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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 1982)
Focus, The Battalion Q Friday, April 30, 1982 37 umping Iron Three women prepare for competition [lolette Hutchings lion Staff eresa Hensley, Linda Phi- nd Debbie Crafts are three es who, like most other en on campus, probably y about their makeup, what |vear to school and their (fles. d like most students, they ive particular interests and ies apart from getting a col- education. it their "hobby" is partici- Jig in something probably I too popular among other en on campus. | ; they bodybuild. Stlfdon't mean they diet and raWear padding to achieve the normal lumps and curves most tner find enticing ... these rajnen work out in gyms with heavy weights, sweating and hufting with the male bodybuil ders to acquire stong, muscular ' physiques. I,i: When I first thought of inter viewing women bodybuilders, 1 expected big bulky women with gruv voices. But when I saw them I found otherwise — 1 was ;_ibiggerand and at least 4" taller than all of them. Il'nnensley is S'lVi" and weighs 106 lbs.; Philips is 5'4" and • weighs 125 lbs.; and Crafts is 5T and weighs 87 lbs. I Mile three women are prepar- | ing for the Gulf Coast Classic | and Mr. Collegiate Texas Body- ■'•Ij&uilding Championships con- i test sponsored by the Texas Weightlifting Club on viSur-dav. They'll be competing n> * wit 15 other bodybuilding wimen from Gulf Coast States. And this is the first contest for all hem. ensley, a 22-year-old senior lysical education major, was erly on the Texas A&M nnastic team and said she be- bodybuilding after the team banded and her boyfriend, Mhrk Costa, president of the ■rM Weightlifting club, en- pjuraged her to work out. ■Philips, 21, a junior physical education major also formerly oh the gymnastic team, began to rk out with her. Crafts, 21, a senior wildlife [id fisheries major, swam in Bgh school and got her start when her boyfriend joined the Weightlifting club, and encour aged her to work out with him, six weeks ago. All three can bench press 95 lbs, but they say they are not really interested in working on building strength. That's a diffe rent weightlifting category cal led power-lifting. They are more concerned with cut — the show of the muscle. To build muscle, the women say they use light weights and heavy repetitions. There's nothing unusual ab out wanting to keep fit and trim, but why go for the muscles? Crafts explains: "I want to see what I can do. I've seen a lot of progress in six weeks, so what can I do in three months?" Philips says, "I enjoy being a bodybuilder. I like the recogni tion. I gave an impromptu speech in my speech class about coming to the meet and they were all very supportive." Phillips said when friends ask her if she really wants to look like the bodybuilding women on the cover of magazines, she quickly says that yes, she does. "I am working to be like the girls on those magazines," she said. "I think being fit is being muscu lar and less fat. And bodybuild- All three say they've heard the comment "Women bodybuilding, that's gross!" from others at least once. ing makes you feel special and unique. It's not like any other sport." Hensley said, "I think it makes you look better and keeps you younger." Crafts said: "Being in shape is a lifestyle. I'm a very nervous, high- strung person and this relieves anx ieties. Some people go the the (Dixie) Chicken, I go to the gym." Being a bodybuilder takes hard work and discipline. Hens ley said she works out six days a week and takes off Sundays. Her schedule is a 2-hour work out with a 2-to-3-mile run after wards. These are usually work outs in the afternoon since she student teaches until 4:30 p.m. Philips, Hensley's roommate, works out with her and her work-out schedule is about the same. Crafts gets up at dawn for a morning run and schedules' her daily three hour work-out between classes. Hensley said, "Your life re volves around when you work out and run. You actually have to plan your studying around when you have to work out. I get tired and frustrated some times." Diet is another big factor they have to watch while preparing for a contest. Hensley said it's necessary to lose fat in order to define the muscles for a contest. Hensley said she eats natural foods, yogurt and no red meat. Crafts said: "1 keep a running calculation of the calories I've had during the day. For the con test, I've been cutting down on fats — keeping carbohydrates for energy. I eat fresh fruit, tuna, white chicken, and eggs some times. "Right now. I'm eating only 700 calories a day and today is my last day of fruit in order to prepare for the meet." Crafts says it's hard to give up food and fun to get in shape for a contest. "I went to a barbecue last weekend and brought my own salad and tuna fish." As for how others take her special eating habits Crafts says: "Most people won't bother you about it if they see you are really serious about sticking to your diet. In fact, most of the time they admire you. It's hard, though. I mean, I love peanut butter and I've had cravings for it." Hensley says the only other special attention she pays to her diet is trying to stick with white wine and spring water. Crafts says she drinks only spring wa ter because the water here con tains too much sodium. For the competition. Crafts said she's working on cutting her thighs and that her best { joints will be her arms, and Phi- ips and Hensley say they think their best points will be their backs. All three say they've heard the comment "Women body building, that's gross. 1 " from others at least once. "At first my parents were grossed-out, especially when they flipped through a maga zine and saw what I wanted to do," Phillips said. "But now they understand, I guess. At least they're taking it a lot better.” Hensely said: "Well, I laugh at beauty contests, that's not a sport." "This is an athletic sport," Philips said. Hensely said a lot of people expect a woman bodybuilder to be a big, hulky woman but that's usually not the case. "It used to be that women posed mascu line, but now more and more women are getting more femi nine," she said. "Also, most of the women, if you see them up close, are not large at all." Crafts said: "I've had friends come up to me who don't under stand and think I'm hurting my self physically. They've even told me they won't come watch on Sunday. 1 don't want to alien ate myself from them, but this is what 1 want to do." Hensley said she's had her physical education teachers point to magazines and say "You think that's attractive?" and she tells them yes. Crafts said she thinks a lot of myth surrounds the sport in general. "I think it's a curious- ity," she said. "I know that's probably why a lot of peoplewill be coming out to watch." Philips said when she w&s a gymnast there was so rr^ch pressure in competing but How she's on her own, doing it simp ly because she wants to. "There's nobody to report to af terwards," she said. "I like that part of competing individuaj|y." So, the interview ends Surd picture taking begins. Crafts was hesitant about posing With her hands showing — her riails weren't painted. When she t^&w that I noticed, she giggled Hhd said, "See, I'm still a girl!" T, Photo by Todd Woodard Theresa Hensley, senior physical education major and a woman bodybuilder, and Bruce Crowhurst, a physical education gradu ate student, pose in a conventional bodybuilding stance.