Publishers Note
2
COVER SHOT FITNESS
John Hawley, Publisher
Photographer/Videographer
John Hawley (904)333-3527
11604 Surfwood Ave, Jax. Fl 32246
Editor & Administrator: Nellie Hawley
November 5, 2015; Volume 31
In This Issue:
Abigail Nalbandian
Please share a bit of your background and how its led up to where you are in the fitness industry today.
I was born and raised in Argentina. As a child/teenager I participated in many sports including gymnastics, skating, basketball, and soccer. I enjoyed gymnastics the most, but I got two major leg injuries in two years and by the time I got better I was half way through high school; my coach said I was too old to start over so I never did. At the age of 19 I moved to Miami with my family, and four years later in 2009 I moved to Ann Arbor, MI. to attend University of Michigan College of Engineering.
While in school, my diet consisted primarily of frozen dinners and fast breakfasts. I was never obese, but I never considered myself thin either. I told myself it was because of genetics that I had wide hips and thick legs and carried on with life, suffering every summer because I hated my legs so much I would never wear shorts above the knee.
I started dating Neuyen (now my husband) in 2010 and that’s when I started thinking maybe it wasn’t genetics, maybe it was my routine and eating habits that shaped my body. At the time, Neuyen was studying to enter Medical School (which is very time consuming) yet he looked fantastic and his diet was nothing like mine. He had been working out since his late teens and was a fan of the old school bodybuilders. As time went by, my perception of what a nice women’s body looked like changed from Victoria’s Secret models to IFBB PRO Bikini athletes. This change of mind was organic, as I can’t point out the moment in which I started to appreciate muscles in women. Still, it was more of a wish than a goal as I did not really put in the work to look like either or.
Six months after graduation, I was at work and a customer asked me when I was due. Given I was not pregnant I was upset, not at the customer, but at myself for letting it get that far. That night when I got home I weighted myself; I was 10 pounds heavier than my average weight! That was my breaking point. I asked my husband to take my “before” pictures and to please train with me, as I never wanted to be or feel like this again. I trained with him for six months. At the end of the year I joined Bombshell Fitness and I never looked back (cont. pg. 14).
Cover Shot Fitness Magazine