Supersize She

Supersize She is a 2005 television documentary focused on British professional female bodybuilder Joanna Thomas. The title was a take-off on the success of the film Super Size Me. The one-hour program premiered at the MIPTV in April 2005. Since airing on Channel 5, it has been sold and distributed to over 30 countries.[4][7]

Supersize She[1]
Directed byMira King[1]
Produced byMira King[1]
Narrated byMeussa Berry[2]
Music byKen Mizulani
Ravinder Chahal[3]
Edited byLaura Jennings[1]
Production
company
Special Edition Films[4]
Distributed byRDF Rights
Channel 5
TLC
Nine Network
Discovery Europe[4][5][6]
Release date
April 2005[7]
Running time
42 minutes[3]
CountryUnited Kingdom[1]
LanguageEnglish[1]

Plot

Early life

Joanna was born on December 12, 1976, in Truro, Cornwall, England, U.K.. At the age of 15 she began bodybuilding. She broke a world record when she became the youngest British female bodybuilder to turn IFBB pro, at the age of 21, in a sport in which over 10,000 women compete at amateur level worldwide. At the age of 27, Joanna moved to Los Angeles, California. Joanna's goal was to win the Ms. Olympia title and retire on the top.[3][5]

Training

Over the next five months, Joanna did her training and dieting for the 2004 GNC Show of Strength. She endured regular massage secessions that tore her muscles, which is painful, but makes her muscles grow larger. Another prominent female bodybuilder featured was Debbie Bramwell, who was a friend of Joanna, and helped Joanna train at the gym. When the issue of steroids was brought up, Joanna sarcastically said that, "Yeah it's all about the steroids, you know. We just take steroids and look like this. Try this at home everyone, for a few weeks, and see how you look." She visited her nutritionist to measure her body fat. Joanna's body fat goal was to get herself at 3% body fat. Her body weight came in at 2.6%. She lost a total of 30 lbs in 6 weeks.[3]

Modeling

Due to poor funding in professional female bodybuilding, Joanna's main source of income was modeling for her website, which was consistently updated with pictures and videos of her, which was her sole source of income. It's a members only website where those members pay $25 for her content. Joanna explained that there was no way for her to get a job and work several hours a week and be a professional female bodybuilder because it would be too stressful.[3]

2004 GNC Show of Strength

In order to qualify for the 2004 Ms. Olympia, Joanna had to come in first or second place at the GNC Show of Strength. There were about 70 professional female bodybuilders in the world and each were eager for recognition by attending the Ms. Olympia. Joanna and Debbie traveled to Atlanta for Joanna to compete in the 2004 GNC Show of Strength. Joanna commented that Jeannie Paparone had a nice shape to her and she could be hard for her to beat. Other predominate professional female bodybuilders included Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia, Mily Pena, Nancy Lewis, Rosemary Jennings, Gayle Moher, Mary Ellen Doss, Monica Martin, Angela Debatin, Michelle David, Mary Ellen Jerumbo, and Elizabeth Gomez. Debbie Bramwell, although she did not compete herself, was with Joanna backstage helping her prepare and encouraging her. Before the show, all of the female bodybuilders ate sugary food and worked out with weights in order to show off their veins. While performing, bodybuilders are dehydrated and at their weakest so performing poses is very tiring and strenuous.[3]

At the end of the first round, the judges picked out their top three favorites, which was a strong indicator of final placing. Nancy Lewis was picked first, Rosemary Jennings was picked second, and Joanna Thomas was picked third. After preparation backstage for the final round, Joanna came on stage in a pink bikini and posed to the song Barbie Girl. During posedown, Joanna, along with Nancy Lewis, Rosemary Jennings, Gayle Moher, Mary Doss, and Jeannie Paparone began performing free form poses and trying to outshine her competitors for the judges to see. At the end of the GNC Show of Strength, Joanna came in 2nd place, with Nancy Lewis winning the lightweight title. Joanna won $2,000 dollars at the GNC.[3]

The final results for the 2004 GNC Show of Strength:

