Melissa Merritt

This sleek and muscled 25 year old from Austin, Texas is Melissa Merritt.
Melissa won the Figure Overall title in Las Vegas at the Fitness America World Championships on November 21, 2008.
Melissa just ran a Fitness Bootcamp with fellow fitness stars Abby Marie and Brenda Mikalajunas.
Abby Marie is also being trained by Melissa.

Karen Zaremba

Stay at home Mom, IFBB Bodybuilder, former IFBB Figure Pro and fitness model Karen Zaremba.
Karen was born on January 27, 1964 in Detroit, Michigan.

Contest History:
2003- Michigan Novice Bodybuilding championships- overall
2004- Central States Figure championships- overall
2005- Junior USA's - third place Class A
2005- Junior Nationals- third place class A
2005- NPC National Figure Championships- second place class A, earned IFBB pro card
2007 Europa Super Show - 8th place lightweights

Sondra Hopkins

Sondra Hopkins is a personal trainer, NPC figure competitor and she owns the Fit Life Studio in Boerne, Texas.
Contest history:
West Texas Classic 2008 Masters - 1st Place
Ronnie Coleman Classic 2008 - Masters 4th Place
Ronnie Coleman Classic 2008 - D Class 8th Place
NPC Rock Fitness Extravaganza 2008 - Masters - 1st Place
NPC Rock Fitness Extravaganza 2008 - Figure B - 2nd Place
NPC Texas State Championships - 4th Figure D

Fitness Model and Competitor, Laura Coleman

Laura Coleman is an up and coming fitness model and competitor.
She's 5'7" and weighs 127.
I was only able to find two competitions Laura has been in, she placed 4th at the 2005 Los Angeles Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure Championships, Class F and she came in 1st in Figure F at the 2007 Los Angeles Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure Championships.
Laura has appeared in Oxygen, Ironman, Muscle Mag and Muscular Development.
And as far as I can tell, she is in a relationship with retired IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Eryk Bui.

IFBB Figure Pro Erin Stern

IFBB Figure Pro Erin Stern is from Wellington, Florida.
She's a fairly new face, but I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of her.
Before entering competition, she competed in track and field at the University of Florida. Her specialty was the high jump and hurdles.
When she's not competing, she works in the real estate industry.
Contest history :
2003 NPC, Gainesville
2008 NPC National Figure, won F class (over 5'7") and got her IFBB Pro Card.

This 5'8", 136 pound beauty can bench press 193 lbs, deadlift 230 lbs, and squat 230 lbs.

Catherine Holland, IFBB Pro Figure Competitor

IFBB Pro figure competitor, fitness model and certified personal trainer, Catherine Holland was born on March 21, 1980 in Portland, Oregon.
This lovely young lady holds BS and MS degrees in Exercise and Sport Science from Oregon State University.
In addition to Figure Competitions, she is a business owner and instructor of Celebration Boot Camps.
She has competed in the:

2004 NPC Northwest Natural Figure Championships: Overall
2005 Oregon Ironman Figure: 1st place over 5’6”
2005 Emerald Cup Figure: 7th place 5’6-5’8”
2006 Emerald Cup Figure: 13th place 5’6-5-8”
2006 NPC Jr. National Figure Championship: 9th Place Class D
2007 NPC Jr. National Figure Championship: 12th Place Class F
2007 NPC Figure Team Universe: 16th place Class F
2007 NPC Figure USA’s: 16th place Class E
2008 Emerald Cup Figure: 2nd place Class F
2008 NPC JR USA Figure Championship: 1st place class E
2008 NPC JR NATIONALS Figure Championships: 1st place, Class E, and new IFBB FIGURE PRO

You can see and learn more about Catherine at her website:
http://www.catherinefitness.com/

Juliana Malacarne - IFBB Figure Pro

I did a write up on IFBB Figure Pro Juliana Malacarne last year on my other fitness women blog, but I wanted to do an update on her here.
Juliana is of Italian heritage, but was born in Brazil.
And like many of the other female fitness beauties that I do write up on here, she is multi-talented.
She's not only a fitness pro, but a female personal trainer, nutritionist and female fitness model.

Female Fitness Competitions:
2006 IFBB Europa Super Show - NP
2007 IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Figure Championships - NP
2007 IFBB California Pro Figure Championships - 13th place
2007 IFBB Colorado Pro/Am Classic Bodybuilding And Figure Contest - NP
2008 IFBB Arnold Classic Bodybuilding, Fitness And Figure Contest - 12th place
2008 IFBB New York Pro Figure - 13th place
2008 IFBB Atlantic City Pro - 4th place
2009 IFBB Arnold Classic - 13th place
2009 IFBB New York Pro Figure - 10th place



You can find out more about Juliana at her MySpace page here:
http://www.myspace.com/julianamalacarne

