The Ruthless Report 11: Adela and Lisa—Redemption and Reinvention
This month's Report updates a couple of fitness stars who have a lot in common besides the fact that they both competed at the ’02 Olympia.
Redemption Bound
The invites to the ’13 Arnold Classic and Ms., Fitness, Figure and Bikini International competitions came out just before Christmas, and to the surprise of no one who follows the social-media scuttlebutt, none of the reigning champ
s except Iris Kyle will be onstage to defend his or her title. No Branch Warren, no Nicole Wilkins, no Sonia Gonzales—and no Adela Garcia. Some of those decisions by the athletes were easier to understand than others. Adela's was a little of both. After all, the seven-time Fitness Olympia champ has been competing nonstop, except for an injury in 2008, since the late ’90s and has been a constant presence at the International and the Olympia since the year 2000. On the other hand, is there a competitor in any of the physique sports with a bigger heart than the self-styled Chica Latina? It's difficult to imagine, but Adela will not be looking for her fifth Fitness International title come March 1.
Could her loss to Oksana Grishina at the Arnold Classic Europe in October have something to do with it? Are we witnessing a changing of the guard? Not necessarily—Olympia champs have been known to lose a show and then come back to the Big O and win. On the other hand, Garcia just turned 41, and Grishina is widely favored, at least by the fans and pundits, to be her successor as the queen of fitness if and when she decides to turn in her tights.
Said Adela, "After the Arnold Europe I was so fired up to go to the Arnold and redeem myself and go to the Olympia and redeem myself." When she thought about it, though, she wasn't so sure. In 2012 she had competed four times—at the Flex Pro, the Fitness International, the Olympia and the Arnold Europe, winning all but the latter—and she had been going nonstop since that ’08 injury break.
Also nonstop: the questions about that if and when. It's an occupational hazard for an over-40 athlete, but Garcia admitted that it got to her. "I was too focused on what others were saying—'Oh, you're in your 40s and you still compete?'
"I do this because I love competing," she said, suggesting that letting others put pressure on her had led to things being not quite so much fun this past season. The Arnold Europe, which took place in Madrid, was the first time she'd ever competed outside the United States. She had a funny feeling at the athletes meeting, she said, and then at the judging, when she found herself fighting for the center spot in the callout, usually her strong suit, she realized she might lose. In fact, the panel declared Adela and Oksana tied for first in the physique round, a much higher position than Grishina usually enjoys, and it led to a six-point advantage in the final count.
"Oksana is an amazing athlete—I always tell her I have no problem being beaten by her," Garcia said, describing how Grishina had come to her backstage, concerned that the results would change their friendship. The Russian-born Oksana, who moved to the U.S. a few years back, is sweet, humble and hardworking, said the Dominican-born Adela, and "she reminds me of me when I started."
Adela will be fea
tured, as usual, at the GNC booth at the Arnold Expo during the big Columbus, Ohio, weekend (as well as at the FitExpo in L.A. in January, where I hope to catch up with her again), but make no mistake. She's still fired up to redeem herself. In the coming months she'll be focused on training clients, promoting her Adela Garcia Classic, which is scheduled for June 22, and "working, working, working" to build new skills that will blow everyone away come Olympia time.
Looking forward to it, Chica.
Reinvention
Facebook is a great way to hook up with folks you haven't seen for a while. How else would I know that Lisa Reed, a fitness pro from the early 2000s, operates a successful personal-training business in the Washington, D.C. area and is all over TV there like white on rice? A former gymnast, Reed started her professional career as a strength and conditioning coach and amassed an interesting résumé that includes coaching at the University of Florida as well as the United States Navel Academy and training tennis star Monica Seles. In her fitness career she turned pro at the ’00 USA, and her best year was 2002, in which she competed at the Fitness International and the Olympia. The last time I interviewed her, around the time of the ’02 Olympia, Reed was the director of fitness and nutrition at the National Cathedral School in Washington. Now she's the go-to fitness guru for NewsChannel 8, ABC's 24-hour cable-news station for D.C., Maryland and north Virginia.
Reed's journey from strength coach to on camera was not a deliberate one. Like many fitness-evolution tales, it starts with an injury, or, rather, a series of them. "I had my fourth ACL tear during the summer of 2006 and had a serious knee infection from surgery," said Lisa. That led to surgeries upon surgeries. "I couldn't work out, couldn't work and needed several more knee surgeries to correct the infection, as well as having a bone removed from my hip and grafted in my knee, followed by a double knee surgery (making it my 10th knee surgery and fifth ACL surgery to date)." At the time that cascade of surgeries started, she was still at the National Cathedral School and was teaching a graduate strength and conditioning class at George Washington University, positions she had to give up. "I was out of work for almost two years," she related. "I couldn't stand up for more than 20 minutes without my knee and back throbbing with pain."
With her physical strength diminished, the Coach Lisa had to draw on another kind of strength. "I couldn't even look at a fitness magazine, but I had aspirations and quotes all over the walls of my bedroom, where I spent many days."
The medical professionals advised her to find a new profession, but that was not going to work. "I couldn't wait to get back into the gym, to not only get my body and life back but also make a difference in other people's lives," she said. "After about a week, I said thank you to the disability career woman trying to assist me in coming up with another profession, and I began to take on a few in-home personal-training clients. I also reached out to those I worked with when I first moved to D.C. and friends from the area. I already had my fitness Web site, so I restructured it to design programs for a variety of people—from brides-to-be, moms-to-be, business professionals, moms and dads, kids fitness and senior strength to athletes, bikini, figu
re and fitness competitors, boot camps, weight loss and nutrition programs. I continued to work on my health as I trained more girlfriends and their neighbors and fell in love with personal training. Here I am four years later, and my company has exploded. I love what I do!"
The TV gig came about by chance. A couple of years ago a colleague at G.W. "referred News Channel 8's producer to me, as he did not want to do any media," recalled Reed. "I jumped on it and found another passion. What better way to enjoy inspiring others than to be on the D.C. news every other week. I provide most segments, and I love TV!"
She appears regularly on "Let's Talk Live," discussing such topics as, "Awesome Abs and Beach-Ready Bums," "How to Defy Your Age," and "How Parents Can Stop and Prevent Childhood Obesity." She's also appeared on "Sports Talk Live" and "The Pet Show," where she touted the exercise benefits of walking your dog. Her favorite segment so far has been "How to Work Out Like an Olympian," she said. "Encouraging others that they, too, can train for their own gold. For instance, setting a goal, envisioning the day ahead (instead of the performance), fueling for the day and lifestyle, working out, rest and recovery, as well as gratitude and having a support team of family and friends; these are steps to live by—whether you're a athlete or not!"
Clearly this is a woman of passion and determination, not to mention her enviable track record of transformation. How far can she take her on-air endeavors? Said Lisa, whose new DVD, "REEDiculously Fit With Lisa in 7 minutes," is available at www.LisaReedFitness.com, "As far as I can see, which is forever for me!"
Photo courtesy of Lisa Reed.
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