Julie Bourassa is a 36 year old French Canadian bodybuilder. She is nothing to sneeze at. She stands 5’5″ and weighs 180 lbs off season when she isn’t competing. She usually competes at 160-165 lbs. She works a “day job” as a teacher of special needs students.
After reading about Julie, I really appreciate who she is and what she does. Even regular readers of this blog have different interests and preferences – some would say Julie is just too muscular. She is definitely carrying some mass and vascularity, and is a true female bodybuilder. But what I’m getting at goes deeper than that. Julie lifted weights and followed the bodybuilding lifestyle for a long time before she competed. Some people get into fitness and bodybuilding to try to make a buck or two, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Some seek the fame and the applause. Some, like Julie, appear to do it because they truly love it.
The amount of work and dedication to the sport that’s evident when I see the fruits of her labor (her body) is significant. In July of this year, Julie placed 1st as a heavyweight in the NPC Southern States in Miami at 140 lbs. Now think about what it takes to go from 180 or even 160 down to 140 for a competition. Amazing.