Sharing a TenSpot with...Jessica Jordan

Jessica Jordan is one of the top up-and-coming stars in NPC Figure today. A very beautiful woman who's competed for only 2 years, but has done well in those two years. With her impressive resume, it's only a matter of time before she is part of the IFBB. To me, it's WHEN she will get her pro card, not IF.

FitGems Nation: Let’s kick this off by telling us a bit about yourself.
Jessica Jordan: I am a Cal State Long Beach Alumni with my degree in Kinesiology and my emphasis in Exercise Science. I am 26 years old, I run my own personal training business in Orange County, CA I also prepare contest preps for figure and bikini girls and run and online training/diet program. I am very busy and I strive off of it. I am an NPC National Level Figure Competitor and plan to shortly acquire my IFBB status  I have an amazing family and group of friends that I love dearly and whom support me in everything I do!

FitGems: When did you first start competing?
Jessica: My very first time on stage was at the 2008 Flex Bikini Model Search at the “O” there I was told “you need to go into figure, ” So 3 months later I competed in my first Figure Comp at the 2008 Excalibur where I placed 1st in my class, it was exhilarating!

FitGems: What is your strategy when you head to the gym? Is it mostly weight-training, mostly cardio, a balanced mixture of the two, or something else?
Jessica: Always BOTH! It also depends on where I am at with my preps. If I am in my off-seaseon, I still do my cardio, but I do a little less, however, I am lifting MUCH heavier than during a prep. I like to split everything up too, I will do my early round of cardio and then train a bit later and if I am in prep mode I will do my 2nd bout after my weights or later in the day, it all depends on how I am feeling that day!

FitGems: Due to your muscularity, has anyone mistaken you for being in something OTHER than physique competitions (MMA fighter, boxer, pro wrestler, track and field runner, etc?)
Jessica: I am actually on the smaller side, I am a Class A, shorty, I measure in at a whopping 5’1/2’’ So size is difficult for me in my upper body, my lower body does not suffer from this, my quads can grow if I look at weights, haha! So to answer the question, I only get asked if I am gymnast, which I am not!

FitGems: With women’s physique and bikini now part of the NPC and IFBB, do you feel that there’s now a division for every female who wants to compete?
Jessica: Absolutely, especially with the way they changed the Figure regulations the last few years. When I was first thinking of competing, I thought to myself “I can’t, because I didn’t have the size necessary to step on stage,” but then things changed and now the figure look is right up my alley!

FitGems: Along those same lines, where do you personally see the direction of figure in the long haul? Do you think it will remain in a “soft” state where there are those that say that it’s dangerously close to drawing a line between figure and bikini, or do you see it going back to a somewhat harder look, like when Davana Medina was queen of figure during its birth?
Jessica: I think they have figured it out, I believe (and hope) they will keep the smaller, hard yet not TOO hard look! I still come in a little too hard at times, but it allows me to eat a bit before the show  Although, I would not mind if they go a bit harder, but then I feel there will be an issue with it looking too much like Physique. At the end of the day this sport is subjective and open to a lot of interpretation and as a competitor you have to know and understand this or you will be let down at some point.

FitGems: If you weren’t a part of the female physique world, what would you be doing right now as your profession?
Jessica: Well my current profession fits right in with what I am doing with my competitive career. If I weren’t competing though I would probably have joined some type of competitive sport, maybe a soccer league or track/running league. I love competition; it keeps the rest of my life in order!

FitGems: What (if anything) would you change about any of the IFBB female divisions?
Jessica: I think they should have a cap at the amount of girls allowed per class, sometimes these classes become so large it is very exhausting or if they split the comps into 2 separate days like at the National Level Shows. It allows for more excitement when you aren’t waiting around for hours to step on stage.

FitGems: Which competitor (past or present) you look up to the most for your inspiration?
Jessica: This is a hard one, I have a few – My best friend Erica Fuerst, another great friend of mine Deena Walsh who just went Pro last year and my favorite amateur (whom I compete against, but love to death) Wendy Fortino!

FitGems:What are your future plans heading into 2011 and beyond, and where do you see your career after you’re done competing?
Jessica: I am very excited for my 2011 year! My current plan is to compete at the Greater Gulf States in New Orleans in June as a little prep show for Team Universe in New Jersey in July and then USA’s at the end of July if Team U doesn’t go as planned. After that, it is all up in the air depending on the other comps. I am really working on my fitness-modeling career as well and hoping each one of these stepping-stones will land me closer and closer to some amazing coverage, magazine publications, covers, ect…

For more on Jessica, visit her website at http://www.jessicaryanjordan.com/ and also check her out on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/jessica.r.jordan
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Ryan-Jordan-Competitor/165408453480512


According to her website, she will be competing at the NPC Greater Gulf States in June of this year, and at the NPC Team Universe (which is a pro qualifier) a month later. We at FitGems wish Jessica best of luck this year!