Astrid Páez, the bodybuilder who will carry the flag of La Graciosa in the Spanish Championship

The athlete from La Graciosa will also attend another competition in Portugal in the 'bikini fitness' category, where she will try to get on the podium.

October 24 2024 (21:09 WEST)
Updated in October 24 2024 (21:09 WEST)
Astrid Páez during the Canary Islands bodybuilding Championship

Bodybuilder Astrid Páez is a clear example that being born on a small island is no reason to limit yourself. Born in La Graciosa, the athlete decided five years ago to dedicate herself to bodybuilding after several health problems for which she was even in a coma and about to lose one of her legs. As a result, she began a new lifestyle and entered this world thanks to the support shown to her by her gym trainer

Bodybuilding is a sport that focuses on the cult of the body and seeks a certain aesthetic, which is why the qualifiers are divided into different categories, both for men and women. 

"Bodybuilding was something I liked but I never thought I could do that being such a small and skinny girl, and when I went to live in Mallorca I discovered that it was something different from what I thought and that it is actually a cult of the body", says Páez.

The athlete participated for the first time in a championship in 2022 and has recently participated in the Canary Islands Championship held on October 18 and 19. In this case, the bodybuilder achieved 4th place and in the Miss Universe she was 5th in the bikini fitness category, which is qualifying for other international championships.

"As I have obtained a classification among the top six, I can participate in other international championships. The next one I will attend will be the championship in Portugal, but the first one I will go to will be on November 10 to the one in Spain", she comments.

The athlete has obtained these tickets despite her classification because the organization has valued the great physical level she has. "I have not achieved this position because of having a bad physique or doing something wrong, but different aspects are valued", she clarifies. Thanks to the support shown by her colleagues and the organization, Páez assures that "she feels on cloud nine".

Astrid Páez en el Campeonato de Canarias
Astrid Páez in the Canary Islands Championship

 

Training and diet

The training she normally does is hypertrophic work. "I combine it with aerobic exercises such as swimming or walking, although the muscle-building exercises are usually very specific and hard", she says.

"Depending on the category you are in, certain things are requested, for example, in my category, in which they ask that what stands out the most are the glutes and shoulders, not something excessive but that they are well marked", she explains.

When a bodybuilder goes on stage, the judges analyze the physique of each participant and if a part of the body is not so worked, they indicate which one they have to train more. "In my case, I have been told that I should not do anything to my physique for the Spanish Championship, but continue training as I have done until now", says the athlete.

"They are currently trying to move away from that idea of the bodybuilder woman who looked rough and masculinized and to stop associating this concept so that it is something more harmonious and beautiful", she says. 

Regarding the diet in this type of sport, it is very specific although it always varies depending on the category and the metabolism of each person. "I can afford to eat many things and I have a fairly flexible diet where I eat almost everything and the only thing I am forbidden is saturated sugars", she declares.

Carbohydrates are something that Astrid Páez consumes quite a lot within her diet although normally in other girls, to enter this category as it is bikini fitness they should reduce a lot.

"I eat five to six times a day, trying not to let the body go more than three hours without eating and I eat two or three fruits a day and I ingest 700 grams of carbohydrates despite how small I am", she reveals with a laugh. 

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