Tina Chandler is sharing her gratitude in her workout gear. In a new social media post the bodybuilder shows off her impressively strong body while posing for a photo and expressing thanks. “Hallelujah!” she captioned the post. “You are great,” commented one of her followers, while another added fire emojis. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.
Nina explained to Kevin Saunders that she started weight lifting at 13 after years of training as a gymnast. “I read muscle magazines like Muscle & Fitness to learn lifting techniques and form. I also watched ESPN’s Body Shaping by Cory Everson religiously to see how the experts worked out,” she said. “In gymnastics, I learned a strict discipline for training on a regular schedule. I used this same discipline towards lifting weights, learning all that I could, and training every day. I created a schedule and stuck to it, just as we did in gymnastics.”
Tina “made a promise to myself” and “made an adjustment on my mindset” to make healthy living a lifestyle. “I asked myself why I would go back to eating like ‘normal’, for example 3 meals a day with happy hour and brunches, when this OTHER way obviously was optimal for my performance, health, and wellbeing! I really started to look at this for myself and decided that eating 6 meals as opposed to 3 main meals would become my everyday ‘NORM’. I never wanted to get out of shape again, and after that I never did. After all, it had taken me 30 years to finally find answers and gain control of my body and life, I wasn’t about to lose it now! I learned that no number of tricks, gimmicks, fasting, or vegetarianism would amount to this knowledge. I was excited to have some answers about fitness and food.”
Tina shares a few things she has learned over the years. “I learned that good products matter!” she said. “I’m a big fan of Lee Labrada who made the transition from being a top bodybuilder to having the most trusted products and supplements in the bodybuilding world. Labrada Nutrition developed some of the purest products and his Proplete Whey Isolate Protein Powder was my favorite throughout most of my competing years. Labrada products are still made with great ingredients and formulas, helping pros get the right nutrition for this very demanding sport.”
She also learned that “rest is important,” she says. “In fact, rest and recovery are just as important as great workouts and excellent nutrition. There were times when my body was pushed so far, and I would come down with a cold or something similar. I learned that proper rest and recovery would get me back on track faster as opposed to pushing through or overdoing it.”
“I learned to LOVE to work on my weaknesses!” Tina adds. “Recognize your weaknesses and embrace them fully. Along the way, I noticed certain body parts were not as developed as the others. I would not have gotten to 8th in the world if I had not fully embraced and learned to love to work those areas I wasn’t as fond of! I reprogrammed my mind to actually LOVE working some of my least favorite areas to work. I used to hate working biceps, now I love it! Work on your weaknesses!”