Becky Conti The good get better using Parrillo Principles & Products

Becky Conti

Not every athlete featured in the Parrillo Performance Press starts off overweight and out-of-shape. There are those rare few who are born lean and athletic, genetically blessed and physically gifted. The smart ones then use the Parrillo Principles and Parrillo nutritional products to maneuver an already good body, one capable of great athletic performance, into an incredible body capable of outstanding athletic performance.

Becky Conti is 25 years old and has been lean and trim for her entire life. She was lucky enough to inherit great genetics (and considerable brains) from her parents: her dad was an administrative vice president for the University of Maryland and Becky’s parents saw to it that from a very young age she was involved in a myriad of athletic activities. “I grew up in southern New Jersey, in a town called Stone Harbor. My parents instilled in me at a young age how important it was to lead a healthy and active lifestyle.  I have always had a great passion for fitness; athletics have been a major part of my life since I was a child. I participated in gymnastics, field hockey and basketball. My real passion was competitive running: I ran track as a sprinter for 10 years.” Becky ran the 100 and 200 meter dashes, though her best event was the 400 meter run, a grueling event, taxing beyond belief.

“I began my track career in middle school, carried on through high school and then onto college where I ran track for Towson University in suburban Baltimore.” One competitive highpoint of young Ms. Conti’s track career was participating in the famous (and nationally televised) Penn Relays in 2001. In addition to her other running events, she also ran a leg on her high school 4 x 400 meter dash relay team that qualified for the state finals. As a college athlete she was introduced to “power” weight training. “Our track coaches had us perform squats and power cleans and big compound exercises to improve our sprint speed.” No one-dimensional jock, she graduated with a BA in Communications specializing in Electronic Media and Film. “I discovered my love for bodybuilding during my senior year of college. I soon adopted what is commonly referred to as ‘the bodybuilding lifestyle.’ I broadened my lifting approach. I began synchronizing my lifting with cardio and nutrition.” Becky began reading everything she could get her hands on regarding nutrition and it was not too long before she came across the Parrillo approach. “As soon as I came upon the Parrillo Nutritional System something clicked; this approach made perfect sense to me: consume low-fat protein sources along with fibrous carbs and starch carbs. Eat multiple meals and round out the foods with potent supplements. The Parrillo approach made sense to me. I am by nature logical and the Parrillo approach seemed both logical and sensible. I took to it effortlessly.”

With her terrific athletic base, low body fat and reasonably good symmetry, Ms. Conti was a natural for Figure Competitions. “I began to realize the importance of quality training and quality nutrition. I began researching the subject and subscribing to fitness and bodybuilding magazines. I decided to enter my first figure competition in 2006 and I ended up placing 2^nd in my class. It was an exhilarating experience and I was hooked.” Structurally Becky was heavily muscled in her quads, calves, hamstrings and glutes from a decade of intense running. She needed to ‘bring up’ her upper body in order to balance out her already fabulous legs. “I was born with good calves, another parental gift, and all those years of running really gave me a great head start from the waist on down.” Her challenge was to add upper body muscle: she needed more shoulder width and back development. “I worked extra hard doing deltoid work – I worked extra hard filling in the hollows around my shoulder blades. While there was no way to make my skeletal structure wider, I could create more width by adding extra deltoid muscle.” Becky stands 5’4” and during her peak competitive years as a track athlete she weighed a lean 120 pounds. By implementing a serious, pre-competition Parrillo-style diet plan, she was able to ‘dial in’ her degree of conditioning. She now competes at around 112 pounds, though this is a bit deceptive: Becky has added ten pounds of rock solid muscle to her frame. “I have been able to reconfigure my physique to a significant degree through the use of specialization and what might be called ‘muscular targeting.’”

“I have competed in three Figure shows and placed 1^st, 3^rd and 2^nd respectively. In my most recent outing on May 10^th of 2009, I entered the Fitness Universe Show in Fairfax, Virginia and won my division, the tall class. I placed second overall and was quite excited.” Quite an auspicious beginning for an athletic lady far more comfortable running the final turn in a 400 meter dash then going through a Figure competition in front of steely-eyed judges in a packed auditorium while wearing makeup, lipstick and high heels. “I love the ‘process’ leading up to a competition. I am still finding my way within the Figure world. The judging criterion actually discourages competitors from displaying too much muscle and this makes preparation a bit subjective.” Outside the competitive Figure world, Becky decided that she wanted to make fitness her career. She obtained her personal trainer certification a few years back and took a job as a fitness instructor at the prestigious Merritt Athletic Club in Baltimore, Maryland. With her heavy athletic background, Fitness competition experience, outgoing personality and ‘can do’ attitude, she was an immediate success. Her knowledge and personal touch invariably produced results for clients lucky enough to engage her services. “I am entering my third year as a personal trainer and I absolutely love it! Merritt is a powerhouse organization in the mid-Atlantic region: we have no less than eleven clubs in Maryland alone. I train out of the Canton facility – which also serves as Merritt’s headquarters. I have had great success in obtaining results for my clients.” As all great personal trainers know, the best form of advertizing is a renovated client: the transformed client becomes a walking, talking billboard relating to those that ask the efficacy of the trainer’s methods.

