Building for a worldbeating future
ABODYBUILDING show featuring two Southport women is coming to town this weekend.
The Mr and Ms Olympus qualifier for the World Championships will be held at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Lord Street this Sunday (October 15).
Bikini, sport, and bodybuilding models from around the world will battle it out to get through to the next round, which will be held in Cyprus.
Organiser Michael Sullivan said: “Bodybuilding is changing quite a lot now. A lot of the models have a good upper body but they haven’t got the legs.
“There are a lot of good-looking guys that take part, but it’s more like modeling.”
Dawn Aspinall and Jennifer Kearns are both from Southport and are just two of the women who will be competing.
Michael said: “These girls have both been through a lot. They are shining examples of normal people who get through things and come out the right side.
“They’re both so passionate and so lovely and they are doing this competition all for the right reasons.”
Medical education manager Dawn entered a couple of shows around 16 years ago, and now she has turned 50 she has decided to get back into competing.
She is a member of the Warehouse Gym, in Virginia Street in Southport, and found that the morale of the other gymgoers has encouraged her to return.
She said: “I used to compete 16 years ago, it was nothing serious, I just did them for fun and to have a laugh.
“I’m part of the Warehouse Gym, and a lot of the ladies there train really hard and get involved in competitions.
“When you’re in that surrounding you get a mutual feeling and you all train hard together.”
The show will present different categories for both women and men and Dawn has entered herself into the toned figure group.
She said: “The categories vary on the different levels of how muscular you are, and I’m kind of middle of the road.”
She will have to pose in a group and then do an individual routine where she will be judged on her presentation. She said: “The routines are done to music and I’ve almost finished my routine now.
“I go through phases of excitement for the show and then the next minute I question what I’m doing. It’s quite punishing but also very enjoyable.
“I do a weights programme five to six times a week and then a lot of cardio training a few weeks before.
“It’s difficult because you can’t be forgiving of yourself if you miss a session.”
During her time at the gym, Dawn has been helping other women her age to reach their targets. Through doing this she has come up with a project to help encourage women to work out.
She said: “People have been coming to me for advice over the years and so I started a Facebook page to help give guidance to people who are unsure about joining the gym.”
The page is called Fit4Fifty and is there for women to form friendships with and go to the gym together.
Dawn said: “There are people who are not confident about their body image and when they start going to the gym on their own they can easily fall out of a pattern.
“There are also a lot of brilliant personal trainers around, but some are quite expensive. “So I want this group to be a page where people can talk about their workouts and what they found good or difficult at the gym that week.”
Dawn started to work out to videos when she had her first baby.
She said: “I’d get my VHS out and try and do at least half an hour to an hour even if my baby was crawling over my step!
“That first step of going to the gym is a big step, but it’s just about finding a way to overcome those barriers and get out there.”
To find out more about Fit4Fifty visit www.facebook.com/ FightingFit4Fifty/