About-Muscle talk with NPC Figure Competitor Michelle Beck. She stays motivated by continuously improving her physique and doing competitions.
Could You Tell Us A Bit About Yourself And How You Got Involved In Fitness?
I grew up in Texas and even though my dad was in the Army and we moved a little while I was younger, I have lived in Fort Worth for the past 22 years. I have a large extended family, but I am an only child so it is just my parents and I in my immediate family. My parents are still happily married after 34 years and I am about to celebrate my two year wedding anniversary to my wonderful husband this June.
When I was in college, I started working at the front desk at a local gym. I had never lifted weights before and used to bring fast food and eat it behind the counter all the time. One of the personal trainers suggested I start training with him and as soon as I started to lift, see the changes in my body and see how great it felt to be strong, I was hooked! I competed in my first figure competition in 2002 and for the past two years I have been competing for a chance to win my IFBB pro card.
What Helps You Stay Motivated?
Continuously improving my physique and doing competitions keeps me motivated. I know there are a ton of beautiful fit women in this sport and if I want to compete against them I have to make sure I stay on top of my training inside the gym and keep my diet clean outside of the gym. I also believe in the law of attraction and the power of positive thinking, so I am constantly listening to audio books, reading quotes and surrounding myself with positive people that believe in me and keep me motivated.
What Does Your Workout Look Like?
My workout routine changes a lot from week to week, I always like to switch things up so my body does not get used to doing the same thing over and over again. Right now I am in contest prep, so an example would be:
How Often Do You Perform Cardio?
In the off season I only do cardio 3 to 4 days a week for about 35min max and then in the on season it can ramp up to 6 days a week from 45min to an hour and a half, depending on how my physique looks.
What Does Your Diet Look Like?
My diet changes every week because just like my training I do not like to keep it the same so my body does not get used to the diet and so I can mix up the foods and keep it interesting. My diets usually have 5 to 6 meals per day, spaced out every three hours and I drink about a gallon and a half of water a day. Here is an example of one of my contest prep diets:
What Do You Find Gives The Best Results When You Are Cutting?
Sticking to my diet is the most important thing when I am cutting. I usually have cheat meals once a week in contest prep up until 4 weeks out from a show. I can always tell by my physique if I eat something I am not supposed to, so it always feels better to just stick with my plan.
What Supplements Do You Use?
Opti-Women Multi-Vitamin
Vitamin C
Calcium
Modern BCAA
OxyElite Pro
Dandelion Root
Glutamine
Digestive Enzymes
Anabolic Pump
Whey Protein powder
What Are Your Favourite Supplements?
My favorite supplements are OxyElite Pro by USPlabs, it is an amazing thermogenic and helps to give me that kick of energy I need. I also really like Dymatize Gourmet Chocolate Iso Whey protein powder, it smells like cotton candy and it tastes sweet.
What 3 Exercises Have Contributed The Most To Building Your Physique?
I would say the three exercise that have contributed most to building my physique would be seated shoulder press, squats and seated pull downs or pull ups. Each of these has helped me to build the mass I needed on my shoulders, legs and back which are all important in figure, especially that V taper.
What Is The Most Common Training Question People Ask You The Gym?
A lot of people ask me what I do to get my abs so lean. The funny part about that is, it is really not training that gets them so cut, it is my diet. I always tell them that the abs will come out when you stick to a clean diet, training them a few times a week is plenty, no need to over exert them everyday by doing a thousand crunches a day, they are a muscle just like any other body part and need rest.
What Is Your Greatest Achievement?
My greatest achievement so far has been placing 3rd out of 33 women in my figure class F at the 2010 NPC Jr. Nationals, which was my first national show ever!
What Is Your Favorite Quote?
Our Greatest Weakness Lies In Giving Up. The Most Certain Way To Succeed Is Always To Try Just One More Time.” -Thomas Edison
What Do You Love About Competing?
I love being up on stage and being able to show my physique off after the months of hard work, there is no better feeling of accomplishment and pride. I also love meeting all of my friends from all over the US at the national level shows, there are not a lot of competitions in my area so it has been great to make friendships online with other competitors.
What Are Your Plans For The Future?
My current plan is to compete in 4 weeks at the 2011 NPC Team Universe for another shot to win my IFBB Figure Pro card and see where the year takes me from there.
If Someone Wants To Connect With You How Can You Be Contacted?
If anyone would like to contact me at:
Website: www.michelle-beck.com
Email: michelle.ivette.beck@gmail.com
I am also on Facebook, BodySpace and the USPlabs forum just look for my profile name Michelle Beck.
I just want to thank my personal trainer IFBB Pro Abdul Sharif for all of his help with my training and diet and also for believing in me when I sometimes didn’t believe in myself. I also want to thank my parents for being so supportive of my goals and my husband for always being understanding and my biggest fan!
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