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20 Questions with Cover Model and IFBB Fitness Pro Michelle Mayberry
1) Please introduce yourself? What makes you special? Who is Michelle Mayberry?
I'm an IFBB Pro Fitness/Figure athlete and live in Federal Way, WA I didn't start competing in Fitness until I was 40, and earned my pro card at 43. I also am an NPC judge, show promoter, and I coach and judge jr high and high school gymnastics.
2) Please tell us a bit about your family, friends and surroundings?
I have a wonderful 17 year old son and a long haired chihuahua named Taco. I work full time as a buyer at The Boeing Co. I also play on several soccer teams, and most of my friends are either my fitness friends or soccer teammates.
3) How did you start competing in fitness?
I competed in gymnastics for about 9 years growing up, and really missed it in my adult life. One day I was reading an Oxygen magazine and saw the fitness results. I thought "Wow, I could do that". I started googling some of the competitors names to see how to get started, and found that Tanji Johnson lived close to me. I got a hold of her and she started training me for figure in July '03. Then I started up with the 2004 season in Fitness.
4) What is your personal policy (not what the judges want) about conditioning and muscularity when coming into a show? Soft or hard?
Wow, I've sure gone around in circles with this one. I am naturally lean and not muscular, so I always strive to have more muscle than I do. I don't think I'll ever look too hard or muscular, but I can look skinny and stringy. So for me, it's trying to find that nice balance of conditioning without losing muscle.
5) What is your idea of what judges want in a Fitness 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.
I've judged a few shows in Canada, and they seem to generally be more muscular. I tend to like that look better than the smaller softer look the judges seem to be rewarding for now. I just like to be able to show off all the hard work we put into this sport and not be penalized for it. I will say however that there are some competitors that do appear that they'd fit better into bodybuilding. So you can definitely overdo the muscle in my opinion. I'm hoping with the introduction of the bikini division, there will be 3 clear cut body types. Bikini for the less muscular, softer but well conditioned girl, Figure with more muscle being allowed, but with slightly better conditioning, and fitness with even more muscle being allowed only because the fact that the routine practice gives us a different, harder look, then of course the very muscular, very lean bodybuilder physique. I guess that's 4 types.
6) For the next shows what do you think you need to work on physique-wise/conditioning-wise? If anything!
Well, not necessarily for the next show, but my constant goal is to create more upper body size to offset my lack of shape. It'll be helpful to me to not have to compete in the 1pc any longer since I tend to be more straight up and down.
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?
Well, I kind of mix things up, but I'll give you an idea. I do 30 min of cardio every morning, and it's usally on the treadmill. I'll walk uphill at a level 12 one day, and do interval sprints the next etc.
I train my routine 3-4 times a week for about an hour, I play soccer for 90 minutes at least 1x per week. For now, I am just lifting 3x a week, 2 body parts at a time. I do 4-5 exercises per body part usually 4 sets per each, and a lot of supersetting. Typically the reps right now are 10-15. Then I do cardio at night about 5 days a week, which is 30-40 minutes.
8) What is your pre-contest diet? (per day, 1 week before the show)
It's typically similar to what my diet is several weeks out from a show, just in smaller quantities. I have tuna, egg white, yams, asparagus, rice cakes, flank steak, chicken, choc cake. Ha, just kidding, just checking to see if you're paying attention.
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 will drink 2 to 2.5 gallons of water a week out then slowly drop down to 1 gallon the day before the show, then just small amounts the day of the show. Day of the show I will maybe drink 16 oz when I 1st wake up, then just sip through the rest of the day.
10) What motivates you to train/diet and compete? Are there any competitors you looked up to?
I really embrace a healthy lifestyle, but I can get a little lazy sometimes. Having a show to train for motivates me to keep up the clean eating and going to the gym every day. I also love competition and all the friends I've made thru fitness. I have always looked up to Tanji for several reasons. She was the 1st person to train me, and I've watched her be successful, be injured a couple times, then maybe not so successful, and then now coming back and placing 2nd at the Olympia. Her spirit, attitude and energy that she brings to fitness is amazing. As far as routine's go, of course Tanji's, then I really miss Kelly Ryan's routines and now I'm loving Nicole Duncan's.
11) Please tell us an interesting experience you had at a show recently, be it a fun thing or something rather not so fun?
I just competed at the Atlantic City show, but I had a back injury. I really wanted to compete in fitness, but could barely stand up straight. So even though I competed in figure, I couldn't even pose correctly. On the plane home, I started getting chills and congestion. Turns out I caught the flu too. My doctor said it most likely was the swine flu. So I would say that was a "not so fun" experience. Hopefully all of that bad luck is behind me now and I will have a great time in Ft. Lauderdale.
12) What is your personal opinion about the figure, fitness, bodybuilding industry we are in? Anything you would like to see changed?
More fitness shows. I appreciate Shannon Dey adding a fitness show for us. Something on the west coast would be great. :)
13) What has been your hardest challenge to overcome either in your personal life or competing career?
Figuring out how to fit everything in. Being a single mom, working full time, coaching/judging, soccer...oh and then training. I have it all worked out now, but it sure keeps me busy. Also, I've battled a few injuries, and I am not good at having to sit things out waiting to heal.
14) Did you make any changes to your contest prep for your last show? Water intake, carbing up, etc...
Not really. At this point of the season, I don't have to do as much cardio, which is nice. It's more of a lower intensity cardio too.
15) You also judge at regional level, tell us more about it?
I love judging. It has helped me as a competitor as well just seeing things from that side of the stage. I had to test judge 5 shows and get at least an 80% correct (actual placings). It's great to see the competitors from show to show improving how they look, and getting more confident on the stage. I enjoy being able to give helpful feedback and encouragement as well.
16) Do you see fitness dying or you think there will be huge comeback?
It think it goes in cycles, but it seems to be picking back up again. I think as figure gets more saturated, a lot of the ladies that have dance or gymnastics background start thinking they should give it a try. It's so much more fun to have the routine round than just standing up there with 20-30 other beautiful women all of which look great. The routine round really helps separate us out and lets us show off our personalities a bit.
17) Please tell us about how you were raised and did you have any interesting experiences while growing up?
I think I was raised in a pretty normal, average family. I'm an only child and my parents are still married and live nearby. Huh, I can't really think of anything interesting, sorry.
18) Do you have an athletic background? Gymnastics, soccer, volleyball or what?
Yes, I competed in gymnastics for 9 years including one year in college. I currently play soccer, but didn't play growing up. I've only been playing for about 7 or 8 years. I ran track in high school as well.
19) What is a typical day in the life of Michelle Mayberry? From waking up to until going to bed?
Wake up about 5:45 am - get coffee
6am - start work (I work from home)
7am - morning cardio
7:30am - work the rest of the day til 2:30pm
3-4pm - work on routine
4:30 - eat/rest/do errands
6:30 - either go to the gym to lift and do cardio, or go to soccer
9pm - eat/relax, maybe watch a little tv
10:30 - bed
Starting in November, I'll be coaching/judging gymnastics after work, and that goes thru til March.
20) What is your current occupation? Please tell us more about it, what do you specifically do in your job?
I'm a buyer at Boeing. I buy Third Party Logistics services. I set up contracts all over the world with other companies to perform warehouse type services on our behalf. This includes receiving airplane parts, inventory, storage, sending out parts for repair, sending parts to the airlines as needed, and working with customs for import/export. I was lucky enough to travel to China (Shanghai and Beijing) in June. I may be traveling to Amsterdam and Dubai in November as well.
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