Physique of the Month

In 2004, Michelle Candelaria was in a situation unlike anything she’d ever encountered before. Pregnant with twins, the tiny blonde had gained 50 pounds and had to be hospitalized twice for premature labor. After over a month of bed rest, she gave birth to two healthy, beautiful babies by emergency C-section. But Michelle didn’t let her health scares get to her. Within a mere two months, the determined athlete had dropped ALL of her pregnancy weight.

Michelle is no stranger to fitness. A perpetual athlete, she joined her first gym when she was 16 years old. In 2002, Michelle picked up a bodybuilding magazine and hasn’t looked back since. “A muscular physique is perfection,” Michelle says, and by looking at her pictures, you can tell she follows that principle.

Raising twins can be a full-time job of its own, but Michelle still finds time for a full-time job. She manages a web team for a large corporation located near Chicago, where she currently resides. She also moonlights as a fitness model and personal trainer. It’s amazing and inspiring to think of the amount of things this woman packs into a single day! Michelle finds motivation in her trainer/nutritionist boyfriend. Also an avid bodybuilder, Chris pushes Michelle to be her best and keep her focus. Another important player in Michelle’s life is her father, who, as a 30-year military veteran, first taught her discipline. Finally, she admires Jenny Lynn for her combination of charm and physique. It’s clear that Michelle’s got those attributes, too. Managing a high-powered career, raising a family, and building the perfect body are not for the faint of heart – but Michelle Candelaria has what it takes to make it happen!

Name: Michelle Candelaria
Age: 29
Location: Chicago, Illinois suburbs
Occupation: Web team manager, fitness model and personal trainer
Goals: Lean down a bit more, drop a little more body-fat and bring up shoulders a bit
Favorite Food: A good old fashioned burger and fries
Favorite Workout: Legs! It’s a killer workout! Definitely the most difficult and challenging of all of them.
Hobbies: Photography, Web/graphic design, Gardening.
Favorite Movie: “For Love of the Game”, with Kevin Costner. There’s a line in the movie where he says something like, “It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, as long as you gave it everything.”
Favorite Book: “Changes that Heal” by Henry Cloud