My Hero and the Queen of Fitness- Kiana Tom

Her name means "island princess" in Hawaiian, Playboy Magazine named her "ESPN's Fitness Queen," and Kiana Tom certainly has the attributes of both titles! She is a role model and possibly the most perfect woman on the planet, damn her! She is one of the most successful fitness stars of all time, with fitness shows like Kiana' s Flex Appeal (one of the highest-ranking fitenss shows on ESPN 2), she has graced the cover of hundreds of magazines, she has won innumerable accolades for her dedicated work in fitness, such as the United States Sports Academy Eisenhower Award, for her tremendous contributions, accomplishments and work in the fitness industry. The current recipent of this award is Lance Armstrong, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was the recipient before Kiana.

She did her own stunts in the film Universal Soldier, and said she had "a lot of fun" working with Jean-Claude Van Damme. She hopes for the opportunity to play the female lead in something like Tomb Raider or The Matrix someday, and she would certainly be a great choice.

Kiana is the author of Kiana's Body Sculpting, and she also has designed her own line in fitness wear. I could go on with her fitness accomplishments, achievements, and awards, however if I did, I'd be writing for days. When you look at the incredibly fit and beautiful woman, you might wonder, as I did, how did she achieve such fantastic results? Kiana, a native of Maui, says she gets her athletic ability from her mother, who was a physical education teacher, and her acting ability from her father, who starred in many Charlie Chan movies. It was her father who inspired her to get into acting.

Her personal appearances include: The Drew Carey Show, Family Law, the film, Cyber Bandits, and of course, Universal Soldier: The Return, but she has also written a couple of scripts, hopes to produce and direct a movie - then enter it into a film festival. So, you can see, she has brains to go with her beauty.

After placing first in two body-building contests, Kiana decided not to go pro, but rather to help inspire others to get in shape with her popular and successful shows. She says, "Aesthetically, I think it's sexier for women to have hard bodies but not to be overly muscular. I prefer to be more sleek and fit, so I went the fitness route." (Playboy Magazine, May 2002)

What is her success to that taut, killer stomach? Kiana instructs that: " There are 3 simple things to remember- Increase your abdominal exercises to strengthen the muscles in the mid-section, increase your cardiovascular activity so you can shed excess body fat and can see your new abs, and consume fewer calories than you expend. " (Playboy, May 2002) But, Kiana never deprives herself, and she hates fad diets. She follows a "cheat-day method), that she feels can work for anyone for life: "Six days a week, I eat extremely well - clean proteins that include grilled fish, chicken, and egg whites, along with complex carbs, steamed veggies, and lots of water. On the seventh day, I can have whatever I want, like pizza or chocolate cake." It seems like sensible, sound advice, and you can see it sure has worked for Kiana.

A little personal trivia on Kiana: she is a former NFL Raiderette Cheerleader, she is part Hawaiian, Chinese, and Irish, her name also means "calm water" in Hawaiian, and she is an accomplished pianist too! (Internet Movie Database) If I didn't admire he so much, I think I might hate her. It almost doesn't seem fair that God spent so much time on any one person perfecting them!

Kiana was my personal inspiration to beginning an active lifestyle nearly 20 years ago, which led to a weight loss of 25 pounds. I think knowledge as well as success is what motivates most of us, and to look at Kiana ,who never seems to age, it is easy to see she is very knowledgeable about fitness, and has succeeded by leaps and bounds. I think it is wonderful how she has also dedicated her life to helping others with their fitness goals by sharing stories and tips from her own experience. She is definitely an inspiration to millions.