I AM ISSUE 21 JULY. 2015 | Page 20

Have you ever wanted to know what drives some women to lift it with the fellas, devoting countless hours to building a body of steel? I mean, these women are packing serious muscle! They are strong and strict when it comes to everything to do with ‘their body’. We asked local Cronulla fitness freak and body comp girl, Maria Rigatos, how she gets her guns and buns ready for competition time. As a busy single mum of two gorgeous girls, Maria believes her positive outlook on life’s hurdles, keeps her feeling strong both physically and mentally. Throw a high intensity weights program into the mix and you have a very powerful woman on a mission to becoming the ultimate version of herself. What attracted you to training for an event like the Figure division in IFBB Nationals Bodybuilding Comp? “I've been weight training since I was 18, so an odd 20 years. I wanted to compete back then, but didn't have the confidence to do it. Now that I am older I feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin and, as it's been something I've always wanted to do for a long time, I thought why not!” How hard is it to achieve the look you need to enter those types of competitions? “It's generally a 12 week prep of consistent comp dieting and hard training at least 6 times a week. The training is the easy part, it's the diet that is the biggest challenge.