October 6, 2025 • 40 mins
A rough childhood, relentless bullying, and a quiet kid who found her voice under stage lights—that’s Olivia. We sit down with one of our own trainers to trace how color guard and dance opened the door to the weight room, and how lifting turned from escape into identity. The conversation moves from the first signs of muscle to the discipline of prep, the mental fog of low calories, and the jolt of confidence that comes from stepping into heels, bracing your core, and holding your smile while every eye in the room is on you.
We get practical and precise about bodybuilding: how categories like bikini, wellness, and figure actually work; what off-season growth really means; why reverse dieting matters; and how show day unfolds beyond the 30 seconds you see on stage. We also dig into performance-enhancing drugs without flinching—what people gain, what they risk, and the long-term costs often hidden behind highlight reels. Olivia speaks candidly about staying natural, the patience it demands, and why health spans decades, not show weeks.
If you’ve ever been told that lifting makes women “bulky,” this chat is your reset. We break down the physiology, the myths, and the very real benefits of strength training for women: stronger bones, steadier hormones, better moods, and durable confidence. On the coaching side, Olivia explains why training is part mechanics and part therapy—how an hour in the gym becomes a private space to talk honestly while you push a sled or grind out a final set. Her coaching style blends playful energy with serious programming, turning dread into momentum you can feel the next morning.
By the end, you’ll hear a clear message: happiness rises as you approach a goal, then drops when it’s done—so keep your goals moving. Whether you’re building toward a first pull-up, a stronger off-season, or more peace in your day, strength is a practice you can choose. If this conversation helped you rethink what’s possible, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to tell us what goal you’re chasing next.
Learn More at: www.Redefine-Fitness.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:09):
Hello and welcome to Help the Fiddles Redefined.
I'm your host, Anthony Eamon,and today we're gonna have a
great episode for all of youtoday.
Before we get started, just aquick reminder guys on the way
this show grows is if you like,share, comment, and if you're
not following, just hit thatfollow button so we can do more
episodes like this.
Last week we did a greatepisode.
It was me and a whiteboard.
We dove deep into BMR.
(00:30):
So I hope you really enjoyed it.
If not, go back and check thatout.
All over how to calculate yourcalories and is it all bullshit?
Go check it out.
Without further ado, though, wehave Olivia on today.
Olivia is one of our trainershere at Redefine Fitness.
I promise you guys we'd getpeople in-house, talk about what
we do, who we are.
That way it's also not just meall the time.
(00:51):
So without further ado, let'stalk about Olivia.
Olivia, thank you for coming on.
SPEAKER_01 (00:55):
Hi, thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (00:56):
Really excited to have somebody on that worked
here.
SPEAKER_01 (01:00):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
You're the first person, so.
SPEAKER_01 (01:02):
Oh god, no pressure.
SPEAKER_00 (01:03):
Yeah, no pressure whatsoever.
It'll be a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01 (01:05):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (01:05):
So let's get started just by talking about you and
what got you into training.
So bring us all the way back.
And when did training for youfirst become like?
Oh, this is what I want to dofor a living.
SPEAKER_01 (01:15):
So pretty much I started weightlifting and
getting into the gym in 2020post-pandemic, just to try to,
you know, get back into theswing of things post-like
lockdown and everything.
So I started working out and Istarted becoming more consistent
part of my life.
And I actually was a teacher fora point in time, and I was
coaching at my old high schoolin my old high school marching
(01:35):
band.
And I was still working out andI was still going to school to
become a teacher.
So then I'm coaching these kids,you know, after school and after
work.
And I'm like, okay, time passes.
I'm like, I kind of hate workingin a school, but I love the
aspect of like helping peopleand coaching kids.
And that's kind of what I'vealways wanted to do.
That's why I wanted to become ateacher because I wanted to help
(01:56):
kids and I wanted to just helppeople grow.
And I thought that teachingwould be the best outlet for
that purpose.
So then I realized how much Ilove coaching and how much I
hated being in a school.
So I was like, I do weightlift.
And you know, personal trainingis always a thing.
So let me, you know, dive intothat a little bit, get my
certification, see what else Ican learn, see what comes with
(02:16):
being more in the gym and youknow, where it takes me.
And now I'm here I am, fiveyears later.
SPEAKER_00 (02:23):
Absolutely love it.
And if we go back in time forjust a little bit, yeah, and
obviously I I've always talkedabout this in the show and for
people that listen all the time.
A lot of trainers they aren'twhat people think they are.
And I'll express that from aplace where people think people
get into training because theywork out and they enjoy working
out.
Yeah.
But I've actually learned torealize by interviewing hundreds
(02:45):
of people, talking to all youguys, is that it actually comes
from a sense of pain orsomething that you had to
overcome in your personal life.
SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:54):
That builds this confidence to get into the gym
and eventually want to teachother people.
So has that been a case for you?
SPEAKER_01 (03:00):
One million percent.
Like, oh my god, yes to a T.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (03:04):
So bring this back to that first point when you're
like you started experiencingpain and then fitness became the
outlet for you.
SPEAKER_01 (03:10):
All right.
So we'll go way, way, way, wayback.
Uh, I like I said to you before,I don't have the best
relationship with my dad.
That's kind of when I firstexperienced, you know, mental
pain or just like, you know,just frustration in that.
I didn't have a goodrelationship with him.
I got to see all my otherfriends with their parents, and
I was like, God, like, this is alittle rough.
But you know what?
(03:30):
I was like a kid, I'll get overit.
And then it just kind of gotprogressively worse to the point
where it was then affecting mein school.
And I felt like I couldn'treally go day to day in my life
with some of the things I wasbeing said to by my dad.
So I had to, you know, try tofigure out a way to remedy that.
My mom started noticing, andthat was when we were like,
okay, we need to fix this now.
And my mom was in denial for awhile about things my dad would
(03:53):
say to me, how he would make mefeel.
She'd be like, no, he wouldnever, blah, blah, blah.
That's not true.
They're divorced.
So she didn't really see itfirsthand what I was going
through.
So then I'd come home fromweekends away and I'd be upset
and torn up.
And it just got progressivelyworse, like I said, as I got
older, whether that's me tryingto find who I am and my dad
didn't agree with it, or thingsjust that my mom would do at my
(04:16):
house there that my dad didn'tagree with, and he would try to
control that, or anything likethat, body-wise, things he'd try
to control just not making anysense.
So then, yep, I come home, I'dbe upset, my grades were
slipping, and my mom was like,yo, like we need to fix this
now.
You're joining a club, you'rejoining a sport, you're doing
like you have to do something.
And I was like, like, I don'tlike sports, I don't want to
(04:37):
play, you know, soccer.
I'm not a huge person wherethings are flying at me.
That sounds terrifying.
So, and I'm not a competitiveperson in that nature, where I,
you know, go fight to the deathor something on a soccer game.
I, you know, I kind of thoughtthat was pointless as a kid.
So then I we had like the highschool marching band come into
(04:58):
the middle school to talk to usabout joining.
And I was like, hmm, I was like,that's kind of cool.
Like the flag's twirling, that'skind of cute.
So I joined the high schoolmarching band when I was 13
years old.
I was in seventh grade when Ijoined, and I graduated playing
and doing all that stuffthroughout all of high school.
So the first time I reallyexperienced like fitness would
definitely be then when I hadcolor guard.
(05:19):
We were, you know, doing acrossthe floor dance routines.
So it wasn't so much as acompetitive aspect.
It was more so, hey, we're gonnalike tell a story through dance,
through our bodies, throughthese uh flags, through the
rifles and the sabers.
We're gonna tell a story withit.
I was like, I love that.
Like that's so cool.
SPEAKER_00 (05:35):
Did your dad approve of that?
SPEAKER_01 (05:37):
Uh surprisingly, yes, because it was feminine.
SPEAKER_00 (05:40):
Gotcha.
So you feel like that yourrelationship with your dad was
he was had a picture of what wasfeminine, and that's what he
wanted you to be?
SPEAKER_01 (05:46):
What was feminine, what was right for a lady to do,
make sure I dressed a certainway, making sure I acted a
certain way, making sure Ireflected him as the child, that
he was doing a good job.
It was all about his validation.
So, you know, being aseven-year-old girl and hearing,
well, what are people gonnathink about me when you do this?
(06:07):
I was like, uh like what?
That that makes no sense.
You're the parent.
You're supposed to, you know,teach the child, not have the
child be a reflection of you.
You you're supposed to likeencourage, you know, their
growth and what they want to do.
SPEAKER_00 (06:22):
When did your parents get divorced?
SPEAKER_01 (06:24):
Uh, they've been separated.
They separated officially likewhen I was three, but the
divorce wasn't finalized till Iwas seven because of my dad.
unknown (06:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (06:33):
Gotcha.
So do you think that affectedhow he thought of you and
raising you?
SPEAKER_01 (06:37):
Yep.
He saw me as a mirror image ofmy mom.
So the second I did somethingthat my mom taught me to do, he
was like, oh, you can't do that.
You have to stop.
God wouldn't approve.
He would use religion as a wayto manipulate me too.
So, like, all of those thingscombined, it just, I was like,
dude, just crazy.
It's like, what the heck?
It was nuts.
SPEAKER_00 (06:56):
A lot of research has shown, like, with
overbearingness andoverprotectiveness that it
actually does the exactopposite.
SPEAKER_01 (07:02):
Yep.
I don't even think it would beconsidered for him, at least.
I don't think it wasoverprotectiveness at all.
It was just controlling at thatpoint.
It was every single minute ofevery single day had to be
planned out by him.
Like, down to what I was wearingup until I was like 15 years
old, he was picking out myoutfits.
And I was like, what the like,I'm 15, I can pick out my own
outfits.
Why do you have to decide what Icould be wearing?
(07:22):
Like, that was just weird.
SPEAKER_00 (07:23):
Do you still have a relationship with him now?
SPEAKER_01 (07:25):
Uh it's kind of.
We stopped talking in 2017.
Uh, he tried to reach out to meand I found out a lot of things
that he was doing in the past tome.
And currently in the present,when I found out all those
things, I was like, yeah, I needa break.
I need to like draw a hardboundary because he was never
(07:47):
respecting them.
So I had to draw a hard boundaryof, hey, if you're not gonna
respect these other boundariesthat I've drawn, you're not
gonna have access to me.
I'm sorry.
So I drew a very hard boundarywith him of you can't see me, I
can't see you.
And I tried to fix it afterthat.
I tried to have a relationshipwith him.
And then he tried getting out ofan agreement my mom had.
(08:07):
My like we had someone come toour door and be like, you're
being sued by so and so.
And I was like, what the heck?
So all of that, I was like,yeah, keeping this hard boundary
with you.
It only happened recently inthis past December.
I actually saw him for the firsttime since 2017.
So it's been a long road.
SPEAKER_00 (08:25):
Potentially on the mend.
SPEAKER_01 (08:26):
Potentially on the mend.
We'll see.
SPEAKER_00 (08:28):
But no, I totally get it.
Did there be a relationship withyour parents, especially having
them divorced affect you inschool with your peers and how
you had relationships with otherpeople?
SPEAKER_01 (08:38):
Yeah, to a degree, I'd say as I got older, that was
when I started noticing it more.
