The Fit-Bod Talk Show...Siouxcountry's LIVE Radio Show!

This past week, Jack and Ann Titone launched the Fit Bod Radio show as the newest radio show for top female physique site Siouxcountry. The well-renowned trainer and IFBB Figure competitor have been supporters of the site for seemingly forever, and now they are doing their part in helping it expand by providing the site with its first-ever LIVE broadcast!

The first guest on this historic show were Kayde Puckett, Nicole Duncan, Camala Rodriguez and Erin Riley. Yes, for the debut show, four top IFBB Fitness Pros were a part of this show. Very good stuff! A lot was talked about, including fitness incentives, food porn, and something about Kayde I've never knew about. I highly recommend that you find some time to listen to this inaugural show.If you haven't heard it yet, or want to here it again, go to this link:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-fit-bod-radio-show/2010/12/29/the-fit-bod-radio-show

Their next show will take place next Thursday (January 6, 2011) at 7PM Central Time, with Trainer Erik Ledin, Jason Adams & IFBB Bikini Pro Christy Meritt as the show's guests!

As each show ends, I'll make a blog post the next day so you can all check them out for yourselves, for those that can't listen to the live broadcasts. And on the day of broadcasting, I'll post the information on the FitGems fan page where you can listen to them LIVE.

Congrats to Jack and Ann on this latest accomplishment!! :)

Welcome Back, Sue!

This past weekend was the 2010 Jacksonville Pro, and it was a DEEP contest. Six ladies punched their tickets to the Olympia being held next month, but there's one person who can claim an award that's just a big as qualifying for the Olympia. That competitor is Sue Upson, who returned to the stage for the first time since the removal of a brain tumor last year.

Jacksonville Pro 2009-Her Pro Debut

I became very familiar with Sue on the Siouxcountry board. In fact, she became the first person on the board that became a pro, so I call her one of the S.O.S. (Siouxcountry Original Stars) (Editors Note: S.O.S....hmm, that sounds like a future part of my blog. Will keep you all posted.) Anyways, Sue competed for a good deal of 2009 (three shows to be exact). SO...other people compete in three shows. Well, try competing in three shows, much less at least ONE show...with a freaking brain tumor!!! So, she did what she needed to do in terms of competing last year, and in October, she had her tumor taken out. During that time, I saw and part of EXACTLY why Siouxcountry's more than just the leading board for the female physique world, it's a family that sticks together through thick and thin. The moderators got together and decided to surprise Sue with a gift, and asked for members to donate. I didn't hesitate and donated, as I knew Sue was AND IS a special competitor. For those wondering about the surgery, it was a 10-hour process. OUCH!!

Europa Super Show 2009 (She will be at this show this weekend)

This past weekend, she made her return to the stage that was her proand looked better than ever, and it was just like how she competed last year; no signs of a tumor whatsoever. No signs that the average person can see, though. Sue has some complications with the right side of her face, but that's to be expected after having a tumor removed from her head. Despite a few minor setbacks, she's looking to continue her comeback to the stage in Dallas at the Europa Super Show (the original Europa extravaganza). We at FitGems Nation welcome you back Sue and wish you best of luck this weekend in Dallas and for the remainder of your pro career! :)

2010 Jacksonville Pro. Welcome back, Sue!!!

For more on Sue's comeback, check out RXMuscle's interview with Sue after the 2010 Jacksonville Pro.

KFC and Burger King...What the DEUCE?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I've been looking at a bit of TV (when I get the time) and checking out the boards and blogs, and well...I'm about to be put on the KFC and Burger King blacklist for this. I'm not the healthiest person on the block, but seriously, neither organization is helping the obesity rate decrease with their latest promotions. Ai yi yi!

