👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
My name is Shelby Guillaume. I grew up in Saskatchewan and currently live in Ontario, Canada. Currently, I go to school for nutrition, and am a certified sports and therapeutic registered massage therapist as well as being a certified yoga teacher, eastern trained in Thailand.
I have placed nationally within the CPA IFBB for both bikini and figure but am pursuing a bodybuilding career within figure. In addition to eventual wellness coaching I will soon be pursuing a career in firefighting.
I started getting active within the gym six years ago but started training seriously just over a year ago. Growing up in a small town of 77 people there wasn’t much in the way of any athletic outlets (or any outlets at all in all frankness).
I ran on dirt roads to clear my head and if the sun was up I was outside getting up to something.
When I was 21, I trained in a full contact football league; this is probably when I realized how much physical activity was essential for me. I’m big on learning, trying new things and drawing was my first love.
Currently, I have a suit sponsor @suitsbyv, an amazing mother/daughter duo based out of Ottawa. Their work is flawless and being able to bring my all to the stage in a suit that compliments my figure so well is amazing.
Bodybuilding has been the outlet with which I was finally able to be myself. I grew up my whole life with peers and family that made me feel like I needed to be small. That women shouldn’t be strong. That I shouldn’t be smart or think differently. Not to speak my mind. Not to speak loudly. That I didn’t deserve to stand out.
I struggled for most of my life to feel accepted and me the person everyone told me to be. It wasn’t until I shed all of that and found my identity within all that bodybuilding is that I really came into myself.
When you have experienced the raw levels within yourself, you have to dig into to be successful at something that tests every part of you-mind and body and spirit- you find you. I was able to let go of the world setting limits on who I am and be me.
I can push myself every day, flex my willpower, grow as an athlete and a person, feel connected to my body; there is no greater feeling.
My brother dabbled in bodybuilding years before I did and has been there for me always to help. The friends I’ve made through bodybuilding have been the strongest, the most supportive, the most understanding; I can’t say enough of what a pleasure it is to feel like you are included in a group of people that work so hard and are such great individuals.
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
My favorite training days are shoulders and back.
I just started off season so my cardio is far less, typically 25 mins. a day. In prep, it’ll be more or less depending on how my body is reacting, anywhere from 0-2 hours. I’ll be working a new split into the mix but my current preference is a back-leg-delt, back-bi-leg-delts&arms&chest.
I usually have to make myself take days off as I hate doing it, however, much I know they are important. I focus on form always and muscle isolation. You should never compromise form for PRs. I’ve figured out what works for me; heavy especially for large muscles and often lighter but slow and form focused for smaller muscle groups.
I also try to hit some Lat opener/active range of motion training whenever I’m in the gym as well as posing between sets. I warm up with abs daily. Cardio is after. I currently train in Movati in Ottawa, they have a decent equipment selection and its usually not crowded.
I train alone and prefer it that way. I’m there to work hard and I enjoy pushing myself to my limit daily, my massage therapy brain tends to get me analyzing other peoples forms and fix it and it’s distracting to my own training so I mostly try to stay in my own music blasting world while I am there.
Pre training is a good protein filled breakfast, I stick with supplements from Beyondyourself –
multiV, pre workout creatine, Niacin, post usually cereal + protein powder almond milk – I could literally eat cereal for every meal.
Also, have a shaker with greens, creatine, and vits. My vitamins come from Trophic and it usually consists of a B complex, C, D, A, K, a cortisol blocker, liver support, boron, magnesium, chromium, Zinc.
My bag has pre, bcaas, bands, versa grips, lifting belt, the shoes of the day, a shaker, an extra hoodie, a gocase for my phone. Cardio is always stairs. Used to swim a lot as well and plan on getting back into it.
My favorite training days are shoulders and back. I also use a fitness watch to keep an eye on heart rate, esp in prep. I don’t keep a training log, I just have a plan for the day and do all that muscle group can handle in that session.
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
I know, no matter what is going on in my life, I will feel 100X better about it after the gym. I feel worse on rest days than I do on training days, I like to be moving.
Training is a part of me, with the education and experience I’ve amassed in how imperative being active and eating well is in every system of our body, mental health, everything, it would be impossible for me to just stop.
I am 100% responsible for my health and I want others to see that they should feel the same sense of responsibility to themselves. To improve in the gym: Ask for help, watch videos on form, keep at it, have patience, leave your ego at home, work smarter and harder.
