Two Overall Bikini Titles - Here's How I Did It
No Nonsense Magazine Collectors Edition 2015
By: Molli Smith, 2013 Kentucky State and Kentucky Muscle Overall Bikini Champion
At a Glance: Molli Smith
Age: 25
Occupation: Personal trainer at No Non-sense Personal Training/Licensed Cosmetologist
Years Training (total): 2
Height: 5'5.5"
Weight: 125
Favorite Bodybuilding Meal: Pre-contest I follow a low carb diet plan with a “Carb Meal” on Mondays and Thursdays. This is my favorite meal. I eat 1 cup oats, an 8oz sweet potato, 1 cup broccoli, and 1 banana for my last meal on those days.
Favorite Supplements: UMP- It is so versatile, great tasting, and very convenient with my busy sched-ule. It’s perfect for someone who can’t get in 5-6 meals a day. I have also found it to be very handy in baking (which I love to do!) Muscle Mass Branched chain amino acids during training; Muscularity with my meals to help maintain lean body mass on a low calorie diet. Lean Out- It is perfect for someone who isn’t that strict to help regulate insulin levels.
Music: Rock, Heavy Metal, & Hip Hop on my iPod
Most Inspiring Book: The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
Hobbies: Cooking, Baking, Reading, Hiking, Canoe-ing, Jet Skiing, Mountain Biking, Softball, Basketball, Sand Volleyball, Camping, Skiing, Snow Tubing. I could go on and on! I love to stay active and help people achieve their goals.
Words to live by: “It’s not the will to win that mat-ters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
I grew up happy with a very active lifestyle. I was very involved in sports ever since I was little. I started playing t-ball at 5, then progressed to slow-pitch softball which turned into fast-pitch softball. I played 3 years in high school and also on a select team as a catcher, shortstop, and center fielder. Our select team actually was invited to play in a tournament in Maui! My whole team bagged groceries on weekends for months to earn the money to cover our plane tickets—it was worth it!
I played basketball (my fav!) ever since I was 7. I was a guard on my school teams up until my senior year. I also was a setter on my schools’ volleyball teams from middle school through my junior year in high school.
All of that activity kept me in pretty good shape, but I was very skinny. I had some tone, but little-to-no muscle. I don’t know how I stayed so thin because I paid no attention to my diet whatsoever! I ate out- ALL THE TIME! Whatever and whenever I wanted to eat, I ate. Never ate breakfast unless it was a banana or a Pop Tart. I’d skip lunch half the time and just eat a huge meal before bed. Even when I thought I was eating something that might be good for me like fish, as often as not it would be deep fried. I made those kinds of mistakes all the time.
I wasn’t just clueless about nutrition, but even with my sports background, I had zero knowledge about working out. I became interested in really improving my body but I didn’t know where to turn. Then I met my fiancé, Mark Ritter, a successful bodybuilder and very knowledgeable about training and nutrition.
Within 1 year he had me ready for my first competition, the 2012 Northern Kentucky. I placed 7th in a pretty big class of girls. I loved it! I was psyched and wanted another go at it. Next time I wanted to be in the center of the top 5 line up. In the Nutrition and Supplement section I’ll give you the details of how I ramped up both for my next competition in Indianapolis, just 3 months after the Northern. One week before the show, I got a HUGE surprise… I got engaged to Mark!
I went on to place 5th at the Indy out of 17 girls! I was ecstatic. Not only did I get engaged to the love of my life (my swole-mate) just a week prior, I also had earned my first trophy. I was hungry for success and I knew I could do better if I kept pushing my-self, so that’s exactly what I did. Finally I achieved my goal of not only a class win, but an overall title at the 2013 Kentucky State. I followed that with another class and overall win at the 2013 Kentucky Muscle. Now, let’s get into how I did it.
Nutrition & Supplements
Mark put me on my first supplement regimen shortly after I started training with him. Mark’s been using Beverly supplements since 1999 and knows the product line inside and out. He explained I needed to start building some muscle if I wanted to compete. The best supplements he’s seen for this are the combo of UMP, Mass Aminos, Ultra 40, and Fit Tabs. It was a lot of pills at first, but I went from a skinny girl to a toned and shapely bikini competitor in less than a year.
I was hooked on the supplements from then on. For my second contest we stayed with the “musclebuilding supplement combo” I used for the Northern, but Mark added a trick he’d learned long ago when he worked at Beverly of taking Muscle Mass BCAA tablets throughout the workout. I also added Muscularity (more BCAAs) with my meals and Lean Out to help me, well, lean out.
My Daily Supplement Plan
UMP: 2 scoops twice daily
Mass Aminos: 2 or 3 with each meal
Ultra 40: Same as Mass Aminos
Muscle Mass: I weigh 125, so 12-15 during my workout is ideal Muscularity: 2 capsules with each meal
Lean Out: 1 or 2 capsules with each meal
My Daily Meal Plan:
One thing I can tell you that has definitely changed for me is my nutrition. It went from Pop Tarts and fast food to chicken, eggs/egg whites, lean beef, turkey, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and veggies! I now eat 6 meals throughout the day, spread 2-3 hours apart. This way I’m never hungry or too full. I also drink at least 1 gallon of water per day. If I’m trying to lean out for a contest, I’ll substitute ½ of a grapefruit for my oatmeal in Meal 1 and about 8-10 stalks of asparagus for my sweet potato in Meals 3 & 5. During contest prep, I have carb up meals on Mondays and Thursdays at Meal 6. That consists of 1 cup oats, 8oz sweet potato, 1 cup broccoli, and 1 banana.