-- Overall --
Yaxeni Oriquen[8]
Place Name Country 1 2 3 4 Total
-- Heavyweights over 135 lbs --
1 Yaxeni Oriquen 5 5 5 5 20
2 Betty Pariso 10 10 10 10 40
3 Lisa Aukland 20 15 15 15 65
4 Christine Roth 17 20 22 20 79
5 Annie Riviecco 20 25 21 26 94
6 Maria Calo 29 30 30 29 118
7 Mily Pena 37 36 37 110
8 Karen Marillier 38 39 38 115
Wtdr Heather Foster
Wtdr Helle Nielsen
-- Lightweights up to 135 lbs --
1 Nancy Lewis 5 5 5 5 20
2 Joanna Thomas 12 13 11 11 47
3 Rosemary Jennings 13 12 14 14 53
4 Gayle Moher 22 22 22 25 91
5 Mary Ellen Doss 23 30 28 22 103
6 Jeannie Paparone 23 23 30 30 117
7 Monica Martin 34 36 35 105
8 Angela DeBatin 38 37 37 112
9 Michelle David 45 45 46 136
10 Mary Ellen Jerumbo 50 50 49 149
11 Elizabeth Gomez 55 55 55 165

2004 Ms. Olympia

After finishing the 2004 GNC Show of Strength, Joanna returned to Los Angeles where her parents sent her video of her 1997 EFBB Northeast Qualifier, her first female bodybuilding competition, where she placed first in middleweight. Joanna traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the 2004 Ms. Olympia. On the night before the contest, bodybuilding fans get to meet with their bodybuilding heroes. Along with Joanna, Betty Pariso and Dayana Cadeau were seen. Dayana Cadeau boasted that nobody that in her class could beat her. Joanna spent the next 12 hours fasting and dehydrating before the competition. Her parents flew out to Las Vegas from England to see and support her. Debbie Bramwell also came to support her. If Joanna did win the 2004 Ms. Olympia she would only win $10,000, a fraction of the $120,000 that would be won by the 2004 Mr. Olympia winner.[3]

After five months of training and dieting, Joanna took part in the 2004 Ms. Olympia. During the first round, Joanna was not picked among the top six. She only had the evening show left to improve her chances. At the end of the next round of posing, Joanna did not place in the top three in the lightweight class, much to her and her parents disappointment. The next day, at her apartment, Joanna called the Olympia judge and asked where she was placed at the Olympia and she was told she placed 7th place. At the end of the documentary, Joanna was more determined than ever to win the Ms. Olympia title.[3]

The final results for the 2004 Ms. Olympia:

LIGHTWEIGHT (UP TO & INCLUDING 135 LBS)[9]
NO NAME COUNTRY RD1 RD2 RD3 RD4 TOTAL PLACE
1 Marja LEHTONEN 23 15 20 14 72 3
2 Dayana CADEAU 7 5 8 8 28 1
3 Desiree ELLIS 22 23 22 67 5
4 Denise MASINO 8 10 9 7 34 2
5 Vilma CAEZ 45 44 40 129 9
6 Valentina CHEPIGA 39 41 36 116 8
7 Nancy LEWIS 21 21 21 63 4
8 Mah Ann MENDOZA 23 30 29 82 6
9 Joanna THOMAS 37 35 40 112 7
HEAVYWEIGHT (OVER 135 LBS)
NO NAME COUNTRY RD1 RD2 RD3 RD4 TOTAL PLACE
10 Lenda MURRAY 10 7 10 10 37 2
11 Lisa AUKLAND 32 30 32 94 6
12 Yaxeni ORIQUEN 15 15 15 15 60 3
13 Betty PARISO 22 22 24 68 4
14 Betty VIANA 23 24 24 71 5
15 Iris KYLE 5 8 5 5 23 1
16 Bonny PRIEST 33 34 32 99 7
OVERALL MS. OLYMPIA: Iris KYLE

Cast

Reviews

Reviews have been written for Supersize She from The Independent,[11] Liverpool Echo,[12] The Beachwood Reporter,[13] and The Daily Telegraph.[14]

See also

References
  1. Supersize She (2004)
  2. MELISSA BERRY
  3. Supersize She Joanna Thomas Female Bodybuilding Documentary
  4. Special Edition Films Archived 2013-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Supersize She". RDF Rights. RDF Media Group. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-04.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. RDF gets first look at Special Edition
  7. RDF rights picks up Supersize She doc
  8. 2004 Show of Strength Pro Bodybuilding Results
  9. "FLASH REPORT". billdobbins.com. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  10. "Supersize She". five.tv. Channel 5. Archived from the original on 2005-10-13. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  11. Maume, Chris (2005-10-15). "Chris Maume: Sport on TV". The Independent. Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-04.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. FOOTBALL: PRENNO ON THE TELLY.
  13. Buckner, Scott (2007-03-22). "What I Watched Last Night". The Beachwood Reporter. The Beachwood Media Company. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  14. White, Jim (2005-10-13). "Gangsta rapper becomes Mr Nice Guy". Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
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