What does it take to have the body of a fitness star, win figure championship titles and look 20 at the age of 40? You’re about to find out. Janet Marsico is a WNBF figure pro, a former Miss Fitness America pageant competitor, a judge, figure coach and the founder of “The Figure Workshop.” Janet is an all-natural fitness champion and role model for women of all ages and what she has to say is sure to inform and inspire you at the same time. (Guys: Be sure to read this! I’m sure it will interest you too and you can also pass this web page link to the ladies in your life).

Tom Venuto: Janet, thank you for the interview. The reason I started this interview series earlier this year is because I wanted to spread the word via the Internet about all the positive aspects of natural bodybuilding and fitness, including competition, while helping to dispel all the myths and stereotypes as well as to help give some recognition and publicity to the champions in natural physique sports who aren’t getting enough of the attention they deserve from the mainstream media.

I also wanted to introduce my subscribers and website visitors to positive and inspirational role models, and you’re an incredible role model for women of all shapes, sizes, ages and aspirations and your achievements in the natural fitness industry are spectacular.

I’ve known about you for years because I read Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness Magazine, I pay attention to the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF) contest results and I’ve been involved in natural bodybuilding my whole adult life, but for our readers who may not know you yet, could you start out by giving us some quick background about yourself, where you’re from and about your fitness career?

2004 WNBF Pro figure championships

Janet Marsico: Sure, Tom. I was born a southern girl in Charleston, South Carolina, but mainly grew up in Westchester County, New York. All my life I was involved in dance and theater. I attended performing arts camps each and every summer as a child and loved being up there on the stage. Unfortunately, as a teenager, I began to smoke cigarettes on a daily basis and thankfully, when I was 23, I quit the habit. Along with quitting smoking came the dreaded weight gain. I had always been 118 lbs and a size 5 most of my teen years so when I ballooned to 130 pounds and found myself in Weight Watchers, I knew something had to be done.

In 1990, I remember watching the ESPN network and admiring the bodybuilders’ amazing sculptured physiques and that’s when my fitness journey started. I joined Jack LaLanne and developed a passion for the sport much like my passion for the stage.

I was one of the only girls in the free weight room, but that didn’t bother me one bit. I would ask many trainers and members how to train and the weight started to drop and my physique started to change. Back then there were no fitness competitions or figure competitions, only bodybuilding. My first bodybuilding competition was the ANPPC New York State Championships in 1991 and I placed third in the tall class weighing in at 118 with a 19” waist (yes, 19”!).

After that, my strong drive to compete continued. I competed in many of the NPC bodybuilding competitions as well as the ANPPC. The competition got tougher with each show I competed in and that’s when I hired a choreographer, Tracey Present, to help me with my routines. Tracy had developed a group called Muscles In Motion and asked me if I would be interested in joining her team. Muscles In Motion performed routines at many of the bodybuilding competitions for quite some time. The group consisted of three women and two men. They worked really well as a team and since I loved being on the stage, shyness was not an issue for me.

Muscles In Motion Dance Troupe

The last show I competed in I was approached by one of the promoters, suggesting I give the new fitness competitions a whirl. In 1992, since fitness was just starting to peak, I figured why not and competed in my first fitness show, with the help of Tracy choreographing my routines. At the same time, I joined forces with Kenny Kassel from Beautifit Talent Agency and with his help, Vince McMahon from the World Wrestling Federation chose me out of 75 women from Kenny’s agency to become one of the WWF Monday Night Raw Ring Girls and I enjoyed doing that for some time. In 1992, I started judging for the organization I first started competing in, the ANPPC, which is now NBI. I’ve judged bodybuilding and fitness competitions for over 14 years now and have also served as the figure and fitness coordinator for several organizations.

My idol and mentor was and still is to this day, is Debbie Kruck. She was one of the first fitness women out there who had the most fantastic symmetrical and statuesque physique I have ever seen. I studied her stage presence and how she displayed her physique and today I still thank her for being a mentor to me.

In 1993, I won my first fitness competition and went on to compete in the 1993 Fitness America Nationals. I competed again in the 1994 Fitness America Nationals, and then went on to the 1994 WNBF Ms. Exercise and placed fifth. I met my husband and we married in 1997 and I had to take sometime off from competing in order to start a family, but I was still was able to judge and help coordinate and coach for several organizations.

