Part 2 of Natalie’s journey
In part 1 we announced that musclefix is sponsoring Natalie Taylor with massage in the lead up to the 2011 Victorian Natural Physique Championship Titles. Today we will hear directly from Natalie about what the competition is, her motivations for participating, the training and eating required and if massage has helped her.
Musclefix: First up, tell us about what you do and how you came across the idea of competing in a figure competition.
Natalie: Well it all started when I became a personal trainer! I was extremely lean when I began, and had a lot of people comment that I should enter a comp as I have the perfect physique for it (lucky me!). It wasn’t until 2 years later though that something clicked and I decided I wanted to do it. My main goal is to inspire people to achieve whatever they want in life through health and fitness, and I could think of no better way of doing this than competing in a figure competition. Also Arnie was a big inspiration…:)
Musclefix: What’s the competition all about?
Natalie: Where do I begin??!! It has sooo many elements. The main purpose of the competition is to have a feminine, athletic figure. This means there should be great muscle definition, and you should have symmetry too. You also have to strutt around on stage wearing a teeny tiny bikini and 6 inch heels, while striking various poses (this involves tensing all the muscles in your body and is WAY harder than it looks!) while looking relaxed and pumped to be up on stage! I believe that getting up on that stage with all the hard work I have put in will be the best and most fulfilling experience…I can’t wait!!
Musclefix: What physical goals have you set yourself? What have you achieved so far?
Natalie: The physical goals I have set myself is to have minimal bodyfat, so I look absolutely fab and ripped up on stage! I also really want to have amazing ab definition (who doesn’t?!) and buns of steel. Not much to ask for I say! Its crazy – in 4 weeks the changes I have seen in my body are unbelievable. Every day I can see some more definition…its very inspiring :)
Musclefix: Tell us about the training and eating required. Also, do you have any good core advice for people regarding exercise and food?
Natalie: At first I was gathering lots of information from different people who had experience in the bodybuilding field, the problem was they were all male! I decided that rather than chance it, I would go and see a professional nutritionist so I know that what I am putting in my body is exactly what should go in to get the results. It really is 95% what you eat that determines your body shape. Also my number 1 goal is ALWAYS to be healthy.
You would have heard of a lot of people who enter these comps doing crazy diets and 3 hours cardio per day…which is definitely NOT the way to go. For eating, my nutritionist has put me on a low GI eating plan. This means lots and lots of vegetables (think green!) and fruits such as kiwi fruit, berries and cherries. I eat every 60 to 90 minutes as this kicks your metabolism in to gear and makes you a fat burning machine! As my nutritionist says – “You have to feed the fire!!”
In regards to training, I was massively overdoing it at the start. I was training almost every day, 1 session of weights and 1 x 45 minute cardio session. I ended up getting gastro and being really sick for a week which was the wake up call I needed!! I now do 20 minutes high intensity cardio every morning before I eat breakfast, then a 3 day on 1 day off split of weights. It has been working a treat – I feel energised and am leaning up nicely.
Musclefix: So you are training pretty frequently. Has that been pretty had work?
Natalie: It was harder when I was trying to do at least 2 hours per day!! Now that I am doing less, it is easier. There definitely moments when you are exhausted or have a moment of laziness…I am lucky though that I work at the gym and all my friends will keep me on my toes! Plus so many of the people that train at my gym train very, very hard, which helps motivate me.
Musclefix: You’ve been having massage for a while now. What effect has that had on your body? Has it been helping?
Natalie: Massage has TRUELY changed my life. I cannot believe the difference in my posture, range of motion and strength in 6 weeks of getting 2 intense massages per week. My hips, glutes and lower back were sooo tight, it has released all those muscles. Increased flexibility means that I can get a lot lower in my squats – which means I work more muscle and burn more fat!! I also noticed that I appear heaps taller and leaner – my legs in particular look a whole lot longer, an unexpected bonus :)
Also my left shoulder has had a rotator cuff problem for a couple of years, and like so many other people I had just put up with it. It has improved dramatically with massage. I would even go to say that in a few weeks more of massage it will be back to normal…in only 6 weeks!!
