Crystal Raposo Interview

When Angelique Kronebusch recommends someone to me for an interview, I am always going to listen. When she suggested Crystal Raposo, of course I asked Crystal. But when I saw Crystal I knew that regardless of Angelique's recommendation, I wanted Crystal on my blog. Crystal is a beautiful girl who for her first competition looked amazing. She says she will continue to do them, and with more experience I expect big things for Crystal.





Q: First, Crystal, I want to thank you for taking the time to do this.
A: Thank you for asking me. It's my pleasure!

Q: Can you start out by telling a little about yourself.
A: Well.....I am 27 years old. I moved here from Terrace BC 9 years ago right
out of high school. My family still lives in Terrace, aside from my Brother
who lives in Kelowna. I have an amazing family who has been incredibly
supportive. I have 1 brother, 1 sister, a niece and a nephew. I currently
work as an Accounting Assistant but have found over the last couple years
that my real passion is health and fitness.

Q: Before the gym were you an especially athletic person? Play any sports or
anything?
A: I have always been an athletic person but quit sports after high school. I
played Fastball for 9 years at a fairly competitive level and played on the
high school volleyball and basketball team all through my younger years.

Q: What initially led you into the gym?
A: When I moved to Kelowna I lived a fairly unhealthy lifestyle. I didn't
exercise and I lived off of cheap, unhealthy food. I put on weight quite
quickly and as I got older I realized I needed to do something to make
myself feel better. I joined the gym and quickly saw results. My body
responded very well to weight training so I decided to stick with it. The
more fit I got the more obsessed I became with exercise. I have been working
out now for 7 years and have only grown more and more passionate about it.

Q: Was training something you picked up fairly easy? How long before you
started to see results?
A: My body has always responded well to training. However, over the last couple
of years, I have found it very hard to get results. I have been able to
maintain my weight but I wanted to get leaner which has not been an easy
task. 7 weeks ago I started one on one training with Angelique Kronebusch.
Within 2 weeks I started to see results. I dropped 5lbs and my body started
to lean out. Even though I had been exercising for years I realized that I
wasn't doing it correctly. Angelique taught me things I never would have
known, and from that I started to get the results I had always been wanting.

Q: What made you decide to compete for the first time?
A: Angelique approached me one day and asked me if competing is something I
would ever consider doing. I had been attending her fitness classes for over
a year and she could see my dedication and passion. She saw something in me
that I had never seen in myself. My interest sparked immediately and I knew
that this was my opportunity to get to the fitness level that I had always
wanted.


Q: Is competing something your family and friends supported?
A: My family and friends were amazing through the whole process. Competing can
be straining on relationships because your entire lifestyle changes
dramatically. I owe a lot of my success to my friends and family as they
encouraged me to give 100% at all times. They came out and supported me on
the day of the show which helped ease my nerves.

Q: Was competing what you expected or did anything surprise you about it?
A: I had no idea what to expect going into the process. What I didn't expect
was how much I loved doing it. There were moments where I just wanted it to
all be over, but the day of the show made everything so worth it. I did not
expect to meet such amazing people and make such good friends but when you
have a group of girls facing this challenge together you grow close very
quickly.

Q: Can you share your contest history.
A: Are you referring to my competition history? This was my very first
competition but I can honestly say it won't be me last

Q: As far as body parts, what do you feel is your best one?
A: Haha well no one really likes answering this question do they? The one body
part I get the most comments on would be my butt haha. For me my upper body
is what I see as my strongest part. My back and shoulders developed very
quickly and I am extremely happy with the definition I now have.

Q: Do you have a part you most like to train or favorite exercise?
A: I really enjoy doing heavy weight training for my upper body. Seeing as I
started seeing results so quickly on my upper body it only made me want to
keep training it harder and harder. Lateral raises, bicep curls, shoulder
press, and bent over dumbbell rows are definitely my favorite exercises.

Q: What is your normal training routine and diet like and how do you alter
it for contest prep?
A: Before competition prep I always attended Angelique's fitness classes at
World's gym. Every Monday I would do a 30 minute core class followed by an
hour SST class. On Tuesday's I would do 30 minute core class and an hour SST
class. Wednesday's I did an hour of bosu intervals. Thursday to Saturday I
would do my own workout in the gym. Typically I would run on the treadmill
for 30 to 45 minutes and then do another 45 minutes of weight training. I
never lifted very heavy because I always thought it would only make me
bulky. Through this process I have learnt that heavy weight training helps
you lean out. Once I started to train for my competition I upped my workouts
to twice a day. I changed my treadmill running to interval training, rowing,
stair running and plyometrics and I did heavy weight training 5 to 6 days a
week. I always ensured to get in an hour of cardio a day.
I never liked to diet. I always felt that everything in moderation worked
best for me. Since my competition I have decided to clean my diet up a lot
and avoid processed foods as best I can. I had no idea how bad I was eating
until I started to diet for my competition. Once I cut out certain things I
started to feel better and have more energy. For my competition I ate just
the basics. Egg whites, spinach, chicken, salmon, green beans, asparagus,
sweet potato and almonds. For the first 2 weeks my diet consisted of a few
carbs and a lot of protein. I found my energy started depleting after 2
weeks so I switched the carbs with fats. I incorporated olive oil, egg yolk,
and avocado. I stayed on this diet for another 2 weeks but my body
eventually plateaued. I cut out the egg yolk, avocado, and almonds and
started to see results again. I carb depleted for 2 weeks before the
competition which helped me to drop a few extra pounds.


