Danielle Manu
| For normal folk, 20kg would be quite a heavy mountain to move
but for Danielle she used the big challenge as her motivation to
get her body back into condition. She got into a good training and
eating regime which shed the weight and got her into amazing
condition (and developed the most amazing arms!) at u52kg on
contest day.
Her dedication paid off and she took out the Open u52kg title at the Nationals and the Overall and Open u52kg Physique title Taranaki Champs, her hometown. In this profile Danielle shares with us some of her philosophies and her goals for the future. |
My Philosophy
1. Never underestimate a positive attitude!
2. It's not about consistency, but consistently raising the
bar!
Titles achieved in 2006
NZL Nationals 28th October
Open Women Under 52kg - 1st Place
Overall Open Women's Physique - 2nd Place
Taranaki Champs 4th November
Open Women Under 52kg - 1st Place
Overall Open Women's Physique - 1st Place
Introduction
It has been a challenging, but yet rewarding and invaluable year
for me right from the word 'GO!' Half way through the year I
decided not to compete in the Nationals. My dreams of doing well
had vanished into thin air. My weight had escalated 20kg beyond and
above my competition weight. A dark cloud of failure and despair
had set in. I had no excuse for the excess weight and I let things
get out of control. I was told that if I did not get my act
together I could possibly face health problems. This scared the
living daylights out of me, I had never had health problems before
and from that moment I became angry with myself. I channelled all
my negative energy into wanting to succeed, having the passion to
succeed and acting on that passion. Throughout my journey, I
maintained a positive attitude and consistently raised the bar
above and beyond the belief of what I thought I was capable of.
| Leaner and Fuller I was leaner and fuller at the Nationals due to a regimented diet, supplementation and training program over 4 months. I can honestly say I never ate any junk food over 4 months. The only food that came close to junk food was fresh salmon during one meal out at my favourite restaurant, ' hardly cheating'! Training Routine |
Arm Workouts
My arm workouts are nothing more than the general workout. I train
my biceps once a week with 2-3 exercises such as dumb bell curls,
bar bell curls and preacher curls. I'm fortunate in this area of
muscle development but my weakest is in other areas such as my
back.
Saturday 28th October - Nationals 2006
Pre-judging
I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the Nationals! It was such an
awesome experience! My way of relaxing is to 'shop' and I got a
text from a friend stating that the 'Open' competitors had to be
back stage. Here I was shopping at St Lukes! I raced out of the
mall with my bags of goodies, drove to the venue, ordered a short
black, fumbled around to find my ID card to get backstage,
stripped, got into my bikini, touched up with Dream Tan, pumped up,
raced up the stairs, and 'SHOW TIME!' PHEW!
Overall, I was happy with my time on stage.
|
Night Show |
Overall Physique
On stage in the Overalls, I was honoured to be standing next to Jo
Stewart and the other 1st Placed competitors! Jo Stewart is a
legend and she will always be my role model! I posed 'hard' and
enjoyed every moment! Later, I was told I was placed 2nd Overall in
the line up of the best in NZL. What a night! A night that I will
always treasure!
Post Competition Diet
After competing in the Taranaki Champs the weekend after the
Nationals, I can honestly say I 'hit the wall!' I felt lethargic on
Sunday! However, I did go to my favourite restaurant and had a
yummy brunch. For the next month, I will still eat 'clean food' so
my body adjusts to extra carbohydrates and calories. Sarah Fox
writes a fabulous article on post-competition diet and she is truly
inspirational!
| Goals for next year One of my goals for next year is to compete in the Australasian Champs in Sydney. I would be grateful to seek overseas experience. Other goals include building more muscle and not putting on excess weight! I have learnt my lesson, however I am going for 'gold' on Christmas Day! I intend to spike my trifle with Baileys and pump extra cream into these hollow brandy snaps! Yum! Can't wait! Team effort Danielle! |
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