Our interview with Fitness And Figure Superstar Janet Marsico continues…Discover Janet’s secret to losing the after-pregnancy baby weight, why she thinks it’s easier to get leaner as you get older, her tips and advice for aspiring fitness or figure competitors for how to shine onstage, plus a lot more. Continued from part 1

Tom Venuto: Do you have any special advice or words of encouragement for women who are having a difficult time regaining their figure after having children and especially if they’re on the verge of giving up or if they believe that they’ll never get their figure back?

Janet Marsico: The best thing I can say is while you are pregnant, don’t think you are eating for two. You are not eating for two adults. You only need to consume 300 extra calories than you normally would (that’s assuming you are consuming the normal caloric needs for your height and weight). The more you gain during your pregnancy, the harder you make it on yourself to lose afterwards. BUT you can lose it.

Plus did you know that with breastfeeding you burn 500 calories just producing the milk? If that doesn’t make anyone want to breast feed I don’t know what will. With my second child, I pumped my breast milk for 6 months. I lost 16 pounds in the first 2 weeks after giving birth from breast feeding. Plus I was on bed rest for both of my pregnancies, so no one knows about feeling like “giving up” more than I do. But I did not gain more than 25 pounds. I did watch what I ate and I am proud to say that I do not have any stretch marks and I did go back to my pre-pregnancy weight, even on bed rest. You can too.

Janet Marsico - Pro figure champion and coach….
and 40 year old mother of two!

Tom Venuto: Another challenge a lot of people face, or at least they perceive it as a challenge, is advancing age. I know so many people who think it’s a losing battle after age 40 or even after age 35. But I hear over and over again from bodybuilders that they are achieving the best shape of their lives and they’re highly competitive in their late thirties and well into their 40’s. You’ve been competing since 1991. What, if anything, is different when you compete today compared to a decade and a half ago, and what advice do you have for women and men near or over age 40 who want to get very lean or even compete?

Janet Marisco: Honestly, I think I am in better shape now than I was when I was in my 20’s. I really believe in the muscle maturity theory. And I have to say, a lot of the girls that I compete with are 35 and older and you should see their physiques! I think anyone who is in that age group also must remember though, that as you get older, you have to train heavier. I have noticed that for myself as well. But the good thing is that as you get older, it is definitely easier to get leaner because your skin does thin out. I think it is also from all the contest dieting I have done that helps me.

“As you get older, it’s definitely easier to get leaner…”

Also, just look at so many of the stars today (excluding the ones who have had plastic surgery), who are in their 40’s. Some of these women have the physiques that are better than 25 year olds. Just look at Lisa Rinna for example who is 42 years old. If I can look that good when I am 42, I will be a happy woman. I believe that it’s never too late for anyone to start working out and get into shape.

Tom Venuto: Well, you know what they’re saying these days about people who take care of themselves: 50 is the new 30! At the rate you’re going, I’d say you’re going to keep looking even better every year for years to come. Personally, I’m curious to see what drug free bodybuilding and fitness competitors of our generation start looking like at 60, 70 or 80. Yeah – 80! You probably know Bertie Nicklette because he competes here on the East coast in the INBF federation. I saw him up close in person and on stage at one of Phil Sottile’s competitions in Long Island last year. Bertie is over 80, still competing and still looking great.

I think we are going to see some new ground broken in master’s physique competition and I think there is going to be a huge shift in beliefs and paradigms regarding what aging means in terms of physical conditioning and body composition. All it takes is one role model – one “Roger Bannister of bodybuilding or fitness” to totally change a collective belief system.

Most people look at the average 70 or 80 year old in the general population and they see arthritis, obesity, alzehiemers, retirement homes and even wheelchairs, and so that becomes their belief system and their expectation. They see this deterioration with age and they say to themselves, if only on a subconscious level, “That’s what I’m going to look like when I get older.”

Not me - I’ve always looked at these master’s bodybuilders and said to myself, THAT’S what I’m going to look like when I get older.”

With role models, like these masters bodybuilders and now fitness and figure competitors like yourself, I think that men and women in their 30’s and 40’s, instead of starting to feel like it’s the beginning of the end, are going to believe it’s the beginning of the best years of their lives. They’re going to look at the master’s athletes and say, “That’s what I’m going to look like when I get older.”

But with that said, some women – especially women over 40 - might look at you and say, “Janet looks incredible, but she must be genetically gifted to have a body like that, there’s no way I could ever look even remotely like her.” How would you reply to that?

