20 Questions with Cover Model Bojana Vasiljevic

Bojana Vasiljevic

1) Please introduce yourself? What makes you special? Who is Bojana Vasiljevic?

Bojana Vasiljevic is former Serbian gymnast, the current IFBB Figure/Fitness Athlete. One thing that makes me stand out in a crowd I guess is the fact that I go confidently in the direction of my dreams,and  live the life I imagined. I dream my dreams and I am ready to pay the price to make them come true.


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

I was born and grew up in Yugoslavia.As the only child in the family, I have always been involved in many sports including gymnastics, track & field,horse back riding and fitness.

I was from my early childhood in gymnastics as active and successful competitor,like my father too.He is in a professional horse training business in New York for so many years ...so,I was active in equestrian sport because of family tradition .I was the owner and rider of thoroughbred horses at the hippodrome in Serbia.
At the beginning of 2011 I moved permanently to the USA from Europe. I continue to work as a personal trainer and fitness consultant  in Gold’s Gym North Hollywood, and fitness model. From August 2011 I work in TV Show Lanzate, segment about fitness on the television Univision, Channel 46, Los Angeles.
My best friends are from Serbia, these are mostly people from this sport,from club "Olympia" Kragujevac.... the" IFBB family" :-)

3) How did you start competing in figure?
I went to University of Belgrade ,Faculty of Sports and Physical Education and in 2010 I earned a degree of Science in Professional Sport Studies.
During my university years, few University professors  told me that ,I had a good structure for fitness & bodybuilding. I took their advice, started training and, at that point, competitive fitness found me and I quickly rising to the top of competitive fitness in Serbia.
I was competing at the same time in two disciplines- Fitness and Figure.Now,mostly in Figure class.

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

Beautiful and perfectly proportioned woman ,charismatic with good stage presence. Essence is in good symmetry, balance & V Shape.Soft of hard? It depends on where you compete ... in Europe or USA.In USA ,they  looks more for soft( but athletic!) and feminine look which I personally prefer.

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 and now in Canada things are confusing.

The judges say:A SMALL DEGREE OF MUSCULARITY WITH SEPARATION IS DESIRED, WITH NO VISIBLE STRIATIONS. The muscle tone should appear firm and round with a small amount of body fat over the muscle, and no excessive leanness...... Symmetry!!!! But personally
to me it seems the judges want more muscle on top and thin legs- almost untrained legs and  less glutes too.So were is the symmetry in that case?
It doesn’t seem the judges are too clear .. but I think it would be really hard to judge this type of competition anyway!
I competed in IFBB Europe and World Championships, also I competed in USA ,so I can say that its completely different look what judges want to see in Europe, more muscular... Figure need a more standardized judging system.

But there has always been a much greater degree of "sameness" in fitness bodies than in figure, because the fitness competitors also had to be gymnasts  and excelling in gymnastic moves requires a small, compact body.
So the figure line-up - especially at the pro level where there are no height categories - usually contains a wide variety of different body types. Tall, long-bodied competitors stand next to former gymnasts and bodybuilders as well as sexy "bikini models."
So what's a judge to do? Maybe they need to have height classes in the Pro division too- this way the athletes  would be more easily comparable.

Bojana Vasiljevic

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

There's always something to improve  ..... I want to bring my over all  look to a higher level !

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?

My workout routine depends on the period during the year: before the competition, competitive period,post competition,rest phase......One or two times per year I always use a variant of Soviet Phase Training designed by Dr.Yuri Verkhoshansky (around 6-8 weeks).This is ideal program for advanced athletes who have hit period of stagnation,plateau or mass barrier... Before start this  program, I have one day of testing ,what is my maximum on Deadlift,Barbell Bench press and Barbell Back squat exercises. I use 1RM and calculate the weight for each of these exercise in the next few weeks... Example of 1 day routine,from this program:

