A quick perusal of dictionaries and the internet in a search for the definition of 'routine' brings forth what can be best described as predictable. One-word descriptions such as 'habitual', 'mechanical', 'mundane' and even 'monotonous' are offered.
Meanwhile, multiple-word definitions also capture the full meaning: 'The undertaking of an established procedure', 'Of a customary or commonplace type', 'Encounters in the normal course of events', and 'Familiar through frequent or regular repetition'.
Clearly, none of the above-mentioned words or phrases conjures any level of excitement or curiosity, yet 'routines' are – and always have been – an integral element within the worlds of bodybuilding and fitness. It is the routines that give competitors in these sports the opportunity to display the results of their bodily creations. Audiences look forward to them and judging panels watch them before making their final decisions… theoretically, at least.
Unfortunately, as has been the case with the passage of time within the history of these disciplines, far too many of the routines created are simply that – routine. And much of that fact lies in the reality that posing routines have seldom changed the course of a judging panel's final decision. So, with that realization, contestants have spent less and less time in their overall preparation to produce a routine that makes physical magic onstage. As one top-level pro bodybuilder mentioned years ago, "Once the first call-out of the prejudging is announced, what's left? It's pretty much over."
Thankfully, however, there has always been a rare breed – a small group of fabulous females – who have gone the distance to make muscular magic for appreciative audiences. W
hether it's part of their makeup as a dedicated competitor, or more pointedly possessing a natural instinct and intensely strong desire to portray the special beauty of the muscular female form, these special women turn routines into what can only be described as performances. And these gifted females are anything but mechanical, monotonous or mundane.
One of the finest pro bodybuilders of the 90's – an NPC National champion and a top five placer at several pro events – said it best when she opined, "The quest for an ultimate physique is a mix of challenges and some frustration. After all, none of us are perfect. And the end game is that we can never achieve physical perfection. I'm not even sure what that is. But we press on anyway... out of curiosity, I guess."
Her utterance about the reality of chasing perfection rings true with any competitor who has taken on the serious task of weight training with high expectations in mind. And it is at that point where the difference between simply creating a routine and stepping up to an artful performance brings out the true beauty of the sport.
In the subjective world of bodybuilding and fitness competitions, entrants understand early on there are no 'perfect 10's' as in gymnastics or diving. There are no finish lines or stop watches as in track & field. A wagonload of sports require technicality levels to achieve victories, but in bodybuilding's subjective world, opinions can vary greatly. So, armed with the knowledge that we are all snowflakes – each uniquely different – the creation of that unique form offers the performer's effort to uniquely display it.
Enter those who are seemingly born to entertain. And within the worlds of bodybuilding and fitness they bring a special understanding to audiences as what is truly unique about the female form and its highest levels of development. The most familiar phrase used today would be that they 'get it'. But the 'getting' of a performance still brings with it a magical air.
Yesteryear's Music Hall performers possessed that magic. Their blend of light, color, and the 'scent of movement' that wafted into a spellbound audience riveted their attention and became a literal assault on the senses.
The visuals… whether they were acrobats, jugglers, tightrope walkers, contortionists, or trick cyclists, transported the audience and created a mesmerizing impact that was truly memorable and hopefully unforgettable.
A precious few have achieved this ability in the worlds of bodybuilding and fitness, and through their performances they managed to lock in our minds forever that sum total of 'getting it' in the makeup of the muscular female form that was so worth the price of admission.
A FEW THAT HAVE TOUCHED US…
Since the earliest beginnings of bodybuilding a rare group of women transcended the countl
ess fields of competitors from the thousands of contests that have been staged throughout the world. These women reached a stature of legend when it came to onstage performances. Their presence helped mightily in bringing attention to what bodybuilding could be for women by introducing a special brand of physical display that was, at once, memorable.
Early on in the 80's, Pennsylvanian Deborah Diana brought a level of physical art to the stage that had not been seen before. Her brand of muscular awareness and how it could be presented in a fluid streamlined way brought women's bodybuilding to something that was more than simply a collection of compulsory poses from the prejudging rounds.
Diana's goal was pointed from the very start of her entry in bodybuilding contests. Her desire was to create a feminine complement to what the ancient Greeks and Romans had done with the classic statuaries of their time. She saw the opportunity to use bodybuilding as an art form when most of the early competitors in the 80's moved through the rigid and sometimes awkward routines found in the men's contests.
Those attempts at replicating the men seldom worked, but in Diana's case her stage performances set her apart by aspiring to become a living, breathing work of art. It was a classic look that set the stage for those who would follow with the same ideas of showing the true beauty of the female form.
