Special Mr Vitamins Sports Event

Meet Marika Magriplis at Mr Vitamins Saturday 12th July 10am to 1pm

Why did you get into your chosen sport?

I have always loved challenge and been very competitive! Throughout school I was very athletic and played a lot of sport, Basketball, Touch Football and most of all I loved to run. It wasn't until a few years ago that I discovered the benefits of using weights, I would do the basics with light weights and just loved living the healthy lifestyle.

What’s your approach to weight training?

Lots of reps! And training specific body parts on different days of the week. Your muscles can still grow from the higher reps, and you are also able to condition and hit your legs from all different angles. I do legs twice a week because it’s a part of my body I really want to bring up and work on, especially for bikini, as the category is judged on legs and butts. Your legs are your biggest part of your body. If you think you can train them all in one day, once a week, I really think you’re kidding yourself. You really need to emphasise every aspect of them.

What does leg day consist of?

I start with a Tri-Set – which is 3 different exercises performed one after the other, resting at the end of the third exercise. I do 12 reps of each exercise, and do 3 sets. A1 Leg Press 12x3 A2 Squat 12x3 A3 Static Lunge 12x3 Then I will do: B Deadlifts 15x4 Then a Superset (2 exercises performed one after the other) of: C1 Lying Leg Curl 15x3 C2 Seated Leg Curl 15x3 Then finish off with: D1 Adductor 15x3 D2 Calf Raise 15x3

Favourite Form Of Cardio?

High intensity interval training (HIIT training) It’s great for stimulating the metabolism and just basically achieving what you would in an hour of slow static cardio in 20 minutes of high-intensity. Sprints are the best way to do HIIT: Sprint for 15 Seconds at 100% Intensity Rest for 45 Seconds Repeat for 20 rounds

What Supplements Do You Use?

Supplements play a massive part in helping me achieve my goals. From increasing muscle gain to decreasing muscle soreness and recovery time, I definitely need my supplements to get the results I want. Pre Workout – BSN Hyper FX Intra Workout – BSN Amino X Post Workout – BSN Syntha-6 Others – BSN IsoBurn (with breakfast) A high quality Omega oil containing 3:6:9

How do you measure your progress coming into competition?

I take progress photos every 2 weeks to measure my progress. I pay less attention to body composition testing - because you look at someone who’s 40% body fat and someone that’s 20% body fat and they could look just as lean.

Marika on Dieting

  Personally, I am not a big fan of counting calories. I am all about feeding my body foods that are nutritious and wholesome and that don’t have empty calories. I do count macronutrients - high quality proteins, complex carbohydrates and good fats. Counting macronutrients, for me, is more about making sure I’m getting enough protein for the day, as well as just a balance of carbs and good fat, rather than being strict on how many calories I’m consuming

Marika’s diet plan

Breakfast - Oats & Scrambled Eggs with a serve of fibre and greens Mid Morning - 1 Scoop BSN IsoBurn with almonds and walnuts Lunch - Chicken and Salad Afternoon Snack - Fruit in Greek yoghurt with almonds and walnuts Dinner - Chicken or steak and steamed vegetables Post Workout – BSN Syntha-6 and Vitamin C & Magnesium Usually, I do about a 12 week preparation for my competitions, and leave myself 20 weeks to ease into the diet. I don’t like drastically cutting things from my diet to have to get there in a hurry. I’d rather be safe than sorry.

A message to all the women who want a great figure

I think that women should lift weights! They will look toned, sexy, and fit! The common misconception is that you will turn into a man. No, you can’t grow your muscles like a man! We don’t have the makeup to do so. The women that you do see that look manly, they are obviously supplementing with banned substances. To achieve that nice bikini body, what you see on the bikini competitions, It’s not achieved through cardio alone. You need a good balance of weight training, cardio, diet and supplementation. And don’t be afraid to lift heavy weights! You don’t have the hormonal capacity to get that big.

Meet Marika Magriplis at Mr Vitamins Saturday 12th July 10am to 1pm

Follow Marika Magriplis: Twitter: @magriplismarika Instagram: marikamagriplis Facebook: Marika Magriplis Athlete Page