Some may not know but you were a track athlete in high school and also on the collegiate levels. What events did you participate in?
SO: In high school I ran many events but my specialties were 100m and 400m hurdles & HJ (set my school HJ record of 5'6" to place 2nd in the state championships as a sophomore)
Most people are very good at telling people the things that they need to do to better themselves physically, but there is nothing better than a walking example. How do you feel that your self created work of art helps you in relaying the importance of physical fitness and how its important to your life?
SO: Work of art! That’s a new way to put it...that’s an awesome compliment! Well, as a personal trainer I find that it comes in handy very often actually. Most of my clients approached me initially for advice; seeing that I was in shape and admiring the kind of training I practiced they were had to figure out what it was I was doing to maintain my physique. Being in shape also helps motivate the people I work with, they see how I look and know that its possible to be in good shape...I can also relay to them my personal experience with the consequences of unhealthy weight gain, after I finished competing and wasn’t training at the same intensity I ballooned to an unhealthy weight...not necessarily obese but it wasn’t a good weight for my body and my body let me know it...I struggled with hypoglycemia, poor stamina and a lack of muscle endurance...I didn’t like how I looked in my clothes and I started shying away from being photographed...I’m a naturally outgoing person so that reality hit me hard and I wasn’t happy....I had to snap out of it and get back on track!...managing one's diet and exercise is simply a necessary part of life as long as you want to live a long healthy strong one that is...
Could you tell about your life as an athlete and how it has helped you reach the point you are currently at in your life right now?
Oh gosh, that would be long story but I wont bore you with the details (laughing)...I grew up an athlete really...I recall as a 7yr old running around the house hopping up the steps and jumping to see if I could touch the ceiling...I jumped and jumped every day trying to touch the ceiling so when I finally reached it I couldn’t stop...I used to get in a lot of trouble actually because I wouldn't stop the running and jumping and hopping in the house when my parents would tell me to sit down! (Laughing)...in middle school I began running track and playing basketball. I was never the fastest or strongest.... well okay maybe I was the strongest...(Laughing)...but the point is I was never the very best at everything but I always worked at what I did and put my best effort out.... I’m such a competitive spirit and hate losing that I just pushed myself harder and harder to be the best I could in whatever I did. In high school I was part of a great track team we won our conference championship meet 3 of the 4 yrs I was there, we won a state championship and I earned recognition on various group, conference and state levels. By my junior year I had started receiving tons and tons of recruitment letters from universities all over the country. I was personally recruited by my college track coach (Coach Brenda Cash) from the University of Memphis during the Penn Relays my senior year. While I liked a lot of the things all the letters were relaying from coaches who didn’t have the opportunity to personally recruit me, I really loved the personality and spirit of Coach Cash; we got along smashingly (Laughing)...that and she was one of the few coaches who agreed to let me try out for the school's basketball team should I commit to run for her LOL!
The one experience out of too many to count or recall is probably one of my greatest memories also...the summer after graduating junior high school my best friends (a set of twin girls - Ashley and Tia) and I heard about the open gym conditioning practice the HS girls were attending for basketball that year...and even though we were barely freshmen we decided to go...it was so hard keeping up with the older bigger girls but we did it and it paid off in the end because we were the only freshmen who earned varsity playing time and even started a few games that year...after that we never looked back, we maintained our varsity status and became captains of our team by our senior year. This experience resounds loudly in my life even today because it showed me that perseverance and dedication pay off, regardless of where you start off at you can get better and stronger if you decide to but it doesn’t happen magically on its own, you've got to work for it, you've got to make a conscious decision that its something you're going to do.
As a female do you feel like you are viewed different by your counterparts (both male and female) more on the inside of the sport or on the outside of the sport?
Wow, that’s a good question, I don’t think I’ve ever thought of that...I would say its different on both sides...on the inside of the sport the people who are in it (male and female) respect you based off of what you look like, they respect you more the better you look because they know personally what it takes to transform your body...so if you're in great shape then they know you're serious about the sport. I think men on the inside treat you more like one of they guys you know, they'll let you train with them and even listen to some of your advice whereas guys on the outside of the sport more times than not just admire your body for its attractive features...its funny because guys outside the sport of bodybuilding will laugh at the idea of training with a woman but then when they witness my workouts or the weight I’m using they often get surprised and are shocked by my no nonsense approach to working out. Some of the gym guys I know wont even train with me now, but not so much because I’m a woman but because they've seen me bring a few brave souls to the point of tossing their cookies by the end of a workout with me LOL...
I feel like as women on the inside of the sport we're all SUPER competitive, we're all similar in that way so a lot of times you'll get women who really try to size you up and figure out how they compare next to you however, I’ve found that most of the women I’ve met personally are really kind, helpful and encouraging...most of us tend to be trainers so you have enough self help mumbo jumbo floating around back stage or in the gym to fill a library of self help books LOL...women on the outside of the sport have their own challenge
Describe a typical day for you?
