In this inspiring conversation, Ben, Dani, and Ellie dive into what it’s really like to pursue natural bodybuilding as a teenager—while balancing school, mental health, veganism, and a first competition prep.
Ellie shares her athletic background, her transition from running to strength training, how veganism became part of her identity, and how bodybuilding became a stabilizing force during a difficult period in her life. She opens up about navigating prep during high school, working with a coach, dealing with social pressures, and finding confidence on stage.
The conversation also explores the realities of teen divisions, the challenges of reverse dieting, moving into college life as a bodybuilder, and her future goals in the sport. A powerful mix of vulnerability, resilience, and the beauty of finding purpose through bodybuilding.
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Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Vegan Proteins Muscles by Brussels Radio. My name is Ben. I’m here with Dani and Ellie today as well.
Ellie is a natural bodybuilder, she’s a figure competitor, and she’s also a client of mine. And I thought that it would be really cool to have her on the podcast today to talk a little bit about her journey because she is on the younger side. She’s probably the youngest guest that we’ve had on the podcast, I would say.
So we will have some unique questions and perspectives that we may not have gotten before. And I think this would be really interesting, of course, for younger listeners, but maybe also people who are listening who have kids who are maybe getting into, you know, fitness or bodybuilding, and they want to be able to help kind of support them. And so we’ll ask Ellie a little bit about how that went for her.
But before we kind of get into the topics and stuff for the day, Dani, I see you’ve got some Halloween decorations up there in the back. Halloween’s coming up. But this it would have already passed by we’ll probably be in like Thanksgiving by the time that this comes out.
But we’re getting into to fall on the spooky season. And I wanted to just like quickly go over to both you and just ask how’s your day going? How’s your week going?
[Dani]My day is my day is off to a kick and start. It’s just been like I woke up and immediately it was like meeting, meeting, meeting, meeting. So but all all good stuff.
I’m actually in the middle of recording a YouTube video also where I’m making a dozen frozen pizzas that are $2 and 25 grams of protein each. So I’m really excited about that even though my kitchen looks like mayhem. But that’s a pretty good start to a week.
How about you, Ellie? I’m pretty decent.
[Ellie]I just got back from class and a lot of talk about a lot of chemicals today. So kind of a stressful topic, but all good so far. What class was it?
Intro to Health Studies. Okay. All right, cool.
[Ben]So for anyone who doesn’t know, Ellie is currently a freshman in college. And I remember when I was a freshman in college, that was, that was one of the most stressful periods of my life and going through that and just trying to navigate change of environment and new people. And it’s, it’s a lot.
So we’ll get into that, I’m sure. But I first wanted to start with Ellie, I think it’d be cool for the listeners to get to know a little bit about you. So obviously, now you’re very much into bodybuilding and competing as an athlete.
I’d love to know if you were somebody who grew up playing sports and kind of got into bodybuilding later? Was it always kind of the gym for you from a young age, which I think 10 or 15 years ago would have been very bizarre to have somebody who maybe like didn’t play sports growing up and just got into the gym at a young age, especially for, you know, for women. But I think that’s becoming more common these days to encourage youth to start strength training at a younger age.
And maybe that’s one of the first things that they get into. So was this something that kind of became an interest for you later? What did that look like for you?
[Ellie] Yeah, I’ve always been pretty athletic. Taekwondo was my main one growing up. I did that for maybe like six, seven years.And that was a very like my parents kind of put me in that. And I was always like, I’m gonna get my black belt, and then I’ll be done. And I’ll like never do sports again.
But I didn’t really enjoy it. And then I played various other sports throughout and like basketball, golf, a little bit of gymnastics, like neighborhood stuff. Like I always liked being outside and playing and all of that.
And then middle school, I started running at like long distance. And I would do that with my mom who she’s done like a couple Ironmans and half Ironmans and like triathletes, a lot of endurance based stuff. And so we would like wake up, wake up for 5am and go for our runs.
And that was during a lot of that was during COVID, which was honestly really nice, because I had a lot of freedom with my schedule. And so we would just, you know, go run and then that kind of chill for the rest of the day. And I really liked it.
But my like good runs where I would get you know, like the runners high were very few and far between. And I kind of ended up just like hurting my knees a lot. There’s a lot of strain or something.
I don’t know. I never really figured it out. But I was strength training alongside of running just like to kind of enhance the running aspect.
But I always liked being in the gym a lot more than that. And so eventually just kind of transitioned into more gym and less running as my knees got worse and worse. And then yeah, I kind of just fell down a loophole on social media of bodybuilding.
I was really into men’s bodybuilding first, like a lot more than women’s. I used to think women’s was really stupid. But then I was like, maybe that is actually kind of cool.
And like, maybe I do want to try that.
[Dani]How old were you when you actually started strength training?
[Ellie]Um, I mean, I guess alongside running, early middle school, like, early teens, I don’t know, like maybe 13 ish, but then like, actual strength training and like lifting heavily and more in terms of bodybuilding, probably when I was like, 16 ish 1516. All right, go ahead, Ben.
[Ben]I was just curious, what drew you to bodybuilding? Was it kind of just like the, the like, freakiness of it? Like, whoa, like, this is crazy what people can do with their bodies.
Because it’s it’s something where I know for myself, I kind of started, you know, getting into strength training. And then like, I got really into like lifting. And then that just took natural progression of like, I kind of have a personality where I’m, I do gravitate more towards extreme ways of doing stuff.
Or like, I really like like, the taking something as far as you can take it. And so I was like, Oh, like, okay, who’s like the biggest, like the leanest, like bodybuilders. And so I kind of found that.
And then through that, I found like natural bodybuilding was the thing. And I kind of got into that. So was it kind of something similar for you where you’re just like, Whoa, like this is, this is like the ultimate application of this thing that I’m really into in the gym.
And I’m just curious to know a little bit more about like, how that started, and then how you eventually kind of found your way to like, Oh, maybe I want to taking it from like, I have an interest in this thing to like, Oh, maybe this is something that I want to do myself. And then just Yeah, how did that kind of go for you?
[Ellie]Yeah, I’m very similar. Like, I like just totally hyperfixing on like one thing and taking it to the extreme. But also bodybuilding is just so beautiful.
And like, I grew up a big artist, too. I haven’t really like drawn much in a while, but very artistic family. And so just like, seeing, you know, muscle separation and striations, like, just really appealed to me from an aesthetic viewpoint.
And I didn’t, wouldn’t even really say that I found it freaky. It was just like, so gorgeous and pleasing to look at. And so yeah, that was a very like aesthetic thing.
But also, like, I like going to the extreme on things as well. And like, in terms of me, like, I’ve always been very disciplined. And then you could also say like neurotic.
And I feel like bodybuilding supports that and gives you kind of a reason to be like, this is why I have to be so strict rather than just going day to day without having like, such a solid reason to tell other people.
