by Leigh Penman
When Marina Lopez took to the stage at the recent Junior Nationals in Chicago she was a woman on a mission. That mission was to alter the perception some people may have had of female bodybuilding and make a positive contribution to its rebirth.
After winning both the lightweight and overall titles (at a height of 5’ 2” and weighing in at 112lbs) she was well on her way to successfully completing that mission. Still a name not too many people are familiar with, I decided to check up on Marina and find out a little more about her time in the sport, her diet and training strategies and what her future hopes are for the sport …
So Marina, after seeing you at the Junior Nationals I was going to ask where you have been hiding all these years but then I heard that you were formerly a figure competitor. So just how long have you been competing?
“I competed twice in bodybuilding in 2004. In 2006 my husband and I agreed to switch to figure. In 2006 I won the Shawn Ray overall for figure. I competed two times at the national level but was not very successful. In 2009 I switched back to bodybuilding and won the Colorado State overall and qualified for nationals. My next stop was the 2010 Jr. Nationals. So, to answer your question, I have been competing for six years now.”
You are obviously more than at home in the bodybuilding class but what was it that convinced you to make the switch?
“It was a conversation I had with Steve Stone at the Jr. Nationals in 2008. We spoke after I did not fare so well in Figure B. We had a lengthy conversation and he explained to me that if I wanted to continue in figure I would need to reduce how much muscle I was carrying on my body. His suggestion to achieve this would be to stop lifting all together, lower my protein intake, up my veggie intake, and do lots of spin classes. My response to him was that I enjoyed lifting too much to give it up. He said if that was the case that I should consider crossing over to bodybuilding. I told him that I had considered it but that I did not feel I would be able to compete with the larger women and that I did not have the desire to make myself that big. He took the time to explain to me that the industry was looking to scale back the muscularity of female bodybuilders. He said that there were many figure competitors like me and that if enough of us would cross over, in time, we would be the majority and then we would start to be awarded higher placings. I enjoy lifting heavy weights and working out with my husband so bodybuilding seemed to be a better fit for our lifestyle and training routine.”
You certainly pack a lot of muscle onto your frame…would you say that you gain muscle pretty easily?
“I don’t feel as though I gain muscle easily, but my body responds physiologically well to create the appearance that I carry a lot of muscle. I am sure to train each muscle from its origin point and insertion point to help keep each muscle equally developed. My focus is on creating symmetry and balance. What I would say is that I have muscle maturity because I have been lifting for 26 years.”
When it came down to making the transition from figure to bodybuilding which body part needed the most attention?
“Definitely my legs because due to injury I was limited to two primary exercises for legs Also when I was competing in figure I didn’t spend a lot of time doing heavy leg work. So for the two years I was competing in figure, legs were not my focus and they fell behind my upper body. Added to this in the past four years I have been nagged by a hernia in my right groin and about five months ago I could no longer take the pain and had it surgically repaired. I was not able to start training legs until twelve weeks before the Jr. Nationals.”
How did you go about bringing them up to the necessary level?
“I am still working on them and I still consider them the weakest part of my physique. I was only able to do isolation movements like leg extensions and leg curls until recently. I tried everything from high reps, super sets, pause reps, and unilateral training to prepare for the Nationals. There was nothing traditional about what I tried for my legs. It was very frustrating but challenging. I owe a lot to my husband and his understanding of kinesiology. His approach is very scientific and deliberate. I don’t believe there are too many trainers that could have got me the results he did with the limitations we had.”
I have to say that your conditioning was excellent at the Nationals; do you tend to stay close to contest weight most of the year?
“Absolutely. This is our family’s lifestyle. We eat healthy on a daily basis. We don’t keep a lot of junk food in our home and I don’t really have any cravings. As a family we have one cheat meal a week. We take turns picking what the meal or restaurant will be. At about four weeks out I cut out my cheat meal and dial my portions in very accurately to fine tune for the show. I usually only gain five to eight pounds in the off season. We eat very well, we don’t consume alcohol and we lift daily.”
Some would say that by putting limits on off season weight gain you could rob yourself when it comes to adding size, what are your thoughts on this?
“I am very comfortable with my current weight and size. If I felt that I needed to gain several pounds to compete at the next level, I wouldn’t be doing this. Besides clothes are very expensive, I have been a size 0 since high school. Other trainers have insisted I need to gain 20 lbs to be competitive, I guess we proved that theory wrong! My focus is balance, symmetry and conditioning. I appreciate the compliments I receive about my physique. I don’t appear to be a competitive bodybuilder until just prior to contest time. I do appreciate muscle and I understand how much work goes into gaining muscle. If I happen to gain a few pounds of muscle because of training heavy I am ok with that.”
What macro – nutrient ratios do you favor in the off season?
“It’s all about balance. I follow the Lean System Plan by iSatori. In 2004 I was selected to be featured in the book because I had such great success by following this basic eating plan. I eat low glycemic carbohydrates, a portion of quality protein, a combination of all three fat types and a vegetable as my primary meals and I have one cheat meal a week. “
Do you make any adjustments to your diet prior to heavy workouts like legs or back?
“Not prior to, but post training I double my carbohydrate intake on leg day. Part of my leg training day consists of our family going to eat sushi after we all workout. So, given that fact, I am sure that doubling is an understatement!”
So what contest diet did you follow to bring you into the Nationals in such great shape. Give us an average day and did you allow yourself ‘cheat days/meals’?
