It has been my absolute pleasure to have been Lisa Kelly's bikini
designer for the past two years, I have seen her go from strength to
strength and look forward to many more competitions working with her.
Lisa has been such an infectious inspiration I asked her if she would
share her experiences with me, and I hope that you also find some
inspiration to dig deep on your fitness journey too.
Trained by the legendary Eddie The Savage Abbew, and sponsored by First Protein, Lisa Kelly
recently stormed the stage at UKBFF qualifier in St Albans and then
took the UKBFF Grand Prix Body Fitness over 163cm and overall body
fitness title a couple of weeks later.
Huge congratulations Lisa! Please share with us some of the
experiences you have had on your journey...
Thank you...
I am absolutely over the moon with my recent success. I have competed
7 times now and each one has meant that little bit more to me. I
firstly competed back in April 2013 when I set myself the goal of
getting on stage after my eldest sister Karen passed away in December
2012. Karen was left deaf, blind and brain damaged after her
vaccinations at 16 months old. I first choose to compete because of
her, because I had choices and freedom to live whatever life I chose
unlike her. Her strength that she displayed daily inspired me to
chase after my goals and achieve them no matter what it took and
that’s how my competitive career began.
I had my
sights set on being a bikini girl from the outset and never listened
to my coach when he repeatedly told me my shape was destined for
bodyfitness. Needless to say after trying my luck at bikini in Kent
2014 I switched categories 2 weeks later and won the bodyfitness
class in Birmingham. On to the UKBFF finals and I didn’t get a call
out which fuelled my fire and has driven every single training
session since October last year. Every time I felt like giving up or
missing training I remembered back to that feeling on stage last year
of being ignored and it pushed me through. When I won my class in St
Albans on 28th
June, every training session felt like it had been worth it – I
proved to myself that hard work pays off!!
It is really
interesting what spurs someone to decide to change their lives, be it a
traumatic experience, an aspiration to achieve a goal or simply a
eureka! moment. Although I am not a competitor myself I can relate to
the challenge of self improvement....where do you see your goals
heading to from here?
Earlier this
year I went to Ohio to support my savage sister Claire McKee at the
Arnold Classic. I spectated and sat in the audience dreaming big and
aiming high and said to Eddie “one day I would love to represent
the UK on the international stage” and after competing at the UKBFF
English Grand Prix on July 5th,
that dream has been realized and I have been invited to compete at
the Arnold Classic Europe in Madrid in September. My goal is to work
hard, get my head down and make some improvements before I step on
stage again. I believe in hard work and with the support of such an
amazing coach and team I believe the sky is the limit and success
comes to those who never give up.
Yes, having
met so many of the Savage Team now, I think it is amazing to have
such a supportive team and an epic mentor like Eddie The Savage
Abbew.
Their
support and encouragement is second to none and when any of us step
out on stage and hear the support and cheers from the whole team you
can’t help but feel 10 feet tall – even the compare commented on
how we raise the roof!! Haha.
How did that
all come about?
I started
lifting weights and training because like many others I hated what I
saw when I looked in the mirror. I had tried numerous diets over the
years and was fed up of feeling fed up with myself. I was bored of
starting over every Monday and when I finally accepted that my get up
and go had got up and went I knew I had to make a commitment to
change my lifestyle and my eating habits once and for all. I
contacted Eddie and made an appointment to go and see him and I have
never looked back since. Eddie is a one of a kind coach. Aside from
the fact he is completely childish and never appears to take life
seriously at all – when he means business – it’s on. Eddie
believes in all of us. He supports us all like we are his extended
family and genuinely wants each and every one of us to succeed. His
support and encouragement is contagious and cascades down through the
whole team. He makes us want to work hard and succeed and the results
from the shows are merely the icing on the cake.
Speaking of
cake, how do you deal with the diet restrictions and the on-off
nature of the competitive beast?
Off season
is the hardest thing to get your head around. I feel as a woman we
are conditioned to want to lose weight and celebrate our success when
that number on the scale goes down which is the complete opposite to
the requirements of off season. As a member of team savage our check
in procedure is very personalised and whilst many of my friends are
bodyfitness athletes – our off seasons are all completely
different. Due to changing categories in the last year over Christmas
my plan was to go very off season so I could build some muscle and I
enjoyed the process. Every week I check in with Eddie and he assesses
how everything is going, and that for me helped me deal with what I
was doing to my body. It was a process and it was controlled so even
though the scales kept on going up – it was all part of the plan. I
embraced my off season and kept telling myself that it’s not about
how I look now – what matters is how I look next time I step on
stage. The thought of being ignored again drove me to get on with it.
I’m not saying I didn’t have my melt downs – I certainly did,
but the good thing about being part of such a supportive team is that
there are always people around that will help you deal with the
struggles you are having.
 |
| l-r Michelle Leach, Eddie Abbe, Hannah Barrie, Lisa Kelly | |
Many people
I have talked to find the diet regime much harder than the workout
sessions, what would you say is a typical week for you?
My daily routine is largely the same. I eat
6 times a day, every 3 hours starting at 8am.
I work
Monday - Friday in a preschool and train in the evenings with Eddie
and Norbert. Weekends are spent at the gym helping with check ins and
then catching up with family and friends. I usually have my cheat
meal on a Sunday which works well for me as after my cheat meal, its
bed time and Monday is a fresh week and a new start.
It is really
important to work with the genetics you have, instead of trying to
force your body to an unsuitable type. As you mentioned earlier you
originally had your sights set on being a bikini competitor...what
appeals most to you about body fitness?
The food! I
tried to be a bikini girl but it didn’t suit my body type at all.
My body loves the dietary requirements for bodyfitness and for the
whole of my last prep I was hardly even hungry on the food I was on
which was a welcome change in comparison to prepping last year. I
also love the training, I grow tissue quite easily (whether it be
muscle or bodyfat) and I am able to train hard and heavy and feel
like I have achieved something with each workout.
For me now,
I would say I am body confident. Training and competing has helped me
learn to love my body and accept it through all the different phases
I put it through. The main thing for me is knowing that I am in
control of how I look and with a few tweaks here and there I can feel
happy and confident in my own skin. For me, that’s been the biggest
plus about this whole lifestyle change.
And building
up to competition day...you've trained hard, stuck to your diet and
done everything Eddie has advised what else gets you excited about
the big day?
Having the right bikini is one of the most
important parts of presenting your physique on stage. Since being
introduced to you by my savage sister Hannah Barry, I step out on
stage each time feeling beautiful and trusting that I can showcase my
hard work without having a bikini mishap (i.e. connectors breaking
and you showing the audience parts of your body they do not need to
see!!)
Having a
bespoke bikini allows you to showcase a little bit of your
personality and seeing your ideas come to life each time you receive
a design layout and then the actual bikini is one of the most
exciting parts of the whole process. There are some hard days when
competing but choosing your bikini helps you dig deep and work hard
as you can’t wait to put it on and show it off on stage.
And finally
what's the last thing you do before you step out on stage?
The last
thing I do before I step out on stage is take a deep breath, smile
and think to myself “I have done everything I can – so go out
there and enjoy it”. If there is music playing ill always do a
silly dance to loosen up and try and relax too! Hehe.