And here is a clip of Juliana working out at a gym posted by dcerbi on YouTube

Trish Stratus, Fitness Model

Of course you associate the name Trish Stratus with the WWE.
She was the WWF/WWE Women's Wrestling Champion 7 times.
But before she was a professional wrestler or television personality, Trish was a sought after fitness model.
When Trish was growing up in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, she wanted to become a doctor.
It looked like Trish was getting her wish when she became a pre-med student at York University in Toronto, Ontario.
Things looked good for her medical career until a faculty strike by YUFA in 1997 that lasted seven weeks, effectively shutting the college down.
Since Trish couldn't go to school, she got a job in World Gym, and was approached by Scott Able (who has trained over 300 bodybuilding and figure champions) to do a modeling job for a supplement line.
This lead to her catching the eye of Bob Kennedy, and being contracted to work for the Musclemag International fitness magazine from 1997 to 1999.
Trish became one of the world's most sought after fitness models, and wound up appearing on the cover of over 20 international fitness publications.
One of Trish's most remembered projects from her fitness period was the infamous The Dream Team calendar with fellow fitness model Stacey Lynn.

Fitness Model: Kathleen Tesori

The lovely Kathleen Tesori is Americas Fittest Model Magazine's "Fittest Model Champion"
This 5' 4", 114 lbs beauty from Salt Lake City, Utah has done a lot of fitness modeling.
She's appeared on the Hawaiian Tropic website and poster, and she's appeared in Max Muscle, FLEX and Muscle and Fitness Hers.
Contest History:
2005 Hawaiian Tropic Utah State final-1st place
2005 Hawaiian Tropic US Finals – top 12
2007 Hawaiian Tropic Nevada State final – 1st place
2007 Hawaiian Tropic US Finals – top 12
2007 Northern States NGA Finals – 1st place
2008 Flex Bikini Model Search-1st place

Yvonne Bates - Personal Trainer and Fitness Model

It's been awhile (January actually) since I did anything on the beautiful Yvonne Bates.
So here's another couple of pictures of this lovely Cambodian personal trainer, female fitness competitor and fitness model.
In these, you get some idea of her amazing abs.



Contest History:

2003 - Short Division, Gold Classic in Kansas City. 1st place, Short Division, NPC in Kansas City. 3rd place, Pro Division, WNBF World Championship in New York - 1st place
2004 - Natural American Classic in Austin, TX. 1st place,
2004 - WNBF Northeast Classic in Worcester, MA. 1st place,
2004 - Natural Caribbean Grand Prix in the Grand Cayman Islands, 2nd place,
2004 - WNBF World Championship in New York City.
2005 - WNBF Pro Natural International and 7th place at the WNBF Pro Natural Northeast Figure Championships, 2nd place
2006 - WNBF Pro Natural Caribbean Figure Championships, 2nd place
2007- WNBF Bluffs Classic Figure Championships and 4th place
2007 - Ms/Mr. International Kansas City Golds Classic


Like I said in an earlier post, you can find out more about Yvonne at her website:
http://www.yvonnebates.com/


Yvonne Bates, posted to http://asian-fitness-women.blogspot.com/, on Sept 22nd, 2009

More Denise Paglia

Former ESPN beauty, Denise Paglia seems to be very popular, so how about a couple more pictures of this Japanese and Italian beauty.
This Certified AFAA Fitness Trainer appeared on Fitness Beach, she appeared on Cyberfit and Bodyshaping.
The only thing left now is... where is she today?
She was a writer for Muscle & Fitness Hers at one time and she appeared on cover of the very first issue of that magazine.




posted to http://asian-fitness-women.blogspot.com/ on August 27th, 2009

More Linda Minard

I did a write up not long ago on the lovely South Korean star Linda Minard.
I mentioned that she got her Pro Card at the 2008 FAME Canadian Nationals.
Well here is a picture of the beautiful Linda in contest shape.
I thought she looked fit in her other pics but wow!
The next stop for Linda is the FAME World Championships in Montreal.
And Linda appeared in the Oxygen Magazine "Abs Special" Issue.
Looking at her abs, is there any wonder why?

You can find out more about Linda at her website here
http://www.lindaminard.com/

Top Ten Asian Fitness Women for June

Based on searches, here are the top ten Asian Fitness Women on this blog.
This is all based on who was looked for the most here.

1. Monique Minton
Yes, the beautiful half filipinia, half polish model Monique Minton, came in at number one, hands down.

2. Tanji Johnson
Personal trainer, NPC Promoter and writer Tanji Johnson came in at number two.

3. Karen Pang
Canadian born Fitness Competitor and Fitness Model Karen Pang in at number three.

4. Linda Minard
This Korean actress and fitness model came in at number four.

5. Satoko Shinashi
Female Japanese mixed martial arts fighter, Satoko Shinashi.

6. Jung Young Ji
South Korean female Bodybuilder Jung Young Ji comes in at number six.

7. Lisa Cheng
Lovely bodybuilder and rock climber Lisa Cheng from China, in at number seven.

8. MC Barao
Beautiful Philippine fitness star MC Barao comes in at number eight.

9. Aki Nishimoto
Japanese female bodybuilder Aki Nishimoto ranks in at number nine.

10. Michelle Jin
And rounding out the top ten is Asian-American female bodybuilder Michelle Jin.

Quite a change from when I did this list back in May.
Satoko Shinashi dropped from number 1 to number 4.
Monique Minton went from number 2 to number 1.
Aki Nishimoto dropped from number 5 to number 9.
And the rest of the last list's member have totally fallen off the chart.

