quick stats
Name: Dr Kim Bishop
Age: 34
Height: 1.67 m
Competition weight: 54 kg
Current weight: 62 kg
Current city: Ballito, KZN, South Africa
Occupation: Medical Doctor (General Practitioner)
How did you get started with training? Has it always been part of your life?
I’ve always been an active, sporty girl. Throughout high school I was a swimmer, an athlete, a hockey player and involved in karate. I would say I started gym and weight training during my early university/medical school years in about 2002.
How long was it from when you started training in the gym to competing in your first show? And what made you enter?
I was training for about 8 to 10 years before I even thought of competing.
I had my daughter in 2011 and made sure I got back into shape soon thereafter. In fact my physique really kept improving after that and then it just seemed like the next step and challenge in the journey to compete. I don’t think I ever purposely set out to compete but it just evolved into that as I kept reaching my fitness goals and my physique improved.
How do you balance being a Doctor, mother, wife and athlete? Do you think it requires a lot of sacrifices?
My life is pretty crazy having a very important full time job, having a family, then being an athlete but I find balancing it all quite achievable.
Every one of those roles I think allows me to be better at the other. I find that good structure to my day and routine and then sticking to that, allows me to fit it all in. At the end of the day for me, my family comes first and everything else just kind of fits in around them.
I do think I sacrifice somewhat, but then the sacrifice opens the way to greater rewards so it’s all worth it.
Who is your role model or who do you look up to for motivation and guidance?
My role models have undoubtedly been my parents. They were the epitome of balance for me. My Dad was a professional footballer in the 70’s and has an Honours degree in education. My mom was a primary school teacher for 43 years.
Their value of family, education and physical health has inspired me tremendously.
How important is the mental aspect of this sport? How do you keep a positive mindset and attitude through setbacks? Have you had any major setbacks?
Mental strength is crucial to this sport. I think I’m quite a driven, positive and motivated person by nature so for me it’s not really a problem keeping a positive mindset. I really really love working out also, so it’s easy for me.
However, I like everyone have definitely experienced setbacks and periods of mental difficulty. I recently lost my mom to cancer and have really had to dig deep every single day to stay focused and positive.
I tend to give myself no option but to come out on top.
What are your future plans?
Oh I have too many plans 🙂 😉 I hope I have enough time in my life to achieve it all!!
I plan on really improving my physique to compete in more shows, growing my medical practice, being very involved in my daughter’s schooling career, supporting and helping Damian to achieve his goals, starting a signature supplement line, a clothing line…to mention just a few hahaha
What do you think are some of the problems with the fitness industry here and what do you think it needs more of?
Well I think before I critisize I’d rather first point out the positives like that the fitness industry has grown dramatically here and that is certainly due to the hard work and dedication that the appropriate federations put in to shows and creating awareness of the sport.
Having said that I’d like to see the judging criteria for the female divisions become way more clear and consistent.
I’d also like to see the interests of the athletes themselves be taken into account far more seriously and for athletes to demand fairness and equal footing as far as judging goes.
What are a few common fitness myths many girls fall prey to that you are aware of?
The craziest fitness myth for me is ladies believing they have to starve themselves to look great.. oh and that you gotta do hundreds of crunches and ab exercises to get a great mid-section.
It’s just ignorance really and serious misinformation.
Take us through an average day of yours:
Like I said my day equals crazy!!!
- I wake up at around 5 am, do some cardio at home, then eat breakfast and pack my meal bag for the day.
- I get myself and my daughter ready and we do the morning school run.
- I get to work around 8 am and start seeing patients from 8.15 through to about 11.30.
- Damian and I catch up on business, meetings and motivate each other during the course of the day.
- I then workout at about midday till 1.15 pm. I hit the showers and I’m back at work at about 1.30 pm.
- I leave work at around 4 pm and usually take my daughter to swimming or tennis lessons in the afternoons.
- We get home at around 5.30 pm.
- I cook my meals for the next day, we watch some tv together enjoy family time, eat dinner and sleep by 9 pm usually to be up for the next day.
Give us a brief description of your philosophy on your diet:
I keep my diet very simple, tasty and I stick to basic bodybuilding principles. I find that a high protein, moderate carb and low fat diet works best for me.
To really lean out for a show I’ll reduce carbs, and manipulate water and salt. Nothing like rocket science?
