I have always been an athlete. I started with fastpitch softball when I was 8 and that had been my passion up until the point I was essentially pulled from the sport due to having to have 4 separate knee and shoulder surgeries between the age of 18-24. I had always worked out and prior to my injuries, I was able to push/pull a lot of weight but through college and all of my surgeries, I had gained a lot of weight and lost a lot of who I was, the athlete inside of me. Late 2012 I wanted to just get me back which meant doing things I loved like working out consistently, snowboarding and even signing myself for some local 5Ks (which for those who know me, running is not something I have ever enjoyed). In 2013, I started to do my own research and started following various pages on Instagram. On there, I started following fitness/nutrition/athlete pages which had encouraged me to focus on the nutritional aspect of fitness and by fall 2013, I had started enforcing healthy eating as well as meal prepping into my daily regimen. In 2012, I had maxed out at 205lbs and by late 2013, I had lost about 25lbs but knew I had so much more I could do. So with meal prepping and consistently going to the gym, I stepped up my training to heavy weights with a focus on building muscle. It was then in January 2014 that I decided to compete and do my first NPC competition. I wasn’t as ready as I needed to be seeing that the show was in March of that year but I got to the stage with the coaching of Heather Grace IFBB Pro and essentially it was an ice breaker as well as a taste of what the bodybuilding world has to offer. From there I was addicted and I have trained consistently, competing in my second show in August 2014, The Warrior Classic.
What is your favorite and least favorite body parts to train?
My favorite would to be legs and my least (if I had to choose) would have to be glutes (haha!). I only say that glutes would be my least favorite because my posterior chain has been my weakest part of the body but I will definitely say that I am putting in lots of work to bring my glutes up to speed for the 2015 season.
Do you do any other types of training besides weight training?
After all of my injuries/surgeries, I have not gotten into any other types of training other than the occasional cardio I do via snowboarding or hiking up the Incline in Manitou Springs, CO.
Can you give us a sample of your routine?
I’ll give you a taste of my quad workout
Leg extension warm ups (integrating bilateral and unilateral sets 4×40)
Hack squat (low-med wgt) 5×20-30
-supersetted with-
Leg press (low-med wgt) 5×30
Smith machine squats (focusing on quad contraction and not going all the way into hammy contraction) 5×20-30
Abduction machine 4×25
Leg extension with 10sec holds on last set 80-60-40-20
What kind of music do you listen to when you are working out?
The music definitely varies. Lately I have been listening to this motivational compilation from muscleprodigy but when I don’t have that on, I can have anything from country to pop to hip hop on (anything that keeps me mentally moving and dancing so that I can get through my trainings)
We all have at least one, what is the most embarrassing song on your iPod?
Hahaha!! So I probably have a compilation of embarrassing songs from when I was in middle school/high school and was obsessed over pop singers and boy bands. So needless to say when things like NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” play on my speakers and there are people around, a big Garfield like grin appears on my face.
What does your diet look like when you are trying to get lean?
When trying to get lean my diet consists of lots and lots of lean proteins, lots of green vegetables, healthy fats, squashes and other various slow digesting carbs. The amount of water is at least 1 gallon to 2 gallons depending on the day and definitely no cookies (LOL).
List the top 10 foods we would find in your kitchen:
The top 10 foods you would find in my kitchen have to be:
Ground turkey
Various white fish
Chicken
Egg whites
Almond Milk
Various veggies
Oats
Nut butter assortment
Honey Bunches of Oats
Ground beef
What kind of cardio do you like best and why?
I honestly dislike cardio to the utmost extreme but it is something that keeps my physique lean and conditioned when in season. The best would have to be any type of HIIT cardio whether it is on a machine or outdoors somewhere. HIIT cardio is my preferred type of cardio because it is short, intense, maximizes your heart rate and gives you more fat burning benefits.
If you could give somebody only one fitness tip what would it be?
The one fitness tip that I tell everyone is to “respect the process” because fitness is something that evolves over time and effort. Fitness is a process and a journey that does not happen in a short period of time, it has to become your lifestyle.
Tell us about your biggest fitness influence?
When I was younger I admired athletes like Flo-Jo because they were strong, beautiful and had this amazingly sculpted physique. When I got into bodybuilding (which I am honestly still so new to), women like Dana Linn Bailey and Heather Grace have topped my list of people who I truly admire due to their work ethic, drive and dedication they put towards this sport.
Favorite cheat food?
No contest my favorite cheat food would have to be warm cookies and milk or the Pizooki from BJ’s.
Do you take any supplements?
I take multivitamins, fish oils, protein supplements, creatine, BCAAs and EAAs.
What does the future hold for you?
I am only a year into this sport and just beginning to truly sculpt a foundation to which my physique can really grow on. Right now I honestly just plan to continue training and competing with aspirations of getting to my first National stage and one day becoming an IFBB Pro athlete.
Photo Credits: Doug Larson of Doug Larson Photography
Mindee Le Diehl
Facebook Page: facebook.com/polynesianpriincess
Instagram: @polynesianpriincess
