WNBF Pro Dasa Dzurejova

By: Dasa Dzurejova

Age: 29
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 129 contest / 150 off season
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Residence: Illinois
Years Competing in Figure: 1 year
Favorite Place: Croatia - Sea Coast
Favorite Diet Foods: Oatmeal with Protein and Cinnamon
Favorite Cheat Foods: Chocolate Pudding, and anything salty
Favorite Body part: Back and Shoulders
Occupation: Technical Analyst, Personal Trainer
Education: MBA - North Park University Chicago, Personal Trainer Certificate
Interests: Weight Training, Biking, Swimming, Skiing, Skating, Traveling, Camping, Roller Blading,
And playing with my pets

2005 USA Super Pro-Qualifier, 1st Tall class
2005 USA Super Pro-Qualifier, Figure Overall Champion (turned WNBF Pro)

2004 Co-Host and Runway Model at Chicago Local TV
2003 Runway Model for Chicago Fitness T-shirt Company
2002 Runway Model for Chicago Fitness T-shirt Company

Before I started to work out I did folk dance for over 6 years. I loved it- training and performances, meeting new people. After those years of dancing I decided to try something new. The moment I tried weight lifting and took some fitness classes I knew I was hooked up! After working out for almost 6 years I went to see Arnold Classic Show in Ohio. I watched Figure division and I was amazed! Somehow I never paid attention to 'muscular girls' and now I really liked it. The Figure division just took my breath. I couldn't get my eyes off those girls. Certainly I loved their strong-tight-muscular but still feminine bodies. After I came back from the show I got online and started to gather more information about that sport. I checked different webs of different Figure Organizations with their shows. Afterward I attended a few local shows and I began to like it more and more. I can say I fell in love with Figure! One of my friends who is a bodybuilder saw my strong interest and encouraged me to try to compete. And that's how it all started.

My passion for Fitness and Bodybuilding is inside of me and it will never dye. Working out is for me daily-weekly-monthly-yearly-lifetime activity to keep me happy.

The most importantly I will love to help others achieve their own personal goals as a Personal Trainer, and motive them to live a healthy life. I will continue to promote and bring fitness to as many others as I can, while maintaining my own goals and staying focus on Competing in Figure Division.

I believe that with hard work and dedication anything is possible.

Monday - Off
Tuesday - Back and Biceps
Wednesday - Legs - Hamstrings and Quads, Coves (heavy weights & 3/20 reps)
Thursday - Chest and Triceps
Friday - Shoulders and Coves (light weights & 4/30 reps)
Saturday- Cardio and Abs (using machines - heavy weights & 3/20 reps)
Sunday- Cardio and Abs (using medical ball -4/30 reps)

Diet (or food)... that's the magic word! You can workout as much as you like but without a balanced diet that is high in protein you would never see any progress, or build muscle... From my experience it's so important to know how much food you need at various times throughout the day regardless whether it's the off season, or before your contest.

The off season is a time when I like to experience and work on muscle groups I need to improve. My off-season diet consists of 1.5 - 2.0 g of carbs and 1.5 g of protein per pound of body weight. To prepare my daily macronutrient ratios I use FITDAY.COM, a website I find very helpful. It can help you with keeping a log of all the food that you eat and provides a calorie breakdown of fat/carbs/protein, and their respective percentages of your daily caloric intake.

In the off season, my calorie breakdown is about 50/40/10 (carbs/protein/fat). My caloric intake in the off season is anywhere from 1900 to 2200 calories.

My diet is pretty much clean all year long. The only time I 'get what I feel for' is right after competition. I prefer to get all nutrients from real food. I eat MRP and protein bars only if I don't have another choice; for instance if I travel, work does not permit, etc...

I get my carbs from the following foods:
- brown rice, once a while alternating with white rice
- potatoes, alternating with sweet potatoes
- all-wheat pasta
- oatmeal
- cream of wheat
- wheat, alternating with buck wheat

The following foods are good sources of protein:
- chicken breast
- fresh or canned tuna (in water)
- fresh or canned salmon
- egg whites, the most 2 yolks a week
- fat-free cottage cheese
- fat-free yogurt (I buy with yogurt high in protein and low in sugar)

My fat calories come from:
- flax seeds (I have 2 table spoons every day)
- organic peanut butter (I buy low in sodium and sugar)
- nuts

Fruits and Vegetables:
- I eat bananas and berries because they are high in potassium
- My favorite veggies include broccoli, spinach, beans, lentils, soy (high in protein)

I drink green tea (contains antioxidants) twice a day, and about 1.5 - 2 Gal of water. Water is very important mainly if you use lots of supplements. It helps clean your body, gives you energy and increases your metabolism.
I drink coffee before my cardio sessions - it helps with burning fat - and before my weight training workouts - it works as stimulant and enables me to lift more.

