2012 Arnold Classic Europe

[kevin1]

This is taken day after the Arnolds. I finished 9th. Didnt have enough volume though. Next year Ill show up way bigger :-)
<a href="http://imagecdn.bodybuilding.com/img/user_images/growable/2012/10/15/55745012/gallerypic/1SjpmvkFzfRBmJV920naocF7HJtcCi655.jpeg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://imagecdn.bodybuilding.com/img/user_images/growable/2012/10/15/55745012/gallerypic/1SjpmvkFzfRBmJV920naocF7HJtcCi655.jpeg</a>

 
Unfortunately we don't here many FBBers admit to wanting to be bigger these days. Looking forward to your progress!
 

[fredzeppelin]

K+. Now, I'm as a patriotic an America as the next guy, but is it me, or are the current top European fbbs far and away
hotter than the current top American fbbs? I mean just look at the top three: Jay Fuchs, Katka Kyptova, and Salla Kauranen.
If they werent bodybuilders, any of those three could cut as it models. And hot models at that!
HAS EUROPE FINALLY SURPASSED THE US AS A SUPERPOWER IN THE FIELD OF WOMAN'S BODYBUILDING? Oh noes!

[fredzeppelin]

Still on that thought, wouldn't it be cool if the IFBB had some event the equivalent of golf's Ryder Cup,
where the best American fbbs would be pit against the best from Europe for that year (if they had such an
event, I would put my money -- all of it -- on Europe for this year!). But of course this is the IFBB we are talking
an organization less cool and less innovative than the PBA (Professional Bowlers Association). So it'll never happen

[cybrwrld666]

Great post

[UK_Fan]

My point in my posting before the tread was moved. She has great symmetry, actually better symmetry than the winner who has a fairly long torso. However, why she would compete in such shitty condition I can't understand. Had she been hard she would have been top 3, if not the winner. Depending on how her waist would come out, with all the fat around it hard to tell at this point if she has a small waist.

It`s from Maria Carolien Wattel FB ...

"....But then we had to wait almost 4 hours for the bikini class to finish... And i started to hate the show and got tired and frustrated! So in the end i was on stage with water retension..
I saw everybody dying backstage, the masters, the female bb! We were punished they needed to show barbie on stage.
The real athletes had to suffer... So so wrong!"

It seems to met that one of the big issues at the moment is the dramatic drop-off in size and/or conditioning within the final 1-3 days of a show - Natalia Romashko here has obviously not "dialled it in", but quite a few other top pros (Alina Popa being the best example currently) seem to regularly miss their peak and be great one week or so out, then...?  The above quote about the figure/bikini classes etc being given preference seems to not help the situation even further.  I don't seem to remember this being such a problem at pro level 10-15 years ago.  I wonder why that is?

[papadoc1981]

My point in my posting before the tread was moved. She has great symmetry, actually better symmetry than the winner who has a fairly long torso. However, why she would compete in such shitty condition I can't understand. Had she been hard she would have been top 3, if not the winner. Depending on how her waist would come out, with all the fat around it hard to tell at this point if she has a small waist.

It`s from Maria Carolien Wattel FB ...

"....But then we had to wait almost 4 hours for the bikini class to finish... And i started to hate the show and got tired and frustrated! So in the end i was on stage with water retension..
I saw everybody dying backstage, the masters, the female bb! We were punished they needed to show barbie on stage.
The real athletes had to suffer... So so wrong!"

4 freakin' hours!  For those skinny bitches! 

Now here is the real question.  Just who the hell goes to a BB show to watch the bikini contest?

[vato76]

You look amazing Kar! Like a keg full of sex. 

[NinjaStar]

I really can't get enough of this picture. Totally dominant amazon.

