Meriza Goncalves looked great at the 2006 NPC USA's, and she is a 32 year old mother of a beautiful 9 year old daughter. Meriza has been training consistently for about 6 years. Meriza manages to balance a busy professional life with her personal life. Besides being a great mom, (ask her daughter, Alexis!) she is a successful personal trainer in the greater San Diego area. "I'm very thankful that my physique is being recognized. I've worked very hard this year to achieve the conditioning I presented on the USA stage. Many people don't realize the amount of time and energy put into a prize-winning physique. All of the girls I know who compete take this sport very seriously, and put as much effort into it as athletes in any other sport - maybe more. In fact, we just had dinner this weekend with a figure athlete who's current program has her doing 3 sessions of cardio a day!"
Meriza, when did you start training? --> "I started after the birth of my daughter, Alexis, but in the beginning, I exercised mainly to get into shape - I wanted to lose the extra weight I had gained during my pregnancy. But, it wasn't until 2004 that I actually got up on stage."
Which was your first show and how did you do? --> "It was the 2004 NPC LOs Angeles show. I took 4th. I didn't know what I was doing! I couldn't even smile because I was s nervous!"
You've made some dramatic improvements in your physique this year. To what do you contribute your progress? -->
"We increased my protein this time, and restricted my carbs a lot earlier this time. I also trained my legs a lot more consistently for these latest shows. And, running, intense running for my cardio has helped my legs get leaner than before. Lots of hard running."
Meriza's current training program includes weight-training, cardio including distance sprinting, and plyometrics.
She follows a high protein, low-to-moderate carb cycle, low fat diet."The worst thing about dieting is not being able to eat my favorite junk foods with my daughter and my boyfriend. He's a bodybuilder, too, but he's off-season - and loves ice cream. It seems like every night, it's rocky road or cookies n cream!"
Besides personal training and her own training, Meriza's a part of the 619 MUSCLE Team of experts. She offers competition figure coaching, posing, training and nutrition. "Presentation is everything in our sport. I believe that you work hard for your physique, it's important to show it properly. Many girls work hard for their physique, but get overlooked because of poor presentation. I remember my first show, I was so uncomfortable I didn't remember to smile. Practice, practice, practice - it's so important to take pride in displaying your hard-earned body!"
Her next competition is the North Americans in Cleveland, where she hopes to get her pro card. "I was very happy with my placing at the USA (she placed a close 2nd, winning the 1 piece round). Considering it was my first national level show, I was happy to be right up there with many of the girls I admire. I'm working hard and very excited -and a little bit nervous (-she smiles-) about the upcoming North Americans. There are so many great girls in good shape, at this level you can't afford to take things lightly."
Meriza's personality is much bigger than her 4' 11 3/4" frame. At just under the 5' mark, she's one of the smallest figure competitors on the circuit, but she's got one of the biggest hearts, and smiles! She's one of the bright, rising stars in the figure game! Be sure to keep an eye out for this one! She will be working the Olympia Expo in Vegas this year, representing Hot Rox Extreme - be sure to check her out!
** photos by Pete Ciccone
