Thus ended the few short paragraphs we were able to spare for Jessica Booker Williams as she entered your Hot and Hard 100 list at a surprisingly modest #63. At that time, the swoony Jessica had only just competed for the very first time at the NPC Southwestern Championships. She had won the Novice Physique title, the Masters Physique title, and the Overall Open Physique title. Not a bad weekend's work.
And a couple of week's later she was victorious again at the Ronnie Coleman Classic.
These two winning shows enabled Jessica to set her sights on a national level contest later in the year, and the contest she chose was the IFBB North Americans - the very same show where we began the week with Theresa Ivancik. Now could you imagine two more different physiques than Jessica's and Theresa's?! But there they were, competing in the same division at the same show. Perhaps that is the beauty and the curse of Women's Physique - but that's a question for another day.
In her class (not the same as Theresa's), Jessica ended up 6th. Pretty sure I was the most conditioned competitor in my class, she wrote afterwards, but also definitely the smallest in terms of mass. She also took 4th in her Masters class - it's easy to forget she's in that age bracket when you look at her, and very hard to believe she's a mother and three children have come out of that incredible body, two of them at once!
Regular readers will know there are few things in the female muscle world I love more than a women who loves it up there and makes you feel it, and I reckon you can tell from the photos that Jessica is one of them. Believe it or not, I get nervous, says Jessica. I look at a competitor with more mass and my initial feeling is "uh-oh". But no way do I allow myself to entertain that feeling for long. If I don't believe in me, how can a judging panel believe in me? How can a crowd believe in me?
That oomph is, at least partly then, born from a confidence she forces herself to exude. Convince yourself that you can do it, she tells her Instagram followers (36,000 and counting), and suddenly, your confidence becomes infectious.
It bloody works, doesn't it?! And it seems the more she does it, the better it gets. I enjoyed every minute on the stage, she said of her North Americans' experience.
But it would be wrong of me to give you the impression that Jessica is all about the contests, all about the placings. Nothing could be further from the truth, in fact. We've noted before that she seemed to arrive on the fan forums with a fully-formed physique, ready to compete. With her Exercise & Sports Science and Physical Education degrees, I think we can safely assume that she has been living the lifestyle for quite some time, and it's the life she does it for, not the silverware. This is my lifestyle of choice, she explains. I enjoy pushing myself. I enjoy being disciplined. I enjoy getting better every day. If it was all about trophies or prep, I would have lost a long time ago.
After three babies, years in the workforce, and then becoming a stay-at-home mom, one day I began to wonder if this is how I would live and die, she says. I have ALWAYS had a hungry personality, always wanted to be pushed, always craved competitive challenges, and I needed to find that again in life somehow. Eight months ago, I wanted to make a change in life and pursue fitness to new levels.
The day after her shows this year you would have found her in the gym, exactly where she was the day before and pretty much every other day. Disciplined. Focused. Getting better. Always pursuing those new levels. Always stunning. I'm sure there are women who hate her for being so damn perfect, but I'm also sure others can't help but be inspired by this (in her own words) "sassy, classy and a bit badassy" alpha female.
It's a fairly common name, Jessica Williams. There is a bulkier and (forgive me) somewhat less attractive Jessica Williams, and there are (also somewhat less attractive) Jessica Williamses who compete in NPC Bikini and Figure as well. Our Jessica may have a common name, but she is one extraordinary (and extraordinarily attractive) woman. It's all in the attitude. Sometimes size isn't everything.
I've got such a crush on her.
Sweet Physique dreams. Tomorrow is a new week on FMS.
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