Name: Angela DeRosso
Hometown: Yorktown Heights, NY
Major: English
Minor: Marketing
Certificate: Writing and Communications
Year: Junior
Meet Angela, one of our very own writers here at Her Campus Siena. I had the awesome opportunity to sit down with her and learn about her journey from a normal college student to a competitive bodybuilder. Find out how she did it, and how you can help support one of your very own Siena peers on her mission to officially become a pro athlete!
HC: So how did you get into bodybuilding?
Angela: My uncle is a professional bodybuilder so I’ve always been exposed to the sport and the lifestyle that comes with it. I started working out in high school as a way to stay in shape when I decided to stop playing sports, however, I didn’t start taking bodybuilding seriously until my first year at Siena.
HC: And I understand that you are now competing in the NPC (National Physique Committee) and you have some sponsorships. How did you go from only “working out” to bodybuilding at a competitive level?
Angela: Well, the college life style started to catch up with me. The first semester of my freshman year I wasn’t really working out or watching what I was eating and felt over all unhealthy. I had mono before the semester was even over. So I decided to start lifting weights to build up my strength. I naturally put on muscle easily and fell in love with the process once I started getting real results. It got to the point where I was working out so much I decided that I wanted to show off the muscles that I built and really make something out of a hobby. I am currently working out a sponsorship and promotional deals with a fitness cafe that has multiple chains and delivers meal prep and also sponsors some of the top bodybuilders in the professional league.
HC: That sounds really impressive. What is your favorite part of competitive bodybuilding? What do you like most about the process of competing and having sponsorships?
Angela: I workout and maintain a healthy lifestyle all year long, but when I’m in the off season I focus on building muscle and eat much more than I do while in prep when I’m focused on cutting. The best part is revealing and finally seeing the muscle you’ve spent all year building once the fat shreds. It’s amazing because my body is changing each day. In addition to my sponsorship I am also a columnist for a fitness magazine so its fun to share the process with others while also feeling strong exercising the willpower and determination that not a lot of people have which is crucial to the sport
HC: I would imagine that being in college affects all of your routines. How do you manage to do all of this while being a college student? In what ways has being in college benefited you and how does it work against you?
Angela: It’s funny because I discovered my passion for bodybuilding while in college. It’s hard to go out and restrict yourself when everyone is gorging on food and such, but I get a weird sense of power and strength from it. I have been at super bowl parties eating a salad and drinking water while everyone else is eating pizza and wings. It’s hard, but I have to keep reminding myself of how much I want to excel in this sport. I am also lucky because I’m in the off-season while in school, but just because I’m not on a strict diet doesn’t mean I can neglect training and nutrition. The hardest part isn’t not being able to have junk food and making time for the gym, it’s the way people question what you are doing and your lifestyle.
HC: So when somebody asks why you are having, say, a salad instead of chicken wings, what do you say to them? And what would you like everyone to know about the lifestyle?
Angela: It depends on whose asking me, but for people who don’t know me I usually get a weird look when I say, “I’m a competitive bodybuilder.” But the main thing for me is to stay motivated and remember this is what I want regardless of what my family, friends, and strangers think. I would like everyone to know that it’s really hard and it’s a huge commitment. I am in the gym 4 hours a day now and I’m on a diet of fish, greens and egg whites. I worked a full time job this past month and I would be in the gym at 5am and then come back again when I got out of work. It made me appreciate models and girls with nice bodies because of the hard work that they put in to achieve it. Instead of body shaming girls who are “skinny” and envying them I feel like society as a whole should realize that their bodies are a reflection of their lifestyle and hard work and determination. Same goes for guys too.
HC: What would be your biggest piece of advice to anyone who wants to get fit?
Angela: My best advice is for girls to not be afraid of lifting weights and to remember that it’s a commitment. Whether you want to you’re going for your bodybuilding pro card or just trying to drop 10 pounds it’s a commitment. You can’t expect to see results if you can’t give up the junk food, alcohol, and not going to the gym consistently. It’s a slow process, but progress will come. If it were easy, we would all be ripped.
How you can support Angela: Follow her on Instagram here and watch her as she trains and competes!