Wonder What it Takes to Become a Sports Fitness Model? Then Meet Angeline

Content by: Guy Lawrence

sports model

By Stu Cooke

Stu: We met Angeline Norton (pictured above) at Sydney’s Fitness Expo earlier on this year. With enough protein supplements and chemical potions to make your head spin, it was refreshing to meet a sports/fitness model who was passionate about what they put in their body and doesn’t buy into all the hype.

Impressed with her approach to health and sports modelling and an all round great girl, I asked Angeline if she would share some of her tips on what it takes to get that sports modelling look… Enjoy!

You are a personal trainer and sports model. How long have you been in the fitness industry and how long have you been sports modelling for?

I’ve been a personal trainer for almost seven years now and I’m pretty much new to the whole competitive sports modelling industry. I’ve just finished my second season of my first year competing having tried a few different categories to see where my body fits in. I go between sports model and bikini model depending on how my body is looking at the time.

What got you into the health & fitness industry in the first place and then later on sports modelling?

I’ve always been into health and fitness even from a young age trying out every kind of sport from Karate to cross country running to ballet and dance classes! My mum in particular was very much into healthy eating and I think that played a huge part in how I looked at food and tried to stayed away from processed unhealthy junk food the majority of the time. I got into sports modelling through a friend who was also a personal trainer and came along to one of her competitions and immediately knew I wanted to give it a go and see how far I could push myself to achieving a body like the ones I saw up onstage!

I know you work directly with clients and weight loss, why do you think so many people seem to struggle in this area (weight loss)?

I think it has a lot to do with all the misleading marketing and advertising that’s out there at the moment. People get so confused and get hooked into thinking that particular products are healthy for them, when in fact it’s the complete opposite and it’s actually preventing them from losing weight. Also not enough education from a young age about nutrition and how to go about eating a health nutritious diet. A lot people don’t know what a calorie is or what protein is so therefore the whole process just seems to overwhelming and they give up!

You mentioned you were working for many years as a personal trainer, yet couldn’t shake the last few percent body fat to get that bikini body you wanted. What was the defining factor that made the change to allow you to go on and become a bikini sports model?

I think the defining factor was hiring a sports model coach, someone with experience who was able to prescribe me with a detailed eating plan which then made me realise how much sugar I was inadvertently consuming and how my portion sizes were too big and that I wasn’t eating enough meals.

Would it be fair to say that following closely to what is known as a paleo diet as helped?

Yes I think it’s helped immensely, getting back to basics and cutting out refined processed foods, dairy and sugar has definitely helped me.

How often do you exercise per week, how long is each session generally?

I work out 6 days a week, I do 5 weights sessions a week for about 45 minutes where I work on different body parts and then do 2/3 cardio sessions of interval training increasing that amount of cardio coming closer to competition time.

Should women be fearful of weight training?

Absolutely not! This is the biggest misconception that I come across in my line of work that women will get big if they weight train and they should stick to cardio to drop fat. This is so not true and a myth that’s being going around for a long time. Our bodies are designed differently to men and we have a much lower level of testosterone in our bodies to build big muscles, so physiologically it’s pretty damn hard to get big muscles for us girls!

I believe weight training to be so important for women not just for aesthetics but to also build strong bones so down the track as we get older we have that strong support within our bodies so if we do have a fall our bones won’t break and we still can have a very high quality of life. Another reason to weight train is that lifting increases the number of calories you burn even after you’ve finished your workout, our muscles need energy to repair fibres so while your sitting on the couch after you’ve trained the calories keep on burning! Another reason to weight train is to create lean muscle and decrease  body fat because fat takes up more room than muscle so therefore clothes will fit better and the body looks tighter and leaner which is a number one goal for women who come to me that want to change their bodies.

What did you eat yesterday?

Breakfast: I usually have eggs for breakfast either in an omelet with turkey or scrambled with some extra egg whites and some smoked salmon, or a 180 Superfood Smoothie with some berries, 1/4 avocado and some unsweetened almond milk.

If I’m back to back with clients, I find boiled eggs amazing to munch down on for brekkie on the go!

