Meet Maria (Nena) Villegas

By Staff Report
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Updated: February 25, 2018

Courtesy of Maria (Nena) Villegas

Complied by Tim Tibbs – First of all, I want to thank the Mix It Up Sports and
MuscleSport Magazine for this great opportunity. My name is Maria (Nena) Villegas. I’m a 38-year-old mother of 2 teenagers and from South America (Bolivia). I started on my fitness journey six years ago, with the first three in the form of doing track and field. But I saw myself looking too slim and wanted to have more muscle. My training was way too much cardio, as I was running 10 miles almost four times a week.

I started to research all about bodybuilding and one day, I walked into a gym and I met my trainer Carlos Gomez, who was a competitor years ago. We chatted a bit and he began training me the next day. I couldn’t even move, but I liked the feeling of my whole body aching with soreness. I have always been a person that takes risks and goes with the flow of things. So if I have to jump from an airplane, I would do it in a heart beat. I went back to Gomez after the first day – sore and all – and it’s been a number of years he has been my trainer. The results are incredible and I feel amazing.

A lot of people asked me if I want to compete or why I don’t compete. My response to that is I’m doing this because it’s my passion and I love it, especially when I wake up every morning at 5 am to hit the gym and kick some butt! This is my personal goal and a hobby. I like to motivate my friends and others to achieve their goals, not only on the physical part but to gain confidence and to prove to themselves, that everything is possible if you have discipline and commitment.