Dona Oliveira (September 8, 1960 – December 7, 2018) was a professional female bodybuilder from the United States. She competed from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s.
Like many other women, Dona first started exercising to get in better shape. At a young age she joined a Nautilus gym and trained for twenty minutes, three times a week as she had been told. At the time she had no desire to develop the type of bodies of the female bodybuilders of her time or even compete. Dona felt that the well developed physiques of female bodybuilders were "too much". But Oliveira soon became frustrated with her exercise routines; she enjoyed the little pump she got from her training, but was disappointed with the minimal change she saw in her physique. This soon changed when Dona got a look at some bodybuilding magazines and was able to see top women bodybuilders such as Rachel McLish and Mary Roberts. While she had no intentions of training for competition purposes, Oliveira knew that she wanted more of the shape and muscle tone she saw on the photos of those magazines.
Dona began training with Saul Friedman, a powerlifter friend in his basement gym and soon saw results. Saul also set a goal for her to compete in a local bodybuilding contest. Four months later after she started training with heavy weights, Oliveira entered her first bodybuilding show and placed second. The following year she won several shows and switched to the NPC on the advice of some friends. She continued to win shows and quickly became a pro within two years. Her highest achievements in amateur competition were winning the 1984 East Coast Championships, the 1985 NPC USA Championship, and NPC World Games in London, England. As a professional, she won the 1988 IFBB Pro World Championships in Nice, France, and placed 6th at the IFBB Ms. Olympia in the same year (originally she placed 7th, but was later awarded 6th place when Tonya Knight was disqualified).
Bodybuilding philosophy
Oliveira's training consisted of simple compound movements with mostly free weights with few cable and machine exercises. She focused on a combination of powerlifting exercises such as squats, bench presses, and deadlifts with bodybuilding exercises such as shoulder presses, laterals raises, dumbbell flyes, and barbell rows. During her competitive days she typically trained on a three-day split routine (three days on, one day off) during the off-season, training up to three bodyparts per training session. During the contest season she would switch to a four-day split routine (four days on, one day off) to focus on her weak points; during the contest season she would train one or two bodyparts. Dona was a strong believer in the idea that the psychological aspect of bodybuilding was just as important as the physical aspect of it, and felt that goal setting was important to develop her physique.
2014 IFBB Tampa Pro - Women's Physique Division - 16th
References
Dobbins, Bill and Dona Oliveira. Beyond Basics: How the '88 IFBB World Professional Champ solved a problem Bodypart. Wood-land Hills: Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness, February, 1989. ISSN 0744-5105. Wood-land Hills, CA: I, Brute Enterprises, Inc, 1988. Section: Women, pages 152-156, 236, and 240 cover Dona Oliveira article.
External links
Dona Oliveira's Information
Dona Oliveira
January 07, 2023
dona, oliveira, september, 1960, december, 2018, professional, female, bodybuilder, from, united, states, competed, from, 1980s, through, early, 1990s, bodybuilderpersonal, infoborn, 1960, september, 1960new, bedford, massachusettsdieddecember, 2018, 2018, age. Dona Oliveira September 8 1960 December 7 2018 was a professional female bodybuilder from the United States She competed from the mid 1980s through the early 1990s Dona OliveiraBodybuilderPersonal infoBorn 1960 09 08 September 8 1960New Bedford MassachusettsDiedDecember 7 2018 2018 12 07 aged 58 Height5 ft 6 in 1 68 m Weight In Season 127 139 lb Off Season 146 150 lbProfessional careerPro debutIFBB World Games1985Best winIFBB Women s World Pro Champion1988PredecessorBev FrancisSuccessorDiana DennisActiveRetired 1991 Contents 1 Biography 2 Bodybuilding philosophy 3 Contest history 4 References 5 External linksBiography EditLike many other women Dona first started exercising to get in better shape At a young age she joined a Nautilus gym and trained for twenty minutes three times a week as she had been told At the time she had no desire to develop the type of bodies of the female bodybuilders of her time or even compete Dona felt that the well developed physiques of female bodybuilders were too much But Oliveira soon became frustrated with her exercise routines she enjoyed the little pump she got from her training but was disappointed with the minimal change she saw in her physique This soon changed when Dona got a look at some bodybuilding magazines and was able to see top women bodybuilders such as Rachel McLish and Mary Roberts While she had no intentions of training for competition purposes Oliveira knew that she wanted more of the shape and muscle tone she saw on the photos of those magazines Dona began training with Saul Friedman a powerlifter friend in his basement gym and soon saw results Saul also set a goal for her to compete in a local bodybuilding contest Four months later after she started training with heavy weights Oliveira entered her first bodybuilding show and placed second The following year she won several shows and switched to the NPC on the advice of some friends She continued to win shows and quickly became a pro within two years Her highest achievements in amateur competition were winning the 1984 East Coast Championships the 1985 NPC USA Championship and NPC World Games in London England As a professional she won the 1988 IFBB Pro World Championships in Nice France and placed 6th at the IFBB Ms Olympia in the same year originally she placed 7th but was later awarded 6th place when Tonya Knight was disqualified Bodybuilding philosophy EditOliveira s training consisted of simple compound movements with mostly free weights with few cable and machine exercises She focused on a combination of powerlifting exercises such as squats bench presses and deadlifts with bodybuilding exercises such as shoulder presses laterals raises dumbbell flyes and barbell rows During her competitive days she typically trained on a three day split routine three days on one day off during the off season training up to three bodyparts per training session During the contest season she would switch to a four day split routine four days on one day off to focus on her weak points during the contest season she would train one or two bodyparts Dona was a strong believer in the idea that the psychological aspect of bodybuilding was just as important as the physical aspect of it and felt that goal setting was important to develop her physique Contest history Edit1983 AAU Massachusetts State Championships 1st 1984 NPC East Coast Championships 1st 1984 NPC Nationals 4th MW 1985 NPC USA Championship 1st MW amp Overall 1985 IFBB World Games 1st 1985 IFBBMs Olympia 17th 1986 IFBB Pro World Championships 9th 1986 IFBB Ms Olympia 17th 1988 IFBB Pro World Championships 1st 1988 IFBB Ms Olympia 6th 1989 IFBB Ms Olympia 12th 1990 IFBB Ms Olympia 16th 2007 NPC Southern States Figure Class A 5th 2014 IFBB Tampa Pro Women s Physique Division 16thReferences EditDobbins Bill and Dona Oliveira Beyond Basics How the 88 IFBB World Professional Champ solved a problem Bodypart Wood land Hills Joe Weider s Muscle amp Fitness February 1989 ISSN 0744 5105 Wood land Hills CA I Brute Enterprises Inc 1988 Section Women pages 152 156 236 and 240 cover Dona Oliveira article External links EditDona Oliveira s Information Dona Oliveira Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dona Oliveira amp oldid 1110278091, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
