SMILE & FLEX
The taunt, toned and tanned on stage
The atmosphere was tense at the national bodybuilding championship in Palmerston North as competitors did their best to impress the judges with poses they’d practised for months.
About 100 competitors flexed for the judges at the NABBA New Zealand Nationals yesterday.
To become a successful bodybuilder, there was no skimping on the daily exercise and a strict diet must to be followed, competitor Janine Haywood said.
Haywood, 53, started bodybuilding when she was 42.
After three children, she wanted to feel good about herself, she said.
Haywood does weight training for about an hour a day and up to one-and-a-half hours of cardio, mainly walking, if she wants to lose fat.
It was a 24/7, 365-day-a-year commitment, with treats such as cheesecake limited to once a week, Haywood said.
She competes in the figure category, which falls between the most muscular category physique, and shape, which calls for less defined muscle.
Haywood has competed in Greece, the Philippines and Spain, and she is headed to Germany in November.
While Haywood has had plenty of practice posing, she teaches newcomers how to show their best angle, which is an important skill in bodybuilding.
Comeptition secretary Marianne Poole said judges looked for presentation, deportment and condition.
The nationals were back in Palmerston North after four years. The youngest category is under 20s, which starts about 16 years old, and the oldest category is for over 64s.
For women without extreme muscle definition who wanted to compete, there is the shape category. Shape focused on a softer look and was popular with beginners, Poole said.
Auckland competitor Ettienne Nelson was competing in another new category, ‘‘my body’’, which allows competitors to wear board shorts on stage. The benefit of that was a focus more on the upper body, rather than the legs, she said.
Winners of the New Zealand nationals compete in events either in Asia Pacific or Europe. The next event is in Germany in November.
Poole said the NABBA was the oldest bodybuilding association in the world, with the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger competing internationally. She and a business partner started it in New Zealand in 1990.