Naera Johnson

Article Index
Naera Johnson
Page 2
All Pages

After years of aerobic instructing Naera Johnson decided she needed a change to challenge her mind and body...so she took up bodybuilding competition at the tender age of 41.

Five years on, Naera has amassed a number of titles in the Senior Figure, novice and open physique classes. Recently Naera won the Open and Overall Physique at the NABBA Nationals and with that win she was selected to represent NZ at the NABBA Universe in Germany on 2 December. We caught up with Naera before she jetted off to Germany and asked her about her training and achievements so far. Occupation: Manager Age: 46 Family: Lisa (26) and Carlton (25) Height: 150cm (4'11") Contest Weight: 50-52kg off season Weight: 55-60kg

How many years have you been training?
6 years serious weight training, I had been an aerobic instructor for 10 years prior to that so weight trained off and on. I was looking
for something new to challenge me physically, as I was seeing no changes from my aerobics.

Where do you train? Training at North Harbour Health and Sports at the moment and was also training at Momentum Health Trust Stadium Waitakere, up until my move to Albany a week prior to North Harbour Champs.

How many years have you been competing? I have competed for that past 5 years

Your achievements?
Winning my first show at age 41 years Novice Physique INBA 2001
1st Senior Figure Taranaki Champs 2002
3rd Senior Figure Australasian Champs 2003
1st Masters Physique Taranaki Champs 2004
1st Open Women u 52kg CNI Champs 2005
Overall Physique CNI Champs 2005
1st, Open Overall, Ms Physique Nabba Nationals 2006
There have been many other achievements over the years, these are my highlights.

Did you set out this year to qualify for the Universe? My goal this year was to do well at the Nationals and I was really wrapped to have been selected. And When did you start your contest preparation for your first show (what was your first show) this year? My first show this year was Counties Manukau . I started dieting about 16 weeks out from Counties, however I probably should have started earlier as I felt I was still a few weeks out on the day. However, I still achieved my goal to qualify.

What was your mindset this year and how did you maintain your mental toughness through out the year?
This year I had my mind set on really doing well in the Nationals. Last year I won my first Overall title, but had only ever placed 2nd or 3rd in Nationals. I had the guidance of Jamie Cameron in my training and Nutrition and I think it certainly helps if you have someone to be accountable to. Having the support of others throughout the year also makes you determined to do well for them as well, so as not to let them or yourself down.

What is your typical diet when you're dieting for show.?
My meals are usually
Oats, Protein Powder/ Egg Whites
Chicken/Fish/Steak with Veges or Salad
Kumara or Brown Rice
20-40g of protein per meal. I cycle my carbs and have a no carb day, low carb and high carb.

Have you had any cravings during your diet, if so, how did you overcome them?
I can't speak for everyone, but I always have cravings, my daughter and her partner are absolute dessert freaks and chocoholics so I have their treat food around me all the time. I think it helps to get used to seeing it and having others around eating it, rather than forbidding it from the pantry. You are the one dieting not them.
How do I overcome it? Keep myself busy to take my mind off it. I don't think I have any dieting tips because I'm by no means "perfect".
I would say though, that if you slip up and have something bad. Don't beat yourself up about it, just start again clean and try to be
stronger next time. You only make it harder to get to where you want to be.

What is a typical day in your training programme? Daily 6am cardio - Power walking between 40-60 minutes Evening or afternoon - 20-30 minutes on Spin bike at home or treadmill at the gym My cardio training varies and I sometimes will do up to 2 hour per day if required. I train one body part per day and try to do 1 or two abdominal exercises at the end of a work out every 2nd day My workouts are usually 4-5 exercises per body part 3-4 sets per exercise Varying rep ranges A high rep set 20-50 repetitions. To failure and up to 15 reps I do like to do drop sets in the last couple of weeks when you energy is not the best.

At your strongest, what is your personal best in:
Squat 2 x 20kg plates each side
Bench press 20kg each side
Dumbell press 22.5kg
One arm row 30kg

Supplements you live by during pre contest.
LA Muscle Products
Norateen Heavyweight II. Amino Acids. Absolute Glutamine
Nobese. Fat Stripper. Sculpt

What was the most challenging part of pre-contest for you?
Fitting everything into a day, work, training, cardio, having time for yourself to relax as well as making time for friends and family.

You've made a big improvement in your physique since winning the NABBA Nationals, especially in your legs. How did you get them to sharpen up?
I just continued what I was doing up to the Nationals to lose another few % body fat.

Have you had a role model who's inspired you?
I have been inspired by many women throughout my journey, Eleanor Stewart, Stevie Lazenby, Jo Stewart all fantastic New Zealand Women athletes who have inspired me. Then of course you have the Internationals such as Lenda Murray and Cathie Priest among two of my favourites.

Has competing at International level always been your goal?
Absolutely!!! To compete internationally and win would be the ultimate.

What images/expectations do you have of your competition at Universe? does that excite or scare you???!!!

Well I did scare myself initially by checking out the Nabba Universe Website and took a look at the past winners. My goodness the girl who won the past two years running is big!!!! Having scared myself, it also encouraged me to work hard to be the best that I can be on the day.

I am really excited it will be fantastic to travel there; and to do the show will be a huge excitement for me. The logistics of food and water retention are all unknown to me so I’ll be working with that as I go along. I was lucky enough to speak with Helen Aloai at the show, she has been to Germany twice and placed 2nd, which is a major achievement. Helen was able to answer some of the questions I had and give me some advice.

Also Jamie has been to Germany to compete as well so I’ve been picking his brain every opportunity. I will be travelling with Tarren Mccall so I am relieved to have such a good travelling companion.

What advice would you give to some of the ladies who might be 'late bloomers' who think they might be too old to give competing a go.
First of all they need to seek advice from a Trainer or Nutritionist who specialises in Body Sculpting or Body Building, Just to give them a
realistic picture of where there physiques are in terms of body fat, mass and their overall body shape. Once they have established that make some goals in terms of what they need to work on and look at a contest date so that there are firm goals of what is to be achieved and in what time frame.