When I was younger, it wasn'tthat bad.
But as I got older and I got tosee my friends' relationships
with their dad, that was when Iwas like, oh, like that was when
I started noticing.
I was like, hmm, my dad doesn'tdo that for me.
And then I started realizing itmore and more, and then that was
when it started to affect me.
Because like my friends could goto their dads for things when
(08:59):
they don't have an agreementwith their mom or when there's a
problem.
I was like, I don't, like, Ican't do that.
That was when it really startedto come like to fruition, and I
started noticing it, especiallywith um, I noticed like I
started telling my mom about it.
I was like, mom, like, I thinkI'm having these problems in
school because of the divorce.
And she was like, No, don't saythat, that's not true.
(09:20):
And then like I started going totherapy later on in life, and my
therapist told me, like, yeah,no, that can be a thing.
Like, that's probably why.
SPEAKER_00 (09:27):
No, it pretty much isn't.
I feel like a lot of people andas parents, I don't think it's
intentional.
I think it's important to pointout, but they don't want their
actions to reflect their kids.
And it always does.
SPEAKER_01 (09:36):
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (09:37):
You're around it all the time, you hear things, you
see things, and even if yourshoes don't come out when you're
up to 10, you see it later inlife in your 30s or when you
have kids.
SPEAKER_01 (09:46):
Yeah, a thousand percent.
It shapes everything how youtalk to yourself, how you talk
to other people, how otherpeople treat you, and what
you'll let other people do toyou.
Will you let other people walkall over you?
Will you be a doormat?
Or are you gonna stand up foryourself?
It comes back from what yourparents do a thousand percent.
SPEAKER_00 (10:01):
Did that give you self-image issues at school?
SPEAKER_01 (10:03):
Not too much, actually.
Not terribly.
There was little things my dadwould say, like my knees would
cave in, and he'd be like, Youneed to get surgery on that.
But that was nothing likelooks-wise, like crazy.
So thank god it wasn't that.
Other girls, though.
SPEAKER_00 (10:20):
No, I get it.
So you got into the color guardand marching band, you did that.
Yeah, did you start going to thegym at that point?
SPEAKER_01 (10:29):
Uh, not too much, but I did notice like when I
started noticing muscle tone waswhile I was in guard because
when you throw a flag, it'sweighted on both ends to get the
momentum it needs to go up andspin.
So I was so weak that the flagwas super heavy to me.
The pet the flag probablyweighed like, I don't know, five
pounds.
Like it was light.
And I remember there was apicture taken of me in my junior
(10:50):
year of me, like, you know, justposing for junior prom, like
smiling, and you could see themuscle definition in my
shoulder.
And I was like, ooh, I was like,that's cute.
I want more of that.
And then later down the line,when I was in college and I was
done with marching band,obviously.
Um, I'm I was again like kind ofgoing through almost like my
first depressive episode, and Iwas like, I don't know what to
(11:12):
do.
And my mom was like, go to thegym.
Just go to the gym.
Like, you do the best you dowhen you're physically active.
Like, look at what you did whenyou were in high school.
Like, just do it now, go to thegym.
I'm like, fine.
So I start working out atPortland and I stuck with it for
a little bit, but then thepandemic hit, and then that was
when I really started goingback, was after because the gyms
opened back up.
Thanks to you guys.
SPEAKER_00 (11:33):
Yeah, that was a process.
But so you started working out,and ultimately, what I know,
because I know you well, butwhat got you into bodybuilding?
What was the thing that reallyskyrocketed that love for it so
much that you're like, hey, I'mgonna go on stage and pose?
SPEAKER_01 (11:48):
So it kind of came from a point of growth.
When I started working out, Iweighed 100-pound soaking wet.
I had like zero muscle on me.
Like the five-pound dumbles wereheavy, like I was trying to curl
those.
I was like, oh my god, likethese are so heavy.
And so I was also bullied inhigh school for being too
skinny, which like makes nosense.
Um, so I was bullied in highschool for being skinny, and
then I started going to the gymworking out, started getting
(12:09):
more muscle on, and I startedgaining weight, and I started
looking at my body like, oh,like I do look good.
Like, you know, the confidence Iwas beaten down from being
bullied kind of started to comeback, and I started taking my
own power back, and I was like,this is what I needed.
Like I needed to start workingout, and I needed to feel this
way about me.
So then when it came tobodybuilding, to me, it just
(12:30):
kind of felt like the naturalnext step.
I was like, I want to proveeverybody wrong whoever said
anything bad about me.
Oh, she can't do this, that'stoo hard, being too skinny.
Okay, then I'm gonna go get onstage with the muscle that I
have and I'm gonna rub it ineveryone's faces that I did
this.
Because not many people can saythat they did.
And it just, oh my god, theconfidence that came with it
(12:52):
through seeing the process of mybody change over time, just from
point A to start like startedworking out to point B of
deciding to do a show.
It was like two totallydifferent people, physically and
mentally.
It was insane.
That's why it felt like thenatural next step.
Because I was just, I had theconfidence and I knew I could.
I was like, this is this is it.
SPEAKER_00 (13:11):
Yeah, I think that's amazing.
And I think I always give props,it's harder than people think it
is because the discipline, asopposed to just training for a
sport where it's like onespecific thing, you just
practice, practice, practice.
SPEAKER_01 (13:23):
Yes, you have to work outside the hours, but
bodybuilding is 24-74 forhowever many weeks your prep is,
or even in your off season.
Like right now, my bodybuildingprep isn't done yet.
I'm on my reverse diet.
I still have to watch what Ieat.
SPEAKER_00 (13:37):
Yeah, it never ends.
Nope.
The bullying uh aspect of itback in school, because I feel
like that's a common denominatorwith a lot of people, they were
bullied when they were youngerand it kind of pushed them into
wanting to work out fordifferent reasons, yep,
depending on that individual.
So, what kind of bullying didyou experience, and at what age
do you think that was the worst?
SPEAKER_01 (13:56):
Okay, so it all kind of started, I'd say, probably
like freshman year of highschool.
That was when you know girls getcatty and they start getting
petty and rude.
So that was when I firstexperienced bullying.
I got death threats forliterally like no reason, and it
just kind of never stopped fromthere.
Did I forgive those girls?
Yes.
(14:16):
And we stayed friends,unfortunately, throughout all of
high school.
But I honestly kind of thankthat relationship that I had
with those girls because it mademe who I am today.
But throughout all of highschool with those girls,
especially this one individual,she would make fun of my body
for being too skinny.
Oh, she would compare all of thegirls' breast sizes to like
different fruits and things.
(14:37):
And at the end of the line,she'd get to me and she'd be
like, Oh, Olivia, you havemosquito bites.
And she'd say it in a negativeway.
And I was like, What is yourproblem?
Like, what is the deal?
Um, I'd get bullied by her andother girls for, you know, being
too skinny, not having a butt,not having breasts, like things
like that, and things that weredeemed attractive.
I got bullied for my nose.
(14:57):
I got bullied for God, like myinterests, like liking a certain
style of music, I'd get bulliedfor.
Every little thing that Istarted to enjoy when I was
finding who I was started tohave a negative connotation, and
I would get bullied for it forno reason.
So that was my whole high schoolyear up until probably about
(15:19):
senior year, even after senioryear, I was still friends with
those girls and I had to dropthem because it just kind of got
progressively worse to the pointwhere it just they started
involving themselves in mypersonal life.
So up until so what was that,ninth grade, up until I was like
20.
It was just constant, likeunbearing and constant.
SPEAKER_00 (15:38):
Yeah, and I feel like girls take it to the next
step as far as the things theysay to each other.
SPEAKER_01 (15:44):
They are ruthless.
SPEAKER_00 (15:45):
And you're a little younger than me.
So I've at my when I was 15, uhaim just became a thing, and
certain people are on it.
Yeah.
So you'd get messages there oncein a while, but I feel like at
your age it was way moreprevalent.
SPEAKER_01 (15:59):
Yeah, Instagram, social media, all the that
stuff.
What you'd see your friendshanging out without you.
You would, you know, see thecomments and little backhanded
jabs people would say onlinewhile you weren't even there to
defend yourself.
It was kind of like you had yourhands tying behind your back and
you couldn't do anything aboutit while these people openly
would like kick you while you'redown.
SPEAKER_00 (16:19):
Do you think social media made everything worse?
SPEAKER_01 (16:21):
One thousand percent.
A thousand percent.
Like, like I said, seeing yourfriends hang out without you and
all of those things that kind ofcome with it, everything's being
compared to online, everyone'slife is online, so you get to
see people who you would deemare doing better than you, and
you'd get jealous, and then thebullying can start from there,
and especially with the onlinepresence too, it opens up the
(16:44):
bullying to be non-stop.
Non-stop.
It can come from Instagram, itcan come from Snapchat, it could
come from kick when kick was thething.
The whole school would knowabout everything and like that
because of just how fast thingsspread online.
So if social media wasn't athing, I'm not saying it
wouldn't be as bad, but it woulddefinitely take it down a notch,
(17:06):
I think.
SPEAKER_00 (17:07):
Which is pretty interesting because I don't know
if you know this, but this isthe first year that they
actually made it illegal to havephones in schools.
SPEAKER_01 (17:13):
I've heard, yeah, I heard.
SPEAKER_00 (17:15):
Is that something that you think will help curve
online bullying?
SPEAKER_01 (17:19):
I don't know.
I feel like just because you'retaking the phones away for eight
hours a day doesn't mean it'snot gonna stop at night.
Even though, you know, thephones aren't there actively,
the kids are still gonnaremember.
They're gonna want to postsomething, or even outside of
school, if everyone's doingsomething else, or they're just,
you know, it's the weekend,they're on their phone.
(17:40):
They can still have access to,you know, everybody, and
whatever everyone's saying isstill gonna be prevalent.
Just because you get rid of itfor eight hours a day doesn't
mean it's not gonna stop.
It might bring it down duringthe school day, the bullying, it
could potentially bring it down,but out of school, it's not
gonna end.
SPEAKER_00 (17:57):
Yeah, I feel like the biggest reason just thinking
is someone like in your shoes,someone's making fun of you or
something, they snap a picture.
Yeah.
And they could put reallyinappropriate pictures and send
it through friends online, stuffonline.
SPEAKER_01 (18:09):
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (18:09):
And you take that out of the situation now that
they don't have phones to dothat.
SPEAKER_01 (18:13):
But that also doesn't stop after school, does
it?
Would they still have theirphones after school?
SPEAKER_00 (18:17):
Yeah, but at least they don't have the pictures
from the locker rooms and thebathrooms.
SPEAKER_01 (18:20):
That is true.
That is very true.
SPEAKER_00 (18:22):
From certain stuff that I've experienced growing up
and getting bullied, like Iremember uh kids used to think
it was funny to jump over thestalls while you're going to the
bathroom and make fun of you orjust trying to get a little
privacy.
SPEAKER_01 (18:35):
Yep, yeah, I got it.
I had had one of these girlsthat I used to dance with when I
was in ColorGuard.
There was this one routine thatwe had to do where we go up into
like this move called acandlestick, where you would
pretty much like go onto yourshoulders and do a dance move
with your legs, and it waspartner work.
