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No one can know better about bodybuilding and fitness than Sommer Ray who grew up around bodybuilding parents. She stepped on the stage when she was just 16 years old and that's her first step into the fitness industry.
However, one of the saddest things is that she was bullied for it in her school. She had to face a lot of criticism and substance abuse but it was all worth it in the end because now she is living her best life and has absolute confidence in herself.
Just like any fitness enthusiast, for Sommer too, her fitness is the result of her endless hard work and dedication. She is now a role model to at least 23 million people over her social media handles like Youtube and Instagram. Her motto in life is to encourage others to fight against hate and know their self-worth. She wants everyone to know their self-worth and value themselves. She is an evolving entrepreneur who has a passion for fitness, fashion, and a healthy lifestyle which she intends to spread in the world.
The American fitness model became an internet sensation overnight because of her jaw-dropping curves and some awesome photography skills. She has millions of follows and just about 900 posts. Her youtube channel is buzzing with subscribers who wait for her to upload her what I eat in a day or training sessions. She also keeps her fans posted with what is going on in her daily life through vlogs and that's how she interacts with time too. Currently, she has a net worth of about 4 million dollars.
Where it all began...
It all began when at the age of 15, Sommer Ray decided to give bodybuilding and weight lifting a shot and follow the family tradition. She liked it so much that she remained very dedicated towards her workouts and the results showed pretty well in just a year. It was then that she began competing in bikini athletic championships.She began to enjoy fame and success when in 2015 she won Bikini Teen and Bikini Class D titles at the NPC Colorado State Championships. and reached 16th position in the 2015 NPC USA Championships. She began documenting her journey into the fitness world through vlogs on the internet in 2016 and even posted photos of her workouts and diet on social media like Instagram. Her profile was like by the budding enthusiasts and she gained a lot of followers.
By 2017, the number of followers and her subscribers started to pulsate and she became of the most popular fitness models on Instagram. Her youtube channel is a more recent addition and has a million subscribers.Her biggest inspiration and motivation was her father who always pushed her to do her best. Currently, Sommer Ray is 24 years old and weighs 52-57 kilograms depending according to her competition. She is 5'6'' tall.
Sommer Ray Statistics
- Weight: 115 - 125lbs (52.2 - 56.7kg)
- Height: 5'6" (167.5cm)
- Bust: 34"
- Waist: 24"
- Age: 23
- Date of Birth: September 15, 1996
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Model, Fitness Enthusiast, Social Media Fitness Influencer, Competitor
Sommer Ray Workout Routine
Sommer Ray was raised in Colorado and had two sisters and a brother. She was homeschooled for a long time until she reached high school, from which she dropped again due to constant bullying. Posting pictures online was always her deal but she faced a lot of criticism for her semi-nude pictures. "I was slut-shamed in a way — everyone from my hometown judged me," she commented as her internet profile was taken down. "They didn’t understand when I posted pictures of my ass on Instagram, it was because I'd worked hard for it. It’s not a sexualized thing," she continued.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJDrghP-eLQ
As for exercise and fitness, she was always an active child from a very young age. She was a daddy's girl and this led to her participating in bodybuilding competitions since the age of 16. Naturally, her father guided her and even became her coach. She spent the next few years competing in various bodybuilding competitions in the teen division. She was constantly ranked in the top five positions in every competition she took part in.
Speaking about the scenario of national bodybuilding competitions, she says, "it’s a whole different world where many girls are on steroids, and I didn’t want to do that to my body." Sommer Ray also began training her mom's friend and at the same time decided to take a professional certificate in fitness and bodybuilding. She quickly saw Instagram as a great source to earn money. The strategy has paid off because she quickly gained several followers. She has been a part of many ad campaigns for big brands like Pretty Little Things to her own projects. She even launched her own fitness app called, EVOLVE. The app helps the users to take guidance for equipment-free workouts as well as home workouts and meal plans.
She also gives credits to another Instagram account by the handle name, WorldStar which has more than 16 million subscribers to help her reach out to people. She also says that it has come with a lot of downsides. "There's so much fake fitness on the Internet," she says, asserting herself as the foil. "I was just a breath of fresh air — all the way natural without fake boobs or a fake butt. People like authenticity. They caught on to what was doing and liked it."
She has ever since been accused of undergoing plastic surgeries or feature enhancement procedures which Ray claims to be false. She asserts her pictures are 100 percent real. "If there’s something not permanent on my face like a zit, I’ll smooth it," she says of the detailing she makes before she makes a post public. "If I take a photo at a bad angle, I just won't post it. I don't Photoshop my body because it would feel like a false advertisement."
How to Get That Butt
Sommer Ray hits the gym at least 5 times a week, but with her hectic schedule and travel plans, it is not always possible. She tries to incorporate a 90-minute workout at least every alternate day then. She works her glutes at least 2 times a week. "If my glutes are sore, I tell myself, 'I probably shouldn't work them today,' " she says. "I just listen to my body."
There is not a stringent routine that she sticks to and follows what her body has been asking of it. "There’s not a certain exercise or specific workout that’s beneficial," she says. "I switch it up every day and try to make it fun because as soon as it feels like a job, you don’t want to do it."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czt4V6RB4pk
She begins her butt workout, or any workout for that matter, with foam rolling. She foam rolls her legs, butts, back and as soon as she is done, she hits the stair stepper or stair master. She gets her cardio done by a minute of regular climbing and one minute of skipping the steps for a total of 6 minutes. She stretches her whole body afterward.
The kinds of the machine she uses are very common. She relies on requirements like the Smith machine, which allows her to hold a barbell on a track during her squats; abductor and adductor machines to engage her outer and inner things and her glute muscles; the cable machine on which she does kickbacks by adding some weights. She uses ankle weights for exercises like donkey kicks and the leg press machine for her front thigh and hamstrings.
