Working with Layne Norton was the single smartest decision I have made in competition career. I knew that I could get into shape for a show, but I wanted to do it in the healthiest way possible. My previous methods were extremely difficult and I just knew there had to be a different way. I found Layne on Bodybuilding.com and began to do research on him, read his articles, and watch his videos. I felt very confident in his ability from an educational stand point as well as the fact that he was a Professional Natural Bodybuilder. When I saw striated glutes on a natural competitor, that sealed the deal for me. I contacted Layne, and we got to work. The biggest benefit was that I was able to select the foods that I wanted to eat. Being able to have more freedom with food choices in a competition diet makes me want to do more competitions! It was more tolerable mentally and emotionally than any prior preparation to date. Because of my experience I would and do highly recommend Layne. I stepped on stage tighter, leaner and fuller with more muscle than I have ever had before. I would like to thank Layne for helping me be the best I could be and for helping me win the 2009 NPC Eastern USA and my pro card at the 2009 Nationals. Moreover I want to thank him for being a close friend who has helped guide me during my pro career.
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Ava CowanIFBB Figure Pro |
Bodybuilding is my passion and before I decided to compete I had been training for many years building a foundation with the idea of entering a contest one day. The day came in 2007 when I made the decision to do my first contest however I knew that I would need guidance because coaching in my opinion has an enormous role in an athlete’s development. Finding the right Coach was a pretty easy task for me, in my mind nobody could take the place of Dr. Layne Norton. His extensive knowledge in nutrition and training plus his experience with hundreds of other clients as a prep coach made him the ideal coach that would help me move in the direction I wanted to go. With only 6 weeks Layne was able to adjust my nutrition/workout plan and transform my body helping me win my first bodybuilding contest. It’s been a few years now and I am still under Layne’s guidance. Thanks to him not only I have taken my physique to another different level but also I have achieved one of my lifetime goals; to become a Professional Natural Bodybuilder! In addition after winning my pro-card he pushed me to compete at my first pro-show where I was able to win my Class! Certainly something that I never thought would be possible. Years later he once again helped me achieve what I felt was impossible, winning the overall at a WNBF pro show! Now we are working toward some bigger plans and goals and I am sure that with his help, support and unmatched knowledge everything can be possible. Hiring Layne was the smartest decision I have made to propel my bodybuilding career. Anyone who is serious about bodybuilding should have a coach and there is no match for Dr. Layne Norton. Coach Thank you so much for all your help and support I am forever grateful to be part of your Team.
As my college graduation was getting closer to completion, so were my football days. I felt the urge to satisfy my competitive edge and decided to register for my first bodybuilding show. I immediately became a student of the sport and started my research on Natural Bodybuilding and became easily drawn to Dr. Layne Norton. I began researching Layne's work and learned as much as I could in my college courses directed at different training methods and nutrition. It was then that Dr. Norton became my Bodybuilding inspiration.
I am a member of Team Norton and have been working with Layne for five months now. In 2006 I started competing in figure competitions. I tried to do my diet and training alone and struggled to find what worked for my body best every time. In August of 2008 I began working with Layne because he came highly recommended from my training partner. It was the best decision I have ever made in my competition career! He helped guide me to a class victory at my show.
Bodybuilding has been a part of my life since high school. I discovered the physiques of Arnold and others in the pages of bodybuilding magazines and decided I wanted to change the way I looked. As a 17 year old I forged myself the best I could for several years. Often times I would become frustrated with the sport and take a sabbatical. During a particular good stretch I discovered bodybuilding.com. Layne’s video series featuring natural bodybuilding caught my attention and I felt like a kid discovering the sport all over again. I had been training for over ten years now but the idea of competing had never entered my mind. After reading everything I could by Layne and incorporating it into my lifting, nutrition and philosophies I began to see real results again. This was about the time I decided I would compete.
In March of 2007 I happened to run into Layne and his wife Isabel at the Arnold Classic Expo. I could have stood there all day and talked with Layne. I was amazed at how knowledgeable he was about bodybuilding, metabolism and protein utilization. I decided to hire Layne to help me with my off-season diet and workouts.
Here is a coach that has that rare combination of brains and brawn, but more importantly, who has done extensive walking down both paths, both with his ongoing research into bodybuilding nutrition and supplementation and with his incredibly disciplined work ethic at the gym and kitchen year-round. He is one of those few who can talk the talk precisely because he has walked the walk, and to this day he continues to walk down both paths as a pioneer to the natural bodybuilding movement.
I began working with Layne in May 2009. After having 3 pervious contest prep coaches, all whom held the same typical protocol of a starvation style diet, and excessive cardio, I was on a mission to find a coach who had different philosophies and strategies.
Layne:
I am not your typical client. I am a 33 year old mother of three little girls (3, 5, and 8) and when I am not busy wearing the hat of a cook, maid, taxi driver, or circus director- I am helping my husband manage our engineering firm. This is just a brief insight to my life, but it’s not the part of “not your typical” client I am referring to. I have another story to tell and it’s not one that most people talk about … I suffered from an eating disorder known as anorexia. I spent over a decade fighting the scale, the mirror, and the image I had in my head of what my body should look like. I have weighed as high as 185lbs and as little as 89lbs. However, I use the term “suffered” because not only did I win the fight- I kicked it in the face. In 2010 I found myself on the weight room floor and I haven’t looked back since. To make a long story short, I competed in my first NPC figure competition in October of 2010 and I won my IFBB pro card at the Team Universe national competition in July of 2011. Ironically, it was during this time that I got to know Layne very well through hours of watching his videos and reading his articles- And ultimately, myself and my coach(at that time) decided to use his peak week for my Team Universe competition which helped me achieve an enormous victory. I was fortunate enough to finally meet Layne and Isabel and I knew within seconds that I wanted to be on their team. I’ve never told Layne this, but because of my history with my eating disorder I am extremely guarded with my trust- handing over the rights to someone else to make decisions regarding my physique is a very big deal to me, but with Layne I never second guessed it and that speaks volumes about his character. Layne and Isabel have helped me get through some very tough times as recently lost my father. Not only was his loss unexpected, it happened 3 weeks before my pro debut. I can honestly say that having Layne in my corner gave me the push that I needed to dig deep and finish strong- I could not have done it without him. I continued to use that energy to compete at the New York Pro just weeks later and again, Layne was there EVERY step of the way.