So one girl would go up towardsthe right, the other girl would
go up towards the left.
And I was paired with my bully,and every time I'd go up, she'd
(18:55):
smack my butt.
Every time.
And I was like, this is kind ofcrossing the line at that point.
Like, I get it.
It's you know, you're kind of ina private, not a private
situation, but that's a privatearea, and people are, you know,
doing very inappropriate things,especially in the bathroom
that's so unnecessary.
Oh, people suck.
SPEAKER_00 (19:16):
Yeah, couldn't agree more.
But I want to talk about theflip side of that because you
mentioned something veryinteresting earlier that you
used the bullying and thatnegative power to kind of
project you into thebodybuilding world.
And you said you wanted to proveeverybody else that you could do
it.
Yeah.
So I think the million dollarquestion to see where you fit is
once you got there, once you goton stage, did that feeling
(19:37):
disappear, or did you actuallyfeel like, hey, I'm doing this
to prove everyone else wrong?
SPEAKER_01 (19:41):
I'm doing at that point when I got on stage, I was
like, I did it.
Like I proved myself wrongbecause everyone says, Oh, I
want to do this, I want to dothat, I want to compete, I want
to run a marathon.
But how many people are actuallygoing through with it?
So I proved myself, like tomyself, like, wow, I can do
this.
Like, whatever I set my mind to,I can do it.
And then also when I was onstage, I was like, I I did it.
(20:02):
Like at that point, I was justkind of so focused on the fact
that I was able to accomplish itthat when I got off stage and I
got my medal, that was when itkind of started to sink in.
That like, wow, like not manyother people can say that they
did this.
Like, I did prove everybodywrong.
I really did in that moment.
So yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:20):
Yeah, it helped.
SPEAKER_01 (20:21):
Yeah, it helped a lot.
SPEAKER_00 (20:22):
And you mentioned it gave you a lot of confidence for
yourself.
SPEAKER_01 (20:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:26):
So explain to me how you feel now compared to how you
felt back in the beginning.
SPEAKER_01 (20:31):
So before I started bodybuilding, I was seeking
validation from everybody elseexcept me, uh, especially male
validation.
I wanted to be the best versionof me in everyone's eyes,
especially guys.
I would always complain, oh, whydon't I have a boyfriend?
Why is this not working?
Why is this not working?
Like whatever.
And I really at the end of theday, I wasn't happy with who I
(20:53):
was.
I felt like I didn't accomplishmuch.
So when I finally did setbodybuilding like as a goal in
my head, I was like, all right,this is something for me to work
towards.
And the second I put that assomething to work towards,
everything changed in my lifeand everything got better.
Everything.
I got a good job for my careerthat I wanted.
I got into a healthyrelationship because I started
(21:15):
healing the relationship I hadwith my body and myself and my
mind.
And you know, old friends left,new friends came in.
It was just everything kind offell into place in that moment
when I decided I'm gonnacompete.
So yeah, just yeah, that.
SPEAKER_00 (21:32):
Yeah, I don't know if you know this, but there's a
lot of research into it, andsomething I talk about a lot on
the show.
We are actually the happiestright before we achieve a goal.
SPEAKER_01 (21:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (21:43):
And everything has shown that in the progress of
working towards something, andthe closer and closer you get,
you get a huge amount ofdopamine rush, and you get some
serotonin thrown in there, andyou're just feeling great.
And then once you achieve thegoal, it all plummets and
disappears.
So theoretically, in order to behappy and to change your life,
you always need to have a movinggoalpost.
(22:03):
So you hit a goal, now you startworking on something else.
You hit that goal, you startworking on something else.
So is that something you'venoticed?
And if so, where are you headed?
SPEAKER_01 (22:11):
Yeah, so with bodybuilding, you can turn into
a pro.
And at first, when I startedcompeting, I was like, I don't
really know if I want to be apro.
And then after my first show, Iwas like, oh, I got hungry.
I was like, I want to do thismore.
Like you said, like you have toput that new goalpost kind of at
the other end of the spectrum atthat point.
So I was like, yeah, no, I likethis, I want to keep going.
So now my new goal is to stillcompete, get back on stage,
(22:33):
become a pro, maybe one day, ifthat's in the cards for me,
naturally, and just keeptrucking along.
I want to be a good coach, Iwant to be a good personal
trainer, and I want to take theexperiences I have from
competing, being on stagementally, what that does for
you, and physically, just thetraining that goes into it to
show my clients, hey, you can doit.
If I can do it, I anyone can dowhatever they want to set their
(22:55):
mind to a thousand percent.
I I just feel like having thatexperience behind me and showing
other people that is a goodmotivator for a lot of people.
Like, oh, all right, well, mytrainer is, you know, 24, and
she was able to do all thesethings.
Like, why can't I?
SPEAKER_00 (23:09):
Yeah, and I feel like you see that a lot with
people.
They don't think they can dosomething, they get stuck in
little things, which is why it'simportant to have conversations
like these.
Yeah.
Because they learn about me,they learn about you, and
they're like, oh, you know,people have shit.
SPEAKER_01 (23:22):
Yeah, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (23:23):
How you address it and how you get through it at
the end of the day.
Yeah.
So, how many shows have we doneto date?
SPEAKER_01 (23:29):
Uh, I've done three shows.
I did two shows in 2024, and Ijust competed this past August
in Queens in August.
So, yeah, three shows to date.
I'm taking a nice long offseason right now to build more
muscle just because the girlsI'm going up against are demons.
So I need to grow a little bit,but that's part of the sport,
and that's part of my goals.
Is I'm excited to take anoff-season now because that's my
(23:52):
goal is to build more muscle andto get stronger.
So a lot of people will usuallysay, Oh, off-season like uh
post-show blues.
Like they're not excited fortheir off-season, they don't
want to gain weight.
They like being lean.
Look, I like being lean too, butI like being stronger more.
I like mentally beingcognitively aware too.
When you're on prep, your brainis just kind of running at half
(24:13):
capacity, it feels like half thetime, or there's just fog around
your brain 24-7.
So, yeah, I like beingfunctional more than I like
being lean.
SPEAKER_00 (24:23):
That that I totally get.
And talk to people that don'tknow bodybuilding from a hole in
a wall.
Okay, we get a lot of peoplethat listen that really don't
understand the sport in and ofitself.
So, what exactly do you doinside of that?
All right and then talk to usabout the secondary side of
this, which you mentioned youkind of slipped.
You said back to the ball.
So, what does that mean?
Because everyone always thinksof Arnold Schwarzenegger's
because that's the biggest thebiggest bodybuilder known to
(24:45):
man.
SPEAKER_01 (24:45):
So, bodybuilding is pretty much a sport where you go
up on stage against other women,men, obviously, depending on
your gender.
Um, and there's differentcategories that depend on your
body type.
So it's not one size fits all.
It's hey, you have a largerupper body for a woman, you
should do this category.
Hey, your lower body is a littlebit more dominant, let's do
this.
Or for people like me, hey,you're naturally a little thin,
but you still have muscle, youshould do bikini.
(25:07):
There's um how many differentcategories for women?
I'm pretty sure there's likefive or six.
I just know the main three offthe top of my head wellness,
bikini, figure, and now there'sa new one fit model.
Um, so there's all thesedifferent categories for men and
women to compete into.
Uh, pretty much what you do isyou put on a lot of muscle in
your off season.
Then once your offseason isdone, you'll usually work with a
(25:28):
coach or you could do it byyourself.
You'll start a prep for yourshow, which pretty much means
you'll take like anywhere from14 to 20 weeks, depending on
your body, to really like lockin.
You're gonna dial in on yourfood, focus every single day,
measure out if you weren'talready, measuring out
everything that you're puttinginto your mouth.
Food, everything goes measuredon the scale.
(25:50):
Then once you know that's done,your carbs slowly come down over
those X amount of weeks.
You get a bikini done, or youget swim trunks if you're a guy.
Um, you get your hair, nails,makeup, heels.
Heels are a big thing.
Not a lot of people understandyou have to walk in heels for
this, and you have to also,while you're on stage, smile,
look down at the judges, holdyour core in tight and breathe
(26:13):
at the same time.
So there's a lot.
Uh show day usually looks likegetting tanned, putting makeup
on, getting your hair done.
Girls wear a lot of jewelry,everything.
You go on stage for all of 30seconds.
You do a routine where you showoff your body, show off what you
have.
At this point, you're superlean, super dry, whether you've
taken diuretics or you drankalcohol the night before, you're
(26:34):
also dehydrated at that point.
You get on stage, do yourroutine, they call you out for
comparisons against other womenor men, and they rank you.
And once you're ranked, you gobackstage, you get a break, then
you go back on for finals, andthat's where you get your award.
Uh, if you place well in finals,you could go to nationals, and
if you win a national show, youget your pro card.
So I think that's everythingabout bodybuilding, if I can
(26:56):
think off the top of my head.
Oh, the natural thing.
A lot of people do it and theyquote unquote, it's not
considered cheating, but a lotof people do it because they
want to get to the finish linefaster, which I respect.
If they want to make this a hugepart of their career and if
they're ready to take thosesacrifices that come with it, I
admire it because it takes a lotof strength and discipline to
understand that's what you wantin life, especially for women,
(27:18):
because it can really hurt yourreproductive system depending on
if you had a good coach or ifyou knew what you were doing.
So if you do it naturally, it'sobviously the safer route, but
it's harder because it's gonnatake more time.
Whereas if you take, you know,steroids, then you'll achieve it
quicker, yes, but also at whatcost?
SPEAKER_00 (27:38):
So what does that cost?
SPEAKER_01 (27:39):
Health.
A lot of the, you know, a lot ofthe um drugs and steroids that
people take, what they what itdoes is obviously it enhances
your muscles, it makes youbigger, but that's all of your
muscles.
So that's your heart that you'reputting at risk.
Those are a lot of those thingsthat you kind of have to weigh
out in your mind.
Are you willing to take thatrisk?
And does your coach know whatthey're doing?
Because if you have a coach whodoesn't know what they're doing,
(28:00):
you see bodybuilders drop deadbackstage.
It's happened, it's been in thenews, like you know, things like
that happen if you're notcareful.
So you really have to weigh outthe pros and the cons.
Okay, yes, you're gonna get yourpro car quicker, but okay, my
heart might enlarge.
That could introduce heartfailure earlier into my life.
Am I gonna be able to have kidsif I'm a woman?
Um, all of those things.
But now people are takingpeptides, so who knows?
SPEAKER_00 (28:23):
There's two nuanced things about steroids that a lot
of people don't talk about, andI think it's important just to
address is the first one,they've proven this time and
time again.
If you take steroids like let'ssay 25 years ago and hit a
certain threshold of musclehypertrophy and strength, and
stop taking it, even thoughyou're clean, you can still
(28:44):
build back up to where you werein steroids.
And they've seen this a lot withhigh school sports.
Yeah, kids in JV and varsity dosteroids because they're not
getting tested yet, stop, andthat gives them an edge to get
up in the NFL even if they'reclean, whatever the sport may
be.
Yep.
The second nuance side of thisis more the female psychology
side of this.
(29:04):
And this is where I really wantto talk about.
A lot of clients, women, theylook at bodybuilder females,
yeah, and they always say thesame thing.