Trophies and placings never seemed of the utmost importance to Diana although she did win the 1981 US Women's Championships as a highlight to an amateur career that saw her win many contests before turning pro in 1981. She competed in two Ms. Olympias (1982 and 1983), two IFBB Pro World Championships (1981 and 1982), and added a bronze medal at the 1981 World Games -- an event that was the first truly international affair where multiple countries took part.
Along with her close friend Carla Dunlap (who would win the 1983 Ms. Olympia), Diana was a featured subject in the groundbreaking documentary Women of Iron. But through it all, it was Deborah Diana's performances on stage that cemented her place among the pioneers in women's bodybuilding's early days.
Not long after Deborah Diana's short-lived bodybuilding career efforts, Diana Dennis surfaced on the stages of contests in Southern California. Dennis’ appearances at those events were instantly recognized as uniquely beautiful. Like Diana before her, Dennis was laser-like in her goals to create a muscular female look that was both classy and classic.
Dennis often mentioned, especially in the many seminars she would offer after her guest posings across the country, which she always felt there was a unique beauty to the muscular female and she wanted an audience to experience just how inspiring it could be.
Her wish was to motivate women who were taking up weight training to develop the gift of performance, and if their desire was to "take their body to the stage," the vision of a weight trained physique would leave a lasting memory of that appearance.
A young aspiring girl whose desire was to someday compete, once asked Dennis at a seminar how she put together her routines. Without hesitation Dennis replied, "I don't do routines. I do performances. There's a difference. I consider myself a performance artist." And that she was, from the early 80's to 1994.
Dennis was at her best as a guest poser where her performances were both memorable with a high-end creativity level. They were pure entertainment. Those who saw her performances 20 years ago still remember them vividly. Although Dennis missed winning the Ms. Olympia, she competed in nine of them (placing as high as third) and each was as entertaining as those that had come before. Competitively, Dennis won the 1985 NPC Nationals overall title, and at the pro level where she competed in over two dozen contests, she won the 1986 LA Pro Grand Prix and the 1989 IFBB Pro Worlds.
She also teamed with Kevin Lawrence to create the most notable Mixed Pairs duo in bodybuilding history, winning many titles when the mixed pairs event was still a popular part on the bodybuilding landscape at both the pro and amateur levels. Even today she remains unique among those women whose greatest contribution was to that of furthering the special beauty of the muscular female physique. Today, Diana Dennis is a member of the Joe Weider Bodybuilding Hall of Fame. And rightly so.
Perhaps lesser kno
wn today than her more famous contemporaries of the early 80's, Canadian Carla Temple possessed a stage presence that one observer once noted as "… so haunting, when I close my eyes I can still see her." It was a compliment of the highest order. And indeed, Carla Temple's stage presence was something to see. Temple's posing performances were memorable on several levels. She possessed model good looks. In fact, she earned many modeling jobs through the Casablanca Agency for her face alone. And it was her enormous eyes that had the capacity to grab an audience's attention as far back as the 25th row of an auditorium.
Her stage presence was every bit the equal to those who she competed against in the early 80's. Yet with her natural beauty, she also carried enough muscle to be recognized as a creditable bodybuilder with broad shoulders, a tiny waistline, separated quads and diamond-shaped calves as notable bodyparts that were never seen on a model worthy of a Vogue magazine cover.
And as a posing performer, she startled audiences with a surprising level of athleticism and strength where her amplitude and power easily kept a crowd's attention – not to mention the photographers who were challenged to capture her impressive choreographic moves. Competitively, Temple did well in her amateur days, winning both the Western Canadian and Canadian National heavyweight titles in 1983, as well as a fifth-place finish at the 1983 IFBB World Amateur Championships as a middleweight.
In 1984 after turning pro, Temple placed fifth at both the IFBB Pro Worlds and Ms. Olympia. Temple drifted away from the competitive scene in 1986 after a disappointing finish at the Pro Worlds, but there is little doubt that she became one of the sport's first 'It Girls' with an unmistakable WOW Factor that will forever keep her in our memory.
If there was a competitor who exuded a true sense of style and classy countenance in her stage performances it was Canadian Sophie Duquette. From Quebec, Duquette's chic elegance permeated her every move on stage. She was queen-like in her presence, yet seemingly approachable in the way she displayed her physique.
With fineline muscle shapes she always placed well in competitions at both the amateur and pro levels. A Canadian National overall champion in 1999, she turned pro and was a runner-up at both the 2001 and 2002 Jan Tana Classics. A year later she placed fourth in the lightweight class of the Ms. Olympia.
In 2004, Duquette accepted an invitation to the Ms. International and placed second in the lightweight class. At each event, it was her posing performance that gained high marks with judges and audiences alike. Said one pro-level judge of Duquette's performances, "She makes you appreciate what a female competitor can do on stage when so many women just go through the motions."
