IFBB Pro Female Bodybuilder Latorya Watts

IFBB Pro Female Bodybuilder Latorya Watts

The current Ms. Figure Olympia, Latorya Watts, did not start out as an A-List athlete. Contrary to that, this top-ranked competitor first hit the stage a little over 6 years ago as a mere NPC amateur bikini athlete. This is a far cry to the striated, well-muscled, confident Alpha-female that took the best-of-the-best crown in the bodybuilding world a few months ago.

But where did the journey begin for the 35-year-old 5’10” pro bodybuilder?

Latorya Watts bodybuilding journey

As stated earlier, Lartoya Watts made her first official debut in the bodybuilding arena back in 2010 as an average NPC athlete trying her hand in the sport. But it didn’t start well for her, as many would have imagined. After finishing last several times in multiple competitions, Latorya soon realised that she just wasn’t cut for that division and considered walking away from bodybuilding altogether.

Luckily for her, her personal coach Manuel Torres had already recognised her potential as well as her natural ability to add dense and quality muscle fast. He, therefore, knew that with a little inspiration, he and Latorya Watts could work something together and effectively come up with a winning physique. And that market the beginning of the turning point for Latorya Watts. A turning point that saw morph from an armature athlete to a pro-IFBB Olympia medalist.

Later on in 2011, Latorya Watts, with the encouragement of her coach, enrolled and registered for the NPC figure division. In that year’s summer competition, she emerged among the top 5 contestants – a notable improvement from the last place position that she was awarded by the NPC judges just a few months before. On December the same year, Latorya Watts finally clinched the top position in her hometown at the annual Las Vegas Classic Competition.

Latorya Watts first Win

After this remarkable win – the first one for her – Latorya Watts was now on her way to becoming one of the best bodybuilders in history. And she cemented this by taking the top spot by storm in the 2013 USA Championships and also earning her IFBB Professional Card at her debut national appearance. Her new IFBB status meant that she could now compete in the Ms. Olympia Level. She did this in 2014 and came in a distant 5th place although it was her first appearance at the highly competitive championship.

Latorya Watts breakthrough finally came in late 2015 when she stepped her game and scaled the heights of greatness to be crowned as Ms. Figure Olympia. At this point, it should be noted that Latorya won the coveted Ms. Olympia when she had less than 10 major shows under her belt. After this unprecedented show of excellence, Watts went directly from taking the top position back at her hometown in Vegas to winning several back-to-back titles in Australia and Ohio in the 2016 Arnold Classic competitions earlier this year.

This is arguably the highest level of achievement for most pro bodybuilders and for Latorya it was no mean feat either. On average, out of the several thousands of contesting bodybuilders who earn their IFBB pro cards every year, very few make it to the Olympia stage. And close to none will reach this pinnacle in under two years after receiving their pro status. But Latorya Watts happened to be one of them. And not just this, she is a pioneer given that she is currently she first black/colored Ms. Figure Olympia and consequently Ms. Figure International.

Latorya Watts Training Profile

To say that Ms. Watts trains hard is an understatement. Latorya training regimen is a specialised to emphasize her naturally broad shoulders and accentuate her tiny waist. In essence, this means that her point of strength as far as body building goes is based on creating a flawless V-taper complete with athletic shoulders.

For the lower body, Latorya and her coach Manuel typically concentrate on sculpting the hamstring-glute area. In addition to this, they will also focus on tieing-in this region to elevate her glute muscles and effectively create that elusive rounded, toned look.

That being said, Latorya doesn’t simply train like most other pro bodybuilders. She has also come up with a way of perfecting her stage presence and presentation by integrating it into her day-to-day lifestyle. This gives her an upper hand when it comes to the real competition as she won’t have to put on a show for the judges.

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