SPEAKER_01 (29:12):
Oh, it's too big, it's too much.
SPEAKER_00 (29:14):
I don't want to look like that.
SPEAKER_01 (29:15):
Yep.
SPEAKER_00 (29:15):
And then they attribute that to why they
shouldn't weight lift.
SPEAKER_01 (29:19):
Yup, uh-huh.
SPEAKER_00 (29:21):
So talk to us about, as a female and working with
clients, how you address thatsituation and how you could help
show them that's really not thecase.
SPEAKER_01 (29:29):
Okay, ladies, if you're not taking steroids or
injecting yourself with any formof steroids, you will not get
big and bulky.
It is really hard, nearlyimpossible to look like that
naturally.
So you gotta take into accountthat the women who are on those
stages, and most of the picturesyou see, are Olympians.
They're people who have theirpro card.
So they're people who got thatway naturally or unnaturally,
(29:53):
and they're that way for areason.
They have their pro card,they're going up against people
that look like them.
It's for the sport for them tolook that way.
Way if you're not training tolook that way, you're not gonna
look that way.
It's impossible, it's hard.
So, ladies, it is superimportant as you get older too
to just keep weightlifting, keepyour body healthy.
Osteoporosis is such animportant thing that women don't
(30:15):
realize oh, if I weightliftedwhen I was younger and I could,
you wouldn't have osteoporosis,you wouldn't have brittle bone
disease, you wouldn't have halfthese issues.
Weightlifting for women helpsregulate your hormones.
It just helps in so many waysmentally too, especially during
PMS, that time of the month.
It helps get rid of all of thatmental brain fog, even if it's
just a little bit of movement,whether that's Pilates, yoga,
(30:36):
anything of the sort, just aslong as you're moving your body,
it is one of the most importantthings that you can do for
yourself, especially in thefuture.
It helps regulate your hormones,like I said.
So if you have period issues orhormonal problems, it can
regulate your horse, yourperiods.
You can fix a lot of yourproblems in your life just from
picking up weights.
You don't have to worry aboutlooking the way that a lot of
those pro bodybuilders dobecause you're not training,
(30:58):
like I said, like them.
If you're training like them andyou're taking steroids, then you
will.
But if you're not, then you'refine and you're helping yourself
in the future.
SPEAKER_00 (31:06):
Yeah, that was pretty good.
Yeah.
I like that's super direct,which I really, really
appreciate it.
The other side of this I want totalk about, because obviously
that was yourself, is thetraining side of this.
So, what's something you'veexperienced in training that
surprised you?
SPEAKER_01 (31:20):
Honestly, I knew going into this like career that
it was gonna be more of like amental thing for a lot of
people, but I didn't realize howmany people actually like needed
training just to have someone totalk to.
You're like, yes, they're goingto therapy or they're not going
to therapy, or they're, youknow, home alone, or they have
kids, or they don't, or theyjust need someone to talk to.
(31:40):
Personal training, yes, you'reworking out, but you're also
like, it's a way to get thingsoff your chest to somebody who
isn't directly involved thatdeep into your life.
So you can say things and youcan really say how you think and
how you feel to someone whostill cares about you at the end
of the day.
I care about all of my clientsjust because they come to me to
feel better, whether that'sphysically or mentally.
(32:01):
At the end of the day, I wantthem leaving the session to feel
better both.
And a lot of people, even me,when I first started, I didn't
realize how much of, like Isaid, the mental part of it was.
People just sometimes needsomebody to talk to or just get
out of the house.
Like that's a big reason for alot of our clients, I feel.
SPEAKER_00 (32:18):
Yeah, I feel like it's very comparable to
hairstylists.
SPEAKER_01 (32:21):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (32:22):
A lot of women go there just to talk, vent, vent,
and get something off.
But the gym gives you thatopportunity to be active and
burn through that steam.
SPEAKER_01 (32:32):
Exactly.
It's motivational to do it inthe gym.
You like you said, you burn offall that steam.
Any, you know, oh, you had a badday yesterday.
All right, we're gonna have akick-ass workout today, and
we're gonna burn your legs.
And then the next day they getto come and be like, oh my god,
that was such a good workout.
My legs hurt so bad.
And then three months down theline, they get to look back at
themselves three months priorand be like, oh, I lost 15
(32:52):
pounds because of you.
And you get to be a part of thatjourney with them.
So again, physically andmentally, you get to help them
both.
And that's a huge thing.
I have so many clients who,like, when they'd miss a
session, they would be like, Ijust want to talk to you.
Like, I just miss you.
And I'm like, oh.
I'm like, it's okay, don'tworry, like you'll come back in
tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00 (33:10):
I love that.
It's so true.
The mental health part of himreally being able to help people
and meet people where they're atreally makes the job worth it.
SPEAKER_01 (33:16):
It does a thousand percent.
At the end of the day, like Isaid in the beginning, I wanted
to help people.
That's exactly what this isdoing.
SPEAKER_00 (33:22):
Yeah, on so on so many different levels.
You mentioned something which Ithought was kind of interesting,
and I know how I feel about it,but it'd be cool to hear because
you're like I said, you're alittle younger and it helps out
to get a differentiated.
You said the word career forpersonal training.
Now, growing up for myself, andI know people that are older
than me, that wasn't a thing.
Yeah.
(33:42):
The personal training, you soyou said that wouldn't be a
career, you'd get laughed at,and then even getting into the
industry, it was very muchobvious after six months that
this could never be a career.
SPEAKER_01 (33:53):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (33:53):
So is that something you knew prior to working here
that personal training could bea career?
Or did you kind of stumble intoit that way?
SPEAKER_01 (34:02):
I kind of stumbled into it.
So I came from a gym where Iwould see people go in and out a
little bit, and it would bereally hard for people to stick
with training because it doesget hard.
It really does.
Like you can hit a low point ofhaving not a lot of clients,
money's a little low, and it'seasier to think of God, like
what if I just jump ship and dosomething completely different?
(34:23):
But at the end of the day, Ikeep thinking back like this is
what I want.
I want to help peoplephysically, and I'm gonna do
everything in my power to makesure I can still achieve that,
whether that's through personaltraining in person, online, or
just helping people talk aboutit.
I don't care what it is, as longas I'm in the gym and I'm
helping people, that's all Icare about.
So I kind of fell into it, likeI pushed through all of that
(34:44):
hard stuff, and I took a seriouslook at myself.
I was like, I want to stillcompete.
I want to be a healthy person.
I feel like the gym is the onlyplace where I can show that.
So, and obviously now as timeshave changed, I feel it's easier
for people to find their littlespot in the personal training
community.
Whether that's like yourspecialty is, you know, for
(35:08):
women, training and making surethat they get their muscle and
helping just those kinds ofpeople, or whether that's rehab
work or it's online bodybuildingcoaching, there's something for
everybody now.
It wasn't, I feel like this longago because of, you know, there
wasn't that many people trainingonline, but now there's a
foothold for everybody.
There's fitness influencers,there's the online coaches,
(35:28):
there's the meal prep companies.
There's something for everybodynow, no matter what you're
doing.
SPEAKER_00 (35:32):
Even going back to what I opened the company in
2017, I told everyone I wasgonna personal training company,
I was like, what?
SPEAKER_01 (35:39):
It's needed though, like you got with the times.
SPEAKER_00 (35:41):
Yeah, just we're a little ahead, which helped uh
project that forward.
So now, as a trainer andunderstanding that this is a
career, how does that influenceyou working with clients?
Does it make an impact at all?
SPEAKER_01 (35:55):
Yeah, for sure.
I mean, since this is my career,I want all my clients to like at
the end of the day have a goodtime with me.
I want them to go out and telltheir friends, Olivia changed my
life.
You have to go talk to her, youhave to see her.
And I've had a couple of clientsdo that where I would get their
friends, their family members,my mom's friends and family
members would come to me now.
They think of me when they thinkof a personal trainer, which is
(36:16):
really good because it helps usget business, it helps me get
business.
It's just, you know, now it canbe a career path because
everyone nowadays has somethingwrong with them, whether that's,
you know, surgery or they justdon't like the way that they
look.
I feel like it's more commonnowadays because of social
media.
And now people are looking for away to fix it, and that's where
(36:38):
we come in.
SPEAKER_00 (36:39):
Yeah, I love that.
What makes you different as faras your training philosophy?
What separates you fromeverybody else?
SPEAKER_01 (36:47):
I'm bubbly and super outgoing with my clients.
How I am here is how I am withthem.
So a lot of the time I feelpersonal training is about your
personality and you know, if youhave a connection with that
client.
So how I see it is yes, you'recoming to me to feel better, but
I want you to still have funwith me.
So my philosophy is I'm gonnakick your butt, but we're gonna
(37:09):
make it really fun.
SPEAKER_00 (37:10):
So it's like that cynical half smile.
Yeah.
And you're like, you're gonnadie.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (37:14):
It's pretty much like I'm gonna look at my
client, I'm gonna grab a pieceof equipment and be like, oh,
you're gonna love this.
And they're like, oh good lord,when you say that, it's
something really bad.
I'm like, no, no, no, you'regonna love it.
Don't you worry, just have fun.
I think of it as a fun thing forthem.
Like, you know, like I feel thegym is like a playground for
adults, so I'm like, okay, we'regonna play a little game.
And that game is gonna be sumosquats, okay?
(37:37):
Superset with hip thrusting oreels.
unknown (37:39):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (37:41):
No, I I love that.
I think the final topic I wantto talk about is what's
something that outside of thegym that you really like or you
really like talking about, howwould you want people to think
of you outside of being apersonal trainer?
SPEAKER_01 (37:56):
Outside of being a personal trainer, I just want
people to think of me as someonewho's like fun and also like I'm
a very quirky person.
I'm a nerd.
I said I was in marching band.
I love reading, I love videogames, I like superhero movies.
Like, I'm a nerd at the end ofthe day.
So I want people to think of meoutside of the gym as like, oh,
there's this really good bookthat I found I have to tell
Olivia.
Oh, there's this fun video gameor whatever.
(38:17):
Like, I have to tell Olivia soher or her or her boyfriend can
play it just because it'ssomething fun for her.
Like, I like those weird, quirkythings that people probably
might not find as fun.
Um, yeah, little things likethat.
And still staying active, youknow, like going on a bike ride.
And I want people to see theduality of me where it's like
I'm not gonna stay locked insidereading a book.
Like, I'll still go outside andhave fun and go shopping and you
(38:38):
know, be a girl.
But at the end of the day, liketo my core, I am a little bit of
just a geek, a little nerd.
SPEAKER_00 (38:45):
And then if you were to look Olivia 60, 65 years old,
is scary.
Looking back and talking to you.
Yeah.
What's something you think shewould tell you?
SPEAKER_01 (38:57):
Probably slow down.
I feel like a lot of the thingsthat happen when you're in your
20s move so fast.
Like I'm already thinking aboutokay, I need to buy a house when
I get older, like in 10 years,or I want to start a family, I
want to get married, I want allof these things to happen.
And I keep finding myself stuckin that routine of I can't wait
for this, I can't wait, I can'twait, I can't wait.
And I can feel probably my olderself would be like, You can
(39:21):
wait.