Minna Pajulahti

This beautiful young lady is Minna Pajulahti.
She is a fitness competitor, flight attendant and aerobics instructor from Finland.

You can read an interview with Minna by Kaisa Piippo here:
http://www.hardfitness.com/emagazine/issue20/minna.html

And you can see a lot more of her pictures here:
http://www.pakkotoisto.com/copper/thumbnails.php?album=169

Dale Tomita

This fitness competitor from Hawaii was very popular in the 90s.
She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1964 and is of Japanese-American descent.
This 5 foot 2 inch, 116 pound beauty graced the cover and insides of the major fitness mags.
And like several other fitness competitors, Dale started out in gymnastics until an injury forced to give that up.

Contest History:
1995 IFBB Olympia, 4th place
1996 IFBB Olympia, 4th place
1997 IFBB Arnold Classic And Internationals, 4th place
1997 IFBB Czech Pro Fitness, 1st place
1997 IFBB Ms. Olympia, 5th place

Denise Paglia

Another former ESPN beauty, Denise Paglia.
Denise was very popular in the fitness magazines in the 90s, and her fame has carried over to today.
As popular though as this beautiful lady is, I really cant find much info on her.
I read that she was of Japanese and Italian descent.
She is sometimes listed as Denise-Paglia-Cole.
Denise is a Certified AFAA Fitness Trainer.
Besides Fitness Beach, she appeared on Cyberfit and Bodyshaping.
As female fitness competitor, Denise placed in the 1992 and 1993 Fitness America National Pageants, and she came in 5th at the 1995 Fitness Olympia.
She was on the cover of the very first issue of the fitness magazine Muscle & Fitness Hers.
Sadly, I can't find a MySpace page for her.

Shonda Lee

Beautiful figure competitor Shonda Lee is from Shreveport, Louisiana.
She's 5' 5" and weighs 121 ripped and lean pounds.

Contest History:
2008 NPC Southern Classic (MS) - 5th Place, Class C
2008 NPC Louisiana BB & Figure (LA) - 3rd Place, Medium Class
2008 NPC Nationals (GA) - 8th Place, Class C
2008 Bikini USA International (Mexico) - 7th place

Shonda also does modeling and you can visit her Model Mayhem page here:
http://www.modelmayhem.com/729604

Liza Kampstra

The gorgeous Liza Kampstra is a knock out in more ways than one.
This young lady had to give up her first love soccer because of an injury.
But did that stop her?
Nope.
She began training with IFBB Pro Carla Sanchez and the Performance Ready Team and look at her now.
Now she's an IFBB Professional Fitness Athlete, Mom, MMA ring girl and model.
And she has started building a very impressive contest history.....

2007 NPC Gaspari Nutrition Jr. USA Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Championships, 12th place
2007 NPC Junior Nationals Bodybuilding, Fitness And Figure Contest, 5th place
2007 NPC Team Universe Bodybuilding, Fitness And Figure Championships, 11th place
2007 NPC USA Bodybuilding And Figure Championships, 8th place
2008 NPC Junior National Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure Championships, 2nd place
2008 NPC Team Universe Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure National Championships, 2nd place

For more info and pics, you can visit Liza's website here:
http://www.lizakampstra.com/

Monique Minton

This beautiful young lady is female fitness model and female figure competitor Monique Minton.
I did a write up on this lovely half filipinia, half polish model over at one of my other fitness blogs, but I wanted to include her here as well.
She's the cover girl for the 2009 March-April Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine, and she racked up an impressive list of contests finishes in 2008.
1st place at the The 2008 NPC John Sherman Classic Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure Championships, 3rd place at the The 2008 NPC USA Bodybuilding & Figure Championships, 4th place at the 2008 NPC Team Universe Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure National Championships, 5th place at the 2008 NPC National Bodybuilding & Figure Championships and 1st place at the 2007 NPC Gateway Classic.
"Stunning" seems to be the term a lot of people apply to this competitor, and with good reason.
"Momo" has a website in the works, but at the time of this entry, it's not up yet.
But here's the link in case you'd like to bookmark it and check back....
http://www.momofitness.com/

Monique Minton

Gorgeous female fitness model and female figure competitor Monique Minton.
This beautiful young lady is half filipinia and half polish.
She has been selected as the cover model for the 2009 March-April Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine.

Monique has competed in:
The 2008 NPC John Sherman Classic Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure Championships, 1st place
The 2008 NPC USA Bodybuilding & Figure Championships, 3rd place
The 2008 NPC Team Universe Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure National Championships, 4th place
2008 NPC National Bodybuilding & Figure Championships, 5th place

I think we'll be seeing a lot more of Monique.