Ashley Nordman

Health and Fitness Coach, Model, Figure Competitor

Ashley Nordman is an American figure athlete, fitness model, and CEO of her online company. She rose to fame by posting informational content on the web, including workout pictures and videos.

Growing up, Ashley was an athlete from an early age, taking part in sports such as soccer and cross-country running. However, even though she trained a lot, Ashley weighed only 45kg at 168cm of height.

Frustrated with this, she eventually left sports behind in order to focus on weightlifting. Ever since then, Ashley’s gone on to build an amazing physique, along with making her name in the industry as a respected fitness coach.

This is her story:

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“My journey as a trainer began at the gym just like many other fitness experts. But after a few years, I attended the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and became a certified online health coach where I learned how to help people have a healthier and more balanced life!”

Athlete Statistics

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Accomplishments

• Figure Competitor
• Health Coach & Trainer
• Fitness Model
• Beauty Company CEO

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Biography

Early Youth

Born and raised in a small town close to Chicago, Ashley Nordman was a sports enthusiast from her youth. Some of her favorite activities were soccer, track, volleyball, and softball.

In addition to these sports, Ashley also ran cross country tournaments.

This was a period during which Ashley built the foundations for her fitness career which she later started.

“Growing up, I played anything from Soccer to Volleyball to Track and Field. I was a tomboy as well, so getting sweaty and dirty was all I knew.”

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High School Track Days

During her time in high school, Ashley made her name as an excellent track & cross-country runner. She took part in races such as the championship of Illinois, and could run 16 miles per day.

However, even though she was in great form, Ashley didn’t really look like she wanted. She weighed 45kg at the height of 168cm.

This was something that didn’t sit well with Ashley, and was what ultimately led her to start her weightlifting journey.

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Turning to Fitness

After high school, Ashley went on to study for a degree in marketing and advertising. At the same time, she stopped running races, and instead, started training in the gym.

Although Ashley had a lot of experience in sports, she didn’t know much about lifting weights. But this soon changed once she began reading articles on training and nutrition.

“When I went to college, I decided that it was time for something new. I did research and read about all of the great benefits that came from weight lifting, which was something I had never really done before. So I started going to my university’s gym and lifted weights daily, and I quickly fell in love.”

Becoming a Competitor

In addition to researching fitness articles, Ashley also studied other bodybuilders at her gym, aiming to create the best workout plan for herself.

Slowly but surely, she started learning what works for her and what doesn’t. After a few months of training, Ashley already looked much more aesthetic than when she started her journey.

This progress, coupled with Ashley’s competitive nature, spurred her on to compete in bodybuilding shows. In 2012, Ashley took part in her first show and won it the same day.

After this, Ashley’s career as a competitor took off. From here on, she kept competing on a regular basis.

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Ashley Nordman Today

After her college days came to an end, so did Ashley’s career as a competitor. At this point, she realized she had enough of the competitive lifestyle, which was draining her both mentally and physically.

In time, Ashley returned to her hometown and began working on her new dream – becoming a fitness model and online coach.

Every day, Ashley worked hard advertising her services as a health coach and fitness trainer. Over the years, she successfully made her goals into reality and is now a fitness expert with a huge online presence.

“When I graduated college with a business degree, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do as a career. But my heart eventually pushed me to pursue something that I have always loved, which is health and wellness. I am now a personal trainer and absolutely love what I do.”

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Training

Ashley Nordman trains each muscle from a different angle with a wide range of exercises.

However, Ashley doesn’t lift as heavy as she can. She prefers to focus on the quality of the repetition, instead of quantity.

Ashley’s 3 Favorite Lower Body Exercises

When training her lower body, Ashley’s goal is to isolate legs and glutes without putting stress on other body parts – such as the lower back. This way, she’s able to focus on a single body part, in addition to reducing the chance of an injury.

Here are Ashley’s 3 favorite lower body exercises;

• Single-Leg Glute Bridge – “This is a great exercise for your glutes. All you really need is a bench and your body weight.”
• Goodmornings – “I like to change it up and use a barbell, and I hold it with my arms so that I’m not putting any stress on my low back.”
• Sumo Squats – “I like to do these just with a band and a light dumbbell.”

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Chest Workout

• Cable Crossovers, 3 sets of 12 reps
• Cable Chest Press on the Incline Bench, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Incline Chest Press Machine, 3 sets of 8-10 reps
• Push-Ups, 3 sets of 10 reps (pause at the bottom, explosive push to the top)
• Incline Flys, 3 sets of 8-10 reps

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“Thigh fat is a good sign. It means you have enough estrogen and that your hormones aren’t too suppressed. As women, we tend to carry fat around our thighs and under our butts because of good ol’ estrogen.”

Nutrition

Ashley Nordman believes that a good diet doesn’t just help a person lose weight. It also reduces inflammation in the body.

“I firmly believe that inflammation is the root of all disease. And most of this inflammation comes from our diet and our guts! Because of this, the first step towards tackling inflammation involves dietary changes, and focusing on gut healing!”

For this reason, she often makes foods with ingredients that suppress inflammation. Here’s an example of her favorite anti-inflammation smoothie;

Ashley’s Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie

Ingredients;

• Blueberries (1/2 cup) – This is one of Ashley’s favorite sources of antioxidants. Blueberries stimulate her digestive enzymes along with supporting the immune system.
• Cherries (1/2 cup) – Similarly to blueberries, cherries are loaded with flavonoids. These are powerful antioxidants, which improve Ashley’s digestive health.
• Ginger (1/2 tsp) – Ginger is one of Ashley’s go-to spices when it comes to reducing inflammation.
• Turmeric (1/2 tsp) – According to Ashley, turmeric contains curcumin which is a powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent.
• Chia seeds (1 tbsp) – Ashley uses chia seeds as one of her sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which are known for their anti-inflammatory properties.
• Walnuts (1/2 oz) – Walnuts are another source of omega-3s that Ashley puts in her smoothie.
• Probiotics – Probiotics help her with keeping a healthy gut flora. She puts the content of two probiotic capsules in every smoothie.
• L-Glutamine (2 scoops) – This is an amino acid, which helps Ashley repair any damage that exists in her gut, especially in the gut lining.
• Nut milk (1 cup) – Nut milk is another ingredient that Ashley loves, due to its anti-inflammatory properties.

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“Eating at a caloric deficit means that you need to be consuming fewer calories than you burn daily. So one easy way to figure this out is to track everything you eat over the course of a few days, see where your intake is at, and then slightly reduce your calories.”

What we can learn from Ashley Nordman

Ashley Nordman loved staying active since her early youth, however, she later started training in order to improve her figure even further.

Even though she faced many obstacles, such as mental and physical fatigue from constant training, Ashley never gave up. She kept her ambitions alive, and in the process, grew into a stronger individual.

If you want to make your own fitness goals a reality, then reading Ashley’s story can give you the inspiration to make it happen.