VERO BEACH - For years, Josefina Monasterio worked on her mind, turning it into a finely tuned machine. Now at 60, she’s doing the same for her body.
Already an accomplished teacher and Human Potential Trainer, Monasterio joined the world of female bodybuilding and, like everything else she has tried in her life, she has come away successful.
“I’m very confident,” Monasterio said. “It comes easy for me. I’m definitely not cocky, but when I saw pictures of some of the women who had won in the past, I knew I could beat them.”
Monasterio began her new journey about 18 months ago and has quickly asserted herself as one of the best in the game.
At the 2005 NPC Southern States Bodybuilding Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Monasterio competed in the lightweight division and placed first in the women over-50 category. She also was the women over-50 overall winner.
The first-place finishes continued as she won three consecutive contests, competing in the women over-40 categories, including the Mid-Florida Muscle Classic.
“Sounds good, doesn’t it?” Monasterio said. “Some people train for years and (do) not win. If you put your heart in it, you’ll be successful.”
Monasterio’s story began when she was born in Punta de Mata, Venezeula. She competed in various sports, getting involved in gymnastics around 12 years old, and she would also later compete in track and field on a national level.
After finishing college, she interviewed for a limited amount of scholarships that were available to attend graduate school overseas. Monasterio received one, and since she spoke no English, she decided to go to Georgetown University to enroll in a six-month program to learn the language.
“They said, ‘You will go back if you don’t learn English,’” Monasterio said. “I said, ‘No way, Jose.’”
Monasterio quickly picked up the language and went on to earn her Master’s Degree in Health Education and Counseling.
With her degree in hand, Monasterio was able to pursue her dream job of working in the United States school system. For the next 17 years, she would teach at Cambridge High School in Boston, one of the top schools in the state.
She discovered she had a skill for motivating students and started a program called personal development. “Kids don’t want to pay attention to their subjects,” Monasterio said. “When you motivate them, their eyes would open. Soon, I was teaching it to the teachers.”
After spending almost 20 years in Beantown, Monasterio began to grow tired of the winter weather.
“For the last three years there, I was miserable,” Monasterio said. “After 17 years, I got tired of the winter thing.”
Monasterio decided to move to Florida and earned her doctorate of education from Nova University, specializing in adult education.
She began teaching motivational seminars, helping people achieve the success that she had experienced so much of.
“I’m always happy and always energized,” Monasterio said. “People live in quiet desperation. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be. That’s misery.”
So confident was she in her approach that Monasterio started buying time on WWCI TV 10, bringing her methods to a wider audience.
“We all have to use the potential that God has given us,” Monasterio said. "If I give you a hammer and you don’t use it, it’s just a hammer. Or you can build a house with it.
“If you do what you love to do, you have no choice to succeed,” Monasterio said.
That’s just what Monasterio plans to do in her upcoming bodybuilding competitions. She will try to capture some gold once again at the Southern States, this time looking to squash her opponents in the women over-35 division. “I saw the woman who won last year,” Monasterio said. “I know I can take the crown from her. I’m going to kick some behinds.”