[Ben]Yeah, I think there’s something rewarding about putting that into a goal that you’re working towards. And I guess you could call it rewarding. It’s a double edged sword, as we all know, where like, sometimes it can having that that goal, especially if it’s something that means a lot to you can kind of drive those neuroses or those tendencies or behaviors even more so, but I do think it is something where it’s like, as long as you have the acknowledgement that your entire self worth is not dictated by the performance in that given sport or what that goal is, I think it can serve you in a positive way. So I’m wondering, as you kind of got into the gym, you’re kind of first getting into the gym to support your running, and then it kind of became its own thing.
Was it something where like, were you looking up what other people were doing and kind of following their programs? Were you doing your own thing? And kind of like, you know, just meandering about like, how did how did that progression go in your training?
And then eventually, like, deciding that you wanted to compete yourself? Like, how did how did that progression go?
[Ellie]It was definitely a lot of following other, like, other girls on Instagram, their stuff. Like I would, I remember I would go on Instagram and just search for workouts, and I would like write them down in a little book. And it was all like, very, like, female focused.
Like, I never went into like anything guys were doing. And so it was all like, kind of weird workouts, like a lot of combinations of different movements of upper body and lower body and like, just kind of stuff like that. A lot of like, yeah, just not like very heavy lifting or intense lifting a lot of like Instagram typical workouts that you would kind of see there.
And like, I don’t even know how I ended up really towards the bodybuilding side of things. Like, it just kind of progressed there through social media. And also, like, I found a coach, an in person coach, who’s my first coach, and she’s like, an IFBB physique pro.
And so she really taught me a lot about the workout side, and like, how to train not necessarily how to like structure workouts or anything, but a lot about like how to train heavy and hard. And so like, I learned a lot from her about how to work out.
[Ben]Danny, this kind of reminds me a little bit of when you first started the gym. Do you want to speak on that a little bit?
[Dani]It’s actually so so similar, except social media wasn’t really it didn’t exist at that time. But it was all like women’s weight training magazines. That’s what I got into.
I saw these beautiful women with these curves and these muscles on the cover. And I was like, I’ll read those. And all the workouts were just like you just described, lots of jumping around lots of combo moves, not a lot of rest in every single magazine.
It was like the same thing, but they were calling that lifting heavy. So at the time, I thought that was lifting heavy, you know, and then I hired an in person trainer. And although she was not helpful in terms of teaching me anything about nutrition, or like really a bodybuilding lifestyle, she did teach me how to lift and she taught me how to like good form and what it actually felt like to push hard on a set stuff like that.
So yeah, super, super similar. Actually, it’s kind of crazy that 20 years later, that’s still like a path that exists.
[Ben]So yeah, I think this might be a good time to talk about veganism and where that comes in. Because I know that was something that happened before for Danny happened before she started kind of getting into like, lifting and working out. And so that that came later.
When did that come in for you, Ellie? And what did that look like? Was it something that was it always kind of purely like ethical based?
Was there kind of like an interest from health? Because obviously, you know, you grew up playing sports and being athletic. So when did that start for you?
[Ellie]I actually got I got into veganism. Like I went vegan kind of around the same time I started running like early my early middle school, which I guess around start of COVID lockdown and stuff. And I was actually out of convenience at first, which usually like it isn’t.
But my parents at the time they had watched one of the documentaries, I don’t know one of the like vegan athlete documentaries and they were like, well, we’re gonna go vegan and you know, see if it helps with anything like on the health side. And at the time since I was, I wasn’t really in school, like it was locked down. I was making my parents lunch a lot.
And I was like, well, I’m not gonna make myself a separate lunch. Like, I’m just gonna eat the same thing. And so, like, I ended up eating pretty much vegan the same time they did.
And then, like, as I continued to eat like that, I kind of, like the algorithm on Instagram kind of found me again, and started showing me a lot of stuff, mainly the ethical part. And so like a lot of slaughterhouse footage and like CAFOs and stuff like that. And I was like, oh, well, like, eating meat and the dairy industry and animal agriculture is like terrible.
From like, every perspective you can think of from environmental ethical health, and it really just like solidified me eating like that. And like, so like it wasn’t, it was very just like, now I’m vegan. And I never really looked back on it.
[Ben]That’s cool. Well, I’m curious, what was it like? Okay, so you kind of have this natural evolution, you decide, this is something that I actually want to stick with in the long term.
Now that was during the pandemic, and eventually you kind of go back to school. Was it something where did you feel kind of like, because when I when I went vegan, I was halfway through college, about maybe even a little bit more. And it was also like, throughout that whole time, it was it was the pandemic for me.
So I didn’t really have a ton of like, social pressure, like maybe a little bit because it towards the tail end of college, but I imagine like being in high school, there’s I mean, just in general, there’s a lot more social pressure. So I’m curious if that was something where you felt like kind of self conscious about it, or if it was something that you were like, not wanting to have conversations with people about or like, what was that like for you?
[Ellie]Yeah, I mean, I just never really talked about it. And nobody asked about it. Like, I never really had many friends.
So like, I didn’t have people that were going to like push back against it, or like want to have conversations about it. A lot of it was just me like not eating at social events. So it really didn’t play a big part in terms of like anything social.
[Ben]Would you say that in general, there hasn’t been like a ton of friction in your life from it? It’s kind of just something where like, you tend to do your own thing anyway. So it was just more something that affected you versus like people around you and having those conversations?
[Ellie]Socially, generally, yeah, like, it’s been pretty fine. But my dad ended up going carnivore. And so a big shift from veganism.
And that, like has created a lot of tension between me and him and between our family, because my mom is still vegan, too. And so like, that part’s just been kind of rough, because it’s a lot of him being like, well, carnivores are the best meat eating is like the best thing ever, veganism is going to kill you. And like, it’s why you have so many like mental health problems.
Like I’ve been diagnosed with like OCD and depression and PTSD. And like, even some of that was before I even went vegan, but he kind of decided that it was just all because I’m vegan.
[Ben]Danny, I feel like being a vegan for so long, you’ve probably had your fair share of people telling you, you know, different things is because of veganism, whether it’s like health things or some way that way that you look, I’d be curious to know, like, have you gotten, have you had similar things with family members or friends or people close to you? Maybe not like internet strangers. I’m sure obviously, you get a lot of that just having a social media presence and following.
But is that something that you’ve like experienced as well, where people kind of come to blame veganism as like that, that reason why things have stemmed from that? Or is that something that you haven’t really experienced personally?
[Dani]I’ve definitely experienced it, but way less now than I used to. When I went vegan, I was 16. So everybody thought I was an idiot because I was just a kid.
So there was that. And then when I started losing all that weight, I was obese to start, you know, no, it wasn’t like, Oh, good job, you’re getting healthier. It was like, Oh, look at your malnourished and wasting away.
