GREEN BAY – Jesse and Savannah VanEss have been working together the past year to achieve a rare goal, competing together in the National Gym Association’s Hardbodies show at the Meyer Theatre in Green Bay on May 3.
Though Jesse has had a career in bodybuilding spanning nearly a decade, 2025 will mark Savannah’s first public appearance in the bikini division.
“Last year I attended Jesse’s show, and that really sparked my interest and curiosity about what it would look like if I was on stage,” said Savannah.
“That opened the door to start working out together. The motivation was just to find something to do together; just to connect as husband and wife and be close that way. One thing led to another and it developed beyond just spending time together working out.”
Savannah said that Jesse was a huge motivator for her to make the jump into body building.
“I got a lot of encouragement from Jesse, along with seeing my own progression, and that really showed me I would do well. That was the tipping point for me into taking that next step into actually competing together.”
Though body building shows often focus on muscle mass, there are a lot of other factors that performers must perfect before taking the stage.
“In the summer time I only train about four times a week, but as it gets closer to the show it’s more like six days a week,” said Jesse.
“It’s usually a short cardio session in the morning and then about a 45 minute to an hour of lifting in the afternoon and then about another 30 minutes of cardio in the evening at this point. That’s pretty typical for me right now before a show.”
Despite the stark differences between male and female body types, Savannah said that at this point, their training schedules look relatively similar.
“We kind of follow the same schedule. During the summer after the show, it’s a lot of heavy lifting about four times a week — not much cardio — to build muscle. After the holidays, through January, February and March, it kind of gears up to six days a week of lifting and having to modify as much as you can tolerate according to nutrition. You really have to cut out calories but work to maintain and not lose any muscle mass,” said Savannah.
“Now that we are closer to the show, it is moderate and heavy lifting six days a week and an hour of cardio everyday, whether that’s walking, stair master or any kind of cardio. As far as the routine, women’s and men’s are so different. In the division I am in for women with bikini, it is important to have a well-balanced whole body, getting that narrow waist and defined glutes and hamstrings.
I focus a lot more of my time and energy on my lower body, still maintaining upper body muscle definition, but focusing a lot more on lower body.”
According to Jesse, each person’s training routine should be tailored specifically to their needs and strengths, rather than gender.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily harder for a man or a woman. I think it’s more based on the individual. Consistency is more important than gender. Technically a woman is going to have more time adding muscle, but it doesn’t matter who you are — if you are consistent and put in the work it is going to pay off,” said Jesse.
In Savannah’s experience, she said that everyone has to become highly aware of their own bodies and focus on what they have the hardest time developing.
“Yes, men and women have such different bodies and genetics and hormones that play a role, but it really boils down to individual genetics. If you have different body types, the effort and the results could be significantly different. One might be able to really put on some major muscle mass in certain areas, but genetically not do well in other areas, so they have to work harder there. It really boils down to individual muscle genetics,” said Savannah.
On May 3, the contestants will all take the stage in an effort to display their hard work and discipline from the past year.
Though there are many intricacies in what the judges are looking for, an overall lean and strong physique is the primary goal.
“A good big man will always beat a good little man. If you’re tall, it’s harder to fill out your frame and if you’re shorter it’s generally easier to add muscle. If you’re short but you have a well-rounded and stage-ready physique, you’re going to beat someone who’s taller than you. He might have more muscle mass, but maybe he’s not as lean as you and doesn’t quite have as good of a physique,” explained Jesse.
One of the most important facets of training for a body building show relates to the grueling nutrition requirements.
“Again, consistency is important. Even when we are dieting very hard for a show, we are still trying to eat similar foods that I would eat even in the offseason. That’s how you create a healthy balance with your diet for a more maintainable and sustainable diet,” said Jesse.
“I think for me the biggest thing has been the education side. It’s easy to go on Instagram and the internet and see what people have to say about health and everything, but it’s really important to find those individuals who have the proper information and science-based health. Gaining the wisdom and understanding and education has been really important for me. Understanding why I have to eat a certain way for myself has been great because we all have different metabolisms and needs. If you understand what your body is doing, when you put food into it, you are able to personalize it. Somebody might need more carbs compared to someone that needs more fats.
