A gorgeous, well-toned
body from a
lot of hard
work and
dedication.
ON SATURDAY March 29, Winsome Hinds walked away with the third place prize in the Miss Jamaica Bikini and Body Fitness Competition as well as the prize for best presentation.
Thirty-two-year-old Winsome says that she will never be a body builder, as she does not like the muscular look, but lifting weights has helped her to lose a significant amount of weight and maintain her fitness levels.
It was two years ago that she started crying one Friday night because none of her clothes would fit. She was all of 195 pounds and needed to lose weight. Badly!
She signed up at the gym in May 2000, embarking on a programme of exercise and dieting.
"My goal was to weigh 150 pounds," she recalls. With the help of trainer Orlando Roper, Winsome is now at 148 pounds and maintaining it.
Starting out, she said, her determination alone was enough to make the changes easy.
"I was determined to lose the weight. I had to give up a lot of foods that I like and find time to exercise."
Initially, she started out with a six-inch turkey sandwich, water and pineapple slices for four weeks. The first 10 pounds melted away. After that, she started losing two pounds a week on a more balanced diet with no snacking, all the while using weights to sculpt the body.
For four days each week she works out at the gym for two hours. On Saturdays, she jogs for an hour. "I like it, it is not a chore. It is something I encourage people to the point where even my friends get annoyed.
"I started with small dumb bells and little squats, but then as you get stronger, the weights get heavier," she says.
Now that she has reached her optimal weight, she will continue to stick to her food plan and lifting weights.
"My goal is actually to be a winner in other fitness and bikini competitions. I will hit the books," she said noting that she will definitely need a new strategy to achieve this.
JUDY ROWE
She started body building because she needed to gain mass. At five feet, six and a half inches tall, she was only 118 pounds. Sixteen years later, she has improved to 140 pounds and has won several body building titles with it.The 42-year-old law clerk says that along the way to gaining weight, she also got addicted to body building.
"I became very comfortable with the way I was looking," she states. "The achievements in body building were also beneficial, health wise. My doctor saw me a couple week ago and told me that if he were to rely on me for his income, he would starve. The time before that when I saw him was two years."
Before that, the time lag between doctor visits was seven years.
"Body building is really very technical," Rowe says. You have to be able to know what you want in terms of moulding the shape you need. If you are a beginner, do not go very heavy, or very light."
Personally, Judy needed to gain size, so as her strength grew, she quickly increased her weights.
She started at a minimal weight and increased. "You are going to get stronger. The muscles will demand challenges. You will find the urge to lift heavier," she states.
However, when she would go into competition, she would reduce this, as one has to level off to maintain a certain body mass. At this time one may need to lose weight in order to gain the muscle quality.
Her training programme was very, very rigid she recalls. She would do bench presses, squats, the whole series with weights in order strengthen and shape her muscles. And, lifting weight was not the only thing. There was a special diet also, emphasising carbs and protein.
"Initially I did more carbs than protein because I wanted the size," she recalls.
But, for pre-contest diets she would cut back on carbs, increasing protein and cutting back on dairy products and salt intake.
"On the last week before competition you sometimes have to cut out salt completely. The muscles need to be developed. Your skin gets very thin and muscles protrude," she instructs. Judy has won Miss Jamaica Junior and Senior body building titles and has also placed third in the Caribbean with Couples.
Now that she has stopped competing, she still maintains her form because she likes it.
"I get a lot of people saying they like the look although they really wouldn't like it for themselves. I did not have to continue at the level, but I like the look.
"As I have said to others, they do not have to be so muscular. the beautiful thing about body building is that you can mould yourself into the shape". From men, she says she has never had a negative response. "I try to maintain my femininity. That is important.
"I always encourage women to get involved in not only body building but some form of exercise along with diet. The good thing about body building is that there is no age limit," the female body builder says.
Building a better body
IS BODY building a way to good health, or is it just for show?
According to Frederick Smith, president of the Jamaica Amateur Building and Fitness Association, "body building is one way of maintaining good health and that is why I started it in the first place. If I were the only patient, doctors would go out of business. I really do not get ill," the 60-year-old man says.
The objectives of body building coincide with a healthy lifestyle, although no one denies the aesthetic allure of body building (no body builder goes unnoticed on the streets or elsewhere).
"Our sport is the only sport that you walk around with. Anywhere you see a body builder, he is easily identified. A cricketer or footballer does not have this claim to fame," Smith boasts.
But, the consensus is that -- in the process of shaping muscle tissue for body building -- one learns a lot about nutrition, and living in close harmony with the needs of the body.
"Live a healthy lifestyle and see your body become what you want," the body building expert advises.
"You quickly learn what to eat, when to eat," says Smith, who has been involved in the sport of body building for 37 years, having started at age 24. Smith handles the body building
programme at Spartan Health Club and
personally maintains a weight lifting regimen, "only lighter because I am no longer competing. I can still lift to 400 hundred pounds in dead-lifts and squats, but I have no reason to do it," he states.
Can we really change the shape of our
bodies to whatever we want?
Smith answers by saying that, though
genetics may give you broad shoulders, a
narrow waist, defined calves and legs and so make it easier for you to build your body, even without this you can build, shape and reshape to any form.
"Some areas are difficult, but it is just a
matter of enduring and keep on working at it," he states.
Body basics: Every house needs a foundation. The foundation of the body are the legs. One builds from the legs up.
Legs: One develops and shapes the legs, build the thighs -- quadriceps and hamstrings -- with squats, leg presses and dead lifts. Build the calves, with calves raises and presses.
Waistline: Your objective is to keep the
waistline as small you as can. Do sit-ups, leg raises, twisting and also do dead lifts to get the back strong. If the back is not strong you will not be able to do heavy squats.
The back: To get the back areas defined, do hyper extensions which work middle and lower back. Lie down with support for the mid section and raise the upper torso back and forth in a reverse.
Abdominals: These include side bends for oblique muscles, sit ups, leg raises and twisting.
Chest area: To develop the chest, the basic exercise is the bench press, plus push ups and incline presses for shaping. Use also decline presses. Remember that you need to build the chest before shaping.
Shaping: To shape the chest, use such exercises as the fly - a move done lying on a bench on your back and using two dumbbells to open and close over the chest. Shaping the peg deck utilises equipment that also open and close the arms over the chest.
Shoulders: For this area, do the bar bells and dumb bell presses overhead.
Use lateral raises and front raises to shape the shoulder muscle or deltoid.
The arms: If you do not build shoulders you can't build those arms. Try the bar bell and dumb bell curls for your biceps, triceps extensions for the triceps. Also do triceps push downs and presses.
Forearm: Build the forearm by using a barbell and roll the wrist up. Use the dumbbell and roll the wrist also. Do reverse curls to shape and build the forearm.
Overbuilding Those who fear overbuilding (people thinking you are too muscular) are usually women. Our expert assures females that they have a lot more fat than men and it is not easy for them to build, much less to "over build".
"They have less muscle mass to use. Don't worry about getting too muscular."
Do begin your body building programme at a level of safety. Everyone should have a fair idea of what they can manage in terms of weights and repetitions. Do not begin with 500 pounds. Begin with 10 pounds and move on gradually. The stronger you get, the more weight you can manage. Usually you are guided, especially if you are in a gym environment.
O.T.
