Abby Huot
Ms. World Physique - March 2011
Interviewed by: Tammy Renee'
Abby Huot is a silly, outgoing 29 year old from Minneapolis, who has a deep and relatively new love for fitness. As a former "fat girl", she feels it is her duty to bring light the misconceptions about diet and exercise and help guide other people (especially women) to dig deep and find their inner "fit". You picked her America! Here is your March 2011 Ms. World Physique.
"...I guess another struggle has been my astonishment at how quickly people write you off as being a jerk just because you're in shape. I love what I do and I'm glad that I'm doing it, but there has been a lot of negativity floating around when people first meet me because they're assuming I think I'm somehow better and/or "cooler" than they are just because I eat a lot of chicken and run on a treadmill. It's a very bizarre phenomenon I wasn't quite prepared for. "
WP: Let’s begin with you telling us a little about yourself.
Oh, well, let’s see. I’m from a suburb of Saint Paul and I grew up in the middle of a cornfield. I’m the younger of two girls and I have been blessed with two spectacularly awesome parents.
Growing up, I pretty much ran around outside, built forts, climbed trees, and really was just a tomboy. I loved being a kid and I was never in a hurry to grow up. In high school, I was “that girl” that was unnecessarily interested in The X Files (kind like how kids are into Twilight now) and everyone thought I was a bit of a weirdo, which I really, I guess I was. I had a boy’s haircut and didn’t wear makeup.
WP: X Files? Really?
Yes, really. As in little David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson collages everywhere. I had a problem, for real. *cough* Moving on...
WP: What did you do after high school?
I went to Saint Mary’s University in Winona, where I majored in English Literature and minored in unrequited love. I was a swimmer in high school and swam all four years of college. At this point, I realized I was a girl and I started to brush my hair and attempt wearing makeup.
I went to cosmetology school after I got my degree, but a hand injury stopped me from ever truly entering the field. I was bummed but looking back, I’m grateful I went at all. I save a lot of money with shoots and shows!
WP: What made you decide to go into fitness?
I was really struggling with my weight in my late teens and early twenties. I yo-yoed all over the map and it really frustrated me. I was ridiculously active but you’d never have known how much I swam if you saw me in college. I just looked thick. I never felt like I looked athletic enough.
My sister’s friend (and now a dear friend of mine) encouraged me to talk to a man name, Larry Berube, who owns a company called Anafit in Orlando, FL. He kind of gave me the basics on what I needed to do, diet-wise, and I started to baby-step it towards where I am now around 2006.
Initially, I had a really bad problem in that I’d become 100% dependent on being a water athlete from 15-22 years old. I basically had no grasp of what to do outside of an aquatic setting. Running terrified me. Lifting terrified me. Jumping, using machines, and honestly just FEELING myself sweat really weirded me out when I started. That seems so ridiculous now, but it took me about 6 months to adjust to the feeling of just being hot and sweaty; you sweat in a 3 hour swim practice, but you rarely feel it except for when your swim cap gets hot and starts to slide once in awhile. Spread that out over 6-7 years and the first time you feel your tank top get a little sweaty on a treadmill, it’s like “ewwwwwwwww, what is this? Gross!”
However, with time I widdled away the weight and got more comfortable out of the water. It took some time but I made it!
WP: How long have you been lifting?
I lifted a little in high school and a little in college, but like how I do now. I suppose since I was about 15 years old, but I have been lifting heavy (and regularly) since about 2008.
WP: What are your favorite exercises and why?
Deadlifts, hands down. Because, they work on my grip, back, glutes, hams, shoulders, core; just about everything. The heavier, the better.
WP: You compete. Can you tell me more about your history in it?
Absolutely. I started in the Minnesota NPC in November of 2008 and have done a few more NPC shows since then. I’ve also done the NANBF and Fitness America here. I have yet to win, but I was very proud to go to Miami and make the top ten in Figure tall class at Universe last year. I think 2011 will be a really good year for me.
WP: Are you planning to compete in the future? If so, when, where, etc.
I’m about 2 weeks out from The Great North at Mall of America for Fitness America right now. I’m planning on competing is Miss Natural Minnesota in May and then it’s back to Miami for Universe in June. I’m going to be competing in bikini and figure.
WP: Do you have any advice to people that wishing to enter this industry as a competitor?
If you have ANY desire to compete, do it. If you have desire to challenge yourself day-in and day-out for a few months out of the year, this is the sport for you. I absolutely love competing. It brings out the brightest parts of you and all your fears all at the same time. That might sound terrifying but I honestly think it perpetuates a vast amount of emotional and spiritual growth. Competing really gets in your blood if you love it. It is so ubiquitous that it really becomes a part of you and creates a full-blown lifestyle change.
WP: What do you eat in a normal day?
Lean meats, tons of vegetables, and oatmeal are what I eat mostly. I avoid salt, dairy, and gluten like the plague.
WP: What is your diet?
I keep it pretty simple; 1500-1700 calories a day with carb cycling. Veggies in every serving and I make sure I get a few servings of good fats in a day.
WP: Give me a sample of your workout.
I do two-a-day workouts most of the time, cardio both sessions. I lift almost every night and have 1 day off a week. I do legs twice a week (I need it!) and do what I can to hold onto my mass up top as my cuts progress. I mix up my cardio between interval training and steady-state. Both have given me really good results.
WP: Do you allow yourself a cheat day?
Absolutely! It’s usually sushi on a weeknight or pancakes on a Sunday morning. I think my body thanks me for the carb refeed aspects to those cheats, too.
WP: What supplements do you take?
