Sunday, October 24, 2010

Courtney Wins Houston Pro; Keeps to Her Word of Donating Money to Breast Cancer Research

This weekend, Courtney West made her pro debut at the Houston Pro, and I mentioned earlier that should she placed in the top three in her debut, she would donate her entire winnings to breast cancer research. She ended up winning the Houston Pro Figure contest, qualified for next year's Figure Olympia, and kept her word by donating her winnings this weekend toward the fight against breast cancer. A very memorable way to kick off a pro career, as well as giving back to those that need it the most. We at FitGems Nation send out our deepest and most sincere gratitude to Courtney for this awesome show of class. If more people were more like Courtney, this world would be a much better place.

Photo credit: RxMuscle

If you want to follow Courtney, join her Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/ifbbprocwest.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

2nd Annual FitGems Awards...Time to Nominate Your Favorites! (DEADLINE EXTENDED)

It's that time again, for the 2nd Annual FitGems Awards. Last years was a great success, so we're going it again this year with a few new categories and a few minor changes to last year. Below are the categories for this year.

Nominate up to FIVE people for the following categories, with the top 6 nominations being on the ballot:
NPC Show of the Year
IFBB Show of the Year
Female Physique Site of the Year (non-competitor) (NOTE: FitGems is NOT eligible due the fact that FitGems is running the contest)
Female Competitor Blog of the Year
Photographer of the Year
Blogger of the Year
Industry Blog of the Year (by a fan, industry member, company, etc.)
Female Physique Paysite of the Year
Male Supporter of the Year (through shows, message boards, donations to competitors, etc.)
Female Competitor Site of the Year
Supplement Company of the Year
Pro Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Pro Figure Competitor of the Year
Pro Fitness Competitor of the Year
Pro Bikini Competitor of the Year
Amateur Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Amateur Figure Competitor of the Year
Amateur Fitness Competitor of the Year
Amateur Bikini Competitor of the Year
International Female Bodybuilder of the Year
International Fitness Competitor of the Year
International Figure Competitor of the Year
International Bikini Competitor of the Year
Breakout Pro Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Breakout Pro Figure Competitor of the Year
Breakout Pro Fitness Competitor of the Year
Breakout Pro Bikini Competitor of the Year
Breakout Amateur Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Breakout Amateur Figure Competitor of the Year
Breakout Amateur Fitness Competitor of the Year
Breakout Amateur Bikini Competitor of the Year
Competitor Who You Would Love to See Return To the Stage in 2011
Fitness Entrepreneur of the Year (Model/Trainer/Spokesperson)
Moment of the Year (when certain people win a competition, return to the stage, retire, etc. This is for any federation and can be about any of the divisions)

Ones to Watch in 2011 (nominate up to two people for each category with the top 5 nominations to be placed on the ballot)
Pro Female Bodybuilders
Pro Figure Competitors
Pro Fitness Competitors
Pro Bikini Competitors
Pro Women's Physique Competitors (should this happen in 2011)
Amateur Female Bodybuilders
Amateur Figure Competitors
Amateur Fitness Competitors
Amateur Bikini Competitors
Amateur Women's Physique Competitors
Fitness Entrepreneur (Model/Trainer/Spokesperson)

You can send me the nominations through Twitter (http://twitter.com/fitgemsnation), email (admin@fitgemsnation.net), or leaving a comment on this post. I'll also take your nominations through private messages (PMs) through the following message boards:

Siouxcountry (under cray17)
RxMuscle (under FitGems)
FTVideo (under cray2005)
Unreal Muscle (under FitGems)
Muscular Development (under cray17)

You can nominate between now and November 19th November 27th (DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED) On November 19th 29th at Noon Central Time, the nominees will be announced via a FitGems Award Nominations Live FitChat. More details on the exact time as we get closer to the date. After that, voting will begin that same day and will last through all of December, with the winners announced mid-January. Exact date has yet to be determined.

Good luck to everyone! :)

Thursday, October 21, 2010

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!!!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Brittany Beede: Fitness's Next Breakout Diva

Fitness industry...meet Brittany Beede!
Photo credit: WWE.com
A couple of weeks ago, Jamie Keyes was eliminated from WWE's show NXT. This week, she was given her pink slip from the entire company altogether. Needless to say, this struck a nerve with quite a few people, including yours truly. So what's a girl to do after seeing her dreams of becoming a WWE Diva crumble before her eyes? Simply...pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and go forward. Jamie is doing more than just going forward, folks. She's aiming to create a fitness empire!

Fresh off her WWE venture, she's hopping right into the fitness world full-steam with a campaign unlike anything I've seen from one individual. She's launched a Youtube channel, a Google profile page, and an official Facebook fan page, not to mentioning changing her Twitter name to better suit her current and future fans, and that's just within a mere few hours! Imagine how things are going to be for here when everything starts to take off! THIS is what is going to set her apart from many in the fitness industry. She's aiming to become someone in the industry, not just a name or a face in the crowd. It's pretty clear she doesn't need the WWE to succeed (Trust me, they need her a hell of a lot more than she needs them), but I wouldn't rule out a possible return somewhere down the line. But for now, look for Brittany to make an huge and lasting impact on the fitness industry. There's a possible chance that you might see her at the 2011 Arnold "hint..hint". Just like when FitGems Nation supported Brittany during her days as a WWE Diva, we will continue to support Brittany during her journey to becoming fitness's next breakout diva. Good luck, Brittany!! :)

Here are the links to follow Brittany on her quest to becoming the next fitness icon:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BrittanyBeede
Official Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brittany-Beede-Jamie-Keyes-WWE/151485664892299
Google profile page: http://www.google.com/profiles/britter1231
Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/britter1231
And of course, her fansite that was created prior to becoming a star in WWE: http://www.jamiekeyes.com

EDIT: For all fans of Brittany, I've created a fan page called the Brittany Brigade, to help keep up with all things Brittany, from the beginning of her career until now. You can join it by clicking here.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Courtney West's Heart of Gold

I read a Tweet from IFBB Figure Pro Courtney West (who turned pro at the NPC USAs by winning her class and the overall title) that definitely made my day, and shows that the world is not a cruel place. Courtney will be making her debut at the Houston Pro Figure in less then two weeks, and she stated in her Twitter account that should she place in the top three, her entire prize money will go to cancer research. Not part of it, not half of it...ALL OF HER WINNINGS. To me, that shows the true character of a competitor, not to mention the true character of a human being period.

Best of luck to you, Courtney at the Houston Pro, and we just want to let you know you have the heart and soul of a champion.

Courtney West to make her pro debut at the Houston Pro
Photo Credit: Muscular Development

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Tracey MacDonald's Got a New Blog!

One of FitGems's proud supporters, and all-around awesome lady, Tracey MacDonald has just started a new blog. She's a favorite to follow on Twitter (http://twitter.com/fit2atworld), so now she has a place where she can speak her peace, regarding fitness, her recipies, life in general, and more...now in more than 140 words. :)

Please check out her blog at http://traceyfitnesslife.blogspot.com/.

Tracey has a new blog! Visit it often! :)