How and why did you get into Fitness Training?
Fitness has always been a staple in my life. From a young age I was involved in dance, soccer, cheerleading etc so that active trait has always been present, but it wasn’t until after high school that I really had to look at my life and figure out where I wanted to go from here as far as with athletics and fitness. I joined a local gym in 2004 and hired a personal trainer. And let me tell you, at first I was not impressed with the thought of having someone tell me what to do in the gym. My plan was to live on the cardio machines each and every time I stepped foot in those doors. I thought cardio is all you need right? WRONG! My trainer had so much knowledge when it came to resistance training, cardio, and nutrition. This inspired me to start my journey in the fitness world! And here I am today.
What workout routine would you suggest to female beginners?
For any female beginner, the first step to your fitness routine is to have a goal and make a plan. Without these two things, there is room for slacking and making excuses. Once a goal and plan is established, it’s time to figure out what area of fitness you enjoy. This is where you are going to focus most of your energy at first. Start slow with this and then work your way up. So for example, if I absolutely love Zumba, then I am going to start taking classes and partaking on a regular basis. From there I can start to incorporate other components that go with reaching my goal such as weight training. And go from there.
What is your diet and workout routine like?
My workout routine fluctuates between total body training (during non-show training) and specific body part days during (show training). So for example, while training for a show, I will focus on shoulders and legs on Monday, back and chest on Tuesday, glutes and hamstrings on Wednesday, biceps and triceps on Thursday, and plyometrics on Friday.
My diet is also a bit different during show training. I usually prep for a show 6-7 weeks out and focus on mainly on eating lean meats, lots of fibrous veggies, and healthy carbs such as rice and sweet potatoes. During the off season, I tend to eat relatively the same, but will add in fruit, dairy products such as coconut milk and yogurt, and will splurge on some sweets here and there, come on now…what girl doesn’t like sugar?
What advice would you give to people looking to achieve your aesthetic physique?
The best advice I can give to someone looking to achieve my aesthetic physique would be to keep at it and never give up! Always give 110% and keeping pushing forward. As long as you know you are giving it everything you’ve got…then there is no reason you can’t achieve it!
Tell us about your journey and how you got all the way to the top as a WBFF Pro Fitness Model.
This is a great question, because there was a time in my life when I thought fitness shows were absolutely something I would never dabble in. But let me tell you…I was wrong!!! I guess it all started back in 2007 when I decided I would give it a shot and train for an NPC figure competition here in good ole Omaha, Nebraska. I hired my fitness manager as my coach and we started training for this. I was relatively leery about it as I didn’t want to look «manly» as I like to call it, but decided to go for it. But about 4 weeks out from the show, I lost it!
I decided I no longer wanted to do this anymore. I had purchased my suit, had a sponsor, and had been training for about 8 weeks, and decided this wasn’t me and I was not going to do it. I let a lot of people down by my decision, but felt it was absolutely the best choice I could make at this point. And to this day I believe it was one of the best choices I have made when it comes to my fitness career.
I put the whole show idea behind me for a few years and it wasn’t until just last year in 2011 that I came across this amazing organization called the WBFF. Little did I know that this would be the change I had been looking for as far as my career goes. I started researching the WBFF and found out they had a Fitness Model category. This is a look somewhat in between figure and bikini. Just my style and body type I trained and trained, worked with my sponsor Elite Nutrition on my diet, and had pose downs with some local girls that were also going to be doing the show. It was a great experience and when I stepped on stage last May, I felt this was where I was meant to be…on stage with the WBFF.
I placed 2nd in my first competition and felt AMAZING! But for anybody that knows me…I am one to strive for perfection and I was not going to stop until I got it!
So I hired Doug Casebier of Total Body Advantage in Roseville, California this past January and have been working with him ever since. I competed at the Fitness Atlantic WBFF show this past April where the competition was FIERCE! I ended up placing 3rd, but out of 30 of the best looking girls out there…couldn’t have asked for more.
Have you ever had any obstacles in your fitness journey?
If you have not had obstacles get in your way, then something is wrong with you! I absolutely have had different obstacles and hard times getting to where I am today. But just like with anything else, you keep pushing forward and know that tomorrow is a new day. There will come other opportunities because that is what life is all about…giving us opportunities to better ourselves.
How did you manage to overcome those obstacles and progress even further?
The main obstacle I have faced thus far is rejection. But I don’t like to look at it as that, I tend to look at it as something that motivates me to get even better. I have been in discussion with many big time fitness magazines and always get so close to landing that big cover, but then for some reason it always tends to fall through. But instead of getting down on myself and giving up, I strive for the next best thing. It might be doing a bigger and better photo shoot that will get me more exposure, or attending larger fitness conventions in order to get my name out there.
No matter what the obstacle is, you will overcome it and only get better.
What are your opinions on Image / Performance enhancing drugs?
I am 100% against image and performance enhancing drugs that are going to affect your body in the long run. If you can’t get your body to do it naturally, then it probably wasn’t meant to be. I like to see a 100% natural person. This is what is attractive to me. It’s all about hard work and dedication, but to each their own.
What advice would you give to female beginners looking to become a fitness model just like you in the near future?
My best advice would be to NEVER give up! Always have a goal and a dream and don’t stop working towards it until you reach the top. The sky is the limit and nobody stands in your way but yourself. If the first thing you try out for or submit falls through, there will always be a next.
What are your future plans?
I get asked this question quite frequently and to be honest, my future plans are just to keep getting better and better. I want to be the best trainer, fitness model, athlete, you name it, I want to be it As long as I am inspiring and motivating one person a day, then I am doing my job!
What are your long term goals?
I have a wide array of long term goals. Such being, go to the WBFF Worlds show in Toronto and compete with the best of the best, make the cover of a nationally published fitness magazine, and just keep improving myself overall, inside and out.
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