Training has taken precedence in my life in all honesty outside of school, which I’m okay with. Deciding to focus on myself and disallowing toxic people to enter my life has been something my life has needed.
When I don’t train, I study. Or eat. School and the new chapters going with it will be top priority. I have friends who I see at the gym and who are at home in Sask that I miss dearly, but my goals come first right now. I still call my mom probably twice a day.
Something I am looking to do in 2020 though is to allot a little more time in feeling human, being a little less hard on myself.
The biggest challenge I’ve faced is doing it all without my dad to see. He passed when I was 18 and I’d give anything to share life’s moments with him.
I ever was able to connect with him before he passed and that’s something that has pushed me to make sure the people I love know how much I appreciate them and how I wouldn’t be here without them.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
Training is great! I cut way too much muscle in my last prep so gaining it back has been fabulous. Within the next few years I want to get my firefighting, continue bodybuilding and go pro, spend lots of time with my dog, read and learn all I can, and just grow as a human being. I believe in doing all one can now, and shaping the future as it comes.
I don’t need 6 figures and a big house to be happy, I just want to be doing what I love, to be making a difference, and to be surrounded by great people.
I would tell myself to speak up for myself more from the get-go, to not get caught up in social media, and to not let toxic people distract you from your goals. Put yourself first and stop doubting yourself.
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
My massage therapy background and yoga has been bread and butter in avoiding injuries. I can’t say enough about perfect form and leaving your ego at home. Any minor injury is quickly addressed with isolation stretches, yin, and ice if needed. I try to sleep 8 hours.
I honestly hate changes to my schedule and will avoid them whenever possible. I am a creature of routine 100%.
Recovery is all about RICE – rest, ice, elevation, compression. Massage is huge- I’m lucky enough to be able to self treat for most things, and stretching when done right is imperative.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
Food is spaced two to three hours apart.
I was vegan for a year and a half, recently I got super sick when I was outrageously low in body fat and had a reaction to soy. So I now eat fish as my main protein source. I currently follow a cal/macro meal plan and adjust as to coaches orders.
Meals are pretty basic, fish, rice, oatmeal, protein powder, vegetables, fruit, cereal. I do higher carb, low fat. Refeeds are when I only like to divert because when I cheat, I can’t not go overboard – all in or all out.
As I’d go from bulking to cutting carbs steadily drop and food gets more and more basic. I don’t drink alcohol and abstaining completely from bad food is easier for me than small cheats. If I need to bring my own food I will.
Food is spaced two to three hours apart. Cheat days are usually once a week. I avoid cravings by saving any crap eating for cheat day. Currently, I am bulking. Energy is usually good for me until the last few weeks of cutting in which you just push through. Willpower all the way. I don’t drink coffee or alcohol so they aren’t issues.
👍 What has inspired and motivated you?
Music keeps me motivated. I keep myself motivated. I am a perfectionist and my dad was always a ‘If you can get it done yourself then do it and do it now’ person, I try to emulate that.
Shanique Grant is GOALS, and Melissa Bumstead, Alicia Bell, Alysha Mills have been big inspirations for me. Strong women who are so their authentic selves are what is the most motivational to me to keep pushing forward.
My brother is also such a strong human and I look up to him big time. My momma, too, is the strongest woman out there.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
Don’t try to be like anyone else, be you.
Don’t try to be like anyone else, be you. Lose your ego, lose pride, lose self doubt. Ask questions. Ask for help. Keep learning. Stop throwing around weight and pushing to lift heavy over lifting with purpose.
Remember that growth is not linear. Stretching is your friend. Training outside your modality will improve you-always. No ones watching you in the gym, and if they are who cares. If you have a goal, put the work in, take responsibility for your results. Pet every dog. Smile often.
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
I will take on clients when I am done nutrition and my pt. If I can use my collective education and experience to help someone, I will.
When you are looking for a coach, don’t just buy into a 30-day shred program or a meal plan they use for 60 people. Don’t pick someone who’s done one competition and has been an ectomorph and gone through no body fluctuations or put on muscle or dealt with rehabilitation.
Ask questions. Find someone who asks YOU questions and wants you to genuinely succeed, not the ones who are chasing a bottom line and have all the flashy advertising and their name on a booty band.
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
My insta is @redhairhazelstare! You can follow my journey on there. Right know education and growing (off-season) is taking precedence but I hope to be expanding my outreach in the future.
