Sherrie Kapach: Welcome to Beyond The Prep. I'm your host, Sherrie Kapach. I'd like to welcome Avril Stead today. Welcome, Avril. Thank you for coming. So let's start with, how did you get into bodybuilding?
Avril Stead: I was working at a juice bar in Calgary, and the manager said, you should start doing a bikini. That's when I was like, maybe I should. And that's where it all began.
Sherrie Kapach: So did you know anything about bodybuilding when you started?
Avril Stead: I've always been in the gym. I've always been into fitness, my brothers into fitness. I've always had a passion for it, but I didn't really think about competing until I was asked or told like, hey, you have a nice day here. You should compete with that.
Sherrie Kapach: How many years?
Avril Stead: It's been well on and off for about 10 years. I started with the ABBA.
Sherrie Kapach: Any struggles you've encountered along the way? What's been your hardest part going into competing?
Avril Stead: I would say finding the right coach. To be honest, it's been a real big struggle for me not aligning with proper coaches and not having the same beliefs. You just got to pick your coaches.
Sherrie Kapach: What would your recommendation be if someone's just starting out and they don't know where to start, or how to find a coach?
Avril Stead: I would start asking people in the industry. And then if you were interested in a coach, I would say to ask for references of people that they have coached, and make sure that you do your due diligence on that. Because like me, I spent a lot of money on the wrong coaches. There's no regrets. Not upset about it. Though learning experience, just make sure that the alignment is there. When you set your goals and your expectations, then always have a talk with them first. If they're not willing to talk with you before pain, then they're probably not the right coach. Research first.
Sherrie Kapach: So what do you know now that you wish you knew when you decided to start?
Avril Stead: I'm very committed to my fitness journey. That's not an issue for me. The food is fine. Coaching is a big thing for me. It was a big, big high on the top of my head. It's still today, picking the right coach.
Sherrie Kapach: Yeah, there's so many out there.
Avril Stead: There's a lot out there. And it's kind of trial and error to look at as well. But yeah, sorry, that was a really tough question.
Sherrie Kapach: Yeah. So the best advice then that you would give someone that's even just considering starting?
Avril Stead: I would just say, ask friends, talk to people. Like I said, in the industry, competitors themselves. And again, when it comes to the coaching aspect, I'm very big on that. Make sure you align with the person. Do your homework. My biggest thing from experience doing this for over 10 years, if I had gotten back 10 years ago and had the right coach, I'd be further along in a bikini journey.
Sherrie Kapach: You're doing your peak week, do you have any--
Avril Stead: I don't. Because you know what? The last coach I had was actually like, can I just continue with the same diet? Didn't have to really change anything. Peak week should be fun. It actually should be like the best week. It shouldn't be like, we're just like dying, right? It depends on what you're looking for and what you're willing to put your body through, I guess, when it comes to that. But I don't mind picking the card. I am actually excited to go there. I love the whole team.
Sherrie Kapach: Getting on stage?
Avril Stead: Love it all. Hair and makeup, an. Looking good. Feeling good. I love eating the foods that I was told to eat. I don't find it hard. To be honest, I find it actually very easy. And if I eat something, I get asked like, oh, go have a cheat meal. I don't even like that because I like to stick to my diet. Oh, I don't like cheese. One of my coaches will have a burger and fries, but I want to have meatloaf with butter. That's cheaper.
Sherrie Kapach: Yeah. Nice. Yeah.
Avril Stead: The struggle is having cheats for me because I don't like it.
Sherrie Kapach: Do you find that if you're doing once you have your cheat meal, it kind of triggers you that just want more--
Avril Stead: No, I am actually very good. After my last show, even after my competition, I had protein rice krispies and a couple protein cookies. I don't know, I don't like overeating. I have overeat, and I feel like crap. So yeah, it happens.
Sherrie Kapach: Yeah. Yeah. And then the guilt sets in. That's good to know because here's new people that are joining this and they're like, oh, my God, I hate this. What should I do? And it's good to know that they're not the only ones.
Avril Stead: They're not the only ones. I feel guilty too. I feel super guilty that sometimes you feel like you have to go out and do a little bit more exercise to burn that off too.
Sherrie Kapach: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And yes, well, that's what I had, gotta be accountable because they know.
Avril Stead: It's good to let your body know that it can have those foods though too, it's important. And it's good to treat yourself. Even when I'm in my offseason, I make protein rice krispies, and I love them. They're really delicious. That's kind of my treat today. But they're also very clean. So they're gluten free sugar stevia based.
Sherrie Kapach: For sure.
Avril Stead: I just throw it all together. But yeah, I can definitely give you that.
Sherrie Kapach: Perfect. So there are other alternatives that you can enjoy that are still healthy.
Avril Stead: Absolutely. You don't have to go like crazy, you can still enjoy healthy treats.
Sherrie Kapach: This is what I'd like to include, can we fit it in so far?
Avril Stead: And there's lots of recipes on Instagram, and people are posting that. You still feel satisfied. So yeah, that would be more my style than going out and having a big blizzard or something. I'd rather have something that I know that is healthier, but yet sounds so good.
Sherrie Kapach: Yeah. Oh, that's wonderful. So do you have anything else that you'd like to share with us?
Avril Stead: Not really. It's a lot of hard work and dedication, obviously. I'm very dedicated to my fitness goals. So when I'm in my routine, I don't really have a social life. And sometimes, for me going out, there's just not a good idea that I'd want to be going out. It just kind of depends on the balance of that though, too.
Sherrie Kapach: Well, when you're competing, your social life does--
Avril Stead: But then again, you meet great people that are in the industry. I think the best thing from this is making new friends and you're a great person. I've met some amazing people along my journey. People who you align with, we have the same beliefs as you have. You don't have to go moving, you can go hiking. Hiking is my thing. You can do other things you can do without going out.
Sherrie Kapach: Yeah. And it is a great community, it is a great community. Because sometimes in the environment, you don't get to relate to anyone because there's just no one around that's in there. So when you come to a show, it's like, oh, somebody else is like, you know?
Avril Stead: Family like is some of the hardest people too because they don't really get it. My dad was always like, what's this, and why can you stop? Some people just don't understand so you got to set those boundaries as well. But you have to stop people like, look, this is what I am doing. Take it or leave it.
Sherrie Kapach: You want this other group to support you.
Avril Stead: And they're not the right people when it comes to friends, family is always going to be there with you. Are you gonna do another one? Up here? So, yeah, that's pretty much about the sport.
Sherrie Kapach: Perfect. Well, thank you for joining me today. Fabulous. I'm looking forward to the recipe. And enjoy the rest of your day.
