Local women, men compete in natural bodybuilding competition

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The muscle building supplement is just one of several that the 46-year-old personal trainer and mother of two must ingest daily as she prepares to take the stage in her sixth natural bodybuilding competition Saturday.

'It's my midlife crisis,' she said of the sport.

Lance and her muscular body have brought home nine trophies through the years, but she is still without the one thing she wants: a first-place award. She hopes that the 14th annual Carolina Supernatural Bodybuilding and Figure Championships in Spartanburg is the place where she will win the elusive top prize.

'It's like an Oscar,' Lance said. 'I work very hard for that trophy I'll continue until I get a first-place trophy.'

Lance will be joined onstage at the Spartanburg competition by a dozen or more other Asheville residents, all of whom are hoping that months of dieting and weightlifting have produced a trophy-worthy body.

Debbie LeCroy, a full-time investigator at the public defender's office, has been training for the past 25 weeks, getting up at 5 a.m. to work out, followed by weightlifting sessions during her lunch hour, after work and sometimes at 10:30 at night.

For the past 12 weeks, she has eaten a 'clean' diet of plain chicken, fish, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and broccoli, all designed to get her body in its peak physical shape.

The 44-year-old mother of five, who is competing in her second Carolinas Supernatural, will slather herself in tanning lotion, sport a skimpy, rhinestone-laced bikini and flex her muscles on stage with the hope that her hard work has paid off.

'It takes dedication. There are a lot of times you want to quit,' LeCroy said. But she added it was all worth it when she walked out of last year's competition and saw her 12-year-old son. 'He said to me, 'Mom, not many kids can say they watched their mom in a bodybuilding competition. I'm so proud of you.''

'It's a lot, with a family and a job,' she said, 'but it feels so good when you finish.'

Natural bodybuilding

The Carolina Supernatural competition started in Asheville and moved to Spartanburg four years ago and is the only all-natural bodybuilding competition in South Carolina. All athletes are drug-tested to ensure that they are not using performance-enhancing drugs.

The natural aspect of the competition is something that organizer John Lankford takes seriously.

When one winner tested positive for steroids two years ago, Lankford not only stripped him of his title and banned him from further competitions, but he also sent a letter to every other competitor telling them who he was.

'Our feeling is that our body is a gift from God, and what you do is a gift back to him,' Lankford said. 'It's a lot of work, but you can do it the right way.'

Lankford expects as many as 70 men and women to compete in Saturday's contest, including about 20 from the Asheville area. Competitors will vie for trophies, made by an Asheville sculptor, in 20 different divisions based on age, experience and weight.

Lankford said competitors range from personal trainers like Lance to dentists, lawyers and stay-at-home moms.

'These are just ordinary folks who have gone into the gym to get into better shape,' he said. 'They saw results, and they are taking it further.'

The Spartanburg competition will be a first for Asheville dentist Amy Haldeman. She was inspired to enter the contest after seeing LeCroy train and compete last year.

'I had a whole different idea of what bodybuilding was, and I saw her and I said, 'I wonder if I can do that,'' said the 37-year-old mother of three.

An avid runner, Haldeman said the workouts were not the hard part of her training. It was giving up donuts and pizza that she loves and she keeps in the house for her children.

'I didn't know I had it in me,' she said. 'It was, do I have the discipline and determination that it takes I did it to see if I could do it. It's not about winning; it's about what you can do for yourself.'

Haldeman and some other local participants were helped along in their training by Anthony Tiller, owner of Underdog Fitness and Performance Training Studio in South Asheville. Tiller has competed in bodybuilding competitions for the past 15 years and will be up on stage alongside some of his clients this weekend.

He said it is refreshing to compete in a show like The Carolina Supernatural, which is unique in the world of bodybuilding because of its emphasis on being totally natural

'The whole point I want people to get out of it is: It's a challenge to take yourself to the limit,' Tiller said. 'It is the ultimate sport of control but at the same time it is a life lesson: Do your best, and do it with integrity.'

First-time competitor Bobby Locklear said he had never heard of natural bodybuilding before he started training for the Carolinas Supernatural.

While he always lifted weights, he had never thought much about his diet, which has led him to have a much leaner, defined physique.

'There is a sense of pride, knowing that you are not doing anything against your body,' said the 46-year-old. 'Young people tell me, you are an inspiration to us. When I get to be your age, I hope I look as good as that.'

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