20 Questions with Cover Model Karly Woodle

Karly Woodle

1) Please introduce yourself? What makes you special? Who is Karly Woodle?

I'm 28 years old, originally from North Carolina, I became a flight attendant after graduating from college in December of 2003. I relocated to Phoenix as a private flight attendant for a charter airline. It was here that I met my personal trainer who introduced me to the sport of figure/bodybuilding.

2) Please tell us a bit about your family, friends and surroundings?

I'm an only child, and my family is all located on the East Coast in North Carolina & South Carolina...my friends out here are a mix of people I met flying and people I've met through the gym/competing....as for my surroundings, Phoenix is a big sandbox LOL

3) How did you start competing in figure?

I went to a local show after training for about a year and got my first taste of it. My trainer was convinced that I could not "waste my genetics" so she encouraged me to try a competition.

4) What is your personal policy (not what the judges want) about conditioning and muscularity when coming into a show? Soft or hard?

I try and bring my personal best package every time....I like to go for a harder look, but that's been a progressive work in progress as I've been working to bring my body up since I got my pro card

5) What is your idea of what judges want in a Figure competitor? Do you think judges are clear enough with competitors about how they want you on stage? It seems in Europe they are very clear unlike in the USA and now in Canada things are confusing.

I think the judges are starting to go for a softer look in figure, especially with the introduction of the WPD division. It seems to have been a guessing game as to what look will do well on stage, but it seems to be getting more standardized as of late

6) For the next shows what do you think you need to work on physique-wise/conditioning-wise? If anything!

I think that I need to work on toning down my muscle, and work on posing a little less "hard"

7) What is your typical training routine in the gym (per day, include sets and reps!) How much cardio do you do before a show?

Typical training depends on the day, I lift about 4 days a week, my 4th being a split of heavy shoulders/hamstrings...I usually do 10-12 reps of any given exercise, usually 3 circuits of each. Cardio depends on how my body is looking, but I usually get up to 1.5 hours a day before a show.

Karly Woodle

8) What is your pre-contest diet? (per day, 1 week before the show)

1 week before the show I'm usually very low carb, so it looks like
1)5 egg whites, 1/4 oatmeal, veggies
2)Protein shake or 4-5 egg whites
3)4 oz chicken, 1/4 rice or 2.5 oz yam, veggies
4)Protein shake or 4-5 egg whites/10-12 almonds
5)4 oz chicken or fish, veggies

9) How do you go about dropping your water before the day of the show? How much water do you drink the day of the show. Please be specific.

We usually start by increasing my water at the beginning of the week and progressively dropping it by certain amounts up until show time. So if I'm having 2 gallons Mon-Wed, I'll have 1-1.5 gallons on Thursday, .5-1 gallon Friday, then sip on water throughout the day of the show. It seems to work :)

10) What motivates you to train/diet and compete? Are there any competitors you looked up to?

I'm a competitive person, more so with myself than anyone else, so anything that challenges me, I'm game for. I look up to everyone I compete with because I admire the fact that all of us possess this drive that not a lot of people can handle.

11) Please tell us an interesting experience you had at a show recently, be it a fun thing or something rather not so fun?

Navigating downtown St Louis, closed streets and all!! LOL not too fun when you're running late!!!

12) What is your personal opinion about the figure, fitness, bodybuilding industry we are in? Anything you would like to see changed?

I have a lot of respect for our industry and the people who have the drive to compete in it. If anything could be changed (in an ideal world), I would like to change the perspective that it is viewed in. The general public sees it as this ridiculous narcissistic arena, without seeing the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears that goes into it.

Karly Woodle

13) What has been your hardest challenge to overcome either in your personal life or competing career?

I think the biggest challenge is a mix of competing and personal life, in dealing with the dieting/training schedule and how it is perceived by people who really don't understand how or why I do it. It gets difficult to try and explain why I have to eat or train the way I do, and constantly defend my (in their opinion) "unhealthy" habits :P It all comes down to being true to myself.

14) Did you make any changes to your contest prep for your last show? Water intake, carbing up, etc...

For my last prep, I tried eating a lower fat diet (so sad to lose my PB haha) and it helped greatly in dropping bf%.

15) What do you think of bikini division?

I think it's just another look for women who may not want to carry as much muscle, and a division that works better for "hard gainers". These women work just as hard as we do, just training in a different form.

16) What are your favorite foods to eat right after you compete on a Saturday night?

Rice cakes and PB! LOL...so weird. I'm also a Lucky Charms fan :)

17) Please tell us about how you were raised and did you have any interesting experiences while growing up?

I was raised as a bit of a sheltered child (haha), so I was eager to get out and experience everything I possibly could once I left home...I think I'm doing a good job so far! ;o)

18) Do you have an athletic background? Gymnastics, soccer, volleyball or what?

Not really...I was always into health and fitness...but I'm too clumsy for organized sports, I can barely walk a straight line without tripping!! :)

Karly Woodle

19) What is a typical day in the life of Karly Woodle? From waking up to until going to bed?

Typical day, I usually wake up around 5 am for cardio, back home for my first meal, check my email, get ready for work, off to work for the day till about 4 pm, then back home, eat and train around 5-6 pm, then back home....with a few kinks here and there in the schedule some days! :)

20) What is your current occupation? Please tell us more about it, what do you specifically do in your job?

I'm currently the director of reputation management for an SEO company, so I'm basically managing our clients' reputations by using social media and writing in real time forums (industry specific).

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