While Alisha Morrow was car shopping with her husband she graciously took my phone call so that I could interview her. I found out that she's a 31 year old, 5'2", PE teacher at a public high school 
where she also coaches the girl's Dance Team which she took to States this past year (they placed 3rd). She's also a full-time student herself, as well. In her off season, one of her favorite things to do is go out to eat. "My husband and I don't smoke, we don't drink and we both love to eat! I even joke with him that I can out-eat him!" But she never lets herself get too far from contest weight, she says. In her off-season, she weighs between 134-144. Currently, her ideal contest weight is about 125. So, while Alisha test drove cars and signed paperwork (yes, she actually bought a car while I was on the phone with her) this is what went on.
RX: Let's start with some basic stuff. Where do you live?
AM: I was born and grew up in Illinois. I live in Peoria currently.
RX: Tell me a little about your contest history.
AM: My first contest, my legs overpowered my upper body. My legs have always been pretty muscular. So I figured out for my next contest that I not only needed to bring up my upper body and even out my symmetry, but I had to lay off my legs.
RX: By "lay off" you mean...?
AM: Well, I hesitate to say this, because everyone thinks I'm crazy, but I don't train my legs at all anymore. Occasionally I will do some walking lunges to help get a little separation between the muscle bellies, but I really don't train them anymore.
RX: You don't train legs at all? You're not afraid of losing the muscle that you've got in your lower body?
AM: Well, in an effort to gain better symmetry, if I lose some muscle in my legs then it's a good thing. Maybe I can gain enough in my upper body and lose a little in my lower body and even everything out.
RX: Okay, so what did you do in the first place to get such muscular legs?
AM: Well, that's the funny part. I never really worked out until I met my husband. I played sports in school, but never weight trained. My husband thought I had bodybuilding potential and we started working out together.
RX: What sports were you involved in? Track and Field?
AM: No. I played volleyball and basketball. My husband and I still love volleyball and we play on a co-ed team together.
RX: So do you attribute the muscularity in your legs to sports or would you say you have a genetic pre-disposition to great legs?
AM: I am definitely genetically inclined to muscular legs. You should see my Grandma! My calves are just like hers!
RX: Gotta love Grandma! .... Okay, getting back to your contest history: what weight class do you compete in?
AM: Last year at the Arnold Amateur, I didn't realize that the weight classes are slightly different than the NPC and I came in at 128 lbs which put me at the very bottom of the Middleweight class. And I placed 7th. This year, I came in at 124.5 which put me at the top of the Lightweight class and 
came in 4th. I was shooting for top 5 so I'm really happy with that placing.
I was also not as conditioned last year as I was this year. When I started working with Dave everything changed for me. I really nailed my conditioning better than ever with Dave. I couldn't be happier with my results.
RX: Another testament to Dave's diet! Would you say that it was more difficult than any of your previous contest prep?
AM: I would say that once I got through the first week or so of Dave's diet, I was good. The cardio though! He would increase my cardio every week! That was hard. But I also trained and dieted for 16 weeks as opposed to my normal 12 weeks. That definitely helped me out a lot!
RX: How much cardio did you get up to?
AM: I think I was up to 175 minutes. Plus, Dave didn't know this, but I played volleyball throughout my contest prep. THAT was hard. My heart rate would get up to 200 during the games. Dave always wanted me to keep my heart rate in a lower, fat burning zone, so I did all my cardio on top of playing volleyball. That way I followed his instructions and just did a little more on top of it.
RX: Woah! That's a lot of cardio... are you getting ready for anything else this year?
AM: Well, I'm considering Junior Nationals, but I also may have a modeling opportunity with a major sportswear company . I'm trying to wait and see if it's legitimate before I commit to doing a 
show. I called Dave to ask his opinion and he said he wanted to check in to it for me before I blindly accepted. That's what I mean when I tell people how great Dave and Colette are. They went so far above and beyond for me at the Arnold. They were there every step of the way. And Dave doesn't have to call people or ask around about this for me, but he is. They are two unbelievable people! I can't tell you how much I appreciate them!
RX: Good luck with the opportunity. That would be cool to see you in advertisements! Do you feel there is a lot of opportunity for female bodybuilders?
AM: Well, unfortunately, I feel like the mainstream public is more interested in a Rachel McLish type physique than they are in an Iris Kyle physique. Although, isn't she (Iris) impressive? I'd love to see more opportunities in female bodybuilding. Women work very hard - to an extent that most average people, men or women, cannot begin to comprehend. As a matter of fact, I think that the average person isn't even capable of doing what it takes to become a bodybuilder. It's more disciplines than the average person can handle.
RX: Totally agree... Well, let's wrap this up. Any shout outs?
AM: Of course, my husband. If it weren't for him, I never would have considered female bodybuilding. And the girls I coach as well as all the kids I teach. They told me that they actually learned some of the self-discipline that they saw me practice when I was getting ready for this year's Arnold Amateur Classic and still took them to State Championships. That's very inspiring to me.
RX: How about some words of wisdom for our RX Muscle audience?
AM: Hmm...Wisdom? I don't know if this is what you might call wisdom, but I'd like to share a quote that motivates me. I read this all the time while I'm doing my cardio. It hangs on the wall in front of me:
Look at it while doing my cardio:
What I was given, I made better
What I made better, I then improved
My body was a gift and I honor it.
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