I Lost 25lbs in One Year and Won 1st Place in Bikini With My Mom’s Help
No Nonsense Magazine Vol 21, #4
By: Courtney Moher, 1st place Class A, 2017 NPC Renegade Classic
At a Glance: Courtney Moher
Age: 27
Occupation: Real Estate Agent
Family: Fiancé, Daniel Ledezma
Current Residence: Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Years training: 10 total, but 1 year more seriously!
Height: 4'11 and 3/4ths
Weight: 110 (Off-Season), 100 (Contest)
Favorite Bodybuilding or Fitness Meal: lean ground turkey and Brussels sprouts
Favorite supplements
Lean Out: 1 capsule with every meal to help burn fat
Density: 3 tablets 3x a day to help build/preserve muscle
7-Keto MuscLean: 3 capsules 2x a day to help jump start metabolism
UMP: Daily protein shake
What would you recommend to someone who has never used Beverly supplements before? They need to try it ASAP! It's a game changer for your body.
Music: Upbeat Latin/Spanish music
Hobby or interests outside bodybuilding: Paddle boarding, sea turtle lover, animal lover, and mountain biking
Words to live by: Work hard, play harder
I was practically raised in the fitness industry. My mother, Gayle Moher, was a top IFBB pro bodybuilder during my childhood. She competed in 4-5 shows a year, for many years. Our life revolved around contest prep. I’d spend hours in the gym while my mom worked out. Her nutrition had to be precise whether she was dieting for a show or trying to add more muscle in the off season. Therefore I was learning about dietary discipline from an early age. I was just 6 or 7 years old when we’d make monthly trips from our home in Columbus to the Beverly headquarters, often with our Great Dane, Scooby. My mom would always go to Beverly to keep check on her nutrition and body composition as she was dialing in for an upcoming contest. You can read an article about her preparation for winning the 1996 NPC Nationals in the No Nonsense magazine archives (www.bodybuildingworld.com/Spring97/GayleM.html).
As I grew older and my mom’s career became less intense, my life normalized. I participated in figure skating in middle school, but not much else in the way of exercise or sports. When I went to college at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising), I did start working out again, but without my mom I was lost. I gravitated to the exercises that I was comfortable doing on my own, primarily cardio and abs. Believe it or not, after all the time I had spent in the gym with my mom, I was not confident enough in my own knowledge to train myself. I continued like this for years – trying to eat right through the week, but then binging on the weekends – lots of cardio, but hardly any weights.
By this time I had moved to Florida and found there was not much opportunity for fashion design or merchandising, so I jumped into real estate and have been part of the “At the Beach Team” for the past five years. My workouts were still going nowhere so I decided to set a big goal – to enter an NPC bikini competition. I knew I couldn’t do it on my own. Heck, I’d had zero results for years. So I reached out to my mom for help. What a difference her diets, workouts, and recommendation to get on Beverly International supplements made. It took almost a year of intense workouts, strict dieting, and targeted supplements, but I lost 25 lbs and won first in my class at the 2017 NPC Renegade Classic.
Diet and Supplements
My diet remained the same during preparation for a show besides the last couple weeks. 4 of my 6 meals during the last 2 weeks consist of fish/tuna and green beans or asparagus.
Pre Workout: 1/4 cup of oatmeal before the gym
Meal 1: 6 egg whites
Meal 2: UMP shake
Meal 3: 6oz lean ground turkey, ½ cup Brussels sprouts
Meal 4: 6oz chicken, ½ cup veggies (some days 4oz sweet potato)
Meal 5: 6 egg whites, ½ cup green beans
Meal 6: 6oz fish/tuna, 6-8 asparagus spears
Tip: Canned tuna fish can get very boring, so switch it up; try grilling fresh fish in a little aluminum foil packet with salt free seasoning and lemon juice.