And I was like, but I wasn’t healthy before. And then I had acne at the time, people were like, that’s because of you being vegan. Basically, any health problem that came up, people were like, well, that’s because you’re vegan.
But now I’ve been vegan for 24 or 25 years at this point. And those people that were in my life, a lot of them are still in my life. And I’m doing pretty well, I would say comparatively to a lot of them.
And over the course of that 25 years, I think people just kind of stopped having something to say because health problems can happen to anybody for a lot of reasons. Both physical and mental health problems can happen for a plethora of reasons, many of them having nothing to do with nutrition, whether you’re vegan or carnivore or whatever. And I think life just has to humble some people before they realize that that that they too are susceptible to lots of different things.
But in general, you know, a lot of those kids I went to high school with, they are facing some of them very significant health problems. And I’m, I’m doing better now than I was 15 years ago. So it took a long time for people to finally realize like, no, I wasn’t actually going to die.
If I was going to, that probably would have happened by now. So yeah, I think time, time really helps lessen that.
[Ben]I think that’s, that’s the hard part is that there’s nothing you can do in the short term that’s going to like show people like, oh, no, this actually is good. Like you could, you could theoretically get like perfect blood work and all this stuff. And people would still say, oh, just wait like five or 10 or 15 years, and it’s not going to be that way anymore.
So it is one of those things where it’s like, there’s not necessarily like a quick, easy answer. And sometimes you have to do the really hard thing, which is just to be like, okay, like, that I, you know, that’s your opinion, that’s fine. And just like, leave it there.
But it’s, you know, it’s hard, obviously, if it’s somebody who’s close to you, family, friends dealing with that, I did kind of want to transition a little bit back into a bodybuilding, Ellie and talk about kind of, you know, your first competition season, you know, it’s pretty, I would say, not super common. Maybe it used to be, I don’t know, it goes through ebbs and phases and like different locations, different countries in terms of where bodybuilding is popular among what age group bodybuilding is popular, but they’re, you know, historically, in some organizations and federations, they do have teen divisions, but it’s usually not like super popular. So it’s not it’s not a common thing necessarily to, you know, be doing a contest prep while you’re in high school.
Like that’s, that’s to me thinking about when I was in high school, and like doing that, I’m like, Oh my god, I would have like fallen apart, I would have been a disaster. So I think that there’s probably some interesting like insights that can be gleaned from that experience for you. I’m curious to know what made you decide that you wanted to do your first kind of like competition?
Yeah, Danny, go ahead.
[Dani]I just want to interject also, in addition to teen, teen divisions being kind of rare, I would say female teen divisions are even more rare, because there is this question. And I’m, I want I would love to talk about this at some point, there is this question about like, well, there is, whether we like it or not, there is oftentimes like kind of a sexualization of the female bodybuilders, where there is not, it does not seem to be that same way for the men. And then to have that be, you know, teenagers puts a big question mark over like, kind of, what are we doing here?
You know, like, how do we feel about this? But the other question I had was, most women, especially in the social media age are drawn to bikini, but you went right into figure. And I’d love to hear more about like that.
[Ellie]Yeah, I just kind of thought it was cool. Like, I liked the more muscly look. And I’m also not a very like, showy, like, I don’t know, sexy person.
Like, I don’t like that kind of style and that style of posing. And it just didn’t really appear to me. The more I got into bodybuilding, and female especially, the more that I’ve like been able to recognize the beauty of that.
But I think figure is still just my favorite. And it’s the coolest division, in my opinion. Agreed.
[Ben]That was another cool parallel that I thought of with you two is the figure division. So I think that figure is really, like you said, I think it’s a really beautiful division, because obviously, there’s more of an emphasis on muscularity, but the symmetry, the kind of the X frame, the V taper, like, that’s kind of front and center of what figure is. And so I think that it has an aesthetic component, but it still has like a muscularity component to it as well.
So what what was like, was there an impetus of like, now is the right time to do this versus like putting it off? Because I know for me, initially, when I kind of was interested in competing, I was like, Oh, yeah, it’ll probably be like a five or 10 year thing. And then it ended up being, I think, like four or five years after I started getting into lifting.
So it was sooner than I thought. And there was kind of like a moment or like something that happened that made me decide I actually wanted to do it sooner. So I’m curious, like what what made you decide like now is a good time for me to do it?
[Ellie]I don’t know how deep I can get. But just in terms of like, not even a competition, but like getting a coach and starting like, actually bodybuilding, it was really just a way to like, keep me alive. In a sense, like I had a horrible experience my sophomore year, like one of my teachers raped and groomed me over like the course of a while.
And so like, I was just like, I just needed something and someone to really like keep me afloat. And like, I can latch on to routine very, very easily. And that can just keep me going for like an indefinite period of time.
So I was like, well, I either like go into like the steep dark spiral or I, you know, try a coach and like I found a coach and she looked fine. And I talked to her and it was like, all fine and dandy and whatever. So I started with her.
And like, like I said, in terms of training, she was really good. But she wanted me to do like a kind of like test show. So like test where I was and like, probably in like six weeks or something.
And I just was like, that sounds really sketchy. And I don’t want to do that. And like at the time, nobody around me really knew that that was sketchy.
They were like, Oh, well, like she knows what she’s talking about. She’s like an IFBB pro, of course, she knows what she’s doing. But thankfully, I listened to my gut.
And then I found you guys. And then, you know, Ben and I, we planned for a later competition date, which I was much more comfortable with. And it was like late May, which was the perfect time because it was like the end of my senior year.
And so like my senior year is kind of a joke in high school really after you get accepted to college. So like I could really focus on the prep. So I think that was a really good time that we ended up picking.
[Dani]I think that’s kind of incredible that you had like those spidey senses at were you 16 or 17 years old at the time? 16. That’s insane.
Like in a good way. Like that’s so incredible that you were able to pick that out. When I started bodybuilding, a 12 week prep was very, very common.
Like it was almost the standard. And now we look back at that and go, what were we thinking? A 12 week prep.
And the fact that somebody in 2023 or whatever wanted to prep you for six weeks at 16 years old, that’s that’s like borderline criminal in my opinion. So it’s pretty incredible that you were able to suss that out and be like, I don’t think that’s a very good idea. I also want to say I’m just so sorry that you went through something that horrible.
And you’re not the first person that I’ve heard say that bodybuilding really kind of saved them or pulled them out of a really, really dark place. Not exactly the same story. But I’m curious if pursuing this bodybuilding goal helped you feel at all like you were kind of taking back the ownership of your own body?
[Ellie]Yeah, definitely. Because like, he controlled me for a very long time. And so now it was more like I am building the physique I want, but also building the person that I want.
