Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Nominate Your Favorites for the 4th Annual FitGems Awards!


Another year nearly over...which means it's time to chose who reigned supreme in the fitness world in 2012. The 4th Annual FitGems Awards will be another big event, but THIS TIME, all voting will take place on one site: MisterPoll. To all nominees, it will be crucial to use social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Youtube, etc) to get as many votes as you can.

How can you get involved? Nominate UP TO FIVE people for the following categories, with the top 6 names for each category to be put on the ballot. You don't have to nominate for each category, but it would be nice if you nominate for as many as you can. In the event there's not enough nominees for whatever reason for some of the categories, the remaining nominees will be chosen based upon their performance and popularity in regards to 2012.  With IFBB Women's Physique in the mix this year, there are a few new categories to add.


COMPETITOR CATEGORIES

Pro Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Pro Figure Competitor of the Year
Pro Fitness Competitor of the Year
Pro Bikini Competitor of the Year
Pro Women's Physique Competitor of the Year (NEW)
Amateur Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Amateur Figure Competitor of the Year
Amateur Fitness Competitor of the Year
Amateur Bikini Competitor of the Year
Amateur Women's Physique Competitor of the Year
International Female Bodybuilder of the Year (Pro or Amateur)
International Fitness Competitor of the Year (Pro or Amateur)
International Figure Competitor of the Year (Pro or Amateur)
International Bikini Competitor of the Year (Pro or Amateur)
International Women's Physique Competitor of the Year (Pro or Amateur)
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 Pro Women's Physique Competitor of the Year (NEW)
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
Breakout Amateur Physique Competitor of the Year
Rookie Competitor of the Year (any division; must have competed starting in 2012)
Inspirational Competitor of the Year
Crossover Competitor of the Year (any competitor who competed in one division and switched to another THIS YEAR. Can be pro or amateur) (NEW)
Comeback of the Year
Favorite Fitness Routine of 2012 (must name competitor and show they did it in. Can be pro or amateur) (NEW)
Favorite Women's Bodybuilding Routine of 2012 (must name competitor and show they did it in. Can be pro or amateur) (NEW)
Favorite Women's Physique Routine of 2012 (must name competitor and show they did it in. Can be pro or amateur) (NEW)
Competitor Who You Would Love to See Return To the Stage in 2013
Fitness Personality 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)

MISC. CATEGORIES

NPC Show of the Year
IFBB Show of the Year
WBFF Show of the Year
Promoter of the Year
Organization 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
Facebook Fan Page of the Year (Competitor/Fitness Personality)
Photographer of the Year
Blogger of the Year
Industry Blog of the Year (by a fan, industry member, company, etc.)
Industry Facebook Fan Page of the Year
Female Celebrity Muscle of the Year
Physique Paysite of the Year
Male Supporter of the Year (through shows, message boards, donations to competitors, etc.)
Female Supporter of the Year (through shows, message boards, donations to competitors, etc. Does not have to be a competitor) (NEW)
Female Competitor Site of the Year
Supplement Company of the Year
Team of the Year
Trainer of the Year

You can send your nominations through Twitter (http://twitter.com/fitgemsnation) using hashtag #FitGemsAwards2012, email your nominations (admin@fitgemsnation.net), or leave a comment on this post on our Facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/fitgemsnation). I'll also take your nominations through private messages (PMs) through the following message boards:

Siouxcountry (under cray17)
RxMuscle (under FitGems)
Muscular Development (under cray17)

You can nominate between now and Friday, November 30th Monday, December 10th. On Monday, December 3rd Tuesday, December 11th, check back on the blog and Facebook fan page for the official list of nominees. After that, voting will begin that same day and will last through the rest of December, with the winners announced sometime in mid-January.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Interview with IFPA Pro Amy Lescher

Amy Lescher is an IFPA competitor from Chesterfield, Missouri. She recently won her IFPA Open & 35+ Pro Cards and will be making her pro-debut sometime next year. Amy was kind enough to conduct this interview with us. BTW, IFPA stands for International Federation of Physique Athletes, and it's a natural bodybuilding organization.

Photos provided by Amy herself.



FitGems Nation: First off, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Amy Lescher: I am a 37 year old, wife and mother of 2 beautiful girls Sophie (9) and Stevie (2).  I am an IFPA Open and 35+ Pro.  I just earned my pro-cards and will be making my pro-debut in 2013.  I am a personal trainer and Pilates instructor and enjoy helping people achieve health and wellness in everyday of their life.

FitGems: How did you get involved in the fitness industry in the first place?
Amy: I grew up an athlete, including playing soccer on the collegiate level.  I have been a fitness instructor since I was 18 years old.  I have always loved the look of muscular, healthy looking women.

FitGems: What do you enjoy most about competing?
Amy: The desire to achieve things I never thought possible.  With the right diet, training, attitude and coaching, you can do wonders with your physique.

FitGems: Which do you feel is your greatest strength when training: cardio or weight-training?
Amy: I love lifting weights.  It gives me a sense of strength and accomplishment.

FitGems: What division do you compete in and what’s the best thing about competing in that division?
Amy: I compete in the Figure division.  The best thing about Figure is that you can have muscle, but still be feminine.



FitGems: If it was up to you, what would be one thing you would want to add in the division or take away from your division?
Amy: I would add the T-walk to be included in the scoring.  I feel that is part of the presentation and girls work so hard to perfect it, it should be counted.

FitGems: With the rise of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc,), how important do you feel it is for competitors to participate in it?
Amy: I think it is crucial to participate in social media if you want to touch as many people as possible and inspire others.

