Strive Elite Fitness

Name: Strive Elite Fitness

Coach: Sara Ard

Online Services: Yes

In Person: Yes

Service Area: San Diego · Southern California · Nationwide Online

Divisions Served: Bikini · Figure · Men’s Physique · Women’s Physique

Federation Experience: NPC · IFBB

Services Offered: Contest Prep Coaching · Online Coaching · Personal Training · Nutrition Coaching · Customized Training · Posing Routines · Weekly Check-Ins · Peak Week Planning · Show-Day Support

Pricing: Contact for current pricing.

Description

Strive Elite Fitness provides bodybuilding contest prep, posing and physique coaching for NPC and IFBB competitors in San Diego and online.

Founded by IFBB Professional and two-time Figure Olympian Sara Ard, Strive Elite works with athletes preparing for Bikini, Figure, Men’s Physique and Women’s Physique competitions. Coaching is available for local competitors who want in-person support as well as athletes who need a fully online contest-prep program.

Contest prep is individualized around your body, competition timeline and progress. Rather than following the same plan throughout prep, athletes are evaluated using weekly progress photos, body measurements, body weight, food logs and feedback on factors such as hunger, energy, strength and recovery. Training, nutrition and cardio can then be adjusted as your physique changes.

Contest-prep coaching includes a personalized nutrition plan, customized training program, weekly check-ins and progress evaluations, cardio planning and ongoing communication with your coach. Competitors also receive posing guidance as part of the preparation process.

For athletes who live outside San Diego, Strive Elite offers online competition coaching with regular access to a coach through email, phone, text and video. Online competitors receive customized nutrition and training plans, progress-based adjustments and weekly check-ins rather than a generic downloadable contest-prep program.

Support becomes more frequent as competition day approaches. Competitor services include customized peak-week planning and day-to-day communication during peak week. Athletes competing locally in the Los Angeles or San Diego area may also be able to receive personal show-day assistance, while competitors outside Southern California can receive remote support by phone, text and video.

Posing coaching is available for Bikini, Figure, Men’s Physique and Women’s Physique competitors. Customized posing routines can help athletes work on required poses, transitions and presentation before stepping onstage.

Sara Ard brings her own high-level competition experience to the coaching process. In addition to competing professionally and appearing twice at the Olympia, she holds NASM certifications in personal training, corrective exercise and performance enhancement, along with a fitness nutrition specialization. Her academic background includes degrees in Sport and Recreation Management and Business Management.

Strive Elite Fitness is a useful option for first-time competitors who need guidance through the entire contest-prep process as well as experienced athletes looking for structured coaching, posing support and regular adjustments leading into their next show.

Competitors in San Diego can train in person at the Garnet Avenue location, while online coaching makes the team's contest-prep services available to athletes outside California.