Veronica cornejo
The Strength Within
Welcome to The Strength Within, a newsletter dedicated to resilience, discipline, and transformation. Veronica Cornejo- a mother, bodybuilder, and veteran-shares her journey of balancing strength in all forms, from the weight room to everyday rewarding moments in life.
I have known Veronica for quite some time. How we met? Well, at a military unit not far from home. When I first met her, she was and still is the most friendly, kindhearted human being I ever met. I was so inspired by her dedication not just serving her community through the military but the resilience of pushing physical and mindset boundaries of strength and reshaping the human condition with such grace and empowerment. I have been eager to create a newsletter about her story. And of course, I have sent her questions to answer through her language and visualization of who she is and what is it about her journey that could bring inspiration and courage for your own balance of joy, hope, and dedication to thrive!
Stay strong. Stay focused. Stay unstoppable.
Interviewed Questions & Answers
Bodybuilding
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START BODYBUILDING?
A: Veronica: I started bodybuilding right after I had my son. I have been told numerous times that once you have a baby, life is different, and you should be happy with the body you have afterwards. It wasn’t exactly inspiring, and I challenged those thoughts by initiating myself into learning how the body works and the effects of postpartum. I soon learned that bodybuilding was achievable and not only that but anything you put your mind to. Life doesn’t “stop” when you have children. I was inspired and motivated if anything, to show and tell my son one day that mom didn’t listen to what others had to say and made her own successful path.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR TRAINING WITH OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE?
A: Veronica: That’s a great question, and I challenge those reading to answer this question, “what are your priorities in life and how bad do you want them?” Having strength and showmanship to represent that strength meant a big deal for me then. I’m rebellious in the sense that I refuse to let others author my story with the narrow thoughts some people have. When you want something bad enough, you have to trade other things for it. I am in college, with a full-time active-duty job, a single mother, photography, bodybuilding, and with a house I just bought by myself and maintain. I miss some things, but those sacrifices are worth the end goal, which is to be all I can be and there for those in my small circle of friends and family I love.
Female Veterans
HOW HAS YOUR MILITARY EXPERIENCE INFLUENCED YOUR APPROACH TO FITNESS?
A: Veronica: I would say my experience in the military has a huge influence on my approach to fitness. Right from the beginning in basic training, I was this small-town girl living under a rock yet earned honor graduate because of that discipline and positive mindset. There is nothing in life I can’t manage because I’ve put myself in challenging situations where I learned to be self-reliant.
Military Service
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO JOIN THE MILITARY?
A: Veronica: I joined the military at 17 as a junior in high school, I came from a poor family with extraordinarily little resources for college, I was smart but not smart enough to get big scholarships. Military service was something I had thought about as a kid, but I was afraid. I was 97lbs and 5 foot nothing. I decided then, what’s the worst that can happen? I’ve always been a risk taker and I’m glad I did. College was paid for, more opportunities opened for me and the skills and values I have stemmed from being in such a respectable line of work.
HOW DO YOU SUPPORT OTHERS IN THEIR FITNESS JOURNEY?
A: Veronica: When someone’s starting out in fitness and reaches out to me, one it motivates me! I’m happy to know that people reach out to me because there is some level of trust in my knowledge and experience. I support those by ensuring that even if they are just starting out, they are already 100% ahead of those who do nothing. It all starts in the mind and having a positive and dedicated mindset alongside support from someone who’s been down that path helps a long way. Years later I still maintain contact with those who first started out and support them in any way I can whether that’s through moral support, building a workout plan or training 1:1.
Motivation and Dedication
WHAT KEEPS YOU DEDICATED TO YOUR FITNESS GOALS?
A: Veronica: This is a good one! I stay motivated through lifestyle. It used to be “I want to look a certain way” to “I want to compete and test my strength” to “this is just my normal day to day now.” Fitness really is a journey, enjoy the highs and grind through the lows.
HOW DO YOU OVERCOME SETBACKS OR PLATEAUS IN YOUR TRAINING?
A: Veronica: Lots of this happens for sure. I get through the challenging times through discipline. It’s hard but sometimes you won’t be motivated, but you have to do some things in life to get to a place of success. It takes a bit of sacrifice to be above average, that’s just that. If it were easy, then everyone would be doing it, which makes it that much more rewarding!
Mental Toughness
CAN YOU SHARE A TIME WHEN YOU HAD TO OVERCOME A SIGNIFICANT MENTAL BARRIER?