Fitness America Pageant 1993

That’s when I started my Figure Workshops. After all, 12 years of judging, competing and mastering the art of stage presence really gave me that edge to be able to pass on my knowledge to aspiring figure competitors. And why not? I loved the sport and enjoyed passing on my knowledge to others. As of this year, my Workshops have soared and I have joined forces with WNBF Pro bodybuilder, Ekow Wilmot to work together on running what we call our Fitness Camps, which are two-day events with seminars, hand outs, live workshops and even photo shoots with “Who Took That” digital services.

After taking time off from competing, I’m proud to say that in 2004 I competed in the INBF Naturalmania Nationals Figure Championships. I won first place in the tall division, took the overall title and regained my pro card with the WNBF again (the organization I competed in back in 1994!) I then went on and competed in the 2004 WNBF Pro World Figure Championships and placed 7th out of twenty-three women. On May 14th, 2005, I competed in the WNBF Pro Figure Northeast Classic and placed 4th out of 16 top figure competitors and placed 2nd in the WNBF Ms. Exercise World Pro Figure Championships held on November 12, 2005, and on May 13, 2006, I won the very first WNBF Pro Masters Figure Championships!

2006 WNBF Figure - Pro Master’s Champion

Although my motivations to compete in fitness have changed over the years, I evaluate my reasons for entering each show and exactly why I am competing. The sport has brought me to a new level of understanding about myself and what I am capable of.

Tom venuto: That’s quite a list of achievements, congratulations. So you started in bodybuilding back when there were no fitness or figure contests, then you moved into Fitness America pageants, and today you compete in figure. For our readers who don’t know, would you explain the difference between female bodybuilding, fitness and figure?

Janet Marsico: This one is a fun one to answer Tom, especially since I’ve competed, judged and coached in all three of these arenas. All three of these types of competitions consist of a pre-judging portion and an evening portion. I’ll go over each type of competition in detail and the differences between each.

A bodybuilding competition has two rounds during the pre-judging portion which consists of quarter turns and mandatory posing. The evening portion consists of a 60-90 second routine choreographed with music. The routine is not a “fitness” routine where they are performing jumps, splits or athletic movements, but displaying their muscles in an artistic manner to the music. The look for bodybuilding competition is more muscular and as with each of these types of competitions, also symmetrical, very defined and with an extremely low percentage of bodyfat. This is so the judges can see each and very muscle and the development, size and structure of each. The art of posing is essential in this type of a competition.

In a “fitness” competition you are judged in a two piece swimsuit in heels, (sometimes also in a one piece, depending on the organization), then a second round where you perform a series of quarter turns in a group and then there is a third round where you perform a 1 1/2 minute fitness routine to music. This is usually performed during the pre-judging portion as well as the evening portion, but the group comparisons are not repeated in the evening portion again. The look for fitness is much softer than for bodybuilding, which is extremely hard and defined and with an extreme low body fat level. In fitness, the judges are looking for a softer, but tight, symmetrical and well conditioned physique. And just like in a bodybuilding competition, in fitness, your routine here counts for a large percentage of your score as well as your physique, overall conditioning and how you are able to display your physique on the stage.

In a “figure” competition, you have two rounds, the first in a two piece swimsuit and heels (again, in some competitions a third round will be in a one piece swimsuit). The first round is what I call the “T Walk” which is where the competitor will walk across the stage by herself in a T formation and display her physique to the best of her ability. This is where your stage presence really needs to be up to par because in a figure competition there is no fitness routine to be judged, so the judges place a large percentage on your stage presence. The next round in the pre-judging portion is the group comparisons, which is the quarter turns, just like in the fitness competition. In the evening portion the only round performed is the T Walk again, then the placings are announced.

Janet has competed in bodybuilding, fitness and figure contests… she has also judged and coached for all three as well!

Tom Venuto: The figure division seems to be getting more and more popular these days. It seems like women’s bodybuilding might be fading in popularity, with the exception of Nancy Andrew’s Northeast classic which had the biggest female turnout I’ve seen in years. Some people say that female bodybuilding is dying and it’s going to get replaced with figure completely. What are your thoughts on the future of female physique sports?