She uses other machines in the gym but gives each exercise her own twist. For example, on the curl machine on which she trains her hamstrings, she doesn't just lie down but hooks her ankles behind the bar and engages the back muscles of her legs to bring that bar closer to her glutes.
Another o her favorite exercise is to lie face up with her upper back on the pad and her feet grounded tightly on the ground. The bar is positioned against her hips and then she engages her hamstrings and hips to lift her hips. Of course, there is a lot of resistance in this exercise and it helps her tone her muscles. As she lifts it, the body forms a straight line between her knees and shoulders.
Here is an example of her leg workout session:
Sommer’s leg session:Hack Squats – 4 x 12 repsLeg Press – 4 x 12 repsStanding Cable Glute Extensions – 4 x 12 repsTRX Jump Squats – 4 x 12 repsJump Rope – 4 x 5 min
She keeps on experimenting in the gym and even shared a new way of using the assisted pull-up machine for her glutes workout. The workout features high handlebars and a moving platform you are meant to kneel on. To convert it into a glute workout, she places a foot where her knee should go on the platform with her legs bent. She then engaged the back of her thigh and hips to extend the knee and push the platform towards the floor.
"If you do any exercise right, with the right form, you learn to isolate your muscles," she says. (You should only practice unconventional moves under the supervision of a certified trainer.)
After she is done with her workouts, she likes to get her heartbeat racing and she does 6 minutes of high-intensity interval training or HIIT with a jump rope. Her HIIT workout includes hopping for 3 minutes and then taking a 30-second break. She repeats that for 6 minutes before concluding her workout.
Sommer Ray Diet Plan
Since her parents were bodybuilders, Sommer grew up around people who were health-conscious and his family became a role model for her and decided her eating patterns too. Therefore, she grew up with a lean figure. But at the age of 16, she began focusing on competing in a bikini bodybuilding championship and had to eat according to her requirements and gains. She started eating a lot of lean proteins, vegetables especially green leafy ones, and fruits. She also limited her carbs intake to lower her calorie count.https://www.instagram.com/p/B1o4r-0A8KN/When she is not competing, she follows a wholesome and balanced diet. Now that she is off the competitions, she makes sure to includes all the major food groups like carbs, proteins, and fats in her diet and make it sustainable and less restrictive.She says getting into the fitness industry is not easy and one has to make a lot of sacrifices for it. But it is all about patience and dedication that one can show. “It takes time and it takes commitment. Don’t do it for anyone or anything, you need to do it for yourself or you’re not going to be successful with it”, says Sommer. “That’s why I’ve had the good results that I’ve had because I put my mind, body, and soul into it because I’m passionate about nutrition and fitness”, she added.
This is what her daily food intake looks like:
Her daily protein intake goals are 70 grams to maintain her glute muscles and so she starts her day accordingly. Breakfasts all usually all about protein shakes. She considered the first meal of the day very important.
She has 6 meals throughout the day and there are days when she only cooks chicken, veggies, and steamed rice for all of her meals. However, she also likes to eat out. In-and-Out is one of her favorite fast food joints. She orders the burger and has it without the buns to reduce her carb intake. Later on, she takes the carbs from veggies and other whole grains. Another one of her favorite spots is the Jersey Mike's where she doubles down the turkey to amp up her protein.In other restaurants, she always orders chicken for protein and some veggies. She also loves to have a sweet potato for carbs.Her cheat days are mostly on weekends when she enjoys a shot of tequila or a cocktail with her family and friends. She loves to eat whatever she is craving at the moment. She says, "If I want a slice of pizza, I have a slice of pizza. I want to look good, but I also want to enjoy life."https://www.instagram.com/p/B6gs87ng1J9/She loves who she is and what she does but tells her fans not to follow her diets or daily routines because everyone is unique and their body responds to different diets differently. She comments, "I don’t want to motivate women to look like me — I want them to love themselves the way I do," she says. "Society puts on pressure to look and be a certain way — you're your best when you are confident in yourself."
The Haters & Gaining Respect
Along with fame comes haters too and Sommer Ray was not unaware of it. Due to her pictures on social media which focused around, especially her butt, she attracted many negative comments along with attracting fans. But, this did not affect her much, She then started posting her daily vlogs onYoutube in the response to her hat comments. She even confessed that her pictures are just to generate the revenue but it does not mean that it describes who she is as a person.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDKiKRxH4s8This was an important step for her because that is how she started to bond more with her audience who now also understood and support her.
“It’s so funny how people have this image of me an they think I’m a sl*t and I don’t wear clothes. But that’s all an illusion, this is social media people. Those booty shots, it’s what pays the bills. I’m a normal human, I wear normal clothes. Actually I dress sort-of like a hobo everyday, I’m not in yoga pants, I’m in long baggy t-shirt things.” - Somemr Ray
Idols and Influences
Sommer grew up in such a family that she did not have to look for inspiration beyond it. She considers her mother, Shannon Ray, and her father as the biggest inspiration to drive her towards fitness and helped her find her passion for fitness and health. In fact, her debut appearance as a bikini bodybuilding model was in the same bodybuilding show as her mom did years ago.https://www.instagram.com/p/B1cS0oFAhgY/She also gets inspired by the amazing response that she gets on her social media accounts. Thus, her fans and followers are also the group of people she gets her daily dose of inspiration from. However, she's not deterred by negative comments and tries to stay as positive as she can.She speaks highly of her mother and comments,
“I’ve been working out with my mother my whole life. We had a gym in our basement and we would work out down there. I used to compete in bodybuilding and the first competition I ever did was with my mum.” – Sommer Ray
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