20 Questions with Cover Model Jackie Roberts
1) Please introduce yourself? What makes you special? Who is Jackie Roberts?
Jaquelyn Roberts is a small town girl, who's love of fitness has helped her to accomplish many great things!
I am proud of my accomplishments thus far, but of course I have many more in mind! I would say most people probably recognize me from the January 2008 Oxygen Cover, but I am also an avid Women’s Tri Fitness competitor, a FAME bikini model pro and a sponsored athlete for Optimum Nutrition and American Bodybuilding. You may recognize me from ON 100% Whey’s latest ad which has featured in the last two editions of Oxygen Magazine and Fitness Rx.
2) Please tell us a bit about your family, friends and surroundings?
My surroundings consist of the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, literally! I am currently living on the tiny subtropical island of Okinawa, Japan. I live here with my husband, who is active duty in the United States Air Force and our two new kittens Coco and Nika. We recently moved, in July, so I am still meeting people but I can say that I have a few great friends here already! Thank goodness for Skype, free online calling! I talk to my friends back home and my family at least once a week!
3) How did you start competing in figure?
I started competing in 2005 while I was still in college. A friend of mine had been competing for a couple of years and told me I should try it out. It wasn’t until I watched one of her competitions that was I truly inspired! It was a video of her competing in Women’s Tri Fitness, it looked like a great challenge...and that is where it began! I thank Callie Marunde all the time for giving me that little push that started it all!
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 to come in lean but with slight softness, a feminine athletic look.
5) What is your idea of what judges want in a Figure 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.
To me it seems that the judges are always changing their standards for what they are looking for. It seems that some shows they want the girls looking hard, and other shows they want them to look softer. I think it makes it really hard on the girls because they are always changing their diets to come in looking how the judges wanted them the show prior or the year prior, only to find out that’s not what they are looking for! It’s confusing for the competitors.
6) For the next shows what do you think you need to work on physique-wise/conditioning-wise? If anything!
One thing that I have been working on, and will continue to work on is my legs! I have always felt they have been a little on the smaller size in comparison to my upper body. Over the past two years I can see a change in my competition photos, and that in fact they are slowly growing, but I still have some fine tuning with the quads and the hammys!
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?
Monday- Shoulders/Cardio
Tues- Legs
Wed- Back/Bi/Cardio
Thursday- Chest/Tri/Cardio
Friday- Plyo Training
Sat- Cardio only
For each muscle group I do 4-5 different movements, for each movement I usually stick between 10-15 reps and 3-4 sets. I love doing supersets and dropsets during my workouts.
I try to do 20-30 minutes of cardio after most weight training days to maintain myself during the offseason, but when I am close to a show I will do two 35-45 min sessions. I tend to stay somewhat lean throughout the year so that I don’t kill myself on the treadmill before a show!
8) What is your pre-contest diet? (per day, 1 week before the show)
I never completely cut out my carbs! Like I said before I don’t like to look too hard.
A week out:
Monday- Thursday
Meal 1
1/2 cup oats
1/2 blueberries
5 egg whites
green tea
Meal 2
Chicken Salad w/
romaine lettuce, 5 oz chicken breast
green peppers, green onions,
salad sprizter
Meal 3
4 oz White Fish such as tilapia
6 Asparagus
Meal 4
4 oz chicken breast
2 cups broccoli
Meal 5
Handful of Almonds
Friday before the show:
Meal 1
5 egg whites
1/4 cup oats
Meal 2
4 oz Chicken Breast
2 cups Salad, no dressing
Meal 3
No more water
4 oz Chicken Breast
Meal 4
4 oz salmon
1 dinner roll
6 asparagus
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 start dropping water on Friday, I drink about 16 ounces until about 12-1pm then I cut it out for the rest of the day Friday and Saturday morning before the show.
10) What motivates you to train/diet and compete? Are there any competitors you looked up to?
Although I do not like to diet, who does?! I like the way I look when I eat clean and healthy. Being on stage is so much fun for me, it’s a moment to shine and a little rush. I look up to Jamie Eason and Alicia Marie, they are very athletic and toned yet still very feminine.
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 Women’s Tri Fitness in July, it was 5 days before I moved here to Japan so it was a little hectic! We had to have our entire house packed and moved out before we flew to Vegas for my show. My mom and my grandma came to Vegas to see my show, they drove all the way from Washington! I was so happy to have them there because they have never seen me compete in Tri Fitness. I also had two clients come and compete with me, and my husband was able to be there! Last year he was deployed so I was there a lone. It was a great competition before my big move, I had so much support there that I have never had before it was amazing!
