How did you get started with bodybuilding?
I was pretty active in high school, and I participated in basketball, track and cheer. After high school, I began to work a lot, so I started to slack with my physical activities, and I started to eat unhealthy. It didn’t take long for me to realize that my metabolism wasn’t what it used to be; that’s when I made the decision to become healthier, and I started focusing on eating healthier again. I started making home cooked nutritious meals every day that I ate with my husband. During that time, I started working out at home, using some videos that I came across on YouTube. After about three months of healthy eating and working out at home I started to see small changes, and I decided I wanted to see some more! At about the six month mark, I got my abs back; it was at that point I knew that if I wanted to see even more results, I would need to get myself to a gym. In January of 2015, I started going to the gym and one day a trainer, Jonah Bolton approached me about competing.
I was excited, but I didn’t know where to begin. Jonah ended up training me, and the rest is history!
Where does your motivation come from?
My motivation comes from a lot of different places I guess, but my biggest motivation comes from my husband. I have been with my husband since I was fifteen years old and ever since we first met, we have been pushing each other to grow on a daily basis in every area of our lives. Each morning, I wake up with the desire to be better than the day I was before.
A lot of my motivation also comes from my social media platforms because I feel I am able to inspire others to live this kind of lifestyle as well.
What workout routine has worked best for you?
Full workout
What is your secret to your incredible glute development?
My secret is that it’s not all about squats; even though that’s what a lot of people tend to think. For the overall look of my glutes, I use a lot of isolation exercises as well as hamstring workouts; I feel that combination has helped my glutes the most. Here are a few exercises that I love to do!
- Weighted Hip Thrusts
- Reverse Hack Squats
- Cable Kickbacks
- Romanian Deadlifts
- Bulgarian Split Squats
- Sumo Squats
If you had to pick only 3 exercises what would they be and why?
Squats: When I started working out, I was only able to do bodyweight squats. Then slowly, I worked my way up to using weight. I love being able to measure my own strength based off of my squats, and I love always trying to beat my personal best!
Deadlifts: I am very quad dominant, and my hamstrings have a lot harder time growing. Deadlifts have been a staple exercise in helping my hamstrings play catch up with my quads.
T-Bar Rows: This is just one of those exercises that I love doing because it feels so good!
Deadlifts: I am very quad dominant, and my hamstrings have a lot harder time growing. Deadlifts have been a staple exercise in helping my hamstrings play catch up with my quads.
T-Bar Rows: This is just one of those exercises that I love doing because it feels so good!
What is your diet like?
- Meal 1: 1 Whole Egg, 3 Egg Whites, 1/3 cup Oatmeal, 1 tablespoon Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil, 1 tablespoon Honey and 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
- Meal 2: 5 ounces Ground Turkey, ½ cup Brown Rice, 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce and 2 cups Cooked Broccoli
- Meal 3: 1 Banana, 3 tablespoons Almond Butter or 30 Almonds and ½ tablespoon Honey
- Meal 4: 1 Scoop Protein and 8-12 ounces Water
- Meal 5: 5 ounces Grilled Chicken, 2 tablespoons Almond Butter and 1/3 Avocado
- Meal 6: 5 ounces Salmon, 1 cup Mixed Green Vegetables and ½ Avocado
- Meal 7: 1 scoop Protein and 8-12 ounces Water
What’s the one food you couldn’t live without, and how do you handle food cravings?
It has to be French fries all of the way! (Laughs) French fries are the one unhealthy food I just couldn’t live without. When I find myself craving junk food like delicious French fries, I don’t always cut myself off completely from having them because let’s face it, that would be depressing. Instead, I am able to find healthier alternatives for what I am craving, and I will cook them at home; I love to make baked sweet potato fries at home.
When I have cravings for sweets I will substitute with fruits or low calorie and low sugar juice, caramel rice cakes, nut butters, homemade semi sweet tea, or I will drink a low calorie hot chocolate mixed with water.
What is your supplementation like?
I like to keep my supplementation pretty basic because I don’t like to pump too many things through my body. I feel that my body creates a lot of what it needs on its own, so I only use what I feel like I need to stay strong and help my body recover properly.
- Protein
- BCAA’s
- Glutamine
- Vitamin C
- Fish Oil
- Biotin/Folic Acid
What are your hobbies and interests outside of the gym?
My biggest hobby outside of the gym is anything that involves having a good laugh. I enjoy spending time with my family or just relaxing at home watching a funny movie on television or animal videos on YouTube. I am from Utah, so I absolutely love being outdoors in the fresh air; camping, hiking and fishing to name a few.
I also love having some time for myself, and I like to watch Disney movies and ‘chick’ flicks while taking a super hot bath which is great for muscle soreness. (Laughs)
