NATHALIA MELO Height: 5'5" Weight: 123 off-season, 120 contest Residence: Fort Lauderdale, FL Twitter:@nathaliamelofit Occupation: Bikini pro, personal trainer
For every client who comes along and actually understands that training is hard work that mandates some major life changes, personal trainers meet hundreds of lazy, negative and delusional people. And IFBB bikini pro, Nutrex athlete and personal trainer Nathalia Melo has heard it all. What’s the craziest crap she has encountered in the gym? Read on.
Do you remember your first experience in the gym? I started working out when I was very young. My mom thought the gym was a waste of money, so I would save my allowance and go for a month. Then I would have to skip the next month to save up again. When I had the membership, I tried to get my money’s worth. I would spend all day there!
Today, when guys see you lifting, do they try to hit on you, or are they intimidated? They’re intimidated, mostly. They see me doing deep leg presses with seven plates on each side and they’ll just walk away. [Laughs.]
As a trainer, what’s the dumbest question someone has asked you? Oh, God. Someone once told me, “Well, I don’t like lifting weights, I don’t like cardio and I don’t like to diet, but what can I do to get ripped?” I was like, “Dude, I don’t know, but when you find out, come tell me.”
What’s the big thing everyone seems to miss? People don’t realize that if it took them three or four years to get fat, they’re not going to see the results they want in three or four weeks. I have to sit down with them and draw it out on paper like I’m showing a little kid.
