GALION – A Galion woman is fit to compete.  Go “figure.”

Jessica Wagner, 44, has trained for nearly a year in order to compete in her first bodybuilding competition.  She walked away from the event last weekend with a big smile – a second-place trophy in the Master’s Bikini Class for females 40 to 49-year-old and a sixth-place finish in the True Novice Class.

“It completely exceeded my expectations because I really had no expectations,” said Wagner, a Galion native and 1994 Galion High School graduate.  “My goal was to go out and experience something new because it was always my goal since I was in my 20’s.  I’m just trying to do stuff that I always wanted to do.”

Wagner, always the competitor and always the workout buff, said she had to step out of her comfort zone though to enter the Muscle Vodka Natural Northern USA NPC Championships and Expo in Lorain, Ohio, Oct. 3.  But she credits her personal trainer and coaches for beefing up her body – and boosting her confidence.

“I like being competitive and I always like learning something new, and this was definitely something new for me,” said Wagner, who is a full-time physician assistant in cardiothoracic surgery at Ohio Health Hospital in Mansfield.  “It’s truly a way of life.  It’s a lifestyle, and truly anyone can do this.”

But “doing this” was no easy task.  Wagner was already recovering from hip surgery when she started training last November at the Mansfield Area YMCA.  She spent late nights at the gym after logging a 10-hour shift that began at 6:15 a.m. on the ICU floor.  Cardio workouts and plenty of weightlifting, all designed to build muscle tone and definition.

In addition to her Y trainer, Porfirio Sutton, Wagner enlisted the help of coach Adam Atkinson, the founder of “See You Later Leaner” in Columbus.  Using a scientific-based approach to eating, Wagner said, he offered valuable nutritional advice on achieving her fitness goals, plus held her accountable with weekly weight check-ins.

At times throughout the training, she admitted, she felt like she was failing and “falling off the horse,” but she always got back up with a renewed sense of determination, thanks to the “Diet Doc.”  “He helped build my confidence.  He was always challenging me but also encouraging me mentally, physically and emotionally,” Wagner said.

Her preparation, however, wouldn’t have been complete, she said, without posing coach Brittany Hamilton, an International Federation of Bodybuilding Bikini Pro.  Wagner said Hamilton not only taught her the posing routine but also gave her the confidence-booster she needed to step on the theatre stage before a panel of judges wearing only a blue sequin bikini and a pair of heels.

The avid runner, who has raced in eight half-marathons, stays active in her spare time, too.  She and her husband, Jay, have climbed the Swiss Alps and trekked the Tour de Mont Blanc in Europe and others.  In high school, she was a state qualifier swimmer for the Lady Tigers in the 100-meter breaststroke, the medley relay and the freestyle relay.

Besides her coaches and trainers, Wagner credits her family and friends for their overwhelming support and encouragement on the road to her bodybuilding debut.  And what’s ahead for the tall blonde and her new physique?  Probably another adventure because “the next package will be better, stronger and leaner.”

“It’s all about improving yourself, transforming yourself.  It’s an all-over transformation.”