Category you compete in: Bikini

Date of birth: 6/13/(not old enough to compete in masters yet)

Hometown: Bergenfield, NJ

Career: Industrial Engineer

Competition history: I started competing when the NPC opened the bikini division.  In 2009 I placed 2nd at Jr Nationals and 4th at Nationals.  In 2010 I place 4th at Jr National and Team U.

Next competition: Team U - 2 weeks 2 go!

What do you feel is the WORST part of contest prep? I train with Shannon Dey of Team Bombshell so we are on a regimen all year round.  I think the diet and training actually get easier as you get closer because you have more motivation.  However the mental toughness gets harder to maintain as you get closer.  I have to make sure I don't think about it and I just do it, being an engineer that's hard to do.

If you had to lose one of your 5 senses, which one would you prefer to lose and why? Defn taste, I'm Italian and like to eat.

If you could change one things about this sport what would it be? Men's physique to compete in CK Jockey Underwear instead of board shorts.

What is a day-in-the-life of  ToniAnn like?
Well I'm a very routine person.  I wake up at about 3:30 am and get my first round of cardio and lifting in before work.  On my way to work I usually talk to my Dad on the phone.  The other day I was telling him how hungry I was and how I wanted to film a video for RxMuscle before I compete and he said "OK, well what do you want your video to be about?  How big you can get in one week? Ha ha.... I respond well to tough love. 

I then head to work as an industrial engineer, sitting in front of the computer and on the phone all day. 

Sometimes I break for an audition.  The other day I had to play in the leaves with a dog for a commercial audition.  Well, they gave me a little angry bulldog that did nothing but growl and run away from me.  I know I did well on the audition, but my co-star the dog needed work.

I then go back to work and take a late afternoon break to do my second round of cardio.  On the way back to work I usually talk to my mom about my workout, she's very encouraging, but is not ready to join me on stage yet! She likes to have her ice cream every night before bed. Lol!

I then head back to work and then it's off to sleep.

What advice do you have for women who would like to get involved in and compete in the sport of bodybuilding? I've been competing for a while and learned so much from mistakes made along the way that my favorite thing is to share my story with other women who want to start competing.  If one women learns from my mistakes I feel like it's all worthwhile -

*Competing in a Fitness Show should be about promoting a healthy lifestyle and being a positive role model to others: When I first started to compete I was instructed to cut carbs for weeks at a time and not drink water for days before the show.  It went well the first show, but after that I started to look really sick and was really weak and to say the least it was not working for me on stage anymore.  I then called Shannon right after Team U in 2009 and I was almost in tears with her over the phone, not knowing what I was doing wrong.  I took a flight out to Florida the following week to attend Bombshell Camp and there I learned that it's not about cutting carbs or not drinking water.  It's about learning to live a healthy lifestyle all year around and making a few small adjustments in that lifestyle to prep for a show.

*Listen to your body -The week after Team U 2010 I was still on a very rigorous training schedule and was gaining a lot of weight quickly, to be exact 20 lbs in two weeks.  With that being said I started experiencing extreme fatigue and depression.  To be honest I never believed in depression.  I always thought you could make yourself happy and snap yourself out of it, but I couldn't.  Usually as long as I maintained mental toughness I was able to get through anything and this was the first time I had no control over my own body.   A couple of months later I got my bloodwork results and learned that I was suffering from hypo-thyroid and adrenal stress.  I was forced to take a break from training and started being treated with thyroid medication and adrenal medication, if I would've listened to my body sooner I would've known it was time to take a break sooner and the symptoms probably wouldn't have gotten so bad. BTW..... I want to make sure I mention that the doctor confirmed this was due to hereditary, training was not the cause of it.

*Enjoy The Journey - Shannon always tells me enjoy the journey.  And as soon as I was given clearance to train I did just that.  I've been lucky enough to shoot with Rob Rosetti of Glamour Athlete Photography in Florida and Isaac Hinds of Lift Studios in Colorado.  They are not only talented photographers, but they also have been there throughout my NPC journey with great words of advice and encouragement.  I've just recently been given clearance to compete at Team U and feel so blessed to be able to do what I love most again.

Thanks RX Girl for allowing me to share my story xoxo

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