Talking Sports And Fitness With Zeke

Maria Ortiz shares her story with Zeke about how a shy person who loved junk food became a champion bodybuilder with professional aspirations to compete for the Ms. Olympia title. Maria tells Zeke that she used to go the gym but really didn't know what she was doing until she met Banyon Ortiz, a former bodybuilder who would not only change her life but become her husband. As proper training and diet transformed her body, Maria finally heeded suggestions by her husband and others to begin competing. Overcoming her shyness on stage, Maria had a sensational debut in the 2013 Big Cat Classic in in Allentown, with first-place finishes in women's physique masters and in women's physique Class A en route to the overall title. Two years later she made the transition from women's physique competition to bodybuilding competition and in the 2015 NPC Eastern USA Championships in Teaneck, N.J., she placed first in women's bodybuilding open and first place in women's bodybuilding over 35 en route to the overall title.