First, I'm going to rant on Burger King for a bit. If you can recall, they have new burgers on the menu called the Steakhouse XT burger. They are bragging that their burger is bigger than McDonalds Angus burgers. Let me repeat this again, THEY ARE BRAGGING THAT THEIR BURGER IS BIGGER THAN MCDONALDS'S ANGUS BURGERS!!! I had a McD's Angus burger once...ONCE...and can tell you firsthand they are no joke. To say that your burger is bigger than that of the Angus burger is basically telling me the following things: "Our burger has a better chance of clotting your arteries than McDonalds" or "Our burger will guarantee you to gain more fat than McDonalds". This might be good for a refeeding after a contest, but seriously, I think if you look at the whole thing, there's more harm than good. Even they're making it well known that their new burger, the Buck Double, is bigger than the McDouble. Are you begging for heart problems here, people?! REALLY?!?!

Now for KFC. I got a bone to pick with them on a couple of things. One, the Double Down sandwich. Two FRIED chicken fillets, bacon (which has GREASE), and two slices of cheese...you are BEGGING for a heart attack, people. Again, this might be alright for a refilling after a show. Might. But that doesn't make me as ill as what their doing as their latest promotion. They are teaming up with the Susan B. Komen For The Cure Foundation where 50 cents for each bucket sold will go to breast cancer research. Will Brink brought up some very valid points over at Siouxcountry, so I won't repeat them there (Go to the link and give your input on it). While their hearts seem to be in the right place, the idea of giving back to fight breast cancer by buying a bucket of greased chicken that can possibly lead to cancer if too much is consumed is stupid. Not kinda or sorta stupid, just flat-out stupid.

Yeah, yeah, I know people will eat whatever they want, but that's the darn problem. If you actually stopped to think about it, it's things like this that are making the obesity problem worse rather than better. Maybe it's just me ranting, but isn't it about time that people, not just those in the industry, wake up and take charge in their lives. If you think I'm little steamed over this, just wait til I talk about how these fast-food places are trying to be healthier with their "healthy" options. I will have the entire fast food society on my back when I'm finished! LOL. :)

What's your take on the latest KFC and Burger King promotions? Am I speaking some sense, or have I lost my mind? Sound off in the comments below.

FitGems FitMom winner to be featured on Sports After Dark on May 10!

This year's FitGems FitMom winner is getting a little something extra to add to the money she will earn. In addition to winning $200 to spend as she sees fit to, the winner of the 2010 FitGems FitMom contest will be a special guest on Siouxcountry's Sports After Dark on May 10, which will be dedicated to all the mothers in our industry!

I was approached by Eryn (who's a true sweetheart, by the way) about having the winner tell her story on the show on May 10, the day after Mothers Day. She told me that the show will take a slightly different turn from previous shows in the past, in honor of all the mothers out there in our industry. I also have it under good authority...that you will be joined by a very special guest. I won't reveal who it is, but my sources tell me that this person is a nice one and more than thrilled to be a part of this special edition of Sports After Dark.

So there you go. This year, not only do you have a chance to win some money, but you get to be a part of something special and share to the world why you are a FitMom! :)

Save Women's Fitness Now!!!

For those that has paid attention to the fitness division as of late, fitness has been on the decline over the last few years. Absolutely NO disrespect to any of the other female physique divisions, but fitness is arguably the most entertaining division of all the female divisions out there. Creativity, high-energy, personality, dedication...all of that is in the fitness division. For fans, they are in awe of what they can do. For photographers and those that take video, capturing their routines on film is like watching poetry in motion. In the NPC and IFBB, there's just nothing like women's fitness. So I'm scratching my head into seeing why fitness is at an all-time low.

Is it the work that is needed? The time that's needed? Now enough contests? Not enough competitors stepping up? Too many not going into the pros after their winning their pro card? I wish I knew the answer, but I don't. What I DO know is this: something needs to be done, or fitness will be nothing but a distant memory.

Siouxcountry has stepped up to the plate with the Lets's Save NPC and IFBB Fitness thread, and since fitness is what made me a fan and supporter of the female physique sport in the first place, I'd thought I'd step up to the place and contrubute to the cause by creating a blog called Save Women's Fitness Now! It's a blog that will focus solely on the IFBB and NPC fitness division, including posts on ideas to increase awareness about the division, coverage from fitness shows, posts from past, present, and future competitors, links to fitness competitor sites, and more!