[polecia]

Enjoy them ··· 

[youtube]lZw1sXWjhHs[/youtube]

[luvbarbie]

@Papadog and UK Fan
The waiting around is terrible, the worst I ever had to do was 8 !!!!! hours before prejudging, and that was at a national qualifier. Then they rushed us  (female bb) on stage and it was over in less than 5 min. Back to the point, that does a lot damage, you might draw/retain water etc etc...
The other issue you guys mentioned is the conditioning in general. Keep in mind it is hard to dial in perfectly for every show and a large amount of competitors have to deal with metabolic damage due to all the crazy dieting. Unfortunately, this will only get worse with the necessary collecting of points for pro shows. I am sure male athletes have MD also but are less open about it. But then again, we (women) have to deal with way more hormone fluctuations than males anyway.

However, the girl with the short blonde hair (keep forgetting her name) was months out from anywhere near contest shape and bf was plain too high. We don't know what the issue here was/is, bad coaching/prep or MD also. 

[UK_Fan]

@Papadog and UK Fan
The waiting around is terrible, the worst I ever had to do was 8 !!!!! hours before prejudging, and that was at a national qualifier. Then they rushed us  (female bb) on stage and it was over in less than 5 min. Back to the point, that does a lot damage, you might draw/retain water etc etc...
The other issue you guys mentioned is the conditioning in general. Keep in mind it is hard to dial in perfectly for every show and a large amount of competitors have to deal with metabolic damage due to all the crazy dieting. Unfortunately, this will only get worse with the necessary collecting of points for pro shows. I am sure male athletes have MD also but are less open about it. But then again, we (women) have to deal with way more hormone fluctuations than males anyway.

However, the girl with the short blonde hair (keep forgetting her name) was months out from anywhere near contest shape and bf was plain too high. We don't know what the issue here was/is, bad coaching/prep or MD also.

Most of us would have noticed is that women's bodybuilding now takes second (or third/fourth) preference to figure, bikini and fitness with the IFBB and amateur organisations, but particularly in the US (bodybuilding shows organised in Europe/outside the US [not sure about Canada] seem on the face of it to give better treatment to FBB competitors).  There must be a way of helping the competitors keep their best conditioning throughout the show - maybe doing all the FBB contest in one go, then the figure, etc, etc.  Personally I would also love to see all competitors have the opportunity to do their posing routing, given how long and arduous a road it is getting to the competition in the first place.  From all accounts, the overall shows don't seem the very well organised generally.

I wonder if any brave BB journalist has asked why the needs of the bodybuilders have been sacrificed so greatly - the general consensus appears to be that some of these organisations want female bodybuilding to die, so they do all they can to put fans off from attending events and competitors participating.

My observation was that (right or wrongly) a large percentage of female bodybuilding competitors seem to be "off" come contest time than appeared to be the case some years back (maybe I'm biased that I believe the standard of competitors has dropped since the late 1990s/early 2000s, since most of my fave athletes competed at that time) - Bettina's point about the training/diet coaches confirms my suspicions that with the decline of female bodybuilding generally, came the drop-off in the quality of those training the athletes - of course, the drop (in relative terms) in prize money and general remuneration (through much less magazine/clothing/supplement company sponsorship and TV rights for pro shows) appears to indicate that competitors cannot spend what they need to on their training, diet, etc - some resorting to "extra-curricular activities" to make ends meet, which may be unpalatable (but to them possibly a necessary evil) and has a negative effect on their emotional well-being.

A real shame - the only way out is that we fans come together with the athletes to try and make some real improvements to the sport before its too late (if that point hasn't been reached already).

[kevin1]

@Papadog and UK Fan
The waiting around is terrible, the worst I ever had to do was 8 !!!!! hours before prejudging, and that was at a national qualifier. Then they rushed us  (female bb) on stage and it was over in less than 5 min. Back to the point, that does a lot damage, you might draw/retain water etc etc...
The other issue you guys mentioned is the conditioning in general. Keep in mind it is hard to dial in perfectly for every show and a large amount of competitors have to deal with metabolic damage due to all the crazy dieting. Unfortunately, this will only get worse with the necessary collecting of points for pro shows. I am sure male athletes have MD also but are less open about it. But then again, we (women) have to deal with way more hormone fluctuations than males anyway.

