EMILY PARRIS

In this episode Celeste has the pleasure of speaking with Emily
Parris, an IFBB bikini pro who started competing in 2017 and
competed in seven national shows before earning her pro card.
Emily has her Masters Degree in Speech Pathology and works as a
Regional Director of Operations for Reliant Rehab as well as a
coach for competition and lifestyle clients.

Celeste starts off the episode by asking Emily about her
pre-stage ritual and from there the conversation transitions into
how Emily ended up competing for the first time “on a whim.” She
shares that she was ready for a new challenge in her fitness
journey and was drawn in by the sparkly bikinis, the hair,
makeup, etc., yet even after signing up for her first show, had
no idea what the NPC was or exactly what competing
entailed.

From there, Emily goes on to tell listeners about her experience
living abroad in Asia; how long she was there, what she did while
living abroad, what made her decide to do so, and why she chose
Asia. After sharing her experiences using her skills in speech
pathology abroad, Celeste asks Emily to share how she got into
the medical field and ultimately chose speech pathology as her
career.

Emily then talks about how she manages her time between
competing, life, and her full time job and how she organizes her
days. Next, Celeste and Emily discuss the importance of
consistency and commitment and how that is such a vital aspect of
making the lifestyle work, and Emily shares her experiences of a
time she had a hectic schedule being on prep and traveling
between California and Utah for work.

Next, Celeste opens the conversation to the topic of
relationships and asks Emily about not only her current
relationship, but experiences she’s had with people who may not
have been supportive of her lifestyle as a competitor. Emily
talks about how growing up in Atlanta her desire to train for and
participate in a bikini competition wasn’t widely understood and
accepted right off the bat. She also opens up and talks about her
fiancé Jeff, and the impact her lifestyle as a competitor has on
their relationship.

After getting personal, Emily answers the fun question of what
her favorite exercises are for shoulders, hamstrings and glutes
and why she loves those exercises. Emily also admits that she has
a least favorite exercise that her coach includes in her training
program, yet she does them anyways!

Celeste asks Emily to share more about her coach, how she chose
him and why she decided to switch coaches before competing in
Universe and earning her pro card. Emily also talks about her
experience competing at Wings of Strength and what it was like
standing next to pros she had admired for years on social media
and during her journey to becoming a pro herself.

Celeste and Emily then talk training strategy and the approach
Emily took in terms of her training and time off to really
transform her physique and hit the national circuit and
eventually turn pro.

From there, Celeste opens up the conversation to the mindset
aspect of the sport and asks Emily to share with listeners about
her struggles during her off season in terms of mindset and how
she had to learn to switch her perspective from “prep mode” to
“improvement season mentality.”

Also, Emily talks about a setback she had during her first off
season and explains the changes she has made to have more
successful off seasons in the future. Emily and Celeste discuss
the importance of living a healthy and balanced lifestyle, no
matter the goal, as long as there as passion and self fulfillment
attached to that goal.

Next, Emily talks about what she learned about her body, herself
and the sport during her journey competing in various national
shows before finally achieving the coveted pro status. She
mentions respecting the sport and respecting the process instead
of just trusting it and how understanding that respect made a
difference in her outlook on her journey.

Emily also shares why its so important to have love for the sport
beyond just attaining the pro status and shares some goals that
she has for this 2020 season, all while wanting to keep her
expectations in a specific realm of where she feels personal
success - whether that means making it to the Olympia stage or
simply achieving callouts in her shows.

Emily then talks about posing and presenting her physique on
stage and her experiences working with a male posing coach as
opposed to a female posing coach. She mentions the distinction
she makes between criticism and feedback and how she uses that to
continue to make necessary adjustments to present her physique
the best way possible, whether that be with a male or female
posing coach. Finishing off the episode as always, Emily shares
her advice for the first time competitor as well as her advice
for girls who are on their road to pro. 

CONNECT WITH EMILY
HERE: https://www.instagram.com/eparrisfitness/

CONNECT WITH CELESTE
HERE: https://www.instagram.com/celestial_fit/


EPISODE TIME STAMPS
[1:40] Emily shares her pre-stage ritual.

[2:50] Celeste asks Emily to elaborate on how she ended up doing
her first competition “on a whim.”

[8:00] Emily tells listeners all about her experience living
abroad in Asia; why she decided to go and what she did while
living there.

[12:20] Celeste asks Emily what led her to choose a career in
speech pathology.

[16:00] Emily goes into detail about what exactly she does as a
speech pathologist.

[20:30] Celeste has Emily share how she manages her time between
work, competing, and life.

[23:30] Emily shares how consistency is so important to make this
lifestyle work, regardless of how busy she is with work and
training.

[26:40] Celeste and Emily talk significant others and Celeste
asks Emily if she’s had experiences with people in her life who
didn’t support her goals and visions. 

[30:45] Emily tells listeners her favorite exercises for
shoulders, hamstrings, and glutes.

[33:40] Emily shares when she decided to switch coaches and the
reasoning behind it.

[34:40] Celeste asks Emily what it was like to stand on stage
next to pros who she had looked up to before reaching that
level.

[37:30] Celeste asks Emily to share what she felt made the
biggest difference in terms of transforming her physique during
her time away from the stage before finally earning her pro
card.

[43:00] Emily shares insight as to how she shifted her mentality
from a strict prep mode into a more relaxed off
season/improvement season mindset. 

[49:50] Celeste asks Emily how she overcame some setbacks from
her initial post show experience to her current improvement
season.

[54:15] Emily talks about what she learned about herself, her
body, and the sport during her time between her various national
shows before finally achieving the coveted pro status.

[59:00] Celeste and Emily discuss the importance of not just
trusting the process but respecting the process and the
sport.

[61:40] Emily mentions how this current off season has been her
most successful and how it’s helped with her goals for this
year.

[66:20] Celeste asks Emily about her experiences working with a
male posing coach.

[70:00] Emily shares her advice for girls who want to get into
competing and the competitors on their road to pro.