Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Sports at a Glance

All stories by Jean Schurman

Stevensville bodybuilder having success

Wrestlers hit the mats

Stevensville bodybuilder having success One look at Jess Edens and you know, he’s not an ‘ordinary Joe’. His well-defined muscles, trim waist and determined walk are all the marks of a body builder and weight lifter. It is only when you look a bit closer that you notice the left forearm is not as thick as the right arm. And once the rules of the sport of body building are known, the fact that Edens sports an incredible record of 10 first place finishes, and three overall championships in his seven-year career, you realize that Edens is far from ordinary. Edens competes in bodybuilding contests. Most are sanctioned by the NPC (National Physique Committee) organization but he also competes in other contests as well. The criteria a bodybuilder is judged on, no matter what organization is sponsoring the contests, is the balanced muscular development of the physique. Three areas are judged during a contest: presentation; size and muscular development; and symmetry – balance of the physique including muscularity and lack of body fat. The judges look at each group of muscles to make sure they are well defined and symmetrical when compared to each other. Three years ago, Edens was involved in a workplace accident that almost amputated his left arm. The radial and ulna nerves were severed which left him with no feeling in the hand. But that didn’t slow Edens down. He and his physical therapist designed a cast-like brace that strapped around the wrist so he could continue lifting weights and preparing for competition. Now he uses a strap around his wrist and the weights for lifting as he has very little mobility in his left hand and cannot grasp anything. “It was an incredible disability (to have) in a sport that is judged on looking good,” said Edens. The fact that he was able to come back at all is amazing and then to have success on top of that is testimony to the training and lifestyle Edens maintains. The sport of bodybuilding isn’t just weightlifting. Diet plays an huge part in both the development of the muscles and the actual showcasing on competition days.

Jess Edens has his trophies from his various successful shows on display at Lyndi’s Fitness Center in Stevensville. Jean Schurman photo. Lifting weights is an everyday habit for Jess Edens. Jean Schurman photo. Jess Edens posing at the 2009 Washington Iron Man competition in Issaquah, Washington.

Edens begins to prepare for a show 12 weeks prior to that show with his diet. He eats six meals a day and each morsel that goes into his mouth is designed to build and enhance muscles and stamina. He weighs and measures all of his food. Some days are high carbohydrate days with white rice being the staple of the day but others are low days with broccoli and spinach the highlight of the menu. He eats a lot of meat and prefers wild game because of the low fat content. He begins his day with 10 egg whites and drinks about two gallons of water every day. He also supplements with creatine and glutamine which are both essential amino acids.

“Almost 80 percent of the program is what you do outside the gym door,” he said. “You can’t build muscle without the diet. And the diet is horrible.”

He spends from three to four hours in the gym every day. Early in the morning he does a cardio workout, usually on the elliptical. That is followed by two hours of heavy lifting. He ends the day by doing more cardio in the evening. The cardio burns off fat and the lifting builds muscle. The idea is to maintain a balance so that muscle is not burned but built and the body fat is burned. Almost all of his training is now done at Lyndi’s Fitness Center on Eastside Highway in Stevensville.

The goal of the training is a “V” type body with broad shoulders and narrow hips. The ideal conditioning is no more than three percent body fat. The muscles should appear full or pumped up. To achieve this look at a show, the last week of training and diet are intense with carbs being increased, water intake first upped and then dramatically dropped off to give the muscles that well-defined look.

The overall appearance is also important. Contestants do spend some time tanning for that bronzed god or goddess look but most of that is achieved with a spray-on or wiped-on tan. Edens prefers the wipes because it’s easier to make sure the tan coat is applied evenly.

The shows are judged by a panel of judges. Contestants are judged in the individual posing round first. This is 60 seconds long with a 10-second warm-up period. This is where the contestants “present their physique” by showing their muscular and symmetrical development. The next round is the comparison round which has up to five competitors on the stage at the same time doing the same pose. During the evening finals, the bodybuilders have up to 90 seconds for their individual posing routine, which is set to music.

Women also compete in these events and even though the overall goal is the same – balance, symmetry and conditioning – there are limits to the size of the muscle and the conditioning. Extreme hardness or exaggerated muscles are not accepted and competitors must maintain a feminine appearance.

Diane Reiter, who owns Windsor Boutique in Stevensville, began competing this fall and has already had success. She took first at the Northwest Night of Champions in Spokane in the figure master division.

Edens won the overall masters championship at that contest. The next week he won the 2009 NPC Washington Iron Man masters over 50 division. He then followed that up with a win at the GNC San Francisco Show on October 18.

Although many associate bodybuilding with steroids, the NPC Association and the National Gym Association (NGA) test for steroids, a fact that Edens likes. The NPC does random tests at their shows and the NGA tests everyone. Edens refers to these shows as “clean” and says they are much nicer to compete at than shows where some of the competitors may be using the banned supplement.

Edens, who is 52, will begin his next competition training on January 1, 2010. He will compete in March at a show in Missoula. This show will determine the Montana state champion. He is very appreciative of his sponsors: Max Muscle (Jeff and Katie Kovic), Lyndie’s Fitness Center and chiropractor Scott Maatz.

Because it is the holiday season, he may celebrate a little before the training begins. He may have a small dish of ice cream or even some almond butter and honey. But he is committed to doing the best he can and that means gym time and dieting.

“It’s a lifestyle. I live it, breath it, eat it and lift it,” he concludes.

Wrestling season began this weekend for grapplers from the Bitterroot Valley. Corvallis was at the Polson Invitational on Saturday and finished in fourth place behind Kalispell Glacier, Missoula Sentinel and the hometown Polson Pirates.

Corvallis, who finished fourth in the team scoring last year at state, brought back two championships from the Polson tournament. Levi Gingerich had a major decision over Alek Mitchell of Glacier at the 105 weight. Gingerich won, 13-0. Riley Nagel won a 9-2 decision over Shane St. Onge of Glacier at 140 pounds. Jeffrey Markette was pinned by Glacier’s Dan Gilbert in the heavyweight division and finished second. Corvallis had two wrestlers in the consolation matches. Steven Jessop won a 4-3 decision over Steele Hahn of Flathead at 135. James DuBose lost to Cliff Evans of Sentinel at 119 pounds at 119.

Hamilton’s Troy Capp lost to Taylor Vaughn of Eureka at 160 pounds and finished in fourth place.

Darby and Florence were in Cascade at the Badger Invitational. Townsend won the event, which was primarily a Class B/C event. Florence was fourth and Darby ninth in the 20-team tournament.

Darby and Florence each had a champion. Dalton Roundy defeated Florence’s Cody Lund in 6:26 in overtime at the 135-pound division. KaCee Sutton, at 215 pounds, defeated Jack Clark of Choteau with a 6-2 decision. Florence’s Tanner Lund was pinned by Jade Rauser of Townsend at 119 pounds.

In the consolation matches, Darby’s Tyler Weideger pinned Nick Allison of CMR in the 98-pound division. Kody Davidson of Florence pinned Kris Whitish of Cascade-Simms at 112. Tanner Evers of Darby took a 5-2 decision off Fairfield’s Andy Brenna at 130. At 152, Justin Smith of Cascade-Simms won a 13-4 decision over Florence’s Kolter Beneitone. Tanner Cobbs of Florence lost a close match by one point at 160 to Taylor DeBruycker of Fort Benton.