Black History Spotlight for February 1, 2009-Tanji Johnson

Time to kick off Black History Month with one of the most influential fitness competitors in history, regardless of race...Tanji Johnson!



Tanji has an unbelievable passion for the sport that rivals most people. She's always been an athletic person, competing in track and field and being captain of the dance team in high school. She joined the U.S. Air Force Academy. Those folks don't play! You've got to have what it takes to make it throught the training, and she had it. She ended up graduating from the Academy with a B.S. in Humanities and a comission as an Air Force officer.

She started to compete in 1998, making this year her 11 year in fitness and her eight as a pro. She has competed in numerous Arnold and Olympias, has won two fitness titles so far, and appeared on NBC's American Gladiators as "Stealth". Something tells me we've not seen the last of Tanji, not by a long shot.

For more about Tanji, check out her website at http://www.tanjijohnson.com.

Black History Month (FitGems Nation Special)

In a matter of hours, we will be entering the month of February, which means it's time for Black History Month, and with the beginning of the presidential reign of our first black president, Barack Obama, Black History Month will have more meaning to it than ever before.

In honor of this special month, I'll be highlighting a black female physique competitor every day in February on this blog. They could be a pro or amateur, living or deceased, competing now or retired, among other things. If you have any suggestions to who you would like to see highlighted, leave a comment below or email me at admin@fitgemsnation.net.

Christine Pomponio-Pate looking A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

I usually don't do this too much, but I'd thought I'd make an exception this time. IronMan Magazine has recently posted a clip of Christine Pomponio-Pate, post-baby. I could tell you how amazing she looks after having a baby in December 2007, but maybe the clip can do better than my words.




Time to add Christine to the list of top fit mothers!

My Arnold Classic 2009 Page

Hello everyone!

I’ve taken the time to create a page dedicated to the women competing in the Arnold Classic on my website, FitGems Nation (http://www.fitgemsnation.net/)

It’s not completed, but it’s a little something for the female stars out there. Just trying to show them some love, too.

Here's the direct link to the page: http://www.fitgemsnation.net/page/arnold-classic-2009

Hope you enjoy it, and good luck to everyone (male and female) at the Arnold!

The Female Bodybuilding Directory

The Female Bodybuilders Directory (fbblinks.com) is a new site to promote the sport of female bodybuilding, figure and fitness.

As we all know, it takes a lot of hard work, dedication and focus to be a bodybuilder; particularly at competition level. Although bodybuilding itself has moved into the main-stream, female bodybuilding is still some way behind in terms of public acceptance and support.

To help change this, the Female Bodybuilders Directory has been set up as a central hub of all things related to the sport. It has listings of the home pages of female bodybuilders, figure and fitness competitors (as well as information on other female muscle related sites) and works hard to promote the sport in an honest and favorable light. The site helps raise awareness of the sport and provides web-traffic and exposure to the individuals themselves.

fbblinks is young and growing faster every day, so if you are a female bodybuilder, figure or fitness competitor, own a site that is directly related to female bodybuilding or you are an aspiring competitor with a web presence, please get in contact with the site and they'll be only too happy to help promote you by listing your own website in the directory.

If you own a blog or participate in bodybuilding forums and are reading this, you can do your own bit to help promote the sport by writing about the Female Bodybuilders Directory and linking back to them - we can all do our part, so get to work: every little bit helps!

Physique judges are people, too...

I’m about to piss some people off and become a wanted man among some fans and schmoes (and maybe some competitors) for saying this…but at times, I feel bad for the judges of this sport; I really do. Now, I know what you’re thinking…why would you feel sorry for these morons? First and foremost, they are not morons. They are just like you and me. They have to make hard decisions. And for them, they have guidelines they have to follow. To the best of my knowledge, there are people above them that decided the guidelines of the physiques in their federations, and all the judges can do is judge from what they see right in front of them on that day.

I'm not being a kiss-ass to them; I'm just stating the obvious. Am I saying that all judges are fair? ABSOLUTELY NOT! In life, you’re gonna have those corrupt people in everything, but there’s not as many as one might think. But in all things, it’s the bad that overshadows the good in any sport, event, or job in the eyes of the average person. And judges are not immune to this. I don’t know how they are individually, but when you talk about judges as a whole, at times they are like Rodney Dangerfield; they get no respect, and that’s just wrong.

To the competitors out there who are blaming the judges for their placements, could you think that you might be doing something wrong? Take your loss as a learning tool and learn from it. If you didn't place where you wanted to, go to them and ask them face to face what the problems was. Trust me, I’ve had to deal with some trial and error trying to get my FitGems Nation site up and running (still learning). To those that think the judges just don’t like your favorite competitor(s) and are only picking who they like personally, I’ve got some words for you…GROW THE HECK UP! Last time I checked, the world didn’t revolve around just you. Your favorite competitor just didn't have the right package to get that certain placing you felt like they deserved. I'm not going to claim that I've never thought bad about judges. I was one of those people that thought that they are only awarding certain people based on sponsor or their name, or blah, blah, bla-dey blah. However, I realized that I was just being selfish and stupid, and realize that the judges aren't to blame.

I’m gonna tell you right now, I don’t think I could be a judge. I don’t have what it takes to make a major decision on hand like the physique judges. My hat is off to all of them. Bottom line, if you don't like what is being judged, contact the federation and let them know about your displeasure. Don't take it out on the judges; they are just doing their jobs. Judges, keep doing your thing and remember why you are in that position in the first place. You have my respect.

There you go...my honest take on the judges, and why they should be respected by all members of the industry (especially fans) rather then ridiculed. You may now leave all complaints, hate messages, and wedgie threats below. Thank you.

FitGems Nation Exclusives

The FitGems Nation will be honoring the female competitors in various ways on the website. We have FitGem of the Week and Photo of the Week.

FitGem of the Week is a page made for them, Photo of the Week, is just that, a photo submitted by competitors, fans, and photographers, that will be featured on the front page of the site.

Go to http://www.fitgemsnation.net/page/exclusives-1 for more info on these and other FitGems exclusives and how you can get involved.

Thanks!

Siouxcountry Radio

For those that are unaware, Siouxcountry has become the place to meet, know, and understand the true nature of the female physique. The community board has grown in ways that I've never seen in any industry. Dare I say it, but you'd be hard pressed to find a board in any industry as inviting and interactive as Siouxcountry. If you can find me one, please let me know.

As a big kickoff to 2009, The Sioux Nation will be taking on the online radio waves starting tomorrow with Siouxcountry Radio. It will be two 30-minute podcasts with one for female bodybuilding, and one for fitness, figure, and female athletes. They will be hosted by female competitors. This was all made possible by MusclePapa John.

For all the details, click on the banner below:


Ladies, you now have another great reason to invest in an Ipod or an MP3 player. Prepare to be Sioux-ified! (if you haven't been already!)

Happy New Year!!!

2008 is over, and 2009 has officially begun! May you be blessed with great things. Thank you for supporting the FitGems Nation. This has been a growing process for me, as I'm doing what I can for the sport of female muscle. Hopefully 2009 will be a great year for everyone.


On the final question for 2008, I asked, If it were up to YOU, which division would you rather have in the NPC and IFBB: a bikini or physique division? 60% of you would rather have a physique division, 32% would have both a physique division and a bikini division, and 7% would rather have a bikini division (To no one's surprise, no one chose the neither option).

The first question of the new year is...Which is the bigger show to you, the Olympia or the Arnold?

HAPPY 2009, EVERYONE!!!!!!