FigureRX Spotlight on Deanna Rabosky
at the 2008 NPC Jay Cutler New England Classic Figure Championships

FigureRX Magazine Volume 5

To discuss this article or to see how Deanna did in her show please visit the FigureRX forums.

There are a few defining characteristics that an athlete must have to succeed at the national level in figure, and we believe that New Englander Deanna Rabosky has them all. There's the physique structure, of course, and Deanna has an ideal overall shape for the tall class along with the substantive muscle to put curves in all the right places. Her figure focal points are excellent, including her delts, abs, and just enough quad sweep and separation to accentuate her small joints and impress the judges in both the NPC and the IFBB. When she gets on stage in her Maggie-designed suit she looks better each time, in our opinion, and presents a superb total package.

But just as important is attitude and knowledge of the sport at the highest level, as well as a support structure to provide input and motivation along the way. Deanna is surrounded by excellence and she actually started to compete after dieting with her boyfriend Jose Raymond during his contest preparations. She noticed major changes in her physique and decided to take it to the next level and to see what would happen. In her first show she took the overall figure title at the Massachusetts State! We are pleased to feature Deanna as the FigureRX spotlight athlete at the NPC New England Classic, where she won her height class, and we're also excited that we will get to see her on stage at the national level in Las Vegas later this year.

Deanna's Fast Facts:
Name - Deanna Rabosky
Height - 5'8"
Weight - 135 lbs contest/ 145 lbs off season
Birthday - February 10, 1976
Home town - Woburn, Massachusetts
Hair / Eyes - Blonde / Blue
Favorite music - Top 40 hits, Reggae, Sinatra, Michael Buble
Favorite diet food - Egg white omeletes, broiled tilapia with steamed asparagas,
turkey burgers with veggies, roasted red pepper hummus.
Favorite cheat food - This great Tapas restaurant has the BEST lamb chops and broiled duck so that's my favorite at the moment.
Current occupation - Outside internet sales advertising/marketing
Athletic background - Always been athletic, played softball as a kid, surfer, runner
just about anything. I have been working out and active forever.
Latest news - Just launched my web site!
Web site - http://www.DeannaRabosky.com

Please tell us about how you were raised and did you have any interesting experiences while growing up?

Growing up I had a wonderful childhood - I was taught at a young age to mean what you say & say what you mean - and to always act with integrity. Lead by example - don't ever be a cow in the herd. You are a person of your words & actions. At the end of the day when you take the commodities away - if you don't have a solid base of values and a true heart - what do you have? My mom took us to church every Sunday, we had two black labs Duke & Duchess (when I was REAL young my parents bred labs and my dad had honey bees), we had cookouts every weekend with either our neighborhood or family - every holiday was a huge deal with all the cousins and family getting together sharing tons of laughs and fun. My dad had a boat and we'd go out every weekend in the summer fishing or whale watching, we were always cooking out on the beach and my younger brother and I explored every nook & cranny of the beaches of the South Shore and Cape Cod!

Then my mom died when I was 11, and things got really tough for my family for quite some time. People deal with tragedy differently, and for a while all of my family members went their separate ways to deal with our loss. I was always an active child - channeling my energy into something active - whether I was riding my bike or climbing tress as a little girl or working out in the gym - I used physical exertion and exercise as an outlet. When I was 19 I moved to Hawaii and was blessed to have the opportunity to become close with my Aunt Susan and my Uncle Paul who still reside on the Big Island of Hawaii today. My Aunt is one of the most incredible people I have ever met. She's an amazing woman. Beautiful, wholesome, funny, honest, just such a breath of fresh air. The heart and soul she puts into her every day life's efforts inspire me. I lived in Hawaii for about four years - surfing, bartending, working on whale watch boats, diving - living life and learning about who I was as a person and what I wanted out of life. Right around that time my dad met a woman named Helen back here in Massachusetts. and as he became closer to her, we all became closer as a family. They married a couple years later. Now I have one full brother whose name is Scot, I also have a step sister, three step brothers, and an amazing step mother and without all of them our lives wouldn't be what they are today. I don't ever say "step" anything when speaking of my family. They are just that - family.

