Biography

written by Mark Lopez

Lynnette began competing in Natural Bodybuilding last year and had only been training seriously for a year prior to that.  She placed second in her first appearance at the Ms. Utah Natural Championships in April '97, missing first place honors by a single point.  "Always the bridesmaid and never the bride," should be her competitive slogan, as she would eventually place second in her next three consecutive contests.  Lynnette would not stand for second billing for long, however, as with hard work and perseverence, she eventually secured a well-deserved first place win in her most recent event, the USA Natural National Championships.

At 5'6", Lynnette sheds 10 lbs. for her competitions, going from 140 lbs. to a solid 130.  She trains at the Gold's Gym in Layton, Utah, where she began weight lifting three years ago.  "It was a way to relieve stress," says Lynnette.  "I found that it controlled my weight and I liked how it was changing my body."  Taking the bodybuilding swami approach, this vibrant violinist says that, when it comes to proper training and diet, "I let my body decide what I need."

As a rule, Lynnette designs her weekly workout based on how her body feels.  Generally, though, she follows a four-day workout week.  Day One, she works legs, followed on Day Two by back.  Chest and triceps work is reserved for Day Three, while Day Four brings shoulder and triceps exercises.  Lynette rotates her abs, calves and forearms, doing at least one daily.  "During the offseason, I run after I work out about three times per week," she says.  "When I'm getting ready for a contest, I run six days a week and occasionally twice a day.  I will occasionally substitute other cardio for running."  After her last show, Lynnette began a training system that consists of maximum weights for 2-3 slow and controlled reps.  "I'll see how well it works at my shows this year," she says, allowing the contest judges to be the deciding factor in the success of her new routine.

Lynnette is the first to admit that her offseason eating habits are "not as clean as I would like."  During this time, she indulges in chicken, rice, veggies, some fruit and her essential food source year-round, steak.  "I am, however, known to binge on pizza, hamburgers and fries," she admits.  "Ten weeks prior to a show, though, I'm virtually carb-free.  During this period, I eat steak and eggs for breakfast and restrict my other meals to chicken, tuna and protein drinks every two hours throughout the day.  In all, I eat 5-6 meals per day with between 200-300 calories per meal."  Supplementing her often lenient diet, Lynnette uses Pro Complex and Larry Scott's Bio Phase supplements.

Lynette has come a long way since her days as a pudgy youngster in college.  Her first attempt to lose weight resulted in not only a loss of weight but of muscle mass and definition, as well.  Soon after this not-so-successful venture, Lynnette married her husband, Jeff Thredgold, an economist and professional speaker, and had two daughters.  After all this, she was unsuccessful at losing weight with aerobics alone and began weight lifting.  As a result, today she is a rising bodybuilding star and violinist who bring music to her fans' eyes.

- Excerpts as written and published by Mark Lopez, in Natural Bodybuilding Magazine; November 1998