Being a bodybuilding competitor probably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. However, for a woman named Jessica, it naturally progressed to that level after she started a workout regimen. Many people who exercise regularly find that it becomes an addiction after a while. Being a bodybuilder may appeal to the gym rats who crave the adrenaline rush from pumping iron.
Jessica found that being a bodybuilding competitor boosted her self-confidence and kept her focused on achieving new goals. However, like most people who reach that level, Jessica had humble beginnings.
“The beginning was pretty hard – just exercising was hard, just walking was hard for me. There was a lot of stuff I could not do,” Jessica said. “So, I had to do a lot of modifications, but I didn’t give up; I just kept going, and I told myself, ‘You know what? If I can’t right now, eventually I can.’”
That attitude set her up for success, and she adhered to her workout routine. After a while, she noticed she felt much stronger and could lift heavier weights. She began her journey on January 5, 2019 at 354.2 pounds. She felt devastated looking at that number and couldn’t believe she’d let herself get to that point.
Carrying that much weight around made her feel miserable, and she often suffered from back, shoulder and neck pain. Luckily, she didn’t have any major health scares, but her blood pressure and menstrual cycles were abnormal. Not wanting to risk her health any longer, she decided to make the necessary changes once and for all.
Woman Sheds Over 200 Pounds and Becomes a Bodybuilding Competitor
“When I started my journey, I started doing boot camp, which is a full body workout for just 30 minutes, and that really helped me a lot,” Jessica says. “I also did a little bit of strength training, high intensity interval training, and then a little bit of cardio. And it was hard – it was not easy at all – especially being 354 pounds and going to a gym.”
She said in the past, typical gyms didn’t work for her, so she tried a new exercise plan this time. It took her a few months to start seeing results, but the effort paid off eventually. She noticed changes in her face and waist at first, which encouraged her to keep going. Jessica also dropped weight fairly quickly because she altered her diet for weight loss.
Basically, she eliminated or greatly reduced her intake of fast food, processed food, sweets, and any other unhealthy foods. In place of those, she focused on eating low carb, low fat and low sugar foods. By the second month, she’d lost 20 pounds from diet and exercise alone. At 5 months and 2 weeks, she’d lost a remarkable 100 pounds from her dramatic lifestyle change.
200+ (@warrior_jessica_slashes_fat)Her success story proves that by staying dedicated to your goals, small changes can lead to bigger ones. Of course, you don’t have to become a bodybuilding competitor like her – even casually working out can make a difference.
Her advice to anyone looking to become healthier is to focus on changing one habit at a time. If you make too many changes at once, you’ll get overwhelmed and revert back to your old ways. So, it’s important to pace yourself so you can stick to the new lifestyle for the long haul.
Also, she says to see any changes in your life, you have to love yourself and believe in yourself. Even at her heaviest, she still loved herself because you can’t make changes from a place of hate. Only by accepting yourself, flaws and all, can you remove the inner resistance to change.
How to Become a Bodybuilding Competitor
Are you interested in following in Jessica’s footsteps to compete onstage? If so, take this advice from the experts at bodybuilding.com:
- If you want to become a bodybuilding competitor, know that it will take months of rigorous training. Plus, you’ll have to follow a fairly restrictive diet that focuses on high protein and low carbs.
- About a year beforehand, you should pick your show and create a training program.
- In the off-season, make sure to eat plenty of protein at regular intervals throughout the day (about 3 hours apart).
- To be a bodybuilding competitor, you’ll want to develop a workout routine that combines cardio and strength training. Don’t skimp on the aerobic exercises, because this will help burn fat and make your muscles look more defined. Aim for two or three cardio sessions of 30-60 minutes per week.
- Work on your mandatory poses so you feel comfortable on stage. The poses consist of relaxed poses, which include front relaxed, left/right side relaxed and back relaxed. They also include compulsory poses: front double biceps, front lat spread, right/left side chest, right/left side triceps, rear lat spread, rear back double biceps, most abdominal and most muscular.
- About 12 weeks out, order your posing suits for contest day. Make sure you account for weight loss and order about two sizes smaller than your current size.
- If you’re serious about being a bodybuilding competitor, take pictures of yourself posing after each workout. You want to get an idea of how you’ll look before the judges.
- Finally, don’t forget to ask other bodybuilding competitors for advice or mentorship. Since they know the industry well, you can count on them for any questions or support you need.
Final Thoughts on One Woman Went From Overweight to a Bodybuilding Competitor
When someone commits to a healthy lifestyle, their inner fire burns brighter, making it easier to accomplish goals. Some people love working out so much that they become a bodybuilding competitor eventually. That’s what happened to Jessica when she made up her mind to get healthy and lose weight. She hadn’t planned on competing as a bodybuilder, but she realized that being onstage helped her self-worth.
After struggling to lose weight for years, Jessica inspired millions of women to adopt a healthy lifestyle themselves. She also reminds women that they shouldn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed for having loose skin or cellulite. Jessica won her competition without a perfectly shredded body, because it’s not about how you look; it’s about how you shine from within that truly matters.
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