Shaping up a Miss Universe
The making of a beauty queen: “My training with the beauty queens consists of three basic principles: Proper nutrition, enough exercise, and ample sleep,” says beauty queen trainer John Cuay, in photo with Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach. normannorman.com
The entire world, or universe rather, stood still last Monday morning as all eyes were on Manila, Philippines for the Miss Universe 2017 coronation night. It was a tough competition among 86 stunning women from around the globe, with Miss France Iris Mittenaere being crowned as the 65th Miss Universe.
In a country where 80 percent of its citizens are beauty pageant fans, events like Miss Universe are serious business — even more when it’s held in the Philippines.
Many pageant fans wonder how they can sculpt a body like a Miss Universe contestant’s, so we approached the best man for the job — beauty queen trainer John Cuay, whose clients include Bb. Pilipinas Universe Maxine Medina and Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach — and asked him to spill the beauty queen’s secrets.
“Taking on the obligation of sculpting the curves of beauty queens is not an easy task. It boils down to hard work and discipline,” Cuay shares.
“My training with the beauty queens consists of three basic principles: Proper nutrition, enough exercise, and ample sleep,” he explains.
Step 1: Nutrition
“The saying that ‘a perfect body is molded in the kitchen, not in the gym’ is absolutely my mantra. That’s why, education on proper nutrition is what I consider the primary step during the course of my training. Being blessed with a good friend who’s a top-notch nutritionist, Cristy Marasigan, comes in handy. Together, we deal with the girls’ nutrition not in terms of complex calculations of calories or weighing all foods; our strategy is geared more towards the practical side of nutrition. We just make sure that the ladies take the right food that will eventually frame a physique at par with international standards.”
“In cases where a beauty title holder has to lose weight and inches, a strict, clean dietary intake has to be taken as the primary step. No processed food is the mandatory rule, as well as drinking enough water (eigh to 10 glasses). We sternly warn them if they have to eat out, that they opt for fresh salad with a healthy dressing. Majority of these ladies were able to show a significant improvement in their physique following the suggested eating routine, but then again for some, it was a tough job. In spite of constant reminders on their food intake, I still discovered that they still munched on foods that were strictly discouraged.”
“Without a doubt I’m a strong believer that one’s food intake is vital in the quest for one’s dream body. If you eat like a real queen then you could be a beauty queen.”
Step 2: Exercise
“Healthy eating will make you drop weight, but it will not make you achieve Victoria’s Secret abs or legs if you don’t incorporate serious weight training. You can lose weight without exercising but your muscles will not look toned. In working with the beauty queens, I only have this exercise-training regimen: thrice a week weight training for an hour each session, which are all compound movements, twice a week core training for an hour, thrice a week cardiovascular training (mostly dance-based) for an hour.”
“That’s it and nothing else. Working out more than the above time means a waste of effort and could possibly be ineffective.”
“In cases wherein the ladies needed to work on specific areas for enhancements, I usually just gave them extra work on the said areas but still within the time allotted for weight training.”
“In my six years of experience training with beauty queens, there has never been one with a picture-perfect body symmetry; they are like anyone else, with tricky areas, too. With perseverance, having a figure close to perfection is not impossible to pull off.”??
Step 3: Rest
“Last but not the least, I would always give emphasis on the importance of rest. Working out and proper nutrition are still not enough, if you are not allowing your body sufficient time to regenerate new cells. Eight hours of sleep is what I suggest.”
“My perception of what a beauty queen should be, used to be superficial. I thought she does not need any substance at all. Then I, myself, was transformed.”
“To the one who wears the crown, much is expected of her, and for her we should have nothing but awe and respect.”
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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.