Sleep is very important. It affects our daily functioning and our physical and mental health. Mainly when you are only a few weeks away from you competition, tension, exhaustion and intensive training make can make you very tired.

After several weeks of dieting and excluding fat and sugar from your diet (that is your primary source of energy), you would feel very weak with not enough of sleep. At that time sleep is your only energy. You need to sleep a lot! More than you usually do. SLEEP-SLEEP-SLEEP. Any nap will 'recharge' you and give you the energy you need for your last workouts before your contest.
I try to get about 8-10 hours of sleep, and 30 minutes nap before every evening workout.

Have at least 1 weeks of Recovery time between the same body part workouts. The time to recover depends on your individual characteristics. Young athletes recover faster than older ones. Experienced athletes faster than novices. Highly fit people faster than those who are unfit. Low psychological stress also speeds recovery

From my experience I had more energy to lift if I had full week off between the same body part workouts. I could even lift more and heavier! Besides that when you rest your body is growing. Proper recovery time could help you to avoid overtraining and injury and maximize the amount of fitness gains that you can achieve in a given training week or cycle. And you want to grow. Right?
Workout fatigue + recovery = training effect

1/ PROTEIN: In order to maintain protein balance during intense resistance and/or endurance training, I use approximately 2 g of protein per Lb body mass per day. I like to alternate whey protein with soy protein drinks.
[LA Whey is a good protein supplement]

2/ GLUTAMATE: I suggested glutamate supplementation as a strategy to promote muscle growth and support your immune system. I use 5 g before and after workout.

3/ BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACIDS (BCAA): I use BCAA supplementation to help minimize protein deprivation and thereby lead to greater gains in fat-free mass. It's good to know that our body cannot make them. I take 3 capsules before and after workout.

4/AMINO ACIDS: To stimulate the release of growth factor.

5/ CREATINE: I "load" muscle with creatine to improve the ability to produce energy, for greater gain, as well as improve the speed of recovery. I take 5g before and after training.
[Explosive Creatine is perfect for this]

6/ ZMA: This nighttime mineral support formula contains zinc, magnesium and vitamin B-6 to enhance recovery by improving sleep efficiency, healing, tissue repair, hormone production and muscle growth. I take three capsules 30 minutes before bedtime.

7/ GLUCOSAMINE AND CHONDROITIN: I recommend this supplement if You have any kind of join problems. I had a shoulder injury and it helped me significantly. I take 1 capsule in the morning and 1 in the evening.

During precontest dieting it is essential to keep your protein intake high. In fact, as your body fat becomes lower and lower, it seems almost impossible to continue to hold on to your hard earned muscle tissue. The paradox is that as the contest approaches, you instinctively train harder, increase your cardio and tighten your diet even further. Your goal is to somehow maintain, or even increase your lean muscle tissue while continuing to burn fat. Unfortunately you're putting your body at the brink of catabolism

I start my pre-contest diet 12 weeks before a contest.
From that time I get rid of any sugar in my diet, like milk products, protein shakes, fruits, and sweet vegetable.

At this time I eat only:
- brown rice
- chicken
- tuna
- egg whites
- green veggies

I use salt sparingly, instead I use various spices.

The first 8 weeks I split my diet into 3-day cycles, which I follow all the way until the last month of my contest.

Day 1: 50 % Protein / 40 % Carbs/ 10 % Fat
Day 2: 45 % Protein / 45 % Carbs / 10 % Fat
Day 3: 60 % Protein / 30 % Carbs / 10 % Fat

The last 4 weeks I split my diet into 3-day cycles again in this order:

Day 1: 50 % Protein /40 % Carbs / 10 % Fat
Day 2: 60 % Protein / 30 % Carbs / 10 % Fat
Day 3: 70 % Protein / 20 % Carbs/ 10 % Fat

12 weeks before my contest I start my 'pre-contest program':
I do cardio every morning on empty stomach for 45 min.

Monday - Off
Tuesday - Back and Biceps
Wednesday - Legs - Hamstrings and Quads, Calves (heavy weights & 3/20 reps)
Thursday - Chest and Triceps
Friday - Shoulders and Calves (light weights & 4/30 reps)
Saturday - Cardio and Abs (using machines - heavy weights & 3/20 reps) + Legs (Front) supersets.
Sunday - Cardio and Abs (using medical ball - 4/30 reps) + Legs (Back) supersets.