A little while ago, Melody Melton began training at our gym. I always like when we have female professional athletes come to our facility. They always have their own special way of raising the bar for all of the clients that watch or train alongside them.
Melody is a professional figure competitor. She stumbled into the sport while training with Carlos Jordan of Ultimate Bodies. Since participating in her first tournament, Melody has placed 1st at the 2006 NOPI Nationals, 2007 World Bodybuilding & Figure Championships and 2008 Southern NGA Regional Championship.
Melody’s training goal, for her participation in tomorrow’s 2009 NOPI NGA World Bodybuilding & Figure Championships, was to shock her body with added cardiovascular and plyometric training at Energy Fitness. I am confident that the judges and audience will recognize that she has upped the ante for this year’s competition.
I had a moment to catch up with Melody so she could give the readers insight into her experience at Energy Fitness and advice as to how you can one day join her on the stage.
How did you find out about John and why did you decide to add him to your fitness preparation for your upcoming competition?
My good friend Devyne Stephens suggested that John may be a good addition for my regiment so I could shock my body and do some things that I wasn’t used to doing. I have the weight training under control. However, John’s training concept is very different. When you are weight training, you are restricted to working one muscle at a time, but with John you are working several muscle groups simultaneously so I think it has helped me as far as leaning down.
For those who are interested in becoming a figure competitor, what are the steps that they should take?
1. You need a good weight trainer who knows how to properly train a woman’s body for figure competition. There are a lot of good trainers out there, but they may not know the training style that is needed to develop a woman’s body for a figure competition.
2. Your diet is really big. It is important to stay on a strict, really low carbohydrate eating regiment.
3. Get with a figure coach. Presentation is everything on stage for women. You want to get out on stage and look like a professional, hitting your mandatory poses on point. Your figure coach will assist you with your presentation, poses, smiling. It’s hard to be on stage smiling and holding these poses. It takes a lot of practice. Women think that we are on stage and it’s easy. No, we are up there in pain. It hurts holding those poses. We are tired and cramping up. We have these beautiful smiles on our faces when we really just want to eat!
4. Go out there and try to have fun. When you get to a point where it is stressful for you and you are not competing for the right reasons, it’s not fun anymore. It’s your sport. It’s your hobby. Just do your best.
Catch Melody in action at the 2009 NOPI NGA World Body Building & Figure Championship tomorrow at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center. Competition begins at 6:00 p.m.
