This video of South Korean bodybuilder Mi-Hee Yu (유미희) is worth watching just to see Ms Yu's innovative posing.  Her use of feather fans makes the routine quite graceful, giving it a very different look than the typical routines of North American bodybuilders.


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Mi-Hee Yu Training Video
South Korean bodybuilder Mi-Hee Yu (유미희)

      

This video, from the South Korean BODYfor.TV, follows Mi-Hee Yu (유미희) through the gym as she trains.



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South Korean bodybuilder Mi-Hee Yu (유미희)

      

Of all the athletes featured here at The Muscular Asian Woman, it is surprising how many inquiries I have received about South Korean bodybuilder Mi-Hee Yu (유미희).  The only item ever published here was a photo in the "Random Photos" area to your left, yet I still get messages asking for more images and background.  It has taken some time, but I finally have some more information.

A couple of Korean newspapers have picked  up on her story.  Ms Yu began as an aerobics instructor at the age of 20, but after giving birth to two children, she wanted to lose some weight.  Currently weighing 51 kg at 157 cm tall, Ms Yu told the Weekly Chosun that she decided she has to change when she weighed 80 kg after the birth of her daughter 12 years ago.  In the JoongAng Daily article, she said, "As I was still running gym classes, I had no choice but to lose the weight so that the gym members could be inspired by my example."  With her husband's encouragement, she decided to take up bodybuilding.  Living in Seoul, Ms Yu has now been training since 1996, and took the title of Ms Korea 2007 last year, along with the couples title.  Both Ms Yu and her husband, who is also a bodybuilder, compete in couples posing.  

Choosing to be a female bodybuilder in Korea is not an easy path.  For example, the Korean public still sees the bodybuilder's physique as undesirable. Ms Yu mentioned in the JoongAng Daily article: "It's fine if they have their opinions about my body but the comments are often so ignorant and vulgar." Additionally, financial support is also an issue.  Female bodybuilders are not yet members of the Korean National Athletic Meet, meaning awards given during national and regional competitions are not compensated.  Male bodybuilders, on the other hand, are National Meet members.  In the Weekly Chosun, Ms Yu explains that Male bodybuilders can even qulaify for unemployment benefits, but not the females.

"With the additional fees for tanning, buying oil, as well as nutritional supplements, it is hard to survive with just bodybuilding," Ms Yu says. "You must have a day job." The number of female bodybuilders in South Korea has remained around the same since 1995, when professional competitions for women were first held.  

Ms Yu continued: "Women have to work nine to ten times harder than men to form muscles. During the [competition] season, I work out every day for three to four hours and stay on a strict diet of unseasoned chicken breasts, egg whites, potatoes, asparagus, sweet potatoes and nutritional supplements. This diet also adds to the cost of being a bodybuilder."

Right now, Korea only holds amateur bodybuilding competitions. Acccording to the JoongAng Daily, "In the bodybuilding world, professional competition means athletes tend to take steroids and, on occasion, the judges turn a blind eye--while amateur competitions are strictly opposed to drug use and enforce a universal ban."  Ms Yu said, "I personally do not take steroids because I’m afraid of the side effects.  Since I have a family and children, I tend to be extra careful about that kind of thing."

We at The Muscular Asian Woman admire her discipline and tenacity.

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Links
Weekly Chosun: 미즈코리아 유미희씨"근육 키웠더니 몸무게 30kg 빠졌어요" 2007
JoongAng Daily: "Muscle-bound maidens make their big move" 2007

      

Chinese-American bodybuilder "Lili" Xin Li Cao (曹新丽) has been working hard learning English as well as pumping iron. In this interview, Lili talks about how she wants to build more muscle.



Visit her website at http://www.xinlicao.com.

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... Cao Xin Li (曹新丽)

      

Fitness guru Lyen Wong, who lives in Germany, has gained quite a bit of international exposure in the past year.  She and her husband filmed the video below when they were in Los Angeles to do a photo shoot for Oxygen magazine.


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Links
http://www.lyenwong.com

      

Lou Krivda, of Kriv Studios, has published some recent high-resolution photos of Rebekah Kresila.  Mr Krivda  mentioned that he has known Ms Kresila for around 18 years, starting when she was a student in Cleveland, where he is originally from.  Ironically, he says, "I've also been a member of gyms she's belonged to over the years . . . it's funny after all this time, we finally got together for all of this muscle shoot stuff."

As you can see from the below image samples, "this muscle shoot stuff" is outstanding.  You can find the complete set of photo galleries here, as well as video clips here.


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I will be away for a brief holiday, and will return next week.  So, if you leave a comment, please be patient and it will be approved when I return.  This gives loyal readers of The Muscular Asian Woman time to go vote for Natalie Minh and to comment on the Interview with Mona Liza Reyes. 

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The website of "Lili" Xin Li Cao (曹新丽) has grown-- it is worth checking out at XinLiCao.com.  Lili will regularly add new content to her members' section, and she also has a generous offering of free galleries and videos.  

Notably, Lili now has some video shoots online where she poses with famed Japanese bodybuilder Tomoko Kanda (神田知子).  Both are in great shape.  Considering that Lili is only 157 cm tall (5 feet 2 inches), she carries a lot of mass: 63+ kg (140+ pounds).  She obviously has been working on her legs, and her signature biceps are as good as ever.  In the videos, Ms Kanda, who is 162 cm tall (5 feet 4 inches), weighs about 68 kg (150 pounds).  Watch the videos and you will know why Ms Kanda is known for her lat spread. . .

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... "Lili" Xin Li Cao has a web site
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... Offseason training shots of Cao Xin Li (曹新丽)
... Video of Cao Xin Li (曹新丽)
... Cao Xin Li (曹新丽)

      

If you haven't yet visited the blog of pro figure competitor Christine Wan, then you are missing a good time.  In the "about" section, Ms Wan writes that she "worked as a bartender for fifteen years in the South Florida area and is also a certified personal trainer and photographer. She is an avid car enthusiast, fan of 80s hard rock/metal, and enjoys anything that involves creative arts."

She is also quite literary, and her blog is an entertaining mash-up of topics.  Along with laughing about experiencing the annoyances of Disney World, you can see a sampling of her innovative photography, and ponder the philosophy of love (mixed with a wee bit o' sarcasm).

As far as competing, she writes:


You can read more about what keeps Ms Wan in the game here.

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Fitness newcomer Natalie Minh (sometimes credited as Ms Tran) needs your vote in order to win W Model's "Great Health & Fitness Model Search."  The winner will be featured in the August issue of the UK's Health & Fitness magazine, along with receiving the big prize:  a modeling contract with W Models.  W Models represents models who maintain excellent heath and fitness (Anouk Pascale is one of their models).  Their motto is "Size Hero, not Size Zero."

A little more about Ms Minh...she will soon compete for the first time in the upcoming WNSO-FAME European Championships Physique competition.  In addition to her fitness lifestyle, she is a Structured Finance Analyst for an international bank, working in their European Treasury Center out of Brussels, Belgium.  She has a BBA degree, an MS in Finance, and an MBA, all from the University of Michigan.  

Add up all of the above, and you can see why we at The Muscular Asian Woman think Ms Minh deserves your vote.  Let's get her on the cover of Health & Fitness, and start updating the way Europe thinks about Asian femininity.  Vist this link to see more images of Ms Minh and to register your vote: http://www.wfitnessmodels.com/profilecomp.asp?model_id=201

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