Lunch: For lunch it’s chicken and colourful salad with some nuts and dinner I alternate between fish, beef, pork or lamb with some green veg.

Snacks: For the meals in between lunch and dinner I normally have something similar or if I’m on the run I’ll have a 180 smoothie or a protein pancake with some berries and dairy free coconut yogurt. For sweet craving after meals I find having a herbal tea helps sweetened with some stevia or 1 or 2 pieces of dark organic chocolate does the trick!

How far out do you start planning for competition?

I normally allow 12 weeks to get my body ready for a competition but try to maintain a healthy and clean diet all year round and train hard during off season to build lean muscle.

How much does your body fat percentage change and life style, from day to day living to competition time?

It definitely drops down close to competition time and my lifestyle certainly changes along with that too. I eliminate alcohol 8-12 weeks out which means I go to less social events where I won’t get tempted to slip with my diet and I spend a lot more time training and getting my cardio done!

Do you count calories?

No, but I used to a few years back and it never got me anywhere. I became obsessed knowing the calorie content of every food and use to have this little book telling me the calories of most foods but I still never achieved the body I wanted through counting calories!

You have just written an eBook. That’s a great achievement in itself! What made you write it? What did you hope to achieve by writing your Ebook and what’s your overall message?

I wrote my ebook to help inspire others that it is achievable to get a bikini body. I’m not blessed with genetics where if i diet for two weeks I drop body fat rapidly and I’m ready to hit the stage. I did it through hard work and dedication and sacrificing nights out with friends and consistently being aware of what I was putting into my body and weighing my food and know what the correct portions where for my 5 meals a day. I also wanted to show people that it is possible to change life long habits and form new healthier ones and make lifestyle changes that will not only benefit yourself but also the people around you.

My other message is that you shouldn’t  believe every ad you see on tv guaranteeing you a healthy product because at the end of the day these companies are driven by profit not to improve your health,to do a little more research into what your putting into your body and to start reading the nutritional content of food so you know exactly whats contained in these foods!

Learn more about Angeline here.

 

Guy Lawrence

This article is brought to you by Guy Lawrence. Guy is a qualified fitness trainer with over 10 years of experience in the health industry. Guy worked at the UTS Fitness Centre in Sydney Australia where he specialised in exercise nutrition and obtained his Certificate in Exercise Nutrition and Certified... Read More
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25 Replies to “Wonder What it Takes to Become a Sports Fitness Model? Then Meet Angeline”
Sophie says:

Hi Angeline. Great attitude, I’d love to read your ebook. Hope I win! Haha! My question is about sugar and dairy. What do you feel is ok amounts to have if you are not keen on the extreme quit! I have 2 kids and work each day to model great eating and exercise habits but have read so many conflicting things about dairy and sugar. Is moderation key (I’m talking health not weight loss here) or is full quittage advised, in your opinion?
Thanks
S

Hi Sophie, great question! In my opinion the key to my results was cutting out diary and sugar from my everyday eating. While it is almost impossible to completely cut out sugar from our diets it is really worth looking at your food labels more closely and seeing what foods contain sugar. Without even realising it I was consuming a lot of sugar and it was definitely holding me back to achieving my results. Foods like yogurts, cereals, condiments, sauces and apparent ‘health foods’all contained way more sugar than I thought so cutting them out really helped me to get lean. But in saying that I am human and I do like to have treats every now and again but the key is to limit them to once a week so you keep yourself on track! In regards to dairy, I do have minimal amounts during my off season having a teaspoon or 2 of whole milk in my long macchiato and some feta every now and again in my salads! I hope this answers your question and good luck in the competition for my Ebook!

