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Rosemary Jennings

by Forrest Curran : - January 2003
Photography by James Cook


Hurricanes have a nasty habit of slamming into the beautiful islands of the Caribbean with an almost Biblical wrath, leaving devastation in their wakes when they finally swirl away. But nestled deep among those islands is the British Commonwealth of Barbados, West Indies-a place where those rules don’t always apply.

Its residents are quick to say that when skies howl and waters rage in their hemisphere, their island rarely experiences the harshness felt by their northern neighbors. In fact, it’s been said that Barbados reflects a certain strength and serenity that its citizens carry with them-even after they depart for new worlds to conquer. One such voyager who embodies that Caribbean adage is Rosemary Cheeseman-Jennings, a peaceful woman with a warrior’s spirit.

Born on the island in 1963, in the days before it achieved full independence, Rosemary calls herself a New Yorker these days. But growing up in a family of eight children, Rosemary says she was often found outdoors, enjoying the sultry Barbadian climate. “I played all sports when I was growing up,” she recalls.

Like the island from which she hails, Rosemary’s own independence is highly prized, as is the diversity of her musical tastes. “I don’t think like the average woman,” she attests. I don’t stand for things that many females allow in their everyday living. I’m a no-nonsense person who speaks her mind when she needs to.”

That diversity and self-assuredness shows itself when you borrow her Walkman uninvited: Your ears might be met with anything from jazz to opera to reggae to R&B on her headphones-that is, right before she firmly-but-politely takes them back!

That firm approach must have helped her this year, when Rosemary became something of a hurricane herself. In July she descended upon the Nevada desert with enough force to claim the Middleweight and Overall titles at the USA’s. The Vegas victory enabled her to turn pro, but she looks all the way back to a former coach who initially turned the key in the engine of her bodybuilding psyche, in 1992.

I did not have an initial attraction to the sport at first,” she confesses of her first venture into a gym, when she weighed no more than 110 pounds. “I just wanted to keep my figure. But my motivation came from Aereal Johnson, who was very persistent in transforming my body into that of a bodybuilder,” Rosemary states. “He was on my side, doing everything for me. The rest is history!”

But if controversy still follows the female bodybuilder’s dedicated pursuit of muscularity, Rosemary is not particularly attuned to the discordance that sometimes accompanies it in the public eye. When faced with the inevitable puzzled grimace, or the occasional insensitive comment on the bustling streets of New York, Rosemary shrugs it off with a casual flex of a broad shoulder and the knowledge that her musculature did not develop overnight. Rather, it’s the result of a long march down the road of training, nutrition, commitment, dedication and motivation.

“For me, muscle constitutes a work of art on my body. It is my armor,” she says of the physique she has labored to create. “People in the street who behave like that know no better, and often it is just jealousy because they do not have the discipline and determination that I have to succeed,” says the fulltime Administrative Assistant and ISSA Certified Personal Trainer. “Besides, (negative) reactions from people are no concern of mine, since I was the one who wanted to be a bodybuilder,” she states matter-of-factly but free of rancor.

Rosemary cites enthusiasm from co-workers as a pleasant boost in her pursuits-“from the beginning, they were and still are very supportive,” she says-but is equally swift to list one special person whose opinion still holds a particularly exalted place in her heart.

“My loving mother, Rosalind Cheeseman, has been very supportive of me and what makes me happy makes her happy.” Rosemary also tips her cap to her folks for the ‘birthday gift’ they passed along to her. “Not everyone has the genetics to try to pull off such a sculpted body,” she allows.

Notwithstanding her natural pride in what she has accomplished, and a no-apologies approach to any public ignorance, Rosemary is still fairly laid-back regarding her day-to-day presentation of a physique sporting 24” quads, symmetrical 16" biceps and calves, a 42” chest and a tapering 28” waist. “I don’t show off in public,” she says, adding that she dresses according to the same guidelines many women follow. “It depends on my mood. Some days I’ll be fully covered and other days I might wear a little less clothing.”

Besides, the 5’2”, 150-pound (off-season) competitor is also aware that her muscular pursuits can occasionally conjure up wolf-whistles as much as catcalls, albeit silent ones. “Some men find the look extremely attractive on women. There are different types and reasons for it, but primarily I think they just have good taste.”

