Figure competitor Jennifer Cohen had her first taste of competition last year at the 2009 INBF West Coast Classic Bodybuilding, Figure, Ms. Fit Body, & Best Body Championships at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento. “My personal trainer and his wife (my training partner) convinced me to try it,” says Jen. “I now have the utmost respect for all natural bodybuilders. It’s tough to achieve the same results without the banned substance and makes victory all the more sweeter to know you achieved your goals the natural way.”
On Saturday, July 10, Jen will be competing in the INBF Southern California Classic at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla. The contest is a pro qualifier in conjunction with the professional WNBC California Natural Nationals, and Jen is entered in the Open Figure, Open Masters and Fit Body classes determined to earn her WNBC pro card.
Cohen, 47, Finance Manager for the Buzz Oates Group Companies, a major real estate, construction, and property management company in Sacramento, grew up in the tiny suburban community of Isleton, California (pop 828) in Sacramento County. She graduated from nearby Rio Vista High School , where she was active in sports, participating in basketball, volleyball, and track. She was a cheerleader too. But bodybuilding or figure competition? They weren’t even in her vocabulary.
She played tennis at California State University in Sacramento too but, bodybuilding or figure competition? They still weren’t even in her wildest dreams.
Jen and her husband Ted married and settled down in neighboring Elk Grove just south of Sacramento where they have been raising their three children, Chloe (17) and twins Cole and Caide (9) together with their obligatory 2 dogs, 2 turtles, 2 frogs, and 1 cat to make the family complete (the cat’s probably wondering why there’s not another cat).
Jen kept a trim figure as the years passed by, but she knew she wasn’t in the shape she used to be. She joined Fierce Fitness in Sacramento where she soon became exposed to the world of physical culture. It opened up a new and exciting world to her.
She grew to enjoy “the intensity of preparing for competition and the tight-knit fitness family that develops while training in group,” she says. “My family, too, was very supportive. My husband cooks all of my meals, my sons train with me at home, and my daughters focus on the fashion and hairstyling aspect of competition day,” she adds, obviously pleased.
Jen may be a late bloomer, but she is having the time of her life. “Get behind a good team of people. You are going to need all the love and support you can get - especially when dieting down the last few weeks,” she laughs. “Believe in the process and it will work for you.”
The “process” as she calls it, is certainly working for Jen, and she is excited about the opportunity to earn her pro card Saturday night. Don’t bet against her.
Comments