Janet Marsico: Personally, I think the sport of female bodybuilding is actually beginning to make a comeback because as you notice a lot of us figure competitors are actually very muscular and the bodybuilders are coming in more symmetrical and more feminine to the public eye. I’ve always admired the female bodybuilders. I just don’t like when they go over the top and start to resemble the men. Then that’s when I think they have gone too far. But just wait and see, I think they’re going to start to come back, but with a more pleasing look like it was back in the day when Rachel McLish was the goddess of bodybuilding… Ooops, I guess I’m dating myself now!

Tom Venuto: I don’t think you’re dating yourself at all. Rachel Mclish is simply remembered to this day because she was a pioneer. She was the first to show women that female muscle can be attractive, sexy and feminine and that it was okay for women to “pump iron.” She had a look that a lot of women wanted and still want. When you put a picture of Rachel Mclish up against any bodybuilding competitor in Miss Olympia today, I don’t know if you can call that progress. I hope female bodybuilding finds the right balance so it can keep growing.

You had mentioned that you’re not only a competitor and a figure coach and trainer, you’re also a judge. What are the judges looking for in figure competition? I’ve been to shows with 10, 12, even 15 or more women in a class and sometimes they all look great, so I’m sure the judging is difficult, but not only that, the bodies are sometimes like apples and oranges with some looking like converts from bodybuilding and some women at the other extreme, very lean but without much muscle. What are the judging criteria? Does it vary from one organization to the next? Are the criteria really definitive at all or is the entire sport subjective and even still evolving?

Janet bodybuilding circa 1992

Janet Marisco: Tom, that’s a very good question and I’m glad you touched on that one. A lot of the girls get very frustrated and say to me, “Why are the rules changing?” It’s not that the rules or criteria ever change, the competitors change. Basically, the criteria for a figure look (and this is really for all types of competitions), is balance. You want the top to match the bottom. But a lot of times you have a competitor with an amazing physique and they don’t display it properly on the stage or they get elbow locked up there and get hidden on the stage and their back or front pose gets hidden.

Then you have people question why a competitor didn’t do well because they were only there for the evening portion and didn’t see what happened at the pre-judging. It’s that simple and happens so often. To be honest, it happened to me very recently and it stings like you wouldn’t believe to know that you placed lower than you could because you got elbow locked by another competitor. Not their fault by any means, but it happens.

I also think that because figure is still so new and there is not a cut and dry criteria for it, it’s so hard to have a set look for it no matter what organization you are in. Personally though, I have all the girls I work with in my Workshops, (which are INBF regulated) compete in the INBF, and they have all been extremely happy with the way the judging has been as far as fairness and criteria.

Janet stands out onstage in any lineup!

Tom Venuto: I did get a chance to see you on stage at the INBF Northeast Classic in Worcester last May, by the way. A friend of mine was competing in the men’s masters division and he was starving after he got offstage, so we bailed out early for the post-contest feast at Uno’s pizzeria and didn’t get to see the figure awards, but I did see you when you first came out with your class and you looked great.

Then, just today, I found out for the first time when I read it on your figure workshop web site (www.thefigureworkshop.com,) that you WON the figure masters class! Congratulations! I’d love to hear about your diet and training that you used to get in contest-winning shape. Why don’t we start with your diet. What is a typical day of contest eating like for you? Also, how is that different from the rest of the year?

Janet Marsico: Thank you so much! I was very happy with that win, it made turning 40 this year a “good’ milestone instead of a depressing one. The girls I competed against were amazing and some of them were over 43. I couldn’t believe how amazing they looked!

With regard to my diet regimen, I stick to a very clean diet year round, but I have to admit I do not do it myself. My trainer and nutritionist is WNBF Pro and Mr. International, Ekow Wilmot. He carefully monitors my diet year round. Because of my metabolism, I have to eat every 2 1/2 hours, I eat 18 egg whites a day, yes that’s 18!!! I use Revolutionary Technology Nutrition Vanilla Ice Cream Meal Replacement shakes for Women. I rely solely on fish, turkey and chicken (no red meat for me) and my favorite thing to have on my pre-contest diet is my oatmeal and egg white pancake.

Ekow also lets me have cheat days too! The rest of the year, I have to admit I do eat very clean because running my Workshops I need to stay in shape. I don’t think the girls would want to hire me as a figure trainer if I were 20 pounds heavier in the off season. But honestly, I never look at it as “dieting.” I look at it as my “lifestyle”. Its how a competitor chooses to live.

