Kanda Tomoko Article in MuscleMag
Kanda Tomoko is featured in the new Musclemag Australia. Here is the article for you to read about her! And check out the photos and videos we have of her in our members gallery!
Twenty years ago Kanda
Tomoko decided to join
her local gym and work
off a few extra kilos that
had slowly crept on in recent years.
However, weight training for this
beautiful and feminine Japanese
woman was more of a preventative
measure than a committed ambition,
but this was all about to change.
One day at the gym a friend of hers,
who happened to be a dedicated and
experienced powerlifter, asked her
to spot him while completing his
routine. From that moment Kanda
was instantly hooked. “That dragged
me into serious training in bench
pressing,” she explains.
Today Kanda or the “Japanese
Steel Butterfl y,” a title given to
her by her Japanese supporters,
is a renowned bench presser and
bodybuilding champion with many
titles under her belt.
Originally born in Kawachinagano,
Osaka, Kanda has since relocated
to Baltimore, MD, where she is
continuing to perfect her fi tness
and physique. And after many years
in the industry, she is at her peak
fi tness level; setting the benchmark
for women worldwide.
Currently training for
competitions in 2009, her
training schedule includes a four
day training week and a strict
nutritional diet accompanied by
various supplements. And while some bodybuilders may feel a four day
training week is not enough, she fi nds
training two days on, one day off (x2)
works better for her.
To get maximum results from her
training sessions and minimise her
injuries Kanda prefers to train with a
partner. Having a partner to spot her
encourages Kanda to lift more and push
harder. But nothing stands in the way
of her routine, so with or without her
partner she continues to push her limits. “When I don’t go to the gym that day is a
bad day,” she confesses.
At the gym her determination and
perseverance are obvious, and unlike
many other competitors, her favourite
body part to work out is her legs. “I like
to work on my legs… I used to swim and
my lungs are bigger than most people’s so
I don’t have to catch my breath as much,”
she reveals.
And in the kitchen her determination
is very much the same. Despite having
a sweet tooth she is very disciplined in
her on and off-season diet. During the
off-season her daily calorie limit is up to
2500 and this is spread out in six meals.
Her meals are simple and mainly consist
of egg whites, oatmeal, potatoes, fi sh,
chicken, turkey, beef, vegetables, protein
powder and various supplements.
Kanda’s on-season diet is slightly
similar and includes beef, fi sh, chicken,
potatoes, rice, vegetables, seaweed,
BCAA’s, protein powder, ZMA, glutamine
and multi-vitamins.
However, this year,
under the direction of her coach, her diet
will change and she will start dieting three
months prior to the competition date.
In previous years she has discovered
that gaining extra weight in the offseason
means training harder and longer
in preparation for a competition and this
reality has curbed her eating habits. “In
2004 I dieted for six months (and) lost
about 13.6kg which was very hard to do.
This year… I will try not to gain so much
weight,” she explains.
In 1992 Kanda competed in her fi rst
Bench Press Contest at an Air Force
Base in Yokota, Japan. And despite being
a novice in her category, the Japanese
natural competitor surprised all, including
herself, when she won fi rst place. She
then went on to compete in several more
bench press contests including the 2002
Japan Open Bench Press Contest, under
56kg category, where she broke a Japanese record to come fi rst place.
Being the determined and competitive
athlete that she is, it’s no surprise
that Kanda soon set her sights on
bodybuilding. In 2002 she entered the
All Japan Bodybuilding Competition in
the Masters category and again surprised
everyone when she placed fi rst. Two
years later Kanda entered the Osaka/
Kansai bodybuilding competition, which
she described as her most memorable
moment in her competitive history, and
took out the title. “It was small but very
touching moment (and) my mum was
there to cheer me,” she says.
But regardless of her extraordinary
ability to achieve her goals she believes
that anyone can be a bodybuilder as long
as they have the confi dence to get up in
front of people. “It was very hard for me
to get on stage fi rst time, because I have
to get almost naked,” she admits. Another
challenging aspect of the industry and her
least favourite part of a fi tness lifestyle is
the diet restrictions. “I like to eat whatever
I want to... potato chips, cheesecakes,
whipped cakes, ice creams, chocolate,
there’s no limit, but I can’t always eat tasty
food,” she admits.
To cope with cravings and assist in food
preparation, Kanda fi nds herself making
imitation junk food such as protein
pizza, dumplings and ice cream. These
substitutes are easy to cook and give variety
when preparing six meals a day.
However,
come the day after a competition there
is no imitation food in sight, quite the
opposite; her favourite after-competition
food includes curry rice, Ramen (instant
noodle), pizza, cheesecake, ice cream, and
of course, chocolate.
Without a doubt, bodybuilding has
become more than just a process of stripping down body fat and getting
ripped. It has given her motivation and a
goal to work towards. “Without that goal,
I would be soft forever,” she believes.
Weight training has had a major impact
on her life and her ambition is to continue
weight training until the day she dies.
“Everything in my life comes from lifting
weights, my work and my relationship
with friends,” she explains.
Kanda’s next goal is to compete in The
World Games in Kaoshiung, but fi rst she
must qualify for the Japanese Weight
Class Category. Thereafter she hopes to
compete in various bodybuilding contests
in the US.
There are several people who have
infl uenced and enabled this outstanding
bodybuilder and weightlifter in her career.
In particular, Kanda would like to thank
her mother Noriko Kanda who recently
passed away due to cancer. Losing her
mother has reinforced the importance of
health and happiness in this woman’s life.
“Without health, we cannot do anything,”
she believes.
Another important infl uence in Kanda’s
life is her dear friend Alex; she would like
to thank him for being there and helping
her deal with the loss of her mum. Without
his support she might not have returned
to her career in weightlifting. “He pushed
me to work out... (and) to go back in
bodybuilding when I was down for losing
my mum’s life,” she explains.
And lastly, Kanda would like to thank
MuscleMag for giving her the opportunity
to introduce herself to Australian
bodybuilders and fans. “I am very
honoured to be featured... now it is time for
me to live up to the expectations of people
in Australia as well as Japan. This pressure
wakes me up,” she says.