Please join me in helping to reignite the flame of the IFBB/NPC fitness division and keep it from being a footnote in IFBB history.

Please view and bookmark the following links:


Save Women's Fitness blog

Save Women's Fitness Twitter

For more information, please email me at save_fitness@yahoo.com

2010 FitGems Sponsorship Update (As of February 27)

As of today, there are 27 competitors in 2010 FitGems Sponsorship contest. You can view all the competitors here.

The sponsorship package has been updated, thanks to Matthias ($50) and Siouxcountry ($25). Over the last 24 hours, they donated 75 dollars to the fund. So now, the sponsorship consists of the following:

*A MINIMUM of $300 USD towards the contest of your choosing (money paid via PayPal)
*A entire page dedicated to the winner on both EFBBN and FitGems Nation
*Your own website (if you don't have one already) or MySpace/Blogger layout (if you have one) created by Kirk Ashley of Imageworks Jamacia

Don't forget, just for participating, each competitor in the sponsorship contest will have their own Yahoo fan group created by Eldor of EBBFN.

Time is running down. You have until this Sunday to enter the sponsorship contest or to contribute to the sponsorship.  Click here to learn how you can contribute to the sponsorship, or you can always contact me via email. Put on the subject line "SPONSORSHIP CONTRIBUTION"

The winner be chosen by a secret panel that will be chosen over the next few days. They will be checking to make sure each competitor is meeting the requirements and will chose who they feel is the one that deserves the sponsorship. No one will know who will be voting other than myself. To make this as fair as possible, I will have no say in the matter of who will win. The winner will be announced sometime during Arnold Weekend. Besides the winner herself,  the announcement will be made first via Twitter.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at admin@fitgemsnation.net. Please put on the subject line "2010 SPONSORSHIP"

EDIT: The post was updated from yesterday due to Siouxcountry's donation this morning. Thanks Sioux!! :)

Sports After Dark Needs Sponsors!!!

If you've been following me for a while, you've probably have realized that I absoultely love Siouxcountry. The site is one of a kind, the ATMOSPHERE is one of a kind, the man behind the site is one cool cat (not to mention he's supported FitGems Nation from day one)...I can't say enough good things about the site. I really can't.

I mentioned a few weeks back about the return of Sports After Dark. With its growth and success, they are now asking for all the help they can get. Eryn Strickland, one of the hosts of Sports After Dark, sent me this information to share with you.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE INCLUDED AS PART OF THE INDUSTRY'S HOTTEST LATE NIGHT RADIO SHOW, "SPORTS AFTER DARK" WITH HOSTS PUMPIN IRON ERYN & ALLIFIT????

 

We, the ladies of Sports After Dark, are looking for sponsors who would be willing to support us as we continue to bring you the best interviews from the female physique community week to week. We are now offering an oppurtunty to advertise on our program!

 

We are looking for competitors, websites, companies, trainers, gyms, etc.. who love this sport as much as we do. Let our many fans and listeners know about your product, company, or website! We will incorporate any news and information that you provide into our weekly Monday night pod-cast for all the world to hear.

 

If you are interested please contact us at SportsAfterDark@hotmail.com.

 

And PLEASE don't forget to check out our website for news about our upcoming guests or to listen to past interviews in our "Archived Shows" section: www.siouxsportsafterdark.wordpress.com as well as www.siouxcountry.com our host site for the best of the best in female muscle! 

 

I encourage you all to please, PLEASE take advantage of this opportunity.

BTW, next week's show will have Andrea Watson, aka The Figure Hobbit, just days before her much-anticipated pro debut at the 2010 Figure International at the Arnold.

2010 Phoenix Pro Coverage Review Part 1 (Boards, Twitter, and Webcast)

I gave my thoughts on the actual competition, now I'm going to give my thoughts on the coverage of the competition. Reminder, I'm talking about the FEMALE part of the sport, not the MALE part.

