Sep 4, 2020
In this episode, Celeste speaks with Kim Sermeno, a Salvadorian
immigrant who learned English in three months, obtained US
citizenship and her college degree in nutrition, and who is a soon
to be gym owner who earned her pro card at North Americans in
2019.
Celeste starts off the episode in her usual fashion by asking Kim
about her pre stage ritual. From there, Kim shares with listeners
how she got started in fitness and competing and what led her to
pursue achieving her pro card.
Kim shares that growing up she was always athletic, participating
in various sports such as track, soccer, and softball. When she
came to the United States she discovered the gym and it was then
that she started the transition from being a runner to immersing
herself in the world of weightlifting.
After being asked by other gym goers if she was a competitor, Kim
started researching the sport and decided to give it a try. Next,
Kim talks about her experiences with her first two competitions
being self coached and the approach she took to her nutrition. She
then goes on to share how she started off competing in smaller
shows to allow herself to manage her nerves and allow herself to
get comfortable with the stage and the sport.
Celeste asks Kim if her nerves have progressed as she’s climbed
through the ranks from amateur to pro, yet Kim shares how she
believes her background in modeling helped her feel comfortable on
stage. Since Kim jumped into competing without knowing a lot about
what bodybuilding entailed, Celeste asks Kim if, looking back,
there is anything she wishes she had known prior to starting in the
NPC.
Kim explains that her approach to nutrition has changed since she
started, from being self-taught to now working with a coach who has
her on a structured meal plan for competitions. Then, Kim gives
listeners insight on how her approach to nutrition changes during
the off season and she admits that she doesn’t track macros or
calories. She shares that she doesn’t feel the need to count
meticulously in her off seasons as this has become her lifestyle
and she understands how to fuel her body properly regardless of her
current “season.” Kim and Celeste discuss the concept of treating
the body like a treasure and how that translates to leading a
healthy lifestyle.
From there, Celeste transitions into Kim’s competing career and
asks how her approach has differed over the years. Kim explains
that she follows the plan her coach gives her and that she never
sees competing as a chore, as it’s something she loves
chooses to pursue.
She shares that although she does have cravings during prep, she
never gives in and loves seeing how her body changes the closer she
gets to a show. With that being said, Celeste asks Kim to share her
favorite prep meals and the ladies discuss their shared love for
meals including oats. Next, Celeste asks Kim to share her favorite
exercises for glutes, hamstrings, and shoulders if she could only
choose one exercise for each muscle group.
The ladies discuss how much they both love smaller isolation
movements and band work as well as typical heavy compound
movements, which many prefer to emphasize when it comes to building
muscle. After discussing training, Celeste asks Kim to walk
listeners through her experiences competing in various national
shows and how she addressed the feedback given to her by the
judges.
Kim shares how she took first her class at her first show, the
Olympia Amateur, then from there proceeded to do well in other
shows, almost achieving her pro card, yet at one national shows she
landed in one of the last call outs, making her reconsider if
competing was for her.
Despite being on the fence about her future in competing, Kim had
already signed up for the next national show and also had plans to
vacation with her boyfriend. Kim recounts her experiences of being
on vacation and how the time away from her training and diet
affected her physique. After coming home, Kim realized she was up
10 pounds being only 11 days out from her show and she explains how
she and her coach addressed the setbacks and persevered
regardless.
Kim felt a newfound sense of confidence in herself during the show
after hearing other women compliment her physique backstage and how
that was the day she achieved her pro card. Celeste and Kim reflect
on the various challenges Kim faced before finally reaching her
goal and how that only made her a stronger athlete. Celeste then
asks Kim what she would like to accomplish with her IFBB pro status
and Kim shares her hopes and aspirations to one day step on the
Olympia and Arnold stages.
Switching gears from all things competing, Celeste asks Kim more
about her journey to citizenship; how she ended up in the United
States being an immigrant from El Salvador, and what inspired her
to come to California.
