Chasing the Dream: An Interview with Model Raechelle Chase
This stunning mother of three has an amazing background in fashion modeling—starting back when she did her first fashion show at just 5 years old. These days Raechelle Chase prefers the challenge that comes with being in shape for Fitness Modeling and she has been fortunate to have opportunities to do a lot of International fitness modeling over the last few years.
Although Raechelle loves what she does, she mentioned that her most important role is being a mother to her 3 young children, Dior-Rose 5 years old, Carlos 6 years old, and Annaliese 12 years old.
Growing up she studied Early Childhood Education, Computer technology & Personal Training—all professions that she decided not to pursue. Raechelle Chase also worked in event management for a few years organizing fashion shows and corporate functions.
At the young age of 16, Raechelle began working part-time in a gym. It wasn’t until 2002 that she started training routinely. It wasn’t until she competed in 2007 as a Novice when she won her class, best posing routine, and Overall Figure Champion that she knew that the fitness industry was where she was meant to be. After spending her entire life wondering what the heck she was going to do with her life and trying out many different occupations, she finally knew. Now, Raechelle Chase is also the Fitness Director of ‘Fitness Life Magazine’, an International Fitness, and Cover Model and TV Presenter.
Raechelle Chase: Living on HER Terms
Raechelle Chase has always lived outside of the box, naturally drawn to risk-taking, impulsive behavior, and setting herself what often seemed to be impossible goals. She likes to push the limits and boundaries of what she believes to be true in life to see just what really is possible. In the case of competing, she found it fascinating how much she could actually handle both physically and mentally. Often we underestimate ourselves and what is possible.
For Raechelle, the dedicated lifestyle, beliefs, and the way training and being in shape makes her feel makes all the difference in her life. It’s such an amazing feeling stepping on stage knowing all the hard work you and every one of the athletes up there with you has put in. The fitness industry has to be one of the best to be in if your goals are to stay positive, motivated, and healthy.
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Every show she has competed in has been a huge event in her life—one that doesn’t come with a lot of sleep during her prep. Getting ready to compete with such a young family brings a lot of challenges. Making sure that she spends time with each of her children every day is so important to her so she has to make sure she is organized with her diet and training schedule. Her dedication to her training and dieting paid off when Raechelle Chase became the first-ever female from New Zealand to compete in The Olympia—calling it her greatest achievement ever.
Chasing a Dream
As if this beauty doesn’t have enough on her plate as is, she is currently working on her RC “Chasing the Dream” clothing line and merchandise. So far she has tank tops, hoodies, drink bottles, calendars, a DVD, and this year she will be releasing a line of gym gear. Despite the busy schedule, she mentioned it’s always fun having these types of projects going on and be the best she can be and pushing forward.
With a body like Raechelle’s and the amazing personality, it’s no wonder sponsorships are thrown her way. Raechelle is a sponsored athlete for Sketchers footwear, Nutrigenix supplement company in the US, Xtreme Nutrition (NZ), Lonsdale Clothing (Australia), and Body Ripped Sports Nutrition (Australia). She feels very lucky and thankful to have the support of these companies behind her.
Raechelle Chase prefers to train one body part during any given workout—that way she feels like she can give that muscle group 100% and not have to hold back because she knows she still has other areas to train. Boredom is another reason for training one body part as she feels training more than one muscle group causes her to lose focus and make the workout feel more like a chore. Training one body part means she’s in and out of the gym within an hour and a half and stays highly motivated.
Training Split: (Raechelle always does 4 sets of 10-12 reps for every exercise)
Monday – Quads
- Hack Squats or Squats
- Leg Press
- Leg Extensions
- Lunges
Tuesday – Shoulders
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Lateral Raises
- Rear Delts
- Upright Row
Wednesday – Chest
- Dumbbell Chest Press
- Dumbbell Fly’s
- Machine Chest Press
Thursday – Back
- Chin Ups
- Seated Row
- Straight Arm Pull-downs
- Bent Over Rows
Friday – Hamstrings
- Lying Leg Curls
- Seated Leg Curls
- Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
- Lunges
Saturday – Off
Sunday – Biceps/Triceps
- Barbell Curls
- Machine Curls
- Dumbbell Curls
- Preacher Curls
- Skull Crushers
- Triceps Push-downs
- Overhead Extensions
- Dips or Kickbacks
Raechelle also works her abs in every second workout. Cardio differs depending on where she is in her contest prep. Off-season she does 30 minutes of cardio immediately after training. During contest prep, Raechelle Chase does up to 3 hours a day of cardio.
Constantly altering and tweaking her diet based on the last show and what she thinks might work better next time is how Raechelle perfects her physique on the stage. She admits that she prefers her diet to be easy and a bit boring so she doesn’t have to do much thinking about what her next meal is going to be. Diet is without a doubt the hardest aspect of getting into contest shape for her. Her diet often feels a little like groundhogs day. However, she finds that this is the easiest way for her to stick to her eating plan. There is always so much else going on in her home and close to competition time that Raechelle Chase doesn’t really enjoy the food anyway and thinks of it purely as an energy and growth source.
- Meal #1 – Oats, Protein Powder & Blueberries & Raspberries, Strawberries, etc.
- Meal #2 – Sushi (after training)
- Meal #3 – 200g Fish or Chicken with Rice
- Meal #4 – Protein Shake
- Meal #5 – 200g Fish or Chicken & Vegetables
- Meal #6 – Protein Shake with Water
During competition prep Raechelle Chase substitutes shakes for meals, just to make her metabolism work harder to burn the calories—and of course, her calories decrease the closer she gets to her competition. This can be challenging as cardio generally increases about the same time but she pushes through it.
A Balancing Act
It’s incredible that someone who has pulled in so many directions during the day can balance everything so well. Balancing her career as a professional athlete, fitness model, and mother/wife so successfully brought her an idea. Rather than bottling everything up and keeping her secret to herself on how she stays fit while being so busy, she decided to put together an inspiring, informative, motivating, and easy to watch workout DVD. Raechelle Chase shares all her secrets in an easy to follow step by step guide that will help you to get the body you’ve always wanted. It includes the exact workout régimes and repetitions that she has used to build her physique as well as different cardio styles, diet, and the supplements she uses to manage her energy levels while sticking to her intense contest preparations—and most importantly, how to maintain a fitness model body year-round. This is definitely a DVD that you will want to pick up and you can easily order it on her website!
When asked if there was anyone she would like to thank for helping her get to where she is today she said, “I would like to thank my husband, first of all, he is so supportive of me and my sometimes crazy ideas. Without him none of this would be possible. My sponsors and everyone who has stepped into my life and been so positive and supportive, having people like this around you really makes all the difference.”
UPDATE: Raechelle Chase Sudden Death
It has been reported that Raechelle Chase suddenly died in early October 2023. The cause of death has not been released at this time, but the fitness world mourns an inspiring individual. With more than 1.4 million followers on Facebook, she constantly shared posts to help her followers look and feel their best. The sad news was confirmed by one of her daughters online.
At the time of her untimely death, Raechelle Chase was only 41. I am honored to have been able to work with Raechelle Chase and conduct this interview. I never thought I would be going back in to update her interview with such heartbreaking news. The world lost a great fitness icon.
RIP Raechelle Chase.
*I conducted this interview with Raechelle Chase on behalf of FitTreasures Magazine who has now gone out of business. The interview and title image was approved for use through its original use on the FitTreasure Magazine website.*
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