Christina Comparato

Age: 42

Occupation: High School Math Teacher for 19 years, Co-Owner of Total Nutrition for 13 years

Family: Mom, Dad, brother, sister-in-law, niece, nephew, & 3 fur-sons: Muscles, Oreo, & Zeus

Current Residence: Sylvania, Ohio

Years training (total): 19 years

Height: 5’2”

Weight: 130 (off-season), 116 (contest)

Favorite Bodybuilding Meal: Breakfast of Champions UMP Pancakes- 1/4 cup oatmeal (cook first), 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup pumpkin, 1 egg white, 1/2 scoop UMP (any flavor), 1 tbsp flax seed, 1 tsp cinnamon & 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Cook into one large pancake or several small ones if desired. I top mine with 1 tbsp Chocolate PB2 & 1 tsp almond butter. Macros: 326 calories, 31 C, 28 P, 10 F

Favorite Supplement: UMP! I use it 24-7-- breakfast, as a snack, pre & post workout. You can even eat it off the counter if it spills. It’s that good! I also put it in my coffee as a creamer & sweetener.

What would you recommend to someone who has never used Beverly supplements before? Try UMP. It will not matter if you drink it as a shake mixed in 8-12 oz of cold water, or eat as a pudding mixed in just a little bit of water. You will NOT be disappointed.

Music: From Country to the Rocky soundtrack during tough workouts

Most Inspiring Book: “Until I Say Good-Bye: My Year of Living with Joy,” by Susan Spencer-Wendel

Hobby or interests: Giving back to the bodybuilding community by judging shows and volunteering at fit clinics & seminars

Words to live by: “Eat to Live, Don’t Live to Eat”

How I Got Started Competing

I’d been working out a couple of years when I moved to the Toledo, OH area in 2000. One of the first things I did was join a gym. After a short time the gym regulars started encouraging me and commented on my workout ethic and favorable genetics. They suggested that I give competition a try, “What the heck, at least try an 8-week diet, get tanned up, step on stage, and see how you do.” Barry Gordon was already a competitor and offered to go through my first contest prep with me.

We dieted together, trained together, and two months later competed and won our mixed pairs competition. And of course I was hooked.

How My Students Relate

My kids Google me a lot and I am known as the bodybuilder teacher. We don’t really talk about it but I feel that they respect me because of it. They seem to know when it is competition time, especially if I am gone on a Friday and Monday. When I come back, they somehow know where I’ve been and say congratulations. Throughout the year, I have numerous students ask me about healthy food plans, workouts, sport specific advice, etc. I also keep in touch with quite a few of my past students over the years. For example, just last week, one student inquired about me training him and his family, another asked for competition advice. One had a big hockey tryout coming up and asked me for training advice. It is very rewarding to say the least and I love it!

How I Got Started with Beverly International

About 15 years ago Barry and I opened Total Nutrition. We carried Beverly supplements right from the start. I used several of them during my first contest preps, was hooked, and have stuck with them ever since. I’ve always been impressed with their integrity and the incredible high quality of their supplements. Another plus is the ease of placing orders and that I am able to get any questions answered by a live person. I also like the information in their No Nonsense magazine both for me and our clients. I was actually featured in the magazine ten years ago (go to BeverlyInternational. com, click “Search” at the top left and type in Christina Comparato).

Recent Accomplishments

Barry Gordon here to give you a brief rundown on Christina’s latest accomplishments. After a 5-year hiatus from competition, Christina got the bug to step back on stage in 2014. Her Pro status had expired so the first order of business was to work her way back up the ladder. That summer she competed in 2 INBA shows earning her Pro status in the PNBA. That fall she competed in a NANBF show and regained her IFBA natural Pro status. She was also awarded Pro status in a newer natural organization, the DFAC. Christina closed out the year by taking 1st in bodybuilding at the PNBA Natural Universe and placing top 3 in DFAC Miami World’s Finals, and the PNBA Natural Olympia. She said how surreal it was to experience those 2 big World shows with athletes representing several countries. Yes, she was still working this entire time as a HS math teacher and running our nutrition/personal training studio (Total Nutrition) by herself in the evenings and weekends.

In 2015, Christina was back on the Natural Olympia stage and won first place and the Gold Medal for bodybuilding. In 2016, she was once again going for the Gold at the PNBA Natural Olympia. Not only would she defend her pro title in women’s bodybuilding, but she also entered Pro Master’s Physique and Mixed Pairs. It would be quite a feat to pull off 3 wins in 3 different categories. But with a fire under her that I had never seen before, Christina walked away with 3 first place wins, earning her 3 more Gold medals. Now, I am proud to say she is a 4x Olympia World Champion. And I couldn’t be more proud of her. - Barry Gordon

Two months out from the Olympia in 2016, I knew it was crunch time. My body was not dropping fat and I had a title to defend. That’s when I decided to hit cardio 7 days a week. 4 days I did 30 minutes of MISS (Moderate Intense Steady State) cardio keeping my heart rate at 130 BPM or higher. I mixed it up with the elliptical, stair stepper, incline fast walk, & P90X-3 workouts. On the other 3 days I did both HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and MISS cardio: ten minutes of HIIT, consisting of 20 seconds full out as fast as I could, with 40 seconds of recovery. HIIT was usually on a stationary bike standing & pedaling as fast as I could or incline sprints on a treadmill or sprints outside my business in the parking lot. Immediately following HIIT I did 10 minutes of MISS, again keeping my heart rate at about 130 BPM.