However, the girl with the short blonde hair (keep forgetting her name) was months out from anywhere near contest shape and bf was plain too high. We don't know what the issue here was/is, bad coaching/prep or MD also.

Most of us would have noticed is that women's bodybuilding now takes second (or third/fourth) preference to figure, bikini and fitness with the IFBB and amateur organisations, but particularly in the US (bodybuilding shows organised in Europe/outside the US [not sure about Canada] seem on the face of it to give better treatment to FBB competitors).  There must be a way of helping the competitors keep their best conditioning throughout the show - maybe doing all the FBB contest in one go, then the figure, etc, etc.  Personally I would also love to see all competitors have the opportunity to do their posing routing, given how long and arduous a road it is getting to the competition in the first place.  From all accounts, the overall shows don't seem the very well organised generally.

I wonder if any brave BB journalist has asked why the needs of the bodybuilders have been sacrificed so greatly - the general consensus appears to be that some of these organisations want female bodybuilding to die, so they do all they can to put fans off from attending events and competitors participating.

My observation was that (right or wrongly) a large percentage of female bodybuilding competitors seem to be "off" come contest time than appeared to be the case some years back (maybe I'm biased that I believe the standard of competitors has dropped since the late 1990s/early 2000s, since most of my fave athletes competed at that time) - Bettina's point about the training/diet coaches confirms my suspicions that with the decline of female bodybuilding generally, came the drop-off in the quality of those training the athletes - of course, the drop (in relative terms) in prize money and general remuneration (through much less magazine/clothing/supplement company sponsorship and TV rights for pro shows) appears to indicate that competitors cannot spend what they need to on their training, diet, etc - some resorting to "extra-curricular activities" to make ends meet, which may be unpalatable (but to them possibly a necessary evil) and has a negative effect on their emotional well-being.

A real shame - the only way out is that we fans come together with the athletes to try and make some real improvements to the sport before its too late (if that point hasn't been reached already).

So a contest in Europe makes the FBBers stand around for 4 hours backstage and you talk sh*t about the US? Typical Euro superiority complex.
 

[UK_Fan]

@Papadog and UK Fan
The waiting around is terrible, the worst I ever had to do was 8 !!!!! hours before prejudging, and that was at a national qualifier. Then they rushed us  (female bb) on stage and it was over in less than 5 min. Back to the point, that does a lot damage, you might draw/retain water etc etc...
The other issue you guys mentioned is the conditioning in general. Keep in mind it is hard to dial in perfectly for every show and a large amount of competitors have to deal with metabolic damage due to all the crazy dieting. Unfortunately, this will only get worse with the necessary collecting of points for pro shows. I am sure male athletes have MD also but are less open about it. But then again, we (women) have to deal with way more hormone fluctuations than males anyway.

However, the girl with the short blonde hair (keep forgetting her name) was months out from anywhere near contest shape and bf was plain too high. We don't know what the issue here was/is, bad coaching/prep or MD also.

Most of us would have noticed is that women's bodybuilding now takes second (or third/fourth) preference to figure, bikini and fitness with the IFBB and amateur organisations, but particularly in the US (bodybuilding shows organised in Europe/outside the US [not sure about Canada] seem on the face of it to give better treatment to FBB competitors).  There must be a way of helping the competitors keep their best conditioning throughout the show - maybe doing all the FBB contest in one go, then the figure, etc, etc.  Personally I would also love to see all competitors have the opportunity to do their posing routing, given how long and arduous a road it is getting to the competition in the first place.  From all accounts, the overall shows don't seem the very well organised generally.

I wonder if any brave BB journalist has asked why the needs of the bodybuilders have been sacrificed so greatly - the general consensus appears to be that some of these organisations want female bodybuilding to die, so they do all they can to put fans off from attending events and competitors participating.

