Janika Jürgenson and her journey into bodyfitness

Janika Jürgenson speaks candidly here about how bodyfitness became part of her life, without dressing up the story. This is the story of a young athlete for whom the gym is more than somewhere to work out a couple of times a week: it is part of her daily routine, her thoughts and her confidence.

Why Janika Jürgenson chose this path

Ask Janika what sport she does and she gives an honest answer: she is a gym fanatic by profession. She competes in the bodyfitness -163cm category. The discipline itself is a little difficult to define. Its roots lie in bodybuilding, but overall impression, posture, conditioning and a balanced, feminine physique also count on stage.

On 4 June 2010, it will be just two years since she started going to the gym. That sounds like a short time, but listening to her, you sense that the decision did not happen overnight. She even says the better question would be how the sport found her, rather than how she found the sport. In 2008, that feeling simply began to grow.

The simple truth is that some people try working out, while others get hooked. Janika clearly belongs to the latter group. As she puts it, her gut told her she had to pursue bodyfitness. Looking back, that instinct was right.

How Janika Jürgenson trains and progresses

Janika began working with Marek Kalmus in mid-April 2010. She describes it as the right move and says it has paid off in every way. A coach plays a major role in a sport like this, because conditioning takes more than hard training. You need a plan, patience and the judgment to ease off at the right time.

Janika is modest about her sporting achievements. She does not talk herself up. What matters to her is improving on her previous performance at every competition. That is a good benchmark, because stage condition is not built for a single competition day alone. It develops over weeks and months.

Her trump card is in her passport. Her year of birth means she can compete in the junior category for several more years. That also means traveling outside Estonia, which is a bigger undertaking than competing at home, mainly because of the transport involved. The goal is clear: to make it to competitions, to get where she feels she belongs.

So what actually motivates her? Janika says she may have needed motivation for tough workouts at first, but the gym is now part of her life. These days, it is everyday tasks and socializing that require motivation. Going to the gym has become second nature.

Nutrition, family and daily discipline

Bodyfitness does not end when your workout is over. Much of the work comes down to what you do in the kitchen, how you sleep and whether you can stick to your choices. Janika says she eats a high-quality diet. It suits her. What she finds harder is seeing people who live to eat.

Her family had to get used to it, too. Her mother initially thought she would get bored after ~3 months. Her father gave her strange looks, her grandmother cried out in dismay, and her grandfather quietly watched from the sidelines. Many young athletes will recognize that reaction. Those closest to you see the change, but do not immediately understand how seriously you take it.

Later, her mother began following the sport and cheering them on. During the European Championships in the Netherlands, she came into Janika’s room late one evening and asked: “How did our men do?” That little sentence says a lot. When your family starts taking an interest in your sport, everyday life as an athlete becomes easier, too.

Her family did not have much adjusting to do when it came to her training habits, because Janika simply was not at home while she was working out. Nutrition was more complicated. She now has one firm rule: nobody is to comment on her diet. Frankly, that is a very familiar boundary for many athletes.

She takes a similarly matter-of-fact approach to supplements. She uses enough to meet her body’s needs, within what she can afford. This is no grand promise or sales pitch; it is real life. A young athlete has to make choices and work within their means.

Janika Jürgenson and life outside the gym

Sport has its downsides, too. Janika names isolation from social life as one of the worst. That does not mean sport is bad; it means a serious goal takes up space in your life. Some nights out do not happen. Some invitations go unaccepted. Some people do not understand.

By her own admission, relaxing is a weak point. She does not always let herself rest or give herself permission to do so, but she is working toward finally learning to relax. That is an important point. Progress as a young athlete takes more than extra sets and a stricter diet. Your body needs recovery, too.

As a child, Janika wanted to work in an office, ideally at a bank, and head to the gym after work. She would happily work there as a trainer. It is a simple picture, but a telling one: a secure job, an active life and a desire to help others.

When she thinks back to PE at school, she remembers a period before a competition. She was tired and fed up with the gym. Because the school was being renovated, PE lessons were also held at the gym, and she simply stopped attending them. Mentally, she could not cope with spending that much time in the gym. It is hard to put it more clearly.

When talking about her ideal physique, Janika does not name anyone else. Her ideal body is shaped by both what she sees in the mirror and what she imagines. She pictures how her body could look and works towards that vision. Not a copy of someone else, but a more developed version of herself.

FAQ: Janika Jürgenson

What discipline does Janika Jürgenson compete in?

She competes in the bodyfitness -163cm category. The discipline is related to bodybuilding, but also emphasizes overall conditioning, proportions and stage presentation.