After a second place finish at the Leigh Brandt Muscle Classic, bodybuilder Mikayla Custance has qualified to compete for her pro card at the Vancouver PRO/AM & EXPO Show in July, sanctioned by the International Federation of Body Builders.
Custance competes in the all-ages open figure category. Judges assess athletes’ conditioning and musculature, appraising definition and symmetry.
This is Custance’s first time competing in the open figure category. Before that she had competed in bikini fitness, which she describes as “almost pageant with muscles.” She competed at nationals in Winnipeg in 2016, and received feedback that she was getting too muscular for the category. After a year-long hiatus, Custance chose to return to the sport and compete in figure. The Leigh Brandt Muscle Classic was her debut.
“I was excited to come in second for sure because I was doing well in the other [category] and I hadn’t been on stage for a year,” she said.
Custance has been competing for six years, and calls it a 24/7 sport. Training for bodybuilding competitions can be gruelling, requiring athletes to follow a strict diet and fitness schedule. Custance’s regimen involves lifting weights five to six days a week, cardio twice a day and visiting Langley each weekend where her coach, Darren Toma, assesses her progress and gives guidance on posing.
“That would be my weekend – training, posing, eating, sleeping,” said Custance, who trains out of Sluggers gym in Gibsons.
Toma called Custance’s second place finish a major success. “It’s a huge transition from bikini to figure. It’s totally two different things,” he said, adding that it takes time to build lean muscle while sticking to a diet that allows athletes to stay healthy. “You have to train your back and quads and chest and arms a lot more. With bikini you’re not doing a lot of volume for back and lats and just a little for your shoulders,” he said.
“She’s got amazing body parts. Her back, her shoulders, her legs.”
As for the Vancouver event, Toma said it’s much larger, with women competing from every province. “It’s essentially a national championship. I think she’s definitely up for it… When she decides she wants to do it, she’ll do it. She’s dedicated.”