12) What is your personal opinion about the figure, fitness, bodybuilding industry we are in? Anything you would like to see changed?
It seems like the fitness industry can be very caddy at times, which is sad because people in the fitness industry are no better than anyone else. People in the industry obviously have a huge motivational drive to keep them in such great shape, they should use that power to help motivate others to get in the best shape of their lives!!
13) What has been your hardest challenge to overcome either in your personal life or competing career?
I have recently faced my hardest challenge...moving to Japan. It’s been a challenge finding a job, making friends and also getting motivated to get back into the gym on a regular basis. We are finally settled in so I have been able to work out hard again and I love it! I am still facing the fact that I am a twelve hour plane ride back to the states, where all the competitions are. I am getting antsy because I want to compete but at the same time I have to be patient because it’s going to be one speedy competition for me! So I am hoping that I will be able to do one or two shows for 2009.
14) Did you make any changes to your contest prep for your last show? Water intake, carbing up, etc...
Well my last show was women’s tri fitness, which consists of a shuttle run, bench press, box jump and an obstacle course on top of a grace and physique round so I do carb up a lot more for that because I need all the energy I can get!
15) You now live in Japan how different is your daily life from what it was in the United States? Mention little things you don't find over there or things that you do find over there and not in the United States.
One thing that is hard over here is that fruits and vegetables are a lot more expensive on base! Asparagus is my favorite and I have to buy the canned or frozen asparagus because the fresh asparagus is so expensive. But what is nice about living on an island is the fish is so cheap!! It’s about half as much here as back in the states. Plus the fish is fresh, right out of the water and put on the shelves! It’s a lot less expensive to get food off base, but it’s all in Japanese so a lot is trial and error! You buy it and try it!
16) How do you balance your family life with competing and dieting for shows? Do you have a support system around you (family, etc..)?
Most of the time when I am training for a show my husband is away, which actually makes it a lot easier for me when I am dieting so I don’t have to worry about making him a good dinner and being tempted to eat it too! His job requires him to be gone for a lot of training , I think he is lucky too to be away while I am dieting. As we all know the lack of carbs causes us to be a little cranky.
17) Please tell us about how you were raised and did you have any interesting experiences while growing up?
I was raised with seven brothers and sisters. My dad was an avid lifter and has his own gym in our shed while we were growing up. He would always tell us we should do fitness shows when we were older. I am the only one so far! But I am trying to get my sisters to try Women’s Tri Fitness.
18) Do you have an athletic background? Gymnastics, soccer, volleyball or what?
I grew up playing soccer, then when I got into high school I ran track and cross country. My family is very athletic; my mom can still do aerials (no handed cartwheels) and my dad can outlast my sister (who is a gymnast) in a handstand and hand walking contest!! My grandpa was a pro football player for the Green Bay Packers, so I guess it just runs in the blood!!
19) What is a typical day in the life of Jackie Roberts? From waking up to until going to bed?
Well my life has changed a lot since I have moved to Japan. It went from teaching preschool and personal training full time to no job! I finally just started personal training here on base but so far I only have a couple of clients! I get up, take the hubby to work when he is here then I go to the gym and train a few clients and then I stay at the gym for a couple of hours and work out myself! During the day when I don’t have clients I go out and explore the island, I love going into the Japanese stores and seeing their clothes and shoes and different things they sell. I love exploring the beaches! Then I go back to the gym to train a couple more after work clients, I pick up the hubby from work and then I make dinner! I try and make some kind of Japanese meal, sushi was fun to make we had rice all over the floor and in our toes! We still don’t have cable here so we have been watching all the Smallville seasons and watching the new Heroes episodes online!
20) What is your current occupation? Please tell us more about it, what do you specifically do in your job?
Currently I am only personal training. I am waiting to start a full time position on base as a training and curriculum specialist. My degree is in Early Childhood education, hence teaching preschool back in the states! So I would be teaching the childcare workers quality childcare procedures and I would be sitting in their classrooms and critiquing them. I would also be teaching first aid and cpr classes. I am sure there is much more to the position but I haven’t started yet! I am happy to have this opportunity because when I get back to the states I will be able to find a great career with this training and position under my belt!
Back to
Issues
|
© 2004