FEMME FORCE
WOMEN WHO INSPIRE
BEYOND
THE SPOTLIGHT
A LOOK AT LIFE AFTER THE
STAGE WITH JILL BUNNY
16 MUSCLE MEMORY
| DECEMBER/JANUARY 2019
By Shelby Leith
Competing is an
exhilarating and grati-
fying experience, but
what happens when
that phase of your life
is complete and it’s
time to move on to the
next? Today, Jill Bunny
talks about her struggles
with retirement and how
she plans on helping oth-
ers, once life on the stage
comes to an end.
Retirement. The end
goal. The one thing that
we all look forward to
after years of hard work.
But often we don't think
about the effects that
retirement might have
on us mentally. After
years of committing
ourselves to a specific
job, it's easy to feel as if
we have lost our identity
once that work is gone.
Jill Bunny is no stranger
to this concept. After
years of training and
dedicating herself to
competition life, the
time came (much sooner
than expected) for her
to say goodbye to the
spotlight. Although she
knew that this was the
right decision, it wasn't
without consequence.
At the time, Jill was
the highest ranked IFBB
Pro in the world, with
two Arnold and Olym-
pian titles. Prepping for
shows and stepping up
on stage had become
her life. It defined who
she was and took up all
aspects of her day-to-
day living. She was a
bikini competitor, a
fitness model and living
up to these goals was a
morning till night, seven
days a week, job. A job
that was the basis for her
whole identity; until one
day, just before turning
30, Jill was diagnosed
with both MS and Thy-
roid cancer.
Her illnesses were
cause for re-evaluation.
Taking a step back, Jill
realized that all along
she had been so focused
on her goals; on being
the best in her class, that
she hadn’t paid attention
to her journey along the
way. She had missed
out on so many small
moments and memories
and had forgotten who
she truly was.
Now with her ill-
nesses in remission,
Jill reflects back and as
strange as it may sound,
looks at her sickness as a
blessing in disguise.
“Sometimes you have
to hit rock bottom,” she
says. And that's exactly
what it took for her to
realize that something
in her life needed to
change.
Retirement appeared
to be the perfect option.
It would give her the
time that she needed
to focus on her health
plus it would allow her
to expand her coach-
ing business and help
others to reach their
fitness goals, one of her
greatest passions. What