Cairns fitness: Experts share tips for building buff body
We’ve scoured the Far North gym scene to uncover some of the region’s most ripped fitness fanatics. Check out their physiques and their best-kept secrets and tips.
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WITH their rippling abdominals, defined biceps and muscular thighs, these chiselled Far North Queenslanders know the rewards that come from a carefully-designed health regime.
We have scoured local gyms, tracked down 10 of the buffest bods in the region and asked them just how hard they have to work to keep themselves in peak physical condition and what the rest of us mere mortals can try to enhance our own fitness journeys.
TRACEY DEFFERRARD
PERSONAL trainer and competitive bodybuilder Tracey Defferrard has spent the past five years hard at work training to take on some of the best fitness athletes at the WBFF Pro world tour.
The competition has since been postponed because of COVID-19, but that hasn’t stopped Defferrard’s drive to build herself up into a pure machine in preparation to take on the world.
“Now that I’m not competing, I’m just getting strong,” she said.
Her weekly fitness regime is gruelling, but she says training is a form of selfcare.
“I do five days of weights, one day of rehab – that includes foam rolling and pilates and one full day of rest.
“It’s the one thing I do for me – I’m a mum and a FIFO wife, so it’s my time to relieve stress and relax.
Ms Defferrard is now aiming for a competition date of May 2021.
“It’s all aesthetic, graded on stage presence, symmetry of physique, musculature, and for the females you have to do it while maintaining a ‘feminine look’,” she said.
“That means ideally having a small waist and a big booty, but also having a big upper body.
“It’s hard but having a goal even in the uncertainty of COVID has been good for my mental health.”
Her diet includes strength-building mainstays such as chicken and vegies, protein shakes, salads, fruits, sweet potato and rice.
AZARIAH GUTCHEN
As a youth worker with the Clontarf Foundation, Azariah Gutchen is a big believer in using his gains to inspire the younger generation.
Gutchen has been into sports his whole life, he started bulking up in high school for rugby league and fell in love with the gym lifestyle.
“I just love being in the gym and all the people you meet and what it does for you mentally,” he said.
“When you look in the mirror, it’s a great feeling to know you look good and inspire a lot of people.
“I call it a stubborn discipline. No matter what, if you have a bad day you still got to turn up, get your results.”
Mr Gutchen works out five days a week.
He focuses on legs on Monday and Wednesday, arms, back and shoulders on Tuesday and Thursday, chest and arms on Friday and rest on the weekend.
For his diet he tracks his intake, limited to 3300 calories a day and mostly focused on carb and protein-heavy meals such as rice, sweet potato and chicken steak.
CAITLIN SIMMS
As a full-time fitness coach and owner of a recently-launched boutique gym, Caitlin Simms believes in leading her clients by example.
Ms Simms was always sporty growing up and practised taekwondo.
She also played vigoro and touch football.
“My clients and my business, being a full time coach with my own gym is a dream come true,” she said.
“It fuels my fire to be the best I can be, while helping other women step into the best versions of themselves along the way.
Since high school, about 10 years ago, she has been training at the gym with weights and has never looked back.
“I train to build my physique, the way I train is tailored specifically for the female body,” she said.
“Bodybuilding is my main focus but I also like to stay cardiovascular fit for general health and wellbeing.
“Currently I am in a dieting phases so I have train with weights 4-5 days a week and 1-2 Cardio days and I track my steps at 10K a day.
“I follow a flexible dieting approach and track my macros: I eat a wide variety of wholefoods and make sure I eat enough protein daily.
“Food is fuel is what I always say to my clients so I practice what I preach and eat towards my goals everyday.”
BRAYDON JOSEPH
Mr Joseph has come a long way in a few short years, going from a teenager looking to improve his look to a showroom bodybuilder at the age of 21.
Starting out training at age 16, he decided two years ago he wanted to compete and set about achieving his goal with the help of Strength Lab personal trainer Chris Black.
Earlier this year, he competed in the ICN Rising Star in Victoria, placing in the top four in the categories of Under 70 Men’s Physique, Men’s Physique Rising Star, Men’s Physique Under 23s and Men’s Physique Rookie Of The Year
“I found that I really enjoyed it and wanted to take it to the next level,” he said.
“Right now, Chris and I are focused on improving my week points for end of next year, so I’m trying to get as strong as we can and fit in as much food as I need.
“By the end of the next year, hoping to place higher than top four.”
Mr Joseph works on his chest and back on Monday, legs on Tuesday, rest on Wednesday, chest, shoulders and triceps on Thursday, lateral pulls on Friday and rests on the weekend.
His current diet is flexible and high in carbs, protein and fat, but in competition time he’s limited to a diet of chicken, kangaroo meat, brown rice, green beans, tomatoes and rice cakes, all in small portions.
HANNAH CANNARD
An up-and-coming strength contender training under Ms Defferrard, Hannah Cannard understands the importance of balancing exercise with work and home.
Like her trainer, she had been working to make her debut in the WBFF comp in February before it was pushed back and later cancelled this year.
“I’m still training for it- I had to reset my goals and look at a comp for next year,” she said.
“At least it gives you more time to work and bring a better package.”
Ms Cannard trains six days a week with a regimen currently focused heavily on shedding fat through cardio.
Her diet includes chicken thighs, spinach, broccoli and pumpkin, supplemented by protein powder and eggs.
“You just have to be fixated on it and know that every day you’ve got to get in the gym even when you feel like it,” she said.
“I have two little kids, and if I can inspire them to take an interest in fitness that would be amazing.
“Seeing how you can transform your body and maintain your health at the same time, it’s pretty amazing to watch.”
