August
2004 - Many competitors complain that they feel "fat"
in the off-season and this is usually just a twisted view of what
reality would dictate. Although some athletes may in fact gain
quite a bit of actual fat, most people use the off-season to add
lean muscle mass, and the contest dieted condition is really quite
unhealthy and not something that's maintainable.
So
that means that the off-season would really be more like the majority
of life. And when you look at how curvy and impressive some of
the following athletes look, you too may have more appreciation
for the off-season....
After
she turned pro, Jennifer McVicar didn't have the best of
luck in her placings, but in 2004 she may show everyone the potential
of her physique. Working with Chad Nichols and preparing for the
GNC Show of Strength,
McVicar added lots of size and as seen in the offseason shots
above, looks amazing. This wasn't even her full offseason look,
but at 150 lbs. and she has got up to 160 lbs.
"I
have been taking this off time in order to make sure that all
the needed body parts are at their best when I compete again.
I am still doing a lot of focusing on my hamstrings, back, and
shoulders. I hope to have fuller, denser muscle belly's in my
next show. I do credit Chad Nicholls for my wonderful gains, but
I also have to give credit to powerlifting. I decide to incorporate
some powerlifting movements in my workouts. I feel that I have
gotten great benefit from this change and I am very excited to
compete again. I just want there to be no question that I have
been working very hard at improving my physique." Based on
the looks of things so far, there should definitely be no doubt!
Gina
Davis makes being close to 200 lbs look good, and
that's not a number most women want to be associated with. While
competing around 150 lbs. at the 2003 NPC Nationals, Gina grew
to 192 lbs. this off-season. When she put an off-season gallery
on her site, the response
was tremendous, and when she posted those same shots on message
boards, the feedback was the same - people like the look!
"I
have been inundated with emails concerning those photos and the
overwhelmingly positive response has been thrilling!" she
says.
"I
am pretty large right now (185-190# it varies), but not to a sloppy
degree. I feel really good and my workouts are phenomenal. I have
been working with Howard Huddleston (Sherry
Smith/Carri Ledford's trainer from Oklahoma) this year and
he has opened my eyes to a lot.
"I
used to do zero cardio and eat poorly in the offseason. Not this
year! I am hitting cardio four times a week and eating cleaner.
All things considered, I should be ready to roll when my prep
time starts in August. The judges told me to get harder/tighter...well,
with Howard guiding me, I have no choice..the guy knows his stuff!"
There
might not be that many well known bodybuilders from Montana, but
Lori Schelling is a former Emerald Cup champion and was
in attendance again this year, but didn't get back on stage to
defend her title. She claimed to be off-season although from the
looks of things, it's hard to consider this an off-season look.
Either way, she definitely makes muscles look good!
Canadian
Jody Wald competed as a middleweight at
the 2003 Canadian Nationals and like many athletes at the National
level, decided to focus on her country's top contest to gun for
her pro card. This past off-season, Wald went up to 165 lbs.
"I
was able to put on a great deal of Lean Muscle Mass - another
15 lbs. So my off-season weight was at about 165lbs. but I will
be coming in as a top end middleweight at approximately 122 -
123 lbs. for the upcoming competition," she says. From this
photo of her back, we can see she's certainly added some nice
size and curves!
One
other lady to watch out for at the 2004 Nationals coming this
November is Dena Westerfield: "I've been busting my
butt in the gym" she says,"and I definitely like to
lift heavy, so preparing for the Nationals is serious business
to me." We can't wait, Dena!
