The past eight years have been an exciting time for Joe Cormier Bodybuilder Competitor and his wife Figure Competitor Monique Cormier. In 2008, they started their journey and became GoodLife Members losing over 200 pounds between the both of them.
They competed in their first Competition at the GNC OPA London Championships, where Monique won top place in both her categories and Joe won 3rd and 5th in his categories for that show. Since competing individually Joe and his wife Monique Cormier decided to compete as couples in the Mixed Pairs class bringing them to the Canadian Nationals July 23rd, 2016 were they placed second in Canadian Mixed Pairs.
They’ve been through a major transformation, both physically and mentally, and now North Bay power couple Monique and Joe Cormier are showing how their hard work and dedication are paying off. The two competed in the regional 2016 OPA Allmax Sudbury Classic Championship on Saturday, May 28th in Sudbury, Ontario, Monique’s hometown. Monique placed first in both Women’s Physique Masters and Mixed Pairs, and Joe placed 1st in Men’s Bodybuilding Grand Masters and 1st in Mixed Pairs. Six days following the regional show Monique and Joe competed in the Provincial Championships on Friday June 3 and Saturday June 4 in Toronto winning 3rd Place in Mixed Pairs qualifying for the Canadian Nationals.
Eight years ago, after Monique gave birth to their second child Troy, the two were out-of-shape and not feeling fit and healthy. They decided to change all that, and hit the gym. Working out, eating well and committing to their health soon became a way of life for the two, but they didn’t stop there. Motivation brought them to the competitive side of the fitness world, where they are already gaining success and recognition.
“So eight years ago it started, but the full journey of competition didn’t start until April 1, 2014 when we hired our first coach Mindi O’Brien and her husband Dennis Beitler, where we actually took it seriously and got a goal for November 22, 2014 to set foot on stage,” Monique shares.
Her coach, Mindi O’Brien, competed nine times in Miss Olympia, the largest competition in the world. While Monique was first to begin training, Joe quickly followed, and though she made her intention to compete very public, Joe kept his plans a secret. While he had been into bodybuilding some years ago, getting on the competitive circuit at age 50 was a little intimidating, he admits.
“I didn’t know if I could do it or not, the eating was tough at first,” he laughs, but today he couldn’t see himself eating any differently. “I can’t go back to the chicken wings, the beer, the pizza, I don’t crave that at all."
The new lifestyle also prompted a career change for Monique. After working in politics for many years, and owning a business, she says she wanted something else.
She recalls the day in May 2013 that she decided to revamp her entire professional life and become a personal trainer. “I was sitting in the bathroom at Good Life [gym], where I’m a member, and [there was a poster that] said ‘do you want to change people’s lives, do you want a career in fitness’ and I said ‘absolutely’,” she remembers. “I turned my passion into a career.”
She adds that her decision to start competing also came from wanting to prove to her clients that anything is possible. She is still focused on helping beginners, and that means showing them where she started and where she is now, to encourage them on their own journey.
“I was satisfied with my weight, but then I wanted to become a competitive athlete with becoming a personal trainer,” Monique says.
Joe admits that the lifestyle change has seen its challenges, including meal preparations, and getting their two young boys, ages 10 and 7, also included in the clean eating.
“It’s changing the lifestyle, period,” Monique adds. “It’s learning how to prep your food, doing the proper grocery lists, not giving in to those temptations.”
Another big challenge for the two was interrupting their busy social lives in order to prepare for competition, as Monique says many people don’t understand everything that’s involved.
“If you want to take it seriously, and you want to win some competitions, you have to make the sacrifice,” Joe points out. “You can’t skip a workout and you have to train every muscle in your body if you want to be a competitive bodybuilder.”
Monique adds that rest is also a big component of training, which means going to bed early and getting up early. However the sacrifices are paying off, and both say they feel amazing. Joe says he also feels focused and having lost 60lbs from the time he started training, he has more energy, and is able to play hockey and run with the kids, something he was not able to do before.
"I was always sleepy before, now I'm awake," Joe beams.
They share that during Monique's pregnancy, Joe gained 'sympathy weight'. "If your wife is pregnant and she is going through that, the way I thought about it is it’s not fair for her that I go to the gym (...) and she can't, so I stayed home with her." he explains.
Monique says she was always a runner and was always involved in weight training, but bodybuilding is what really got her competitiveness juices flowing.
Joe also did weight lifting when he was younger, and dreamed of competing, but as he got older he thought that was no longer possible. When Monique began competing, he found out about the different divisions open to older men, he decided it was time to live out his dream. Part of their preparation was to attend a few competitions as spectators, but Monique says that did not fully prepare them for just how physical and emotional the day would be for them as participants.
"It's more than I thought it would be," she says.
She recalls her very first competition in London when they were calling out the fifth, fourth, third, second place finishers, she was devastated, thinking she had not placed the winner's circle. It never occurred to her that she had won first place being her first competition, "then they called my name, I was in shock," Monique remembers.
Joe says the whole experience was fun, and he was certainly thrilled to earn top spots in his very first event. Both qualified to move on to the Provincial Championships 2015 where both Monique and Joe did not place top 5 to qualify for the Canadian Nationals.
But this did not stop the powerhouse couple, more determined and motivated to win and represent Northern Ontario on the National stage, they both continue to train as a team. This determination brought both Joe and Monique to the National stage 1 year later and they are proud that they never gave up and continued training and believing that it was possible.
"The first thing on Monday morning, I was back at the gym and giving it as hard as the day before the competition," Joe says.
Along with preparing for their second Provincial Championships, Monique and Joe began filming for season 2 of the Reality TV Show called 'Radical Body Transformation". Monique and Joe were selected 2 out of 20 women and men competitors across North America. The show will follow both Monique and Joe throughout Canada and the US as they work with elite trainers to get their body into their all-time best condition, with the payoff usually being a contest.
