United States Figure Olympia champion Nicole Wilkins arrived in T&T from Los Angles two weeks ago to join local body builder Tamara Ribeiro-Bailey in a fitness boot camp at the Cascadia Hotel, St Ann's.The event was organised by cousins Vijay and Surendra Mahabir, the president and CEO of a Marabella-based fitness group called Fitness Junkies. It was held on January 5 and 6.
In an interview, Vijay said he formed the group to encourage healthy lifestyles and scientific training."I think there is a lot of misinformation in the public domain about what proper training is and what it entails...Our group is focused on encouraging dedication, making sacrifices and encouraging a high quality of life," Vijay said.He said if people adopted a healthier lifestyle, this would ease the overcrowding at the nation's hospitals.
"We will have less people waiting for care in the hospital and less money being spent on drugs," he said.Vijay said people are more health conscious now than they were ten years ago.He added that the two-day seminar/boot camp hosted by Wilkins focused on nutrition, exercise and the efficient functioning of the body.
"Fitness Junkie wants to encourage everyone to adopt a healthy and sustainable lifestyle and to improve their quality of living through proper nutrition and exercise programmes," he said."The people who we hire are all living examples of what can be achieved through hard work, sacrifice and discipline...They are all role models who have achieved at the highest levels."
He explained that Wilkins' nutrition seminar gave details about all food groups, meal frequency, calorie intake, metabolism and thyroid function, sodium and condiments."Nicole also gave tips on quick and easy food preparation, meal planning and she shared some of her favourite recipes. She also focused on proper training and training for your body type. She gave a lot of very specific information on the three different body types and how to maximise your training according to which body type you fall into," Vijay added.
He noted that Wilkins also demonstrated exercises for each body part and proper form and use of free weights, cables, machines and bands.The seminar ended with an intense boot camp that featured high-intensity interval training.
About Wilkins
Born in Sterling Heights, Michigan, Wilkins is a two-time IFBB Figure Olympia Champion (2009 and 2011) and three-time IFBB Figure International Champion (2010-2012).At age of 28, she is already a legend in the sport of Women's Figure. She started competing in 2003 and took only four years to gain her pro-card. Two years later she won the Figure Olympia title in Las Vegas, beating out many experienced and revered veterans.
She became the youngest Figure Olympia champion ever at the age of just 25. Two years later, she won the Figure Olympia title again (after placing second in 2010) and created history by becoming the first woman to win both the Figure Olympia and Figure International titles in the same calendar year. These are the two most prestigious titles in the sport.
Remarkably, she almost repeated the feat in 2012 by winning the Figure International title at the Arnold Classic but placing a very close second in the Figure Olympia competition. Ribeiro-Bailey who has won all Figure competitions locally and regionally and gained her pro-card in 2011. She, like Nicole, is now an IFBB Figure Pro.