And through prep, it also really helped me just like become friends with myself, kind of because I had to spend so much time with myself and reflecting on what I was doing. And that helped a lot with just not beating myself up. And just like, you know, being friends with myself and trying to be nice to myself and getting myself to like do the things like Anna do all my steps and and also getting steps helped a lot like outside and nature and connecting with the outside has also been so helpful in terms of that.
So I’m very glad that I’m continuing to get steps and just have a step goal and that like that was my main form of cardio instead of just like on the stairmaster treadmill or something just being stuck inside.
[Dani]I have so many more questions, but I don’t want to jump ahead too far.
[Ben]No, no, please, please go ahead.
[Dani]Well, first, first, I want to hear when you guys when you guys started working together. So that was a little over a year ago, year and a half ago, July, maybe of 2024. Okay, so did you I know that you competed in May, April, May, May.
[Ben]Yeah.
[Dani]So did you go through like a building phase together at all in the beginning or anything like that? Because I mean, that’s not a super long amount of time. So I’m just curious what that how the how you mapped that out together.
[Ellie]Yeah, we did like a short building phase, just like a couple months and then got into prep like late November.
[Ben]I think a lot of a lot of the initial stages and this is true for in general clients that I’m working with is just kind of setting a foundation of like routine and habits and getting used to kind of my style of programming or how I like to, you know, communicate and doing check ins. And so I think the first usually at least a month or two is kind of just about like setting, setting that up. But yes, what we did start doing, Ellie, you’ll have to remind me after I’m done in a second here about like kind of where you were coming into coaching with nutrition.
Like I think you had had some familiarity with like meal plan and macros. And so I don’t remember it being like a big thing where there was that much of a learning curve for you. Like pretty much I gave you stuff and you were kind of on it.
And at some points in the prep, I was giving you kind of some meal plans. And I think I had given you one or two with some like different options when we first started together because you were someone who really liked the routine of the meal plan and kind of following that. And then when you wanted some changes, you would either kind of just make tweaks yourself or ask me, you know, can I swap this for that or something like that?
But I think where we started was it was pretty similar. I think whatever she had been doing, I want to say maybe I bumped up her food a little bit, but it was pretty similar to where it was. And then we were just like kind of monitoring her body weight.
And my goal was kind of just to get her in a really good starting point for her prep, where she wasn’t doing like a ton of cardio or activity. And her food was pretty high so that we had a good amount of kind of runway. And the main thing that I remember was that it was just very hard to get her scale weight to budge.
So it would be like we’d add like 100 calories, wait a couple of weeks, stay the same, add another, add another, add another. So we got her food up pretty high.
[Dani]Those lifelong athletes, man, those lifelong athletes. It’s a gift. You have no idea.
[Ben]And so there’s that. But then I also kind of was curious what would happen when we started her prep. Like would she be somebody where we dropped it off and kind of like it felt like that?
Or if it would be a similar thing where she would adapt pretty quickly and we would have to make kind of more frequent changes. And it ended up being kind of a combination. It’s never exactly just black or white where we like, I made a fairly like assertive change at the start as I usually like to do with prep.
And we saw some change, but probably not as fast as I would have anticipated. So then I was making kind of more frequent changes and a little bit more assertive. And then we kind of found like a sweet spot and would ride that out for, you know, a month or two before I would make any more changes.
So it ended up not being like the dream scenario, which is where somebody like, you know, you get their food super high, you drop it immediately, they immediately start like, you know, losing weight super fast. But it was, it was a pretty good starting point, I think. And so that was mostly what the first few months were working together.
And then like, you know, sending training videos, getting used to training. Like Ali said, like she had been working with the in-person trainer, so she already knew how to train well in terms of like technique and intensity. But also I, you know, I would continue to kind of nudge her like, hey, you know, you know, alter this technique a little bit, or you could probably get like another rep or two.
And she’s very good about taking feedback and applying that. And now it’s at the point where sometimes I’ll have to, you know, be like, okay, that was that was pretty intense. We have to, you know, dial it back a little bit or something like that.
So and I think that that usually is how it goes with competitors is you kind of have to, at a certain point, save them from themselves and kind of hold them back and like, kind of like, let them know that they’re doing enough. Because that’s always a worry of people like, am I doing enough? Am I working hard enough, you know, especially if other people are putting out what they’re doing.
And like, well, this person’s doing more than me, they’re doing more steps, they’re doing more cardio, they’re eating less food, like, do I need to be doing that? There’s a lot of that. So I think having a coach for a prep, especially if you are somebody who tends to want to push themselves pretty hard is, I would say, pretty, pretty important to kind of save you from yourself.
So I guess we could go back to Ali, what was the process like for you when we first started working together? And then I’d be curious to know, kind of going into the prep, like what your expectations were, not even necessarily for placings, but maybe like, what it would be like, you know, was it different than you thought it would be? Was it kind of similar?
Was it harder, easier? Like, any, anything that you want to say about that?
[Ellie]Yeah, when we first started working together, I guess in terms of like, nutrients and macro tracking and stuff, my previous coach gave me a meal plan and it like, sucked. It was just tofu, potatoes, veggies, protein shake every meal. And I like hate protein shakes and protein powder.
And so that like, wasn’t great. And so like, when we first started together, like the concept of macro tracking was like, it was like, I knew I could do it. And like, I was totally fine tracking food and like tracking calories and all of that.
I was just more so like nervous about messing up tracking. And so I was like, yeah, give me a meal plan at first. So he gave me a meal plan and eventually, like I kind of swapped out things on my own and got more comfortable making changes.
And so now I’m feel like I’m totally comfortable with macro tracking. And I feel like it’s more sustainable, obviously, than like, just tofu, potatoes, veggies for the rest of my life.
[Dani]Cannot believe that stuff is still happening. I can’t believe that’s still happening. My God.
Sorry.
[Ellie]Yeah. And well, I wanted like, looking into other proteins I could have when I was with my old coach I was like, oh, seitan looks really good. And she was like, no, I looked into this.
I think it has like too many carbs. And I was like, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but okay. So she wasn’t great with nutrition.
But then for prep, like, I don’t think I really had crazy expectations that it would be like, life changing or anything like that. I think the main thing, honestly, like was just being so tired, like a lot more tired than I expected and tired mentally, but also physically, like my legs, they just felt like sandbags that I would drag around with me all the time. But it like it really wasn’t much of a shift in terms of like routine or anything I was doing.
And it was like fun to kind of think of new meal plans for my that I would use and like try different foods and lower calorie stuff. So it was honestly just a lot of fun. And I ended up getting a lot of my steps with my mom.
And we really bonded over that. And so now we’re very close and have a great bond. And I think it’s partly because of like how much walking we did together when I was in prep, I was actually going to ask, so you were living with your parents at this time, right?
