFBB Fitness competitors, if you don't want your sport to die out, I'd suggest you come out in big numbers at these shows. For most of you, the only main option is the New York Pro Fitness. As I've said over and over and over, I LOVE the fitness division to death. This division is what led me to the complete world of female muscle in the first place.
I can preach about this all day, but it doesn't mean a thing unless you stand up for your own division and compete! Promoters put out a lot of money to run shows, and when few enter to compete, the promoters feel like they wasted their money. That's a big reason why the Phoenix Pro (among others) will NOT be bringing back fitness next year; it's not worth the time. PLEASE prove them wrong and come out in strong numbers at the next few shows.
The fans and supporters of this division can only do so much. They are stepping up and standing up for the fitness division; it's time for the competitors to do the same...while they have a division to compete in.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Changes to IFBB and NPC Fitness
There are some changes being made into the fitness division beginning for the IFBB in a few short weeks for the NPC next year. Personally I think they are for the better, and I'll explain why below the official advisory notes (from IFBBPro.com)
CHANGES TO NPC FITNESS:
Beginning in 2011, the emphasis in Women’s Fitness will be the fitness routine and will be scored as 1/3 on Physique/2-Piece Swimsuit and 2/3 on the 2 Minute Fitness Routine. The 2 Minute Fitness Routine scores will be doubled. The mandatory movements within the routine, in no specific order, in Women’s Fitness are as follows:
* Push Up (of any kind)
* High Kicks
* Straddle Hold
* Side Split
The Physique/2-Piece Swimsuit round will be judged during prejudging and the 2 Minute Fitness Routine will be performed and scored during finals. It is suggested that finals begin with the 2 Minute Fitness Routine.
All trophies should be awarded to Fitness athletes in their routine outfits.
The Overall comparison will happen immediately after all awards for each height class are given out.
For the Overall comparison, Fitness athletes will be judged wearing their routine outfits.
Source: http://www.npcnewsonline.com/news_2010BOGnotes.cfm
Honestly, I think it's great that the fitness division has mandatory moves again and I also agree that the majority of the fitness judging needs to be from the routine, yet it doesn't make the physique round seems unneeded at the same time. Having a routine is a major part of fitness, so having it count more makes a lot of sense. Bottom line, you can have a VERY nice physique, but if you're routine isn't up to snuff, you could be on the outside of the top 5 easy. We'll see this take affect at the Ft. Lauderdale Cup on November 20th and in the NPC next year.
Good luck to all fitness competitors with these new changes! :)
CHANGES TO NPC FITNESS:
Beginning in 2011, the emphasis in Women’s Fitness will be the fitness routine and will be scored as 1/3 on Physique/2-Piece Swimsuit and 2/3 on the 2 Minute Fitness Routine. The 2 Minute Fitness Routine scores will be doubled. The mandatory movements within the routine, in no specific order, in Women’s Fitness are as follows:
* Push Up (of any kind)
* High Kicks
* Straddle Hold
* Side Split
The Physique/2-Piece Swimsuit round will be judged during prejudging and the 2 Minute Fitness Routine will be performed and scored during finals. It is suggested that finals begin with the 2 Minute Fitness Routine.
All trophies should be awarded to Fitness athletes in their routine outfits.
The Overall comparison will happen immediately after all awards for each height class are given out.
For the Overall comparison, Fitness athletes will be judged wearing their routine outfits.
Source: http://www.npcnewsonline.com/news_2010BOGnotes.cfm
Honestly, I think it's great that the fitness division has mandatory moves again and I also agree that the majority of the fitness judging needs to be from the routine, yet it doesn't make the physique round seems unneeded at the same time. Having a routine is a major part of fitness, so having it count more makes a lot of sense. Bottom line, you can have a VERY nice physique, but if you're routine isn't up to snuff, you could be on the outside of the top 5 easy. We'll see this take affect at the Ft. Lauderdale Cup on November 20th and in the NPC next year.
Good luck to all fitness competitors with these new changes! :)
Monday, November 1, 2010
NPC Fitness Spotlight for November 2010: Viko Newman
Save Women's Fitness Now is kicking off our monthly NPC Fitness Spotlight with someone who I feel will be a future IFBB Fitness Pro: Viko Newman!