Speaking of public exhibitions, Rosemary’s cameo appearance at a New York Muscle Club show (www.nymuscleclub.com) several months before her USA victory convinced the assembled audience that she was ready for the Big Show of bodybuilding, the pro ranks. “She was called up onstage to take a bow, and compete in some arm-wrestling exhibitions,” one audience member recalls. “She was wearing a full-length skirt and a modest, though sleeveless, blouse. But when she starting posing, everyone could see this was a highly developed, exciting physique. She was standing on the same stage with Joanna Thomas and Andrulla Blanchette, but every eye in the room was glued to Rosemary. She seemed to enjoy the crowd’s approval and the whole performance-related environment…”

That opinion is right on the money: Invariably, she’ll mix laughter with posing oil, and will be found enjoying a joke backstage at contest time, while trying to put other competitors at their ease. “I tell them not to be tense. After all, we’re all winners and it is just a competition,” she philosophizes.

Maybe some of that laid-back attitude can be attributed to a healthy approach to dieting. “I don’t even call it dieting,” Rosemary insists. “I call it eating well.” (Rosemary’s Rules even allow a little off-season indulging in a favorite food-chocolate!)

With one major pro show already under her belt-the 2002 Jan Tana, where she took 5th place in the Middleweight division-Rosemary can list any number of women in the sport whom she admires. “Lenda Murray, Iris Kyle, Lesa Lewis, Denise Masino and Juliette Bergman are all women I appreciate,” she relates, adding that she didn’t find anything surprising in Lenda’s comeback victory in the 2002 Ms. Olympia. “She was phenomenal. Lenda brought a total package to the stage and earned that title!”

But her bodybuilding hero is still the same as it’s been for years, and it’s not someone you’d immediately suspect: “When I started bodybuilding I didn’t have a female bodybuilding idol. It was and still is Shawn Ray!”

When speaking of the sport she loves, Rosemary’s enthusiasm wanes only slightly when refraining a popular call from her ‘Sisterhood Of The Iron,’ so to speak; namely, the lack of prize money and sponsorship in the female corner of the sport. She also places a desire for more consistent and clear judging criteria at the top of her Christmas wish list. “It’s sad that the judges are the ones to have the final say in whose body is better than the next body. We all have different genetic make-ups!”

Regarding some of the more peripheral aspects of the sport, Rosemary also takes a live-and-let-live approach to issues such as the session market. “It’s not my personality, but I don’t judge the other female bodybuilders who want to do it. In the end you have to be able to look yourself in the mirror, beyond your image, and like what is looking back at you,” she says. Instead, Rosemary prefers more sedate pursuits, such as reading, dancing, cooking, and traveling.

Turning a youthful 40 in April of 2003, Rosemary has begun marketing and promoting herself via a new Web site, www.rosemaryjennings.com, and has also flexed for the cameras of both Women’s Physique World and Fast Twitch Video. “My shoot with James Cook was a great one,” she recalls, citing the comfort level of working with him as key to the success of the production. “We got to know each other on a personal level and we were both at ease with each other. He’s an exceptionally great guy and I’d go even further to say that I value James as a friend.”

The video was shot just after her coming-of-professional-age win at the USA’s, a moment that truly validated her dedication to the sport she loves. “It’s been my most fulfilling moment competitively,” she says. “I’ve accomplished one of the many goals that I set when I first started bodybuilding.”

But like any IFBB Pro, she isn’t content to rest on the laurels of a pro card. “Now I’m working to get qualified for the Ms. O. That’s my next goal, and I’ll keep competing until I accomplish my final goal-to win the Ms. Olympia at least once!”

 

Competitive Summary:
1997 NPC Suburban - 1st Placing Middle Weight Division and Overall winner
1997 NPC N J State - 1st Placing Middle Weight Division and Overall winner
1997 NPC Metropolitan - 1st Placing Middle Weight Division - Overall winner
1998 NPC Jr. USA - 2nd Placing Middle weight Division
1998 NPC Nationals - 1st Placing Mixed Pairs
1998 NPC Nationals - 14th Placing Middle Weight Division
2000 NPC Nationals - 12th Placing Middle Weight Division
2001 NPC East Coast - 1st Placing Middle Weight and Overall Winner
2001 NPC Nationals - 3rd Placing Middle Weight Division
2002 NPC USA - 1st placing Middle Weight Division and Overall Winner
2002 Jan Tana - 5th Placing Middle Weight Division
2002 GNC Show - 6th Placing in Light Weight Division

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female muscle, shawna walker, larissa reis, michelle jin, wrestling, tracey toth, kira neuman, female bodybuilding, cindy phillips, britt miller, casey daugherty, lyris capelle, jill brooks, olga guryev, olga guryeva, kristy hawkins, cheryl faust, lindsey cope, lindsay cope, veronica miller