[Dani]And how did they feel about the whole process? Because I if it was me, and I don’t have kids, but if I had a 16, 17 year old daughter that was like, I want to do a bodybuilding competition, I’d be shaken in my boots, honestly. And I love bodybuilding, but I’d be very apprehensive and protective, I think.
So how were they?
[Ellie]Yeah, they were both very supportive, generally. And they’ve always been supportive of me and like of what I want to do. I think my dad was definitely more nervous.
And he was like, well, all the boys are going to want you and I don’t want that. But I was like, I don’t think that’s going to happen. But even though he like had those reservations, he was like, like, okay, if you want to do it, then you can do it.
And so they were always really supportive. And I’m very grateful for that. And they would like they bought me a mirror to set up so that I like in the basement so that I could practice posing and like got me a ring light and would get all my food.
And there are a lot of struggles with me and my brother with food because he would like eat my fruit. And I was like, I need my strawberries to like make my yogurt because strawberries are like the lowest calorie and the most volume I could have. And so he would just like constantly eat them.
And my parents, they did like defend me a lot. And so that was very nice. And they would like go to the store and get me more stuff.
So I really appreciated that.
[Dani]I’d kill my brother, I would literally kill him. If he ate my prep food, I would kill anybody. So I get that.
But I can’t imagine again, if I was if I was still 16, 17, I was still living with my sister and brother. They would have done that crap to me all the time on purpose. They would have thought it was funny.
But were your parents like, did they at any point get concerned about any of the sort of behaviors that are like required for prep, the sort of level of detail that is required with your food, with your steps, with your training? I mean, it sounds like and I’m sure, you know, you’re in outstanding hands with Ben. I’m sure this was set up as intelligently and safely and soundly as humanly possible.
But like we’ve talked about before, in order to get stage lean, usually there is like a line that eventually gets crossed. And I’m just curious if you felt that at all or if your parents felt that.
[Ellie]I mean, I really don’t think so. Like they are just so supportive. And I think they could see how much I liked bodybuilding and how much it was helping me.
And my mom also helped with research and like getting a coach before. And she was like, yeah, Ben seems great. And there was like a little bit of hesitation with like having a male coach because like, you know, I had had a female coach before.
And then it was like, I’m like sending pictures of myself in a bikini to some like random guy who I’ve never met. But, you know, we like looked into vegan proteins in general and Ben and like it was all good. And it’s been all good and totally fine.
And like I feel like bodybuilding really is not as sexy as people make it out to be.
[Dani]It’s not.
[Ellie]It’s really not at all. It’s not at all.
[Dani]So sometimes people ask me because Giacomo is a coach also, my husband. People are like, doesn’t it bother you that women are sending their pictures in their underwear to your husband? And I was like, these are the least sexy photographs on the entire earth.
No one is thinking that whatsoever. But I know that when it comes to the show itself, right? And figure, in my opinion, and other people might disagree with me, I think I find the figure category to be quite elegant on stage and not overtly sexual.
But sometimes in the wellness categories and the bikini categories, not every competitor, but I would say on the whole, they are definitely a lot sexier in their movements, in their facial expressions and all of that. And yeah, I guess if I was a parent and like my kid wanted to be in a bikini competition, again, I would be very supportive, but I would also, I would feel that slight bit of hesitancy because even if the sport itself isn’t inherently sexual, there’s like, there’s always creeps, right? There’s always creeps.
So I don’t know, I guess I could see why your dad would be hesitant about that or even a male coach. I’ve had male coaches. I’ve had female coaches.
I don’t, I’ve never, I’ve never personally had an issue one way or the other, but I do know that that can be, that can be a thing for some people, but I think it’s less so. And yeah, I think once you talk with the person for a little bit, you can realize pretty quickly where someone’s intentions sort of lie. Anyway, I’m just, I’m so psyched that at 17, you had such a great experience.
Now, what was the show like itself? I know Ben went out to the show and I saw pictures, obviously, and I saw pictures of you all the way through the prep and I was like, holy shit, this kid has some serious potential in this sport. So I’m curious what the actual show itself was like.
[Ellie]Yeah, the show was very stressful, but it was also really good. Like Ben, I’m very glad that you were there and that you came out and I’m very grateful that you did just because it was nice, like having somebody that was experienced, like helped me with everything because it was a lot and very overwhelming, like from the beginning, like the polygraph and the tan, which was just like a very crazy experience, but you know, like very stressful. And then like to show day, which was also quite stressful with like makeup and hair and all of that.
But like, it was so nice meeting all the other women backstage and like everyone was so supportive. And like, I had heard that like backstage bodybuilding shows were like, they weren’t as catty as like people think, but you know, like you never know until you experience it. And like, it was really, truly just so supportive and everybody was so nice.
And it was really nice being on stage too. It was a lot of fun. And like, initially, again, I was just so nervous because like, I’m not somebody that you would think of that would like want to go out on stage in a bikini in front of so many people and like do these like weird poses.
But like, I felt totally comfortable on stage. And like it was empowering in a way and it was just very nice. And like, I’m very excited to do it again and to be better because like now looking back, there’s like a lot that I feel like I could improve on and a lot that I’m excited to improve on.
[Ben]I think the show day experience, the first show day experience is probably never exactly what anyone expects. I know for myself, it just felt like I was running around the whole time. Like I was like, everything was going so fast and it was like from one thing to another and, you know, other things were delayed.
And so it was just kind of this, this whirlwind and then getting up on stage. And even though you practice your posing, like Ellie did a really, really good job practicing her posing a ton. She knew like, okay, they might have you up there in your poses for a while.
So she was practicing her rounds. She was practicing, you know, individual presentation, all of that. So she was prepared up there.
So when she said she felt, you know, confident up there, of course, you’re going to be a little nervous, but like she felt comfortable up there on stage. A lot of that is because of the preparation and the posing and everything. But even still, you get up there, you’re still going to probably be maybe a little bit shaky, not sure exactly, you know, how you’re doing.
It’s almost like you kind of go into like a trance, almost like you’re there and then you’re done and you’re off stage. And because you have all these people in front of you and it’s all this craziness going on.
[Dani]You can’t see anything, just lights.
[Ben]Yeah, exactly. The lights are right in your face. And sometimes it can get hot on stage.
And then you’re worrying about, is my tan going to run? And there’s, there’s so many different things that are just going through your head. So you can never really fully know what to expect until the kind of the first time you do it.
And I think oftentimes people, you know, their first one, I think sometimes there’s, obviously there’s the fulfillment of like, okay, I made it to the show. I did the prep, I did this thing. So there’s that thing, but then also like, it doesn’t always go the way you expect.
And so usually there’s like, I didn’t look as good as I thought I was going to look or like, you know, I, you know, Oh, I look so good in these photos. You know, why didn’t I look that way on stage? And there’s so many things that go into that, right?
