In her just her second major competition since winning both the Figure and Fit Body titles at the 2009 INBF Stampede Casino Classic last October to win her pro card in both categories (she placed 5th in the 2009 World Championships just six weeks later), Canada’s Rozanne Pyper is ready to hit the contest circuit again. Recently named as one of Canada’s top 100 “Hot and Fit” women by Inside Fitness Magazine, the #1 selling fitness and bodybuilding magazine in Canada, Pyper has her sights set on the WNBF California Natural Nationals Pro Fit Body competition on July 10 in La Jolla, Calfornia.
Pyper, 37, is a Certified Nutritionist and owner of Pipe N Fit Nutritional Consulting in Red Deer (pop 80,000), Alberta, Canada. She also serves as Executive Manager/Director of the International Natural Bodybuilding Federation (INBF) in Canada. “Not everyone is a bodybuilder or likes to go to the gym,” she says, “but I believe everyone should be active and should do what they like to do to stay fit. Just be true to yourself and true to who you are,” she adds. “I always compete because I want to, not for anyone else or any other reason.”
Competition was the last thing on Pyper’s mind 6 years ago when she lost her husband in a fatal automobile accident. “I lost him in 2003,” she says thinking back, “and I was on an emotional roller coaster for about a year. My weight was up and down for the next four years because of the stress, and I literally thought life couldn't get any worse. I decided then that I was not going to waste any more time on frivolous things. I was going to do what makes me happy.”
Rozanne remarried 2 ½ years ago but, in her own words, “became fat and happy with a very positive and outgoing man! However, “In January 2008 I found myself on a beach in Puerto Vallarta 20 plus lbs overweight and not feeling very well about the way I looked or felt inside. I weighed 154 pounds and decided to make a lifestyle change when I returned from the vacation in Mexico.”
“I enrolled in the World Gym 12-week Body Transformation Challenge,” she says, “and during the third week of the challenge, I found out about the upcoming INBF Canada figure competition. It had always been a life-long dream of mine to compete, so when I heard about this competition I decided to go for it. During week 9 of the World Gym Challenge I competed in the figure contest and placed 2nd in the tall class and, just weeks later, ended up placing first in the World Gym Challenge too! What an exciting spring I had, and I loved how I felt and looked and the way my lifestyle change was motivating everyone around me. I had now found my new passion and knew nothing would hold me back”
Rozanne subsequently took a year off from competition to enroll in a 1-year nutritional program at SAIT College in Calgary. She drove from Red Deer to Calgary (90 miles each way) every day for school while continuing to work as a dental assistant. After graduating with honors in June 2009, she was ready to pursue her goal of becoming a WNBF pro figure star…and accomplished her goal just three months later.
Growing up in British Columbia, Rozanne loved sports – especially soccer, volleyball, and baseball. “I was never an all-star player, but I DID receive 2 most-sportsman-like trophies at soccer tournaments,” she says proudly.
She now trains at World Gym in Red Deer. “I’m usually visualizing my workout and what I’m going to be doing before I get to the Gym - that and a good cup of coffee!” she laughs. “I usually work out in the morning after my first meal because I always feel like I have the most energy at this time, and I do a lot of self talk and tell myself why I’m there and what I’m doing it for.”
Posing has been the greatest challenge for Rozanne so far. “The diet and training is easier for me,” she says. Her advice to other aspiring figure competitors? “Get a good reputable trainer and nutritional coach,” she recommends. “Take informational workshops on posing, training, and nutrition if possible, and make sure you set a budget so you can afford it.” Putting it very plainly, she says, “Competing can be very expensive.”
“I love my life and the positive people who have come into it because of deciding to eat clean, train, compete, and get educated. I would love the opportunity to share more of my motivating story and talk about how many people I have inspired and keep on inspiring daily. Life is good!”
Of course, winning the Natural Nationals would make it even better.
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