Hi my name is Jen Jaquin.
I’m 39 years young with a full time job as an insurance compliance analyst and a mother of 2 girls 10-13. I have a busy life and being disabled in a wheel chair makes it busier to say the least. I’ve had a passion for fitness and health since about -age 10 when I would watch my dad work out in the garage. He then would take me to Bally Total Fitness in my hometown where I grew up to watch him train. I told him that is what I wanted to do as my first job when I turned 16, so on my 16th birthday, that’s where he took me -to the gym . I got my first job behind the desk at Bally Total Fitness in Rockford Illinois. My passion grew from there on out. I was called“guns” in high school for my already distinct bicep at an early age from softball. As a child and young adult I always tripped and fell and got laughed at ,but was still “cool”. I dragged my feet ,and I didn’t know why. .my parents played it off well .
I made it a commitment to stay active and fit so people would look at me as “fit Jen “instead of “clumsy Jen”. I didn’t know then ,but those trips and falls were the beginning of an upper motor Nuro disorder that would be exasperated later in life when I had my children with the use of an epidural .
l- Which eventually I would lose the ability to walk ,the feeling in my feet ,my balance ,have severe spasticity ,constant pain limited leg motion , bladder frequencies and the list goes on.
I moved to Florida when I was 20 ,and worked at a local gym in Destin Florida and that’s where my passion of exercise took off big time. I started tinkering with supplements – CLA Fish oil L arginine L glutamine I took sharks tooth because It helped my joints and cartilage and started going to the library and checking out fitness books. Even at age 20 I did not know I had any neurological disease I thought my tripping was due to softball related issues so I was trying to solve the problem with supplements well that ,and I was extremely into exercise !! I even took Hydroxycut back in the day !! I moved to Charlotte when I was 25 ,and that’s when I had my children -a huge forever turning point for me -I would be disabled when I left the hospital with my newborn.
I could physically run into the hospital and could not walk out.
I knew right away when I had the epidural that something was wrong .I lost all feeling from my lips down and I never gained the feeling back from my legs down to my toes . for the first year I was in big denial . I quit working out . I finally went to neurologist and had a slew of tests done . I know so many diseases that I Don’t have but yet to find the one I do have.when I realized and came to terms that I wasn’t dying ,I decided that I needed to start living again. I I knew that exercise and health was my favorite study ,my favorite hobby ,the best topic I knew how to do and that interested me.I have the most knowledge in it.I .knew the difference between fast twitch muscles fibers and slow twitch muscle fibers .I knew that if you consumedmore protein then one could digest in one sitting that it could turn into glucose. To help avoid that ,consume more branched chain amino acid‘s and that’ll help break down the protein faster. I knew that if I put my knowledge toward something that I had a passion about, I could grow and be amazing at what I love to do ,and that is bodybuilding. So I started working out again slowly.
Two years ago I went to the gym at the local YMCA in Ballantyne Charlotte North Carolina SARAS Y they were stunned at my ability and my knowledge and my strength . They quickly made the YMCA handicap accessible. Became my Cheers Gym everybody knows my name. I was asked to do a show by several different people , people at work ,people at the gym ,people on social media I finally
said yes !!
All these years of researching nutrition and supplements and knowing what to put into my body and how my body reacts to fats and proteins and supplements such as what I currently take ,I knew that I did not need to obtain a coach ,I could be my own coach and plan my own meals- , heck that is what I do anyways – thought to myself .
I chose to do the wheelchair Nationals in West Palm Beach -wheelchair bodybuilding The CJ sunshine classic .
I placed first in figure and physique and overall winner for 2018 . I am the 2018 women’s NPC champion.and I really owe that to a few knowledgeable points.
One- ther is not a big group of women bodybuilders to compete against – ( I wish there was ) I want to teach and promote- I want to trailblaze. My goal when I become sponsored is to reach out to as many women ,disabled women ,older people and let them know that you can do it bebig in pain and physically imperfect is something that should say in your head and make you want it more . I am not” clumsy Jen” I am “fit Jen “
I really think that I would’ve blown anybody out of the water because of my knowledge of supplements and how to eat correctly. I take BC AAs before and after working out CLA L -glutamate and L -cartine L arginine a pre-work out a daily multivitamin that has green tea extract in it and all the essential vitamins biotin for your hair and nails vitamin D vitamin K Potassium ,magnesium for water management. I really like P protein but I can’t find that in a lot of places and I use whey protein powders for my pancakes!!! I have an excessive knowledge base for supplements. I have been asked to guest pose at Junior USA in Charleston May 18 2018
It’s in my bio
i didn’t want to give up on myself I wanted to stay strong for my children and have them grow up seeing their mother a fighter and a winner and a woman that sets and example for others , not a woman that stands out because of her disability but a woman that stands out because of her ABILITY in addition the longer I continue to exercise the more mobile I will be my body will be less stiff.
A bunch of friends and coworkers and people from my gym influence me to want to compete
I started looking at a bunch of sites on Facebook I joined a couple of check groups then I started speaking to a few women and I met a woman named CJ and Isabel we started talking about the wheelchair nationals CJ said she would sponsor me a suit I was told I looked bad ass quoteand it just went from there I steadily started leaning out I decided I was going to compete December 25, 2017 and I leaned out by March 10, 2018
My children and myself knowing that I have to stay strong to be able to still get in my wheelchair without any help. I have to be strong for me being strong is beautiful and it looks attractive to the eyes but for somebody with a disability strength is a necessity I need it for survival.
Don’t give up don’t listen in look at everybody’s blogs and Facebook statuses and don’t compare your self to others set a realistic goal for yourself and stick to it and if you have a cheat and fall off get back up and get back on because everybody’s human we all make mistakes I love chocolate and by God I will fall off and eat chocolate but you have to live life also we ,all have to set our expectations and live with them. We have to make reachable goals. Don’t set yourself up for failure
• IFBB PRO Contest History
2023 Arnold Classic : 1st Place
2021 Wheelchair Olympia : 1st Place
2020 Wheelchair Olympia : 1st Place
2020 Arnold Classic : 1st Place
2019 Wheelchair Olympia : 1st Place
2019 Arnold Classic : 1st Place
• Amateur Contest History
2018 NPC Wheelchair Nationals : 1st Place
