Victoria Adelus - IFBB Pro

About Me:

To fully understand where I am today I’ll have to take you back to where I started.

My story begins in front of the camera. For more than five years, I worked in the TV news industry. I started at an NBC affiliate in San Diego, and then worked my way up to Central Oregon where I was a news reporter and anchor for three years. Despite building my life around what was turning into a promising career in television; something stronger than me was pulling me in a different direction.

I’ve always been involved in sports, and for many years I dreamed of getting in front of a different set of bright lights. I wanted to take my fire for fitness to the next level; I wanted to compete on the figure stage. However, at the time, some colleagues told me competing would destroy my credibility, and many peers would ridicule me for even thinking about getting into a bikini on a stage.

Since I couldn’t compete, my boyfriend and I opened an outdoor fitness program called Bend Adventure Boot Camp. Our business helped me stay connected to my fitness roots, and allowed me to help others make their goals a reality.

For two long years I ran a fitness business full time, while delivering the news. I felt like I was living a double life, and competing was forced to take a back seat. However, during that time I still managed to pitch and cover many health/fitness related stories, connecting me to a world I longed to be a deeper part of.

One story in particular allowed me to meet the owner of our local Max Muscle Store, Dominic Current. He later introduced me to IFBB Professional Tami Ough. To my knowledge she’s the only fitness pro in all of Oregon, and she just happened to live in little ol’ Central Oregon.

I truly believe this meeting is a big reason my career path took a 180 degree turn. Not long after we met, I asked my news station if I could follow her journey to her next pro competition, and turn it into a news series. I couldn’t believe it; they said YES!

Over the next several months, I was lucky enough to get an inside look into what it took to be a pro in the world of fitness. I documented what she ate, her training, and how she maintained her family life while working as a full-time nurse. It was an eye-opening experience; one that made me question my own path. Tami encouraged me to think about competing as she could tell this was more than just another news story to me; it was personal.

Like many competitors, all that ran through my head was: I could never get on stage, I don’t have the body for it, or what would my co-workers think?! She told me to throw all of it out the window, and do it for me, not anyone else. That competitive itch I tried to suppress for the sake of my TV career was back.

Back with a vengeance! So that year my boyfriend (who had also never competed but wanted to) and I began a 16 week diet to see what would happen.

My plan was to see how my body responded, and if I felt I was ready I would maybe, just MAYBE, ask my news station if I could compete in Central Oregon’s local competition, the Bill Pearl High Desert Classic.

Fast forward through 11 weeks of intense training, and with Josh’s help I managed to hit 8% body fat (and I was still five weeks out)! It was too late to turn back, and all I had to do now was get approval to get on stage. I asked, and was told it wasn’t a smart choice, but that it was a choice that was ultimately up to me.

It was strange; all of the dieting, training, blood, sweat, and tears had made me stronger, and that year I listened to my heart. I got on stage, regardless of what anyone else thought! I won 2nd in my height class in figure at the Bill Pearl High Desert Classic, and 1st at the Oregon Ironman. I was hooked!

It was an empowering decision, one I will NEVER regret. It changed me, not only on the outside, but even more noticeably on the inside. I had found my confidence, my spark, and my new direction in life. A year later, I left the news industry, and I’m now pursuing my dreams of becoming a fitness professional.

Since then our fitness program has doubled in size, I’ve made the switch from figure to fitness, I’ve joined IFBB Pro Kristi Tauti’s Team I-Physique, I have competed on a national stage, and I’m now sponsored by an incredible supplement company.

For me, my journey didn’t start during the first week of a competition diet. My journey began the day I made the decision to believe in myself, and stop listening to what everyone else thought was best for me. Since then, it’s always been a work in progress.

There’s no “on” or “off” season in my eyes. It’s a daily process that I’m thankful for, and one that I enjoy. I take it one meal, one workout, and one routine practice at a time. The struggle, the triumph, and the defeat make me tick, and allows my love for the sport to grow stronger by the minute.

Career Achievements:

       IFBB Pro Card Awarded - July 2012

•    All American EFX Sponsored Athlete and Certified Natural Freak
•    National-level NPC Fitness Competitor
•    Max Muscle Sports Nutrition Achievement Award: Best Back in America 2011
•    Max Sports & Fitness Magazine “Everyday Hero” Feature: Sept. 2010
•   Oregon Association of Broadcasters: 2009 Best News Series Television,
     “Training for War”
•    Cascade Business News “Accomplished Under 40” Award
•    American Red Cross (Oregon Mountain River Chapter) Board of Directors
•    Own and operate the largest outdoor fitness program in Central Oregon

Competition History:

•    2010 Bill Pearl High Desert Classic - 2nd
•    2010 Oregon Ironman - 1st
•    2011 Vancouver Classic - 2nd in Figure & Fitness
•    2011 Emerald Cup - 2nd in Fitness & Figure
•    2011 Team Universe - 5th in Fitness (1st in the swimsuit round!;)

Links:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/victoriaadelusfitness

Twitter: www.twitter.com/victoriaadelus

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/vadelus

My website: www.victoriaadelus.com

My company website: www.bendbootcamp.com

All American EFX: www.aaefx.com

My Team: www.iphysiquetraining.com