The Jamie Eason Experience
An Interview with Fitness Bombshell, Jamie Eason
by Chris Shugart
You've seen Jamie Eason grace our Powerful Images
section many times. And you'd probably think that any writer assigned
to interview her would be jumping up-and-down with excitement about the
idea of getting to talk to such a gorgeous gal. Well, you'd be wrong. I've
interviewed (and tried to interview) a lot of fitness models and figure
competitors in the past. The excitement of getting to sit down with a
real live magazine cover girl fades fast. These types of interviews
are, well, challenging. I don't want to propagate
stereotypes here, but yeah, most of these women are vacuous. Beautiful,
built like goddesses, and duller than a two-dollar Tijuana pocketknife.
So I wasn't that excited about talking to Miss Eason. Well, I
should've been. Thirty seconds into our talk it became obvious that
Jamie Eason wasn't a stereotype. With the body comes a brain — quite a
refreshing experience! Here's how the interview went down. (Oh, and
keep in mind that some of the pictures in this interview have never
appeared anywhere!) T-Nation: How did you get started in this whole fitness thing, Jamie? Were you always an athlete? Jamie Eason: Growing
up I'd always been active in sports and dance, but with age came
responsibility and less time to do those things I'd once enjoyed. In
2001, with college completed and a career established, I began to seek
out fun activities or hobbies to take up. It just so happened that 2001
was the year that NFL football was brought back to Houston and they
were holding tryouts for the new Houston Texans cheerleading squad.
I
tried out with over 1600 girls in a rigorous two-day process and ended
up one of the 35 girls chosen. It was exciting and fun and an
experience I'll never forget! After my stint as an NFL cheerleader
ended, I noticed that returning to my inactive lifestyle was really
affecting my body. I decided to join a gym and began lifting hard and
heavy.
I
liked the strength gains that I was making, but it seemed as if my
clothes were getting tighter and tighter and my body only slightly more
shapely. I wasn't getting the results I hoped for at all. So after four
months of training I was about ready to throw in the towel when I saw a
girlfriend of mine, who was almost ten years older than myself, who
looked unbelievable.
We talked about our
current workout programs and it became very clear that I was missing a
huge piece to the puzzle: nutrition. I had no clue about meal frequency
and portion size for my body. I sought the help of a nutritionist and
hired a trainer and I was on my way. It only took about three months to
drastically change my body.
I never anticipated
stepping on stage and even balked at anyone who suggested it. However,
once I reached my goal of 10% body fat it became very clear that I had
achieved something few people are able to. I ended up signing up for my
first show and coming in at about 8% body fat.
It
was an amazing experience. I walked away with a pro card my very first
show! This is a new way of life for me and the discipline gives me
drive and focus. I'm hooked for life! T-Nation:
A pro card after one show and only a short period of "real" training?
Does that mean you're a genetic anomaly, a damn hard worker, or both? Jamie: I would have to say that it was a combination of both. When I set my mind to something I go all out.
At
the time when I started training, there were a lot of things going on
in my life that were beyond my control. I was in an unhappy
relationship, I was living with a difficult roommate, and I wasn't too
crazy about my job. I found comfort in the fact that I could take
control of what I was putting into my mouth and how I was treating my
body.
Exercise
became a release for me. I went religiously. It was just a happy
accident that I'd been blessed with good genetics and great people
supporting me. I had a great trainer and a nutritionist to encourage me
the whole way through. It was the best investment I ever made. T-Nation: Okay, down to business. What are your current stats? Jamie: I'm
30 years old, 5'2". My weight is 110 to 112 pounds in the off-season
and between 98 and 102 in-season. Body fat is 12-15% off-season and
7-9% in-season.
I prefer to stay in
shape, not only to take advantage of any modeling opportunities that
I'm lucky enough to get, but also because allowing your body to yo-yo
too much can really affect your self-image. Once you've experienced a
certain degree of leanness, gaining even five pounds can sometimes feel
like fifty. You really have to have the right mindset and a healthy
body image to compete. T-Nation: What does your diet look like? Jamie: I
typically eat five to six meals a day (about two and a half to three
hours apart) consisting of lean protein such as chicken, fish, turkey,
or egg whites and slow digesting carbs, such as oatmeal and sweet
potatoes. I also eat lots of fresh veggies to help fill me up and add
fiber.
When I'm trying to gain muscle in
the off season, I'll up my intake of healthy fats, such as peanut
butter and avocado, but avoid combining carbs and fats together.
Instead I'll eat protein with fats and veggies and carb load, avoiding
fat, about every third day. T-Nation:
Sounds good. Let's talk training. Generally speaking, what does your
weight training schedule look like? Any "rules" you follow when it
comes to resistance training? Favorite exercises? Jamie:
I tend to gain muscle easily in my upper body and struggle with adding
size to my legs, so I hit every part of my body once a week but train
my legs twice, usually quads with calves and hamstrings with glutes.
My
favorite exercise is the walking lunge. I use the heaviest weight
possible (80 to 100 pound barbell) and do 12 walking double lunges down
the floor and 12 singles back. On days that I'm feeling energized, I'll
immediately finish the set with 12 barbell squats.
It's a killer workout! As for my only "rule" — lift to failure and don't rest too long between sets. T-Nation: What about cardio?
Jamie:
I'm not a huge fan of cardio. I prefer to eat clean so that I won't
need to do too much cardio. Typically I do 30 to 40 minutes of cardio
about three times a week. Closer to competition time I'll do an hour a
day about five days a week and incorporate sprints and plyometrics. T-Nation:
Where do you see most women going wrong when they decide to get into
shape? What mistakes do they make or what misconceptions do they have? Jamie: Most
women overdo the cardio and avoid weights for fear of getting too big.
That is a huge misconception! Just as some of us are born with a gift
of music or art, some people are genetically blessed with an ability to
grow muscle.
I tell women all the time
that they can do cardio and diet all day long but they're never going
to achieve the "tone" they're after. Without incorporating weights,
they will likely end up just a smaller version of themselves. Using
weights will actually change the shape of their body. If someone tends
to have a larger bum, they should focus on growing their shoulders to
create better symmetry and give the illusion of an hourglass figure.
Lifting to failure will yield the fastest results.