Lights, camera, action: The stage was set. Katherine Young’s debut to show the world her transformed body drew nearer as she reminisced on the amount of sweat it took to stand on the stage of her first National Physique Committee competition.

Young, senior in kinesiology and certified personal trainer, decided to start competing because she wanted to set a goal that would really challenge her. After transferring to Iowa State from Northern Iowa and leaving the women’s soccer team, she missed the competitiveness of playing a sport.

“I have grown enormously in my discipline, responsibility and accountability,” Young said. “You have to be self-motivated. You have to genuinely believe that there is always room for growth and improvement.”

Young has lost more than 20 pounds and converted more than 10 percent of fat into lean muscle tissue. Before competing, she said she never followed any type of workout plan and would do random exercises day by day with no specific goal in mind. But once she started her competition preparation, it was easier to find motivation to carry on.

“I am huge into goal setting and dreaming big,” Young said. “I absolutely refuse to leave anything in me after a workout. My mentality is all or nothing.”

Young recommended that students switch up their workout routines. She said that curling the same amount of weight every day with the same amount of sets and reps isn’t going to give any progress.

“My biggest piece of advice is not to be afraid of lifting heavy weight,” Young said. “Especially for women, it is physiologically impossible to get manly or bulky like most people believe, because we don’t have enough testosterone to do so.”

Young’s typical weekly workout consists of lower body on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and upper body on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As for cardio, it varies anywhere from two to four times a week with either high intensity interval training or moderate intensity steady state.

Along with sticking to a healthy workout routine, Young also follows a healthy diet. Her diet consists of primarily macros, which are protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats. She also incorporates micronutrients and a supplement with a multi-vitamin every day.

“It seems the majority of people, especially girls, think they should eliminate carbs from their diet,” Young said. “This couldn’t be more wrong. Carbs are our major fuel source. Keep them in your diet.”

Young explained how this transformation has not only gotten her in the best physical shape of her life but has also strengthened her mentally.

“It’s important to not get hung up on other people because everyone will progress at different rates,” Young said. “As long as I am a better version of myself today than I was yesterday, I am successful.”

Young plans to continue her journey competing in hopes to earn her professional card at the National Bodybuilding Championships in Miami this November.