My name is Ashley Nordman and I am a 21 year old women’s figure competitor. I was born and raised in a small town in Illinois, where I grew up in the country. I was constantly outside playing games, rollerblading, riding bikes, and playing sports. When I reached high school, I fell in love with running. I was the caption of our Cross Country team, and I always played an important role on the Track team as well. When college came around, I was burned out from 4 years of running, and I was also extremely lean. I was uncomfortable with my tiny physique, so I started researching some new types of exercise. I looked on Bodybuilding.com, fell in love with Jamie Eason’s body, and told myself that I was going to do whatever it took to look like her! I started weightlifting and focusing more on my nutrition, and I quickly fell in love. The weights were a new challenge for me, and they helped me put on some much-needed muscle! Throughout college, I grew even more passionate about this new lifestyle, and I was a huge advocate for healthy living. I joined a private gym during the summer of my Sophomore year of college, and this is where I fell into the sport of bodybuilding. I met a personal trainer who was a professional bodybuilder, and he recommended that I pursue it. I loved the idea of a new challenge, so I started working with him right away. In just 12 weeks, I prepped for my first competition, the OCB Midwest States in November of 2012, where I won 1^st place and Overall in Women’s Figure Novice! From then on, I knew that bodybuilding was my new sport. Since then, I have competed just one more time, in the NPC USA Coastal in August of 2013, where I prepped by myself and won 1^st place and Overall in Women’s Figure Open, which qualified me for Nationals! This year, I plan to compete in Nationals, as well as two other competitions, and I also plan to do my own prep. Along this journey, where my lifestyle involves eating healthy, weight training, and finding inner happiness, I am focusing on being as selfless as possible and to help others reach their health and wellness goals!

My current goals are to compete in Nationals this year with the best physique I’ve ever had, to inspire others to work towards their own fitness goals, and to become an IFBB Pro. Each and every day I work towards these goals by being disciplined, putting others before myself, having patience, working as hard as I can, and staying positive!

My biggest accomplishment is that I have been able to inspire women to change their lives for the better, and all through social media! I mainly use Instagram and I absolutely love each and every one of my followers!

I eat ALL the time! I eat every three hours, and I eat 99% whole foods! Typically, I wake up, eat some egg whites and cream of wheat with a little fruit, and drink a small cup of coffee. A few hours later, I will have egg whites or a protein shake with a serving of almonds and vegetables. For lunch, I typically eat 4 oz grilled chicken with spinach and vegetables, and I also have a sweet potato with cinnamon on top! My afternoon snack is always a Cellucor protein shake (protein, ice, almond milk, and a banana!), and my dinner is usually 4oz ground turkey with oats or brown rice, and more vegetables! Before bed, I often have plain greek yogurt with almond butter.

My favorite form of exercise is weightlifting! I LOVE lifting heavy weights and really pushing myself out of my comfort zone!

6. What motivates you?

My Instagram followers motivate me, my next competition motivates me, and my friends and family motivate me as well.

I have two important pieces of advice. The first is to learn and research as much as you can when it comes to healthy eating, working out, and the lifestyle changes that are involved. Read blogs, see what fitness icons do to reach their goals, read forums on Bodybuilding.com, or even ask a friend or personal trainer in the area. Secondly, be patient and persistent! NEVER give up on your goals, and realize that the changes you want are going to take some time. We live in a society where we want things to happen now! But with fitness, that’s not the way it works. We must work for what we want, and we must be patient and let our body slowly get into the shape we want. 🙂

Ashley, thank you so much for all your help and constant support! I seriously can’t thank you enough. 

You can find Ashley on Instagram: Passion2befit