FitGems: Who (living or dead) do you look up to for inspiration, whether they are part of the fitness industry or not?
Amy: My fitness inspiration is Alex Ellis, IFPA Pro and Erin Stern, IFBB pro.  Both of these women exuded passion and health every single day.  They are both top athletes in there respective federations.  I have the honor and privilege to know and be coached by Alex personally and will be forever changed for the good, thanks to her.
My non-fitness inspiration…Gosh there are so many strong women in my life… but I would say my sister.  She is a special education teacher and gives herself daily to children with developmental and behavioral disorders.  She does it with honor and grace.  She is loving, kind and strong.

FitGems: If you weren’t part of the fitness industry, what would you be doing now?
Amy: There is no question; I will always be a part of the fitness industry!

FitGems: What (if anything) would you change about the fitness industry?
Amy: I can’t think of anything at this point.

FitGems: After competition, what do you plan to do to give back to the industry?
Amy: I like to give my knowledge and passion for exercise and Pilates to people on a daily basis. I feel inspiration and giving back are full circle…you get back  what you put out. I stay in touch with the most cutting edge fitness/nutrition experts and will always refer to others when something is out of my scope of knowledge and expertise.

FitGems: Any closing words for your fans and supporters?
Amy: I want to thank all my fans for their support.  I hope I can contribute inspiration and drive to your everyday life.  Remember…”The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary”-Vince Lombardi  Work hard, every day matters!

FitGems: How can fans contact you if they want to keep up with your career? (Facebook fan page, Twitter, email, website, blog, other social media outlet, etc.)
Amy: They can find me on Facebook under : IFPA PRO Amy Lescher

Again, we thank Amy for taking the time to conduct an interview with us, and we wish her best of luck competing as an IFPA Pro!


Monday, October 15, 2012

Wrestling Knockouts Entering Fitness Competitions Next Month

Wrestling and fitness go together like peas and carrots (steamed, by the way). We have seen many names in women's wrestling come from a fitness modeling/competing background: Trish Stratus, Torrie Wilson, Lisa Marie Varon (Tara in TNA/Victoria in WWE), Sarita, Miss Tessmacher (Brooke Adams) and Brittany Beede (Jamie Keyes) to name a few. Now, it looks like the tides are turning a bit with current wrestlers ENTERING the fitness competition world.


Rosita aiming to be a WBFF Pro on November 3rd.
Photo credit: Impact Wrestling
Thea Trinidad (better known as Rosita in TNA/Impact Wrestling) will be looking to add WBFF Pro to her impressive list of accomplishments as the former Knockouts Tag Team Champion will be competing in the WBFF New England Championships on November 3rd.


Madison Rayne will aim to be a IFBB Pro at the NPC Nationals on November 9-10th
Photo credit: Impact Wrestling


In addition, Ashley Cabot (aka Madison Rayne, also of TNA/Impact Wrestling) will be competing in the NPC Nationals to attempt to become an IFBB Pro in the bikini division. She will be competing a week before the Nationals as well. Earlier this year, Madison competed in her first bikini competition and ended up winning the overall title, making her an odds-on favorite for Nationals right off the bat.

Will others make the jump in the near future? There are definitely others in the wrestling world that can enter physique competitions with the right training and guidance. We at FitGems Nation want to with both ladies the best of luck as they enter the fitness competition world. Just remember...no dropkicks allowed on stage! LOL. :)

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

2012 Olympia, From the Judges' Table

On the NPC News Online website, the IFBB Women's Head Judge for the Olympia posted critiques of the top six in each of the divisions. After reading them do you agree?

Ms. Olympia

Fitness Olympia

Figure Olympia

Bikini Olympia

As I've mentioned sometime before, I think it's nice to see the NPC/IFBB post their critiques of the top competitors after a show. It gives competitors something to look at and study to make them better competitors. Will everyone agree? No, of course not, but that's the nature of the beast. This is a SUBJECTIVE sport, and honestly, when it comes to competing, you are only competing against yourself when you think about it. You can't control how others look, but you damn sure can control how YOU look.

To judge for yourself and see photos of the top six from each division, as well as every other competitor from the Olympia, go to http://www.npcnewsonline.com.





From Save Women's Fitness Now to The Fitness Athletes Network...Why The Change?


In 2010, I created Save Women's Fitness Now, a blog that was influenced by Siouxcountry's Let's Save NPC and IFBB Fitness thread that started around that time. This blog was created to help reignite the fire and passion that the fitness division had during its birth.

On the same board, a discussion was brought up about how to help bring more competitors into the fitness division. An idea was brought up about having a place where people can view fitness routines. To the best of my knowledge, there wasn't a place specifically created for that...until now.

This year, I made the decision to revamp Save Women's Fitness Now, and turn it into the Fitness Athletes Network, expanding from just being a blog to a complete social network, including an official website,Twitter account, a newly revamped blog, and eventually a Youtube account. The goal of the Fitness Athletes Network is to help bring more competitors into the sport, as well as introduce the fitness division to aspiring competitors, and even high school and collegiate cheerleaders. The main site has clips of fitness routines from around the world from the National Physique Committee (NPC), International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB), Fitness Universe, and beyond, as well as from former organizations.

Below are the links to the Fitness Athletes Network. Bookmark them and spread the word! If you would like to donate any clips or want to help out with the Fitness Athletes Network in any way, please email me as save_fitness@yahoo.com

Main website: http://www.fitnessathletesnetwork.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/fitnessathletes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitnessathletesnetwork

And the blog's new address is http://fitnessathletesnetwork.blogspot.com.

Hope you enjoy the new facelift! :)