“The squat is the very best exercise for building your legs and butt. I wouldn’t feel like I had a complete leg workout if I didn’t squat.”
They were famous long before she became an Olympia champion. In fact, for the first five years of her career Juliana Malacarne stood on a pair of legs that made her, well, stand out, even as she was placing in the bottom half of all but one of the 11 shows she entered in for the IFBB Pro League. In 2012, a new division called women’s physique was introduced and that year’s inaugural New York Pro Physique proved to be the perfect platform for Malacarne to showcase those full, shapely legs, as well as the rest of her considerable talents. The Brazilian-born beauty now has a record seven wins, including two Olympia Women’s Physique Showdowns, and Malacarne and her famous legs have walked into the record books as the most decorated women’s physique competitor to date.
“People think you have to train heavy to develop your muscles, but the amount of weight you use has to be just right. It can’t be too heavy, and it can’t be too light that you’re not working hard enough. Around eight to 12 reps for upper body works well, with higher reps such as 10 to 15 for legs.”
“I get a lot of compliments on my legs. I’ve trained them very hard for years, so don’t think that I was born like this. I think they’re a great feature for me, but I believe my heart is my best body part.”
“I started training about 15 years ago, and the longest I’ve been out of the gym was 10 days. I feel best when I’m training all the time. It gives me energy and keeps me in a positive frame of mind. What can I say? I love working out!”