Exercise:                                                               Sets x reps
Barbell Back squat                                                     6 x 6-8
Barbell Bench Press                                                   6 x 6-8
Deadlift                                                                      6 x 6-8
Wide grip Barbell Bent Row                                         6 x 8-12
Behind-The-Neck Barbell Press                                    6 x 8-12
Lying Triceps Extension                                              6 X 10-12
Abs                                                                    5 x 1 minute

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

Every show is a different depending on where my body is at that time......but I always keep my diet low in carbs and medium protein/fats. Usually I eat lots of green vegetables, chicken, steak ,almonds,avocado and  green apples. I do not consume milk and dairy products,rice... carbs only from oats and sweet potatoes.
Sometimes in the last week before the contest,every day I eat only very lean steak and 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.

In the last week I always consume lots of green tea, strong black coffee, high doses of vitamin C, which have a strong diuretic effects.Also few days of carbs depleting  help my body to release excess water.One day before the contest ,I stop with water intake.

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

Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.

"My attitude is never to be satisfied, never enough, never.”- Bela Karolyi

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 competition was the Arnold Classic Europe, so I had a long trip from Los Angeles to Serbia, and the following day from Serbia to Madrid. Altogether I spent 3 days  changing flights.Then I spent 3 days, all day, constantly at Arnold Expo. Finally on  the day of the competition due to excessive fatigue and changes in time zones, I almost overslept and was late for the prejudging... Fortunately, I arrived in the Madrid Arena at the right time :-)

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

My big dream, and I believe the  wish and expectation of many others is that this sport to be included in the family of Olympic sports.To get Olympic recognition! I think it's possible in the future

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

The biggest challenge is to beat yourself every day... again and again! Change yourself and fortune will change with you.

Bojana Vasiljevic

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

I trained my shoulders and back heavier to be competitive with my legs,because I have always had more muscle on my legs.They are naturally muscular,so I had to balance them with the upper body .I added a few pounds of quality muscle mass.

15) What do you think of bikini division?
I do not think about bikini division :-( In this case I think the judges need to think about the bikini, because it seems that they are not sure what they looking for in this class ...... then there is confusion and questions :Is bikini sport discipline at all?

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

I'm usually very thirsty after competition,so I want  fruits, salad,big juicy FAT steak (rear or medium done) with big baked potato!

17) Please tell us about how you were raised and did you have any interesting experiences while growing up?

I had a very interesting and beautiful childhood in Yugoslavia. I have the most beautiful memories from traveling to competitions as a member of the gymnastics team. There were 6 girls in the first team, and we were best friends.Also the years that I spent at the race track, in the equestrian sports are full of exciting events. Falls from horses were sometimes very dangerous and risky .I was also seriously injured several times.But all bad things you quickly forget and keep only the good memories :--)
Later as member  of the bodybuilding & fitness Serbian National Team, I have traveled throughout the whole world ,going to contests.

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

I have been a competitive gymnast  for so many years! Also,track & field and horseback riding. Later, fitness found me :-)

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

I wake up early, do my workout in the gym and spend the rest of the day working with clients in the gym or online. Sometimes I have a photo shooting  as a fitness model or I have a castings  arranged by my agent Debbie Harrison from the Maverick Artist Agency.

I usually spend my free time reading or with my boyfriend on the beach.Now we traditionally go to the theater  every Friday and always look for at least 2 latest movies that come out that week.When you live in Hollywood, it's impossible to not follow the movie industry :-)

Bojana Vasiljevic

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

I'm currently working as a Personal Trainer and Nutritional Consultant at Gold's Gym North Hollywood. I work together with my coach and  boyfriend as part of  Paniagua Training Team.We offers different services::Personal Training: 1 on 1 & Group available , Nutritional Counseling, Body Fat Testing,Contest Preparation ,Martial Arts or Fitness Boot Camps,On Line Training and Nutritional program.
From August 2011 we working in TV Show Lanzate,segment about fitness on Channel 46,Univision,Los Angeles,2 times per week.
Like I said, I'm also working as a competitor,fitness model, sponsored athlete for www.FitGirlWear , I run my official website www.BojanaFit.com,answer all emails .......

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