FigureRX Magazine
September 2007

There is no doubt that the 2007 IFBB figure pro card class is already highly accomplished, with Jennifer Gates qualifying for the Olympia stage and winning the Motor City Pro, and future superstar Krissy Chin hitting the ground running with two solid pro performances. Heather Green will continue what is already a world-class modeling career at the pro level, and Nicole Wilkins has signed with JMP Management and is preparing for the World Championships in Spain. But amidst all of these accomplishments, we believe that one of the top pro card winners is quietly making even more improvements and preparing to hit the national scene in 2008.

That competitor is Teresa Anthony from Maryland, who won Class F (tall) at the National Figure Championships this July. Teresa navigated the ultra-competitive tall class all season and placed at or near the top, including 2nd place finishes at the first ever Arnold Classic Amateur and the Junior National Figure Championships. Teresa combines good size with beauty, conditioning, vascularity and one of the most symmetrical physiques on stage this NPC season. But there is a lot that we don’t know about Teresa, so we decided to feature this deserving athlete in FigureRX magazine as we kick off our IFBB profiles and rankings for all of the 2007 pro card winners.

Can you start by telling us a little bit about your family, friends and surroundings?
I am originally from a small town called Parks, Louisiana, right outside of Lafayette, Louisiana. I have four siblings. Although I moved away from my hometown over 13 years ago, my family and friends who still reside in Louisiana are very supportive of my Figure career. My parents are the types who are very supportive in whatever my siblings and I decide to do with our lives. My parents encouraged all of us to attend college to be successful and independent adults.

You have been training for how long and why did you start?
I have always done some type of weight training because I was an athlete all through school and I currently still play softball. I started weight training extremely hard in 1999. My biggest reason for weight training was because I have always been a skinny girl and I was tired of being called skinny and bony! So I figured if I tried to gain weight and put on some muscle, I wouldn’t look so skinny. Well it certainly didn’t happen right way, it has been difficult for me to put on size and it continues to be a struggle.

What is your athletic background? Are there any notable achievements that you would like to relay?
When I was younger I was a tomboy and heavily involved with sports. I started playing fast pitch softball and volleyball at a young age and all through high school. I was an All-American in both Softball and Volleyball.

What is your position in softball? Do you bat rightie or leftie, and how’s your hitting?
I play left-center and bat righty. Because of my size, people under estimate my hitting power.

What is your academic and professional background? What is your current occupation and how long have you been doing it?
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Counseling from Southern University A&M and a Master’s degree in Management from University of Maryland University College. I am a Contracting Officer at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Maryland. I support the Hubble Telescope Project and I have been with NASA for five and a half years.

What is a typical day like for you, when do you usually train and how often? How much cardio do you do before a show?
When I am preparing for a competition, I usually do 40 minutes of cardio at 5am and then weight training and an additional 30 minutes of cardio in the evenings around 5pm. I train six days per week.

Teresa’s Contest History:

2004 NPC East Coast Tournament of Champions, Figure C, 3rd Place
2005 NPC Body Rock, Figure D, 3rd Place
2006 NPC Body Rock, Figure D, 2nd Place
2006 NPC National Championships, Figure F, 13th Place
2007 NPC Arnold Classic Amateur Championships, Figure C, 2nd Place
2007 NPC Junior USA Figure Championships, Figure F, 4th Place
2007 NPC Junior National Championships, Figure F, 2nd Place
2007 NPC National Championships, Figure F, 1st Place (won IFBB pro card)

Teresa at the 2007 Junior National Championships in Chicago

What is your training philosophy (heavy or light, cardio, lifting)?
I usually switch my training regimes frequently. During the off season, I tried to lift heavy to gain size, which is very difficult for me because my family genetics are tall and lean.

During the competition season, I may lift heavy one week and lighter the next week with higher reps. In the off season I usually do 40 minutes of cardio 4 days a week, however, when preparing for a show I do two sessions, 40 minutes in the morning and 40 minutes in the evening. I alternate my cardio between the treadmill, elliptical, stationery bikes, tread climber and running the stadium steps at the University of Maryland football stadium.

Where do you find the best training and diet advice? Is there anyone in particular who you would like to thank?
I get my diet advice from Mike Davies and my training partner, Rod Smith. Rod pushes me in the gym and helped me to achieve my goal of winning my pro card in 2007! I would also like to thank all of the other professionals and competitors for giving me constructive feedback to improve my physique.

What is your favorite thing about training or competing? What is your least favorite thing about competing?
I am a very competitive person, therefore, the training and competing helps me feed my competitive nature, along with keeping me in shape. I also enjoy meeting the other competitors and forming friendships.

2007 was a breakthrough year for you. What were the main reasons for your improvements between 2006 and 2007, and how did you go about deciding to do all of the national shows this year?
I think lifting heavy and eating more quality meals helped me make improvements in 2007. In September 2006 I received great advice about an off season nutritional plan to help me put on size and my training partner pushed me to lift heavy and put on more muscle mass. So that will be my same game plan for this fall and winter as I prepare for my pro debut.

I was advised that it is important to put your face out there to get recognition, therefore, after the Figure Nationals last year, I decided that I would step on the national stage more frequently in 2007. The feedback was positive and resulted in me obtaining my pro card.

You look great already but you mentioned that you plan to make improvements before stepping on the pro stage. What are your areas of focus and how do you plan to get there?
My main focus is putting on more size in my legs. I plan on lifting heavy and also incorporating more plyometrics into my workouts.

What does having a pro card mean to you? How do you plan to utilize your card?
Winning my IFBB pro card was a big surprise and a huge accomplishment for me. I imagined that I had the ability to win, but honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to happen this year. So I can say that I am so happy. God willing, I plan on putting my pro card to use next year to compete and hopefully get my face out in the media.

How will you determine when and where you will be making your professional debut?
My pro debut will be determined by my lower body development. I would like to make my debut in early spring.

What are some of your skills and hobbies?
My hobbies are lifting weights and competing, playing softball, and reading mystery novels.

What’s your general philosophy in life? How does training help you in your daily life?
My philosophy in life is that anyone can achieve their goals with faith, hard work and persistence. My life is a routine; my training helps me focus on my health and gives me inner strength to deal with the day to day stresses at my job.

Do you have any plans to create a web site now that you are a pro? How can your fans keep up with your future plans?
Yes I do plan on creating a website, I am currently consulting a web developer. I hope to have something up and running by October. However, at the moment if anyone is interested in my future plans they can post a message to me on the FigureRX forum boards.

Is there anyone who you thank most for who you are, inside or outside the industry?
First and foremost, I would like to thank God for giving me the health and strength to achieve my goals. Next, I would like to thank my family and friends for all their support. And a special thanks to my buddy Rod Brown in Houston, Texas, for all of his support.

Are there any current IFBB and NPC competitors or others in the industry that you follow and/or admire?
Valerie Waugaman is my favorite figure competitor, I love her physique and also because she is tall. 

Is there anything else that you would like for people to know about you?
Watch for me in 2008, my professional figure goal is to become a top level competitor!!

Thanks Teresa!!
Photographer credits: TomNine, Dan Ray, Michael Yurkovic

We welcome any comments that you may have about this article at FigureRX@verizon.net