Tanji Johnson and Tina Durkin stood out with lean, balanced, muscular physiques, just slightly more muscular than the Figure girls. Adela Garcia, the reigning Ms. International and Ms. Olympia, was symmetrical and muscular….a little too muscular from my perspective. It’s understandable considering her long and successful career. Truthfully, her condition and muscularity have been set as the standard by her multiple Olympia and International wins. If the IFBB is looking for a Women’s Physique archetype, Adela’s physique should be it.
Finally, the Ms. International bodybuilders were called out. Now here’s a rub for me. I love muscular women. No, I’m not a schmoe…I’m married to a champion bodybuilder. I just can’t fathom that the IFBB is eliminating Female bodybuilding! I don’t care what the press releases state; it’s not about steroid use and women’s health. It’s about the money. Female bodybuilders appeal to a small market, therefore making them unappealing to fitness industry advertising…and there is where the bulk of the money comes from that supports magazines, sponsors athletes, and finances pro and national amateur shows. So here comes the WP…Women’s Physique…to replace bodybuilding. Take a figure competitor and stick a few more pounds of muscle on her and she’s still marketable. Mark my words: the WP will eventually morph back into bodybuilding. As the prototypical WP body is defined over the next year or two, each following year will find a woman just a tiny bit bigger winning, until we end up with what we left behind.
I’ll leave it at that.
The majority of the muscled women this year were in the top shape of their lives. Big, ripped, symmetrical, and ready to rumble. Iris was the apparent winner, even in the early judging. She did, however, have some trouble midway through the rounds. Apparently too dehydrated, the judging had to be stopped momentarily to allow a medic to bring her some bottled water and give her a quick visual diagnosis. You really couldn’t tell that she was hurting except for 30 seconds of her bending over, hands on knees following her drink. She rallied and finished the rounds with a smile and a very confident affectation.
Yaxeni was spectacular, and as far as my taste goes, should have won the title. Her muscularity was denser than Iris’, her shape a little more pleasing to the eye. Yet no one can come close to Iris’ lower body. Her long, full quad sweeps, hanging hammies, and unreal calves are light years ahead of the pack. Her overall conditioning, however, was about a week out from perfect, and it’s my guess the cause behind her dehydration issue. It’s a common mistake bodybuilders make at all levels of competition. They mistake the thin layer of fat hiding that ripped muscularity for water and desperately try to drain it with life-threatening measures. The perfectly conditioned Iris cannot be beat by any of the current pros on the circuit.
Maria Bello was unbelievably cut…I mean ripped! None of the men could’ve compared. Yet she sacrificed muscle to get there, coupled with a very week lat spread, making her a spectacle, but not in the running for a win. If she brings up her lats and keeps 5-7 lbs more muscle, she’ll be a top three competitor. Her ass was so shredded that it was a little sickening.
Alina Popa was pure eye candy. If anyone has the chance to become the new, long-running champ, it’s her. First, she’s gorgeous. That alone is novel in women’s bodybuilding. Even dieted down, her face still holds its beauty. And her physique is very balanced, perfect symmetry head to toe. She just needs 10 lbs more muscle and the trophy can be hers.
In general, the quality of female physiques from Figure to Bodybuilding was outstanding and no one stood out as weak or completely unprepared. As a former judge, I felt for the current judges and the decisions they had to make.
Prejudging done, I packed up the camera equipment and located my tribe. Since I’m the Columbus native, it was left to me to decide where to eat a late lunch. Easy decision. Barley’s Brewing Co. right across the street from the Convention Center offered the short trip I wanted and great burgers. After a 30 minute wait (light speed, considering the location), we were seated and waited on promptly. It was 3 p.m. and I had to be at Veteran’s Memorial for the Ms. International finals at 6. My Sooner cohort was not going to attend the evening show and they needed the car to return to the hotel, 12 miles north. I decided to carb up in prep for the mile hike to Vet’s, ordering extra fries with my Rueben.
The chilly mist was repelled by the Tony Nowak, 20th Arnold Classic jacket I was wearing as I trekked down High St. but the cold wasn’t. No problem. 270 lbs. of muscled body doesn’t move for more than 30 seconds without producing 50,000 BTU of heat and I was actually sweating.
Arriving at the venue, I walked around to the loading docks where one can access the rear stairs to the honeycomb of rooms and offices on the second floor adjacent to the stage. I learned this route working for the local security at the Arnold a couple of years ago. Talk about an all access pass then!
I passed through the layers of present security with my new Media Pit pass and headed for the pump up room. A couple of the Ms. International gals were warming up with light dumbbells. A Fitness competitor was doing flips on mats set out next to the pump up pit. I snapped a couple of candid shots, then headed for the ultra secret, highly secure passage to the orchestra pit where the judges and photographers sit. O.K., it’s just a hard-to-find mechanical passageway below the stage that allows access to the pit, but you need a map to find the S.O.B….unless you happened to work security for the Arnold in the past.
About the Author:
Rick Woodbridge has been in the bodybuilding culture for over 36 years. His unique perspective has grown out of his experience as competitor, National Physique judge, promoter, trainer, and writer. Rick has lived, breathed, and eaten bodybuilding.
An architect and cigar store owner, and the father of six children and grandfather of 10 grandchildren, he still gives bodybuilding the 100% it takes to succeed, continuing to compete in Masters over-50 classes. His knowledge is highly respected and sought after on several bodybuilding forums and has been published in Muscular Development and Examiner.com. He also offers his extensive knowledge through personal training and contest prep coaching.
For more information, contact Rick at muscularmaster@gmail.com