Gina Breaks It Down
An Interview with Figure Star, Gina Aliotti
by Chris Shugart

We're sure top Figure competitor Gina Aliotti is a great person. We like her. We bet she's fun to be around. But what we really want to know is how she does it.

How does she get that lean? How does she stay that lean even in the off season? How did she sculpt that amazing body? What does she eat? When does she eat it? How does she train?

In this interview, we cut the small talk and get right to what MWA readers want to know. In this interview, Gina breaks in down!

Muscle With Attitude: You got second in the '07 Olympia, your best placing yet. Did you leave that show thinking, "Okay, I need to work on this and that... " or is it just a matter of what the judges happen to be looking for at the time?

Gina Aliotti: Yes, this year's Olympia was my best placing and accomplishment yet. I walked into the show knowing that I'd made the improvements I felt were necessary to make my physique that much more competitive. I definitely made a statement and left the stage feeling like I'd done my homework and presented it well.

I'd been told to add a few pounds of muscle to my upper body and I was able to accomplish that and place very well. I was given very positive feedback from the judges, but this year it just wasn't my turn.

MWA: We have a feeling that may change in 2008! Okay, give us an idea of what your typical day looks like right now: work, weight training, cardio, etc.

Gina: Right now I'm ten weeks out from the Arnold Classic. As of now, I'm only doing one session of cardio and one weight training session per day. My weight training stays consistent throughout my prep.

I train five days a week and I do every body part once except hamstrings and shoulders, which are trained twice. My leg training is very light and high rep. I've started doing more plyometric work, too.

A typical day for me is waking up at 5:00 AM, drinking my coffee and checking e-mails. I head to the gym for my cardio on an empty stomach. Right now I'm doing 45 minutes every morning.

After cardio I train clients and sometimes train myself before heading back home. At home I follow up with more e-mails and clients. Mid-afternoon I'm usually running errands. I definitely find time late afternoon for a nap!

After my nap, if I didn't train in the morning, I head back to the gym for my training. When I get further along my prep, my second session of cardio is done in the early PM. After my training, I come home to check more e-mails and take care of my posts and website updates.

I spend the evening preparing myself for the following day and of course having some R & R time before hitting the pillow and starting all over again. Throughout the day, I can't forget about preparing all my meals. I tend to cook my meals right before eating them so that means I prepare seven meals throughout the day, every two and a half to three hours.

MWA: Our readers were asked what they were most interested in, and they all wanted to know what your daily diet looks like right now. Can you outline that for us?

Gina: My diet is the same all seven days for right now. As I get further into my prep, I start to manipulate and cycle my carbohydrates.

Right now I'm eating carbs in my first, third, and fourth meal. The carbs I'm consuming are mostly oatmeal and one meal I usually have a four to five ounce yam or sweet potato. I absolutely love oatmeal, so when I have carbs in my meals I tend to use oatmeal over any other complex carb.

Every meal I have around 30 to 35 grams of lean protein. I use either chicken breast, fish, egg whites, or low-carb Metabolic Drive. I'd also have to say that at least four of my meals include veggies, my favorite being green beans, asparagus, zucchini, cabbage, big salads, and eggplant.

Here's a sample day:

Meal 1: Oats with one scoop Metabolic Drive

Meal 2: 2 scoops Metabolic Drive, nuts

Meal 3: 4-5 oz lean protein, veggies, 5 oz sweet potato or yam

Meal 4: Oats, 4-5 oz lean protein, veggies

Meal 5: Lots of green veggies, 4-5 oz lean protein

Meal 6: Same as meal 4

Meal 7: 1 scoop Metabolic Drive, peanut butter

MWA: Let's talk about your supplement schedule. What do you take and how will that change as you get closer to the show?

Gina: As far as supplements go, I use the same supplement schedule throughout my entire prep. First thing in the morning I take two HOT-ROX Extreme, two Flameout capsules, one yohimbe, and one Se7en.

At noon I repeat the same stack and before bed I take three capsules of ZMA, two Flameout capsules, and one yohimbe. Throughout the day I use Metabolic Drive religiously. I'd say that at least three of my meals I use low-carb Metabolic Drive. It's just so good that I can't resist! I also drink one Spike during my workout.

MWA: Now, Figure girls basically have to be in "bikini-model" shape even in the off-season. So how does your diet and training change in the off-season?

