A GRUELLING 14 weeks of intensive diet and a whopping six days a week in the gym earned a Carlow lady a bikini body not only to die for but also worthy of an All-Ireland title!
Rebeccah O’Rourke (25) from Mill Race, Carlow won the Republic of Ireland Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (RIBBF) Fitness Extravaganza competition’s bikini category in Dublin recently.
“I’m absolutely delighted to win,” enthused Rebeccah, who came second in the same competition in 2012. “It’s a lot of work over 14 weeks. I signed up for training with David Young in Cork for the 14 weeks and the diet was basically high protein and low carb, then training and gym work six days a week,” she added.
The Kerry native has been living in Carlow for the past four years and combines all this hard work in the gym with her hairdressing at The Hair Lounge, Staplestown Road, Carlow.
“I won Miss Bikini Carlow in 2012, then I was second in this competition in 2012 but I gave it up for a while because the last time the training nearly killed me,” laughed Rebeccah. “This time it was hard in the beginning but once you get into it and see the results, it gets addictive and you enjoy it,” she adds.
For the national finals, Rebeccah was up against six equally dedicated ladies in the under-163cms bikini category.
“For the bikini category it’s about the whole look. It’s not all about the muscles, so it’s the tan, the hair, the appearance, everything,” explains Rebeccah.
“Oh, I’d 17 layers of tan on … the sheets are destroyed, throw them out,” she adds good-humouredly.
Rebeccah had great support from her boyfriend Damien Locke, who also has an interest in bodybuilding.
The hugely popular RIBBF Fitness Extravaganza was organised by Carlow’s Relu ‘Giani’ Gauca and Nicoleta Chiorean, who are well known in national bodybuilding circles.
Courtesy of: The Nationalist