Sheryl Schenkel's Sunny Figure, Nov 10

When Sheryl Schenkel walked on stage in the Senior Physique class at the ProFromance CNI in September 2010, she looked in great shape. With her nice lean condition and big smile, she was no different to other athletes.

But then only when you looked closely and as Sheryl went into her poses you noticed she had other challenges to deal with other than just stagefright.

Although Sheryl had quite a struggle controlling her body, it didn't stop her continuing with her posing with a sunny smile. We wondered what Sheryl had to overcome to be on stage that day and this is what we found...

Sheryl has Dystonia, a neurological movement disorder and it affects the muscles, causing them to twist, spasm and contort. It can be painful and can cause abnormal movement and postures. The condition is due to a malfunction of the central nervous system, part of the brain called the Basal Ganglia. It is not fatal and it doesn't affect her intelligence. She has a generalised Dystonia which means it's throughout her whole body, there is no known cure only treatments like medications, botox and surgeries.

Teneka Hyndman's Record Breaking Figure, Nov 10

click above pic to watch Teneka's back training Teneka and Lisa	It would be an understatement to say Figure Athlete Teneka Hyndman has had quite a year! By the time 2010 finishes, she would've competed in 17 shows breaking the previous record held by Stan ' the man' Tautalanoa of 15 in 2009. We recently dropped in on Teneka's training to see how much work needs to be done to get to her great condition at 53kg and 8% bodyfat. What we captured was an inspirational (perhaps some say obsessed) approach to training where Teneka commits to an intensive regime to ensure she hits all angles of her body. In this video we follow Teneka's back regime and also talk about her nutrition. Crazily back training wasn't enough, she does Vibratrain afterwards! But that's what it takes to get a great figure so well done to Teneka for putting in the work and good luck for your American assault. Teneka capped off her amazing year with 1st places in the Open Physique (figure) at the INBA Universe and Natural Olympia, and 2nd placings in the Open Figure (quarter turns).

Johanna Mountfort's Fantastic Figure Year. Oct 10

Watch Johanna's Training and Interview. Click Pic!	Figure competitor Johanna Mountfort has had an amazing 2010. Her journey began at the NABBA Auckland Champs in May and over the next 5 months she'd compete in 4 more contests and winning them all! (Check out her achievements below). However, the year is not quite over for Johanna as she's aiming to compete at the NZIFBB Nationals Figure class this Saturday 16 October.
Johanna is not just a competitor, she's also Mum to her girls Kyla age 5 and Annah age 3, and works as Personal Trainer at Just Workout Forrest Hill Auckland. So we just had to catch up with Johanna to find out how she manages to stick to her clean eating for 5 months all the while keeping up with her work, training and family commitments. One of Johanna's strengths is her beautiful and confident on stage presentation, so we just had to ask her how she turns it on. Watch the video to learn how Johanna copes with her diet, training and she shows us her 'Johanna Strut'!

2010 NABBA Auckland Champs
        1st Place Novice Figure Short and Overall Figure Champion
2010 INBA Auckland Natural Classic
        1st Place Novice Figure Short
2010 NZFBB Auckland Champs
        1st Place Novice Body Fitness Short,
        1st Place NPC Novice Figure Short and Overall NPC Figure Champion
2010 INBA All Female Natural Classic (World Champs held in Melbourne)
        1st Place Ms Novice Figure Class 1
2010 NABBA Nationals
        1st Place Novice Figure Short Champion

2008 NZFBB Auckland Champs 2nd Novice Figure Short
2008 NZFBB Nationals Finalist (top 5 out of 10) Novice Figure Short

Figure O.E; Kat Millar, Sept 10

	Half way through her O.E, Personal Trainer Kat Millar, is having quite an adventure immersing herself living and working in London this past year. But ofcourse experiencing London wouldn't be the same unless Kat could also experience what competing in a contest overseas would be like so she could compare to NZ's shows.
After 3 months of hard out contest preparation Kat took the stage on 12 September 10 at the Natural Physique Association in the 'Trained Figure' Class. She did a great job placing 3rd in a class of 10 and now on a mission to compete at the National Champs in October. We had to find out more about what the contest day, bodybuilding scene and the general health and fitness industry in England was like so we asked Kat to give us the lowdown! read on... You can check out what else Kat gets up to at her GetKat website here

1. Occupation
Personal Trainer and Wellness coach. I specialising in Weight loss and train clients one on one as well as offering training and nutrition coaching online via email. I also deliver Weight Loss seminars and Workshops.

2. When do you move to UK and why? Where do you live and work?
I moved from Auckland to London in September last year. I've always wanted to experience living on the other side of the world. I got a 2 year visa and I'm half way through it, time is flying!

I'm loving it - enjoying seeing how the health and fitness industry is over here and I'm learning and growing a lot! I live in Putney which is lovely, right on the Thames which is great for running. I currently train clients at LA Fitness, St. Paul's, London.

3. How many shows have you competed in?
I just did my 6^th show - the first time I've competed in U.K. I always thought I'd only ever compete once to experience it, but it gets quite addictive! I decided to do one here to see what it's like compared to NZ and to see if I could bring home a trophy or a medal. I wrote ‘I'm taking a trophy home' on a piece of paper and stuck it to my mirror and looked at it every day for the last 3 months. Now I have a trophy sitting next to it.

Contest history -

2010: NPA/Natural Physique Assocation, United Kingdom 3rd place -Trained Figure

2008: NABBA North Harbour, NZ, 2nd place - Novice Figure short
2008: Coromandel Classic, NZ, 2nd place - Novice Figure short
2007: NABBA, North Harbour, NZ 3rd place - Novice Shape
2006: NZFBB PIBBA, Auckland, NZ, 1st place - Novice Figure Short
2006: NZFBB, North Island, NZ, 2nd place - Novice Figure short

Kat (right) 2008

Sheryl Schenkel's Sunny Figure, Nov 10

Teneka Hyndman's Record Breaking Figure, Nov 10

Johanna Mountfort's Fantastic Figure Year. Oct 10

Figure O.E; Kat Millar, Sept 10

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