“The surgery was a success,” she said, “but it took me about a year to recuperate.”
Larsen said she grew up playing softball and spent many hours during high school learning about fitness and health. She attended the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, where she graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Kinesiology -- Exercise Management. She also received certifications from the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist program which requires a college degree and the American Council on Exercise.
“I would look in the fitness magazines and wanted to do what all of the female body builders did. But, my scoliosis made it impossible,” she said. “A few years ago, when ESPN started showing the fitness competitions, I really wanted to do that, but it includes gymnastics. I had to find something that I could do.”
One day while at the gym, L.A. Fitness, Larsen noticed a posting for a National Physique Committee Figure competition in Phoenix. She began training for the July 12, competition by eating a high-protein diet of egg whites and chicken complimented by vegetables and increasing her cardio workouts on the bike and step mill to almost an hour at a time.
She explained, “For breakfast I would eat an egg white pancake topped with Splenda® and cinnamon; lunch was chicken breasts and lettuce, sometimes.”
An unexpected obstacle suddenly appeared Jan. 26, when she received a phone call from her mother. Her father had passed away. Larsen immediately flew home to St. Louis, Minn., to help her mother with the funeral and other arrangements. During this time, she said that she lived on cookies, potato chips and other junk foods.
“When I went back to Phoenix, I knew that I had only 10 weeks to prepare for the competition, so I hired a personal trainer [Erik James of Gilbert], because I knew that I needed extra motivation and someone who could be almost a drill sergeant with me,” she said. “I also wrote out goals for myself -- no matter how hard they seemed.”
Larsen said that she would wake at 4 a.m., do an hour of cardio, do another hour of cardio at lunch and again after work. During her sessions on the step equipment and bike, she read articles about bodybuilding that she found on the web and in fitness magazines. Larson met with her trainer three times a week for weight lifting, focusing on one part of her body each time. For example she would focus on chest and triceps one day, back and biceps another. Larson said the training regimen helped her to mold her 5-foot, 4-inch body from 18 percentage body fat and more than 140 pounds in January to 9.4 percentage body fat and 130 pounds in July.
Larsen pointed out that she chronicled her journey on a fitness message board. She received encouragement daily from the site’s visitors.
“I wanted to express to others my journey to the stage. I did it to give people the insight of this isn’t so fun…I was miserable. It’s a horrible thing and no one tells you this,” said Larsen.
On July 12, Larsen was on stage at the NPC figure competition in Phoenix.
“I felt like a failure because I didn’t place, but people appreciated it,” said Larsen. “I did feel a sense of accomplishment.”
She said that she continues working out with weight lifting workouts three times a week and runs stairs at the Sahuaro High Stadium three times a week. She also maintains her website, www.kristilarsen.com, with journal entries and information on a new business, memorial quilts to honor her father. She makes quilts for others who have suffered a loss or who are interested in recognizing a loved one.
“I hope to share my experience with others through a book online and write for a fitness publication. I want to show people what really goes on and what it takes to do it,” Larson concluded.