Meal 1 8:00am: 3 egg whites 1 whole egg, 3-4oz lean beef; ½ cup oats
Meal 2 11:00am: Chocolate UMP shake 2 scoops mixed with cold water
Meal 3 2:00pm: 6oz chicken breast; 6oz sweet potato
Meal 4 5:00pm: Same as meal 2
Meal 5 8:00pm: 6oz chicken breast; 6oz sweet potato
Meal 6 11:00pm: Chocolate UMP 2 scoops mixed with water to pudding consistency PB2 sprinkled on top
I always buy in bulk and prep our meals for up to 2 or 3 days prior, except for breakfast. I always cook our breakfast fresh every morning which is an egg/beef omelet! For me, having our meals prepped in advance creates less stress throughout the day. We can just grab our container, throw it in the microwave and eat! If you are someone who is gone most of the day, I would suggest having some type of cooler to keep your meals in. Along with having all of your meals in one place, it keeps them cool and you have them right there with you so you’re not tempted to swing through a drive thru. A food scale really helps with weighing out your portions, especially if you’re cooking for more than one! If you would like more information please visit our website at www.nnpt.net.
My Workouts
Monday- Chest
Incline Barbell Presses 4 sets of 12-15 reps
Incline Dumbbell Presses 4x6-8
Flat Dumbbell Flyes 4x5-max reps (Mark creates resistance on the way up and down by having me push against his forearms for 5. Then I rep out as many as I can)
Flat Barbell Bench Presses 2x10
Cable Crossovers 3x12-15
Wednesday- Arms
Barbell Curls 4x8-12
Incline Curls 3x6-8
One Arm Preacher Curls 3x8-10
Hammer Curls 3x6-8
Rope Pushdowns 3x10-15
Close Grip Bench Press 3x6-10
Pushdowns 3x10-12
Dips 3 sets of as many as I can
Triceps Kickbacks 7x12-15 (only 30 second rest in between)
Friday- Shoulders
Side Laterals 4x20 (first 5 super slow then 15 regular) Dumbbell Press 4x20 (first 5 super slow then 15 regular)
One-Arm Cable Laterals 3x8-10
Front Dumbbell Raise 3x12 (performed on incline bench)
Reverse Pec Dec 3x10-12
Rear Dumbbell Raise 3x8-12 (lying face down on incline bench)
**I will usually hit additional glutes on Monday or Saturday**
Tuesday- Back
Wide Grip Pull Ups 4 sets of as many as I can Barbell Row 4x8-10
Rack Pulls 3x6-8
Seated Cable Row 4x8-10
Hammer Strength ISO Lateral Pull Down (reverse grip) 4x8-10 together then 2-3 assisted single arms
Thursday- Legs
Giant Set - Lying Leg Curls/ Stiff Leg Deadlifts/Standing Leg Curls 4x20
Leg Extension 2x20 (super slow on 1st 5 reps, then rep out fast on the final 15)
Leg Extension 2 drop sets (max reps starting with super slow reps for the first 5)
Leg Press 4x20 (first 5 reps performed extremely slow then rep out 15)
Hack Squats 3x8-10
Walking Lunges 2 sets
Presentation
Sandy asked me to include some tips on presentation. Even though this is only going to be my 3rd year in competition, I think I can give you some good pointers. The first is walk, walk, walk! I cannot stress enough how important your stage presence is. It’s very important that you look and feel confident on stage. I am constantly practicing my walk no matter if I’m 10 weeks out from a show or 2 days out. You cannot practice enough! On the day of the show you may be tired, hungry, thirsty, fatigued, nervous or scared. Trust me, I’ve been all of those! You’ll want to be able to power through those emotions, dig deep, and own that stage. Always keep a smile on your face. Think about all the hard work you put in to that very moment and how beautiful you look. Practice alone, in front of a mirror-not too much though! You don’t want to get in the habit of always seeing yourself when you practice, so make sure to practice without the mirror too! Practice in front of people and have someone video tape you while you walk so you can see what others see, and possibly some things you want to change or work on. I promise you- once you get it down you’ll be able to do it no problem. If you’ve never posed before it can be a little overwhelming. I tell my clients this all the time. First, find which poses are the most comfortable for you. Then work on putting them together in your walk. You’ll want the whole presentation to flow. It takes time, but you’ll be glad you practiced when the show comes and your confidence will shine. Good luck!
In closing, I would like to thank my fiancé, Mark for all of his wonderful help with my training and nutrition along with the best support I could ever ask for. It is such an honor to be learning from such an amazing, smart, and talented person. Also, to Roger and Sandy for having an extraordinary product line. I will never use or recommend any-thing else!