FERN ASSARD

Physique Profile Series: The Hottest Bodies Talk. Hear What They Say

Name:: FERN ASSARD
Alias:: "Ms. Fitness"
Age:: 39
Home Base:: Waterford, CT
Day Gig:: Dental Accounts Manager
Body Props:: Featured in Andrew Oye's "The Oye Body Survey" Physique Profile Series, 2007 FAME/WNSO Fitness Model PRO Masters 35+, NPC Northern States figure 1st Place Masters 35+ (and Open Class 4th Place), Musclemania/Fitness Atlantic 6th Place Figure Open, RI Natural Ocean State Figure 2nd Place masters 35+. Star of "Getting Hardcore with MsFitness" video series on bodybuilding.com and forum Rep for Gaspari Nutrition. Is that all? Ok, it’s only been less than 2 years...give me time! I joined a gym in April 2006, got the guts to enter the weight room in November and stepped on stage 5 months later. No trainer, no nutritionist, just me and a dream. I am a “before-and-after” transformation. I was a size 2 and still saggy and out of shape, so I become anorexic and dropped to 98 lbs. I was depressed, tired and still not happy. Now I weigh 123 and am a size 2! Skinny is a bad word!
Body Battle Cry:: “Single mother of four! What’s your excuse?”
Connect:: www.myspace.com/blondtemptress1

1. What two words best describe your build/physique/figure? Why?: I suppose I would describe myself as "a work in progress." I have a tomboy shape, but am building curves all the time. I try not to be too big or too small, but just right. But I haven’t decided what “just right” is for me yet.
2. What part of your body deserves to be honored in the “Physique Hall of Fame?” Why?: My abs. For the simple fact that my abdomen has been stretched to at least 44 inches 4 times and yet it is now toned and muscular...and kinda freaky.
3. When did you first realize your body was sexy, appealing or exemplary?: I don't know if there was a 'pivotal' moment. As I started to lose fat and gain muscle, I felt sexier and stronger emotionally and physically. People started visiting my site more often and calling me ‘inspiring.’ I never saw myself in that way before I started working out. Being perceived as someone else's “goal’ is really the biggest form of flattery.
4. In the quiet moment before you begin a workout, what’s the first thing that goes through your mind? And what is the last thing that goes through your mind as you conclude a workout?: I always think of the people from my past who have squashed me. Then I think of standing on stage presenting a body that defies my age with a huge smile on my face, knowing that no matter what anyone has done to me in the past, it is within me to overcome my demons. I think of the movie 300 sometimes. The will is sometimes stronger than the man himself. My last thought is. "Man, I gotta go home?"
5. Who is your physique/fitness idol or role model, and what body part would you steal from that person for a day?: Oh, that’s an easy one. Monica Brant. She is the total package, but she has these glutes that just make you say, "Wow, I want that butt!”
6. Who or what inspires you to accept the daily challenge of building your physique/figure?: Helping people inspires me to continue doing what I am doing. I am the ultimate underdog and perhaps if people can see that if a single mother of 4 can get fit, so can they. I also get letters from people who are depressed and out of shape and they really want to change but don't know where to start. If I can help them change and like themselves and gain some confidence, that is priceless motivation.
7. If someone wrote a book or song about your body, what would it be called?: That’s a difficult question to answer. Jon Basedow already has “Fitness Made Simple: Change Your Body, Change your Life." Ha-ha! I would want something funny like "Diary of a Gym Addict: The Secret Gym Life of MsFitness and How Not to be a Wuss in the Weight Room."
8. Your name appears as an option on a restaurant menu, and you order the dish/beverage. What food/drink does the waiter deliver to your table?: “The MsFitness” would probably consist of a turkey burger, brown rice and broccoli. A little boring, but its clean. What am I supposed to say? Burger and cheese fries?
9. What would a talking mirror say about your body if you stood naked in front of it?: "Stop obsessing. You look fine!" But It might also say, "If I have to see one more figure back pose, I am going to hurl."
10. If you received the ultimatum: workout or die— but your other favorite thing was simply too hard to resist— what is that one other thing you love (besides loved ones, family, friends, etc.) so much that you would actually choose it over your “final workout?”: Damn, that’s another hard question. I am obviously most passionate about fitness, but I suppose it would have to be lying on a beach in the sun, listening to the waves and reading a book. It’s quiet time. It’s peaceful, and in the right location the water appears to go on forever. As you can tell, I don't get much peace in my life.