WNBF figure pro Janet Marsico and WNBF bodybuilding pro Ekow Wilmot

Tom venuto: Funny you mention oatmeal pancakes – those are my favorite! How about the training regimen? What’s your weight training and cardio schedule like and what is your overall training philosophy?

Janet Marsico: Well, unfortunately I have to train heavy year round and I don’t do any cardio in the off season (yeah!) Oh yeah, I hate doing cardio. I stay within 3 pounds of my contest weight year round, but that is strictly by choice. I guess I just don’t mind eating clean year round. Before a competition I start out doing a 1/2 hour of cardio per day, four weeks out, then as I get closer I step it up to one hour. I do the stepper for 1/2 hour (to tighten the glute/hamstring tie-in) and then the bike for the last 1/2 hour, plus that breaks it up a bit. The intensity varies but I try to keep my heart rate up quite a bit. I do cardio five days a week when getting ready for a competition. My legs are my problem area so I have to train them extremely hard and heavy 2 times a week.

Tom venuto: Do you think there are really any fat loss or contest diet “secrets,” or in the end, does it all just boil down to outright hard work, discipline, consistency, dedication and how bad you want it? If you do have any juicy secrets, lets hear em!

Janet Marsico: You hit the nail on the head! It’s all about giving 100%. There are no juicy secrets, just hard work and everything else you mentioned. I have a favorite motto I live by and I tell it to all the girls I work with. Here it goes:

“All you can do is give 100% and you’ve already won. Winning 1st place is just a number. There is always someone better conditioned than you. If they show up the day of your show, more power to them. If they don’t, more power to you.”

That always helps me get through my shows, especially when I don’t place well.

Tom venuto: That’s a great philosophy. But the lure of “secrets” is very powerful isn’t it? There are so many people out there who are deeply frustrated and unhappy with their bodies, who desperately want to believe there is some hidden secret, and that if they hadn’t been kept from or deprived of this “secret,” they would have the body of their dreams. You could say a secret is “anything that you don’t know yet,” and I’m all for continuous learning, but in the end, as you gain awareness and knowledge, you realize there really are no secrets. It’s all about working hard and doing your best.

When I mentioned before that you’re a great role model, I meant that in more way than one, and one of those ways of course is your physique. You have the type of physique that I think just about any woman would love to have – the type of physique where I know women are printing out your pictures and pasting them up on their walls or refrigerators or dream boards and goal sheets, and saying, “I want to look like that.”

I’m curious whether you’ve intentionally adjusted your training and workout style to develop the look you have now as a figure competitor, or whether you think your body shape is more your genetic endowment and you just developed the way you did naturally. In other words, have you altered your workouts to get the right look for figure competition as compared to if you were competing in bodybuilding?

Janet Marsico: Well first of all, thank you from the bottom of my heart! That means more to me than you can know because I am always tearing myself apart. I have to say I do believe certain people have certain genetics regarding certain body parts. For instance, I have always had shoulders of a football player and my back has always been wide, so I know to always train those areas extra heavy to enhance what I already have. BUT my legs are a different story. I was not given a great pair of “wheels” by any means!

We all have something we need to work on and could use a little more development to “balance” our physique. I do think genetics play a role sometimes, but I also believe with hard work, dedication and a lot of drive, anyone can do it too. I don’t think I’m genetically gifted by any means. I work extremely hard and have learned to work with what I have to make the best out of it. Plus, knowing what to do up there on stage helps a lot.

Tom venuto: On a similar note, I’m sure you’ve answered this question a thousand times before, but this is something that still keeps coming up over and over again. What would you tell women who are primarily interested in losing weight and they’re afraid of lifting weights because they think they’re going to get too big or muscular or lose their femininity?

Think muscles aren’t feminine? Think again!

Janet Marsico: Well, I myself was one of those women so I can definitely relate to this question and completely understand where these women are coming from. Heavy weights are intimidating and a bit overwhelming, absolutely. BUT, it takes a lot of eating, and a lot of time to gain serious muscle so they need not worry. Plus, they have to remember, what is on top of the muscle at times is not always “muscle”. The muscle tends to get covered by water and fat tissue. They just don’t realize it.