Janet Marsico: Well, first of all I would have to give them a big hug for saying that about me. But at the same time it makes me feel a little sad to know that some women feel so low about themselves that they think they could never get into shape. Those are the ones I would love to take to the gym with me in the morning and help them out a bit. I’m not a personal trainer, but I would love to just show them how easy it is to get started and just put them on the right track because I was in their shoes at one point in my life too.

Janet Marsico, figure champion and fitness model

Tom Venuto: I like to stay focused on the positive, but I think it would be irresponsible to ignore the fact that a dark side exists in the physique sports world, and that is drugs. When most people think of steroids they think of male bodybuilders – or baseball players too, these days - but anyone who has been around the block a few times knows that there is some serious drug use in female fitness and even in figure competition today. It may not be heavy steroids, but the use of illegal body composition altering substances is there just the same, especially drugs like clenbuterol.

Janet, your very first show was a natural bodybuilding competition and you’ve been involved in the natural drug tested fitness and figure competitions ever since. What made you decide to go the natural route instead of in the non tested federations and what are your thoughts about the whole drug situation in female physique sports? I know it’s a touchy subject, but I appreciate your honest opinion.

Janet Marisco: Oh, Tom, I get fierce on this one but I will give you my honest opinion on this because it is something that does need to be touched on. I have always stayed within the natural organizations for many reasons. First of all, I’m thankful that I’ve always been afraid of steroids. I have competed in several different organizations, but was not comfortable because it was obvious to me that the other girls were not natural and it was just not for me, nor did I belong there.

I truly feel that for someone to consider themselves to be living a “healthy” life, they need to be drug free, meaning NOT putting anything into your body that you don’t produce naturally! AND PLEASE!!!!! If you enter a “natural” competition, be 100% natural. The competitors out there who train, diet, and put drugs in their body and then “squeak” into the natural shows, to me are what I call “cowards” who just are afraid to compete in their own arena and not do well, so they think they can come to ours and think they will win because they have an edge. And this goes for a figure competitor as well.

Janet is proud to be 100% drug free!

I also think a lot of the figure competitors are starting to take “enhancers” to give themselves that competitive edge and it’s a shame to those of us who take pride in being 100% natural. All of us who are 100% natural take it very seriously and deliberately only compete in drug tested, natural competitions for this reason. It is unfair to us to have competitors who try to compete in the shows that are “drug free” if they are not.

Tom Venuto: I appreciate you sharing your stance on this because I know some drug users who get into some very deep and heated debates and arguments in defense of the “morality” of drug use, but if someone is using drugs and enters a drug tested competition where those substances are banned, then there’s nothing to debate – you’re 100% right – that person is a coward – not to mention a liar and a cheater. I think it happens a lot more than most people think it does.

It’s even more commonplace for someone to have taken drugs three or four years ago and rationalize to themselves that since they’ve been clean for a few years, that it’s okay to enter a show with a five or seven year drug free requirement. Well, that’s still cheating. I hope competitors will think twice about taking drugs at all, and think three times before taking drugs and going in a natural show because anyone who does that is sinking to the lowest level.

If there’s a solution, I think role models are a big part of it. One of the problems is that men and women have these belief systems where they don’t even believe a great physique can be developed without drugs and that’s just not true. I hope that as more awesome natural physiques are given exposure, that more people will see with their own eyes what’s possible, and change their belief systems.

When I choose physique athletes to interview, I like to choose people who are true role models because I believe that role modeling is important for the success of the whole sport as well as for the individual and I want to help by providing natural role models for other people. Part of being a good role model in my opinion, is being drug free.

To move on to a different topic, I also think that the best role model is someone who has achieved balance and success in all areas of life. It’s one thing to be a bodybuilding or fitness champion but if it comes at the expense of your friends and family, and if it comes at the expense of your career and especially at the expense of your health, whether that’s due to drug use or whatever, then I don’t think you’re really successful.

One thing that really stands out about you, Janet, is the fact that you are a long time successful competitor, a devoted wife and mother, as well as a successful entrepreneur. How have you managed this kind of success and balance in a sport where a lot of people just can’t seem to hold it all together?

true champions have balance in life…
health, physique, family, business, sports, spirit

Janet Marsico: Tom, wow!!! Honestly, that last sentence has brought me to tears. That is honestly the best compliment I have ever gotten in my life so how do I answer that question? The truth of the matter is, I was raised by wonderful parents who taught me true values and what really matters in life. I also have been through some of my own experiences good and bad that has made me who I am today.

