 |
| Raechelle @ 2010 Ft. Lauderdale Cup Photo Credit: Raechelle Chase |
FitGems Nation: First off, thank you for taking this time to do this interview with FitGems, Raechelle!
Raechelle Chase: You are so welcome!
FitGems: May you first start off by telling us a little bit about yourself?
Raechelle: My back ground is in modelling, I did my first fashion show when I was just 5yrs old but these days I prefer the challenge that comes with being in shape for Fitness Modelling jobs. I’m a Mother to 3 young children, Dior-Rose 3 yrs. Carlos 5yrs and Annaliese 11 yrs. I am the deputy editor for The NZ Fitness magazine, an International Fitness Model and TV presenter for Fitness equipment in both NZ and Australia for TV various shows. I’m sponsored by Lonsdale Clothing and Body Ripped Sports Nutrition in Australia. I trained in Early Childhood Teaching, Computer technology & Personal Trainer, all professions which I decided not to pursue. I also worked in event Management for a few years organizing fashion shows and corporate functions. Although I started training when I was 16 years old (I worked part time in the gym) I started training seriously in 2002 However, it wasn’t until I competed in 2007 as a Novice that I won my class, Best posing routine & Overall Figure Champion and finally I knew that the fitness industry was where I wanted to be. After spending my entire life wondering what the heck I was going to do with my life, I finally knew!! That was a great moment.
FitGems: When got you involved to competing in physique competitions?
Raechelle: I needed a reason to get into shape, I’m not someone who does things by halves so naturally the next step was to pick a competition and compete!
FitGems: What is your strategy when you train? Is it mostly weight-training, mostly cardio, a balanced mixture of the two, or something else?
Racehelle: I prefer to train one body part per workout, that way I feel like I can give that muscle group 100% and not have to hold back because I know I still have other areas to train. I also get bored if I plan to train more than one muscle group which then leads to loss of motivation and focus and training becomes a chore. Training one body part means I’m in and out of the gym in 45 minutes and I’m highly motivated to get the job done!
FitGems: As you can tell, the differences in American figure competitors and international competitors is..well…a bit different. What look do you prefer, the American look for figure or the international look for figure?
Raechelle: After competing in Pro Figure competitions in the States I don’t really see how the American figure competitor look is any different to an International look even though this is a common way of thinking for many people. Everyone has their own individual look and I don’t think the county they are from represents this. I do think being an International figure competitor makes it harder to be noticed when competing in the States but not due to a lack of quality in our physiques.
FitGems: What are your personal thoughts on the pending new women’s physique division, and do you think we could see you in it in the near future?
Raechelle: I think it’s brilliant and a great way to bridge the gap that we have between figure & women’s bodybuilding. I’m not sure that you will see me in this class though, I think my look is better suited to the current figure category.
FitGems: Do you see many international stars give women’s physique a try? The NPC will launch it next year, and the IFBB will launch it in 2012.
Raechelle: I hope so, I think this division will be a great one to watch!
FitGems: In addition to competing, you have a family back home. How hard is it to raise a family and compete?
Raechelle: It’s not always easy. In fact it’s never easy lol, I constantly feel like I’m trying to fit in what I need here and there. Young children are so demanding of your attention and they can’t understand why you would need to do anything for yourself because they of course they are the single most important person in the world lol.
Don’t get me wrong I love that children are just so oblivious to anything else going on around them. That’s what makes them so innocent. But it does make it challenging, it’s a juggling act that sometimes works, and sometimes doesn’t.
I love my family and I love training and competing. It’s all about finding that balance to fit all in without feeling like one is taking over the other.
Most importantly, as for all goals in life. If the desire is strong enough you can make anything work!
FitGems: Which competitor do you admire most?
Raechelle: I loved the looked Gina Allotti bought to the stage in 2009 I thought she had great balance and her conditioning was right on form. I aim to bring the same conditioning to my competitions.
FitGems: What advice would you give to any female that would want to be in the female physique world?
Raechelle: If you choose to compete, do so with all the motivation and dedication you can pull, because it’s not an easy road. But when you get to the stage and look back you will see that it was worth it, even if you only do it once, it will be worth the effort.
FitGems: Last, but not least, what are your future plans for the rest your IFBB career?
Raechelle: I will keep competing until it’s not fun anymore, I’m always up for new challenges and jumping into new and exciting opportunities, so we will just see what comes my way and where it leads. I’m keen to get into more Television type roles. I do some presenting jobs already in NZ and Australia and have Done for a few years. I would like to work more in this field now that the children are a bit older.
FitGems: Once again, thank you so much for doing this!
Racehelle: Your welcome, I love your site and honoured to have been interviewed.
For more on Raechelle, you can visit her website at www.raechellechase.com, where she also regularly write a blog on the site. If you're on Facebook, "like" Raechelle at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Raechelle-Chase-IFBB-Figure-Professional/299006786205, and for those on Twitter, follow her at http://twitter.com/RaechelleChase.
No comments:
Post a Comment