Monique Cormier, who has overcome obesity and severe depression en route to becoming a world class amateur bodybuilder, joins Dave [ ... ]
Spotlight On NPC Bikini Competitor: Saskia Boogman
Category you compete in: NPC Bikini
Date of birth: 2/23/1985
Hometown: Missoula, Montana
Career: Bartender and Recent MBA Graduate
Competition history:
2011 Yellowstone Classic: 7th Place
2012 Big Sky Championship: 2nd Place
2012 Washington Ironman: 2nd Place
2013 Big Sky Championship: 2nd Place
2013 Emerald Cup: 2nd Place
Next competition: 2013 USA Championship
How has you
r life changed since you adopted this lifestyle and started competing?
My first competing experience at the Yellowstone Classic in 2011 was actually pretty torturous. Leaning down the wrong way, I was not only physically drained, but also emotionally defeated as I fought to stick with it. That first time around I felt like competing was this horrible, negative force in my life. I lost focus, became foggy and even watched my normally effervescent personality drastically change. I knew that it wasn’t right, but I’m the type of person who believes in finishing what you started and committing. I stuck it out, but hated every minute.
After all that, you’d probably be curious as to why I’d put myself through it again. Well the first part of that equation is that I am fiercely competitive. A former collegiate high jumper, I was always looking to raise that bar and do better. The second part was finding a trainer who was able to look at what I was doing, tell me I was hurting myself and set me on the right path to rocking the stage in a healthy way that ultimately made me more successful as well.
Now, I’d say competing has not only made me physically more fit, but also made me a more confident, powerful woman. I look in the mirror, see this beautiful, strong body and pride myself not so much on what I see, but the realization that I worked my ass off to get here. Knowing I have the ability to create such drastic change just because I decide to is fiercely motivating; it’s a lesson I have taken to all parts of my life.
What have you found to be the best way to balance family, friends, career, this lifestyle, etc…
As a woman, I think finding balance can be hard in general whether you’re competing or not because life is always full of all sorts of competing commitments. Sometimes the simple fact is you can’t get to it all and have to accept that something has to give. You just have to figure out what that something is. It can suck, but having just finished up my MBA there were an awful lot of times that studying was more important than girls’ night or seeing that new movie with my boyfriend. There were also those times when studying meant reading case studies while pouring sweat on the stair stepper because I knew both had to get done somehow. It’s about knowing what can wait, what can’t and what you can multitask.
I’ve accepted that being able to fit everything in definitely takes work and a whole lot of careful scheduling. Realistically though, 24 hours really is a whole lot of time to fit in the things that need to get done. It’s going to take some early mornings and a few late nights now and again, but generally I still get lots of sleep and get lots done. I’ve found that I’ve actually become really efficient with organizing and managing things. It’s a skill that’s helped me in all aspects of my life.
And I will admit that my boyfriend does 80% of my food pre
p which obviously helps a ton; I’m spoiled!
If you could change places with one competitor for the day who would it be and why?
I can’t say that I’d really want to change places with any particular competitor. I guess the way I see it, part of the journey of becoming successful in this sport is doing work, putting in your time and appreciating your own journey. But if I had to pick someone, I’d probably go with IFBB Fitness Pro Tanji Johnson because she’s so passionate about not only her own success, but the success of her sport as a whole. Plus I would kill to have the coordination and skill to compete in fitness because for being pretty darn athletic, I’m a klutz!
Name two of the most inspirational people in your life and tell why they inspire you.
I thought about this question for a long time and was somewhat surprised that I couldn’t readily come up with an answer. It’s not that I don’t have inspirations, it’s that I often find varying degrees of inspiration in everyone because we all have such unique lives full of differing successes and challenges. I am just as inspired by the 93-year-old man who hits my gym at 4:30 every morning (seriously!) as I am by the billion dollar empire of Oprah.
In addition to tending bar, finishing school and hitting the gym, I am a writer for a website called I Want Her Job that is all about featuring women “making it happen.” Through the site I’ve had the chance to interview some pretty amazing women who are founding companies, shaping our political system and doing all sorts of other things they put their hearts and souls into. As a young lady with big dreams, it’s inspiring to see strong, passionate women utilizing their unique strengths to change the world in their own way, whatever that might mean.
Tell one recipe or supplement you can’t live without.
I tried to narrow it down to a recipe, but I realize that I do so many wonderful things with protein powder that I could never live without Optimum Gold Standard Whey. I like it in pancakes, mug cakes, protein bars, protein shakes, cookies and whatever else my mind can come up with. Recently I’ve been into mixing partial scoops to make new flavors like S’more (half cinnamon graham cracker, half extreme milk chocolate). Add that to some oats cooked up with a bit of uns
weetened almond milk and I’m a happy girl!
I’m also recently addicted to Muscle Eggs. Somehow they manage to capture the amazingness of a milkshake and turn it into healthy, delicious egg whites. I think it might be magic.
Tell about a typical training day for you. What exercises, how many sets/reps…etc…
First off, I don’t do crazy amounts of cardio two times a day or any of that. I’m a firm believer that doing extreme cardio is not only unnecessary if you’re eating right and handling your offseason correctly, but also incredibly unhealthy and enough to drive you crazy. The cardio I do utilize is generally HIIT style and I like to do it early – it’s a great energizer for me.
As far as lifting, I do circuit style workouts with higher reps and really focus on feeling the contraction. I used to be the type of lifter that went for as much weight as possible and tried to out do myself and everyone else in the gym. It was a hard transition, but I’ve found that leaving my ego at home, taking the weight down and really thinking about the muscle movement has improved my over all tone. It’s about working smarter, not harder!
In closing, Who would you like to give a shout out to?
First, I’d like to thank my parents for instilling the impo
rtance of fitness and good health into me early. They taught me that healthy food is the best way to fuel the body and that a good run can pretty much solve anything (heck if you’re like them it can even introduce you to the love of your life). I’d also like to thank my boyfriend, Richie, for boiling countless pounds of chicken, hiding my peanut butter when necessary and not getting rid of me during that first, horrible no-carb experience that turned his girlfriend from a nice person into something else entirely. To my previous trainer, Joy, who showed me the real way to compete and how to do it with poise and grace, I owe my continued passion. Finally, without the guidance of my dedicated coaches, CJ and Ruthie, of team Bronzed Divas I wouldn’t be looking at making the move to Nationals. Where there is success you can be certain there is a whole lot of support and love behind it.
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