I am half Cherokee and I think I have a sixth sense about people and I have the ability to do what my friend Rebecca calls “feel things deeply.” It’s what American Indians do. It’s a gift. I also live by the rule of “paying it forward” to all who have done for me (see the movie and you will understand what this means). But most of all, I have honestly learned to believe in God.

Those are some pretty big shoes to fill!

Tom venuto: “Paying it forward” is a great philosophy. The energy you send out always comes back to you. Speaking of business success, you’re the founder of the figure workshop where you coach figure competitors in everything necessary to be successful in competition, especially stage presence, posing, quarter turns, walking, and even how to select suits, hair, tan, makeup, and all the other details that too many novices miss. I think this is great because you’re teaching something that most personal trainers and nutritionists don’t teach and that’s probably because they don’t know, and yet it’s so important.

Having a great body is one thing, but being able to display it properly is another. I’ve been to a lot of shows and watched the figure division and the women who haven’t worked on their stage presence stand out like a sore thumb – and not in a good way. The ones with stage presence have a sort of glow, and they radiate confidence. If two bodies are identical in physical development, there’s no doubt that the one with charisma and good stage presence will not only win, she will totally dominate over someone with poor stage presence. Could you tell us more about your figure workshop and also talk about stage presence and how to look polished and confident onstage?

Janet Marsico: Oh, I would be more than happy to, but I might take up this whole page here. First of all, my workshops are for competitors, amateurs as well as pros. At the amateur level, I teach the girls everything from the mandatory quarter turns as well as how to “master” the individual T Walk. I also point them in the right direction for their contacts for ordering suits (Cynthia-James.com ceejay6630@aol.com), shoes, (sheervanity.com info@sheervanity.com), tanning supplies, jewelry, make-up artists, hair, and everything they need to know from head to toe. I also teach them the “art” of working the stage. I am fortunate in that I have been at this for over 16 years now and I am able to pass on to the girls my knowledge and experience not only from a competitor’s view but also from a judge’s point of view.

Each girl has their own unique physique and I teach them how to display it to their own best ability. One pose might look good on one competitor but not on the other. The “right foot pivot” is something I am a stickler for and is the first thing I teach the girls. In fact, if they don’t get it 100% perfect I won’t move on to the quarter turns (which is three different poses front, back and two sides). The side pose actually has three different choices to do, depending on the competitor’s physique and what looks best on that particular person. The girls who take the Group Workshops are those competitors who have already competed and are just “brushing up” or fine tuning what I have already taught them.

One you’ve got the body, you have to learn how to display it…
stage presence is everything!

A lot of my clients are also WNBF pros like myself. I also work with amateur and pro bodybuilding women with their mandatory posing as well and internet services for out of State clients. The best advice I can give to a competitor is to always look confident on the stage. Keep your carriage high at all times and practice, practice, practice. Remember, there is no fitness routine to be judged on in figure so the percentage on your stage presence and presentation will be high in a figure competition. You really need to know how to “work” that stage big time! If you are a first-tune competitor, Workshops are definitely helpful, whether it’s my classes or someone else’s.

I also want to add one very important thing even though it is not actually related to what is involved in my Workshops, I feel it has a lot to do with my Workshops and my continued success. A lot of people forget to thank certain people along the way. I want to thank my sponsors Rich and Danielle Tuma from Revolutionary Technology Nutrition, who are not only great people but great friends, Beach Bum Tanning Salons and of course my wonderful friend C.J. (a.k.a Cynthia James) who has been making my competition suits for 13 years now! These people help me out tremendously throughout my career.

I have to honestly say that this past year has been extremely successful and another huge part of it was because of Steve Downs and Charlie Carollo from the INBF and WNBF. Im the offical INBF and WNBF stage coach thanks to Steve and Charlie and I also have my own column in Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness Magazine called, "Figure First With Janet Marsico." They have been so wonderful to me with referring the girls to my Workshops. They are great supporters of The Figure Workshop, Inc., and I am very happy to have such a wonderful relationship with the two of them.

Janet teaching in a group figure workshop

Tom venuto: Yeah, I’ve known Steve for many years. He’s a great guy and he also introduced me to Cheh Low the publisher of natural bodybuilding and fitness magazine. I’m grateful for what those guys have done for the natural physique sport - giving naturals a place to compete and a platform to publicize their achievements. I would encourage everyone reading this interview to support Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness magazine and they do have a website at www.ExerciseGroup.com and the site for the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF) is www.wnbf.net and the International Natural Bodybuilding Federation (INBF) website is www.INBF.net. The INBF site is a good place to find contest schedules by the way.