Gina: Yes, it's important for Figure girls to be in "bikini model" shape year-round. It's impossible to maintain a contest shape look all year long, but there's no reason to get out of shape.

I fluctuate about seven pounds from my contest to off-season weight. My diet never really changes. I always eat seven meals a day and clean foods. There are only a few differences. For one, I only "eye" my food instead of weighing it.

I also allow myself a cheat meal once a week if I'm craving something. When I say "cheat meal" I don't mean a crazy cheat. What I consider a cheat meal is Italian food or sushi with the rice and a glass of wine. I've grown up on the same foods I eat pre-contest, so my diet really is very similar, which makes life easy!

The only difference with my off-season training is the amount of cardio I do. I tend to drop my cardio to four or five times a week for 30 to 40 minute sessions.

The biggest difference, for me, between on and off-season training is when life happens and things come up, you don't have to worry about fitting in your workout, cardio, or special diet. Things happen, and when you're dieting, you just make things work. But when you're off-season it's nice to let loose and be able to skip a workout or stray off your diet a bit.

MWA: Okay, good info! Now, we get a lot of newer competitors here at MWA. Got any tips you can offer a newbie thinking of entering her first show?

Gina: Patience, consistency, commitment, and confidence! You need to realize you're your body doesn't change overnight. It takes time and patience to make significant changes in your body. If you're consistent with your diet and training, it's inevitable that you'll make improvements and transform your body. Without patience and consistency you'll drive yourself crazy and not see the results you want.

Along with patience and consistency you need to have commitment. Commit to yourself, your goal, and your trainer. It's so important to make a decision and stick to it. Set a goal for yourself; commit and see it through until the end.

It's also very important that you're committed to one trainer/nutritionist. It's common to have a separate trainer and nutritionist, but you need to all be on the same page and commit to them. There are so many different theories and ways to prepare for a contest, and the hardest thing for new competitors is to hear many different theories from many different people.

There are many ways to prepare for a contest and it's important to commit to one person and one person only. If you try to hear what everyone has to say, you'll drive yourself crazy and be extremely confused!

MWA: That's good advice. Our readers also wanted to know what you did for glute training. Do you focus on glutes directly or let the leg work take care of that?

Gina: I train glutes with my hamstrings, twice a week. I focus on really squeezing my glutes in every exercise. I truly believe in concentrated, isolated, squeezing movements.

Whatever exercise I may do, my glutes are constantly contracted and being squeezed during both the concentric and eccentric movement.

My favorite glute exercises are butt blasters, cable kickbacks, straight-leg deadlifts, and isolated hamstring curls, focusing on glutes.

MWA: We do believe it's working! Okay, many aspiring figure competitors seem to run into this problem: Has anyone tried to convince you not pursue your fitness goals? Has anyone told you you're getting "too big?" If so, how did you deal with that?

Gina: I've never been told to not pursue my goals. Everyone in my life has been extremely supportive and helped me in any way they can. I have an amazing support team and I'm very fortunate to have an amazing nutritionist, Kim Oddo, manager, J.M. Manion, sponsor, Biotest, and many friends and family members that are my biggest fans.

On another note, yes, I have had people comment that I'm getting "too big." This doesn't happen too often, but after the Olympia there was some talk about my muscularity being borderline. It really doesn't bother me when I hear these comments because to me it's a compliment. I worked hard to put on muscle and balance out my physique, so these comments validate the hard work I put into my body.

I'm very happy with where my body is and how far I've come. I'm not looking to add any more muscle, just refine the muscle I have and continue to bring my best package to the stage. I've carried different amounts of muscle and shape to the stages and the best look I've had thus far has been my last three shows: TOC, Olympia, and West Palm Beach Pro Show.

The consensus from the judges was that the West Palm Beach Pro show has been my best look yet. I've learned how to carry my muscle and present it on stage. I definitely have a physique that looks its best with muscle, conditioning, and curve. I feel that I've achieved the balance that I've been working toward and I'm very happy with how my body has transformed from show to show.

MWA: Congrats on your success so far, Gina. Besides MWA, where can our readers go to find out more about you?

Gina: Please visit my revised website at www.ginaaliotti.com or .net. I'm excited to offer a new front end and members section to my site. I'm offering many services to my members including weekly video clips from training, cooking, to real life. You can also chat with me every Sunday and Tuesday evening at 6:00 PM.

My goal is to communicate and get more involved with women who are seeking to learn more and be the best they can be!

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