Muscle men

The 30th Lonestar Classic bodybuilding contest offers plenty of well-toned sight-seeing

LONE STAR CLASSIC
Plano Convention Centre, 2000 E. Spring Parkway, Plano. 
June 5. Pre-judging at  9 a.m.,  finals at 6 p.m. $15–$45.
OptimumFitness.com

FLEX IT | Brett Buckles is one of the eight competitors advised by Prince Harrison, promoter of the 30-year-old Lonestar Classic.

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Every gym’s got at least one of them — and we’re all guilty of staring at them out of disbelief, jealousy or possibly even desire. They’re the bodybuilders, the overly-muscled, chiseled physiques that make ordinary humans look more like a mythological Greek god.

Regardless of what your pre-conceived notions of bodybuilders may be, there’s no doubting the passion and dedication of those who spend months, if not years, training for competitions. After all it’s the passion for their physique that sets bodybuilders apart from the average gym member according to Prince Harrison, promoter of this weekend’s NPC Lonestar Classic.

Now in its 30th year, the Lonestar Classic will showcase 150 hot, hard, tanned, muscled bodies competing across 14 different bodybuilding classes Saturday at the Plano Convention Centre. And although in some circles the debate rages on as to whether bodybuilding is a sport or whether bodybuilders are athletes, the basis or foundation of any successful athlete in any sport is strength.

So what really goes on at one of these events? Well, if you think being judged with your shirt off at a pool party is tough, try looking good in those tiny posing trunks during a posedown with hundreds of eyeballs judging your hardness and vascularity.

In prejudging, competitors are required to do a series of mandatory poses, sort of like the old short program in figure skating, where competitors are scored on condition, size and symmetry. Then during the evening program, competitors perform a routine to display their physiques with a final posedown, typically taking place while judges conclude their scoring at the end of the posing round.

Successful bodybuilders have a support team that at a minimum consists of a trainer who instructs the athlete on how to sculpt their physique with a combination of cardio and resistance training and a nutritionist who advises them on what to eat, when to eat and which supplements to take. According to Harrison, the science behind every successful bodybuilder is nutrition and his company, Optimum Fitness, specializes in managing the nutrition cycle for bodybuilders.

Another important team member is the posing coach who instructs the competitor on how to "present their package." After all bodybuilding is a subjective endeavor, so not only must you have size and definition, you must be able to show it off for maximum effect.

And that’s also where a nutritionist’s critical role comes into play, because getting a bodybuilder dialed in on their nutritional needs ensures maximum vascularity during competition. Harrison says that during the final week of preparation bodybuilders should consume only chicken or lean fishes such as tilapia and vegetables with few, if any, carbs up to the day before competition, when they should reintroduce carbs and drink very little water to get that full muscled effect.

It’s that expertise that has Harrison advising eight competitors, including North Richland Hills resident Brett Buckles, in this weekend’s event.

The Lonestar Classic is strictly an amateur competition but will include professional bodybuilding guest poser Vinny Galanti, along with a power lifting meet and grappling match (which for the uninitiated looks a lot like wrestling) scheduled between the early morning prejudging and evening programs.                                 

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition June 04, 2010.siteнаиболее эффективная реклама