Folks, you will not find another board that will provide live coverage for female physique sports better than Siouxcountry. You're just not. Up-to-the-minute coverage, photo and video links posted almost instantly, not to mention that since it's a board, you can post your opinions, thoughts, and observations about the show with ease.

Hardbody News (going by BBcomContests) did a fantactic job Twittering results instantly and keep people on the know for those that had Twitter. Between the sites, it was almost like you were there.

The webcast itself wasn't half bad at all, and to me well worth the 20 bucks. It didn't have the lag time that I was afraid was going to happen. The one thing that kinda bugged me was that it seemed a bit pixelated to me. But other than that, I'd thought it went off without a hitch. Personally, I hope more show webcasts are in the future.

There's one more part of coverage that I want to talk about, but I'll get to that in another post. And that is in regards to the Hardbody News Interactive Chat, which was..in one word, INCREDIBLE. Wait 'til you read my review on this. :)

2010 Phoenix Pro Coverage

As you all know, the 2010 IFBB season officially kicks off this weekend with the Phoenix Pro Show. Many sites will be providing live coverage of the show.

Siouxcountry
Bodysport
Hardbody News
RX Muscle
Muscular Development

In addition to all this, Isaac Hinds of Hardbody News will be interviewing several competitors this weekend during the Phoenix Pro.What should you expect? Interactive interview and quite possibly photo shoots. An innovative way to kick off the 2010 IFBB season. Yes, I'll be on UStream.tv to participate in this under FitGemsNation. You can join in on the fun by clicking here.

If you want to view the show via webcast, you can...for a price of $20. With the new breed of competitors in figure, a VERY competitive fitness line-up, and 12 top female bodybuilders, not to mention the men's part of the show, I think it will be worth the money. Yes, I'm aware that you can watch the Arnold AND Olympia for FREE, but when you think about it $20 isn't all that bad to watch the prejudging AND finals. People are paying a WHOLE lot more just to be there. You can view and purchase the webcast here.

To everyone that's competing at the Phoenix Pro, best of luck to everyone! :)

To ALL Fitness Competitors...TIME TO SPEAK UP!!!

The first pro show of the year (Phoenix Pro) is merely a few days away, as as of right now, there are only FOUR fitness competitors for the pro fitness part of the show. What the deuce, people?! I don't get it. If this keeps up, fitness might just be a thing of the past, and there are some who won't take NO for an answer.

J.M. Manion has thrown down the challenge. He made it on Siouxcountry, Issac posted it on Hardbody News and now I'm posting this message:

I also want to throw this out to any & all IFBB Pro Fitness competitors – anybody that wants to contribute an article(s) to the NPC News about NPC and/or IFBB Fitness, please let me know. The door is open. And remember to keep it positive. This is to help promote the sport & bring it back to its former glory.
__________________
J.M. Manion
Chief Photographer/Journalist NPC News

As a supporter of this industry, I highly encourage for all IFBB Fitness Pros to take what J.M. had to say and do something about it. It's clear that many within the industry doesn't want fitness to die. I sure as hell don't. The fitness division is what made me a fan of the entire female physique sport in the first place. As a matter of fact, don't be surprised if the FitGems Nation gets involved somehow in how to help keep fitness from becoming nothing more than a footnote in IFBB and NPC history.

For those interested, here's what I wrote on the state of fitness around 2008:
http://fitgems.blogspot.com/2008/05/state-of-ifbbnpc-womens-fitness.html

Let me stress this very carefully. I'm no fitness competitor, I have no clue what the fitness competitors go through to prepare for a show, so I'm speaking as a person who LOVES the fitness division and doesn't want to see it fall. To all IFBB and NPC Fitness competitors, take a stand and don't let yourselves be the end of the fitness division as we know it!

SAVE FITNESS WHILE YOU STILL HAVE A DIVISION!!!

