Name: Lisa Mathern
Age: 30 Weight: 115-118 Height: 5'5"
Gym: New York Sports Club
Goal: Overall, my goal is to maintain a strong and lean physique through a balanced
diet and exercise program.
Shows:
- 2010 OCB Beyond Nutrition Natural Figure Debut 3rd Place, Figure Novice, 5th Place
- 2011 OCB Tri Cities 2nd Place Figure Novice Tall and 3rd Place Figure Open Tall
- 2011 OCB Beyond Nutrition Natural 3rd Place Figure Novice Tall & 3rd Place Figure
Open Tall
I always struggled with feeling comfortable in my body. I admired fit women, especially
those I followed in Oxygen magazine, for their strength and confidence. When I was 20, I
started to work out at a gym (after gaining about two-dozen extra pounds) and said that I
wanted to compete in a figure competition before I was 30. Through school, work, and
life in general, I never made time to work toward that goal, other than going to the gym
for my routine cardio sessions. I was always afraid to be “big” so I rarely did any weights
and my diet was poor.
In 2009, there was a lot of change going on in my life - change I had no control over. I
needed something that kept me positive and kept me focused on making healthy
choices. I realized that I was approaching 30 and didn’t get my goal…yet. Although I
kept “in shape” with cardio and light weights, I could barely do more than two push-ups
and never a pull-up. I knew I had work to do but didn’t know where to start or how to do
it! The changes in my life brought me to a new town and a new gym where I happened to
pay an extra few bucks for some personal training sessions. In my first session, my
trainer said that she was helping her friend train and prep for a figure competition. The
light bulb went off… “I want to do that!” I said. Over the next few days (while enjoying the
feeling of my sore post-workout muscles) I researched different organizations and
contest dates. I picked OCB on April 24, 2010 (5 months before my 30th), and from
there,
began my journey.
Committing yourself to anything requires making a conscious choice. There are days
when things come easy and days with lots of struggle, but in the end making choices
based on what you value and what is important to you is what matters. I am truly thankful
for the people who I have in my life who have helped me along the way and I look
forward to helping others work toward their fitness goals.
Routine: Generally, I work out on a program that looks like this:
Day 1 – Back, Hamstrings, and Biceps
Day 2 - HIIT
Day 3 – Shoulders, Abs
Day 4 – Quads, Calves
Day 5 – Chest, Triceps
Day 6 – Off
Repeat.
Every so often I will switch routine and combine Back with Shoulders and do a full leg
day. At times I will also combine Back with Triceps and Chest with Biceps to keep my
body guessing.
Diet: Many people do not realize how important diet is – not simply what you eat, but
when you eat it. Having a proper diet requires more work than the gym sometimes –
going to get fresh food, cleaning the food, cooking the food, and if you are in contest
prep – measuring the food… I eat 5-6 meals a day, every 3-4 hours. Each meal (or
“feeding” as I endearingly refer to it sometimes) I have a lean protein (chicken, salmon,
shrimp, ground turkey or cottage cheese) and carbohydrates (oats, sweet potato, brown
rice, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, romaine lettuce, chick peas) or fat (flax, almonds, or
walnuts). Water is important, too – I drink at least a gallon a day.
Favorite workout: Every exercise has a specific function, and I love each for its own
purpose. The big muscle exercises are the best – Lat Pull Downs, Military Presses,
Bench Presses, Squats, and Deads – because they are the foundation of strength
training. If I had to choose one exercise as my favorite, I would say that I love squatting –
when I’m in the gym, I like to load the bar and squat deep! I love the burn I get in my
glutes during the exercise and, if I worked it hard, the burn that continues for the next
few days. You know you’ve had a great workout when it hurts to even sit down the next
day.
“Some people dream of success…while others wake up and work hard at it.”
Age: 30 Weight: 115-118 Height: 5'5"
Gym: New York Sports Club
Goal: Overall, my goal is to maintain a strong and lean physique through a balanced
diet and exercise program.
Shows:
- 2010 OCB Beyond Nutrition Natural Figure Debut 3rd Place, Figure Novice, 5th Place
- 2011 OCB Tri Cities 2nd Place Figure Novice Tall and 3rd Place Figure Open Tall
- 2011 OCB Beyond Nutrition Natural 3rd Place Figure Novice Tall & 3rd Place Figure
Open Tall
I always struggled with feeling comfortable in my body. I admired fit women, especially
those I followed in Oxygen magazine, for their strength and confidence. When I was 20, I
started to work out at a gym (after gaining about two-dozen extra pounds) and said that I
wanted to compete in a figure competition before I was 30. Through school, work, and
life in general, I never made time to work toward that goal, other than going to the gym
for my routine cardio sessions. I was always afraid to be “big” so I rarely did any weights
and my diet was poor.
In 2009, there was a lot of change going on in my life - change I had no control over. I
needed something that kept me positive and kept me focused on making healthy
choices. I realized that I was approaching 30 and didn’t get my goal…yet. Although I
kept “in shape” with cardio and light weights, I could barely do more than two push-ups
and never a pull-up. I knew I had work to do but didn’t know where to start or how to do
it! The changes in my life brought me to a new town and a new gym where I happened to
pay an extra few bucks for some personal training sessions. In my first session, my
trainer said that she was helping her friend train and prep for a figure competition. The
light bulb went off… “I want to do that!” I said. Over the next few days (while enjoying the
feeling of my sore post-workout muscles) I researched different organizations and
contest dates. I picked OCB on April 24, 2010 (5 months before my 30th), and from
there,
began my journey.
Committing yourself to anything requires making a conscious choice. There are days
when things come easy and days with lots of struggle, but in the end making choices
based on what you value and what is important to you is what matters. I am truly thankful
for the people who I have in my life who have helped me along the way and I look
forward to helping others work toward their fitness goals.
Routine: Generally, I work out on a program that looks like this:
Day 1 – Back, Hamstrings, and Biceps
Day 2 - HIIT
Day 3 – Shoulders, Abs
Day 4 – Quads, Calves
Day 5 – Chest, Triceps
Day 6 – Off
Repeat.
Every so often I will switch routine and combine Back with Shoulders and do a full leg
day. At times I will also combine Back with Triceps and Chest with Biceps to keep my
body guessing.
Diet: Many people do not realize how important diet is – not simply what you eat, but
when you eat it. Having a proper diet requires more work than the gym sometimes –
going to get fresh food, cleaning the food, cooking the food, and if you are in contest
prep – measuring the food… I eat 5-6 meals a day, every 3-4 hours. Each meal (or
“feeding” as I endearingly refer to it sometimes) I have a lean protein (chicken, salmon,
shrimp, ground turkey or cottage cheese) and carbohydrates (oats, sweet potato, brown
rice, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, romaine lettuce, chick peas) or fat (flax, almonds, or
walnuts). Water is important, too – I drink at least a gallon a day.
Favorite workout: Every exercise has a specific function, and I love each for its own
purpose. The big muscle exercises are the best – Lat Pull Downs, Military Presses,
Bench Presses, Squats, and Deads – because they are the foundation of strength
training. If I had to choose one exercise as my favorite, I would say that I love squatting –
when I’m in the gym, I like to load the bar and squat deep! I love the burn I get in my
glutes during the exercise and, if I worked it hard, the burn that continues for the next
few days. You know you’ve had a great workout when it hurts to even sit down the next
day.
“Some people dream of success…while others wake up and work hard at it.”
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