Like the tan, the lighting, the stress of peak week. There’s so many things that go into that. But I think that as long as you kind of walk away from your first show with, with the feeling of like, okay, you know, of course there’s some things that I could do better, but like, I had a good experience.
I enjoyed this. I probably want to do it again. I think that’s kind of my main goal whenever I’m coaching somebody through their first competition or competition in general is like, Hey, can we improve on if it’s, you know, seasoned competitor, can we improve on what we did last time?
Or if it’s a first time competitor, can we, you know, make sure that the prep is as least invasive as possible and that they’re enjoying and looking forward to the next one. So that’s, that’s, you know, of course there’s always going to be kind of bumps and hiccups, but I think as long as you’re walking away excited for, for the next one, that’s kind of where, where I feel like the, the success is in a prep. What do you think Danny?
[Dani]Totally. So I relate very much to, well, both of you, there’s a little bit more glitz and glam as a female competitor, which is not my thing. Like it’s not, it’s not the stuff that I am drawn to the hair and the makeup and the tan, but it is a part of it.
So the show day itself is always probably a big struggle for me for that reason. Like if it was just like, Hey, come in, get on stage, spin around, show us what you got and leave. I think I’d like it a lot more.
That’s not how they go because it’s the bodybuilding process that I like so much more so than the competition itself. And it took me a few years to figure that out. But I remember after my first competition, I almost left.
I don’t know if I ever told you that, but when I was backstage, there was no room to sit or anything like that. And it was before COVID. So everybody was there.
All the divisions were there backstage. Cause they only started changing that up during COVID. And I looked around and I saw the other figure competitors and I was doing debut, novice and open.
And I looked around and I saw some of the other figure competitors and I was like, what am I doing here? Well, I’m not going to go out there and embarrass myself right now. And Giacomo, I was like, I’m, I’m going to leave.
Like, I’m just not going to do this. And it was America. Giacomo was like, you sit your ass down in that chair right now.
Like you are getting on stage with these people. I don’t give a crap what you think. And I like hid behind the Tanner the whole time.
I was so uncomfortable. And I ended up doing better than I expected. I mean, I didn’t win, but I did better than I expected, but still looking back at the photos, even to this day, looking at those photos, I’m just like, I don’t love how I looked on that day.
And it’s been years. It’s been over a decade and I’m still like, I could have come in better than that. You know, but I think that’s just the nature of bodybuilding is like, we always want to get better and do better.
And you can’t predict what the lights on the stage are going to be like or how that tan is actually going to look on you. So your progress photos almost always, in my opinion, look better than your stage photos, which is unfair, but it is what it is. And where, where was your show again?
It was in Baltimore, right outside of Baltimore. That’s right.
[Ellie]And did you do multiple divisions? I did debut, novice, teen, junior, and open. Yeah.
[Dani]You did all of the ones you could get it. You can’t do masters yet, but you did everything you could do. All right.
Yeah. That’s a wild day. I thought three was a lot, but it’s great because that’s so much experience out of one show.
And every time you go out there, you feel a little bit more comfortable, but usually every time you go out there, you’re in a more competitive group. So generally because it usually ends with open. So how did you feel immediately after the show?
I know that those can be some very complicated feelings.
[Ellie]At first I felt very disgusted and gross. Like I was so sweaty and like the tan, like I hate the tan overall, just the feeling and the look. Like I followed bodybuilding very closely at like very competitive level.
I’ve never seen a competitor who I’ve liked more with a tan. I just like think it ruins the whole physique really. Like I like the cool grainy look, but so like, I was like, I want to get this tan off of me right away.
So like I showered and that was good. But like in terms of my physique, I definitely wasn’t super happy. Like I definitely, like you said, I liked my check-in photos a lot more.
And like, when I look at it now, like I’m proud of like all the work that went into it. But like, I’m more hesitant to say like, I’m proud of the physique that I brought to the stage. But also at the same time, I think like with how long I’d been training and with my age and everything, there are definitely like big limitations to like the amount of muscle I could have even had.
And like, it wasn’t a dieting problem or anything. Like I was plenty lean. So it’s really just like, I wanted more muscle.
So it is what it is. But yeah, exactly.
[Dani]I mean, if you ask most adults like well into their 20s, 30s, 40s, like if they could do something different, what would it be? They’ll almost all say they wish they had started earlier. So the fact that you started lifting in late middle school, that’s going to give you such an edge, not just in time, but like your body is still very much like growing and developing at that point in time.
You’re building satellite cells that like people that start lifting in their late 30s, they’re going to have a much harder time building them. And like you are going to have that edge over people. And that’s a really hard truth to tell folks that were not athletic at all when they were younger, which is me.
But this is why anytime I see kids that don’t have any sort of sport or activity or whatever, I really try to encourage people to get their kids in sports, not because of like competition, necessarily, but because like it will help, it will help their body in ways now that will pay off in 20 or 30 years, even regardless of bodybuilding, just in health in general. So I think you have a much bigger leg up than you realize now. And I think time is really going to show you that payoff.
[Ben]Ellie, I’d love to know what are your kind of next steps? I know we’ve discussed kind of when you might consider competing again, whether that I know initially you had said, oh, well, maybe it would be kind of cool to compete next year, maybe towards the end of the year. And then later, you kind of came back and said, you know what, actually, I feel like maybe I’d like some more time to kind of build and, you know, make, you know, significant improvements for the next time that I compete.
So I’d love to know kind of where you’re currently at with that. Obviously, bodybuilding is a lot of the same stuff. It’s a lot of like, it just depends what phase you’re in.
And it’s really like one or two things that change and most of it otherwise is pretty similar year round. And then I also wanted to just quickly get into the topic of going off to college and navigating like how that all changes everything, because obviously, that was something that was something that you were really like wanting to make sure was still going to be, you know, am I still gonna be able to make progress? Am I still gonna be like, you know, new gym, new environment with food, and I know it was definitely on your mind making that transition.
So a couple months in, I’d love to know how it’s been so far and just kind of what are the changes that you’ve had to had to make, you know, with that new environment?
[Ellie]Well, for future plans, like I want to compete at like as high a level as I possibly can to really just improving there and seeing how far I can go naturally and all of that. And so for college, it’s definitely been a struggle. And like, when I the next time I prep, I definitely want to be off of the meal plan.
Because like right now, I’m just really trying to get as much of the stuff that the meal plan offers to random veggies and like oatmeal and fruit and stuff like that.
[Dani]But so when you say meal plan, you mean the college meal plan, right?
[Ellie]Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[Dani]Okay, just making sure.
[Ellie]Yeah, because they would not let me off no matter how much I asked. But yeah, and like, it just doesn’t make sense for me to go and buy a whole new like everything really when I can get some stuff from them. But the problem with their food is like a lot of it is lower volume, higher calories, like the only fruit options they have will be like bananas, apples, oranges, like they don’t have strawberries, raspberries, any sort of berry, like the only carb is oats.
