Holland Canter Interview

Photo Credits:
Photos 1-2 Mike Eckstut
Photo 3: Dan Ray
Photos 4-5 RX Muscle


Holland Canter is still new to competing but in a short time has really made her presence felt. I first saw Holland after she did USA's. I saw some photos and felt she had some real potential. Then after seeing the package she brought to Nationals I felt safe in saying she definitely has pro card potential, not if she wins it, but when she wins it. Holland to me really falls into the saying "the sky is the limit".

Q: Can you talk about how you got started in the gym?
A: My parents enrolled me in gymnastics when I was about four years old. I was a gymnast for eighteen years of my life. I got a full-ride scholarship to the United Sates Air Force Academy and had the opportunity to compete on a D-1 level for four years. Afterwords I was in Vegas one weekend and met a trainer and he asked if I did bodybuilding. I said no that I had just graduated from college. I wasn't into anything yet after gymnastics. He gave me his card and we started talking and that is how I started lifting.

Q: What made you decide to compete?
A: After I met my first trainer, Rick Dobbins, he told me I should look at pictures on-line and read articles and look into the sport. I did a lot of research and was lifting in the gym and got interested. That is how I got started.

Q: A lot of girls I interview say that after that first show, competing becomes like an addiction, was that the case with you?
A: Yes! I competed in my first show last January and I won the Iron Man Naturally and have not stopped training since. I haven't taken a full off-season. I have been pretty much addicted since last January haha.

Q: A lot of girls with the gymnastics background go towards fitness, why did you pick physique?
A: Fitness requires a whole lot of extra time. I am an officer it the United States Air Force and it is a full-time job. I just don't have the time to do a whole routine, train the routine and lift weights at the same time.

Q: At USA's you took thirteenth, obviously not where you would have liked, was it hard to not get down on yourself?
A: I was a little upset but that is why I decided to do Nationals after USA's, I couldn't end the season like that. I wasn't really too down on myself, I could see what I needed to improve on, posing was the big thing. I knew with better posing I could do better at my next show. So I wasn't too upset.

Q: Besides the level of competition, was the national stage any different for you than previous shows?
A: I wouldn't say so. The wait was the biggest difference. I get anxious before I go on stage and get a little worked up. But I would say it is about the same very show. After pre-judge I come off stage and have no idea what is happening. I think it is because I am a new competitor. But I would say it is the same for every show.

Q: Then you did USA's and I thought looked much better, would you agree and if so where were you better?
A: Yes I think I looked much better. I think it has to do with weight training longer and more muscular development. I started squatting a lot more and concentrating on heavier weights. I got a new trainer, Andrea Holliday, and she really honed in on my nutrition. I wasn't cardio'd out close to the show and really stuck to my diet and had more time to work on my muscles.

Q: Did the improved posing just help show everything better also?
A: Oh yeah! I practiced posing a million times more and showed off my muscles a lot better. Andrea helped with that. We did a lot of pictures and a lot of phone calls on how I was supposed to pose. I had my first posing session with a coach right before Nationals so I was still new to everything and never had a coach with me in person.

Q: Physique is still new, does it make it hard when judges may not still know what they are looking for?
A: I don't think it is the same for me since I am still so new. I just bring my best package and don't concentrate on what they exactly want. I am working on making my muscles look the best they can and concentrate on my nutrition. I never tried to change my look. I love Dana Linn Bailey but like when she went to figure and tried to make her appearance smaller and now in physique can look more like herself. I just try and look myself and not concentrate on what they want.

Q: Do you know when you want to compete next?
A: I think I am doing Jon Lindsey's show in Culver City March 9th. I have friends doing that show and they want me to do it with them. I am training now and should be ready. I haven't signed up but I think I am doing it.

Q: Where do you want to be better at for the next show?
A: Definitely keep working on my shoulders. They need to be bigger. A smaller waist of course and my abs. I used to have really good abs when I was a gymnast and then they kind of fell of this past year so I have been doing a lot of abs since Christmas. My quads, develop that sweep, my back can get bigger, my lats can get bigger, but mostly my shoulders and abs.

Q: Is the pro card the goal or is it more if it happens it happens?
A: I have thought about that question a lot because people keep saying "gotta get that pro card." Girls have been doing this for years and striving for that. I think I am just so young and haven't been competing that long. A pro card would be awesome but I think I enjoy competing more than the goal of being a pro. It is amazing to be the best and be a pro, I don't wanna say I don't wanna win.

Q: When you are at the gym do you get the stares or attention?
A: I work out at my base gym and everyone knows me as who I am and leave me alone or just say "whats up LT." I work out with my husband a lot and they don't bother us. Right now I am at a different base in San Diego and am getting a lot of stares and "who is this chick working out in here?" They ask em to stop them haha.

Q: If you could spend one day training with someone you have never trained with, who would it be?
A: Definitely Dana Linn. She is a beast and my motivation. She posts videos on Facebook and me and my husband watch. She is so strong and a motivator and has no shame in her muscles. She is a good role model for strong women.

Q: Anyone you want to thank?
A: Definitely my husband. He has been there for me through this whole experience and is my number one fan and supporter. My family back at home for their un-ending support. Even if I was competing in a chess match my family would be there with pom-poms. I have a great fan base for sure.