OK, next question. Those of us in bodybuilding all remember that scene from the movie Pumping Iron where Arnold was getting posing lessons from a ballet teacher. That made me think of something. I bet that we male bodybuilders could learn a thing or two about stage presence and posing from you. What tips do you have for us men to come across better onstage?

Janet Marsico: They need to stop walking so robotic and so hard on their feet. Bob Paris was a master at this. I think a lot of male bodybuilders think that because they are big, they need to stomp, but in reality they need to be a bit more graceful. The best posers out there were the most graceful.

Tom Venuto: By the way, how the heck DO you walk in those 5 inch high heels?

Janet Marsico: Oh, it’s easy. I pretty much grew up in them. But remember, I run Workshops nearly every day so I’m in them 2-3 hours a day teaching the girls, plus I practice A LOT when I get close to a competition. I tell the girls those shoes need to be like a part of their feet. You cannot look awkward in those shoes.

Tom Venuto: Ok, so if someone wants to compete in figure for the first time, but she’s been inactive for years, maybe carrying an extra 15 or 20 lbs of body fat… she sees what you’ve done, she loves the way you look, she’s inspired by you and says, I want to do that too, where does she even begin and what words of encouragement could you offer?

Janet Marsico: Honestly, the very first thing I do is I put them in contact with Ekow Wilmot. He will see how they look and realistically pick a competition for them. Depending on how far out the show is, then I will start working with them. But if the show is 6 months from the date, I tell them to wait 3 months from then. I don’t like to waste the girls’ money and have them come to me too early if it is unnecessary. Three months out is plenty of time. If it’s a year, then we wait, but I always make myself available to them at any time via e-mail for encouragement in the meantime.

Tom Venuto: I’m sure a lot of female readers are going to want to learn more about your workshops and your fitness camps so should they contact you through your website at www.TheFigureWorkshop.com and email you from there or is there a phone number or another way they should contact you?

Janet Marisco: They can also contact me at marsico711@aol.com. I check that email address daily. The site address I check weekly. It is my pleasure. I am always available for any questions! Also, my business telephone number is 914.391.0913.

Tom venuto: Great. I also want to ask something on behalf of the guys who are reading this. You said you do some workshops with Ekow Wilmot, who is a WNBF men’s pro bodybuilding champ and he has an absolutely awesome physique by the way, so I was wondering if men would benefit from looking into the events you do jointly with Ekow? Could you mention that briefly and maybe tell us how we can get a schedule of upcoming events? I’d actually like to know more about that myself.

Janet Marsico: Well, Ekow and I are running a Fitness Camp on October 14th and 15th at the New Dance Studio in Rye Brook, New York. We are working on the schedule in August and it will be posted on both his site (www.4whealth.net) as well as on mine (www.TheFigureWorkshop.com). We will post future schedules on the websites as well. It’s going to be an extremely informative and exciting weekend and Ekow will be covering extensive topics on training, dieting, posing, as well as pre and post contest dieting and much more!! Plus there will be hand outs as well as raffles and a lot of fun stuff going on!! Ekow can be reached for questions at ekow@4whealth.com

Ekow Wilmot - WNBF pro masters bodybuilder and bodybuilding coach… another great natural champion

Tom venuto: Janet, thank you so much and let me say once again I think you’re a great role model and I’m not sure if you even realize just how much what you do – and your presence on the internet - means to aspiring competitors and to other people in the fitness industry – so I’m glad you’re out there and I really do hope that women of all ages, all backgrounds and all levels of experience from never worked out before to seasoned veterans will visit your site, look up to you and be inspired by you to take their bodies and their health and their lives to the next level.

Who knows, maybe someone reading this will even take on the challenge of a competition for the first time, and if they need help with the competition preparation, now they know where to go know. Thanks again for the interview and for everything you do.

Janet Marsico: Tom, it was my pleasure. I enjoyed answering each and every question. Thank you for all your kind words and support. As always, all the best to you and yours! I am always available for any questions, comments or feedback and I am more than happy to speak to any of the girls regarding any fitness aspect of competing. It is my pleasure! All the best! ###

Click Here To Visit Janet Online At
www.TheFigureWorkshop.com

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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