The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemeedia.net

SELF-trained Willisa Armstrong will be returning home Wednesday from the NPC Panama Fall Classic in Panama City over the weekend as a triple crown champion.

In what she described as an experience she will never forget, Armstrong dominated the Novice, Masters 40-plus and Open Wellness.

Being self-trained, not by design, but out of financial constraints, Armstrong said she's proud of her accomplishments where she was the lone ranger from the Bahamas, but was able to rise like the Phoenix, as her nickname indicates.

"Competing in Panama was one of the most challenging, empowering and rewarding experiences of my journey as an athlete," said Armstrong, who got some support from the Bahamas Athletic Physique Alliance.

"What makes this victory especially meaningful to me is that I navigated this entire preparation without a coach or a hands-on support system guiding me through the process."

Armstrong admitted that there were so many distractions that could have derailed her, but she didn't allow any of it to cost her to miss out on achieving her goal.

"I don't even have a fulltime job, so I was relying on odd jobs here and people who sponsored me to get to this point," she said. "The biggest accomplishment is that I don't have a support system.

"I don't have a coach, I don't have anybody that I'm training alongside of. So all of these things, I did all of them on my own, so it's a huge accomplishment for me."

With this performance, which was celebrated by eating a number of cuisines from Panama, Armstrong said she can now prepare herself to compete in a show that she can pursue her pro card.

Coming off her success at the BAPA's Fitness Connection Bahamas at the University of the Bahamas in August where she won the overall Wellness B class and was named the best poser, Armstrong said it was a challenge she had to endure traveling to Panama for her biggest international shoe.

From the beginning of prep through peak week travel and finally stepping onto the international stage, Armstrong said she had to take responsibility for every aspect of the journey, which included her training, nutrition, conditioning, posing, preparation, scheduling, meals, travel arrangements.

The mother of her 22-year-old son Victron Lynes Jr and grandmother to Brayden Lynes admitted that she couldn't overlook the countless decisions that came with getting a competitive physique ready for stage.

"I then travelled to Panama alone and continued managing everything myself once I arrived," she pointed out. "There were many moments when the weight of doing it all felt overwhelming.

"There was no coach standing beside me to reassure me that I was ready, no team making adjustments for me, and no one backstage telling me what my next move should be."

Despite the obstacles that she had to endure, Armstrong said she had to trust the knowledge she gained, trust the work she put in, remain objective about my physique and, most importantly, trust in herself.

"That made stepping onto that stage incredibly emotional for me," she stressed. "I competed in the Wellness division in Novice, Masters 40-plus and Open, and I am immensely proud to have won all three categories.

"Sweeping all three divisions was more than a competitive victory. It was confirmation of what can happen when discipline, resilience and self-belief meet preparation."

As a 41-year-old personal fitness trainer, Armstrong said she travelled, presented her physique package and was successful in walking off the stage as the triple crown champion.

"I am proud of the trophies, but I am even more proud of what I proved to myself in earning them," she noted. "This experience also allowed me to compete in another country, meet athletes and officials within the sport internationally, and gain an even greater appreciation for the standard of preparation and presentation required on these stages."

She felt her triumph reinforced her belief that Bahamian athletes belong on international stages, and are capable of succeeding wherever they go..

"I also hope my journey speaks to people who may feel that their circumstances disqualify them from pursuing something extraordinary — particularly women, mothers, grandmothers, athletes over 40, and those who may not have access to every resource they wish they had," she said.

"Sometimes you have to build with what is available to you, learn, adapt, and continue moving forward."

Armbrstong thanked her physical therapist Reneè Minus of Box Fit Nation and Brittany Sargant of B'Gorgeous Nails Beauty Salon, who sponsored her nails and lashes for her competition.

"Reneè Minus has been sponsoring my therapy and so I want to attribute this victory to her," Armstrong said. "During my preparations for the shoe in August, I had little or no usage of my right leg.

"I could barely bend it, but yet I still trained. I sat many days in the gym and worked through tears and when the pain was too unbearable, I sat down, got back up and trained and then I had to go to her for therapy and she sponsored all of that."

Armstrong also expressed her gratitude to everyone who encouraged her, sponsored her, supported her journey or believed in what she was trying to accomplish.

"Their support mattered deeply," she proclaimed. "But when it came to the preparation itself, I had to take ownership of this journey from beginning to end.

"And that is one of the things I am most proud of. I travelled to Panama determined to represent The Bahamas with excellence."

Now Armstrong is looking forward to participating in her first pro qualifier in Colombia in November. If she's not successful in securing the funding to travel, she said she will regroup and get ready for next year.

"The head judge in Panama, in critiquing my performance, just simply asked me if I was going to Colombia because she will be there as a judge and she felt I had what it takes to compete as a pro,"  Armstrong said.

"I would love to go to the pro show, but if the finances don't come through for the airfare, accommodations, suit to wear and the other necessary little things that women "have to do."

Persons interested in lending their support to Armstrong can contact her at 1-242-814-5174 for a sponsorship letter outlining what is required and how she can give back in return for their contribution.

"If somebody was to sponsor me, I would like to give back, especially if it's a company," she said. "I'd like to give back in ways of a seminar or photo shoot or whatever marketing means they have."

Not only is she a certified personal trainer, but Armstrong is also a nutritionist and a strength and conditioning coach, areas she feels she can take advantage of in giving back to those who support her.