Kristina Henn

Click on thumbnail to enlarge

Mo-Town Trinity Kicks Butt in Chi-Town

 Decked out as Trinity from The Matrix, Detroit-area resident Kristina Henn won an impressive 3 trophies at the recent NPC Jr. Nationals Fitness & Figure competition held in Chicago, IL. Kristina competed in both Fitness and Figure divisions, placing 3^rd in Figure, 1^st in Fitness, and winning the Overall Title in Fitness. And the competition was extremely tough, since each of the 300+ competitors must have placed in the top 5 of his/her class at a regional national-qualifying event in order to even be eligible to compete at Jr. Nationals.

 Not only is 29-year-old Kristina a dedicated athlete, she's a full-time engineer at Ford Motor Company. She balances her time between designing engines at Ford, planning and preparing her diet meals (she eats 7-8 times a day!), training at the gym, and practicing her routine. Not only does Fitness competition take dedication, it takes lots of organization!

 Since Kristina was never an athlete as a child, she's had to start from scratch learning gymnastics skills, dance moves, and the basics of weight training in the gym. When she decided to compete in Fitness, she signed up for gymnastics lessons at Conrad's Gymnastics Academy, joined Lifetime Fitness and took a selection of dance classes at area studios. She's worked with a few trainers over the years, but now trains mostly on her own with guidance from her Columbus-based trainer, Mike Davies. It's taken a few years from the time she entered her first gym until she was ready to compete, but her work has paid off, and no one would now question her status as an athlete.

 Kristina started lifting weights and training seriously in 1998, and competed in her first show in September 2002, the national-qualifying Renee Masi Fitness/Figure Classic.  Since then, she's competed in 4 National Qualifying competitions and 3 National Level competitions.

 Kristina's competition history:

·        2002 NPC Central States (Detroit, MI): 2^nd Fitness, 4^th Figure

·        2003 NPC Michigan (Detroit, MI): 2^nd Fitness, 3^rd Figure

·        2003 FAP Motor City (Dearborn, MI): 3^rd Fitness

·        2003 NPC Jr. Nationals (Chicago, IL): 4^th Fitness, 11^th Figure

·        2003 NPC Team Universe (New York, NY): 2^nd Fitness, competed in Figure

·        2004 NPC Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA): 3^rd Fitness, 3^rd Figure

·        2004 NPC Jr. Nationals (Chicago, IL); 1^st Fitness, Fitness Overall, 3^rd Figure

 Editor’s Note: Kristina placed first in the Tall Class of the 2004 NPC USA and is Michigan’s newest IFBB Fitness Pro!

 How does she do it? / What does it take to be a Fitness/Figure competitor? 

Kristina urges that the key to weight-loss is a healthy diet – she finds that she gets the best results when she adds a healthy diet to her usual workout program. Kristina's pre-competition diet follows the same basic rules that we all know:

·        Burn more energy (through workouts) than you take in (through food)

·        Restrict saturated fat & sodium

·        Eat adequate protein for your activity level and goals (more for high activity level and looking to gain muscle)

·        Low amounts of "good" carbohydrates (green veggies, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, limited fruit)

·        Avoid "bad" carbohydrates (alcohol, sugar, chips/fries, refined bread & pasta)

 Her typical daily diet consists of 7-8 small meals: (spaced 2-3 hours apart)

1.      Apple and flaxseed oil (provides healthy omega-3 fats)

2.      6 egg whites & ½ cup oatmeal

3.      Low-carb protein shake

4.      4 oz chicken breast, 1cup green veggies

5.      6 oz whitefish, 1 cup green veggies

6.      ½ grapefruit

7.      4 oz tuna, 1 cup veggies, 4 oz sweet potato

8.      6 egg whites

 Kristina's Training Schedule:

·        She weight trains 5 days per week, doing each major muscle group once per week.

·        She does cardio (bike, run, walk, Stairmaster, elliptical, sprints, or bleachers) 4 times per week in the off-season, and goes up to 8-12 times per week pre-competition (that means morning and evening workouts most days).

·        She practices gymnastics and her routine 3 times per week in the off-season, and up to 6 times per week before competition.

·        She stretches after every workout (weights, cardio or gymnastics).

 Kristina's Advice to others:

·        Be patient: muscle development, as well as healthy fat loss, takes time!

·        You can achieve your goals, it just takes dedication.

·        Don't be intimidated by new fitness challenges – YOU CAN DO IT!!!

 Suggested tips for people trying to lose weight:

·        First you need to motivate yourself. Think about specific goals you what to accomplish, why this is important to you, and WRITE IT DOWN. When you're struggling to stay motivated, pull out your list – it will help you realize that the taste of that one candy bar or skipping that one workout is not worth jeopardizing your goals.

·        Then, fix your diet. Write a daily log of everything that goes into your mouth. You know what's good and what's bad, and how much a "reasonable" amount is to eat. When you find yourself craving something, force yourself to wait 15 minutes. If you still want it after 15 minutes, then eat it. If you were hungry, you'll still be hungry in 15 minutes. But more often, you'll find that you were just bored and after 15 minutes you'll be busy and forget all about the food.

·        Whatever diet/workout program you decide to follow, start out slowly. Give yourself 2 weeks to build into your full workout/diet routine. If you jump in "cold turkey", you're likely to burn out.

Suggestions for people considering Fitness/Figure competition:

·        First, make sure you really want to do it. Competing is very rewarding and a lot of fun, but involves several sacrifices. It's expensive (entry fees, suits, costumes, shoes, supplements, tanning, travel, etc.), inconvenient (you have to carry your own food and drink EVERYWHERE), and your life revolves around your diet/workout schedule (at least for the 2 months before a show).

·        If you still want to do it, GO FOR IT!!! Don't use the excuse that you don't have enough experience, genetics, or that you're too old to start. If I could start taking gymnastics classes at age 24 and 5 years later win a national amateur title, you can do it too.