Sports After Dark (Siouxcountry's Premier Radio Show)

If you can recall a while back, Siouxcountry had a radio show called Sports After Dark. It was created by Eryn Strickland (Pumpin’ Iron Eryn) and her co host, Allison Moyer (Miss Allifit), produced by Musclepapa John (or MPJ for short), and had some of the top names as guests. This happened, and that happened, and Sports After Dark disappeared for a bit. But they returned in full force this past Monday in a BIG way, by having one of the newest IFBB Figure pros, Ann Titone, as their first guest on their first show since the revival.

It's a great listen, as Ann talks about her incredible road to an IFBB Pro card, recovering from her surgery, and the amount of pizza she can eat in one setting. I'm dead serious when I say...make some room in your computer/iPod/MP3 player and listen to and download the Sports After Dark shows. You will not be disappointed.

Click on the link below listen to their interview with Ann Titone. To save it, right click it and go to "save target as".

MP3 Audio Link

To give you a heads up on next week, Gina Aliotti will be their next guest, so expect another big show. :) I think there will be a new show every Monday night. You can get all the updates on SportsAfterDark by the following links:

Sports After Dark main site
Twitter
and, of course, Siouxcountry. :)

Notice to All IFBB Fitness Pros

This was posted today, and news was broken first by Issac and Sioux, so I'd thought I'd pass this along as well to all IFBB Fitness Pros. Read the notice below from the IFBB office. I expect consequences should this not be taken seriously:

Source: http://www.ifbbpro.com/news/ifbb-pro-advisory-notice-011510/

BodySportTV: Open for Business!

The great folks of BodySport (Terry Goodlad and Ana Tigre) have launched their own version of YouTube, but it's more tailored to the fitness community. The video sharing service is called BodySportTV.

According to Ana Tigre on Siouxcountry, you can register for free and upload your own videos of training, interviews, photoshoots, or anything else you would like to share. For those that want to make a name for themselves, I would definitely recommend checking out BodySportTV. I mean, YouTube has launched the carrers of many people in entertainment, imagine what BodySportTV can do for the fitness industry.

Check out BodySportTV at http://www.bodysporttv.com.

Update on Sue Upson

A couple of days ago, Sue Upson went into surgery to remove a brain tumor. I'm happy to report that the tumor was removed from the brain entirely and successfully. The surgury took about 10 hours long, according to Sue's husband, who posted a detailed update on Siouxcountry. Thank God she's fine now. However, now it's time for the recovery process, so don't stop with the prayers. Keep them coming! :)

Please Pray for Sue Upson

Today, one of the newest IFBB pros, Sue Upson, is having surgery to remove a tumor in her brain. The surgery will be a 6hr surgery, and recovery time will be 6-8 weeks. She shared her discovery first on Siouxcountry.


(Picture from North Carolina Official NPC Site)

From The FitGems Nation, and beyond, we with you a safe surgery and recovery, Sue!

2009 Olympia Webcast

You probably know this by now, but the Olympia will be shown this year via webcast. I've already done this, but for those that won't be in Vegas, bookmark the following link and tune in on Friday for the Fitness and Ms. Olympia Finals, and the Mr. Olympia Prejudging. Saturday night will be the Figure and Mr. Olympia finals.

http://webcast.bodybuilding.com/fitshow/2009olympia/webcast/2009olympia.html

I haven't made up my mind yet about hosting a live chat DURING the Olympia, but if I do, I'll let you all know. If that happens, as opposed to having the chat on the official website, it will be held on the blog.

In my honest opinion, if I could recommend one website to go to for great live coverage, it would be Siouxcountry, hands down. Their coverage of the North Americans was arguably the BEST coverage of an event I've ever witnessed. I seriously felt like I was there myself. It was that good.

To think we were months away from the Olympia, now we're merely two weeks away. It's insane! :)

2009 Jacksonville Pro

This weekend is the Dexter Jackson Classic and the Jacksonville Pro. Three more figure competitors will qualify for the 2009 Figure Olympia. Below is the list of everyone competing in the Jacksonville Pro:

Tina Marie Bloomfield
Tivisay Briceno
Krissy Chin
Melody Clere
M.J. Fox
Alicia Harris
Alana Hernandez
Jacqui Jarrett
Candice Keene
Jenny Lynn
Amanda Marinelli
Petra Mertl
Karen Mularkey
Marcy Porter
Jessica Putnam
Sandra Simons
Amy Stephens
Erin Stern
Sabrina Taylor-Gibson
Michelle Theison
Siobhan Tewari
Sue Upson
Julie (DJ) Wallis
Tessa Wood-Thomas

Siouxcountry will be providing coverage of the event all weekend long, thanks to new IFBB Pro Sandi Stewart.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE THIS WEEKEND!!

