JENNIFER ROBERTS

​Host Celeste Rains-Turk speaks with Jennifer Roberts, wife,
mother, full-time school district principal, and lifetime athlete
who just turned pro at North Americans! 

​Celeste begins by asking Jennifer what rituals she has
immediately before her heel hits the stage. Jennifer says she
gives herself reminders of what she’s been working on with her
posing and she gives herself a physical cue to help ground her
and keep her arm relaxed. She used to remind herself to “Own the
stage”. This year she has focused on transforming nervous energy
by saying “It’s showtime.”

Jennifer worked hard on the energy she brings to the stage.
Because she got to a point with her posing this year where she
moved beyond making corrections, she could focus on doing the
things that make her stand out. Eight days before the show, her
cousin passed away. Jennifer explained how she wanted to honor
him some way during the show and how she thought about her
grandfather calling her a ray of sunshine that lights up the
room. Celeste talks about not posing as someone else, but as you.
Ask yourself, what energy do you bring to the stage?

Celeste asks Jennifer about the unconventional set up of this
year’s North Americans and competing in a tent. Jennifer says she
enjoyed it even without an audience, because it allowed her to
focus on the judges. She had no problems with the stage and the
organizers did a great job. 

Jennifer started in natural shows in Canada, though the IFBB was
always in her mind. She did local shows to keep fit and competed
back in 2000, before bikini was a division. She came second in
her first competition but realized she was doing it because of
deep-seated insecurities. This led her down a personal
development path, away from fitness. This contributed to who she
is today. 

Jennifer talks about when she first met her husband, he asked her
if she ever read any books for fun instead of all serious,
non-fiction books. She tells the story about how he helped her
see her beauty, and that was her pivotal movement. Celeste
relates by explaining if you aren't willing to look in the mirror
and change something, nothing will change. You have to do the
hard thing. 

Currently, Jennifer has a much healthier body image, even though
she says it’s not perfect. She does shows to stay healthy and
because she loves them, instead of trying to attain a certain
body. She still has moments, but she doesn't go to a dark place
anymore. Recognizing our growth shows us that we can continue to
heal. 

Celeste asks Jennifer what she would say to people who think they
are too old to reach certain goals. Jennifer says it’s never too
late to work on yourself or do a show. She talks about her young
family and demanding job, and how you have to recognize your
priorities to reach your goals. Jennifer wakes at 5 am to stretch
and practice posing. Then she completes her workout and is done
just after 7 am when her family is waking up. 

Jennifer says she does sometimes feel overwhelmed but
acknowledges that you just have to fit in things where you can.
At one point, she thought she had a good family balance, but her
husband explained how she isn’t always mentally present for her
family. Jennifer says she didn't realize how much it was
affecting the family and focused on creating quality time for her
family this year. In order to do this, Jennifer preps her food
for weeks at a time. When her family gets home, she stops what
she's doing and is present for them. 

Celeste asks about Jennifer’s demanding job as a principal.
Jennifer explains how she has to travel quite a bit for her job
and that she never cheats on her prep. Being super organized
allows her to maintain her schedule. She just makes it work. Even
on a trip to France last summer, she stayed on track 100 percent.
There’s nothing you can’t do if you want it badly enough. During
an improvement season, Jennifer still works hard but is less
rigid with her schedule to let her relax. This allows her to go
full out during prep. 

When choosing shows, Jennifer used to consider location, but as
she improved and moved up, she realized the IFBB was something
she could reach. She started to focus on shows that would allow
her to qualify for the Vancouver Pro/Am and then North Americans.
She took a long improvement season after the 2019 North Americans
to focus on 2020 North Americans and earning her Pro Card.

Jennifer talks about how COVID changes her prep with the
uncertainty of it the show would even happen. Jennifer took many
virtual workshops to improve her posing and started to focus on
flexibility to help her achieve proper poses. Once she got in the
daily habit of stretching and posing, she had a mindset shift of
thinking it was hard for her to pose. 

