Brandon Cass glances at his wife, Monica, as a photographer snaps pictures of her inside the gym.
“Look at those abs,” Brandon says.
Yes, it’s rare see abs that chiseled on a woman. Heck, it’s rare to see abs on any woman in today’s overweight society. But even more rare is to see a mid-section that diced on a woman who had a baby on Dec. 10, 2008.
Meet Monica Cass. She’s 39 years old. She has 6 to 7 percent body fat.
Monica is a professional figure competitor.
On Saturday, Monica will compete in the Natural Kansas City Gold’s Classic 2009, an event that will showcase ripped and large muscular bodies. The show will be in Overland Park, Kan.
Monica hopes her lean, muscular physique will be enough to win. At the worst, she hopes to place in the top five.
At the show on Saturday, she hopes to be at 5 percent body fat. “Five is about as low as you can go,” Brandon says.
This husband and wife team is not your typical couple.
Brandon, a personal trainer and powerlifter who works out of the Club 7 gym in Blue Springs, trains Monica. He is preparing her for the contest, manipulating her water intake and nutrients so she looks as lean as possible.
Monica, who grew up in Blue Springs, played volleyball and softball in high school in Blue Springs. She earned a scholarship to play softball in college. Her love for athletics also led to a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy.
A shoulder injury derailed her softball career. “I’ve had like six surgeries on my shoulder,” Monica says. “I had to give up my sports.”
She needed to stay physically active. She needed to channel her competitive energy into a new activity.
She found pro figure competition.
Monica met Brandon when he started training her for the competitions.
Training Monica is easy, Brandon says. “She takes everything I tell her to do and she does it,” he says. “She does everything 100 percent.”
Don’t get figure competitors like Monica confused with bodybuilders. It’s different.
Women bodybuilders want that freakish look of huge muscles that defy a typical woman’s body.
Figure competitors still want the muscularity but not to the extreme of bodybuilders. “They want it to look feminine, a softer side,” Monica says.
But women are judged on muscularity, vascularity, leanness, color, and poses. They’re also required to take a a rug test to ensure they’re not taking performance enhancing drugs.
She tans constantly. In fact, Celsius Tannery has sponsored her. Tanning helps rid the body of water. Definition is enhanced when the muscle is more tan.
Monica won her World Natural Bodybuilding Federation figure pro card in 2006 by winning a figure event in Kansas City.
The competition is fierce. And the event on Saturday is wide open. But Monica keeps the focus on herself instead of thinking about her competition, saying her “biggest competitor” is herself. “I’m trying to push myself as far as I can.”
Monica stayed in shape during the pregnancy. “I was on the treadmill the day she was born,” she says.
After Maci Ann Cass was born, Monica took a week off from working out.
The weeks following that, she went back to the gym, walking on the treadmill and lifting light weights.
She gained 17 pounds during the pregnancy. That’s all gone now.
She’s been dieting for the show for 16 weeks.
Her diet is cleaner than filtered tap water.
What’s remarkable about her diet is the dedication it holds. She’s consumed nothing that society labels as junk food, also referred in the fitness world as “cheat foods.”
Dieters, whether to lose weight or gain muscle, usually designate one day of the week where they eat whatever they want. This keeps them on track because it takes will power to refrain from bad foods for six days.
But Monica hasn’t had a cheat meal for 16 weeks.
No hamburgers. No potato chips. No cookies. No ice cream.
“There’s days when it gets really hard,” Monica says.
She consumes no sugar, not even from fruit.
All her carbohydrates come from complex sources like vegetables and whole grains. She steers clear of fast-absorbing carbs like white potatoes that spike insulin levels and lead to fat gains.
She eats six meals a day, eating every three hours starting at 6 a.m. every day.
The meals consist of whole foods. She consumes no protein shakes. The protein sources are eggs, turkey, chicken, steak and fish. Portions are usually 6 ounces. “Your body absorbs food better than a shake,” Brandon says. “A lot of times, a shake will just run through you.”
She takes in about 2,000 calories a day and most of the calories are from protein.
Monica takes in 80 to 100 grams of carbohydrates a day. A typical American may consume that amount in one meal when eating four or five slices of pizza.
She takes a multi-vitamin and vitamin C and E and a fat burner supplement.
Her results are 80 percent from her diet. Then, 10 percent comes from working out and 10 percent is from genetics.
Her genetics are perfect for getting lean.
“I think genetics play a lot in how people are able to lose weight. Some people’s metabolisms are faster than others,” Monica says.
Her work outs consist of sweating on a treadmill, recumbent bike, stair mill and elliptical machines. She spends a total of 45 to 60 minutes a day on the machines.
The level of intensity varies from day to day. “Some days are really intense and other days it’s a strong and steady pace,” she said. “You always want to switch things so your body doesn’t get used to one thing.”
She lifts free weights, too. Monica lifts five days a week and sticks to a mixture of compound and isolation exercises.
Currently, Monica does 15 repetitions with moderate weight. For example, she does 185 pound barbell squats and 400 pound leg presses.
The sacrifices will be worth it when Monica steps on the stage on Saturday.
“It’s a wonderful feeling,” she says.
Brandon is no stranger to competition. He’s a world class powerlifter. Brandon holds five world records and four world titles, among other achievements. In 2007, he was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, the only powerlifter in the hall.
A week after Monica’s competition, Brandon will compete in a powerlifting event to see if he qualifies for the Arnold Class next March. He will be performing the deadlift. His best lift in competition was 805 pounds. But he’s lifted 830 pounds in practice at the gym.
“It gives us something to do together,” Monica says. “We both compete. This is our lifestyle. I love going to his shows, encouraging him. It works both ways.”