Kim explains that growing up she was one of five children and after
seeing how hard her mother worked to provide for her and her
siblings, Kim knew she wanted a better life for herself. She also
shares how life in El Salvador differs from that in the United
States, stating that the weaker economy and lack of options and
opportunities in terms of higher education and jobs limits ones
potential. Kim sought a better life not only for herself but for
her family as well.
She opens up and reveals that she originally came over as an
illegal immigrant, recounting her experiences on her journey to the
United States, which she plans to write about and publish, titling
the book “29 Days,” as a tribute to the time it took her to cross
the border.
Next, Kim talks about her plans to not only become an author but to
open a gym in her city of San Juan Capistrano. She explains the
reasoning and motivation behind wanting to open up her own facility
as well as the some of the challenges she has faced thus far. Kim
shares that she has always wanted to be a business owner and
explains some of the other projects she is working on both in
business and in education, yet how all her goals are
interconnected.
Celeste then asks Kim how bodybuilding has helped her as both a
business owner and a mother. Kim talks about how she admired her
mothers hard work ethic and how that inspired her to be a hard
worker, a good mother but also enjoy the fruits of her labor. Kim
also mentions the point of the greater the risk, the greater the
reward, and how she has taken that approach with her business
ventures.
After discussing business, Kim shares how she learned English
after arriving in the US not knowing the language at all. Kim
shares her strategy of immersing herself in the language every way
she could and how that helped her learn the basics before being
able to take classes. Celeste also asks how Kim met her now
boyfriend and how he and her son not only support her but keep her
accountable during her competition preps. Lastly, as always, Kim
shares her best advice for first time competitors and for girls on
their road to pro.
Connect with
Kim:
https://www.instagram.com/k_roxysermeno/
https://linktr.ee/k_roxysermeno
Connect with
Celeste:
https://www.instagram.com/celestial_fit/
Time
Stamps:
[1:45] Kim shares her pre-stage ritual with listeners.
[2:15] Celeste asks Kim to share how she got started in fitness and
when she found competing.
[4:38] Kim shares how she prepped herself for her first two
competitions.
[7:50] Celeste asks Kim if she’s ever experienced nervousness
before hitting the stage as her competitive career continued to
progress.
[9:20] Celeste asks Kim if there’s anything she wishes she had
known prior to competing in her first NPC show.
[12:40] Kim shares her approach she takes with nutrition in her
improvement seasons as opposed to during prep.
[14:00] Celeste asks Kim if she takes an intuitive eating approach
during her off season, given that she doesn’t track her food or
macros.
[17:25] Celeste has Kim share the differences, if any, amongst the
various preps she has done.
[18:50] Kim shares why she loves bodybuilding.
[20:20] Celeste asks Kim about her favorite prep meal.
[22:00] Kim shares her favorite exercises for shoulders, hamstrings
and glutes.
[25:00] Kim discusses her experiences competing in various national
shows and how she addressed the feedback she received from the
judges.
[32:15] Celeste asks Kim to share about her time on vacation before
North Americans and her thoughts about the physique she felt she
would bring to the stage.
[35:30] Celeste asks Kim if she felt she brought a different
physique to each of her national shows.
[37:40] Kim talks about what it was like to compete at the Olympia
amateur.
[40:00] Celeste asks Kim what she would like to accomplish as an
IFBB Pro.
[42:40] Kim shares her path to citizenship and her journey from El
Salvador to California.
[45:00] Celeste asks Kim about the actual citizenship process.
[49:00] Kim talks about her plans to open up her gym.
[52:00] Celeste asks Kim how bodybuilding has helped her as a
business owner and mother.
[55:40] Celeste asks Kim how she learned English.
[59:15] Kim talks about how she met her boyfriend and how he and
her son keep her accountable during prep.
[61:25] Kim shares her best advice for first time competitors and
girls on her road to pro