20 Questions with Cover Model Karie Ryan

1) Please introduce yourself? What makes you special? Who is Karie Ryan?

I am a whimsical, creative, passionate person with a realistic sense of responsibility and accountability.
What makes me special? I guess it would be my nerdiness! My favorite thing about high school was band. I inherited a love for sci-fi fantasy and dystopian future genre's from my father. I am a huge star trek fan, and if I didn't have to pay bills or make money I would be in the blue thunder drum line for the Seattle Seahawks, band geek for life! I also love the outdoors. Every chance my husband and I get during the summer we take the RV out and go camping with family and friends.

2) Please tell us a bit about your family, friends and surroundings?

My best friend is my husband, we do practically everything together. We live in Olympia, Wa.
I am so thankful for the friends I have made while competeing. Joining Team O was the best decision I could have made for my competitive career. Conecting with other athletes that are going through the prep and rebound cycle has been integral to being able to continue to competeing. My team mates and coach are absolutely amazing!

3) How did you start competing in bikini?

I found myself very out of shape and a little overweight. I hired a trainer, but soon realized I needed a goal to keep my accountable. I was introduced to the world of competing. The deadline of being on stage in a bikini in front of 100+ people was terrifying enough to keep me accountable. Then when I started to see what my body was capable of, I was hooked.

4) What is your personal policy (not what the judges want) about conditioning and muscularity when coming into a show? Soft or hard?

My personal policy is a softer more sexy look. Good muscle definition and conditioning, but not crazy lean. I find that look to be more appealing than the super hard/dry look. It seems to be going ok for me so far, but to hold my own in the national shows I am going to have to harden up for next year.

5) What is your idea of what judges want in a bikini competitor? Do you think judges are clear enough with competitors about how they want you on stage? It seems in Europe they are very clear unlike in the USA and now in Canada things are confusing.

It seems as though we are told bikini is supposed to be a softer look, however the judges always seem to lean towards the harder bodies. But on occasion they will lean towards the softer look. Essentially judging is all over the map. It makes it very difficult to make progress in the NPC, but you wont see me giving up!! I always try to come into shows better than the last one.

6) For the next shows what do you think you need to work on physique-wise/conditioning-wise? If anything!

I need to work on my abs and glute/hamstring tie-in. I am going to start a new glute training program for my show this November. I need to come in to the next one a little bit leaner.

7) What is your typical training routine in the gym (per day, include sets and reps!) How much cardio do you do before a show?

I lift 5 days a week, and on prep I do cardio 7 days a week. While lifting, depending on the part, its usually at least 4 sets of 15-20. Cardio really varies between on and off season. 12 weeks out its usually 15 minutes of HIIT 3 days a week, 8 weeks out its 20HIIT and 20 SS, 4 weeks out I will bump it up to 2 cardio sessions of 20 HIIT and 20 SS a day. Saturday and Sunday are fasted cardio for 1 hour.

8) What is your pre-contest diet? (per day, 1 week before the show)

Egg whites for breakfast, eggwhites and rice after workout. Ground turkey and broccoli for lunch. Ground Turkey and sweet potato for my afternoon meal. Chicken or turkey and broccoli for dinner, and then eggwhites before bed.

9) How do you go about dropping your water before the day of the show? How much water do you drink the day of the show. Please be specific.

I over hydrate during peak week, stopping water at 9:00 pm the night before a show and then take a mild OTC diuretic.

10) What motivates you to train/diet and compete? Are there any competitors you looked up to?

my competitive nature keeps me going. I love the feeling of being on stage and taking home some hardware. But more importantly than that, I love feeling comfortable in my own skin. Being fit allows me to be confident in anything I want to wear. Feeling good about my body is the best reward.
I have always loved India Paulino's shape, I think the has the kind of body that bikini should be.

11) Please tell us an interesting experience you had at a show recently, be it a fun thing or something rather not so fun?

My last show was USA's in Las Vegas. It was so HOT!!! I swear they didn't have the AC on in the building and it was 115 outside! Even though it was crazy warm and crowded backstage, I still managed to have alot of fun. Thankfully I knew a handfull of girls from the PNW, so we hung out back stage, took a bunch of selfies, laughed alot and just waited for our turn on stage. Which took forever. It usually does when you are a bikini competitor, forever going last.

12) What is your personal opinion about the figure, fitness, bodybuilding industry we are in? Anything you would like to see changed?

I would like to see more consistency in the judging, clear criteria to be met. Its very subjective and a little unpredictable right now. Also it would be great if there could be cash awards at the NPC level. This is an expensive sport!! It would be awesome if winners could recoup a little of the cost to compete.

13) What has been your hardest challenge to overcome either in your personal life or competing career?

My hardest challenge in my competing career is getting my head right, not letting the ups and downs of cycling through a prep affect my opinion of myself. Once you get "show lean" it can be really hard to be satisfied with your body in any other condition. Learning to accept and love yourself through all stages of prep and off season and having confidence in who you are, not lettingon your weight or your body fat percentage define you has been my greatest struggle.

14) Did you make any changes to your contest prep for your last show? Water intake, carbing up, etc...

My preps have always been pretty consistent, I have a great coach to walk me through every step of the way. For my last show we did implement a little more carb cycling.

15) What do you think of bikini division?

I think its the biggest money maker and draws the most spectators at shows, thats why its always last up. Its becoming more and more competitive, which is great for the sport. I love the posing and the "sass" in Bikini. It requires a bit of a personality and a ton of confidence.

16) What are your favorite foods to eat right after you compete on a Saturday night?

Usually I get a donut as soon as I am done on stage, then when my husband and I go out to dinner, its usually something deepfried!
17) Please tell us about how you were raised and did you have any interesting experiences while growing up?

I grew up in a conservative small town in a very tight knit family. My childhood was really pretty normal I think, nothing out of the ordinary. Family is very important to me, we still make it a point to get everyone together for holidays. I have great grandma, grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins that all head home for christmas.

18) Do you have an athletic background? Gymnastics, soccer, volleyball or what?

I was very athletic through school. I played Volleyball as the libero (defensive specialist) and also was a triple and long jumper in track. I would also play club volleyball during the summers.

19) What is a typical day in the life of Karie Ryan? From waking up to until going to bed?

My days are kind of chaotic. I work 10 hour shifts as an MRI technologist.
So I get up around 4:30 to make it to he gym before work. Work 7:15-5:45. Depending on where I am at during prep a second workout is required after work. Dinner is around 7:30, then its time to pack my gym bag and get ready to do it all again the next day. I get one last meal before bed. I try to be in bed around 9:30, but 10:00 is more realistic.

20) What is your current occupation? Please tell us more about it, what do you specifically do in your job?

As an MRI technologist I get patients ready for their scans and perform their exam. Specifically I sit behind a scanner for 10 hours a day and image alot of patients.

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