April 6, 2005
Athletes show flex ability
18 body builders participate in Grand Traverse bodybuilding competition
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
A year's work boiled down to an hour under the lights.
For Pat Bowen and the other 18 body builders participating in the 25th Annual Grand Traverse Bodybuilding and Figure Competition, held Saturday at the Leelanau Sands Casino in Peshawbestown, their intense training was in the spotlight.
First, they posed, grouped by gender, height and age, for the judges Saturday afternoon. That night, they presented poses and a 90-second routine to music to an enthusiastic audience. Trophies were awarded at the second event. Brothers Jeff and Vern Gauthier, co-owners of Fit For You and bodybuilders themselves, organized the event.
"It was so much fun, I couldn't believe how relaxed I was and the crowd was just amazing," said Bowen of the evening presentation, adding about the formal judging: "It was much more intense."
Bowen, a secretary at Traverse City Central High School who set her sights on the competition last year after her 50th birthday, took home two third place trophies: one for the Tall Woman category and one for the Women's Masters category. Master's competition for both men and women is for bodybuilders over age 35.
Buoyed during her long training by workout partners, family and friends plus staff and students at the school, Bowen said doing this was way out of her box.
"No, I'm not the dancing kind of person and to get out there and pose and do the routine was something totally different for me," said Bowen, who chose the song "Redneck Woman" by Gretchen Wilson for her music. "And I loved it."
Jon Nickels of Traverse City trained for six months for the event, which he participated in previously in 2001 and 2002. Nickels noted that his training - which included weight lifting six days a week, stair stepping to burn calories and a strict, low-fat diet - was 75 percent mental. Working to shed 50 pounds while bulking up his muscles took discipline and determination.
"A lot of chicken, turkey, potatoes and broccoli, that's all I ate for a good four months," he said. "I got down to about 4.5 percent body fat."
After the show, which netted him a second place finish in the Men's Short category, the 26-year-old is determined to stay in shape.
"I got inspired by the other guys," he said.
When posing for the six judges in this bodybuilding competition, hearing the command to "relax" while on stage does not signal a rest time.
Instead, these highly trained, sculpted and bronzed athletes simply relax the subset of muscles they just highlighted while holding their whole body at attention. They are waiting for the next in a series of commands from the judging panel, who work contestants in all categories through a prescribed series of poses.
These poses, such as Front Lat Spread, Back Double Bicep and Back Lat Spread, show off different muscle groups in turn. Sometimes body builders can choose how they present themselves: poses such as Your Best Side Chest and Your Most Muscular allow them to flex to their greatest advantage.
"It takes a lot of discipline to do it," said Eric Schneider of Traverse City. "It's hard to hold those poses for as long as you do, you try not to cramp up."
Judges analyze poses and muscles while looking for a more intangible quality: attitude.
"Presentation means a lot, they way they present themselves and their coloring," said Julie Johnson of Traverse City, one of the event's judge and a competitive body builder herself. "Some are nervous and others are focused; it just depends, like anything, on how much you've prepared."
Schneider, who brought home a second place trophy in the Men's Tall division, began lifting weights last year. A bet two weeks later prompted him to set his sights on a bodybuilding competition. He threw himself into training, tapping friends and people at the gym for advice and support.
"It's a lot of dieting but, you know what, it's a lot in your head," said Schneider, who took third place in a competition downstate three weeks ago.