Judging a Book (or Magazine in this case) by its Cover?!

Wow...wow...wow. So much fuss over one little cover. But that's exactly what's going on with the July / August Issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers. Celebrity figure Kim Kardashian is on the cover, and it has caused quite a stir in the industry, to say the least.

To view the entire article and the cover, and read the various comments, click here.

From what I've read so far in the comments, it looks like the men are FOR Double-K on the mag cover, and the women in the industry are AGAINST her on the cover for the most part, with some exceptions on both genders. However, I can understand where the women are coming from in this issue.

I looked at this as a business guy, and came up with this conclusion (BTW, I posted the exact same thing on Siouxcountry) :

I'm no Issac and I'm no Scribbler, but I definitely understand why someone like Kim would be on the cover, and as someone who wants to see this industry flourish as much as possible, I support Weidler's decision to put Kim on the cover.

If anything, this will bring more exposure to the sport, which is always a good thing (if done right). I mean, people outside this industry might not have a CLUE who Christine Pomponio-Pate, Nicole Wilkins-Lee and Kristi Tauti are. But they sure as hell know who Kim Kardashian is, whether they like her or not. No, this sport will not appeal to everyone (that's a given in anything), but if more people see this sport due to seeing something that has a celebrity they know, then the more exposure the sport itself will get. More exposure could mean more participants in the future, and possibly more money into the industry, and in this economy, that's a very good thing.

I'm not a fan of Kim or her show (not my thing), but speaking as a business person, I applaud what you're attempting to do.

Long story short...never judge a book by its cover. Or in this case, a magazine.

Again, this is strictly my opinion, and no, I'm not trying to kiss anyone's posterior on this issue. I'm just stating my thoughts on the whole thing and that's all. However, how do YOU feel about this? Do you see this as a chance to bring the sport more women with a celebrity status? Or do you think M and F Hers went about it the wrong way?

Europa(Money)mania is Running Wild!!!

Well...what do you do when you have tough competition, for example like the Europa Show of Champions this upcoming weekend? You give away cash, that's what! Well...at least that's what Issac Hinds and Sioux are doing. Both of them are holding contests where you will receive $100 for correctly guessing the winners and top placings in this weekend's huge contest.

Issac will be giving away $100 to anyone who can correctly guess the top five in figure IN CORRECT ORDER. Click here to learn more and to enter his contest.

Siouxcountry is doing the same thing, but you must correctly guess the top EIGHT in order. Click here to enter that contest.

Don't hold me to this, but I might just fork over $25 or so (via PayPal) to anyone who can guess who will get the Olympia quailfications for fitness or figure. If you correctly guess BOTH, I just might hand over 50 buck (via PayPal)...that's of course, if anyone dares to take up on this offer. Oh yeah, unlike the other two, I don't care if it's in order or not. :-)

There you go...if you have the luck of the Irish, are one hell of a guesser, or happen to see into the future and know EXACTLY what will go down on O-Town, I would take the opportunity to enter these contests. I mean, money is being given away just for guessing.

With that being said...GOOO...FREAKING...LUCK! AI YI YI!!

Good Guessing Skills = Sioux! MON-AY!!!!!

Got your attention?! Hope so.

The Great Sioux man is at it again. He's giving away 75 dollars to anyone who can name the top eight in this weekend's New York Pro Fitness in order. This is another reason why Sioux is viewed as a top person in the eyes of the female competitors as well as other members of the industry.

For more information about this contest, click here.

Good luck to everyone entering the contest, and good luck to everyone in New York this weekend!!!