And so like, like, I want to be able to actually, you know, eat like higher volume when I’m in prep. And like, I just can’t do that well right now. So definitely next time, in terms of competing, will have to be when I can get off.
So hopefully, I can get off next year. And then ideally, I don’t know, compete summer 2027. But that could all change.
Yeah, like, college has been interesting, but I’m very routined. And so I’ve pretty much stuck with the same routine, I still get up very early, and I go to the gym. And I go to bed early.
And like, it does limit social things a lot. But, you know, I feel like I’m my own best friend. So it’s fun.
Like I can be alone most of the time. Or like with those few connections that I do have. And like, I’m totally fine not going out and partying and drinking and staying up late.
Like I like going to bed early and then waking up and going to the gym.
[Dani]Is there like a crew that goes to the gym that you see there regularly?
[Ellie]Yeah, yeah, I go to the Planet Fitness that’s closest because it’s the only gym that I can walk to. Hopefully next year, I can also get a car on campus and I can go to like, some cool bodybuilding gym because I just the atmosphere there is quite nice. Like honestly, Planet Fitness is fine.
And like the same people definitely show up and it’s nice, like seeing the same people and seeing that kind of community and the same people that are like disciplined just like me and like that I’m not crazy for having the same routine and sticking to the same thing and doing it every day.
[Dani]You’re not missing much with the like partying and staying up really late or anything like that.
[Ben]This is what I was gonna say because I had like two different, I feel like I had two different college experiences. Like my first two years of college before I got into like fitness or lifting or anything. Like I was playing Ultimate Frisbee and you know, I took it very seriously.
We were practicing four or five times per week. I’d, you know, kind of go to the gym but not really know exactly what I was doing there. You know, we had optional, you know, workouts, we’re conditioning and stuff like that.
So I was, I was active. But then of course, on the weekends, like we’re partying, we’re doing all these things. And it was like, whatever, just like going from home environment to new environment.
I went a little crazy. And then I got into lifting and fitness and everything. And I’m like, Oh, this is, this is so awesome.
Like I love having this routine in the structure. And before I was not very routine, I was not very structured. There was some changes when I went to college, like even myself as a student, going from like, not really caring about my studies, procrastinating, putting stuff off to like, when I went to college, for whatever reason, I actually don’t even really know why I just started like, getting stuff in on time getting ahead.
So it was kind of this like, slow, gradual transition, and then getting into the gym. And then so all my friends who had like, I had been like into partying with and doing all that stuff. And then suddenly, I was like, super into the gym and like, having an early schedule and being like, very regimented and routine.
So I would get some of that pushback, or I would like, you know, try to like, kind of like blend those two things. And then I just found over time, I’m like, you know, I like the way that I feel when I go to bed early. And when I’m not like, you know, sleeping until noon the next day, because I’m hungover, and just like, kind of seeing the contrast between those two things.
And it’s like, I don’t necessarily have regrets about the first half of my college experience. It’s fine. It was what it was, I made some good friends.
But I think that like, when you start to, I felt like I kind of discovered more of myself and like, realize the things that I actually really like, kind of through that second half and kind of formed more of like my identity and who I am today. So I think it’s, it’s cool that you’ve kind of discovered that pretty early for yourself. And you kind of know what you like, and you’re comfortable in that.
And you don’t feel like you have to like, change what you do in order to fit in with the people around you. Because I think that would probably just make you more unhappy if you felt like you had to do that. Like, I know that you’re pretty content to just do your own thing.
And it can be challenging sometimes when there’s maybe mandatory things or things that you have to do that you might not want to do that are kind of in conflict with that. But I think that’s something that you learn as you kind of grow and you know, have more responsibilities, how to integrate those things with bodybuilding and still enjoy your routine and enjoy what you’re doing. So I think college is actually not a not a bad time for bodybuilding either.
Because it’s just like you have your your class schedule, you have your routine, you can kind of get into it. Of course, there are some challenges with people being loud in the dorms and sleeping and stuff like I do recall that and that that can be that that can be annoying.
[Dani]I had a question. Are you guys would you say that you’re in like a building phase right now? Yeah.
Yeah. How do you how do you feel like emotionally or psychologically or whatever about the idea of like deliberately gaining weight? I know that’s a huge issue for a lot of people in general, but women especially.
So I’m curious how you feel about that as a young woman in college, deliberately putting on size.
[Ellie]Yeah, definitely good days and bad days, like some days, especially reversing out of a show when like I was very lean and like I had like some separation and like, like a small waist and everything. And so like, there’s some days when I’m like, Oh, I’m just like, totally fat now. But most of the time, I do like how I look.
And like, I feel like I mean, I’ve kept the fat gain to a minimum where like, I can still be healthy and like have energy and all of that. And like, there are a lot of positives, even just from like a physical aspect that like a lot of people would like, like a lot of women like, you know, having a big butt and having big boobs. And that’s what comes alongside like gaining fat too.
So you know, you can look for positives. But I also think like, I don’t know, it kind of just is what it is in bodybuilding. And so like, I’m definitely willing to put on as much as I need to in order to get the physique I want when I do lean down.
But I think overall, though, like it’s been pretty good. And I like how I look, I feel like my shape right now is a lot better, even than even like better than when I was competing. Like the fat kind of helps with that.
But I think you know, some of a lot of it hopefully is muscle too. And like, you know, you got to eat to gain muscle or to at least have an easier time gaining that muscle. So it’s been good.
And I like eating. So I like eating more food, which is nice.
[Dani]See, that’s where the college meal plan comes in handy, right? Exactly.
[Ellie]Yeah. So like now it’s like totally fine. It’s easy.
[Dani]But that’s really awesome. And super refreshing, because it’s not super common. And it is I think it’s hard for everybody coming out of competition prep, even when you know, it’s the right thing to do.
It’s still Yeah, I would say more days than not, you wake up and just kind of see yourself and you’re like, womp womp. Yeah, even when it’s like, exactly what you should be doing. It’s like you can’t unsee yourself with that separation.
So when it’s not there, you’re like, Oh, no, this is a step in the wrong direction. But it’s not a step in the wrong direction. So that’s so cool to hear that you’re like willing to do that.
When I look back at my own journey. That’s my number one regret is that I spent so many of my earliest years in bodybuilding, just trying to get be leaner all the time. And I feel like I really wasted precious time that my body would have put on muscle more easily than it would now, right?
So like, take advantage of it, I would say, because yeah, the weight you gain is way more likely to have a better muscle ratio than like, if you gain 10 pounds, and I gained 10 pounds doing the exact same thing, you’d probably have gained more muscle than I would just because you’re 20 years younger than me. So I, it just makes me very happy to hear that. And Alice is actually a really great role model to look up to in that right now, because she has taken her build on kind of unlike anything I’ve ever seen, honestly, in any of my female clients, I’ve not once seen anybody be like, Yeah, I’m totally going to gain 30 pounds in the next two years.