- Meal 1: Egg whites, spinach, peppers/Oats
- Meal 2: 100g Chicken fillet/ 1 cup Basmati Rice
- Meal3: 100g Chicken fillet/ 1 cup Basmati Rice
- Meal 4: 100g Hake or Tuna/ medium sweet potato
- Meal 5: 100 Filley/ 1 cup steamed Broccoli
- Meal 6: 1 scoop Casein
What are your top Nutrition tips for losing fat?
- For fat loss I recommend 5-6 meals a day every 3 hours.
- High protein, moderate carbs and low fat.
- 3+ Litres of water a day.
- A good fat burner, L-Carnitine before cardio, a good quality multivitamin and omegas with breakfast.
What process do you follow when its time to start getting ready for a competition?
When I’m getting ready for a show anywhere from about 16 to 20 weeks out I try to just stick to my diet everyday as much as possible. I don’t really believe in cheat meals leading up to comp.
As I get closer to the show, and depending on how my physique is looking I will start to slowly reduce carbs.
My physique only changes dramatically just a few days out of comp so I don’t stress too much and neither do I cut out carbs too quickly. Once I’m ready to dial it in its all about manipulating carbs, water and salt for me.
Again no rocket science and fancy formulas.
What’s your favourite healthy meal recipe?
My favorite healthy recipe are my breakfast protein crumpets.
I mix some whey, oats, egg whites, fat free milk, cinnamon and cook them in a pan with some non-stick spray.
I cut some strawberries up over that a drizzle organic honey over it all-super yum!
What supplements do you use and think are necessary?
The supplements I use are Double strength multivitamin and Omega 3/6/9 with breakfast, Pre-workout and BCAA’s before and during training, Whey Isolate straight after my workout, and L-Carnitine before fasted cardio.
Give us a brief description of your philosophy on your training and on average how long do you workout for?
My training is split over 5 days and my workouts last about an hour and 15 minutes. I place particular focus on my hamstring and glute areas, so closer to comp I add in those muscles/exercises on other body part days as well.
My shoulders are also a priority area for me. I go as heavy as I can when I train but never compromise on form and technique. I keep rest periods between sets quite short and I incorporate tons of supersets and drop sets in my training.
I only really do lots of cardio during comp prep and it’s early morning fasted cardio on the stepper or treadmill.
What are your 3 favourite exercises?
3 favourites exercises, wow I have so many! but if I really had to choose they would be:
1. Sumo Squats
They really target the glute areas well for me and on a good day I can go really really heavy.
2. Dumbbell lateral raises
I like to do lots of volume with these and not necessarily heavy weights. I absolutely love the pump I feel and seeing my shoulders develop over the weeks.
3. Cable Kickbacks
These are just a “must do” for me, they put the finishing touches on a firm round booty.
Which do you think are the 3 most underrated exercises people avoid?
3 most underrated exercises I think would have to be:
- Adductor/abductor machines
- Single leg stiff-leg deadlift
- Bent over rows
What advice would you give the ladies to developing a flat tummy and well defined abs? What are some of your ab training tips?
Developing abs for ladies can be challenging but it’s not that difficult. Firstly your diet needs to be solid and you need to stick to it as much as possible.
Then I would recommend training abs 3 days a week for just 5 or 10 minutes as a warm up before a workout. Choose 2 exercises and do 3 sets of 15 reps for each.
Favorite male Fitness models or bodybuilders?
Well that’s easy…my other half and the big man of course Damian Cloete.
Favorite female fitness icon(s):
Oksana Grishina the international Fitness Champ, she has an amazing physique.
Favorite Quote:
My favorite quote is by Aristotle: ” The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence…”
What is the most common question you get asked?
I think most common question I get asked is “are you really a doctor? And what kind of doctor are you?”
My answer: “Yeah I am, the real kind.”
What is the one thing you see people do in the gym or when training that really annoys you?
I hate it when people come to the gym and talk more than train! Oh and I hate being interrupted in the middle of a set…manners please people hahaha
Best piece of advice you ever received?
Best piece of advice I ever received is to never stop training for long periods. Regardless of how clean you’re eating just keep working out.
what competitions have you competed in?
I’ve competed in both IFBB and NABBA shows, both fitness and beach bikini over 1.63m divisions. My highest placing is 5th at the 2015 NABBA KZN show. I went on to compete at the 2015 NABBA SA’s as well.
Where can people get hold of you?
- Facebook athlete page: Dr Kim Bishop Bikini Fitness Athlete
- Instagram: @dr_kim_bish
- E-mail address: kimbishop[at]vodamail.co.za
- I consult daily at The Ballito Medical Centre by appointment
