Long Beach bodybuilder Kat Secor said she’s stronger now than ever.
And she should be — she’s competed at the amateur level since about 2012, when she began taking her paintball competitions seriously.
Secor makes her professional bodybuilding debut at the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) Karina Nascimento Classic Women’s Physique Pro this Saturday at the PGA National Resort, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
She also will try to qualify for the 2016 Olympia Series by winning or earning enough points to enter the 2016 Olympia Qualifications Series.
“I’m actually going into it extremely confident,” Secor said. “I expect to win. I don’t particularly care who they (opponents) are.”
At the end of the Olympia qualifying season, the winner of each competition and top five point earners are eligible to compete at the Olympia — and join the ranks of titleholders, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sergio Oliva, Frank Zane and Lee Haney.
Secor has come a long way already, earning top spots in amateur events, but said she’s ready for the challenge. She’s set a rigid schedule of working at her Long Beach business, Exotic Tan, exercising, eating specific foods at designated times and getting plenty of sleep.
“You have to have the mental strength,” Secor said. “Juggling all of that is hard, to say the least.”
She said she’s had to reset her body clock, waking up at 4 a.m. daily to head to the gym. She’s at her business by 8 a.m. and stays there until about 2 p.m. Then, it’s either a nap or gym first — depending on how tired she is — followed by the second, eating again, another gym session. And, of course, more eating.
“It’s all-encompassing,” Secor said. “It’s unlike any other sport.”
In total, she eats about four ounces of fish or eight ounces of egg whites, six times daily, alternating days for carbohydrates. She also exercises about three times a day, alternating cardiovascular and various muscle groups. She’s in bed by 9 p.m.
“I had to find a schedule that works for me,” Secor said. “It’s the small things people look at and think, ‘wow, that’s easy,’ but every little thing counts.”
She didn’t realize how much everything counts, she said, before taking her competitive paintballing seriously in 2012 — the same year she began bodybuilding.
She competes against men with her all-female team, Destiny, travelling worldwide.
“It would bother me so much that men possessed a natural athletic advantage,” Secor said. “My arms would be tired from holding a gun, my legs fatigued and I had poor cardiovascular endurance for long games. I started going to the gym to make myself a better and more competitive athlete.”
She said she met competitors at the gym and heard about bodybuilding and its strict eating, cardio workouts, mental aspect and competitions.
“I was captivated and wanted to see how I measured up,” Secor said.
She’ll find out how she measures up this Saturday.
Courtesy of: Gazettes