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Melanie Redington |
https://www.facebook.com/pages/ABFF-Pro-Melanie-Redington/210655568969738
Have you always been in shape? I started lifting weights in May of 2010 with the goal of entering my first figure competition in October 2010. I ended up switching from figure to bodybuilding because it was the best fit for my personality and physique. I have been involved in different aspects of physical fitness my whole life. As a child growing up in Minnesota, I was a competitive figure skater. I taught PE to kids in K-12 for 10 years, teaching skating basic skills, coaching cross-country skiing and running for several years too. In 2009 I received the Presidential Physical Fitness Council’s Community Leadership Award for my contributions to improving the overall health of the children I worked with in interior Alaska. This is one of my most treasured accomplishments because less than a dozen of these awards are given annually throughout the US. I began running in 2005 and have been completing races ranging from 5k’s to a full marathon for 2 years now.
How did you get started in physique competitions? I turned 40 in August and wanted to celebrate this decade by committing to an complete something outrageous. I had thought that goal would be a marathon, but I ended up doing that at 39. My husband had encouraged me to compete in bodybuilding for a few years so I guess that's where the seed was planted to try a bodybuilding competition, which has developed into a new habit!
Describe your training philosophy: Consistency and fidelity to exercise and nutrition is above all key elements to success. Workout plans that fit into my family schedule work best for me. I like to head out the front door and run on the Joe Redington Sr. trail (a bike path with my family name - The late Joe Redington Sr. is the Father of the Iditarod) when conditions safely allow, which is about 8 months of the year in Alaska. I figure I run at least a full Iditarod (1, 049 miles) every year on that bike path. Additionally, half of our living room is a weight room, which, works for us. I also have a stationary bike for when the weather is terrible and the Alaskan darkness dominates and the garage is filled with more weights. In the summer we camp and fish around the state toting running shoes, bikes and chasing the race circuit to keep the competitive edge. What are your favorite exercises? Running, biking, walking and lifting – best lift days back and arms
What is your diet like in the off season? 85% clean with a couple cheat meals a week – everything in moderation – It is easiest for me to stay at a high level of fitness year round. Eating real food, which is hard to find nowadays is the best nutrition plan for me coupled with lots of whey protein. Eating real food requires a lot of planning and preparation. I spend Sundays cooking and prepping food for lunches and have washed and cut more vegetables plates than I care to admit. I am lucky because my husband hunts moose and fishes for salmon both very healthy and hormone free sources of proteins. My family is behind my diet 100% and as a family we have all changed the way we eat for the better. Also I try to drink a lot of water daily. Describe your diet during contest prep: Strict! Lots of clean protein, low carbs and good sources of fat – plus supplements to help nutrients process and the body heal.
What supplements have worked for you? WHey Protien, creatine, BCAA’s, Glutamine
What advice would you give to aspiring athletes? Surround yourself with people who love and support you. Maintaining a competitive level of fitness is a full time job that is a mix of proper diet, training and rest. I could not attain and maintain the level I am at without the support of my family.
Speaking as a woman, I love that I have finally made myself a priority! In general we females are natural caretakers and can end up focusing so much on everyone else that we compromise our own health. At the age of 35 two life changing events occurred. My mom passed away after a lifelong battle with diabetes and I quit an on and off 18 year habit of smoking. Surviving both of these events hinged on a developing replacement habits and I chose fitness. It started innocently enough with push-ups when I wanted a cigarette and evolved into running, diet change and basically a whole lifestyle overhaul in slow incremental steps. At 40 I feel like I am the strongest and healthiest I have ever been!
What are your plans for the future? I plan to continue exploring various realms of fitness for the rest of my life. I enjoy exploring and testing my physical limits. Through competitive figure skating, backcountry hiking, biking, swimming competitive running and bodybuilding I have met a myriad of fantastic athletes and expanded my ideas about life in general through sports. Specific to bodybuilding, I plan to continue competing in state level events and ultimately would like to move on to the National level. That is the ultimate goal in bodybuilding. Beyond that I would also like to complete an Ironman triathlon in my lifetime.
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