Live in the moment and enjoywhere you're at currently.
You're only gonna be 24 once,you're only gonna be this young
and have this opportunity onetime in your life.
You should take it for what itis and don't take it for
granted.
SPEAKER_00 (39:34):
I love that.
Livia, thank you so much forcoming on.
Thank you guys for listening tothe episode of Health and
Fitness Redefined.
Don't forget, like I said in thebeginning of the show,
subscribe, share.
If you love these kind ofepisodes, we'll do more of it.
Let us know in the comments,guys.
Really appreciate it.
Until next time.
And remember, fitness ismedicine.
Thank you guys for listening tothis week's episode of Health
and Fitness Redefined.
(39:54):
Please don't forget to subscribeand share this show with a
friend, with a loved one, forthose that need to hear it.
And ultimately, don't forget,fitness is medicine.
I'll see you next time.
Hello and welcome to Help the Fiddles Redefined.
I'm your host, Anthony Eamon,and today we're gonna have a
great episode for all of youtoday.
Before we get started, just aquick reminder guys on the way
this show grows is if you like,share, comment, and if you're
not following, just hit thatfollow button so we can do more
episodes like this.
Last week we did a greatepisode.
It was me and a whiteboard.
We dove deep into BMR.
(00:30):
So I hope you really enjoyed it.
If not, go back and check thatout.
All over how to calculate yourcalories and is it all bullshit?
Go check it out.
Without further ado, though, wehave Olivia on today.
Olivia is one of our trainershere at Redefine Fitness.
I promise you guys we'd getpeople in-house, talk about what
we do, who we are.
That way it's also not just meall the time.
(00:51):
So without further ado, let'stalk about Olivia.
Olivia, thank you for coming on.
SPEAKER_01 (00:55):
Hi, thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (00:56):
Really excited to have somebody on that worked
here.
SPEAKER_01 (01:00):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
You're the first person, so.
SPEAKER_01 (01:02):
Oh god, no pressure.
SPEAKER_00 (01:03):
Yeah, no pressure whatsoever.
It'll be a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01 (01:05):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (01:05):
So let's get started just by talking about you and
what got you into training.
So bring us all the way back.
And when did training for youfirst become like?
Oh, this is what I want to dofor a living.
SPEAKER_01 (01:15):
So pretty much I started weightlifting and
getting into the gym in 2020post-pandemic, just to try to,
you know, get back into theswing of things post-like
lockdown and everything.
So I started working out and Istarted becoming more consistent
part of my life.
And I actually was a teacher fora point in time, and I was
coaching at my old high schoolin my old high school marching
(01:35):
band.
And I was still working out andI was still going to school to
become a teacher.
So then I'm coaching these kids,you know, after school and after
work.
And I'm like, okay, time passes.
I'm like, I kind of hate workingin a school, but I love the
aspect of like helping peopleand coaching kids.
And that's kind of what I'vealways wanted to do.
That's why I wanted to become ateacher because I wanted to help
(01:56):
kids and I wanted to just helppeople grow.
And I thought that teachingwould be the best outlet for
that purpose.
So then I realized how much Ilove coaching and how much I
hated being in a school.
So I was like, I do weightlift.
And you know, personal trainingis always a thing.
So let me, you know, dive intothat a little bit, get my
certification, see what else Ican learn, see what comes with
(02:16):
being more in the gym and youknow, where it takes me.
And now I'm here I am, fiveyears later.
SPEAKER_00 (02:23):
Absolutely love it.
And if we go back in time forjust a little bit, yeah, and
obviously I I've always talkedabout this in the show and for
people that listen all the time.
A lot of trainers they aren'twhat people think they are.
And I'll express that from aplace where people think people
get into training because theywork out and they enjoy working
out.
Yeah.
But I've actually learned torealize by interviewing hundreds
(02:45):
of people, talking to all youguys, is that it actually comes
from a sense of pain orsomething that you had to
overcome in your personal life.
SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:54):
That builds this confidence to get into the gym
and eventually want to teachother people.
So has that been a case for you?
SPEAKER_01 (03:00):
One million percent.
Like, oh my god, yes to a T.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (03:04):
So bring this back to that first point when you're
like you started experiencingpain and then fitness became the
outlet for you.
SPEAKER_01 (03:10):
All right.
So we'll go way, way, way, wayback.
Uh, I like I said to you before,I don't have the best
relationship with my dad.
That's kind of when I firstexperienced, you know, mental
pain or just like, you know,just frustration in that.
I didn't have a goodrelationship with him.
I got to see all my otherfriends with their parents, and
I was like, God, like, this is alittle rough.
But you know what?
(03:30):
I was like a kid, I'll get overit.
And then it just kind of gotprogressively worse to the point
where it was then affecting mein school.
And I felt like I couldn'treally go day to day in my life
with some of the things I wasbeing said to by my dad.
So I had to, you know, try tofigure out a way to remedy that.
My mom started noticing, andthat was when we were like,
okay, we need to fix this now.
And my mom was in denial for awhile about things my dad would
(03:53):
say to me, how he would make mefeel.
She'd be like, no, he wouldnever, blah, blah, blah.
That's not true.
They're divorced.
So she didn't really see itfirsthand what I was going
through.
So then I'd come home fromweekends away and I'd be upset
and torn up.
And it just got progressivelyworse, like I said, as I got
older, whether that's me tryingto find who I am and my dad
didn't agree with it, or thingsjust that my mom would do at my
(04:16):
house there that my dad didn'tagree with, and he would try to
control that, or anything likethat, body-wise, things he'd try
to control just not making anysense.
So then, yep, I come home, I'dbe upset, my grades were
slipping, and my mom was like,yo, like we need to fix this
now.
You're joining a club, you'rejoining a sport, you're doing
like you have to do something.
And I was like, like, I don'tlike sports, I don't want to
(04:37):
play, you know, soccer.
I'm not a huge person wherethings are flying at me.
That sounds terrifying.
So, and I'm not a competitiveperson in that nature, where I,
you know, go fight to the deathor something on a soccer game.
I, you know, I kind of thoughtthat was pointless as a kid.
So then I we had like the highschool marching band come into
(04:58):
the middle school to talk to usabout joining.
And I was like, hmm, I was like,that's kind of cool.
Like the flag's twirling, that'skind of cute.
So I joined the high schoolmarching band when I was 13
years old.
I was in seventh grade when Ijoined, and I graduated playing
and doing all that stuffthroughout all of high school.
So the first time I reallyexperienced like fitness would
definitely be then when I hadcolor guard.
(05:19):
We were, you know, doing acrossthe floor dance routines.
So it wasn't so much as acompetitive aspect.
It was more so, hey, we're gonnalike tell a story through dance,
through our bodies, throughthese uh flags, through the
rifles and the sabers.
We're gonna tell a story withit.
I was like, I love that.
Like that's so cool.
SPEAKER_00 (05:35):
Did your dad approve of that?
SPEAKER_01 (05:37):
Uh surprisingly, yes, because it was feminine.
SPEAKER_00 (05:40):
Gotcha.
So you feel like that yourrelationship with your dad was
he was had a picture of what wasfeminine, and that's what he
wanted you to be?
SPEAKER_01 (05:46):
What was feminine, what was right for a lady to do,
make sure I dressed a certainway, making sure I acted a
certain way, making sure Ireflected him as the child, that
he was doing a good job.
It was all about his validation.
So, you know, being aseven-year-old girl and hearing,
well, what are people gonnathink about me when you do this?
(06:07):
I was like, uh like what?
That that makes no sense.
You're the parent.
You're supposed to, you know,teach the child, not have the
child be a reflection of you.
You you're supposed to likeencourage, you know, their
growth and what they want to do.
SPEAKER_00 (06:22):
When did your parents get divorced?
SPEAKER_01 (06:24):
Uh, they've been separated.
They separated officially likewhen I was three, but the
divorce wasn't finalized till Iwas seven because of my dad.
unknown (06:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (06:33):
Gotcha.
So do you think that affectedhow he thought of you and
raising you?
SPEAKER_01 (06:37):
Yep.
He saw me as a mirror image ofmy mom.
So the second I did somethingthat my mom taught me to do, he
was like, oh, you can't do that.
You have to stop.
God wouldn't approve.
He would use religion as a wayto manipulate me too.
So, like, all of those thingscombined, it just, I was like,
dude, just crazy.
It's like, what the heck?
It was nuts.
SPEAKER_00 (06:56):
A lot of research has shown, like, with
overbearingness andoverprotectiveness that it
actually does the exactopposite.
SPEAKER_01 (07:02):
Yep.
I don't even think it would beconsidered for him, at least.
I don't think it wasoverprotectiveness at all.
It was just controlling at thatpoint.
It was every single minute ofevery single day had to be
planned out by him.
Like, down to what I was wearingup until I was like 15 years
old, he was picking out myoutfits.
And I was like, what the like,I'm 15, I can pick out my own
outfits.
Why do you have to decide what Icould be wearing?
(07:22):
Like, that was just weird.
SPEAKER_00 (07:23):
Do you still have a relationship with him now?
SPEAKER_01 (07:25):
Uh it's kind of.
We stopped talking in 2017.
Uh, he tried to reach out to meand I found out a lot of things
that he was doing in the past tome.
And currently in the present,when I found out all those
things, I was like, yeah, I needa break.
I need to like draw a hardboundary because he was never
(07:47):
respecting them.
So I had to draw a hard boundaryof, hey, if you're not gonna
respect these other boundariesthat I've drawn, you're not
gonna have access to me.
I'm sorry.
So I drew a very hard boundarywith him of you can't see me, I
can't see you.
And I tried to fix it afterthat.
I tried to have a relationshipwith him.
And then he tried getting out ofan agreement my mom had.
(08:07):
My like we had someone come toour door and be like, you're
being sued by so and so.
And I was like, what the heck?
So all of that, I was like,yeah, keeping this hard boundary
with you.
It only happened recently inthis past December.
I actually saw him for the firsttime since 2017.
So it's been a long road.
SPEAKER_00 (08:25):
Potentially on the mend.
SPEAKER_01 (08:26):
Potentially on the mend.
We'll see.
SPEAKER_00 (08:28):
But no, I totally get it.
Did there be a relationship withyour parents, especially having
them divorced affect you inschool with your peers and how
you had relationships with otherpeople?
SPEAKER_01 (08:38):
Yeah, to a degree, I'd say as I got older, that was
when I started noticing it more.
When I was younger, it wasn'tthat bad.
But as I got older and I got tosee my friends' relationships
with their dad, that was when Iwas like, oh, like that was when
I started noticing.
I was like, hmm, my dad doesn'tdo that for me.
And then I started realizing itmore and more, and then that was
when it started to affect me.
Because like my friends could goto their dads for things when
(08:59):
they don't have an agreementwith their mom or when there's a
problem.
I was like, I don't, like, Ican't do that.
That was when it really startedto come like to fruition, and I
started noticing it, especiallywith um, I noticed like I
started telling my mom about it.
I was like, mom, like, I thinkI'm having these problems in
school because of the divorce.
And she was like, No, don't saythat, that's not true.
(09:20):
And then like I started going totherapy later on in life, and my
therapist told me, like, yeah,no, that can be a thing.
Like, that's probably why.