I moved back to Massachusetts at age 24. I missed my family too much and New England's seasons. Waking up Christmas Day with it 88 degrees out with Santa in a hula skirt got to be a little weird! It felt more like it should have been the 4th of July.

You have been training for how long and why did you start? How did you decide to take it to the next level and compete?

I have always enjoyed training and working out - living and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. I have been training for about ten years. I had been making my boyfriend's meals while he was dieting for his shows and started making the same food for myself to minimize my time spent in the kitchen. As I started dieting with him, the changes I saw in my physique were incredible....so I decided to take it to the next level and get on stage! The process is amazing - being able to set personal goals and achieve them gives me such a sense of accomplishment. I really enjoy each step of the process you go through when preparing for your show - from pushing my body to the limit and seeing the changes I am able to make, to picking out the colors and fabrics of my suits and rhinestone patterns to the make-up & hair! The whole experience is so much fun. Not to take away from the grueling dieting and hard work that goes into it......don't get me wrong! At 4:45am when that alarm buzzes and it's below zero out and I am utterly EXHAUSTED I want nothing more than to stay all snuggled up in bed! But it is so worth it. Like I said before - the sense of accomplishment, the feeling of being in the best shape of your life - KNOWING in your heart you give your personal best 100% of the time......words can't describe the feeling it gives you inside.

What is your training philosophy (heavy or light, cardio, lifting)? Are there any particular body parts that you consider to be strengths, or weaknesses?

My training philosophy is every day you walk into that gym or onto that track or whatever you do, give it your 100% personal best. I tend to go on the heavier side when I am lifting. I believe you should always challenge the muscle. Sometimes instead of going heavier, I'll go a bit lighter and slow the reps down significantly. I always incorporate cardio with my training, usually afterwards to burn fat most efficiently. When leaning out I kick it up to double sessions. As far as challenges, I had a hard time developing my shoulders, but they seem to be coming along now.

What is outdoor sales, is that similar to the French signage company J.C. Decaux that does bus and bench advertising? Or are we completely off the mark?

You're a bit off the mark - hahaha. I work for a company called ReachLocal. We are the world's largest internet advertising agency working with local and regional businesses. We partner with Google and work with all of the major internet search engines, getting the local and regional businesses up online in front of potential customers who are searching online and we track all of their results. It is just totally awesome -- I love it. ReachLocal takes the complexity out of local Internet advertising. We put together in one place everything local and regional businesses need to set-up, maintain, track and analyze local Internet advertising campaigns simply, affordably and comprehensively.

We love the new web site! How are you balancing your existing career with your personal training?

Thank you so much! I love it too! I just launched it last week. I'm not doing too much in the gym besides my own training at the moment. Any personal training business that comes in through the web site goes to Jose (Raymond). He is a personal trainer full time here in Massachusetts at Today's Fitness in Woburn. Balance is always a tough thing and it is totally necessary to be 100% happy and content. Sometimes in order to get everything done I need to do - and to get it done RIGHT there are late nights and early mornings - some days I wish I could just stretch them out a BIT longer to squeeze a few more hours out of the day! But as a whole - my life is very BUSY..but balanced as well.

Will Jose be competing at this show as well? What are the challenges of competing at the same time, and managing the different time schedules involved? What are the benefits?

Jose will not be competing at this show as this is a more local show for NPC amateur athletes. He earned his IFBB pro card in Dallas in November of 2007 (for the 4th time now) and is looking to compete in the Europa on August 15-16th, 2008. We live a wonderful simple and healthy life. I find things a bit easier to manage when dieting together. It minimizes my time in the kitchen, we both have similar schedules, similar needs and goals ... which actually enables us to diet better, train harder, push each other when we need it and live an easier, happier & healthier existence overall. We both train about the same time at the gym; we live together and try to have dinner together every night as we unwind from our day. Our mornings tend to be nuts with him in the gym early with clients and me running around trying to get to the gym before I go to the office, so we connect later in the evening. It just works.

Talking about balance before - we totally balance one another out. I put the fire under his butt and he takes me off of fast forward!

It looks like you will have a little bit of a lag between the NPC Jay Cutler and the USA Championships in late July. Do you have any thoughts on the best use of three months to prepare? Will you bulk up significantly or was your mass phase in the off-season? And is there anything in particular that you plan to focus on before competing nationally?

