Photo submitted.
Hub Staff
Southampton’s Cheryl Visser and her toned physique is featured inside the pages of a leading Canadian fitness magazine, Inside Fitness, for its April/May issue. Visser is a wellness councillor who started her own business, Fuel Elite Nutrition Solution, in 2012 and had a busy 2017 not only training for the magazine photoshoot but was also selected by famed Australian body builder, Cheryl Frost, to compete on her team at the Pan American World Fitness Federation (WFF) Championships in Mexico last Fall.
Visser, who is 48 years old, came in third place in the 30 plus bikini division after training for several months and gaining eight to 10 pounds of muscle under the guidance of Coach Frost. Visser learned some “out of the box” nutritional methods which she has incorporated into her lifestyle, and nutrition services. “I feel it was necessary to have a coach as I am like no different from my own clients and I love having accountability. I believe it is important for my own self growth and it is another way that I set an example to my clients and boys,” said the mother of two.
Cheryl said that when it comes to building muscle, protein is your best friend. “To build muscle you need protein,” said Cheryl. “You need to find the right balance of all three macronutrients (fat, protein, and carbohydrates) that works well with your particular body... with exercise,” she added, saying that exercise is essential to building muscle.
The athlete said that protein and carbs are key as well as eating fats at the right time in order to help metabolic function. Visser added that with help from Frost she also learned of foods that naturally lower estrogen.
Cheryl said that training for the bodybuilding competition and training for the photoshoot were different beasts. “I went from old school bodybuilding to metabolic conditioning for the photos,” she said. “The competition training, they had me on long volume workouts isolated muscle groups; and for the photos I was on timed metabolic condition, timed supersets. It was very different.”
The photos used in Cheryl’s pictorial were taken in Burlington at the Inside Fitness studio with the athlete turned fitness model admitting that while she was grateful for the opportunity, she was nervous as she had never put herself out there like that before. “I would do it again... there would be a few things I’d do differently, I would want more time (to train) and I wouldn't train around Christmas,” she joked.
For Visser consistency is the key to success. “I'm not going to tell you it’s easy,” she said. “Anyone who walks through this door to see me for nutrition, I never tell them that it’s easy, because its not.” Visser said that what gets easier is that you create habits and those habits get incorporated into your lifestyle but that you have to want it.
“It’s not impossible, you just make the decision and what level you want to be at,” she said.
The future is looking healthy and bright for the wellness coach who will be getting married in May. She said that a few Fuel Elite clients have approached her about coaching them towards their own fitness photoshoot and she said that she would also like to write her own Lifestyle Nutrition book. “Recipes to fuel workouts and for an active and wellness balanced lifestyle,” she said.
The wellness coach will also take an orthomolecular nutrition certification course which should be completed in 2020. Visser said the designation would allow her to expand her business and help more people in the community. “I give my clients the care I would like to receive. That is how I bench mark everything I do,” she said.
Photo submitted.
Photo submitted.
Photo by Bruce Colero, as seen in Inside Fitness magazine.