SPEAKER_00 (09:27):
No, it pretty much isn't.
I feel like a lot of people andas parents, I don't think it's
intentional.
I think it's important to pointout, but they don't want their
actions to reflect their kids.
And it always does.
SPEAKER_01 (09:36):
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (09:37):
You're around it all the time, you hear things, you
see things, and even if yourshoes don't come out when you're
up to 10, you see it later inlife in your 30s or when you
have kids.
SPEAKER_01 (09:46):
Yeah, a thousand percent.
It shapes everything how youtalk to yourself, how you talk
to other people, how otherpeople treat you, and what
you'll let other people do toyou.
Will you let other people walkall over you?
Will you be a doormat?
Or are you gonna stand up foryourself?
It comes back from what yourparents do a thousand percent.
SPEAKER_00 (10:01):
Did that give you self-image issues at school?
SPEAKER_01 (10:03):
Not too much, actually.
Not terribly.
There was little things my dadwould say, like my knees would
cave in, and he'd be like, Youneed to get surgery on that.
But that was nothing likelooks-wise, like crazy.
So thank god it wasn't that.
Other girls, though.
SPEAKER_00 (10:20):
No, I get it.
So you got into the color guardand marching band, you did that.
Yeah, did you start going to thegym at that point?
SPEAKER_01 (10:29):
Uh, not too much, but I did notice like when I
started noticing muscle tone waswhile I was in guard because
when you throw a flag, it'sweighted on both ends to get the
momentum it needs to go up andspin.
So I was so weak that the flagwas super heavy to me.
The pet the flag probablyweighed like, I don't know, five
pounds.
Like it was light.
And I remember there was apicture taken of me in my junior
(10:50):
year of me, like, you know, justposing for junior prom, like
smiling, and you could see themuscle definition in my
shoulder.
And I was like, ooh, I was like,that's cute.
I want more of that.
And then later down the line,when I was in college and I was
done with marching band,obviously.
Um, I'm I was again like kind ofgoing through almost like my
first depressive episode, and Iwas like, I don't know what to
(11:12):
do.
And my mom was like, go to thegym.
Just go to the gym.
Like, you do the best you dowhen you're physically active.
Like, look at what you did whenyou were in high school.
Like, just do it now, go to thegym.
I'm like, fine.
So I start working out atPortland and I stuck with it for
a little bit, but then thepandemic hit, and then that was
when I really started goingback, was after because the gyms
opened back up.
Thanks to you guys.
SPEAKER_00 (11:33):
Yeah, that was a process.
But so you started working out,and ultimately, what I know,
because I know you well, butwhat got you into bodybuilding?
What was the thing that reallyskyrocketed that love for it so
much that you're like, hey, I'mgonna go on stage and pose?
SPEAKER_01 (11:48):
So it kind of came from a point of growth.
When I started working out, Iweighed 100-pound soaking wet.
I had like zero muscle on me.
Like the five-pound dumbles wereheavy, like I was trying to curl
those.
I was like, oh my god, likethese are so heavy.
And so I was also bullied inhigh school for being too
skinny, which like makes nosense.
Um, so I was bullied in highschool for being skinny, and
then I started going to the gymworking out, started getting
(12:09):
more muscle on, and I startedgaining weight, and I started
looking at my body like, oh,like I do look good.
Like, you know, the confidence Iwas beaten down from being
bullied kind of started to comeback, and I started taking my
own power back, and I was like,this is what I needed.
Like I needed to start workingout, and I needed to feel this
way about me.
So then when it came tobodybuilding, to me, it just
(12:30):
kind of felt like the naturalnext step.
I was like, I want to proveeverybody wrong whoever said
anything bad about me.
Oh, she can't do this, that'stoo hard, being too skinny.
Okay, then I'm gonna go get onstage with the muscle that I
have and I'm gonna rub it ineveryone's faces that I did
this.
Because not many people can saythat they did.
And it just, oh my god, theconfidence that came with it
(12:52):
through seeing the process of mybody change over time, just from
point A to start like startedworking out to point B of
deciding to do a show.
It was like two totallydifferent people, physically and
mentally.
It was insane.
That's why it felt like thenatural next step.
Because I was just, I had theconfidence and I knew I could.
I was like, this is this is it.
SPEAKER_00 (13:11):
Yeah, I think that's amazing.
And I think I always give props,it's harder than people think it
is because the discipline, asopposed to just training for a
sport where it's like onespecific thing, you just
practice, practice, practice.
SPEAKER_01 (13:23):
Yes, you have to work outside the hours, but
bodybuilding is 24-74 forhowever many weeks your prep is,
or even in your off season.
Like right now, my bodybuildingprep isn't done yet.
I'm on my reverse diet.
I still have to watch what Ieat.
SPEAKER_00 (13:37):
Yeah, it never ends.
Nope.
The bullying uh aspect of itback in school, because I feel
like that's a common denominatorwith a lot of people, they were
bullied when they were youngerand it kind of pushed them into
wanting to work out fordifferent reasons, yep,
depending on that individual.
So, what kind of bullying didyou experience, and at what age
do you think that was the worst?
SPEAKER_01 (13:56):
Okay, so it all kind of started, I'd say, probably
like freshman year of highschool.
That was when you know girls getcatty and they start getting
petty and rude.
So that was when I firstexperienced bullying.
I got death threats forliterally like no reason, and it
just kind of never stopped fromthere.
Did I forgive those girls?
Yes.
(14:16):
And we stayed friends,unfortunately, throughout all of
high school.
But I honestly kind of thankthat relationship that I had
with those girls because it mademe who I am today.
But throughout all of highschool with those girls,
especially this one individual,she would make fun of my body
for being too skinny.
Oh, she would compare all of thegirls' breast sizes to like
different fruits and things.
(14:37):
And at the end of the line,she'd get to me and she'd be
like, Oh, Olivia, you havemosquito bites.
And she'd say it in a negativeway.
And I was like, What is yourproblem?
Like, what is the deal?
Um, I'd get bullied by her andother girls for, you know, being
too skinny, not having a butt,not having breasts, like things
like that, and things that weredeemed attractive.
I got bullied for my nose.
(14:57):
I got bullied for God, like myinterests, like liking a certain
style of music, I'd get bulliedfor.
Every little thing that Istarted to enjoy when I was
finding who I was started tohave a negative connotation, and
I would get bullied for it forno reason.
So that was my whole high schoolyear up until probably about
(15:19):
senior year, even after senioryear, I was still friends with
those girls and I had to dropthem because it just kind of got
progressively worse to the pointwhere it just they started
involving themselves in mypersonal life.
So up until so what was that,ninth grade, up until I was like
20.
It was just constant, likeunbearing and constant.
SPEAKER_00 (15:38):
Yeah, and I feel like girls take it to the next
step as far as the things theysay to each other.
SPEAKER_01 (15:44):
They are ruthless.
SPEAKER_00 (15:45):
And you're a little younger than me.
So I've at my when I was 15, uhaim just became a thing, and
certain people are on it.
Yeah.
So you'd get messages there oncein a while, but I feel like at
your age it was way moreprevalent.
SPEAKER_01 (15:59):
Yeah, Instagram, social media, all the that
stuff.
What you'd see your friendshanging out without you.
You would, you know, see thecomments and little backhanded
jabs people would say onlinewhile you weren't even there to
defend yourself.
It was kind of like you had yourhands tying behind your back and
you couldn't do anything aboutit while these people openly
would like kick you while you'redown.
SPEAKER_00 (16:19):
Do you think social media made everything worse?
SPEAKER_01 (16:21):
One thousand percent.
A thousand percent.
Like, like I said, seeing yourfriends hang out without you and
all of those things that kind ofcome with it, everything's being
compared to online, everyone'slife is online, so you get to
see people who you would deemare doing better than you, and
you'd get jealous, and then thebullying can start from there,
and especially with the onlinepresence too, it opens up the
(16:44):
bullying to be non-stop.
Non-stop.
It can come from Instagram, itcan come from Snapchat, it could
come from kick when kick was thething.
The whole school would knowabout everything and like that
because of just how fast thingsspread online.
So if social media wasn't athing, I'm not saying it
wouldn't be as bad, but it woulddefinitely take it down a notch,
(17:06):
I think.
SPEAKER_00 (17:07):
Which is pretty interesting because I don't know
if you know this, but this isthe first year that they
actually made it illegal to havephones in schools.
SPEAKER_01 (17:13):
I've heard, yeah, I heard.
SPEAKER_00 (17:15):
Is that something that you think will help curve
online bullying?
SPEAKER_01 (17:19):
I don't know.
I feel like just because you'retaking the phones away for eight
hours a day doesn't mean it'snot gonna stop at night.
Even though, you know, thephones aren't there actively,
the kids are still gonnaremember.
They're gonna want to postsomething, or even outside of
school, if everyone's doingsomething else, or they're just,
you know, it's the weekend,they're on their phone.
(17:40):
They can still have access to,you know, everybody, and
whatever everyone's saying isstill gonna be prevalent.
Just because you get rid of itfor eight hours a day doesn't
mean it's not gonna stop.
It might bring it down duringthe school day, the bullying, it
could potentially bring it down,but out of school, it's not
gonna end.
SPEAKER_00 (17:57):
Yeah, I feel like the biggest reason just thinking
is someone like in your shoes,someone's making fun of you or
something, they snap a picture.
Yeah.
And they could put reallyinappropriate pictures and send
it through friends online, stuffonline.
SPEAKER_01 (18:09):
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (18:09):
And you take that out of the situation now that
they don't have phones to dothat.
SPEAKER_01 (18:13):
But that also doesn't stop after school, does
it?
Would they still have theirphones after school?
SPEAKER_00 (18:17):
Yeah, but at least they don't have the pictures
from the locker rooms and thebathrooms.
SPEAKER_01 (18:20):
That is true.
That is very true.
SPEAKER_00 (18:22):
From certain stuff that I've experienced growing up
and getting bullied, like Iremember uh kids used to think
it was funny to jump over thestalls while you're going to the
bathroom and make fun of you orjust trying to get a little
privacy.
SPEAKER_01 (18:35):
Yep, yeah, I got it.
I had had one of these girlsthat I used to dance with when I
was in ColorGuard.
There was this one routine thatwe had to do where we go up into
like this move called acandlestick, where you would
pretty much like go onto yourshoulders and do a dance move
with your legs, and it waspartner work.
So one girl would go up towardsthe right, the other girl would
go up towards the left.
And I was paired with my bully,and every time I'd go up, she'd
(18:55):
smack my butt.
Every time.
And I was like, this is kind ofcrossing the line at that point.
Like, I get it.
It's you know, you're kind of ina private, not a private
situation, but that's a privatearea, and people are, you know,
doing very inappropriate things,especially in the bathroom
that's so unnecessary.
Oh, people suck.
SPEAKER_00 (19:16):
Yeah, couldn't agree more.
But I want to talk about theflip side of that because you
mentioned something veryinteresting earlier that you
used the bullying and thatnegative power to kind of
project you into thebodybuilding world.
And you said you wanted to proveeverybody else that you could do
it.
Yeah.
So I think the million dollarquestion to see where you fit is
once you got there, once you goton stage, did that feeling
(19:37):
disappear, or did you actuallyfeel like, hey, I'm doing this
to prove everyone else wrong?