Viko is a NPC Fitness Competitor from Olympia, Washington. In 1983 after her high school graduation, she went to live with her father in Japan for a while. For those wondering, yes, she is of Japanese decent. She met my husband Mark there who was in the US Air Force, who taught her how to work out. She was training in a gym on base with all guys. Being the only female, she was taught how to lift heavy and eat heavy int he process. I was soon squatting 200 and benching 145. She was a pretty strong individual at the time (she still is, but in a different way) After gaining a good deal of weight (not all of it was muscle), she decided that the look was not her thing and decided to find a way to obtain a "fitness" look. Needless to say, that look was better for her in the long run.
She started to compete when she turned 30 years old. Hey, you're never too old to start, as long as you are committed. She entered a local fitness show in Florida and won in fitness and in bodybuilding, in addition to wining in benching the most reps with ½ my weight. For that, she did 93 reps with 60 lbs! 2nd place girl only got 71 reps! From there, it was the beginning of more and more shows.
In her quest to becoming a pro, she is a part of IFBB Pro Tanji Johnson's Save Fitness team, which Tanji put together to help reignite the fitness division. With Tanji by her side, and the constant improvements that Viko has been making on her routines and physique, it's only a matter of time before Viko gets that rightful IFBB Pro card and compete with her idols. Who knows, we might see the teacher and the pupil share the stage at a future Arnold and Olympia soon!
COMPETITION HISTORY:
For more on Viko, check out her interview with World Physique at http://www.worldphysique.com/vikonewmaninterview.html?reloaded=true
 |
| Photo credit: Muscular Development |
She started to compete when she turned 30 years old. Hey, you're never too old to start, as long as you are committed. She entered a local fitness show in Florida and won in fitness and in bodybuilding, in addition to wining in benching the most reps with ½ my weight. For that, she did 93 reps with 60 lbs! 2nd place girl only got 71 reps! From there, it was the beginning of more and more shows.
In her quest to becoming a pro, she is a part of IFBB Pro Tanji Johnson's Save Fitness team, which Tanji put together to help reignite the fitness division. With Tanji by her side, and the constant improvements that Viko has been making on her routines and physique, it's only a matter of time before Viko gets that rightful IFBB Pro card and compete with her idols. Who knows, we might see the teacher and the pupil share the stage at a future Arnold and Olympia soon!
 |
| Photo credit: Muscular Development |
COMPETITION HISTORY:
- 2010 NPC Junior USA Bodybuilding Championships, Fitness Medium Class (3rd)
- 2010 Team Universe, Fitness Medium (5th)
- 2010 Emerald Cup, Figure: 5'3" to 5'4" (4th), Overall Fitness Winner, Fitness > 5'3" (1st)
- 2009 Team Universe, Fitness Medium Class (5th)
- 2009 Washington State, Figure Overall, Fitness (1st), Figure Short Class (1st)
- 2007 Emerald Cup, Fitness Class B (2nd), Figure Class C (4th)
For more on Viko, check out her interview with World Physique at http://www.worldphysique.com/vikonewmaninterview.html?reloaded=true
IFBB Fitness Spotlight for November 2010: Stacy Wright
It's time to kick off the monthly IFBB Fitness Spotlight, and it's an honor to announce that this special blog feature will begin with regular blog contributor, Stacy Wright! :)
Stacy Wright is an IFBB Fitness competitor from Charleston, West Virginia. She has competed ever since 2005 during the amateur circuit in hopes of becoming an IFBB Fitness Pro.
Sports has been her thing for quite some time, especially during high school. She was part of the varsity cheerleading team in high school during her senior year. They would practice their cheers in the morning and hit the weights in the afternoon. From that point on, the weights became her best friends. She would end up taking her lifting hobby one step further a year later in college. During this time, she would end up meeting her soon-to-be husband Andrew. She would get married in 2004, and started to compete a year later.
Stacy started off doing Fitness America shows (the ones they USED to show on ESPN) for a couple of years. She started to see others come in better than her and decided to step her game up in a big way and brought in a tighter, more defined physique and harder routines, and in 2007, it showed as she became a favorite in the NPC fitness circuit. In 2010, at the NPC Team Universe, her journey to the pro rankings came to fruition when she not only won the Fitness Tall class, but she won the overall fitness title as well. This would earn her the prestigious pro card and a spot among the pros she's emulated and aspired to be for years. I have a feeling she's going to do great as an IFBB Fitness Pro.
COMPETITION HISTORY (From latest to first):
For more on Stacy, go to her website at http://www.stacywright.net/index.htm. From there you can find out more about Stacy and Andrew.
 |
| Photo credit: Bodybuilding.com |
Stacy Wright is an IFBB Fitness competitor from Charleston, West Virginia. She has competed ever since 2005 during the amateur circuit in hopes of becoming an IFBB Fitness Pro.
