PUMPED ABOUT BODYBUILDING

Photo: Fred Lopez

Bernice Prek has a look of confidence as she walks onto stage. The bikini she’s wearing barely covers her tanned, golden-oak skin, rock-hard abs, and muscular biceps. She is a female bodybuilder with perfectly sculpted anatomy. And she’s the picture of what female fitness should look like—beautiful, toned, and seemingly always smiling.

A native of Puerto Rico who moved to the U.S. in 2002, Bernice is living proof that athletes don’t have to be in their late teens or early 20s to participate in a new sport. Although she spent much of her career as a certified personal trainer, it wasn’t until she was 36 that she decided to undergo a life transformation and become a bodybuilder. This happened on a whim in February 2015 when she accompanied Mia Finnegan, the 1995 Fitness Olympia champion, to a bodybuilding competition in Tampa. “I instantly fell in love with the sport,” says Bernice, a resident of Ocala. “When I was at the competition, I was able to meet many of the female competitors backstage. Seeing how good they looked in their bikinis made me realize that I could also look that good.”

Bernice made her bodybuilding debut in October 2015. Competing in the NPC Ocala Cup Classic, she muscled her way to first-place finishes in three categories: Masters Bikini, Open Class B Bikini, and Novice Bikini. “I was very surprised that I did so well at my first competition,” she says. “I went there with the mindset of showing my body and letting people see all the hard work I put in 12 weeks leading up to the competition. I practiced posing every single day.” One month later, Bernice competed in the Amanda Marinelli Classic in West Palm Beach. She won third place in her open bikini class, which qualified her to compete in the NPC Team Universe competition in July. A first- or second-place finish in this event would allow her to earn a pro card and compete in International Federation of Body Building and Fitness (IFBB) competitions.

“In IFBB events I can actually start winning money,” she says. Prepping for bodybuilding competitions requires laser-like focus. While Bernice tries to keep a nice physique at all times, she kicks her routine into overdrive 12 weeks before a competition by spending countless hours in the gym and following a strict diet regimen. Carbohydrate depletion marks the final week of training and helps eliminate fat surrounding muscles. That’s also the same week for the dehydration process, which helps her lose several pounds of water weight.

“With each show, I come up with a better physique and package to showcase to judges. Undergoing competition prep makes you a more committed and stronger person. You grow in so many ways.”