Supplement Schedule
Lean Out: 1 capsule with every meal to help burn fat
Density: 3 tablets with meals 1, 3 and 6 to help build/preserve muscle
7-Keto MuscLean: 3 capsules with meals 1 and 3 to help jump start metabolism
FitTabs: 2 tablets with meal 1
EFA Gold: 3 gelcaps with meal 1
Glutamine Select: 2 scoops during cardio and/or after weight training
Energy Reserve: 2 tablets with meals 1, 3 and 6 during last 3 weeks of prep to keep energy levels up and boost fat loss
Tip: You will not believe the difference that a good supplement program can make. I can pinpoint almost to the day when I started to make muscle gains and lose fat – the day my mom put me on a Beverly supplement plan.
Training Schedule
I work out alone, five days a week at 5:00 am before going to work.
Tip: Don’t be satisfied using the same weight for an exercise week in and week out. My mom taught me that to build lean muscle you have to progressively add weight to an exercise whenever you reach the desired sets and reps with certain poundage.
Saturday and Sunday: Off
| Monday: Legs, Abs | Amount |
|---|---|
| Leg Press | 3x15 |
| Squats | 3x12 |
| Hack Squat Machine | 3x15 |
| Stiff-leg Deadlifts | 3x12 |
| Leg Extensions | 3x12 |
| Variety of Ab Exercises | 8x30 |
| Tuesday: Back, Delts, Biceps, Calves | Amount |
|---|---|
| One-arm Dumbbell Row | 3x10 |
| Pulldowns | 3x12 |
| Seated Cable Row | 3x12 |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3x10 each way (side, front, rear) |
| Cable Curl | 3x12 |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3x10 |
| Calf Raises | 6x15 |
| Wednesday: Chest, Triceps, Abs | Amount |
|---|---|
| Incline DB Press | 4x10 |
| Flat DB Press | 4x12 |
| Pec Deck | 3x12 |
| Tricep Pushdowns | 4x12 |
| Lying Tricep Extension | 4x12 |
| Abs | 6x25 |
| Thursday: Legs (emphasize glutes) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Romanian Deadlifts | 3x15 |
| Wide Leg Press | 3x15 |
| Leg Curl | 3x8 |
| Walking Lunges | 3x15 per leg |
| Leg Extension | 3x12 |
| Smith Machine Squats | 3x12 |
| Calf Raises | 6x15 |
| Friday: Delts, Back, Biceps, Triceps, Abs | Amount |
|---|---|
| Shoulder Press | 3x10 |
| Wide Pulldown | 3x12 |
| Upright Row | 3x10 |
| Straight Arm Pulldown | 3x12 |
| Bent-over Lateral Raise | 3x12 |
| Seated Cable Row | 3x12 |
| Barbell Curl | 3x10 |
| Close-grip Bench Press | 3x10 |
| Concentration Curl | 2x12 |
| Tricep Dips | 2x15 |
| Abs | 8x30 |
Cardio
45 minutes, 6 days a week: Stairmaster, walking lunges on treadmill, sprints on treadmill (30 seconds sprint, 1 minute fast walk). At four weeks out from a show I increase cardio to 80 minutes a day – 40 minutes in the morning and 40 more in the evening.
Tip: Try wearing a resistance band just above your knees for added resistance on the Stairmaster. I get a terrific burn when I do this!
Presentation
Bikini posing has been one of the hardest things for me to master. It wasn’t enough to put in all the hard work and discipline it took to develop my body; I had to be able to display myself to my best advantage to the judges. After my first couple of shows I knew I needed help. I hired a professional coach to help and it made a world of difference.
Tips: Stand tall, lifting your chest, tighten the waist, breath shallow from the chest, walk slow.
Conclusion
Although I watched my mom do it for years, I never realized how much work it took to transform one’s body. Having competed three times now I'm addicted to the process and love the results! My favorite thing is making improvements from show to show. A big plus is the increased confidence that my more muscular shape has given me. I can’t wait to continue to work on my body and get on stage again! One other thing I learned is you need a strong support system to help you get through the contest prep grind. I can't thank my mom and fiancé enough for putting up with me during the toughest times!