Catherine Holland periodically posts candid pics for members of her site. Although we’ve covered Catherine extensively in the past, it’s been awhile since we had an update on her. She is doing well, and still very much in the fitness game. Enjoy the photos… see Catherine Holland candids
We all need a little extra motivation sometimes. Here are a few motivational photos of the hottest fitness babes we could find… see Smoking Hot Fitness Babes
Since Figure Competitions began, much of the wisdom of contest preparation has been copied over from bodybuilding. There is a good reason for this – many of the goals are similar and so it stands to reason many of the methods would be too. The tried and true method for dieting down for a contest generally involves reducing carbs and increasing energy expenditure by moving to a higher-rep weightlifting scheme while doing more steady state cardio. This is almost always paired with eating 5-6 small meals per day.
This approach is typically effective as long as the correct number of calories is consumed. The huge drawback is the amount of time and the level of commitment needed to eat every 2-3 hours. A magnificent amount of organization is required. Meals have to planned well in advance. Food has to be purchased way ahead of schedule. The logistics make it unbearable tough to work an 8 or 10 hour normal job, travel, socialize, or in general get anything done that isn’t exclusive centered around eating exactly the right thing at exactly the right time.
But eating like this is a necessity, right? Even though figure competitors do not try to build the same muscle bulk as a bodybuilder, not feeding your hard-earned muscle is a sure-fire way to go catabolic. Also, your metabolism will plummet, and it will be more difficult to stay lean. These are all facts, right? This is what we’ve been taught. All figure athletes do it this way. Or do they? more on intermittent fasting
For today, some mini-profiles…
Abrianna Taylor
Age: 30
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 126 lbs
Measurements: 32B-26-36
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Blonde
Personal trainer, figure skater, figure competitor
Jessica Rinaldi
Location: New Mexico
Occupation: personal trainer, fitness competitor, mother
2011 IFBB Arnold Amateur (4th place)
2010 NPC USA Championships (16th place) continue reading
We have never profiled a fit MMA fighter before, but maybe it’s time! As many of you know, Ronda Rousey and Liz Caramouche headline the UFC fight tonight. This is ground-breaking, because it’s the first time women have fought in the UFC.
Ronda Rousey has been getting more than her fair share of the press coverage. Part of the reason is because she’s the odds-on favorite to win. Ronda grew up being taught judo by her mother, and went on to win an Olympic gold medal. Not only can absolutely anything happen in the cage, with absolutely anybody winning any given fight, but also just being a judo expert doesn’t mean you’re a well-rounded martial artist who can triumph in the cage. But in this case, Rhonda already has 6 MMA wins in another division, and she has proven to be very good at what she does.
Now the other thing behind this is, as you can see, Ronda is kind of easy on the eyes. In a sport where people get punched and beat up, and top female contenders have occasionally been a bit more average-looking, Ronda looks to be very marketable by the UFC organization in the sense that she has broad appeal to a viewership that is predominantly male. How pretty is and how fit her body looks has no bearing on whether she wins fights, but its obviously something we take into consideration when we profile “fit babes” and post up their pictures. Ronda is famous for saying that to get exposure, you have to be willing to expose yourself, and we are affectionately falling for that honeytrap. more Ronda Rousey
Some fitness gals look sort of drawn or gaunt when they diet down for a contest. But that never seems to be the case for Amy Wright. When she drops those (very) few extra pounds of bodyfat her body looks very natural and healthy. Maybe that’s why she is having so much success as an IFBB Bikini Pro.
Amy is twenty-six years old, stands 5’2″ tall, and weighs about 121 lbs. She is from Perth Australia, and yes she does have that awesome, sexy Australian accent! Although she had never lifted weights before, she wondered what she would look like if she trained hard and dieted like she took it seriously. She did that for twelve weeks, and started winning contests.
She has been known to do plyometrics, and says doing fasted cardio first thing in the morning helps her strip bodyfat. Her abs and her back show off much of the hard work and genetic gifts she’s been given. She’s dabbled in HIIT, but says steady-state cardio more Amy Wright
Looking at Andreia Brazier today, I think it’s safe to assume she’s always been a pretty gal. She says that she’s always been fit, but her journey to a muscular, fitness model physique took quite awhile. She spent almost ten years in the gym lifting weights and training before she started a real training split and started paying serious attention to her nutrition. That combination proved to be the key, and she began transforming her body.
Andreia does follow a carb cycle diet, where she eats several days of low carbs followed by a refeed day of high carbs. This type of cycle tends to keep the body aligned with burning carbs and fat, hopefully sparing protein and muscle as it leans up.
As you can see, Andreia’s legs are great, with some serious quads. She says squats play a huge role in her lower body training and development. She is thirty-four years old. She stands 5’5″ tall and weighs about 117 lbs. She and her husband run a body conditioning company, so they spend all of their time in and around the fitness industry. more Andreia Brazier
Emily Carey is an NPC Bikini Competitor. She 5’6″ tall and weighs about 120 lbs. Like many of the ladies we find ourselves profiling here at FBB, she has always been athletic and led an active life. She grew up with gymnastics, dance, soccer, and swimming. She played soccer for a decade, all the way through her college years. When she attended a NPC show one of her friends had entered, Emily was captivated by the muscular and fit ladies she saw on stage. She says she didn’t thing she would ever have enough muscle mass to compete in figure, but decided she would try the bikini division.
She says she has particular interest in nutrition. It shows, as she always seems to be spot-on regarding her lean physique. She occasionally lifts heavy, and also tends to include plyometrics in her workouts. Emily’s blonde locks and stunning good looks may give her an advantage on the stage, but it’s clear she trains hard and approaches her diet with discipline and intelligence.
HIIT plays a role in her shape. She says she prefers High Intensity Interval Training more Emily Carey
Maria Vasi is a twenty eight year old goddess from the shores of Greece. She was born in Greece, but grew up in the United States. She currently resides in New York. Her measurements:
height 5’4″
weight 126 lbs
Bust 36DD
Waist 25″
Hips 38″
With her dark hair and dark eyes and – wow – that booty, Maria is obviously going to go a long way in the world of fitness modeling. Maria says she works hard to stay in shape, and is super-disciplined when it comes to what she eats. Nutrition is about 75% of the equation, while training is 25%, at lest for Maria. more Maria Vasi
Alice Matos is from Southern Brazil, where they absolutely never mess around with their fitness objectives. She says she has always looked up to Larissa Reis, another Brazilian fitness babe. Alice got hooked on competing in fitness after stepping on stage for the first time and feeling that magical thrill. She has great abs, and seems to struggle with her quads a bit. She does travel on occasion, and has competed at the Arnold Classic Bikini contest in Columbus Ohio.
You can always tell when a model is comfortable with her body. Alice stays in shape year-round and it seems to show in every single one of her photo shoots. The life of a fitness model is challenging, since you have to stay lean and be ready to shoot at the drop of a hat. Alice has obviously worked with her fair share of talented photographers, who have done a great job of capturing her incredible beauty and alluringly muscular physique. more Alice Matos