Like, I’ve never heard that. And she’s like, she said it, she’s doing it, she’s getting super strong. So anytime I have a female client that’s like, Well, I don’t want to get bigger.
And I’m like, Alice is a high level pro bikini athlete, check out what she’s doing. And proudly.
[Ben]Anyway, very, yeah, I think at least on a really nice job of like, not just focusing on one thing. Like, of course, it’s hard not to get fixated on the number on the scale. Because oftentimes in prep, you’re focusing on like, did the scale drop this week?
No, it didn’t. Okay, we got to make a change. And of course, you’re doing like visuals and measurements alongside that.
But when you’re coming out of prep, of course, like nobody likes to see the scale going the opposite direction. But that’s why I think like taking photos and measurements are really valuable at the time you really don’t want to do them, which is post prep. Because if you know, like, like Ellie said, some days, they’re good days and bad days with check ins.
That’s how it goes. And so sometimes, you know, I can pull up progress photos and like, remind the people that I work with, you know, remind Ellie like, Hey, you know, okay, maybe we’ve lost a little bit of definition here. But you’re like, look how much like fuller the these certain areas are, it looks like we’re adding muscle here.
And this this is probably like the first proper gaining phase that we’ve done together where we’re actually kind of slowly like taking up body weight, I think it’s a little bit easier to gain when you’re leaner as well, as opposed to kind of pushing up on that ceiling. So I think she’s making some really good progress with some of the areas that we did identify, like, hey, these are areas that we want to bring up before the next time we compete and still staying pretty lean while doing it. And it’s not easy to do because this is a conversation that we’ve had during check ins.
And I’ve felt this way myself, where when you’re coming out of a show, it’s tough, because you want to obviously like not gain more body fat than you need to in order to make improvements. But at the same time, you want to be eating more. And it’s like, you’re never quite satisfied with the amount that you have.
But I think if you can ride that out, which is really tough, like right out that period where you don’t feel like you’re eating enough, you get to the other side of it. And first of all, you can look back and feel like, okay, I did a really good job at that, like I was able to kind of maximize the time that I had. But also, you inevitably get to a point in your off season where it’s like, okay, food is like fine for me at this point, but it’s not like the huge thing.
And so sometimes, like actually leaning into that phase where you like food a little bit more can be nice, because it’s not always like that, especially if you have a longer off season, there’s gonna be long stretches of time where you’re just not that crazy about food. So sometimes just like riding out that like, I wish I had a little bit more right now, I think that can make the difference between like a really effective gaining phase, especially coming out of a show, and one that, you know, maybe happens a little bit too quickly. And then you feel like you have to go the other direction, and it gets into not not the best place to be.
So I think Ellie’s done a really good job with that. And it is just a reminder of whatever your long term goal is, you have to kind of keep that in mind with, okay, maybe what I’m doing right now, like, I don’t love every aspect of it, but you can still look at the positives of it and kind of find that Ellie, Danny, anything else wanted to say? I feel like I’ve covered most of the questions that I had today.
[Dani]I’m just really excited to see you guys go through a full building phase together before going into the next prep, because I think and I think Ben would agree like that building phase, that’s when the real magic happens, like, because the prep is just kind of unwrapping the present, so to speak, that you’ve built over the last period of time. And I don’t I don’t, I mean, maybe your last coach was great at this particular thing, but I know Ben is. So I think he’s gonna come out of the other side looking like a like a new competitor, basically, which is what everybody wants every time they prep, right?
They want to look head and shoulders above where they were before. And I think you’re really primed to do exactly that. So that’s so, so exciting.
I’m excited to watch your journey.
[Ben]I think also, it’s like the more you get to work with someone, the more you get to learn about them. Like just thinking of one kind of one off example, like, a little bit after prep, Ellie kind of was talking to me about like, some of the programming that we’ve been doing. And like, hey, I actually feel like I haven’t really progressed that much on a lot of like my shoulder exercises.
And like, that’s, that’s an area for figure that’s very important for kind of creating that x frame. And so I looked at that and, you know, asked kind of some questions, do you feel like you’re recovering? Okay, obviously, I know she’s doing a lot of the big picture stuff.
So I don’t even have to ask about that I can kind of get more granular. And so she was recovering. Okay.
And so I said, Okay, you know, it seems like a lot, but we’re just going to add a lot of volume, like more volume to what you’re doing right now. And since we made that change, she’s been making really good progress on like all of her shoulder stuff. And so it’s stuff like that, where even you know, it took like, pretty much like a year to kind of figure that out that that was something that was happening.
Because you can’t always see like you sometimes you have to wait to see like, is this thing working or not. And so that’s another just thing like working with a coach for a long time, you get to pick up on this stuff. And it just makes the the coach athlete relationship better.
But it also allows the person to make better progress because you get to really know them and learn, okay, when I have this input, this is the output that you get. So yeah, I’m excited to see how that goes.
[Dani]That’s such a good point. Like I have clients that I’ve done their contest prep since like 2016. So they don’t compete every year.
But like, you know, maybe I’ve prepped them through five seasons or something in that time. And every time, it just gets better and better and tighter and tighter. And I know like, I can literally look at them on show morning and like, be like, you need some white rice, and we’re gonna dump some maple syrup on it right now, because you need that like right now, and exactly how much and it works.
Whereas like five years ago, it was like, let’s have some rice cakes and some jelly and cross our fingers, right, that this is going to work properly, because you just don’t know that first time knowing which, which athletes respond better to higher volume, lower volume, who responds better to dietary changes versus cardio changes, who can who can do steps who needs more formal cardio, like that stuff takes time to figure out.
And in the beginning, I don’t want to say people like coaches are guessing they’re not guessing they’re kind of doing what works for most people, and then learning from there. So the longer you work with somebody, the better it gets is what I’ve found.
[Ben]Absolutely. Okay, well, before we head out, Ellie, do you want to let people know I know that you’ve started getting into posting a little bit more on social media and sharing your journey. And I’d love for people to be able to kind of follow along, because I think you have a really cool story.
And I think people will be interested in seeing what you’re doing. So would you like to share kind of where where people can find you?
[Ellie]Yeah, I’m just posting on Instagram at elikprug. Combo of my first and last name. Yeah.
[Ben]Okay, awesome. I will put that in the show notes. So thank you, Ellie, for for coming on for just talking about how you got into bodybuilding, sharing your story.
Very inspiring for me. I learned more about you today, just kind of listening to this, listening to you share, you know, how you got into bodybuilding and veganism and everything. And it’s really cool.
Really happy that we’re working together. Please be sure to share this with people. That really helps the podcast.
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