SPEAKER_01 (19:41):
I'm doing at that point when I got on stage, I was
like, I did it.
Like I proved myself wrongbecause everyone says, Oh, I
want to do this, I want to dothat, I want to compete, I want
to run a marathon.
But how many people are actuallygoing through with it?
So I proved myself, like tomyself, like, wow, I can do
this.
Like, whatever I set my mind to,I can do it.
And then also when I was onstage, I was like, I I did it.
(20:02):
Like at that point, I was justkind of so focused on the fact
that I was able to accomplish itthat when I got off stage and I
got my medal, that was when itkind of started to sink in.
That like, wow, like not manyother people can say that they
did this.
Like, I did prove everybodywrong.
I really did in that moment.
So yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:20):
Yeah, it helped.
SPEAKER_01 (20:21):
Yeah, it helped a lot.
SPEAKER_00 (20:22):
And you mentioned it gave you a lot of confidence for
yourself.
SPEAKER_01 (20:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:26):
So explain to me how you feel now compared to how you
felt back in the beginning.
SPEAKER_01 (20:31):
So before I started bodybuilding, I was seeking
validation from everybody elseexcept me, uh, especially male
validation.
I wanted to be the best versionof me in everyone's eyes,
especially guys.
I would always complain, oh, whydon't I have a boyfriend?
Why is this not working?
Why is this not working?
Like whatever.
And I really at the end of theday, I wasn't happy with who I
(20:53):
was.
I felt like I didn't accomplishmuch.
So when I finally did setbodybuilding like as a goal in
my head, I was like, all right,this is something for me to work
towards.
And the second I put that assomething to work towards,
everything changed in my lifeand everything got better.
Everything.
I got a good job for my careerthat I wanted.
I got into a healthyrelationship because I started
(21:15):
healing the relationship I hadwith my body and myself and my
mind.
And you know, old friends left,new friends came in.
It was just everything kind offell into place in that moment
when I decided I'm gonnacompete.
So yeah, just yeah, that.
SPEAKER_00 (21:32):
Yeah, I don't know if you know this, but there's a
lot of research into it, andsomething I talk about a lot on
the show.
We are actually the happiestright before we achieve a goal.
SPEAKER_01 (21:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (21:43):
And everything has shown that in the progress of
working towards something, andthe closer and closer you get,
you get a huge amount ofdopamine rush, and you get some
serotonin thrown in there, andyou're just feeling great.
And then once you achieve thegoal, it all plummets and
disappears.
So theoretically, in order to behappy and to change your life,
you always need to have a movinggoalpost.
(22:03):
So you hit a goal, now you startworking on something else.
You hit that goal, you startworking on something else.
So is that something you'venoticed?
And if so, where are you headed?
SPEAKER_01 (22:11):
Yeah, so with bodybuilding, you can turn into
a pro.
And at first, when I startedcompeting, I was like, I don't
really know if I want to be apro.
And then after my first show, Iwas like, oh, I got hungry.
I was like, I want to do thismore.
Like you said, like you have toput that new goalpost kind of at
the other end of the spectrum atthat point.
So I was like, yeah, no, I likethis, I want to keep going.
So now my new goal is to stillcompete, get back on stage,
(22:33):
become a pro, maybe one day, ifthat's in the cards for me,
naturally, and just keeptrucking along.
I want to be a good coach, Iwant to be a good personal
trainer, and I want to take theexperiences I have from
competing, being on stagementally, what that does for
you, and physically, just thetraining that goes into it to
show my clients, hey, you can doit.
If I can do it, I anyone can dowhatever they want to set their
(22:55):
mind to a thousand percent.
I I just feel like having thatexperience behind me and showing
other people that is a goodmotivator for a lot of people.
Like, oh, all right, well, mytrainer is, you know, 24, and
she was able to do all thesethings.
Like, why can't I?
SPEAKER_00 (23:09):
Yeah, and I feel like you see that a lot with
people.
They don't think they can dosomething, they get stuck in
little things, which is why it'simportant to have conversations
like these.
Yeah.
Because they learn about me,they learn about you, and
they're like, oh, you know,people have shit.
SPEAKER_01 (23:22):
Yeah, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (23:23):
How you address it and how you get through it at
the end of the day.
Yeah.
So, how many shows have we doneto date?
SPEAKER_01 (23:29):
Uh, I've done three shows.
I did two shows in 2024, and Ijust competed this past August
in Queens in August.
So, yeah, three shows to date.
I'm taking a nice long offseason right now to build more
muscle just because the girlsI'm going up against are demons.
So I need to grow a little bit,but that's part of the sport,
and that's part of my goals.
Is I'm excited to take anoff-season now because that's my
(23:52):
goal is to build more muscle andto get stronger.
So a lot of people will usuallysay, Oh, off-season like uh
post-show blues.
Like they're not excited fortheir off-season, they don't
want to gain weight.
They like being lean.
Look, I like being lean too, butI like being stronger more.
I like mentally beingcognitively aware too.
When you're on prep, your brainis just kind of running at half
(24:13):
capacity, it feels like half thetime, or there's just fog around
your brain 24-7.
So, yeah, I like beingfunctional more than I like
being lean.
SPEAKER_00 (24:23):
That that I totally get.
And talk to people that don'tknow bodybuilding from a hole in
a wall.
Okay, we get a lot of peoplethat listen that really don't
understand the sport in and ofitself.
So, what exactly do you doinside of that?
All right and then talk to usabout the secondary side of
this, which you mentioned youkind of slipped.
You said back to the ball.
So, what does that mean?
Because everyone always thinksof Arnold Schwarzenegger's
because that's the biggest thebiggest bodybuilder known to
(24:45):
man.
SPEAKER_01 (24:45):
So, bodybuilding is pretty much a sport where you go
up on stage against other women,men, obviously, depending on
your gender.
Um, and there's differentcategories that depend on your
body type.
So it's not one size fits all.
It's hey, you have a largerupper body for a woman, you
should do this category.
Hey, your lower body is a littlebit more dominant, let's do
this.
Or for people like me, hey,you're naturally a little thin,
but you still have muscle, youshould do bikini.
(25:07):
There's um how many differentcategories for women?
I'm pretty sure there's likefive or six.
I just know the main three offthe top of my head wellness,
bikini, figure, and now there'sa new one fit model.
Um, so there's all thesedifferent categories for men and
women to compete into.
Uh, pretty much what you do isyou put on a lot of muscle in
your off season.
Then once your offseason isdone, you'll usually work with a
(25:28):
coach or you could do it byyourself.
You'll start a prep for yourshow, which pretty much means
you'll take like anywhere from14 to 20 weeks, depending on
your body, to really like lockin.
You're gonna dial in on yourfood, focus every single day,
measure out if you weren'talready, measuring out
everything that you're puttinginto your mouth.
Food, everything goes measuredon the scale.
(25:50):
Then once you know that's done,your carbs slowly come down over
those X amount of weeks.
You get a bikini done, or youget swim trunks if you're a guy.
Um, you get your hair, nails,makeup, heels.
Heels are a big thing.
Not a lot of people understandyou have to walk in heels for
this, and you have to also,while you're on stage, smile,
look down at the judges, holdyour core in tight and breathe
(26:13):
at the same time.
So there's a lot.
Uh show day usually looks likegetting tanned, putting makeup
on, getting your hair done.
Girls wear a lot of jewelry,everything.
You go on stage for all of 30seconds.
You do a routine where you showoff your body, show off what you
have.
At this point, you're superlean, super dry, whether you've
taken diuretics or you drankalcohol the night before, you're
(26:34):
also dehydrated at that point.
You get on stage, do yourroutine, they call you out for
comparisons against other womenor men, and they rank you.
And once you're ranked, you gobackstage, you get a break, then
you go back on for finals, andthat's where you get your award.
Uh, if you place well in finals,you could go to nationals, and
if you win a national show, youget your pro card.
So I think that's everythingabout bodybuilding, if I can
(26:56):
think off the top of my head.
Oh, the natural thing.
A lot of people do it and theyquote unquote, it's not
considered cheating, but a lotof people do it because they
want to get to the finish linefaster, which I respect.
If they want to make this a hugepart of their career and if
they're ready to take thosesacrifices that come with it, I
admire it because it takes a lotof strength and discipline to
understand that's what you wantin life, especially for women,
(27:18):
because it can really hurt yourreproductive system depending on
if you had a good coach or ifyou knew what you were doing.
So if you do it naturally, it'sobviously the safer route, but
it's harder because it's gonnatake more time.
Whereas if you take, you know,steroids, then you'll achieve it
quicker, yes, but also at whatcost?
SPEAKER_00 (27:38):
So what does that cost?
SPEAKER_01 (27:39):
Health.
A lot of the, you know, a lot ofthe um drugs and steroids that
people take, what they what itdoes is obviously it enhances
your muscles, it makes youbigger, but that's all of your
muscles.
So that's your heart that you'reputting at risk.
Those are a lot of those thingsthat you kind of have to weigh
out in your mind.
Are you willing to take thatrisk?
And does your coach know whatthey're doing?
Because if you have a coach whodoesn't know what they're doing,
(28:00):
you see bodybuilders drop deadbackstage.
It's happened, it's been in thenews, like you know, things like
that happen if you're notcareful.
So you really have to weigh outthe pros and the cons.
Okay, yes, you're gonna get yourpro car quicker, but okay, my
heart might enlarge.
That could introduce heartfailure earlier into my life.
Am I gonna be able to have kidsif I'm a woman?
Um, all of those things.
But now people are takingpeptides, so who knows?
SPEAKER_00 (28:23):
There's two nuanced things about steroids that a lot
of people don't talk about, andI think it's important just to
address is the first one,they've proven this time and
time again.
If you take steroids like let'ssay 25 years ago and hit a
certain threshold of musclehypertrophy and strength, and
stop taking it, even thoughyou're clean, you can still
(28:44):
build back up to where you werein steroids.
And they've seen this a lot withhigh school sports.
Yeah, kids in JV and varsity dosteroids because they're not
getting tested yet, stop, andthat gives them an edge to get
up in the NFL even if they'reclean, whatever the sport may
be.
Yep.
The second nuance side of thisis more the female psychology
side of this.
(29:04):
And this is where I really wantto talk about.
A lot of clients, women, theylook at bodybuilder females,
yeah, and they always say thesame thing.
SPEAKER_01 (29:12):
Oh, it's too big, it's too much.
SPEAKER_00 (29:14):
I don't want to look like that.
SPEAKER_01 (29:15):
Yep.
SPEAKER_00 (29:15):
And then they attribute that to why they
shouldn't weight lift.
SPEAKER_01 (29:19):
Yup, uh-huh.
SPEAKER_00 (29:21):
So talk to us about, as a female and working with
clients, how you address thatsituation and how you could help
show them that's really not thecase.
SPEAKER_01 (29:29):
Okay, ladies, if you're not taking steroids or
injecting yourself with any formof steroids, you will not get
big and bulky.
It is really hard, nearlyimpossible to look like that
naturally.
So you gotta take into accountthat the women who are on those
stages, and most of the picturesyou see, are Olympians.
They're people who have theirpro card.
