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| Vol. 17, No. 35 | June 25, 1998 |
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| Vol. 17, No. 35 | June 25, 1998 |
Spending the day eating only high protein food and fat from beef, dark meat chicken and peanut butter is not a diet most people would voluntarily consume, but for Rebecca George, it's her routine menu. George, University development, recently won her first competition as a novice bodybuilder and, for her, the diet restrictions are the hardest part of her constant regimen.
George's first competition was the Tri-State Natural Bodybuilding Championship held in April. She competed against eight other women and won "novice female," a category for a female bodybuilder who has not previously won a division title.
George, who is 5'2" tall, then competed against five other women in the under 5'4" female division and took first place. This win enabled her to "pose off" with the two other division winners, and George won best female overall.
"I was surprised to win best female overall, because usually the shorter women do not take overall," she said. "They are usually not as well proportioned as the taller women."
At George's second competition, the Philadelphia Natural Bodybuilding Championship held in May, she competed against two other women in the Masters Division, a category for women 35 years and older. She won Masters Women Short, Masters Women Overall and Best Poser. These wins qualified her to enter the National Competition for the American Natural Bodybuilding Conference (ANBC), to be held in Boston this November, where she has qualified to compete in both Open Women Short and Master Women Short categories.
"At all times on the stage at the competition, you must be posed and flexed in an isometric contraction," George said. "There are mandatory poses that you must do. Then, you make quarter turns so the judges can check the symmetry of your muscles, which is one of the most important things you are judged on. The judges look at the total package."
The diet restrictions to prepare for competition are severe. "Everything has to be measured. I am down to 1,000 calories a day during the week before a competition," George said, adding that she must drink two gallons of water every day.
According to George, she was 11 percent body fat and 122 pounds before beginning training. In four weeks, she was down to 8 percent body fat and, at present, she is 6 percent body fat and weighs in at a modest 112 pounds. The weight and body fat changes are a result of a diet composed of 41 percent protein, 40 percent carbohydrates and 19 percent fat.
"My greatest satisfaction is staying on 'the diet' and getting as lean as I can," George said. "I believe anyone can train, learn to pose and 'work' the crowd, but if you don't trim the fat, the judges can't see the muscles you've worked so hard to develop."
The week before the competition, George's diet changes even more drastically. There are no carbohydrates, except for those in specific vegetables, and no fruits because they hold water in the body. There are no dairy products allowed, because they keep the subcutaneous fat under the skin surface, she explained.
"I cook for my family, but I can't eat what I cook," George said. Her husband is very supportive, as are her three sons, ages 3, 5, and 7. "To tease me, they say 'Hail to the beast master!'" George said, smiling. "My husband is really into my bodybuilding. He has to be, because I need his help."
George, AS '84, began bodybuilding about three years ago, after the birth of her third child. "I felt weight training was a natural addition to the aerobics classes that I teach each week. I have always been very focused on fitness and health," George added. "Last fall, a trainer at Gold's Gym, Fred Smalls, approached me regarding entering into a competition for bodybuilding. I hired him as my trainer and the rest is history!"
George is a "natural bodybuilder," meaning she uses no steroids. Diet, supplements and weight training are the primary tools used for building muscular strength and definition for the competitions she enters.
George's fitness schedule is demanding: She lifts weights four days out of seven, does cardiovascular training six days out of seven, which includes running 5 to 6 miles, and she teaches three step-aerobics classes a week. Her only day off is Wednesday.
"The hardest muscles to tone and build are the leg muscles. Currently, I can press 720 pounds with my legs. I do a combination of presses, squats, leg extensions and hamstring curls," George said. "For my arms, I lift 65 pounds when I do biceps curls.
"The fact that I entered two shows and won both was a thrill. I don't know many beginners who have managed to do that. Often, it takes a few tries, if ever, to win your division," George said. "This summer, I am going to work on broadening my shoulders and back."
She will start to restrict her diet about 10 weeks before the competition. "My biggest downfall is bagels and pretzels," she said.
George said she also plans to include weight-training as part of her fitness program forever. But, she said, "I'll take bodybuilding only to the point where I feel I've done and won it all."
-Gail E. Walford
Photos by Robert Cohen
