Sunday, December 10, 2017

Camala Rodriquez's Next Fitness Venture


The 2017 Olympia was last time we'll see Camala on stage until potentially the 2019 Arnold, as she prepare to enter a new chapter in her female muscle career!
Photo credit: NPC News Online

2017 may go down as one of the most competitive years in IFBB figure history, with long-time competitors winning their first titles and BOTH the Figure International and Figure Olympia titles changed hands this year. 2018 will have a tough act to follow but with the talent that is currently competing and the new figure competitors that earned their pro cards this year, we do expect another competitive year for the division. There will be a noticeable name absent from the shows in 2018...Camala Rodriquez.

On social media, she announced that if she didn't automatically qualify for the 2018 Figure Olympia, she would set out for a year. She placed 12th at the Figure Olympia, her worst placing in a figure competition in a LONG time. Considering what she has been through (which we don't get into here, as the personal lives of competitors are not our place to discuss unless the athletes gives us the permission outright), we're happy she even placed period. She will be taking next year off from the stage to and plans to ,in her own words, "have fun for a year". By fun, we're talking powerlifting. Yep, the former fitness-turned-figure competitor and 2015 Figure International Champion is adding powerlifting to her already-impressive resume.

Camala has never been known for being a weak woman. She's built overtime one of the most powerful-looking physiques in the IFBB through years of hard training, but now she plans on taking it to a new level as she enters powerlifting. While she hasn't committed to any powerlifting competitions as of this writing, she has already broken a few of her own PRs (personal records) by a big amount. There's a very good chance that by the time she plans to return to figure competitions in 2019 (she is hoping for a 2019 Arnold invite), she will legit be pound-for-pound, one of the strongest women in the IFBB. And just think about how much her physique will benefit from powerlifting as well! To say we're excited for Camala in 2018 AND 2019 would be an understatement.

Check out a few recent clips from her Instagram, and you'll see why we are stoked to see what Camala is gonna be one to watch OUTSIDE of competing in an IFBB stage next year:











Expect plenty more clips like this next year. She is only scratching the surface of what she is truly capable of, and we can't wait to see what she has in store! We at FitGems Nation wish Camala best of luck to her in the months ahead!

For more on Camala, follow her on social media at the following links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealcamala/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Camala-Rodriguez-IFBB-Pro-153674027989808/



Monday, December 4, 2017

FitGems Awards...Back For a 9th Time!

It's that time again!

For the ninth straight year, we're doing the FitGems Awards, where we honor the best of the female muscle world from this past year. Last year, we used Polldaddy for the first time to host our voting, and we will be using them again this year. Voting will begin on next Monday, December 11, and will end at 11:59 Eastern Time on January 8, 2018. We've yet again expanded our categories by bringing in new ones and bringing back a few old ones as well. We have also brought back the female bodybuilding categories as well, as there was enough representation for them to be awarded as well. For the pro categories, we've replaced Breakout with Most Improved, as we feel it makes more sense with how this industry is. This is without a doubt the biggest awards contest we've done yet, and this was among the hardest to get nominees for, if not THE hardest. While you will have to wait until next Monday to see all the nominees, we WILL reveal all the categories for this year's awards.


PRO CATEGORIES

(RETURNING FOR 2017) Pro Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Pro Women's Physique Competitor of the Year
Pro Fitness Competitor of the Year
Pro Figure Competitor of the Year
Pro Bikini Competitor of the Year
(NEW FOR 2017) Most Improved Pro Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Most Improved Pro Women's Physique Competitor of the Year
Most Improved Pro Fitness Competitor of the Year
Most Improved Pro Figure Competitor of the Year
Most Improved Pro Bikini Competitor of the Year
(NEW FOR 2017) Rookie Pro Women's Bodybuilder of the Year
(NEW FOR 2017) Rookie Pro Fitness Competitor of the Year
(NEW FOR 2017) Rookie Pro Figure Competitor of the Year
(NEW FOR 2017) Rookie Pro Bikini Competitor of the Year
(NEW FOR 2017) Underrated Pro Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Underrated Pro Women's Physique Competitor of the Year
Underrated Pro Fitness Competitor of the Year
Underrated Pro Figure Competitor of the Year
Underrated Pro Bikini Competitor of the Year

AMATEUR CATEGORIES


(RETURNING FOR 2017) Amateur Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Amateur Women's Physique Competitor of the Year
Amateur Fitness Competitor of the Year
Amateur Figure Competitor of the Year
Amateur Bikini Competitor of the Year
(RETURNING FOR 2017) Breakout Amateur Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Breakout Amateur Women’s Physique Competitor of the Year
Breakout Amateur Fitness Competitor of the Year
Breakout Amateur Figure Competitor of the Year
Breakout Amateur Bikini Competitor of the Year
(NEW FOR 2017) Underrated Amateur Female Bodybuilder of the Year
Underrated Amateur Women’s Physique Competitor of the Year
Underrated Amateur Fitness Competitor of the Year
Underrated Amateur Figure Competitor of the Year
Underrated Amateur Bikini Competitor of the Year

MISC. CATEGORIES


Fitness Model of the Year
Fitness Ambassador of the Year
Social Media Star of the Year (Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat, etc.)
Moment of the Year
Photographer of the Year
Fit Celebrity of the Year
Female Sports Athlete of the Year
Fit Female Wrestler of the Year
Physique Paysite of the Year
(NEW FOR 2017) Physique Paysite Model of the Year
Promoter(s) of the Year
Fitness Clothing Line of the Year
Team of the Year
Male Trainer of the Year
Female Trainer of the Year


In addition to these categories, we have the BIG ONE...the FitGems Nation Woman of the Year! This goes to the fitness personality that had the most impact in the industry in 2017. Whoever wins this award will AUTOMATICALLY sit out in 2018 as a way of keeping this particular award’s winners as fresh as possible, even if 2018 ends up being better than 2017 for this year's Woman of the Year. Monica Brant, last year's winner, will not be on this list. Past Woman of the Year winners include Wendy Fortino,  Juliana Malcarne, and Dana Linn Bailey. No one has ever won Woman of the Year TWICE, but as the old saying goes, there's a first time for everything. It's all up to you.

This year's Woman of the Year nominees are...

Latorya Watts
Candice Lewis-Carter
Cydney Gillon
Nicole Wilkins
Heather Dees
Alexa Bliss
Dana Brooke
Wendy Fortino
Erin Stern
Tina Nguyen
Jen Jewell
Charlotte Flair
Jen Widerstrom
Nikki Bella
Oksana Grishina
Autumn Swansen
Lauren Rutan
Juliana Malcarne
Dana Linn Bailey
Amanda Kuclo


Voting for Woman of the Year will also begin next Monday (December 11) and will go on until 11:59 Eastern on January 8th. Like we've stated before, you all are the reason we do this every year and we love doing it. Without you, these awards would not be possible. Without you, FitGems Nation ITSELF would not be possible. This is just our way every year of showing appreciation to what you all do as athletes and creators.

If you want to know EXACTLY when we will begin voting, follow us on our Twitter account (https://twitter.com/fitgemsnation) by next Monday as that's when we will make the official announcement to begin voting. To all nominees, good luck!