I’m a small-town girl from Vancouver Island. I moved to the big city of Vancouver in 2015 to pursue my career goals. I am a project manager and multiple business owner. Growing up, I was always athletic and active in competitive sports, but in 2010, I realized that I wanted to compete and get into the fitness industry. I have been active in the fitness industry since 2013 when I won my first contest. I earned my first pro-card in 2014. Since earning my personal training and nutrition certifications through the ISSA, I have been taking on lifestyle and contest prep clients and achieved great successes with both. In my spare time, I love to hike, travel, cook and spend time with my friends and family.
Age:
36
Location:
Vancouver.
Trainer philosophy:
I believe that keeping it simple is the best approach to fitness. My philosophy as a personal trainer is to inspire others with my passion for fitness and empower them by transferring my knowledge of fitness and nutrition to them. I aim to teach, coach, and educate my clients to reach their fitness goals and peak optimal health.
Training Plan:
I personally train 5-6 days per week for about one hour for upper body workouts and longer for lower body workouts. I do very minimal cardio – I think I banked a whopping 10 mins this week! I do have a couple of training e-books available on my website BUT other than that, my client programs are always CUSTOM to fit their goals and experience levels.
Nutritional Plan:
I personally have a macro split that I stick to and I track everything in the My Fitness Pal app. I enjoy a couple of refeeds each week depending on how I’m feeling. My clients always get their own customized nutrition plans tailored specifically for their goals. Whether I create a set meal plan for them or teach them how to track macros depends on their preference and experience level.
Supplement Plan:
Fish oil and Vitamin D in the morning, BCAAs, Allmax Impact Igniter Preworkout, Isoflex whey protein isolate (post-workout), Allmax ZMX and Renew Life Ultimate Flora probiotic before bed.
Do you prefer to take and recommend all-natural (no sugar, no artificial colors/flavors/sweeteners) supplements or supplements with artificial flavors and sweeteners? And Why?
I take supplements with artificial sweeteners because I like the flavours better. Stevia has a weird aftertaste to me, so I avoid it. Since numerous studies have confirmed that artificial sweeteners do not negatively affect insulin or fat loss, there’s really no problem with ingesting them unless you have a sensitivity to them. Just for the reader’s info, to decide whether to take all-natural supplements or supplements with artificial sweeteners/flavour is therefore simply a matter of preference. I also take products with the least amounts of fillers in them as possible and no “proprietary blends”. I only choose products with their ingredients and quantities thereof clearly listed on the label so I can ensure I’m getting truly useful amounts of each of the supplements/micronutrients I’m taking.
Is weight loss more of a fitness issue or a health issue in your opinion and why?
I believe that depends on the client/individual. If a client/individual is overweight, this can have a serious impact on their current or future day-to-day functioning, their mental health, etc., so therefore, their weight loss would be a health issue. If a client/individual is at a fairly normal and healthy weight for their height (has a normal Body Mass Index (BMI)), then I feel that their weight loss would be more for just fitness reasons than general health reasons in my opinion.
If you have 100 tokens in total and you could apply them to the following categories, how many would you apply to each?
- Fitness level: 50
- Health level: 50
I believe that health and fitness are inextricably intertwined. I believe if a person is at a healthy level of overall fitness (as evaluated by a general fitness test as we do in personal training) then that person can generally be considered healthy as well. You can’t have one without the other. For the most part, I believe if you’re fit, you’re healthy!
Describe your coaches and the impact they have on you?
I don’t have any coaches. I have coached myself the majority of my fitness career. I hired a coach for 4 months in 2016 just to see what the difference would be between coaching myself and being coached (in terms of tricks of the trade, etc.). He’s a very prominent coach in the bodybuilding industry and coaches quite a few of the big-time American Olympians. Hiring him made me realize that I already had the right formula figured out and I didn’t actually need a coach. The way I was already training, supplementing, and programming my diet prior to hiring him was almost exactly what he prescribed for me anyway. More so he just reinforced that I was already at a professional level with regards to programming and executing a contest prep.
What separates Status from other fitness magazines?
The depth and integrity of the articles and the coverage of the fitness events. There’s no greater publication for fitness information and athlete exposure!
If you could ask Status Fitness Magazine Editor in Chief Rodney Jang any industry question, what would that be?
What do you think the evolution of the fitness industry will look like in 10 years?
Status Fitness Magazine runs model searches across North America including the largest one at the Arnold Classic for the Status cover. As part of the Status family, you will receive a special participation invite. How excited are you about this opportunity?
SO EXCITED! I love Status Fitness Magazine and everything it represents. I always strive to be the best ambassador I can be in the fitness industry both as a coach and an athlete. Being on the cover of Status Fitness Magazine would mean EVERYTHING to me. I’d be able to get my message out there and hopefully inspire so many more people to chase their goals and dreams!
Future fitness goals and plans?
Open my own boutique gym that offers women’s-specific training classes which focus on strength, form, and especially lower body training! I get so many requests for glute training programs that I wrote my own Glute-Builder e-book. I want to be known as the female Bret Contreras or Mark Carroll – the world-renowned FEMALE glute-building expert who helps other women achieve greater confidence through building their ideal physiques.
Your transformation story?
Growing up, I was an athlete, but I was always very skinny. I got accused of having an eating disorder quite often even though that couldn’t have been further from the truth – I ate a LOT – it just didn’t stick to me! Once, when I was in my twenties, I was walking down the street, and a girl threw an actual cheeseburger at me from across the road and yelled “eat a damn cheeseburger!” (again – because I was so thin). It was pretty mortifying. I did join a gym when I was 18 but only went for about a year because I didn’t know how to weight train properly and I felt kinda shy in there. Then, I hired a personal trainer when I was probably 19 or 20 and he was so nice, but I was not disciplined at ALL. I was far more interested in going out with my friends on weekends stick to any sort of diet or training program. So that was a short-lived venture too. Sometime in 2010, I saw a picture of Ava Cowan and decided I wanted to look fit and strong like her. It took me a bit to finally commit, in September 2011, I signed up for an actual gym again and started weight lifting and cardio. I trained myself, read as much as I could about bodybuilding, and I started seeing some real progress. By January 2013, I decided that I would like to get on stage in a fitness competition. I won first place at my first ever competition on June 2, 2013, and the rest is history! Since that first show, I have competed nine more times, earned my personal training and Sports Nutrition certifications through the ISSA, and have helped hundreds of clients achieve their fitness goals too.
Who inspires you? And why?
Anyone achieving success in their chosen endeavors inspires me, really. I’m inspired by success stories like Ryan Deluca’s regarding how he started the website Bodybuilding.com and grew it to monumental success. I have a friend who is an inventor and he just patented a device that’s going to change the world – he inspires me. I like idea and action people – people who just got for it and keep pushing until they win. It’s always amazing to me what takes off and how – usually it just comes down to persistence and I like being reminded of that.
If you could inspire one person, who would that be? And why?
Not one person – I want to inspire everyone! I want to inspire people to be strong, true to themselves, and chase after their goals whatever they may be!
5 things people don’t know about you:
- I’m really creative – I sing, I’m an artist, and I design clothing too.
- I am outdoorsy – I could live out in the wild no problem – I practically grew up in it!
- I’m a big fan of graffiti art – it’s the vibrant colours and shapes for me.
- I was invited by Bobsleigh Canada to try out for the Canadian Women’s Olympic Bobsleigh team in 2018 – I didn’t make the team, but it was an honour to be asked.
- I love desert landscapes and minimalistic desert architecture.
Favorite Quotes:
Stay in your lane.
Photos By: Christian Jarlos | Brandon Prudencios
