Maria Ortiz’s workout routines were pretty ordinary.
Then she met Banyon Ortiz at a gym in 2003.
That is when everything about her workout and her body started to change.
“Like a normal person, I was going to the gym, but I didn’t actually know what I was doing,” said Maria, 46. “I started training with him, and that is when we started to keep going and going.”
Banyon, 42, who’s now her husband, and others suggested she begin competing as a bodybuilder.
“Everyone was asking,” she said. “I didn’t think I could do that. The diet is really strict if you want to look good and you want to win first place. I was afraid because I have a habit that I used to eat a lot of junk food.”
Maria, who lives in Reading, also considers herself to be a shy person, which was another roadblock in the way of competing.
“I was afraid,” she said.
In 2013, she overcame her fears and entered her first competition, taking first place in the physique category for her age group.
“Never in my life did I expect I was going to win first places,” she said. “That motivated me even more to keep competing and improving myself. Now I know what I’m doing so I’m not that scared.”
Her regimen includes daily workouts at either L.A. Fitness in Wyomissing or Body Zone Sports and Wellness Complex in Spring Township.
“He (Banyon) is the one who directs me and tells me what you have to do and what you have to eat, this routine exercise, the supplements,” Maria said.
“The way we train sometimes is insane,” Banyon said. “We try to get that extra rep. We try to train harder than anyone. That way, we keep motivated. Whether I see her win or not is an awesome feeling. After all that hard work for months, you know she gives her best.”
When she is training for a competition, she might spend three hours working out daily. It all begins at 3:20 a.m., when her alarm goes off prior to getting up for her full-time job in quality control at a local manufacturer.
“I get half of my cardio in before work,” she said.
She gets the rest in after work, along with weight training.
A couple of months ago Maria reached another goal.
“I did nationals in September,” she said. “I did bodybuilding and women’s physique. It was my first time doing bodybuilding, and I brought home three trophies. I won first place in open, first place in 35 and over and first place in over 40.”
Maria enjoys having goals.
“I enjoy it as a hobby and a lifestyle,” she said. “I’m so healthy, and I feel comfortable the way I look. I want to keep moving forward and qualify for the nationals and become a professional so I can go and compete in Olympia.”
With her sights set on getting her International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness pro card, Maria is in the process of training for her next national competition.
“I’ll eat more protein, increase more muscle and keep working hard,” she said.
She hopes to look bigger, become leaner and have more muscle.
Maria has never looked at her age as being an obstacle to reaching her goals.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are,” she said. “I see it as a number. There is nothing impossible in life. As long as you are healthy, you can do anything in your life. It is never too late. If you want to change and do something different, you can do it.”
Courtesy of: Reading Eagle