My days are so crazy, its sort of an oxymoron to call them typical (Laughing) but more times than not I have a pseudo routine
6am - a.m. cardio usually 45-60min
7:30 - breakfast
8:30a-5p (day job)
10a - meal
12:30 - meal
3:00p - meal (#4)
5:30-7 - weight training
7pm - meal #5 - usually a protein shake or post workout type meal
7-10p - training clients or running my boot camp (8:30 - meal #6 CARB FREE - high in protein and lots of green veggies)
Each day varies where I have anywhere between 1-3 clients...on the days I don’t have any clients I love spending that time with my family...my mom says I need to slow down but that’s easier said than done...and I get it from her anyway! (Laughing)...besides I don’t know what to do with myself when I’m not busy.
Typically I try to get to bed by 11p...and I wont event survive past 12a (Laughing)
How much of a role does dieting play in your preparation? Does dieting and training coincide with each other or do you have to focus more on one than the other?
Dieting has a huge role in my training. Namely because I LOVE to EAT!! (Laughing)...I eat every 2.5 to 3hrs (about 5-6 x a day), it seems ALWAYS eating...so I have to pick the right foods and eating times. Dieting and training definitely coincide equally; I actually eat based on how I plan on training that day. Higher carbs for leg training days, lower carbs for upper body days and even lower for my rest days. I manage my macro nutrients more so than my calories because its easier to keep track of...I’ve never been good at math and my memory sucks so counting up to a 100 or so grams is a lot easier than keeping track of 1200 or more calories...and I’m allowed to be a little flexible on the go when I know how many grams of carbs or proteins I have to play with. Typically I cycle my carbs when I’m prepping for a competition which means I will eat a carb rich diet one day followed by a 3 day carb depleted diet. Besides the counting aspect, playing around with the ratio of macro nutrients your daily nutritional regiment is made up of results in a more accurate handle on the composition of your shape and that’s really important being that the field of competition I’m in is pretty subjective. There are no specific definitions of "shapely", "toned" or "defined" just some of the characteristics we as competitors are judged on.
Do you feel that your discipline as a track athlete has helped you in your career of fitness (FIGURE) and bodybuilding?
Most definitely! As a track athlete you learn mental toughness...doing the same thing over and over and over again to condition your mind and body to do something without thinking when the time comes...namely when that start gun goes off...time goes by in the blink of an eye on the track so you don’t have time to think how many strides you'll take this time to the first hurdle or when you'll cruise vs. all out sprint...these are things you train for in practice so that its automatic when you take your first step out the starting block. As a figure competitor now that mental toughness has carried over in sticking to my diet, making it through a really tough workout even stepping out on stage and holding my poses/quarter turns for judging along with so many other aspects of competing. I’m sure people are going to think I’m crazy but I find it funny...oftentimes I’ll catch myself focused during a set of squats or tricep extensions or in the middle of cardio mentally ZONED OUT hearing the voices of my former track coaches "come on let's move", "dig deep!” "There are NO QUITTERS ON MY TRACK" "you only have one chance people, there are no DO OVERS”...
*Favorite clean food - turkey burgers (no buns of course)
*Favorite cheat food - pizza/french fries/ice cream.... chocolate cake...I cant make up my mind!!
*Favorite body part to train - legs/shoulders
*Least Favorite body part to train- chest (I already have small boobs and training chest just depletes them even more (Laughing) so I hate being a co-conspirator in the injustice of doing away with the little I do have)
What class do you compete in?
I compete in Figure and usually height class separates competitors so it really depends on how many competitors have entered but I’m 5'7 so I’m usually in the tall class
Would it be fair to say that the training for a weight lifting competition is probably more tedious than for track?
NO it would not be fair! (Laughing)...I mean certain aspects are more tedious...DIET especially! As a track athlete I could really eat anything I wanted because I was running almost 7days a week sometimes 2 or 3 times a day (GOD I HATED THOSE 2 a days!) (Laughing)...but as a figure competitor there’s more focus on the weight training, and maintaining a clean diet that I don’t have the luxury or eating whatever...whenever...so that’s tedious but in track the practices and weight training and monotony of doing the same drills over and over...or running the same track over and over could drive you nuts so I wouldn’t say its more tedious but they definitely compare.
The one thing I hate about training is __________
DIETING!!
Sheena Ohlig has a free day. What are you doing?
There are no free days in THE GRIND HOUSE...
But for sanity sake I love lounging around hanging out with my mom and brother or sorority sisters
Your life motto:
DIG DEEP! I came across this scripture one day while driving and listening to a local gospel radio station. It touched me because it can apply to so many aspects of life
Galatians 6:9
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
I like this scripture because it tells us to strive onward, if you just keep digging and not faint you will reap the harvest...its like, sometimes you question what you're doing this or that for or why hasn’t this or that happened for you yet but applying this scripture we see that in due time what is meant for you will be yours as long as you don’t give up.
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