Sports has been her thing for quite some time, especially during high school. She was part of the varsity cheerleading team in high school during her senior year. They would practice their cheers in the morning and hit the weights in the afternoon. From that point on, the weights became her best friends. She would end up taking her lifting hobby one step further a year later in college. During this time, she would end up meeting her soon-to-be husband Andrew. She would get married in 2004, and started to compete a year later.
Stacy started off doing Fitness America shows (the ones they USED to show on ESPN) for a couple of years. She started to see others come in better than her and decided to step her game up in a big way and brought in a tighter, more defined physique and harder routines, and in 2007, it showed as she became a favorite in the NPC fitness circuit. In 2010, at the NPC Team Universe, her journey to the pro rankings came to fruition when she not only won the Fitness Tall class, but she won the overall fitness title as well. This would earn her the prestigious pro card and a spot among the pros she's emulated and aspired to be for years. I have a feeling she's going to do great as an IFBB Fitness Pro.
 |
| Photo credit: Muscular Development |
COMPETITION HISTORY (From latest to first):
- 2010 Member of Team USA
- 2010 1st Place Fitness Tall and Overall NPC Team Universe. EARNED PRO CARD.
- 2010 2nd Place NPC Junior Nationals Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure and Bikini Championships
- 2010 1st Place Pittsburgh Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure and Bikini Championships
- 2009 4th Place NPC Team Universe
- 2009 4th Place NPC Junior Nationals Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure and Bikini Championships
- 2008 1st Place NPC Collegiate Fitness National Championships
- 2008 8th Place NPC Junior Nationals Bodybuilding, Fitness, and Figure Championships
- 2007 1st Place Pittsburgh Bodybuilding, Fitness, and Figure Championships
- 2007 1st Place Tall and Overall NPC Upper Ohio Valley Bodybuilding, Fitness, & Figure Competition
- 2006 Fitness and Bikini Universe Competition
- 2006 6th Place Kumite Classic: Fitness and Bikini America Competition
- 2005 Kumite Classic: Bikini America Competition
- 2005 4th Place Karen Miller Cardinal Classic Figure Competition
For more on Stacy, go to her website at http://www.stacywright.net/index.htm. From there you can find out more about Stacy and Andrew.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
IFBB/NPC Fitness Competitor Monthly Spotlights Coming Next Month
On the first Monday of each month, beginning in November, I'll be highlighting a fitness competitor from the IFBB as well as the NPC. They can be competitors from the past or present. I'm hoping to try and highlight as many fitness competitors as I possibly can. This was supposed to have started last month, but didn't happen due to personal reasons, and I apologize for that.
The first IFBB and NPC Fitness Competitor Monthly Spotlights will be revealed on Monday, November 1. If you have any suggestions on who I should spotlight for in the future, please email me at save_fitness@yahoo.com with your recommendations, or leave me a comment below.
The first IFBB and NPC Fitness Competitor Monthly Spotlights will be revealed on Monday, November 1. If you have any suggestions on who I should spotlight for in the future, please email me at save_fitness@yahoo.com with your recommendations, or leave me a comment below.
ATTENTION ALL IFBB FEMALE PROS!
IFBB Pro Tammy Patnode has been asked if any existing pros would be interested in a 2011 pro show for the upcoming women's physique division. Who is eligible? IFBB Pros of Women's Bodybuilding, Fitness, and Figure. If you're a figure or fitness competitor who's been marked down in the past due to being too muscular, or if you're a female bodybuilder who has been deemed far too small, this is definitely for you. If you're interested, leave a comment below, or email me at admin@fitgemsnation.net and will forward all your messages to Tammy.
You have a voice in what happens with this division. Please take advantage of this!!!
You have a voice in what happens with this division. Please take advantage of this!!!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Embrace the Off Season
The off season is when we make our biggest changes! Embrace it! Don't let the time fly by and let your guard down and let your training and dieting go down hill. Take the time to embrace that muscle maturity, bring up lagging body parts, or strengthen those weak areas. It's what you do in the off season that is what you reveal as you start dieting down! Don't let the off season bring you down! Be excited about it! It brings about change and improvements! So to those of you competing soon, Best Of Luck To You! For those of lingering in the off season- Make this your best off season yet!!!! (and don't forget- HAVE FUN!!)
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