Nicole Duncan’s Flying High

Nicole Duncan is has found her groove on the IFBB Fitness stage and she’ll look to continue her hot streak this weekend. The always energetic Duncan will be flying high Friday night in Columbus as she competes in the 2010 Fitness International. I caught up with Nicole days out from her return to the Arnold stage. Check out what she had to say.

How did you find out you were invited to the Arnold?
I was driving home from training at the gym and chatting on the phone with my dear friend Debra Lavette. She screamed, “OMG! The Arnold list is posted! Let me call you back.” And I had to scream, “No wait! Stop! Don’t hang up. I want to know too!” She got quiet but I could tell that she was reading through the names. She named a few figure girls and it seemed to take her forever. She finally got to fitness and actually skipped over my name. She admitted she was moving too fast and got scared that I wasn’t invited. Then she screamed my name and we both started screaming. It was nice to have all the training and dieting validated. I had already started prep as most of us do just in case.

How many hours do you practice your routine a day?
Well, it’s more like 2-3 times a week about a month out from the show. I sometimes train for 30 minutes and sometimes it’s 2 hours. I go into the gym to tumble and work on my skills. I have a key to the gym and the owners are like my extended family. A lot of my routine practice is visualization. I put my iPod on repeat and listen to my routine music while busting it out on the elliptical. I like to know my music and have a visual picture of every movement. I know people think I’m crazy cause I’ll start moving my arms and marking the routine.

You’ve got some of the craziest gymnastic skills in your routine – what’s your background?
I started out as an energetic kid who use to run down the hallway at home and vault over the arm of the couch. My mom put me in gymnastics at 8 years old and I was competing 6 months later. My coaches were all about teaching technique and up until high school I would never throw anything outside of the gym. I love that I can still do this stuff but it definitely is not like it used to be. It takes me a lot longer to warm up and as a coach I realize that I have picked up a lot of bad habits that are harder to correct.

You’re already qualified for the Olympia – does this make you try new things or play it safe?
Definitely not playing it safe! There are all sorts of girls waiting in the wings to steal the routine spotlight. I always try to keep it fresh, new and exciting from beginning to end. I’m not getting any younger but the competition is! I think that’s cool though. It keeps me on my toes. I want the audience to see all of our routines and just love the show! We are the best at what we do and we all should display that and give our very best at each and every show.

Goal for the Fitness International?
Man, I just want to go out there and have fun! Really! Last year I was sick and I had a hard time putting contest prep first and getting into the grove of everything. This time I knew what to expect and was determined not let anything keep me from enjoying the process. I like to workout. I like to tumble and perform. And I love hanging out with the girls and going through a show. So yes, the goal is to have fun. That’s it.

Any insight on what routine you’ll consist of this year?
I’m planning a little something different for each show this year. This show’s routine is all about dancing and having fun. I took my inspiration from one of my favorite tv shows. Without spoiling the theme (as you know us fitness girls like to keep you in suspense), I hope to have the audience dancing in there seats . See you at the Arnold!

Good luck and Thanks Nicole.
Thanks Isaac!