While some train all year round for bodybuilding competitions, Cayman’s Jaimi-Leigh Jenner hit the stage for the first time with only a couple of months of dedicated training after giving birth to her second child.
“I started training with coach Troy [Thornton] when I was about seven months postpartum, after giving birth to my baby boy,” Jenner told the Compass.
Despite facing top competition at the Fitness, Muscle, Glamour (FMG) Dallas Show on Sunday, 14 July, Jenner pulled off a second-place finish against 20 other women in her debut bodybuilding show.
Her podium placement in the bikini modal category followed many sacrifices and hard days, she recalled, particularly juggling her family life.
“I knew this was something that I wanted to do,” she said, while admitting that “it wasn’t going to be easy”.
“It’s early mornings, late nights and pushing yourself … you really have to have the mindset; to be disciplined to get up every day and work your hardest and make sure that your family is being nurtured as well.”
For Jenner, she was grateful to have Damenian Maxwell – her husband who has also found success in bodybuilding.
She noted that, because he understood the demands of the sport, he took charge of the kids to allow her to chase her dreams, although she remained a hands-on mother.
“Max is an incredible father, and him having competed before and done so well, definitely helped him to understand what I need to do to achieve my goals, and he was very supportive,” she said. “It was a big transition for our family, and I won’t say that it is easy. It’s not for the faint of heart. Bodybuilding is an extreme sport, people need to be reminded of that.”
Damenian Maxwell
Although the sport offers its challenges, Jenner pulled off a supermom silver medal – one earned with nerves and no expectations, noting that she was just focusing on putting her best foot forward.
“Once I saw the numbers and the amount of competitors there were, I was, like, this is going to be a tough competition because everyone is bringing their best, all of the girls have worked incredibly hard,” she said. “I didn’t set any expectations on how everything would run, I just put myself in the best position that I possibly could.”
‘Prioritise time for yourself outside of motherhood’
Outside of getting her body prepared for competition, Jenner said that going to the gym has also benefited her in other ways, and she encourages mothers especially to take their mental health seriously.
“As a mother … you really do need to prioritise time for yourself outside of motherhood, so you can show up and be the best mother, wife, person that you can be to nurture your family and keep moving forward,” she said.
“You need to build your family up and, in order to do that, you need to be strong mentally and physically, but it starts mentally first,” noting that exercise is a good way to prevent mental health issues.
Seven in 10 women are affected by postnatal depression, which can last from days to over a year. Research also shows that people who exercise regularly have better mental health and emotional well-being.
“Exercise is the best thing that you can do for your mental health, not just from an aesthetic, physical appearance perspective, but just the benefits that you get from moving your body and staying active,” Jenner added.
“Getting out of the house and having something to do; to focus on you because you’ve just been through an ordeal, giving life.”
Jenner, no doubt, could motivate many other mothers to follow a similar path and they’ll have more opportunities to be inspired in the future as she suggested that her time competing has just begun.
“I definitely plan to compete again,” she said. “Coming in second is an incredible achievement for my first competition and I have a lot of people to thank for that, but second means there is room for improvement.”
She thanked her coach, Troy, Lynn Green from The Posing Institute, and her husband for their help on her journey to her first bodybuilding competition and, by extension, a medal.
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