After my show this weekend here in Boston I am going to continue training and dieting through the summer. Keep up with my lifting - ease up with the diet a little bit for a month or so - but I plan to hit it hard straight thru. I definitely am not looking to put on more mass at this time - I have the muscle and the base, now I am just figuring out how to shape it the best. I'd like to develop my calves and hammies a bit more, and work on my shoulder caps more as well.

What is your favorite thing about training or competing? What is your least favorite thing?

I talked about how much I love the process before - setting and achieving personal goals, pushing my body to the limit, seeing the changes, picking out suits, the whole experience is so much fun. Being in the best shape of your life - KNOWING in your heart you give your personal best 100% of the time......words can't describe the feeling it gives you inside.

The one real thing I don't like about competing is that It takes the spontaneity out of life for those 16 weeks. If you're at work and everyone all of a sudden wants to go grab appetizers and a couple of beers at a local bar - and you have to go do your second hour of cardio..that stinks! Sometimes when you're dieting and there is a great party to go to - or your friends or family are going out for sushi & martinis and you can't go...or can't partake in whatever the festivities may be.....that's a bummer for sure. You have to always keep in the back of your mind that this is a GOAL you have set and it is NOT a forever thing. Eating healthy is a wonderful lifestyle - dieting for a show brings it to a whole new level but normally only lasts between 12-16 weeks. I'll often bring my own pre-packed meals with me and try to go anyways. Is it hard? Yes. Does it take discipline? YES. Is it worth it in the end? Absolutely. I remind myself of my goals - how important they are to me - and remind myself that I have 8 weeks left - or whatever the time frame may be. Like I said - realizing that it's not forever and you may not be able to have martinis and sushi right THEN .... or that piece of birthday cake that moment, but they'll all still be there once you've accomplished your goals and that makes the celebration MUCH sweeter.

What are your future goals in both in the sport and in your life?

One of my personal goals is to get my IFBB Pro Card & to represent a company that I believe in within the Body Building/Health & Fitness Industry. Also being able to inspire and teach others on a daily basis means so much to me. Nothing in the world feels better than watching someone’s transformation unfold right in front of you. Having the ability to show someone that there is another way of life - another way of living - where you can have the best of all worlds! Be healthy inside and out, add YEARS to your life, feel like a million bucks, LOOK like a million bucks! Introducing a healthier way of living and watching people's quality of life constantly improve is what it's about. Grandparents who used to never be able to pick up their grandkids now can chase them all over the yard! Someone who used to walk into the gym with their head down, in a big baggy sweatshirt all slouched over with no smile is now walking with a little sass in their step with their shoulders back with their pearly whites gleaming. Putting smiles on other people’s faces and in their hearts are one of the many things in life that make it worth living. I also want to have a family - I love kids and look forward to the day when I have my own.

Are there any current IFBB and NPC competitors or others in the industry that you follow and/or admire?

As far as women go - I love Monica Brant's physique – in my opinion her physique is the ultimate. Feminine, muscular, conditioned, all combined into this beautiful package. Maggie Diubaldo is another one who I can look at all day. Her symmetry and conditioning is awesome and has such a warm captivating smile. For men – Jose Raymond's solid work ethic and fierce determination has floored me. His ability to push the limits and take it to the next level is incredible - and his almost fearless attitude fires me up and gives me that extra nudge when I need it most. One of his friends & workout partners Matt Puglia is another one. Matt is doing the New England show as well, as a heavyweight. He competes locally in the NPC – he is one of if not THE hardest worker I know. Putting in 60 to 70 hour plus weeks at work doing physical therapy, being a dad, husband, he still NO MATTER WHAT gets his training done, executes it with every last ounce of power whether he was up all night with his young son or had a great night’s sleep. Sometimes he doesn’t leave the gym until the lights are being shut off. I admire people who don’t have excuses. It gets done the right way - no matter what - period.

Photo Credit: Dan Ray

Thanks Deanna!

To see Deanna's contest history and a list of all of her appearances on FigureRX please visit Bodybuilding Weekly.