A: Veronica: Yes, so there was a time when I was pregnant with my son and multiple people would tell me that the body I had before is gone, it’s okay to settle with what you get, don’t expect to “bounce back.” Terrible things, I hated the fact that all these people were putting limitations on me, it was mentally wearing on me. So, after I had my son, I started working slowly on regaining my strength and the comments got even worse, alienating me to feel alone in my healing process. I worked through the mental barrier of feeling alone and unsupported and realized I didn’t want to “bounce back.” I wanted to be better than I’ve ever been in my life and that is what I did.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL RESILIENCE?
A: Veronica: I love this question, every now and then in life, I’m challenged with something that stresses my mentality like crazy ha-ha. In each one of those situations, I have learned something valuable or a lesson. Life is a perception and really what you think of it. What keeps me going through any mental strain is the temporary length of it. You might be struggling with something for a day, a month, even 6 months to a year but putting one foot in front of the other will eventually get you out of it. You’ll look back one day and realize how small it really was.
HOW IMPORTANT IS MENTAL TOUGHNESS COMPARED TO PHYSICAL STRENGTH IN BODYBUILDING?
A: Veronica: I would say throughout the entirety of my life; every single setback or challenge has strengthened my mental capacity over time. My mental toughness is surely stronger than my physical strength.
Other Questions I have asked Veronica
HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR MOTHERHOOD, MILITARY, AND GYM TIME?
A: Veronica: Balancing motherhood, military and gym time is pretty simple... now.
It was tough in the beginning, my schedule was all over the place, but I finally got it down! While I’m at work in the military full time, I drop off my son at daycare in the morning around 6:30, workout for an hour, get to work by 9am, and that’s about it. Sometimes, when I don’t have my son, because I have split custody with his dad, I’ll go to work and then workout afterwards. I also have college classes, and work on that after dinnertime when my son is occupied with playing or watching a movie before bed or after the gym.
Competitions in Bodybuilding and Body Figure
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A BODYBUILDING COMPETITION?
A: Veronica: Preparing for bodybuilding competitions start 12 weeks before shows, it’s a huge mental toll, so I try my best to limit any stress by ensuring I follow a strict gym schedule, diet, and time for myself to recoup. I enjoy prepping because most of my life in those weeks are planned to a tee, so I always know what I’m doing, and my support system is there if I ever need anything.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE DURING YOUR FIRST COMPETITION?
A: Veronica: I was so scared to go up on stage, I felt noticeably confident but still nervous to be judged and possibly messing up my routine. There’s nothing quite like going your first time, they separate you by “newness” and your backstage with the other girls who are going their first time as well. It turned out to be a wonderful experience, everyone was encouraging! Additionally, everyone’s reasoning behind why they started was also very inspiring, enticing me to do it again.
HOW DO YOU STAY FOCUSED AND MOTIVATED THROUGHOUT THE COMPETITION SEASON?
A: Veronica: My end goal in competing was to see if I could do it, and it was tough at first but once you go through the process, you realize how strong you really are both physically and mentally. The thing that motivated me most was proving to myself that I could be better than I was before having my son. Today, it’s about maintaining strength and mobility.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE CONSIDERING ENTERING THEIR FIRST BODYBUILDING/BODY FIGURE COMPETITION?
A: Veronica: Enjoy the first-time newbie experience, watch your body grow from something average to something amazing and know that any progress made comes from 100% work and effort by yourself and that’s something to be proud of.
HOW DO YOU RECOVER AND RESET AFTER A COMPETITION?
A: Veronica: EAT. The first two days after competing are the best, I eat whatever my heart desires and it’s like I try food for the first time again ha-ha. Then it’s back to eating like a prep but slowly reintroducing more foods and varieties again for a couple of weeks until the body is back to normal.
This concludes our interview with Veronica Cornejo! You can follow her on her IG (Instagram) for more motivation and connection!
https://www.instagram.com/_veronicacorn_?igsh=dnBoYTR2dnhlN252
“WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?”
As we continue this journey of strength and resilience together, I’d love to hear from you. Here are some questions to reflect on:
Q: What does strength mean to you-physically, mentally, or emotionally?
Q: How do you balance personal goals with the demands of daily life?
Q: what are your biggest challenges when it comes to fitness, wellness, or personal growth?
Q: What topics would you love to see covered in future newsletter stories?
Your thoughts, experiences, and questions matter. reply to this email or connect with me on social media-I’d love to hear your perspective!
UNTIL NEXT TIME, STAY STRONG AND KEEP PUSHING FORWARD.
(I do not own copyrights to these images)