 This month's 21 Questions focuses on IFBB Fitness Pro,
Shannon Meteraud. Shannon is a unique story in that she is not
only a professional fitness competitor, but in the middle of her
career, had a beautiful baby girl, then snapped right back less than a
year later to compete again! In addition to her insight on the
world of fitness, we are going to find out how she balances her
professional career with motherhood and what it was like trimming down
from pregnancy back to a svelte fitness physique.
1) Mayhem: Shannon, please give us a little background information on yourself: a. Age: 34—Ouch! b. Where you grew up? Charleston, SC c. Where you live currently? Charleston, SC d. Who or what made you become interested in competing?  SM:
I used to look through the magazines and see the girls that were
competing and thought, "I could do that". In 1994, I went to the Galaxy
competition to watch a friend and that sparked my interest a lot.
I ran through the obstacle course at night, while she was practicing
and ran a qualifying time for the finals so that really put me in the
mind-set to compete. e. How long have you been competing? SM: My first contest was a Bodybuilding show in 1994. Then I competed in the Galaxy in 1995, which I placed 2nd
to Mia Finnegan and won the obstacle course. I also competed in
Marjo Selin's Maui SuperFitness, which I won. After a few years
of doing obstacle course competitions and feeling like I wasn't being
treated as an athlete, my now husband, Tres Bennett, talked me into
doing the SC State Fitness Competition in 1998, which I won and I
haven't looked back since. 2) Mayhem: When did you turn pro and what was the event? SM: I turned pro in 1999 at the USAs. 3) Mayhem: Before turning professional in the fitness industry, what career path were you following? SM:
I graduated with a BS in Sociology with a Health Minor. I started
working in a gym before I graduated and fell in love with the whole
fitness industry. I knew that I wouldn't pursue my degree and I
would always work in a gym/fitness facility. I managed a few and
always worked as a personal trainer, which I still do now.  4) Mayhem:
You are married to body builder, trainer and gym owner, Tres
Bennett. Is he also your trainer and does he assist you in your
competition preparation? If so, does this ever put stress in your
relationship and how do you separate your personal and professional
relationship? SM: When I was gunning for my Pro
card and for the first 2 years after I turned pro, Tres trained and
dieted me. Since the birth of our daughter, it is a lot more
difficult to get the both of us in the gym at the same time. So
now, I train myself, but he still is my nutrition guru. It never
put stress on our relationship. It actually made me train harder
because he expected so much out of me and pushed me so hard. I
never wanted to disappoint him. I always listen to
him when he diets me because he has been doing it for so long. He
diets many people for shows and sometimes I feel neglected, but in the
end, I always end up being ready for the show. 5)
Mayhem: A large majority of the fitness pros come from a
background of either dance, gymnastics or cheerleading and sometimes a
combination of the above. What type of background did you have
going into fitness competitions? SM: I was a cheerleader from 6th grade through college.  6)
Mayhem: Are there any elements of the routine that you personally
find challenging, more than others? SM: The
required strength moves come easy for me. I have always been
flexible so the splits are easy. I do have short arms so some of
the strength holds that aren't required are more difficult (like pull-
throughs). I'm not a gymnast by any means. I can do a few
things that I learned during my cheerleading days. However, I
refer to my gymnastics as backyard gymnastics. 7)
Mayhem: The way fitness stands now, the make up is two parts
physique and two parts routine. However, do you feel too much
emphasis is being put on routine rather than physique? SM:
No, but I do feel that you are labeled as a routine girl or a physique
girl. If a physique girl has a good routine, I feel she can be
sometimes overlooked, even if she improves, but if a routine girl
improves her physique, her physique placements do seem to go up. 8)
Mayhem: In relation to the routine, do you feel the routines are
scored more on crowd response rather than the required elements of the
routines? SM: If you are talking about the
mandatory routine, I again feel it goes back to if you are a routine
girl or physique girl. It's hard to judge a routine based on
mandatory moves when there is so much other "fluff" in the
routine. I mean the music you choose as well as how you
transition from one mandatory move to another is definitely factored
in. I do not feel the judges score based on crowd response.
