I
have always been involved in physical activities. I was naturally
attracted to all sports and practiced team sports such basketball
and soccer. As a teenager I became passionate about bicycle racing
competitions. I competed for 10 years with a fully sponsored traveling
team (ASPTT) in France. I learned through practicing the basics
of the body physiology and mechanics, but I wanted to learn more.
In 1988, I started studying Physical Education at the Center for
Research in Sports and Physical Education (CREPS) in France. These
courses provided me with extensive background in the body anatomy,
functions, physiology and nutrition. Not only did we learn how to
better train ourselves but we also learned how to set training methodology
to reach physical goals for athletes studying Gymnic Expression
at the same educational institution. These courses included Dance
and Gymnastics technical skills. I now hold a degree in Physical
Education and a degree in Gymnic Expression. After attaining my
degree, I worked as a professor for CREPS as a National judge to
admit qualified trainers into the program, for 3 years.
Soon
after my education, I wanted to really apply what I learned. I started
training for Body-Building competitions to experience it first hand.
This would help me in the future to better train Body-builders.
In my first and only year I reached fifth place at the 1990 NABBA
European Championships, 10th place at the 1990 NABBA World Championship
(Mr. & Mrs. Universe) and I was ranked number two in France.
I competed in a category at that time called Fitness. But it was
still muscle figure that the judges were interested in.
Since
I first saw a Sport Aerobics competition in 1989, my dream has been
to be able to participate in these events. So in 1994, I decided
to start training for the next regional competition. Not only did
I have to learn technical skills (jumps, one hand push-ups...) but
I had to dramatically improve my flexibility. Coming from Body-Building
competitions I had to train very hard. I won a gold medal at the
California Regional Aerobics competition and finished 6th at the
1996 National Aerobic Championship. I really enjoy Sports Aerobics.
Training for these competitions improved my technical skills and
my flexibility. In 1996, my choreographer and I decided to partner
in the Mixed pair category that added the difficulty of synchronization
to our skills. We won the gold medal at the California Regional
Aerobics competition and we went on to win the silver medal at the
1997 and 1998 National Aerobics Championship.
When
I saw The Fitness America pageant on ESPN, again I was compelled
to strive to conquer that sport as well. It seemed to incorporate
much of my background in both bodybuilding and sport aerobics. Not
only do competitors need to have flexibility, strength and technical
skills to appear in the routine round, they also need to be physically
conditioned with overall symmetry and muscle tone. That was the
kind of competition I was looking for when I was competing in Body-Building.
I competed in Fitness from 1995-2001. I finished 6th place in the
1996 Fitness America Pageant, and my final competition (so far)
was at the Fitness Universe Pageant in 2001, where I was ranked
6th in the world. I was quite pleased with this accomplishment.
I
have been working for over twenty years as a competitive athlete.
I have been a coach and instructor of fitness for over 10 years.
Currently, I work as a Personal Trainer, Aerobics Instructor, Pilates
Instructor, and I teach Salsa, I also have my own dance team and
I work one-on-one with fitness and sport aerobics athletes. I also
work with clients with sport specific needs. I train in Pasadena,
California. I continue to strive for excellence, both in my training
as well as my education for athletes of all types. I continue my
education by keeping my certifications up to date as well as acquire
new certifications in new strength training and conditioning skills.
I
enjoy Fitness activities, whether practiced as a shape-keeping activity
or as a competitive sport. What I enjoy most is to share my passion
with others and see them enjoy it as much as I do. Personal training
is my way of helping people rediscover themselves and change their
body shape as well as their mind shape, like a sculptor that curves
out a beautiful piece of art work from an unshaped block of material.
Fitness is a part of my life. It always has been, and it always
will be.