Never one to stagnate or rest on her laurels, Becky made time to acquire yet another certification this past year. “Last year I obtained a second certification and I am now a Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant. This enables me to help people enact lifestyle and behavioral changes that produce long term weight loss. I feel very lucky to have a job doing something I feel so passionate about.” Becky’s numerous clients uniformly get tremendous results following her no nonsense approach; an approach heavily influenced by Parrillo strategies. “Working to better the health and body composition of my clients requires me to stay up to date with current research in the health and fitness industry. That is why I value the Parrillo Performance Press: each month it is packed with detailed information on a wide variety of training and nutritional topics. I read it cover to cover and every month I learn something new.” Becky first tries new training and nutrition strategies herself (“I am my own human test lab”) and if these tactics work for her she will pass them along (“appropriately”) to her clients. “I work with an average of thirty five clients per week and each one has a different situation and a different set of expectations. Each client requires I construct a customized fitness program that will suit their lifestyle and work situation. It is very challenging and at times it can be frustrating. However nothing compares to the job satisfaction that comes from enabling a sincere person to overcome a serious physical problem. Helping someone shed a mountain of body fat and create a new body and redefine themselves as a person is tremendously satisfying and rewarding.”

Becky is innovative in her approach towards fitness and one of her ‘fitness wrinkles’  involves drawing on her track and field background to create new and different cardiovascular formats, formats that are fun yet effective. “A lot of my clients complain that they are bored to tears riding the various cardio machines. I created a cardio program based upon my track background. The program resembles a boot camp format and injects fun into cardio.” Becky will get a group together and organize them. “We might practice plyometric jumps, bounds and leaps; we might do wind sprints or hill drills; we might do group relay races or other intense cardio drills. My clients love this ‘outside the box’ approach and they tell me that this type of cardio makes the time fly by. If they were riding a stationary bike in the gym the minutes tick by like hours. When we get into these competitive drills and games they tell me that they can’t believe how quickly the time flies and they hate to quit – quite a contrast to the drudgery of machine cardio done while watching a TV or reading a magazine.” It is no stretch to say that Ms. Conti seems the perfect combination of necessary attributes needed to create a highly competent, highly successful personal trainer. Her physique and competitive career are both works in progress. This young Lady seems wise beyond her years and she will no doubt continue to mature and progress. While improving her own physique she will simultaneously improve the physiques of those clients lucky enough to engage her services.

Weekly Training Split

• Monday:  Back & Shoulders
• Tuesday: Legs (emphasis on hamstrings) & abs
• Wednesday: off
• Thursday:  Chest, Biceps, and Triceps
• Friday: Legs (emphasis on quads) and abs
• Saturday: off
• Sunday: off

I have outlined a four day split routine that I use quite a bit. I periodically shift my training around as variety keeps weight training interesting and effective.  I love to shift things around and approach muscle-building from an entirely different direction. I usually perform 3-4 exercises per body part and generally keep my reps in the 10-15 rep range. I believe in extending myself in my lifting as that is where the gains lie. I rotate routines to keep things fresh and I always push myself in the gym. Sessions typically last for 40-60 minutes.

Cardio

I usually perform cardio 3 to 4 days per week for approximately 45 minutes per session. I am often asked why I don’t perform cardio everyday and the reason is that if I perform aerobics 5-7 times a week I actually tend to get a little too lean and a little too muscular for Figure competition. Figure competition is not female bodybuilding and I have actually been marked down for being too ‘hard’ and muscular.  I favor unusual aerobic activity and love interval training. I still sprint for my cardio and like to alternate low and high intensity sprint sessions. Per the Parrillo Prescription, I try and perform my cardio first thing in the morning while glycogen levels are low.

Daily Meal Plan

Meal I

7 am – 5 egg whites, ½ cup of oatmeal

Meal II

9:30am – 4 oz chicken breast, 1 cup spinach salad, 4 oz sweet potato

Meal III

12 noon – Parrillo Hi-Protein Bar^™, apple

Meal IV

2:30 – 4 oz steamed shrimp, ½  cup brown rice, 1 cup broccoli

Meal V

5 pm – 4 oz Tilapia, 1 cup green beans

Meal VI

7:30 pm – Parrillo Optimized Whey Protein Powder^™

Parrillo & Me

I have competed in Figure competitions for about four years and I always try to keep my nutrition balanced. I seek to combine quality protein with quality carbohydrates and ‘fill in the gaps’ with potent Parrillo supplements. When my body is going through the stresses of competitive preparation, I need superior supplements. In order to make sure I get all the protein I need for muscle growth, I eat lean protein and supplement with Parrillo powders and bars. I am a strong believer in Parrillo products: they deliver quality protein without saturated fat, sugar or chemical additives. Parrillo Optimized Whey Protein Powder^™ and Parrillo Hi-Protein Powder^™ are the only protein supplements I feel 100% comfortable about consuming during my competition preparation. I love the Parrillo Hi-Protein Bars^™ and I am amazed that they contain 24 grams of protein with only 150 calories! I’m addicted to them! I eat them when leaning out for a competition and I eat them when I’m building muscle in the off-season as well. Another product I love is Parrillo Pudding^™ in Chocolate flavor. When I have dessert cravings, Parrillo Pudding^™ tastes like real, sugar-laden pudding. I like to dunk strawberries in Parrillo Pudding^™. I eat Parrillo Pudding^™ all
year round.