My High day is approximately 1779 calories, Medium day is 1689 calories, and Low day about 1455.
Sample diet above is my medium day.
On high days, I increase the carbs. For example, instead of an 8oz sweet potato at meal 4, I would increase it to 12 oz, and instead of 1/4 cup oatmeal in meal 5, I’d increase it to 1/2 cup.
On low days, leave out the carbs (oatmeal and sweet potatoes) from meals 4, 5, and 6.
Water: The last 2 years my body seems like it is always asking me for water. So my water intake has increased to a consistent 2 gallons a day.

Make it as easy as possible on yourself. Personally, like everyone else when in contest prep mode and with multiple jobs, I need to have everything cooked on the weekends because my Monday- Fridays are super busy from 6 am to 8 pm. (That’s also the only time I have to clean my entire house.) I even cut up my pancake in pieces so it is ready to take with me each morning. And trust me, the pancakes taste the same on Monday as they do on Friday. I cook one or two meats for the week, usually chicken, ground turkey, or tilapia. Numerous sweet potatoes are thrown in the oven for about 90 minutes at 400 degrees. Not even I can mess them up. I just stick them in the oven while prepping everything else. I also throw in a few sliced white potatoes for a post workout carb a few days a week. I like fresh veggies and bulk shop once a week at Sam’s club. My usual veggies are green beans, Brussels sprouts, or asparagus.

Always, always, stretch & warm-up before your Get on the bike for 5 minutes and do some light DB exercises for the body parts you are going to be working. Also do some leg extensions on leg days to warm up your knees. Trust me; it helps as you get older.
Focus on a goal and stick with ONE If you ask 5 people their opinion about a workout program or meal plan, you will get 5 different answers. Consistency is one of the key ingredients.

I know everyone says it, but if you are competing you need to practice your Start off with a 10-minute session practicing your quarter turns and/or poses. Then increase your time each week by 5 minutes. The easiest time for me to practice my posing was after my workout while I ate/drank my post workout meal. Have someone who knows critique you so you can make changes. You may not realize that you are irritating the judges by bobbing your head or running your hand up and down your obliques (I have seen both).
Be confident. Don’t have self-doubt and constantly compare yourself to Believe in yourself and focus on the hard work you have put into your weight loss or competition journey.
To gauge progress in your weight loss journey, use 3 numbers - yes the scale, but also buy a caliper & test your body fat, and use a tape measure for a few hip & stomach Once a week or every other week is sufficient. When you see the changes in your body and/or your numbers, it is very rewarding.
If you are a competitor, thinking about competing, unsure of a certain method, need a workout program, not sure which organization to compete with, or wondering which bodybuilding show to compete at, please please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I can be reached at thetototalnutrition@ yahoo.com.

Christina Comparato - Multiple Natural Pro Titleholder

No Nonsense Magazine Vol 22, #1

How I got started competing

A little about how my students relate to me

How I got started with Beverly

Some of my recent accomplishments (courtesy of Barry)

My cardio, training, nutrition, and supplement plans

Tips I’ve learned along the way

How I Got Started Competing

How My Students Relate

How I Got Started with Beverly International

Recent Accomplishments

How I Did It - My Cardio, Training, Nutrition and Supplement Plans

Nutrition

My High day is approximately 1779 calories, Medium day is 1689 calories, and Low day about 1455.

Sample diet above is my medium day.

On high days, I increase the carbs. For example, instead of an 8oz sweet potato at meal 4, I would increase it to 12 oz, and instead of 1/4 cup oatmeal in meal 5, I’d increase it to 1/2 cup.

On low days, leave out the carbs (oatmeal and sweet potatoes) from meals 4, 5, and 6.

Water: The last 2 years my body seems like it is always asking me for water. So my water intake has increased to a consistent 2 gallons a day.

Tips I’ve Learned Along the Way

Always, always, stretch & warm-up before your Get on the bike for 5 minutes and do some light DB exercises for the body parts you are going to be working. Also do some leg extensions on leg days to warm up your knees. Trust me; it helps as you get older.

Focus on a goal and stick with ONE If you ask 5 people their opinion about a workout program or meal plan, you will get 5 different answers. Consistency is one of the key ingredients.

Be confident. Don’t have self-doubt and constantly compare yourself to Believe in yourself and focus on the hard work you have put into your weight loss or competition journey.

To gauge progress in your weight loss journey, use 3 numbers - yes the scale, but also buy a caliper & test your body fat, and use a tape measure for a few hip & stomach Once a week or every other week is sufficient. When you see the changes in your body and/or your numbers, it is very rewarding.