Loved the interview, very informative! I was wondering if you can train like you do but stick to 3 meals a day instead of 5-6? What is the reasoning behind several smaller meals? Coming from my holistic health point-of-view, several meals causes stress on the liver as well as constantly triggering insulin which is bad news for recovering insulin-resistant people like myself.
You are evry inspiring, I am hoping to see you at the next PiM-event on 29th Nov at The Pagoda Tree, BTW, as I would love to pick your brain a bit more. You got me curious about lifting heavier weights than I already do now. 🙂

Hi Ivy, glad you liked the interview! With regards to your question I would say yes it is possible to do it with 3 meals a day but personally from experience I believe 5 meals to be better for achieving a leaner body. There are about 100 ways to skin a cat and the same applies for getting a leaner body! If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the 7 years of being in the fitness industry is that there’s not one method to success. Every body is different and reacts differently to food. I myself don’t respond well to low GI carbs whereas the girl next to me might have carb loaded before going on stage and she looks great so my advice is to play around and see what works for you. I prefer 5 meals a day because I feel I don’t ever over eat and it keeps my cravings under control and if you choose the right kinds of foods it should keep your insulin levels down. There is always going to be conflicting research out there about what’s best method to drop fat but its about what works for you and your lifestyle and ultimately how good it makes you feel, I hope this has helped a little and maybe see you at Pagoda Tree!!

Tehliah says:

Hi Sophie,

Great article, it is nice to read that you have to work for your results. It makes your journey more interesting and relatable to women of all shapes and sizes. I have a few questions for you;

1. Do you think the same results can be achieved on a vegetarian and vegan diet?

2. Do you find your diet has lots of variety? I tend to get bored easily and like change in my food.

3. How long are your cardio workouts and how long are your strength/weight workouts? Is it better to have the same time session or mix them up?

Thank you!

Ps you should be very proud of yourself.

Tehliah says:

Sorry I don’t know why I typed Sophie! My apologies Angeline!

One more for you; why don’t you take supplements?

Samantha says:

Hi Angeline,
I just read your ebook it was great I found it so helpful 🙂
Quick question, did you do much cardio when you started leaning out? Or just weight training?
Thanks!!!
Sam 🙂

Hi Samantha, if its the 12 week countdown before a show I start off doing 30 mins 4-6 times a week and then up that amount to 45 minutes cardio when I’m about 4 weeks out. I do a mixture of intervals and low intensity cardio, I hope that helps you 🙂

Lesley says:

Hi Angeline,
I am a vegetarian and have been for many years. I recently increased my training and have given my diet an overhaul, but still find it challenging to ensure I am eating a balanced diet with adequate protein. I feel like this might be having an influence on the slow progress I am seeing in my training. Can ou share any tips or ideas on how to get the most out of a vego diet?
Thank you so much!

Hi Lesley, thanks for your question. If you have a look at my reply to Tehliah you can get some useful tips and I would strongly recommend getting onto the 180 nutrition protein superfood available in vegan and making sure you include it in your diet. It’s great for post training and also as a meal replacement, the boys have heaps of recipes so check some of them out and give it go and you’ll start to see some changes!

180nps says:

Hey Lesley… Thought I’d pitch in as Angeline has been doing a lot of typing! 🙂

You can increase your egg intake too. Eggs have a very good amino acid profile and fat content (yes I eat lots of yellow yolk). So if you are vegetarian and eat eggs, I’d be looking at these. Just keep them organic… Cheers, Guy

Hi Tehliah,
Thanks so much for your questions, in response to point one yes I do think you can still get results on a vegan diet you just have to put a little bit more thought an planning into it and make sure your getting enough protein at each meal to feed the muscles and aid recovery , find out which legumes have the highest amount of protein and include them regularly in your diet. 180 Nutrition sell a vegan protein powder so there’s no reason why you can’t get a good source of pre and post protein or a meal replacement using the vegan powder. It has good fats, a small amount of carbs and a great high quality source of protein. Answering question 2 I think I do have lots of variety in my diet, I love trying out new recipes and tweaking them so I make them healthier or substitute real sugar with stevia! Coming to close to a competition my choices are more limited but I still play around with herbs and spices to jazz dishes up! Question 3: my cardio workouts vary and I do advise to mid things things up, I teach a spin class that lasts 45 mins but then I might do 2o mins on the treadmill doing interval sprints. My weights sessions last between 45-60 mins again depending on how much time I have, I try and train in between training my own clients so that I more efficient with my time and work hard. Lastly I do take supplements, I mention in my Ebook how important it is to take fish oil and I also take magnesium and some amino acids. Thanks for encouragement and good luck with your fitness goals 🙂

Melanie says:

Hi Angeline,

I loved reading your interview. I was hoping you could give me some advice. I am a mum of 5 and have very limited time to exercise, let alone get out of the house! I do light weight training and a small amount of cardio as i have a prolapse which prevents me from doing anymore jumping, running, etc. what ‘time efficient’ suggestions do you have for busy mum’s like me to help shed excess body fat that don’t involve hard exercises like jumping or placing too much stress on the knees? thank you so much, Melanie.

