MARINE CORPS AIR STATION, Calif., -- One wing Marine who has taken physical fitness to a new level plans to show off her sharply-toned body while fulfilling a life-long goal.
Sgt. Katherine Rosema, the supply administration chief for Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 3, will culminate an almost 15-year passion for physical fitness by competing in the figure category of the National Physique Committee Championship at the Scottish Rite Center in San Diego March 21.
Rosema’s daily training regimen starts at 5 a.m. with a rigorous, two-hour weight-lifting routine, and ends with an additional hour of cardiovascular exercise during lunch or after work. In addition to her personal schedule, Rosema also leads her shop in physical training.
“She is always in the gym,” said Nicole Gilchrest, a certified trainer at the Miramar Sports Complex and mentor to Rosema. “What she is doing requires extreme dedication and mental discipline. She is doing great.”
Rosema competed in her first fitness competition during her deployment to Al Asad, Iraq in April 2008.
“I just got thrown into my competition in Iraq,” said Rosema, who turns 30 this summer. “I didn’t win obviously, but it motivated me to keep going.”
Rosema, who is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs more than 150 pounds, hopes to reduce her body fat from 12 to eight percent over the next six weeks. To do this, Rosema will maintain a strict diet, eating lean proteins and healthy carbohydrates every three or four hours.
Rosema attributes her love for training to her athletic background, which was basketball and running.
“I was always into sports in high school, and just started going to the gym to improve myself. It became an addiction and just never stopped,” said Rosema, who joined the Marine Corps after graduating college with a degree in economics.
From Iraq to the states, she has stuck to her dedication and in just six weeks, win or lose, will fulfill her dream of being fit enough to compete at a professional level.