It just might seem that way because usually the crowd responds better
to the better routines. 9)
Mayhem: That being said, I have asked many of the girls how they
feel about the fact that even though tumbling is NOT a requirement in
the fitness rules, it seems as though the contest are turning into
gymnastics meets. Do you feel there should be a "ceiling" put on
tumbling runs - say they shouldn't count no matter how difficult, as
much as a required movement?  SM:
It's hard to disregard tumbling. I judge at the regional
level, so I am speaking from experience. I feel that if a girl
can tumble than that is her advantage. But if its overkill and she
doesn't show other skills, she should be scored down. If a girl
cannot tumble or her tumbling skills are "scary" than she should not do
them. The girls should be scored on their strengths of their
routine. A good routine should have a mix of dance, strength,
flexibility and tumbling (if they can). 10)
Mayhem: You received a great blessing with the birth of your
daughter. However, coming in the middle of your career, was this
planned or a surprise? SM: Huge Surprise!
Definitely not planned but yes a wonderful blessing. I was
training for the Fitness International 2001. I found out I was
pregnant 7 weeks from the show, needless to say, I had to withdraw from
the show.  11)
Mayhem: I would think competing again would help give you a goal
to lose your pregnancy weight, however did you always know that after
your daughter's birth you would go back to competition? SM:
I knew that I definitely would compete again. My competitive
juices were still flowing. Even when I was pregnant, I trained as
if I was getting ready for a show (just with lighter weight). I
had set my goal to use the Fitness International 2002 as my comeback
show and to be the first to compete after having a baby. 12)
Mayhem: Was it difficult to lose your weight after the baby was
born and how soon after were you able to exercise again? What
were some of the emotions you went through on your road back to
competing? SM: Since I already made the goal to
compete at the Fitness International 2001, I ate pretty clean. I
was lucky and didn't have any bizarre cravings. I only gained 15lbs
during pregnancy. In addition, I was 9 weeks early so I didn't
have the last 2 months of weight gain. It wasn't necessarily
difficult to lose the weight, but it was a different kind of weight to
lose. I gained it in places I don't normally gain weight as well
as the familiar female weight gain spots. Plus your body gets
somewhat squishy. Therefore, it seemed like it took longer than
normal to start seeing results. I gave birth on a Friday and was
back in the gym on Monday doing cardio. The emotions I went
through were probably disbelief that I actually was a mom and that I
was given such a precious gift! I would look at her every day and
think "Oh my God, I actually gave birth to this beautiful baby".
It is the most awesome emotion any women can ever experience. Along
with that I had feelings of determination to compete again mixed with
being overwhelmed with my new responsibilities . 13)
Mayhem: I've seen you compete several times since having your
baby and your skin looks great. Did you ever worry during your
pregnancy or after that you would have loose skin or stretch
marks? SM: I read that stretch marks were hereditary and
neither my mom nor my sisters ever had them. But to be on the
safe side, I used a Clarins skin product (can't remember the name) on
my belly every night 14) Mayhem: For
those women out there who are worried about these issues, did you
follow any rituals during your pregnancy to prevent the onset of
stretch marks and loose skin, or do you have any tips for mothers to be
out there who want to stay in shape during pregnancy?  SM:
Except for the Clarins product and healthy eating habits, I
didn't do any rituals. For tips for mothers to be, I would
definitely tell them to follow a safe exercise program and healthy
diet. And most importantly, get as much sleep as possible because once
the baby is born, you never sleep again!