The majority of women don’t have enough testosterone naturally to get “big.” The women that have given bodybuilding and weight training a bad rap have enhanced themselves with male hormones. With proper diet, cardio and training, you can definitely achieve the look they want. But lose their femininity with heavy weights? No way. In fact, going back to genetics, you won’t believe the amount of weight I have to put on a leg press machine (which is NOT a lot), just to maintain the size on my quads. I put three 45 lb. plates on each side and that’s not even my maximum weight. And Tom, you’ve seen my legs, they are not monster quads by any means. So ladies, do not be afraid of those heavy weights, challenge them!

Tom Venuto: Thanks for sharing that. I know many women have heard this before – “Women don’t have enough testosterone so they wont get too big from lifting weights” – but they STILL have fear about getting bulky. I think if they look at the pictures of your physique and take a look at your legs and hear that you train very heavy, that’s the best proof of all.

Let’s talk more about training, but specifically, during the precontest period. One of the questions I often ask in my interviews of competitors is whether contest training is healthy. It seems that getting fit and lean is one thing, but does getting into competition shape by its very nature require extreme measures? If so, how do you balance between the demands of contest diet and training and being healthy?

Janet Marsico: Well, I’ve done contest diets in the past with other trainers and I have to say that I haven’t enjoyed them one bit. I personally think it depends on who is doing your “contest” diet for you and how well they are monitoring your supplement intake and water intake. I have found since working with Ekow that not only do I not feel like I am “dieting” while getting ready for a contest, I don’t feel deprived at any time, except that last week before the competition because you do need to cut back on certain things.

It also gets extremely hard on a competitor when the cardio is added into the mix, especially when you have to do large amounts of it. I find that if I have to do large amounts of cardio, that’s when I sometimes feel a little fatigued. Some trainers also do this extreme carb depletion thing weeks before a competition which is absolutely unnecessary and also unsafe and makes you crave carbohydrates even more. That’s why you see so many people with what I call the “nasties”. I can honestly say with Ekow doing my diet, I consider even my “contest” diet to be healthy.

Tom Venuto: I know what you mean about the “nasties.” You can get awfully grumpy in those final weeks if you deplete and deprive yourself too much. Ok, let’s move on and talk a little about your personal life, if you don’t mind. You’re married and have children and I’m sure you hear “family obligations” used as an excuse many times for why a person can’t achieve their goals, whether that’s due to a shortage of time, watching a baby, taking kids to soccer practice, being unable to cook separate meals to accommodate everyone or whatever.

I often tell my clients and readers that your family can actually be your biggest motivation and biggest REASON WHY you must make time for your own health, but I don’t have kids so sometimes I think my advice isn’t accepted as quickly as from someone who has been there. As a wife and mother, what advice would you give from personal experience on how to balance family life with your training and nutrition schedule? Also, I’m curious how competition season changes anything in your family relationships, if at all.

Janet and Husband Jimmy

Janet Marsico: Well, I have to say, I am one of the lucky ones. I don’t work full time, I have a part-time sitter (but she comes when I have Workshops scheduled and also to help out at home), but even so, my life is very busy because I do run my business by myself. There is always time, you just have to rearrange your schedule a bit. First of all, make your meals at night or after the kids have gone to sleep. Put your supplements in one of those pill dispensers that have the days planned out for you (I do this because believe it or not, it saves a ton of time).

Most of all, keep the competition talk separate from when the hubby comes home. Remember, even though they are supportive, they do not want to hear about it 24/7 and by keeping it separate they will enjoy it with you more. Trust me. That is how you balance it. You need to learn to keep the two lives separate. When you are training and dieting, not everyone else is, nor should they be, so don’t make it their competition too. They are not as pumped about it as you are, nor should you expect them to be, and don’t be insulted when they are not. My husband is very proud of me when I compete but he likes to hear about what the kids did during the day, not how many reps I got out of my leg press.

A competitor needs to plan her day according to her lifestyle and map it out. It can be done. The issue is how much does she want it? I would say that 80% of the women that I compete with in the WNBF are over 35 and have children and all manage to keep a happy marriage, children and some even a full-time job, all without complaining too much. Sure it’s hard, but ladies, it absolutely can be done. Plus, any of you that need a pep talk can always e-mail me.

To be continued in Part 2…

You can reach janet Marsico at: www.TheFigureWorkshop.Com or by email at marsico711@aol.com, or by phone at 914-391-0913

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer, certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. Tom teaches you how to lose fat without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your metabolism by visiting www.BurnTheFat.com, home of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle and www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.Com, the Internet's premiere members-only fat loss support community. .

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