Show of strength
Spartan-like bodybuilders do what it takes to attain the perfect body
By Liz Hedrick 06/19/2008
At 10:30 a.m., Pasadena City College student and bodybuilder Andre Bueno leaves class, finds a comfortable place to sit and eats his skinless chicken breast, steamed vegetables and half a yam. Believe it or not, other parts of Bueno’s life are actually even less exciting. He doesn’t drink alcohol, so he doesn’t go out much on Saturday nights. But who has time for that when there’s class, walking three hours a day and working out every major muscle twice a week at the gym?
Why does Bueno — a bodybuilder who is proudly, if not necessarily, steroid- and nutritional supplement- free — subject himself to such a boring existence of highly regimented meals and exhausting exercises?
Simple: To attain the perfect body.
“Everything we do has meaning,” the 19-year-old accounting major said of his rigorous daily routines.
The 10th annual National Physique Committee (NPC) Junior California Bodybuilding and Figure Championships will be held Saturday at PCC’s Sexson Auditorium, with Bueno among 70 to 80 male and female contestants, said promoter Lonnie Teper.
With society in an uproar over illegal steroid use by professional sports figures like baseball’s Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, and Olympic athletes like Marion Jones, many people are apt to immediately associate bodybuilding competitions with the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
Teper denounces the use of steroids, while acknowledging that they are a fact of life in the sport — one made famous by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has admitted to using steroids during his bodybuilding career.
“Am I against the use of steroids? Yes. Would I like to see it be all natural? Yes. But is it realistic? No,” said Teper said.
Teper cites expense as the dominant reason that he does not test for drugs. Cost is also the reason some of the athletes say they don’t use the controversial substances.
“It would cost $100 to test each individual competitor,” Teper said. “With a show that has only 70 contestants, that just isn’t financially viable.”
Rather than a product of steroids, Teper says that bodybuilders’ almost surreal physiques are more a testament to their Spartan lifestyles — that steroid use alone could not be enough to build the ideal bodybuilder’s shape.
“Bodybuilders are on house arrest for the four months that they’re training for competitions. They have to time what they eat, when they eat it, when they train — they have no lives for months,” he said.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) drives many people to live with a heightened level of regimentation, making them slaves to routine. Bueno readily acknowledges his obsessive tendencies and believes he’s using the “disorder” constructively. “Everything in my day is planned and structured. The more OCD a bodybuilder has the better,” he said.
Although Bueno saves money by not going out much and preparing all his food in advance, he added that bodybuilding is an expensive lifestyle that is not always possible for students living on a tight budget.
“Many people use legal supplements like Creatine,” Bueno said. “They can help, but I don’t use them because they’re too expensive.”
Pasadena native Frank Mendoza will also compete Saturday. The show has multiple divisions, ranging from teen women’s figure to masters men’s bodybuilding. The youngest contestant is 16 and the oldest is 75, Teper said.
This is Mendoza’s second appearance in the PCC show. After a disappointing last-place finish last year, he is hoping to place in the top five of the light-heavyweight class. Mendoza revels in the opportunity to perform on stage, and spends between $250 and $300 a week on fish, vegetables and protein shakes to get in shape.
For him, one of the highlights of any show is the post-competition meal. “I always have a raging sweet tooth after all those weeks of deprivation,” he said.
Sexson Auditorium is located on the PCC campus, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. Saturday’s event is open to the public. The finals start at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25.
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