15)
Mayhem: Today, many ob/gyn's will encourage working out during
pregnancy where it used to be considered taboo. What type of
workout were you able to follow during your pregnancy and did it
include both weight training and cardio and how far into your pregnancy
were you able to continue your workouts? SM: Any
mother to be should definitely continue to workout, with their doctor's
approval and follow a healthy nutrition plan. I can honestly say
I never really felt the downside of pregnancy. And I contribute
that to my healthy lifestyle. I didn't change anything except for
the weight when I worked out and a few exercises. I was still
running bleachers when I was 7 months pregnant and was doing cardio
when I went into labor. 16) Mayhem: Do you feel your workouts made your delivery easier, how did it help? SM:
Most definitely. And it probably helped that she was only 3lbs
10oz. The doctor told me to think of it as a workout. I was going
to do 3 sets of 10. I pushed 3 times and she was out in 10
minutes. 17) Mayhem: Fitness competition is
very demanding in terms of time spent to get ready for a show - not
only do you have to train, but you must work on tumbling, dance, your
routine, etc. How do you find the time to balance being a mother
and spending all the time necessary to prepare for a show? Do you
ever feel badly for spending the time on a competition - as in does it
make you feel as though you aren't spending enough time with the
baby?  SM:
Thank God for my mom! She's been the best. I'm blessed with
having my family all around me. I can usually get my mom or my
sister to watch her. So I scheduled things around the times I
could get a sitter or Tres could watch her. The older she has
gotten the easier it has become. She entertains herself pretty
well. Yes, I do feel badly for taking time away from her.
In addition, you feel tired and edgy when you diet, and you have to
remember that she needs your constant attention. She does travel
with us for the most part. If I'm competing, we usually take a
friend/my mom along to help out. The routine practice is what
really takes up your time, which brings us to the next question. 18)
Mayhem: With the onslaught of the new Pro Figure Division, where
do you see Pro Fitness going? Do you think this will hurt fitness
or help it to grow? Have you ever thought of competing in Figure,
or are you strictly staying in Fitness? SM: I do not see that
Figure will change anything with the Pro Fitness division. I
think it is great to have another division that can draw girls to
competition. It probably makes the competition harder for the
Fitness athletes because better quality routines are going to show
up. Because of the time routine practices takes away from my
daughter, I have wrestled with the idea to switch to Figure. Not
to mention, the wear and tear it has on my body. I'm not getting
any younger and Figure still gives me a venue to compete in my old age!
19) Mayhem: With the lack of money in the
sport for women today, is competition more of a hobby for you, with the
prospect of using your celebrity to make money other ways in the
sport? How do you view this and what would you do to bring more
money to the sport? SM: Well I can definitely say
that I compete because I love the sport. If I were doing it for
the money, I would have stopped years ago. My placings haven't
brought home "the bacon" by any means. And if you feel you can
make a career out of this, you need to re-evaluate. There are
only a select few that can do that and they usually have another job as
well. When the time comes that competing isn't fun for me any
more is when I'll stop. It seems to me that the supplement
companies, magazines, and equipment companies are the ones who are 
benefiting from the athletes. They should put in more money for
the competitors. I feel that at the Fitness Olympia (since you
have to qualify) and the Fitness International (since its invitational)
all placings should receive prize money. 20) Mayhem: If you could change only one thing in the industry, what would that one thing be? SM:
I would love to see them put in a round that wasn't subjective.
All 4 rounds in the Fitness Division are subjective. If we could
take out the mandatory routine round; require the mandatory moves in
the 2 minute routine, and put in a round that was not subjective;
I believe there would be a chance for a different winner at each show.
I know that they tried this in the beginning with the versa climber or
rower, but I think they could come up with something. Maybe put
in an obstacle course or a race or something that requires athletic
ability that can be scored without subjectivity. 21)
Mayhem: Body builders and in your case, fitness athletes, are
viewed by the public as having "superhero" comic book physiques.
With this in mind, if you were a superhero, what power would you posses
and what good would you do with it? SM: Wow that
is a tough question. If I were a superhero, I would want to
possess all the powers so that I could be a Super Super Hero. But
if I could only choose one that would benefit others, I guess it would
be that I could freeze time. If I could freeze time, I could stop
unfortunate events before they happened. Then I would be able to
prevent somebody from going through misfortunate times. Maybe
even be able to erase misery all together.
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