Meral Ertunc > Parrillo Peformance
There is an old saying that goes, “The happiest person is the one who connects the morning of life with the
Meral Ertunc
evening of life.” Those who find their passion in life early (and are able to stick with it for decades) not only become true experts but learn the secret to enjoying a productive and satisfying stay on this planet. One lady who found her true passion early and continued to pursue her calling in an uninterrupted fashion is personal trainer extraordinaire Meral Ertunc. Readers of the Parrillo Performance Press were first introduced to the Diminutive Dynamo in September 1994.
At the time Meral had been bodybuilding since 1987. She was a genetic wonder who had progressed so quickly that she placed 2nd at the Ms. Virginia competition with only six months of training under her belt. Within a year she won the lightweight class at the Washington, D.C. Grand Prix. It was astonishing progress for a novice and a real tribute to her intense work ethic and methodical planning abilities. Meral campaigned for the next few years and in 1991 placed 3rd at the NPC Junior Nationals. A freak accident derailed her bodybuilding career in 1992. “I was preparing to audition for the then popular TV show American Gladiators,” Meral recalled. “I took a nasty tumble while riding my mountain bike and broke my elbow. My arm was in a cast and my bodybuilding career was put on hold.” Within three months Meral rehabilitated the elbow, entered the 1992 NPC Nationals and won.
“It was shocking and exhilarating. I secured my professional bodybuilder “pro card” and went on to compete at the Arnold Classic, the Ms. Olympia and the Jan Tana Classic.” Times were different in those days; the ultra-muscular freaky look had not yet taken over women’s bodybuilding. Back in Meral’s competitive days a premium was placed on balancing muscle with femininity. Meral hit that balance perfectly. Meral was petite and pretty and modeled clothing. Her sexy posters sold out completely every year for many years at the annual Daytona Beach Bike week. It all came to a sudden halt in 1996 when Meral was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer. “My world was turned upside down.” She took the blow in stride. “Suddenly I wasn’t wondering about contest preparation, I was wondering about life and death.” Being an optimist and a fighter Meral battled cancer with her inherent ferocity. “I was determined that I would not be beaten by this wasting disease and fought and fought and fought…in the end I overcame the cancer and it has not reappeared. I have been cancer-free for ten years.” Still, it caused her to rethink her life and her goals and in the end she decided to concentrate on helping others change their physiques and in doing so change their lives. “I began concentrating on helping others achieve their fitness and physique goals.
I still trained and trained ferociously. I adhered to the bodybuilding lifestyle but I did so not to win trophies but to inspire others.” Meral opened a personal training studio in Orlando, Florida and from day one it was a roaring success. “I don’t have any personal trainers working for me. Every person who comes to me for help is my client. I make it my personal responsibility to dedicate 100% of my abilities to breaking that person through to the next level of fitness, health and physical development. I don’t hand people off to someone else: I work with everyone. My facility is not open to the general public. If you are a member of Bodylines by Meral then you are my client; I make it my personal business to see that you succeed.” Meral brings a lot to the table: with fifteen years of experience she elicits incredible results on a regular basis. Remarkably, she has never done any advertising. “My clients have all found their way to me, usually through word-of-mouth referral. I am always completely booked.
On a typical day I will work with between 12 and 16 people in one-on-one sessions.” Her ability to obtain results has made her the best kept fitness secret in central Florida. “I guide my clients every step of the way and in every way imaginable.” Her clientele covers a broad spectrum: all different types come to her seeking different results for differing reasons. “I work with serious athletes looking to improve their size and skill…ball players…tri-athletes…Iron Man competitors…marathon runners…lots of golfers…I work with business executives for whom time is at a premium. I work with obese individuals seeking to avoid surgery. I work with women, men, overweight boys and girls…my clients range in age from 14 to 70 years of age.” Each receives her complete and total attention.
From the enfeebled to the elite, Meral devises custom training and eating prescriptions after a lengthy interview process. She oversees every aspect of program implementation. “In my opinion, nutrition is 85% of the bodybuilding battle and I have extremely specific ideas on what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat and how to supplement. My guidelines – both in training and nutrition – are based on the basic principles set forth by John Parrillo. I have been a Parrillo follower for 15 years and if anything I am now more enthused about the Parrillo Principles than when I first began following them way back when.” Meral’s specialty is customized nutritional planning. “I have a number of clients who don’t train at my facility. They come to me for customized eating regimens based upon their goals and aspirations. I set up a Parrillo-style eating plan and they come in once a week for a skin-fold body fat percentile measurement and a nutritional counseling session. I will “tweak” the program for the coming week based on what has happened and what needs to happen. Many clients weight train and perform cardio elsewhere.” In March of 2005 Meral made a competitive comeback as a Figure competitor.