DAN BOYDEN
Being a chef has given Dan Boyden plenty of opportunity to research the best nutritional outcomes for the body, and rigorous training schedule hasn’t hurt either.
Originally from England, Mr Boyden moved to Cairns four months ago and has made himself a regular at Think Fitness gym at Cairns North.
“I’m just trying to stay healthy, be as strong as I can and look good,” he said.
“I don’t weigh that much, just 68 kilos and I’m quite short, but my weight compared to what I can lift is a good ratio. I can dead lift up to 140 kilos, can squat six sets of hundreds.
“I’ve been on and off, last year in September I had an injury which set me back nine weeks and had to start again.
“Then COVID put me out of being able to work out at a gym, so I had to focus on body weight workouts at home.
“I’m getting back into it now the gyms have reopened.
“I do quite a bit of research into nutrition as well, being a chef- I’m focused on my go-to carbs, vegetables and fruit.”
CARISSA BURNS
As someone who used to fit exercise in wherever she could, a dedicated gym regimen has worked wonders for Carissa Burns.
Ms Burns has been training at F45 Northern Beaches for the past 18 months, and is focused on being the best version of herself.
“I do the 5 o’clock course in the morning and it sets your mind to the rest of the day,” she said.
“During the week, it alternates cardio Monday-Wednesday-Fridays, strength on Tuesday and Thursday and a mix on Saturday and Sunday.
“I have a rest day generally once a fortnight, I know when to do it, and it’s a matter of listening to your body.”
Ms Burns works out for personal happiness, and isn’t about making sacrifices to achieve the best result.
“I eat a balanced diet, but I don’t count calories, I know when to pull it back,” she said.
“Life’s about living and I’m not about to go to dinner and not enjoy myself- you can still have that glass of wine or chocolate in moderation.
“What I like about training is there’s no end goal- I take the morning class, I fit in a couple of runs around work, and on the whole it’s made me a better person.
LAURA KRALL
As a 36-year old full-time working mum and wife to a FIFO husband, Laura Krall’s stance is that if she can make time for exercise, anyone can.
Ms Krall began her fitness journey after the birth of her baby, going from a cardio bunny running the treadmill to burn off the baby weight to a full-blown strength trainer.
“Prior to being in the gym I used to do a lot of team sports but couldn’t commit to it after the baby was born,” she said.
“After some initial nerves, it became my therapy I can’t live without it - It’s my way of having my alone time and being able to switch off, look after my health and fitness.”
In the six and a half years she’s been strength training, Ms Krall has competed twice in bodybuilding competitions with ICN, but nowadays she mainly does it for self-fulfilment.
“Physical appearance is a bonus for me, it’s something I enjoy doing,” she said.
“Recently my massage therapist asked me if I get angry when I’m lifting, like I’m using it to vent, but really I just shut myself off completely and focus on the muscle I’m working on.
“I train five to six days a week at World Gym, I have a coach that writes my program and a nutritionist that monitors my diet.
“It’s very important for us to have an outlet- life is stressful and I think exercise and healthy eating is a big contributor to that.”
JO JOHNSON
From touch footy and athletics at school to training in the ADF to competitive bodybuilding, sport has always been a big part of Jo Johnson’s life.
During her time in the ADF she was deployed twice to Afghanistan and has competed in representational crossfit.
However, the years of heavy training have come with consequences- Ms Johnson has had four knee operations, the first at age 16 playing touch, and the most recent at age 29 last year.
“I do a lot of rehabilitation as part of my training like cycling, which keeps my legs strong and is safer for my joints,” she said.
“Motivation-wise, I’m pretty good but it is difficult in the sense that I can’t train as hard as I’d like. Have to operate at 60-70 per cent.
“If I go too much, my knees just inflame and I’ll be on the couch and having to meditate my legs.”
Her previous sporting experience led her down the path of competitive bodybuilding, and she gained her pro card with WBFF in 2017.
“I’m a huge fan of functional fitness, I’ve just discovered fitness modelling along the way,” she said.
“Because I’ve got really bad knees, I try to find the right blend of exercise to not inflame or worsen my injuries.
“A lot of body builders don’t do much functional fitness. I don’t really love training for aesthetics, I love training because I love to exercise.”
“I go to World Gym about twice a week and The Ground once a week.
“In short, I’ve done everything, I love all types and forms of exercises, and I don’t limit myself to one discipline.”
MEL MURPHY
As a single mum who’s trained most of her life, Mel Murphy found a game-changer in the last four years by bringing nutritional balance into the fold.
After years of not feeling like she was getting anywhere despite working out diligently, Ms Murphy started to see a major change to her body and general disposition once she introduced a structured nutritional plan.
“People need to understand your body is the most amazing vessel you have, you need to start looking after it better,” she said.
“I started looking at what I was feeding myself, learned about macros, micros, meal plans, carb cycling.
“I saved myself hundreds of dollars a week by meal-prepping for myself and my son.”
Ms Murphy eats five meals a day:
1. Yoghurt, fruit and protein powder to start
2. Almond butter and rice cakes
3. Chicken breast, broccoli, cauliflower and basmati rice
4. Homemade hummus, avocado, tuna, and celery or carrot
5. Fish and non-starchy vegetables.
This, combined with her daily sessions at F45 Cairns CBD, weight training at Five Star Fitness, regular Esplanade walks and Saturday boot camps, nets about 1700 calories a day.
Ms Murphy added the plan has also set a terrific example for her 17-year old son.
“It’s empowered him to have the same habits as me, he works out, doesn’t drink or smoke and follows a well-structured meal plan,” she said.
Reckon you’ve got the Far North’s buffest bod? Let us know! Send an email to jack.lawrie@news.com.au
Originally published as Cairns fitness: Experts share tips for building buff body