I use a lot of things from Anafit (anafit.com) to get my best results. I use a product called Thermorexin (fat burner) every day. Pre-workout, I stack their beta alanine with Red Blast (stimulant) and PureCee (creatine ethyl ester). I’m a freaking machine with that combination. I can have crazy lifts and cardio endurance from it. I use Xtend (BCAAs) while I’m working out. Otherwise, it’s fish oil and flax oil; anything will do.
WP: Could you tell me a story of how you have gotten where you are today?
I distinctly remember a time where I was sitting on my couch with a massive plate of spaghetti in front of me in 2007 and thinking, “Ok, I have two options here. Option A: I can eat all the foods I love and stay in my comfort zone, but always be miserable shopping and being in public, or Option B: I can be uncomfortable for awhile by giving up the junk food I love but end up being comfortable in my own skin. This is my LAST plate of pasta.” And it was!
When it boils down to it is it’s that simple for everyone. You have to hit a point where you have to decide what’s more important to you. I’m never going to pick spaghetti and late-night pot stickers over not crying every time I try on pants or a dress ever again.
WP: Do you have anyone you can thank for helping you get where you are?
I want to thank my family, friends, Larry and the entire Anafit crew, my boyfriend Mike, and anyone else who has supported me on this journey the whole way. I have no idea what my life would be like without you!
WP: Where do you want to be in 5 years?
I’d like to be more heavily woven into the fitness industry in some capacity, working at a gym’s headquarters, managing, etc. I’m also hoping to make it into some major fitness publications as a fitness model or guest writer at some point.
WP: What struggles have you faced?
Initially, I just had to really believe in myself because nobody in my life really understood what competing was all about. Everyone thought I was starving myself and was going to look like some skeletal leaf-eating waif when I told them I wanted to do a show. My parents were not supportive of me pursuing this at all in the beginning, but my sister was. I can’t say my parents “get” it now but they support me and they’re glad I’m happy and healthy.
I guess another struggle has been my astonishment at how quickly people write you off as being a jerk just because you’re in shape. I love what I do and I’m glad that I’m doing it but there has been a lot of negativity floating around when people first meet me because they’re assuming I think I’m somehow better and/or “cooler” than they are just because I eat a lot of chicken and run on a treadmill. It’s a very bizarre phenomenon I wasn’t quite prepared for.
WP: Tell me about your future projects. Have any in sight?
I’m currently in the middle of starting my own competition suit business and I’m having a lot of fun doing that! Beyond that, I’m pretty much just networking around to see what I can get my hands in.
WP: Tell me about your boyfriend, Mike?
Mike is awesome! He’s my trainer. A mutual friend introduced us in 2009. It was sort of funny because neither one of us wanted to be set up at all; we both went into it with big chips on our shoulders. I showed up looking like crap on purpose and when he walked in the restaurant, I started sweating and took a sudden interest in my shoes. Oops. Two years later, we’re still together. Isn’t my face red!
I was sort of “winging it” in the weight room before I met him. The first time he saw my squat he was like “UM, no” and fixed my form. My physique has drastically changed since Mike has corrected and refined my technique. I’m astounded as how much my legs have recompositioned in such a short period of time.
Mike is a very supportive guy and it really helps me to date someone that lives a similar lifestyle. He goes through all my ups and downs with me.
WP: Who had the most impact on you growing up?
Well, first, my parents. My parents loved me and supported me through thick and thin, and it always helped to know that they’d love me no matter what I did.
Hands down, however, I credit my high school swim coach (Brian Luke) and college swim coach (Eric Lindquist) with instilling the self discipline I have to do what I do now. I could not make it very far in this without the drive and my ability to set a goal and reach it.
WP: Anything you would like to see change in the industry?
I think there need to be sillier, outgoing people competing. Way, way, way too serious of folks out there. I approach strangers at the gym and encourage them to compete all the time. Yes, this created “more competition” in a lot of people’s eyes, but that’s not what it’s about.
WP: Any shout outs?
Shout out goes to my boyfriend, Mike, my sister and brother-in-law (and my awesome new nephew, Liam!), all my friends (work and non-work), all the fitness girls in Minnesota, all the people who have pushed me along the way, all the photographers who have helped me and encouraged me in the past. Thank you.
WP: What is the proudest moment of your life?
Completing the 2008 Lifetime Fitness Triathlon and when I was called out in the top ten at Universe for figure last year. I’ve been working so hard the last two years. I got 10th place, but it’s never felt more like a first-place win. I was beaming for days!
WP: Where do you want your modeling to take you in the future?
Like all fitness girls, I’d love to get into national magazines at some point. It would be awesome to land a cover. For now, I’m just paying my dues and having a lot of fun doing it!
WP: What plays on your iPod?
“Believe Me, I’m a Liar” from Tomoyasu Hotei
“Black Betty” from Ram Jam
“Get Off On The Pain” from Gary Allan
“Telephone” from Lady Gaga/Beyonce
“Closer” from Nine Inch Nails
“Me, I’m Not” from Nine Inch Nails
“Blow”from Ke$ha (gotta love a fast beat!)
“Can a Drummer Get Some” from Travis Barker
“StereoLove” from Edward Maya
“I’ve Been Everywhere” from Johnny Cash
“Give A Little More” from Maroon 5
“E.T” from Katy Perry
“Deep Blu” from Skywynd
That’s a pretty good sample. I seriously listen to everything.
WP: What are your interests outside of this industry?
I’d love to go to culinary school! That’s on my “someday” list. I love watching Iron Chef. I get a lot of ideas for cooking and mixing flavors from that!
WP: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
It would be really awesome if I was able to do math. Sadly, I was only wired for language, art, and sarcasm.
WP: Is there anything else you would like to add? Now is the time!
I just wanted to say thank you for the interview and the support! I’m really honored to be featured in World Physique and I hope I can work with you again soon!
WP: You have been a pleasure to interview! Thank you for your time and good luck in everything you do!