My observation was that (right or wrongly) a large percentage of female bodybuilding competitors seem to be "off" come contest time than appeared to be the case some years back (maybe I'm biased that I believe the standard of competitors has dropped since the late 1990s/early 2000s, since most of my fave athletes competed at that time) - Bettina's point about the training/diet coaches confirms my suspicions that with the decline of female bodybuilding generally, came the drop-off in the quality of those training the athletes - of course, the drop (in relative terms) in prize money and general remuneration (through much less magazine/clothing/supplement company sponsorship and TV rights for pro shows) appears to indicate that competitors cannot spend what they need to on their training, diet, etc - some resorting to "extra-curricular activities" to make ends meet, which may be unpalatable (but to them possibly a necessary evil) and has a negative effect on their emotional well-being.

A real shame - the only way out is that we fans come together with the athletes to try and make some real improvements to the sport before its too late (if that point hasn't been reached already).

So a contest in Europe makes the FBBers stand around for 4 hours backstage and you talk sh*t about the US? Typical Euro superiority complex.
 

Not really - I have no affinity towards mainland Europe or something against the US - in fact most of my fave (and best IMHO) FBBs come from the US.  Besides - given that those fronting that show are from the US, wouldn't they be in charge of the contest timetable, or at least the local IFBB official do as their paymasters say?  Maybe it is just as bad in European-organised contests, but from various opinions (including that of athletes from outside the US), women's bodybuilding is given more respect by the officialdom elsewhere.

All I was saying is that those running pro womens' bodybuilding are IMHO not running it for the benefit of the athletes in any way - they just happen to be a US-based organisation (mainly because bodybuilding begun there).  On the other side of the coin, I think the Europe-based soccer organisation FIFA is very badly run and corrupt.  I'm just against a badly-run sport - please don't take is so personally or an "attack" on the US.

[luvbarbie]

Kevin and UD Fan,
Not sure if you guys know but I'm native German, dual citizenship (US) since 2006. That said, I competed in Europe (Germany, Spain, Lithuania (lol not the best place to compete haha) etc etc, from the mid 90's to 2000. NABBA was my federation and shows were well organized, including paid trips for the athletes (amateurs that is). Back then things were in order and female bb was well respected, including letting us go on first.
Fast forward straight to the present, the NPC and your question if it is too late or sth could be changed...I will be the bearer of bad news, yes it is too late and it will not change, just get worse for female bbs. With increased numbers in figure and the unfortunate inauguration of the skankini division (bikini for the slow ones lol) female bb will eventually disappear. And for the same reason and an average of 300-400!! competitors at local shows they will always do the ass and tits show first , then everything else, then the women bodybuilders. That leads to hours and hours of waiting backstage, just like it happened to me last year at the CA State show. We went on for prejudging at 4pm!! The eveing show started at 6pm so they demanded the athletes to be back at the venue at 5pm.  HUNDREDS of skankinis and figure, they just came flocking in. Another fact: There are already alarming low numbers of female bbs at national qualifiers and some show up in shitty condition bc they know they can get qualified without working too hard for it. They get their ass kicked at a national show but that is a different story. Result: The same pros will keep competing until they are literally worn out and followed by a lower quality set of athletes. I know from a trustworthy source that this year at the O they discussed if they should continue having womens bodybuilding at all.

[luvbarbie]

Oh lol and no I don't think it is that much different in Europe, they just don't have THAT many competitors in general. And I can't really say anything about how shows are organized there nowadays, the last time I competed in Germany was at the 2004 German Championships. I had won the New Englands and not having my US citzenship yet I couldn't go any further to national level here.

Then it also depends, who really cares if a bikini chick has to wait around that long in terms of "condition"? Let's face it, it's not like there is much conditioning going on in that department. Ok it sucks in terms of time but getting on stage in time is not as important for those girls, compared to bbs.