Q: When someone sees your physique or hears you compete for the first
time, what is the most common reaction? More positive or negative?
A: Always positive. I haven't had any negative feedback from anyone. I felt
very shy about telling people I was competing at first because I thought
they might look at me and think I didn't look good enough. I realized after
a while that I was just being hard on myself and I needed to start being
proud of what I was doing.

Q: When they see it that first time, what is the one question or comment
you are most sick of hearing?
A: I haven't gotten sick of any comments or questions yet haha. I loved doing
it so much that I enjoy people asking me questions. It keeps me inspired and
motivated to stick with it!

Q: What is the biggest misconception about women who train and compete or
the one thing you wish people understood?
A: I just wish people knew how hard it is to get into the shape these women get
into. Some of these women train for 3 to 5 months to compete and they work
their butts off. I had no idea how hard it would be to transform my body but
I learnt very quickly that in order to get competition ready you have to
give 110%. I didn't get into the shape I had hoped but I also know that I
only worked at it for 7 weeks. I give props to anyone who trains for a
competition because I know they are dedicating their lives to it.

Q: What is the best and worst part of training for you?
A: The best part of training is how great it makes me feel. Any time I took a
day off the gym I would feel sluggish and lazy. The worst part was getting
up at 5am to do my morning workout haha.

Q: Do you have any favorite competitors or any you admire?
A: I obviously admire Angelique Kronebusch. She inspired me to become a
competitor and she somehow maintains her physique all year round. How she
does it is beyond me!


Q: Do you have a favorite cheat food?
A: So many! Haha. I love peanut butter so any chance I got I would make sure to
eat a spoonful. Other than that I love Thai food and Sushi but never really
had a chance to enjoy any during my competition prep.

Q: If another woman told you she wanted to start training, what is the one
piece of advice you would most want to give her?
A: Give it 100% and make sure you are willing to dedicate yourself to it. Also,
be prepared for what happens to your body and mind after. Maintaining that
physique is hard and you will wake up the next morning feeling like a
totally different person. It can be very hard on you emotionally so just be
prepared for that.

Q: Do you think its becoming more common for women to use the weights as
opposed to just doing cardio and things?
A: Women are realizing that weight training builds muscle and muscle mass burns
fat. I think women want to be toned now a days and not skinny so in order to
get there you need to weight train.

Q: Outside of training, any other hobbies or activities you enjoy?
A: Is drinking wine an activity? Just kidding! Training has always been my
number one activity but outside of that I just enjoy spending time with my
friends. I have an amazing circle of friends so we spend a lot of time
together.

Q: Can you describe a typical day in the life of Crystal Reposo.
A: Typical day would be go to work and pull my hair out from stress, then
distress at the gym, go to a girlfriends house and socialize then go home to
sleep. My life sounds so dull! Weekends are usually filled with fun
activities like walking knox, shopping, going for coffee, having a great
dinner out than ending the night with some wine and a lot of laughs!

Q: Describe Crystal Reposo in five words.
A: Dedicated, reliable, determined, independent, sarcastic!

Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
A: That I am only 4'11. I look much taller in photographs don't I :)

Q: Any set plans for the near future as far as competing or anything else?
A: I have been asked to do another photo shoot so I am certainly going to be
taking advantage of that while I can! I intend on competing again next year
but training for a full 12 weeks rather than 7. In July I will be going to
Vancouver to support my girls in their Provincial competition!

Q: Anything you want to take this opportunity to plug or promote?
A: I can't say enough good things about Angelique Kronebusch. At first she was
just my trainer who was going to help me get into shape. But by the end of 7
weeks she became a very close friend who helped me through everything
including emotional breakdowns haha. Out of 7 girls she trained, 5 placed
within top 5. That says a lot about her abilities as a trainer. She knows he
stuff and she helped me make a lifestyle change!


Q: Are you looking for sponsors. If so how can they reach you and what are
they getting in Crystal Reposo the athlete and competitor?
A: I don't actually know how sponsorship works but I can't say I would want to
work with any trainer other than Angelique. She believed in me and helped me
achieve so much. I owe my success to her. All I know is that next time I am
going to train my butt off for 12 weeks and do the absolute best I can. I am
an incredibly determined person so I know I can achieve whatever I set my
mind to.

Q: Crystal, again, I thank you for taking the time to do this. Any last
words before you go?
A: Thank you so much for taking an interest in me. This whole experience has
been amazing and I can not wait to do it again. I have learned so much and
will just continue to keep learning new things that will only make me
stronger as a competitor. Watch for me next year! I hope to reach my goal of
placing top 3!!