“I am a professional card holder and knew that I would never again compete as a professional bodybuilder – the standards are too extreme nowadays. On the other hand I missed contest preparation. I missed the excitement that comes with preparing for a show. I figured that Figure might be a way to recapture that excitement.” Meral’s body had changed over the years. She explained that she thought the changes were positive. “I really like the current “smaller version” of myself…my symmetry and muscularity are very apparent at my lighter bodyweight and as I watched Figure competitions emerge, starting in 1999, I thought, ‘You know what, I could do that, I could compete in Figure because it would not require me to add extreme size.” She decided to take the plunge.Meral traveled to San Francisco in March of 2005 to compete in a major IFBB professional Figure competition. In the eyes of the judges she came in “too hard.” She related that, “My competitors were bigger, curvier and smoother. My Old School bodybuilder mentality kicked in and naturally I tried to improve as much as possible within the time allotted. It was odd and disorienting to get marked down by judges for being too lean and too muscular.” In her post-competition reflection it all posed an irresolvable dilemma: how do you train to be less than what you are capable of being? Do you reach a certain degree of conditioning and say, “Oh no! I’ve become too delineated and crisp – I need to eat a box of doughnuts to soften this chiseled muscularity!” She is uncertain if Figure figures into her future. “I don’t know if I’ll do another Figure competition. It seemed like a fitness beauty contest and I’m not sure this is the format for me.” Meral is staying plenty busy doing modeling work for hair and face ads. Plus her fitness business is at continual capacity. “I want to concentrate on the nutritional portion of my fitness business. I can reach more people through nutritional consultations.” It all ties into a larger vision of the future. “My ultimate dream is to open up some sort of café or bistro that serves delicious versions of acceptable bodybuilding-style foods. No one is doing this and with my passion for cooking, I think it would be fabulous to have a bodybuilding café. I love to cook. I run cooking classes for my clients and have developed a huge repertoire of really tasty dishes. These dishes incorporate the foods we bodybuilders have to deal with on a repeated basis. I have devised dozens of inventive ways to prepare chicken breasts, fish, fibrous vegetables and starchy carbs. Ideally I would love to have a funky house that houses a complete fitness facility along with a restaurant/café. Perhaps make room for a deep tissue massage therapist or chiropractor – a holistic “one stop” fitness environment that houses all these related services under one roof.” No one who knows the Diminutive Dynamo doubts for a single minute that at some point in the not-too-distant future Meral Ertunc will turn this delightful daydream into concrete reality.
“I have used Parrillo Products for fifteen years. I recommend them to all my clients - though I don’t mindlessly push products as most personal trainers will. If a person is on a nutritional program I design, it is
Parrillo Muffins
a Parrillo inspired program. John’s recommendations and my recommendations are one in the same. I use Parrillo supplements every single day. I love John Parrillo as a person! John is a type-A personality (like me) and his products reflect his no-nonsense personality and approach. His products have a deceptive simplicity: pharmaceutical-grade raw ingredients are used with a minimum of fluff and filler to make super-effective supplements. Originally John’s products were designed for hardcore elite bodybuilders. Over the years other elite athletes and the savviest segment of the serious fitness public realized, “Hey! Wait a minute! If elite bodybuilders are using Parrillo Products to obtain outstanding results why shouldn’t I use them in my quest to transform myself?” I went to a Parrillo “hell camp” and got to meet and hang out with John and Dominique – what great people! Fun, tough and knowledgeable, John’s training approach is grounded in hard work and his nutritional approach is based on science - and not fake science! I tell my clients to keep it simple: eat every few hours, eat balanced bodybuilder meals…if you take in starch make sure to eat some fiber and lean protein to dampen that insulin spike. I educate my people to eat healthy and eat consistently. I cannot say enough good things about John and Dominique Parrillo!
Parrillo Performance
(800) 344-3404
Recent Entries
- Good Fats for Good Health
- Bodybuilding after Y2K
- Vitamins and Minerals Part II
- Shape Up in Eight Weeks The Easy Way
- Kelly Greene
- Parrillo Bars for Every Fitness Need
- Regaining Your Weight Loss “Oomph”
- Jennifer Hendershott > USA Fitness Champion
- Intensity, Psyche, Concentration and the Mind
- The Five P’s
