Christine Pomponio-PateNot only did she overcome recovery pains and obstacles after a car accident blew up her body, but she also became one of the most well known Figure competitiors and fitness models. She was out of work for two months and it took six years and 11 surgeries beyond that to reconstruct the beautiful figure pro who appears onstage today. Year after year Christine Pomponio-Pate is among the top Figure Olympia finalists.Author: Jonathan.L - owner Models Observer August 2007 | |
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* Christine, you did the unbelievable. After a severe accident, you
became one of the top Figure competitors and a symbol of health and
fitness. Did you believe you could beat the reality?
Christine Pomponio-Pate: I didn't believe at first that I could be one of the top figure athletes in the world. Even though I was always athletic the accident made me want to get more out of my physical abilities. Going through it made me stronger and gave me motivation to be want to be the best. * What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort? Does competition increase your desire to succeed? Christine Pomponio-Pate: It is not the competition that makes me want to succeed. I am competitive and want to do well when competing but that was just the goal to get to and stay on track while the real success was learning how to live a healthy lifestyle. You can't compete forever but you can always be healthy. * What do you believe in? Christine Pomponio-Pate: First and most important...I believe in God. I believe that everything happens as it is supposed to. I believe that you can make your life happy if you want, and you can be healthy if you put forth the effort. |
 Christine Pomponio-Pate, 2006 Figure Olympia competition. Photo by Bill Dobbins - billdobbins.com. |
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* Please tell me about your childhood. Christine Pomponio-Pate: My childhood was normal for the most part. I had a VERY strict Italian father, a loving mother, and wonderful big sister and a big brother who made me a tomboy. One of the best memories is Christmas with all of the cousins, aunts uncles, etc...and a traditional Italian fish and spaghetti dinner on Christmas Eve. * What do you consider your greatest strengths and challenges? Christine Pomponio-Pate: I consider one of my greatest strengths to be my willpower, I have an extreme amount of it that sometimes even surprises me. One of my challenges is working too much. * What is your definition of success? Christine Pomponio-Pate: My definition of success is "true happiness." You are not successful in anything you do whether it is work, marriage, hobbies, if you are not happy with what you are doing. A successful marriage is a happy one, a successful career is one that you enjoy doing, and why do hobbies if you can't do them well because you aren't happy doing them. (I have recently realized this myself with personal career choices.) * In 2005 you took the 6th place in the Figure Olympia, while in 2006 Figure Olympia you took the 4th place. How much of this improvement depended on you Christine, how much on the other Figure competitors quality, and how much on luck? And what do you predict for you in the 2007 Olympia? Christine Pomponio-Pate: In 2004 I was extremely excited to get 6th, then in 2005 I was pleased with 6th again although hoped I would move up, then in 2006 I was extremely happy and very content with placing 4th. All of the improvement depended on me, you can't predict how the other competitors will affect you and I don't believe in any luck in this situation. It is a lot of hard work and again a confident, positive attitude. My prediction for me in the 2007 Olympia is that I probably would stand out in an odd way since I will be 7 months pregnant at that time. * Could you describe your strategy, or the winning formula, of building your successful alignment of muscle, excellent muscles symmetry and conditioning in Figure competitions? How permanent was it during your past competitions? Christine Pomponio-Pate: My formula consisted of extremely heavy weights on my upper body and lighter weight on my lower body yet a lot of plyometric excercises and high reps for my legs since my legs get bigger on my 5 foot frame. Cardio is whole job in itself. I had to do A LOT of cardio for that reason, since I am so short, to get even leaner next to the taller girls. You learn with your own body through trial and error but my workout and diet plan was never exactly the same. Being natural and competing for 9 years doing numerous shows a year, I needed to occasionaly shock my system. * How do you determine if your body is ready for Figure competition? Christine Pomponio-Pate: I could only determine whether or not my body was ready for a competition through trial and error from previous competitions. Then I knew what my weight/body fat should be, what my training/diet should be, and after figuring out what worked for me, just hoped that the last week of water munipulation would go as planned. Christine Pomponio Pate, Figure Olympia 2006. Christine gets fourth place at the 2006 Figure Olympia - her highest placing in that contest to date. * In your opinion, what is the balance of femininity and strength? Christine Pomponio-Pate: In my opinion the balance of femininity and strength should be a toned, slightly muscular physique, healthy skin, and the ability to still look sexy in dress clothing when you are not wearing gym attire. * While training in the gym, what inefficient uses of fitness equipment, weight lifting equipment, abs workout and total body workout do you see amongst men and women? Christine Pomponio-Pate: Everyone is different and has different reasons for their program whether it be injury or illness but one of the things that I notice most is women who lift extremely light in fear of "getting too big" Like I said, everyone is different, for example, I go light on my legs because they WILL get too big, if that is the case for their program...great, but lifting heavy will not always make you "too big." Being natural, I personally wish that was the case for my upper body. Another ineffective use of any part of the gym is way too much chit-chat! Get to work. * Carla Sanchez, Fitness and Figure coach, described you in 2005 as half good girl, half bad girl. "when it's time to get down to business, Christine is very disciplined - training, dieting, getting in the zone. But when she's bad, she's the naughtiest of 'em all!". What do you think? Christine Pomponio-Pate: She is correct when she says that. When it is contest prep time (or even "off season, just be healthy" time) I am focused, I am disciplined, I am consistent, I have the willpower I spoke about and I will not do anything to get off track, but when the words "cheat meal" are thrown into my plan...watch out! I think I can eat more than some men. So when she says I am the naughtiest of them all, I will take full advantage of a day off and make sure I enjoy it. * What is the key of combining marriage with intense Fitness career? Christine Pomponio-Pate: Combining marriage with an intense Fitness career is sometimes difficult. The key is to be respectful to their needs as well. I love going dirtbiking and waterskiing with my husband but while preparing for a contest I can't afford to get hurt. So, I will tag along on the trips, pulling the trailer, drive the boat, but let him have all the fun. I just support what he does also. He eats healthy with me which helps, and when I am off season I let him choose the "unhealthy treats" since it's always about what I have to eat. * Was it easy for you to find the right man who understood your needs as a top athlete and Figure competitor? Christine Pomponio-Pate: No, it's not always easy to find someone who understands the needs of a top athlete and Figure competitor, especially if they don't compete. Although, as I said, we as competitors have to be respectful to their needs also for them to be patient. After a while, my husband became extremely proud of all of my achievements and is very supportive. * What do you do in your spare time? Christine Pomponio-Pate: I don't get a lot of spare time due to training, shooting, filming, etc., but when I do I dirt bike, waterski, and spend time with family and friends. * What do you expect to be earning in five years? Christine Pomponio-Pate: I don't have any expectations on earnings in the next five years, I do however, have goals that I have set for the projects and jobs that I would like to be doing with my acting and modeling career. www.christinepomponio.com | |