Duquette never just went through the motions. Her motions, on the other ha
nd, brought out Emotions in those who watched her stage efforts. Words to express Sophie Duquette don't often blend with the world of muscle, but she was, nonetheless, stylish, fashionable and smart. And in tandem, it worked beautifully for her on stage.
Although Finland's Kike Elomaa was Europe's first star, winning the 1981 Ms. Olympia, it was Germany’s Anja Langer who really captured the imagination of the American bodybuilding audience in the mid/late 80's. In 1985 this stunning competitor won the IFBB World Junior Championship, but was still largely unknown until the following year when she captured both the German National Championships the IFBB European Championships.
Photos of Langer appeared in several European publications and her reputation began to grow quickly. The reasons were obvious to anyone who had witnessed her on stage. She was magic. Structurally Langer was a muscular marvel with each bodypart crafted in idyllic shape. Her genetics were remarkable from head to toe. And her looks were a photographer's dream. But it was her onstage persona and ability to move that made her truly unique. Catlike, she moved like a feline stalking prey and her flowing musculature created a dream-like state. She held an audience's attention like no other European competitor had before her.
By 1987 Langer had moved into the pro ranks and quickly finished second at the IFBB Pro Worlds. Many felt she would be an immediate threat to Cory Everson's Olympia crown. That year she made her Ms. O debut with a strong fourth-place finish. But that first impression was one of physical excellence and a body that many women instantly admired. In 1988 Langer returned to the Ms. Olympia and landed second to Everson. For a while it appeared that Everson and Langer might become an annual rivalry for the Olympia title. But without fanfare, Langer opted to drift away from the competitive stage leaving a void that has not been filled since.
Anja Langer's stage magic was infectious, a pleasure to watch, and always left audiences with the desire to see more. In a competitive career that lasted just five years, she left all of us wondering what could have been.
Oregon's Sheila Bleck took several years to establish her current popularity, but it was well worth the wait. Some in the sport have described her as a blue collar bodybuilder with a champion's pedigree. Seemingly in no rush to jump into the pro ranks, Bleck's victory at the 2000 NPC Emerald Cup gave first evidence of her potential.
Entering national level events almost annually, she finally scored big with an overall victory in the 2008 NPC Nationals. Throughout those formative amateur years, one element was always present and that was the effort she put into her posing performances. The love of being on stage was obvious, but what made her stage time special was how her choreography jelled with her physique.
A heavyweight, Bleck has never been shy about using her power and strength to drive home the love of a physique that has impressive muscularly. That said, Bleck also blends an impressive level of agility and flexibility. And those elements, combined with her strength make for a very impressive show of raw muscle.
With a combination o
f structural gifts and well-shaped muscle in all her bodyparts, Bleck has been a solid pro since making her debut in 2010. Since then she has competed five times – three of which have been at the Ms. Olympia – and has always been in the top six of each event.
In 2012 she was the runner-up at the Tampa Pro before landing sixth at that year’s Ms. Olympia. An admiring amateur heavyweight competitor was matter-of-fact in her description of Bleck's posing ability, "Damn, she's exhilarating. I love the power she radiates." Now, after 15 years of competing, she's still radiating that power. Sheila Bleck wouldn't have it any other way.
In the world of fitness competitions, no competitor has touched the heart and soul of followers in this sporting endeavor like Oksana Grishina. With an athletic background dating back to her childhood in Russia where she was already a 'Master of Sport' in rhythmic gymnastics by the age of 15, today she has used that experience to master the art of fitness performance.
In sports where successes are measured by titles and victories, Grishina has earned her share. Most impressively Grishina's wins have included an overall win at the 2006 IFBB World Amateur Fitness Championships, and a handful of pro events where victories at the 2013 Arnold Classic Europe and 2014 Fitness International rank highest to date.
Along the way she has fared well in five Fitness Olympias and six Fitness Internationals. But all of that pales when considering her time spent on stage as a consummate performer. An admitted perfectionist, to say that Grishina's passion for fitness runs deep is an understatement, and the loving effort she puts into her performances leave a lasting memory on those who witness them.
Fact is, Grishina is a storyteller, and by way of her unique brand of theatrics and th
e breathtaking ability to move an audience with her stunning physicality, she is unmatched. And for those who have enjoyed her fitness performances over the years, descriptions such as "...she brought tears to my eyes" and "I got goose bumps on my arms," are commonplace.
For Grishina, it's simple. She reaches her audiences with a gripping level of effort that, combined with her enthralling stage persona, produces those magical moments time and time again. Meanwhile, and without realizing it, her audiences are swept along on her stage journey. Her story is told. Now with the 2014 competitive season underway, Oksana Grishina continues to tell her life story… with no final chapter in sight.
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