MONICA VARGAS

Recounting the past years of my short life I would say it has been full of hard work and dedication. Growing up in a sports oriented family, it was no surprise to find myself completely devoted to sports, especially one: gymnastics.

From early on, gymnastics was the center of my life. With countless hours spent in the gym, there was little time for play. The seriousness of daily practices and time devoted at the gym made me grow and mature quickly, and the hard work paid off. I spent 13 years practicing and competing locally and internationally in the sport and enjoyed every second of it. It gave me the opportunity to figure out what physical and mental strength is as well as the true meaning of discipline and extreme hard work to get to any particular goal.

By the time I reached my junior year of high school, I was ready for a change. I picked up competitive cheerleading which led me to fulfill my competitive nature. At the University of Texas at Austin I majored Kinesiology which allowed me to study what I'm passionate about : fitness and health. During college, I started coaching gymnastics and cheerleading which truly taught me the beauty of helping someone. My job as coach was to define the path and guide every student to their goal. I became so involved and was so fulfilled that I decided to explore a different avenue of that by becoming a personal trainer.

After earning my degree, I decided to make a move to California where I spent two years passionately involved in fitness. I still cannot believe that what I learned at such a young age defines my character, career and basically my life. My job cannot get any better! As a personal trainer, I help people reach their physical and mental peaks. For me, there are no limits to where you can take your mind and body. The only limits are those you set yourself. At this point is where I realized I was ready for a new challenge, and found myself drawn to Fitness and Figure competitions. With little knowledge I began researching and attempted to pursue this on my own with no luck.

It was back at home where I finally had the mental focus to pursue competing once again, now it was taking a new challenge, getting on stage as a figure competitor. Competing for me has been second nature but Figure and Fitness were completely new. There are so many things I had to learn so, I seeked help of fitness professionals and it was after a successful 1 1I/2 years and 5 shows under my belt with great results in figure that I decided to pursue Fitness. At this point I was referred to Adela Garcia. Since then my training has become more challenging and exciting since I have reverted to my old gymnastics training days. She pushes me to come out of my shell and more than anything she is REAL with you.

It has been challenging both physically and mentally, juggling training, cooking, and a training business. None the less I have to say it has been very uplifting to work with someone who walks the talk, and who can relate to my lifestyle. I am excited to work hard towards my dream which is to obtain my Pro card and continue to inspire and motivate others. With the support of Adela and the OFF Challenge Team I am sure it will be a great year!