“I use a meal timing concept my husband came up with. I consume 65 percent of my daily carbs post training. Starting at four weeks out I consume carbs post training only. I have two carbohydrates meals consisting of white potatoes and brown rice at one and two hours post training. My other four meals consist of protein, fat and vegetables; no carbs. I cut my sushi and cheat meal out three to four weeks before the show. I do allow for variables depending on my energy level each day.”
Getting back to your overall shape again it is hard to single out one stand-out area since you seem to be very balanced. However, let’s just pick a couple of favorites and say give us an example of a typical leg workout and a typical back workout?
“I begin my leg training with three super sets of leg extensions and leg curls using unilateral pause rep training at about 14 reps per leg. I like to get the blood flowing and get a little volume in them before I begin my compound movements. I use a variety of squat stances focusing on foot placement, wide stance squats, duck squats, smith squats and close stance heels elevated squats. I use heels elevated because I am not able to do front squats due to shoulder pain. Each exercise is super setted with an isolation movement or followed with passive resistance stretching. I use two auxiliary exercises throughout the periodization of my training and these are hyper extensions super setted with cable kick backs. I also include three sets of eight to ten reverse lunges and three sets of Romanian or straight leg dead lifts. I try to use as many angles and exercises as I can. None of my workout routines are kept the same for longer than six weeks. I always change exercises, reps ranges, rest periods and frequency. My legs are my weak area so I use more volume with my leg training. I also conduct a light biceps femoralis day with my back training.
“My back workout consists of using a variety of angles and exercises once again. As mentioned earlier I train hams on this day also. I train three sets of 10-8 reps for each exercise. For the Jr. Nationals I employed a lot of super sets to help my lower lat development and mid back. Close grip seated rows super setted with mid back Bosu hyperextensions. Wide grip cable rows supersetted with inverted rows. Followed by prostyle lat pull downs with suppinated pull ups. I train back and rear delts on the same day. I usually do some rear cable delts or bent over dumbbell raises. I also use slightly bent over upright rows. I keep total reps under 250 for all body parts but legs.
“I keep my upper body workouts at an hour or less and legs around one hour fifteen minutes.”
Do you do cardio in the off season?
“No, I can’t stand doing cardio. My husband has bad knees and just had knee surgery. We do everything together so if he can’t do cardio I can’t do cardio… that’s a bad excuse, will it work? Seriously, I don’t do cardio and I really don’t like cardio. I just eat well. It’s a lot easier and less time consuming.”
Changing subjects completely how is your home life and how supportive are your friends and family when it comes to your bodybuilding pursuits?
“My husband is my biggest fan and supporter. This started as a hobby for my husband and I as a result of participating in the iSatori Physique Transformation Challenge. It has evolved into many things for us. My husband does all my training and nutrition. He is also my personal chef. His cooking is fantastic. I don’t ever feel like I am dieting. He prepares all my meals for the week each Sunday. He is also my training partner. He also works hand in hand with my posing coach William Reese. We spend far too much time together. All my children are very athletic and play sports year round. My 18 year old son trains with us every day and plays college football. He also travels with me to the shows. He becomes my right hand man. My daughter is twelve and always wants to see me flex my arms or do my routine and tells me “You’re beautiful Mommy.” My youngest son did a report on me for school. He is only nine and works out with his older brother everyday day at our gym. This is a lifestyle for us. We are all proud of each other in our home and my bodybuilding is no more important than each of their interests. At home, I am just Mom. We don’t have any photos or anything relating to my bodybuilding. We keep my trophies and one 8×10 photo at our gym. My friends think what I do is great and they also lead healthy lifestyles. I have a very close group of friends.”
I believe you are also a personal trainer. I am pretty sure you have no problem getting clients! Do you find that, especially at competition time, training other people can compromise your energy/motivation for training yourself?
“My clients are a big part of my success. They come to me because I walk the walk. I won’t except excuses from them, so I have no room to make excuses. My workouts are priority and I schedule my training time just like I schedule clients. Sometimes I may be running behind and I need to split my routine to accommodate a clients training. If I feel I am sluggish and not giving my clients the attention they deserve, I eat something like applesauce or raisins to get me refocused. Preparing for the USA’s we decided not to increase my number of clients until after the show. I see four to five clients a day plus teach five bootcamps. If I could add three hours to my day, I sure could use a few more hours of sleep!”
Away from the sport what do you do to relax?
“That’s easy… SLEEP. I could stay in bed all day. I have one day off a week. I get up at my regular time eat and go back to bed. Other than that, most of my free time is consumed by our children. When not attending their games, we like to sit around our fire pit and make smores in the evenings or watch movies.”
Finally, what are your immediate and ultimate goals within the sport?
“My immediate goal is to come home with my pro card from the USA’s. Last year I decided my ultimate goal was to compete in the Olympia or the Arnold at least once. I want to be able to stand on stage and say I am one of the best bodybuilders in the world. Recognizing my age, I understood I needed to do this now. I followed Tony Robbins’ plan of writing down my goal, creating a timeline, envisioning my success, what would be the benefit of my success and what were the things keeping me from it. Once I figured this out, I was able to clearly see a vision of what I needed to do. Although this is still fun and I keep it in perspective, I knew in order to achieve my goals, I would need to take a business approach to bodybuilding. I would use bodybuilding as a means to build my business and personal success. I also want to be part of Steve Stones prediction within the sport and be a forerunner of this evolution of change. It was sexy bodybuilders like Rachel McLish and Gladys Portugues that drew me to this sport. I want to be a part of bringing the sport full circle back to that physique once again.”
And how can readers contact you?
“They can reach my on my fan page on face book. My web site is under construction. The address will be www.marina-lopez.com”
by Leigh Penman
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