New York Pro - Five Questions with Jessica Steffens

Jessica Steffens

Bodybuilding Weekly caught up with Colorado IFBB Figure star Jessica Steffens, just before she departed to compete at the New York Pro Figure Championships in New York on September 5th and 6th.

September 4, 2008

Special for Bodybuilding Weekly

Jessica's Bodybuilding Weekly Profile

New York Pro Figure Main Coverage Page

BW:  Hi Jessica!  Thank you for taking time out of your busy contest prep to talk to us.  How did you decide to compete in New York this weekend?  And is there anything that you are doing differently to prepare for the show, relative to Houston?

JS:  You are welcome, thank you for the opportunity.  I thought it would be a fun show to do because six of my teammates who are shooting for their pro cards and our coach IFBB Pro Carla Sanchez are all going.  It is so much more fun traveling and competing with my teammates.   I intensified my cardio to try and come in more conditioned than I was at Houston.

What are your goals for New York, and for the rest of the competition year?  How about next year? 

Of course my ultimate goal would be to qualify for the Olympia but I would be satisfied with a top 10 finish.  I like to focus on one show at a time so for now all I am thinking about is New York, then I will see how I feel and decide from there what I will do next.

Did you watch much of the Olympics from Beijing?  We noticed that there is an athlete on the U.S. women's water polo team who is also named Jessica Steffens.  But more importantly, as a former dirt bike racer did you catch any of the new dirt bike and BMX events?  What did you think of them? 

That's funny.....and we spell it the exact same way.  I actually watched mostly track and gymnastics this year.  I run sprints twice a week with our track coach Dave Reese so it was interesting to see how fast the athletes were compared to me.  Just when you think you're fast there is a whole lot of people even faster!  

What does it mean to you to be part of Team Performance Ready, and what kind of support system do you ifbb pro's provide to some of the NPC athletes who are looking to join you? 

Well I wouldn't be where I am in the sport if it wasn't for my coach Carla Sanchez.   Being part of the team is the funnest part of the whole process.  They are such an amazing group of women and it is a honor for me to be a part of it, I think we all inspire each other at one point or another.  We are continually pushing each other in the gym and always striving to improve.  The support the team gives me is unexplainable - I couldn't do it without all my buddies. 

 
Will the team be at the Olympia working for VPX Sports, and what have you guys been doing for them? 

Yes, there will be a group of us working for VPX at the Olympia.  It is a fairly new team sponsorship but we just did a 12-week Meltdown Challange.  This is an amazing oppurtunity for all of us and we are very excited about it.  They have some amazing products which I have sure been enjoying and using on a daily basis.

Thanks Jessica, and good luck in New York!!

Interview conducted by Rada for Bodybuilding Weekly and FigureRX Magazine.