180nps says:

Hi Melanie… Guy here.

From working as a personal trainer for over 6 years, it’s very hard to prescribe someone exercises without spending time with someone first, especially when there’s any major/minor injuries or health concerns.

Personally if it were me, I’d look at getting a professional in for a few short sessions, even if it’s just to get the ball rolling so you know that you are doing things correctly and effectively to achieve your goals.

Hope this helps…. Guy

Melanie says:

Thanks for the feedback Guy. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately finances mean it’s out of the question at the moment, even just a few pointers in an article would be great. I’m skinny with a muffin top, so am really struggling with the self esteem issues that come along with that. i’ll have a browse around your site as i am only new, but if you can point me in the right direction, I know it would help me and countless other mums out there~! thanks so much, Melanie.

180nps says:

Yeah, have a dig around the blog & site as there’s a wealth of information, including our eBook.

I’ve covered a few exercise based articles but will be doing a fair bit more in the future, but here’s a good article to read.

Melanie says:

thank you heaps Guy 🙂 I have just ordered some samples of your vegan powder and can’t wait to try them! cheers, Melanie.

Josie says:

Hello Angeline,

Thanks for sharing your experiences with others, its powerfully inspiring to see others set goals and achieve them! My question is in terms of traning, what are your recommendations re machines vs free weights and isolated exercises vs whole body moves, with a desired result of fat loss, lean muscle gain, ie a fitness model body? Appreciate your thoughts, thanks, Josie.

Hi Josie, I’m a firm believer in getting the compound old school exercises right for optimal fat loss and really focusing on form and technique and utilizing as muscles as possible so for example your squats, deadlifts and chin ups! Exercises that use more than one muscle so you burn maximum calories. I like to use free weights and machines and find both beneficial to achieving good results. I also do isolating exercises like bicep curls and leg curls to really focus on individual muscles. I hope this helps and good luck with your fitness goals 🙂

Jo says:

Hi Angeline,
Do you use a protein supplement or whole natural foods? You look amazing and I bet you feel amazing being in shape. Thanks for your inspiration!

Hi Jo, yes I use a protein supplement and that’s why I wanted to dedicate a whole page to it in my Ebook because I think it’s so important what one you use. I can’t say enough good things about Guy and Stu’s 180 nutrition protein powder because its both! It’s made from whole food not synthetic protein blends like other powders on the market. Lesley Maxwell (world champion in Body sculping!put it so well when she say that she called it her “food meal” because it has a first class protein in it, a small amount of carbohydrate and good fats which is what we need for optimal health.

Mili says:

Hi

I have put on a few extra kilos on my midsection-thights, butt, hips but seem to have lost weight and size in my upper half (chest). Any idea why this is and how to lose the weight just in bottom half? I want to lose the weight in my lower half but my ribs are showing in upper half so not keen to lose any more there:)
Thanks

Hi Mili, that’s a very interesting question that you’ve asked and one that I’m very keen to answer due to a recent in-depth course I did with Charles Poliquin called Biosignature Modulation. I highly recommend that you look him up to give some more info about what he does but basically he believes that the true key to fat loss is balancing out our hormone levels and taking natural supplements to counteract imbalances and that where we store fat depends on our individual hormonal imbalances/profile. From what you’ve told me it sounds like you might have issues with your cortisol which has to do with excess fat around the midsection (stress related)and too much oestrogen which is excess fat around the hips and butt (can be due to a high level of toxins in the body) I would recommend sourcing out a Biosignature practitioner who can definitely help you focus on losing body fat in your lower half or reading up on a few of his articles, thanks so much for your question and I hope I’ve helped a little.

Hi Angeline,
That’s quite an inspirational article. I am planning on ordering your ebook 🙂

Comments are closed.