You’ve learned why your body needs these nutrients. It’s not just about winning and doing well. It’s easier to carry this into the offseason if you look at it as a lifestyle and not just a diet. You understand what kind of food your body needs to do well. Then you can enjoy the creativity of it and what the world has to say about different recipes and hacks. Understanding why is the biggest key to nutrition so that you can set yourself up not to fail and to be consistent.”
Training is a year-round commitment for most participants, but the VanEsses said that the biggest time to ramp up their training is about six weeks before the show.
“Once you get to the six-week mark out from the show is generally when you start hitting more cardio and decreasing your calorie intake. You’ll do it before then but at the six week mark it starts to get tough,” said Jesse.
Competing can be a stressful ordeal, but Savannah said that having her husband in it with her has made it all the more fun.
“I’d say my favorite part is having my husband — the closest person in my life — and that connection through it all. He’s been in fitness and nutrition for years. He’s been really coaching me on how to grow certain parts of my body. It’s been really great to have someone to confide in and navigate this journey with. It’s also great spending time in the gym and trying new recipes. We have a son and he’s seen our connection over this common goal and that’s really sparked an interest in him to really just be present and active. He’s cute — he’ll try to read the nutrition label on certain foods. He’ll be like, ‘Mom there’s 100 calories in here!” said Savannah.
“My favorite part has just been that family connection. Even if our workouts or schedules are slightly different, it has really brought us together just to support each other. It’s just been a really great family bonding time.”
Jesse said that in his experience, witnessing his wife’s growth as a person and an athlete over the past year has been motivational for him.
“I think the coolest part for me was seeing us go from training together to seeing Savannah take that over on her own because she really wanted to do that on her own. We are doing it together, but we are both on our own path. It has been great to share this experience as husband and wife,” said Jesse.
Though it would be great for both of the VanEsses to snag a win, the couple said that their journey is purely for the experience.
“A pro card would be great. It would be great to go in and win, but I don ‘t go in expecting to win. It’s for the fun of it and seeing what I have improved on since the last show. That’s where I’m at in my journey,” said Jesse.
Savannah said for her first show, she is just looking forward to taking the stage for the first time in the presence of other hardworking women.
“I don’t have any expectations of winning. It’s just been so amazing to have an opportunity to participate in the pageantry and the camaraderie. Body building attracts such a niche group of people.
Even though we are all competing, each of us has such different journeys, we can celebrate each other’s achievements and growth. I’m looking forward to sharing that with everyone on the stage on showday,” said Savannah.
Seeing the physiques of body builders and high level fitness competitors can be intimidating, but Jesse and Savannah said that they would encourage anyone to take the next step in their own personal fitness and health journey to better themselves.
“Always start small. When people get into fitness, they usually go all in right away and that’s just going to lead to failure. Start with very small changes that you can make for the rest of your life. It could be cutting out liquid calories or stop adding creamer to your coffee. It doesn’t have to be ‘I’m going to the gym seven days a week and doing X,Y,Z for my diet.’ Just start small and be consistent to make lifestyle changes for ever,” said Jesse.
“It has to be something that the person enjoys. If you don’t like body building then don’t get into body building. It could be running or biking. It just has to be something that you enjoy so that you can do it forever.”
Savannah said that working out and eating right is a long process and requires dedication to making long term changes.
“For working out, it’s the same. Just making little lifestyle changes depending on where you’re at. Setting a step goal or taking advantage of your business partnering with a gym for a free membership. Take the opportunity to get involved in something active, especially over the summer like biking or yoga. It doesn’t have to look a certain way. We can get lost on the internet with influencers trying to show that fitness has to look a certain way and it doesn’t,” said Savannah.
“I was really back and forth for a long time about competing. I’m athletic, but I’m not a competitive person and that pressure really got in my head for a long time about if I was going to perform well. I was comparing myself to a lot of other women. I needed to hear that I could do well. I learned that I could do well and enjoy the process. I would like to tell people that if you work really hard at body building you should compete because the winning should come after the fun you have along the way. Not believing in yourself because of pressure to win can be a big deterrent.”
The NGA’s Green Bay Hardbodies show will take place at 11 a.m. on May 3 at the Meyer Theatre.
For more information, visit meyertheatre.org/events-green-bay-hardbodies-natural-2025/.
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