Muscle Ventures Podcasts

In this podcast with Bud Gibson (Quicktime ipod compatible, 20MB; Google streaming flash video), Mary Reiter discusses her transition out of bodybuilding and her new goal to leg press 900 lbs.

In this podcast Mary talks about the difference in the trainers she has had and how this has led to her goal of pushing 900 lbs on the leg press.

She remarks on the differences between her former trainer, Frank, and her current trainer, Kevin. Mary explains that when she began training with Kevin it was the first time that she trained one body part from many different angles within the same workout. She also states that although their styles are quite different they both agree on the fact that legs are of the upmost importance when competing.

Mary believes that attempting a 900lb leg press has been a natural progression for her. Her goal was initially set at 700lbs. After she reached this goal and then surpassed the 800lb mark she set her sights on the 900lb press.

In this podcast (Quicktime, 18.4 MB; Google Video, no download), we cover Mary Reiter's transition to her second male coach, Kevin Kelsey. Kevin was also Nancy's coach for her bodybuilding competition in Flint this past April.

Mary met Kevin as Frank was preparing to move on from the gym where she trained and worked. One morning during her training for a show, Mary came to the gym, only to discover that it had flooded. Frank suggested she go to another gym, Champions. It so happens Kevin owns Champions.

It took Mary some time to convince Kevin to accept her as a trainee. They trained together several times, and it was only after Kevin saw her willingness to train intensely that he agreed to take her on. Mary makes several remarks about feeling the need to gain the respect of the men in the establishment.

Additional Links

• Many female bodybuilders choose male trainers. However males and females respond differently to weight training, in part because women have more slow twitch muscle fibers than men.
• Over time, hormonal differences between men and women affect flexibility and morph as well as the potential for gaining muscle mass. These differences impact the effectiveness of different exercises by sex. They also impact susceptibility to injury.

Two months ago, we initially talked with Mary Reiter about how she got started bodybuilding ten years ago. We covered how she had begun working with a woman named Karen, who is now incidentally a horse trainer in Florida. At the time, we promised a soon to follow sequel about how she transitioned to male coaches. Well, over Memorial Day Weekend, I managed to catch up with Mary and get the scoop on two coaches, Frank Nuñez and Kevin Kelsey, as well as her plans to do a 900 lbs. leg press.

This podcast (Quicktime, 14 MB; Google Video, no download) chronicles Mary's transition from Karen to Frank. Frank was a self-taught bodybuilder who started when he was a student at University of Michigan in Kinesiology. Mary started by helping him prep for his first shows. Training with Frank tended more toward conditioning, and his current personal training business in Chicago is more oriented toward fitness.

A frequent observation is that women bodybuilders tend to gravitate toward male partners. One major reason this occurs is that women bodybuilders quickly reach beyond the training capacities of most other women, and there are typically just not a lot of female bodybuilders they could pair up with.

Additional Links

• Frank Nuñez currently resides in Chicago and runs a successful fitness business.