Extreme discipline
The events are competitions regulated by the National Physique Committee, an amateur bodybuilding organization. Finding time to eat the necessary amount of…
On competition day, participants are standing on stage under bright lights, concentrating on a perfect pose to show off months of hard work and discipline. Every muscle must look its best.
Standing on stage wearing what could be considered a bathing suit or bikini in front of a large room full of spectators, there is no room to be nervous, said Harlingen resident and figure competitor Kendra Lee.
“If you’re nervous, you won’t do good,” Lee said. “You just worry about yourself, really.
“You can’t worry about anyone else around you. It’s too late then, anyway. The work’s already been done.”
Lee describes being a figure competitor as expensive and lonely.
The final package that is seen on stage is the result of months, if not years, of work, according to competitors.
“It’s 100 percent discipline,” Harlingen resident Lendell Griggs said. “You’ve got to be obsessed with the sport to do it.”
All it takes is one
Lee was 18 years old when she competed in the figure division for her first show in November 2005 and competed a second time in October.
Griggs, 24, competed for the first time Oct. 6 at the Gold’s Gym Classic in McAllen, in the heavyweight division, he said.
The events are competitions regulated by the National Physique Committee, an amateur bodybuilding organization.
Finding time to eat the necessary amount of food and to fit in weightlifting and cardiovascular exercise sessions can be difficult, Lee said.
“It’s what you live and breathe,” Lee said.
With a busy schedule as a full-time student, Lee said it’s difficult to find time for a social life, and many times friends don’t understand what it takes to enter a competition and win, Lee said.
Most of her time is spent preparing meals, eating those meals, working out and resting.
The dieting is very strict, she said.
As a figure or bodybuilding competitor, eating at least six healthy meals a day with a specified amount of healthy carbohydrates and protein is critical.
Lee said she prepares a few days worth of food at a time and carries her meals with her to school and goes to the gym twice a day.
Being organized and planning ahead is crucial.
She remembers being at birthday celebrations with friends and not allowing herself to eat even a sliver of cake.
“My friends would say,
Tags: bodybuilding, fitness, Gold, Kendra Lee, muscle, National Physique Committee, sport