Heather Ingalls – Warrior’s Corner

This weeks ‘Warrior’s Corner’ we are introduced to Heather Ingalls.  Heather has made amazing changes since starting with TEAM Warrior Within.  Keep up the hard work Heather.

I started competing because I was previously working with a different coach who thought I would make a good competitor, and he talked me into it once I started getting in shape.  Then, at my first show, I saw the TEAM Warrior Within shirts, and started working with the one and only Nikki Johnston.  Nikki is awesome to work with, and probably the only person who I knew would understand all fifteen thousand emotions I had going on throughout my prep—but who could also push me and hold me accountable to be better than I was the year prior.

The hardest part of prep, of course, is not eating an entire jar of peanut butter daily!  Friends and family would help get me through the hard times, as well as remember what inspired me to start in the first place.  When I was getting in a funk, we would throw the day’s training plan out the window and just go lift for fun, which is always a great reminder of why we love this sport.

I would advise beginners to really do some reading and figure out in advance what they’re getting themselves into.  The fact that “anyone can get on stage” is a bunch of bullshit.  Train hard, work hard!  And know that you’ll have to dig deep, and if it seems “easy”, then you’re not pushing yourself to your utmost potential.

During my prep, I learned that I can have discipline, I can have the body that I have always wanted, and I learned that, one day, I will not fuck up my entire prep!  I learned that two straight bad weeks will get you right back to where you started.  I also learned that there needs to be an offseason and some sort of balance in your life to focus on those who love you and put with you during prep.  There is little time for anything else during prep besides eat/sleep/work/train/repeat.

I would like to thank my amazing coach Nikki Johnston, whom I hope will never stop training because I am going to

Heather Ingalls and Coach Nikki Johnston

need her for a long time!  And of course my amazing supporter, Abel Hernandez, who was there for 2am training sessions, constant meal prepping, the emotional highs and lows, and about 90% of my training days, pushing me further than I knew how to do on my own.  Also, my mother Nichola Trail.  Although not local, she was always available by phone, and always sending me the right messages when I needed them most.  She was my pick-me-up.  Love all of y’all.

Moving forward, I’m going to take some time to rest up and heal up, then lift and build for the next year and a half, before prepping to compete again in about two years.  But this time, I think I want to go for women’s physique.  I love the posing and can’t get enough of it!

-Heather Ingalls

9-5-15