“Not bad for a 44-year-old mother-of-two.”
FITNESS
It’s only her second year in competition, but fitness enthusiast Linda Stephens is already No. 1, several times over at that.
Competing June 30 in the NPC Hudson Valley Championship Stephens took first in the Open Figure contest in her height class.
The Darien resident who hails from Natick, Mass. then aced that win with the overall top prize.
And not to be outdone — by herself — Stephens went even a step further, racking up enough trophies to replace her weights, and workout with them instead.
“I also competed in Masters Figure 35-and-over and took first place!” said a thrilled Stephens.
“It was an amazing night for me. I beat some good competition and the woman I won against in open figure (all-age-groups) was 31!
“Not too bad for a 44-year-old mother-of-two.”
She has spent the last eight months of her “off season” still training hard.
“I spend endless hours in the gym working my shoulders, rear deltoids, lats, glutes and hamstrings in order to give going pro one — maybe last — effort this season,” she said. “This show has kicked off my quest for professional status within the International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) with a huge confidence boost.”
Stephens now looks ahead to Saturday when she will compete in the NPC Team Universe pro-qualifier in Teaneck, N.J.
“Then I’ll head to Pittsburgh to compete in Masters Nationals on July 21 and North Americans over Labor Day,” she said.
All are pro qualifiers.
‘Winning my pro card would be the ultimate accomplishment,” Stephens added. “But if I can take a top five placing at one of those shows I’d be extremely happy too.”
Stephens is a fitness trainer by trade, hanging up her shingle online at lindastephensfitness.com.
