Bodybuilders as art exhibit
I hope this tours.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Dominique Dawes Smuggles Guns into Capitol
Female bodybuilding: I eat seven meals a day so I can look like this...
Tonight a TV documentary reveals the Irish mum who puts beauty and brawn into the world of body building
By Celine Naughton
Tuesday June 16 2009
Sophia McNamara is a muscle mama with plenty of pecs appeal -- and even if the 34-year-old mother-of-two from Corbally, Co Limerick has fab abs that Vin Diesel would be proud of, she's all woman and make no mistake.
"I'm known in the gym as the 'Pink Lady' because I'm such a girly girl!" says Sophia, one of the subjects featured in tonight's TV3 documentary, Supersized Shes, a day-in-the-life look at two women preparing to compete in the Republic of Ireland Bodybuilding Federation Championships.
Sophia is no stranger to the world of protein shakes and intensive workouts -- her mother, Angela McNamara, was a bodybuilder when the first wave of Irish muscle women emerged in the 1980s -- but the dark-haired beauty is a latecomer to the competitive sport.
"I only got into it last year after a lot of people, particularly Sean Bullman who trained my mother, urged me to give it a go.
"There are two kinds of competition -- the Figure event, where you just walk on, do a few quarter turns and walk off again, and the Physique event, for which you need to have more muscle and really perform.
"My first competition was a Figure event -- and I hated it! I came second, but I felt nervous and uncomfortable on stage and it took me months to rebuild my confidence."
But when Sophia's confidence returned, something extraordinary happened. "I was persuaded to go for the Physique competition and once I went out on stage, the audience went wild. I posed and did a dance routine to music and enjoyed every minute. It was a great evening."
Sophia was crowned Irish Champion Spring Classic Miss Physique and is now planning to enter up to four more competitions this year.
Her training schedule may sound gruelling to most of us softies, but Sophia embraces the regime. "Before a competition, I need to gain weight, because during training the body burns muscle if there's no fat. So I carb up for six weeks, eating lots of pasta, rice, bread and vegetables. That's followed by four weeks of protein. I have seven meals a day including red meat, chicken, fish and high-protein drinks. I don't count calories or measure portions. I know my body and what works for me. For the final week before a competition I eat nothing but fish, chicken and vegetables."
She also hits the gym for two hours of pumping iron and intensive exercise. "That's the bit I love!" says Sophia. "Even if I never entered another competition, I would still work out."
To present those toned muscles to perfection, some bodybuilders apply fake tan with a paint-roller, but Sophia favours a more precise procedure. "The night before the show, I apply a first coat of fake tan and wash it off at 6am, then apply a second coat and let it dry, then a third. Then, when I have my costume on, I rub Maybelline shimmer bronzer all over."
While the lure of professional competition may seem enticing to some, Sophia plans to stick to her night job as a carer for physically and mentally disabled adults, and being mum to daughter Kim (13) and son Shane (7). "I love being a bodybuilder, but it's just a hobby and that's the way I plan to keep it," she says.
The other subject of tonight's documentary is 26-year-old Inga Beinare, a stunning, 5'9" Latvian blonde who weighed just 8.5 stone when she first came to Ireland five years ago. Now she is delighted to have gained a stone and, while the rest of us struggle to shed the pounds, Inga dreams of building up to 11.5 stone of pure, lean muscle.
"I wasn't a bodybuilder when I met my boyfriend Barry, so he had no idea what was ahead, but he's been very supportive since I started training a year ago," says Inga who competes as a figure bodybuilder when not working as a barber in a Dublin salon.
"Barry helped me with my diet which, for eight weeks before each competition, is free of all fat, sugar, wheat and dairy -- and no alcohol for three months in advance."
If you're wondering what's left, that's right -- carbs and protein.
"For breakfast I have a bowl of porridge and six egg whites," says Inga. "At 11am, it's a high protein drink, then chicken and rice for lunch followed by another protein drink in the afternoon, chicken and potatoes for dinner, a protein drink in the evening and another before bedtime. I try to eat every two to three hours.
"I do cardio training for one hour five mornings a week and weight training for one-and-a-half hours six evenings a week. I have many friends in the gym. Everybody knows me there.
"In Latvia, I saw some pictures of female bodybuilders and thought they looked great. When I came here, people encouraged me to compete and I'm so glad I did. I would love to become a professional bodybuilder and compete internationally. That is my goal."
Supersized Shes is on TV3 at 8.00pm tonight
- Celine Naughton
http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/independent-woman/health-fitness/female-bodybuilding-i-eat-seven-meals-a-day-so-i-can-look-like-this-1774572.html
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