So they're people who got thatway naturally or unnaturally,
(29:53):
and they're that way for areason.
They have their pro card,they're going up against people
that look like them.
It's for the sport for them tolook that way.
Way if you're not training tolook that way, you're not gonna
look that way.
It's impossible, it's hard.
So, ladies, it is superimportant as you get older too
to just keep weightlifting, keepyour body healthy.
Osteoporosis is such animportant thing that women don't
(30:15):
realize oh, if I weightliftedwhen I was younger and I could,
you wouldn't have osteoporosis,you wouldn't have brittle bone
disease, you wouldn't have halfthese issues.
Weightlifting for women helpsregulate your hormones.
It just helps in so many waysmentally too, especially during
PMS, that time of the month.
It helps get rid of all of thatmental brain fog, even if it's
just a little bit of movement,whether that's Pilates, yoga,
(30:36):
anything of the sort, just aslong as you're moving your body,
it is one of the most importantthings that you can do for
yourself, especially in thefuture.
It helps regulate your hormones,like I said.
So if you have period issues orhormonal problems, it can
regulate your horse, yourperiods.
You can fix a lot of yourproblems in your life just from
picking up weights.
You don't have to worry aboutlooking the way that a lot of
those pro bodybuilders dobecause you're not training,
(30:58):
like I said, like them.
If you're training like them andyou're taking steroids, then you
will.
But if you're not, then you'refine and you're helping yourself
in the future.
SPEAKER_00 (31:06):
Yeah, that was pretty good.
Yeah.
I like that's super direct,which I really, really
appreciate it.
The other side of this I want totalk about, because obviously
that was yourself, is thetraining side of this.
So, what's something you'veexperienced in training that
surprised you?
SPEAKER_01 (31:20):
Honestly, I knew going into this like career that
it was gonna be more of like amental thing for a lot of
people, but I didn't realize howmany people actually like needed
training just to have someone totalk to.
You're like, yes, they're goingto therapy or they're not going
to therapy, or they're, youknow, home alone, or they have
kids, or they don't, or theyjust need someone to talk to.
(31:40):
Personal training, yes, you'reworking out, but you're also
like, it's a way to get thingsoff your chest to somebody who
isn't directly involved thatdeep into your life.
So you can say things and youcan really say how you think and
how you feel to someone whostill cares about you at the end
of the day.
I care about all of my clientsjust because they come to me to
feel better, whether that'sphysically or mentally.
(32:01):
At the end of the day, I wantthem leaving the session to feel
better both.
And a lot of people, even me,when I first started, I didn't
realize how much of, like Isaid, the mental part of it was.
People just sometimes needsomebody to talk to or just get
out of the house.
Like that's a big reason for alot of our clients, I feel.
SPEAKER_00 (32:18):
Yeah, I feel like it's very comparable to
hairstylists.
SPEAKER_01 (32:21):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (32:22):
A lot of women go there just to talk, vent, vent,
and get something off.
But the gym gives you thatopportunity to be active and
burn through that steam.
SPEAKER_01 (32:32):
Exactly.
It's motivational to do it inthe gym.
You like you said, you burn offall that steam.
Any, you know, oh, you had a badday yesterday.
All right, we're gonna have akick-ass workout today, and
we're gonna burn your legs.
And then the next day they getto come and be like, oh my god,
that was such a good workout.
My legs hurt so bad.
And then three months down theline, they get to look back at
themselves three months priorand be like, oh, I lost 15
(32:52):
pounds because of you.
And you get to be a part of thatjourney with them.
So again, physically andmentally, you get to help them
both.
And that's a huge thing.
I have so many clients who,like, when they'd miss a
session, they would be like, Ijust want to talk to you.
Like, I just miss you.
And I'm like, oh.
I'm like, it's okay, don'tworry, like you'll come back in
tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00 (33:10):
I love that.
It's so true.
The mental health part of himreally being able to help people
and meet people where they're atreally makes the job worth it.
SPEAKER_01 (33:16):
It does a thousand percent.
At the end of the day, like Isaid in the beginning, I wanted
to help people.
That's exactly what this isdoing.
SPEAKER_00 (33:22):
Yeah, on so on so many different levels.
You mentioned something which Ithought was kind of interesting,
and I know how I feel about it,but it'd be cool to hear because
you're like I said, you're alittle younger and it helps out
to get a differentiated.
You said the word career forpersonal training.
Now, growing up for myself, andI know people that are older
than me, that wasn't a thing.
Yeah.
(33:42):
The personal training, you soyou said that wouldn't be a
career, you'd get laughed at,and then even getting into the
industry, it was very muchobvious after six months that
this could never be a career.
SPEAKER_01 (33:53):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (33:53):
So is that something you knew prior to working here
that personal training could bea career?
Or did you kind of stumble intoit that way?
SPEAKER_01 (34:02):
I kind of stumbled into it.
So I came from a gym where Iwould see people go in and out a
little bit, and it would bereally hard for people to stick
with training because it doesget hard.
It really does.
Like you can hit a low point ofhaving not a lot of clients,
money's a little low, and it'seasier to think of God, like
what if I just jump ship and dosomething completely different?
(34:23):
But at the end of the day, Ikeep thinking back like this is
what I want.
I want to help peoplephysically, and I'm gonna do
everything in my power to makesure I can still achieve that,
whether that's through personaltraining in person, online, or
just helping people talk aboutit.
I don't care what it is, as longas I'm in the gym and I'm
helping people, that's all Icare about.
So I kind of fell into it, likeI pushed through all of that
(34:44):
hard stuff, and I took a seriouslook at myself.
I was like, I want to stillcompete.
I want to be a healthy person.
I feel like the gym is the onlyplace where I can show that.
So, and obviously now as timeshave changed, I feel it's easier
for people to find their littlespot in the personal training
community.
Whether that's like yourspecialty is, you know, for
(35:08):
women, training and making surethat they get their muscle and
helping just those kinds ofpeople, or whether that's rehab
work or it's online bodybuildingcoaching, there's something for
everybody now.
It wasn't, I feel like this longago because of, you know, there
wasn't that many people trainingonline, but now there's a
foothold for everybody.
There's fitness influencers,there's the online coaches,
(35:28):
there's the meal prep companies.
There's something for everybodynow, no matter what you're
doing.
SPEAKER_00 (35:32):
Even going back to what I opened the company in
2017, I told everyone I wasgonna personal training company,
I was like, what?
SPEAKER_01 (35:39):
It's needed though, like you got with the times.
SPEAKER_00 (35:41):
Yeah, just we're a little ahead, which helped uh
project that forward.
So now, as a trainer andunderstanding that this is a
career, how does that influenceyou working with clients?
Does it make an impact at all?
SPEAKER_01 (35:55):
Yeah, for sure.
I mean, since this is my career,I want all my clients to like at
the end of the day have a goodtime with me.
I want them to go out and telltheir friends, Olivia changed my
life.
You have to go talk to her, youhave to see her.
And I've had a couple of clientsdo that where I would get their
friends, their family members,my mom's friends and family
members would come to me now.
They think of me when they thinkof a personal trainer, which is
(36:16):
really good because it helps usget business, it helps me get
business.
It's just, you know, now it canbe a career path because
everyone nowadays has somethingwrong with them, whether that's,
you know, surgery or they justdon't like the way that they
look.
I feel like it's more commonnowadays because of social
media.
And now people are looking for away to fix it, and that's where
(36:38):
we come in.
SPEAKER_00 (36:39):
Yeah, I love that.
What makes you different as faras your training philosophy?
What separates you fromeverybody else?
SPEAKER_01 (36:47):
I'm bubbly and super outgoing with my clients.
How I am here is how I am withthem.
So a lot of the time I feelpersonal training is about your
personality and you know, if youhave a connection with that
client.
So how I see it is yes, you'recoming to me to feel better, but
I want you to still have funwith me.
So my philosophy is I'm gonnakick your butt, but we're gonna
(37:09):
make it really fun.
SPEAKER_00 (37:10):
So it's like that cynical half smile.
Yeah.
And you're like, you're gonnadie.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (37:14):
It's pretty much like I'm gonna look at my
client, I'm gonna grab a pieceof equipment and be like, oh,
you're gonna love this.
And they're like, oh good lord,when you say that, it's
something really bad.
I'm like, no, no, no, you'regonna love it.
Don't you worry, just have fun.
I think of it as a fun thing forthem.
Like, you know, like I feel thegym is like a playground for
adults, so I'm like, okay, we'regonna play a little game.
And that game is gonna be sumosquats, okay?
(37:37):
Superset with hip thrusting oreels.
unknown (37:39):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (37:41):
No, I I love that.
I think the final topic I wantto talk about is what's
something that outside of thegym that you really like or you
really like talking about, howwould you want people to think
of you outside of being apersonal trainer?
SPEAKER_01 (37:56):
Outside of being a personal trainer, I just want
people to think of me as someonewho's like fun and also like I'm
a very quirky person.
I'm a nerd.
I said I was in marching band.
I love reading, I love videogames, I like superhero movies.
Like, I'm a nerd at the end ofthe day.
So I want people to think of meoutside of the gym as like, oh,
there's this really good bookthat I found I have to tell
Olivia.
Oh, there's this fun video gameor whatever.
(38:17):
Like, I have to tell Olivia soher or her or her boyfriend can
play it just because it'ssomething fun for her.
Like, I like those weird, quirkythings that people probably
might not find as fun.
Um, yeah, little things likethat.
And still staying active, youknow, like going on a bike ride.
And I want people to see theduality of me where it's like
I'm not gonna stay locked insidereading a book.
Like, I'll still go outside andhave fun and go shopping and you
(38:38):
know, be a girl.
But at the end of the day, liketo my core, I am a little bit of
just a geek, a little nerd.
SPEAKER_00 (38:45):
And then if you were to look Olivia 60, 65 years old,
is scary.
Looking back and talking to you.
Yeah.
What's something you think shewould tell you?
SPEAKER_01 (38:57):
Probably slow down.
I feel like a lot of the thingsthat happen when you're in your
20s move so fast.
Like I'm already thinking aboutokay, I need to buy a house when
I get older, like in 10 years,or I want to start a family, I
want to get married, I want allof these things to happen.
And I keep finding myself stuckin that routine of I can't wait
for this, I can't wait, I can'twait, I can't wait.
And I can feel probably my olderself would be like, You can
(39:21):
wait.
Live in the moment and enjoywhere you're at currently.
You're only gonna be 24 once,you're only gonna be this young
and have this opportunity onetime in your life.
You should take it for what itis and don't take it for
granted.
SPEAKER_00 (39:34):
I love that.
Livia, thank you so much forcoming on.
Thank you guys for listening tothe episode of Health and
Fitness Redefined.
Don't forget, like I said in thebeginning of the show,
subscribe, share.
If you love these kind ofepisodes, we'll do more of it.
Let us know in the comments,guys.
Really appreciate it.
Until next time.
And remember, fitness ismedicine.
Thank you guys for listening tothis week's episode of Health
and Fitness Redefined.
(39:54):
Please don't forget to subscribeand share this show with a
friend, with a loved one, forthose that need to hear it.
And ultimately, don't forget,fitness is medicine.
I'll see you next time.
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