One-On-One with New IFBB Bikini Pro Kim Meroniuk
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1)Kim, first off, congratulations on becoming an IFBB Bikini Pro! Tell the MUSCLE INSIDER fans a little about your prep leading up to the 2017 CBBF Nationals. Also, many may not know this, but you prepped yourself for this show. Did you find it difficult at times to be able to do everything on your own?
Thank you so much! I did prep myself for this show, and it was a great experience for me and also made winning my pro card that much more satisfying because I did it all on my own. I had worked with a couple different coaches in the past but never came in on show day quite how I wanted to. I’ve competed on and off since 2010 and learned a lot about my body and how it responds to the process through numerous different types of prep. I decided to take that knowledge and try it out on my own. I had prepped myself for two other shows this year, both of which I came second at, so I had tried out my plan before and knew I could do it for Nationals. I had put on a lot of muscle mass last year and needed to take it down a bit to stay in the bikini category, so for workouts, I concentrated only on the parts I wanted to build and shape, mainly my glutes and shoulders. It ended up being the best prep I’ve been through, not only because I won but because I was so less stressed because I was listening to my body, not to someone else telling me what they thought my body was doing. It made so much more sense to me just to decrease my food intake by the number of calories that I would burn with extra cardio, which is just stressing your body out more, which in turn just leads to increased cortisol levels that make it harder for your body to build muscle and lose fat.
2)People always want to hear about how bodybuilders do their peak week, as it’s one of the most difficult processes to nail down. Take the fans through your peak week and what you did to make sure you came in exactly what the judges were looking for.
Peak weak can always be a make-it-or-break-it week for competitors, and it was a bit scary for me taking myself though it for Nationals without any help. I had done my own peak-week plan for a regional show in February and Alberta Provincials in June and came in almost how I wanted to look, so I just made a few tweaks to what I had previously done because I knew how my body would react. For workouts, I decreased the weight and did high reps up until two days before the show, and kept up with the fasted cardio everyone morning until one day out. For diet, I reduced my carb intake from Monday to Wednesday to deplete my glycogen stores, then introduced carbs back in on Thursday and Friday to fill out my muscles and pull the water into my muscles as well. I ate more carbs the night before and on show day compared to the other two shows, and I think that really helped fill out my look. I didn’t do any sort of sodium manipulation because I don’t think that you need to as a bikini competitor, but I did start to slowly decrease my water intake 24 hours before showtime to fully tighten up.
3)When you heard your name as the newest IFBB Bikini Pro, what were some of the thoughts that were going through your head?
I was so shocked! I was just happy to be at Nationals. Then, when I won my class, I was just happy and proud to be standing onstage with all the class winners. Then, when they called my name, I couldn’t believe it. I still to this day can’t believe that I earned my Pro Card!
4) You work for BodyPlus as an account manager, correct? Take us through your supplement stack leading up to the show.
Yes, I’ve been an account manager for Southern Alberta with Body Plus for just over a year and a half, and I’m so happy to be representing such high-quality brands. I try to use the products I sell to my stores as much as possible in my day-to-day life, and feel the quality supplementation was a huge part of my success. Every day, I use Progressive Vegegreens, Progressive Phytoberry, Progressive Active Women’s Multivitamin, Progressive Omegessential Forte fish oil and Progressive HCP 70 probiotic.
For post-workout protein, my go-to is the Precision All-Natural Whey Isolate because it comes from cattle raised without hormones and antibiotics, has no fillers, and tastes really good.
To help enhance my workouts and recovery, I started using our newest brand, Progressive Sport, when it came on the market about 10 weeks before Nationals. It quickly became one of my new favourite supplements and one of the ones I found the most benefit from. I used the Before, During, and After for every weightlifting workout and found a noticeable increase in stamina and energy, and reduced recovery time.
My all-time favourite supplement when in contest prep, though, is PharmaFreak’s GH Freak to help me sleep, grow, and recover. I take this every night before bed and sleep a full, uninterrupted eight hours and wake up feeling refreshed and strong. This stuff is amazing!
When I got closer to show day and started doing fasted cardio in the mornings, I would take an ECA stack in the morning for energy to help me through the cardio and for the extra fat-burning effect.
5)What are your future plans as an IFBB Bikini Pro? Will we be seeing you step onstage at the 2018 Toronto Pro or the Vancouver Pro?
Well, I definitely have to hit that pro stage, for sure! I’ve been in prep mode for the last eight months, so I need to take a little time off and let my body rest, but then I think a pro show in the new year will definitely happen! I will be for sure be doing one of either the Toronto Pro or Vancouver Pro in 2018, most likely Vancouver because it’s closer to home.