Margaret Negrete, D.O.’89, began weight-training as a DMU student when Iowa’s frigid winters put a chill on her running. She won her first bodybuilding competition soon after, in 1985, and she’s competed ever since, earning numerous top finishes in lightweight and physique events of the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) and the National Physique Committee.
Recently featured on the fitness website Rx Girl, Negrete juggles bodybuilding with life as a mother of two active daughters, a full-time board-certified anesthesiologist in El Paso, TX, and a certified personal trainer. Needless to say, as she
told Rx Girl reporter Corey Young, “I am very good at time management and multitasking.
“I find that the more things that I have to do, the more I get done,” she added. “I have always been a goal-oriented person. Once I finish a competition, I am starting to plan for the next one. I need that goal in the distance that keeps me going.”
Her steely discipline helps, too. Negrete told Young she’d pack cardio exercise into her professional life by donning a weighted vest and, between cases, running up and down the seven flights of the hospital where she practices. She packs her lunches to avoid the tempting treats typically available in the doctors’ lounge. Her husband and national-level competitive body builder, Scott Stein, motivates her, too.
Negrete, who’s learned she needs to change her workout routine about every six weeks to “avoid getting stagnant,” says her ultimate goal is to earn the “pro card” that would allow her to compete on the IFBB Pro Physique stage. “I have developed an attitude of persistence, and I just keep pushing on and coming back,” she told Young. “I know that I will eventually get there.”
Negrete invites individuals interested in online training or nutritional counseling for bodybuilding competition to contact her by email at mnegrete01@elp.rr.com.
