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FEMALE
BODYBUILDING
The Flex Interview: Wonder Woman; Juliette
Bergmann, crowned Ms. Olympia at the tender age of 42, is defying
time - Interview
Federico
Fellini would have loved the Juliette Bergmann comeback story. The
treatment for this surrealistic motion picture is quite brilliant:
Retired female bodybuilder joins the circus as a sexy ringmaster.
Wearing a long black dress, she introduces the four other women who
perform in this City of Women troupe. At the end of the show, as a
cloud of smoke obscures the stage, this mistress of muscle suddenly
appears like an apparition in her string bikini and hits several
provocative poses to showcase her muscular sexy body. After touring
with the circus through Belgium, France and her native Holland, our
leading lady returns to the bodybuilding stage for the first time
since 1989. And in her first Ms. O appearance since 1988 (when she
finished 13th), our heroine, just one month shy of her 43rd
birthday, wins the lightweight class and the overall to lay claim to
the unified Ms. Olympia title.
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Bergmann, an international
bodybuilding judge since 1991, had no concrete plans to return to
bodybuilding competition until last spring. Wayne DeMilia, IFBB
vice-president, who just happened to be in Bergmann's neighborhood
of Middelharnis, Holland, checked out her act and advised this Dutch
diva to make a comeback at the 2001 Ms. O.
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In this exclusive interview,
Bergmann speaks candidly about her unlikely rise to greatness, her
views on her erstwhile rival Cory Everson and the image of women's
bodybuilding -- past, present and future.
FLEX: What improvements have you made since you last competed in
1989?
JULIETTE BERGMANN: My muscle maturity has improved because of my
experience and longevity. I know my body and how it responds, and I
trust my own instincts about how to diet and train. In 1980, I was
too busy listening to other people and their wisdom about what I
should do. I stopped listening to all these "experts" and went back
to the basics. Low carbs and high protein work best for me. I'd been
training all along; all I had to do was increase my cardio to two
sessions per day, 35-40 minutes per session, and I was ready to go.
So you never stopped lifting weights since your last contest in the
'80s?
There's never been a break in my routine. I train four days per week
as follows: chest on its own, shoulders with back, legs on day three
and then on day four, arms. I've never strayed from the idea that
you need to be in shape year-round -- I always want to look good and
stay feminine and sexy.
What made you want to reenter competition?
At the 2000 Ms. Olympia in Las Vegas, I discussed the idea of coming
back with Anja Langer [who was second in her last Ms. Olympia
appearance in 1988]. She was going to compete as a heavyweight in
2001 and I'd do the lightweights. Anja got pregnant and that was the
end of her return to the stage. But I met with Wayne DeMilia last
spring in Holland. He watched a video of my circus act and, based on
what he saw of my physique, he encouraged me to compete.
What kind of circus is this?
It's called Circus Wonder and is made up of five women with special
talents -- including a contortionist, a trapeze artist, a rhythmic
gymnast and a bodybuilder. I'd been contacted by the director of the
circus, who was looking for a woman who was in shape all the time
and had some muscle. I checked into the credibility of the group --
it was originally sponsored by the Belgium Ballet -- and once I was
convinced it was legit, I decided to join. We travel to art
festivals in Belgium, Holland and France and have put on more than
100 shows in the past two years.
Describe your role in the troupe.
I'm announcing the show as the ringmaster. I walk around in a black
dress, completely covered up. But at the end of the show, I take off
my robe and everyone can see I'm a bodybuilder.
Did performing in Circus Wonder make it easier for you to return to
the bodybuilding stage?
It felt perfectly natural to be in the spotlight. The circus
experience has taught me a lot about communicating with the
audience, presenting my body in a sexy and appealing way. In fact,
my choice of posing music ["I've Never Been to Me" by Charlene] at
the Ms. Olympia was the same music I perform my routine to in the
circus. The music tells a story about a woman's life, her journey to
reaching maturity and fulfillment, and it fits me perfectly.
Does your victory signal that women's bodybuilding should go back to
the way the physiques looked in the '80s, with Cory Everson and
Tonya Knight being the role models for women?
That's what I'm hoping. I want to inspire women to believe that they
can train with weights, eat healthy and look beautiful, feminine and
sexy. I agree with what Valentina Chepiga [2000 heavyweight Ms.
Olympia] has been saying for the past year in the magazines. I want
good-looking women to go into bodybuilding and compete in contests
at the local and national level. I promote women's bodybuilding
contests in my native country of Holland, and I tell the women to
stay pretty and feminine. I also tell the women who do not look
feminine or who are bordering on being too big that they should not
compete or they will finish last -- regardless of how big and hard
they are. The future of this sport is to promote women who are sexy
and beautiful -- that's the example I will set as the reigning Ms.
Olympia. |
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