Bikinis and biceps: the world of female bodybuilders
Female bodybuilding used to be big – like female bodybuilders themselves – but it was a craze that wasn't built to last. Now its devotees are an endangered species.
We've been speaking barely 10 minutes when Sarah Bridges shifts her enormous upper body in the doll's-house dimensions of her chair and takes in a young man, kit bag in hand, framed in the doorway of the Dartford pub she runs with her husband, Bill.
'That's my three o'clock,' she says, waving at the newcomer, who it transpires has travelled from Dover for a physical appraisal from Sarah, one of the world's most experienced female bodybuilders. Ten minutes later in the pub kitchen the 26-year-old is ordered to strip and stand posing in his pants while Sarah points out his strengths and weaknesses. At the bar a trio of locals sip Kentish ales and pass around a bag of pork scratchings as though nothing out of the ordinary is happening.
But Sarah's dedication to bodybuilding is out of the ordinary. Fewer and fewer women in Britain are taking part in the sport; of those who do the majority are opting to adhere to more conventionally feminine classes like 'figure' and 'body fitness', seeing the bulkier frames of women like Sarah as a throwback to the heyday of bodybuilding in the 1980s, when bigger was better and Arnie was king.
A study appearing in Science Translational Medicine puts scientists one step closer to clinical trials to test a gene delivery strategy to improve muscle mass and function in patients with certain degenerative muscle disorders.
For our book UNDERGROUND ANABOLICS we wanted a sample from a new UG line from the UK, ProChem Laboratories. I was able to get a vial from a bodybuilder that he had used twice. I thought 6 ml would be sufficient I sent the used ampoule with the rest of the samples to the laboratory for analysis. The lab ran all tests and the used vial showed an estimated colony forming unit (CFU) from 60.000. Since it was the only used vial I tried my best to find a new vial and I was able to buy a few in the UK, via a board-member. We sent this new vial in for a CFU test and this sample was not contaminated (see reports).
This month I thought it would be interesting to introduce readers to a new, underground steroid circulating on the black market. It’s called dimethylnandrolone (DMN) and as its name suggest, it’s a cousin to the popular drug Deca Durabolin (nandrolone decanoate), so highly favoured by athletes for its strong anabolic and mildly androgenic properties. Dimethylnandrolone or DMN for short, is an interesting analogue of nandrolone, displaying high relative potency and favourable estrogenic and androgenic characteristics. Although its emergence on the underground is fairly recent, it’s quickly gaining attention and favourable reviews. With this in mind, I figured a thorough examination was warranted. So, without further fanfare let’s find out what this new “designer” steroid is all about.
In the last 20 years, the number of overweight children and adolescents has tripled. Adults have fared just as poorly. Currently more than two thirds - almost 70% - of Americans are considered overweight or obese.
There appears to be no end in sight for the American cycle of eating itself to death. The economy hasn’t gotten much better, and the medical community consistently points out a lack of messaging and programming to stop the alarming increase in American obesity.
Vladimir Lenin, King Tut and the McDonald's Happy Meal: What do they all have in common? A shocking resistance to Mother Nature's cycle of decomposition and biodegradability, apparently.
It may not be the fountain of youth, but researchers at York University have discovered that regular exercise can effectively turn back the clock for aging skeletal muscle.
Have you ever noticed that people have thinner arms and legs as they get older? As we age it becomes harder to keep our muscles healthy. They get smaller, which decreases strength and increases the likelihood of falls and fractures. New research is showing how this happens — and what to do about it.