Celeste asks Jennifer to speak to what keeps her going through
this difficult prep. Jennifer thrives on prep and loves knowing
what she has to do and just doing it. She wouldn't want to have
regrets if she strayed from her plan and then missed bringing her
best to the show. Jennifer focused on her upper body and her
glutes based on feedback from the judges. Jennifer loves mountain
biking but saves it for improvement season and then switches to
road cycling and hiking for prep.

Jennifer sees bodybuilding as lifetime fitness. Even when she’s
done competing, she will keep working out. She does her second
workout with her son and wants to be a role model and stay
healthy. She wants to keep healthy and stay active for life. She
had the goal of getting her pro card before she turned 50, and
she did it!

Jennifer’s husband is a bug support for her. They check in with
each other  regarding their workouts, keeping communication
open to make sure everyone’s needs are being met. They work as a
great team, even tackling meal prep together. Everyone in the
family will eat the same foods. 

While eating the same foods, each family member still has
autonomy in their food choices. Her husband and son don’t weigh
their food like she does, but they still make conscious food
choices. Jennifer’s son is also very supportive of her. He helps
keep her on track and even critiques her posing. Jennifer loves
that her son is involved and they both treat bodybuilding as a
sport that requires hard work. 

Celeste asks Jennifer about a special tradition she has with her
family post show. They share wine and charcuterie to honor their
family Friday nights. Another tradition they honor daily is
sitting together and talking about their day with no
distractions. 

Jennifer talks about the shift that started to happen before she
was even a pro. Because she was visualizing being a pro and
creating positive energy around her goal, she felt like a pro
before she even was one. She believes this focus and mindset
helped her achieve her goal. Soon she will start visualizing her
next goal. She also sets goals with her family and sets them on a
vision board to help keep track of them. 
​
Celeste asks Jennifer to offer advice for new competitors and
aspiring pros. Jennifer advises aspiring pros to look at the
energy they are bringing to their routine. Always practice with
your best energy. To new competitors, Jennifer urges them to go
to a show and see what it’s like as well as evaluate their
motives as to why they want to do a show. Trust the process. To
both, she encourages family time. 

CONNECT WITH
JEN: www.instagram.com/jsharam_ifbbpro/
CONNECT WITH
CELESTE: www.instagram.com/celestial_fit/

Time Stamps
[1:22] Jennifer talks about her pre-stage ritual.

[5:00] Jennifer talks about her cousin passing away 8 days before
the show.

[7:34] Celeste asks if she will be taking the same energy to pro
debut.

[8:14] Celeste asks Jennifer about the unconventional set up of
this year’s North Americans.

[10:40] Jennifer talks about her experience in natural
federations. 

[12:37] Jennifer talks about the origins of her fitness
journey. 

[16:30] Celeste asks Jennifer what one thing that transformed the
way she viewed her life. 

[19:25] Celeste askes Jennifer about her current body
image. 

[22:22] Jennifer addresses the thought of being too old to reach
certain goals. 

[25:08] Celeste asks if she ever feels overwhelmed

[27:17] Jennifer explains cations she took to be more
present.  

[28:14] Jennifer talks about balancing everything with her
demanding job. 

[31:20] Celeste asks how her prep differs from an improvement
season. 

[32:40] Jennifer talks about how she chooses
competitions. 

[34:58] Celeste asks what changed between 2019 and 2020 North
Americans. 

[39:15] Jennifer talks about what it was that kept her
going. 

[40:49] They discuss what improvements Jennifer made based on
feedback. 

[44:35] Jennifer talks about different forms of
cardio. 

[46:57] Celeste asks about Jennifer’s past athletic
experiences. 

[49:35] Jennifer speaks about her husband’s support. 

[53:15] Jennifer talks about her family’s eating
habits. 

[54:33] Celeste asks what Jennifer’s son thinks about what she
does. 

[57:50] They talk about children with parents that
compete. 

[59:33] Jennifer talks about a tradition she has with her
husband. 

[63:21] Celeste asks Jennifer how her mindset has shifted since
winning her pro card. 

[68:04] Jennifer offers advice to new competitors and aspiring
pros. 

[70:30] Close out.