Jennifer Ronzitti may have been relatively late to bikini competitions, but the 36-year-old Maryland native is quickly making up for lost time.
Through her teens and 20s, Ronzitti had done a little bit of nearly everything—softball, swimming, cheerleading, lacrosse, and even two years of trapeze school. But as she neared her 30th birthday, she discovered weight training.
Progress came fast for Ronzitti, and soon enough, she was slipping on heels to step onstage at the 2013 Baltimore Gladiator contest, where she finished third in the bikini open class. “After that, the competitive nature in me was lit,” Ronzitti says. “I wasn’t happy with third—I wanted to win the overall.”
And just a year later, Ronzitti snagged first place and her pro card at the 2014 NPC Nationals in Miami. Since then, she’s been killing it in the pros with an impressive run of top-five finishes, including first place at the 2016 Toronto Pro Supershow, fifth at the 2016 Bikini Olympia, and runner-up at the 2017 Bikini O. It’s not just competing that has enveloped a significant portion of her life. Ronzitti also recently went all in on fitness as a career, trading in her corporate gig in medical device sales for personal training in 2017, relocating cross-country to Murrieta, CA, in the process.
“I had always loved California since the first time I visited almost 10 years ago, so when my coach, Kim Oddo, asked if I wanted to also work part-time in the Body by O headquarters, I jumped,” Ronzitti recalls. “Three weeks later I packed what I could fit into two suitcases, shipped a few personal items, and didn’t look back.”
Now Ronzitti is focused on improving her placings—she’s made legs and glutes a priority—and earning her fifth pro win. “My biggest strength is the ability to receive critiques and not give up,” she says. “I love challenges. When I get my feedback after a show, I go right to work. I always want to prove to myself that it’s possible to bring a better version the next time my feet hit the stage.”
