A production of South Carolina ETV.

♪ Narrator> In the early 1980s, a fitness craze was born.

And with it came the popularity of aerobics.

You'll see mostly women in aerobics classes.

Many find this form of exercise a great way to form and tone their bodies.

But some women want to take their body several steps further.

>> Aerobics used to be the big thing, and I think that women have veered away from aerobics a little bit, or aerobics activity and gotten more into the body shaping aspect and the toning and, just, I guess kind of getting the hard body more than anything.

♪ My name is Kim Shuler, and I'm a bodybuilder.

I'm 26 years old, and I've been bodybuilding for six years.

What got me started in the bodybuilding was, being being interested in the weight program when I was in high school, and, we used to lift weights, a few times a weight when I was, preparing for gymnastics.

Narrator> And that's what Kim Shuler, a Columbia, South Carolina resident, has done.

She's one of thousands of women who, in the mid 1980s, started building muscle mass onto their bodies.

1984, the year Kim started to lift weights, the second most popular sports activity for women in this country was bodybuilding, second only to tennis.

In her seven years of training, Kim has continued to build muscle and has entered several bodybuilding competitions.

This is Kim at the 1989 State Bodybuilding Championships.

She placed second in the middleweight division, qualifying her for her next contest.

The 1991 Junior USA is set for April in Myrtle Beach.

(applause) The Capital City's bodybuilding contest is held each spring in Columbia.

This show is followed by several others around the state culminating in the South Carolina Bodybuilding Championships in June.

But the question remains what constitutes bodybuilding?

Does it only involve going to the gym, or is there more to it?

Kim> Bodybuilding for both men and women takes a lot of time and effort, and you have to watch all aspects.

I think of your life.

You have to watch your diet.

You have to watch your sleep, and even working.

And I just can't see somebody that works 2 or 3 jobs coming in here and and being a serious bodybuilder.

>> You would have to just sit down and talk with them, tell them what, what all is involved.

But you can talk to them till you're blue in the face.

They've really got to have that determination.

They go in the gym and they really push it and then they want it.

Somebody's got to want it before they can do it.

I, usually it takes about three years if they're want to get symmetrical and to get, to get size, it's about, about three years.

Some people are gifted.

They can do it, you know, sooner than that.

>> Bodybuilding is, is a lifestyle.

It's a way that people choose to, to live their lives.

It's it's very healthy.

It's, a way to constantly challenge yourself, to continue to learn about your body and the limitations it has and continue to set goals and achieve them.

(Song: "Gonna Make You Sweat" plays) Everybody Dance Now.

♪ Narrator> Female bodybuilding has been plagued by negative attitudes toward the sport.

Some men and women feel it's not right for a woman to have a muscular physique, but female bodybuilding has gradually found acceptance.

Kim, who works as a cosmetologist, finds support for her training from her coworkers.

>> Some of them think that is crazy.

It depends on who you ask.

I had, one of my, male clients that, came in one day and, he said, you know Kim, he saw some pictures of me from my, last contest, and he says, I don't find that attractive whatsoever.

And, then I laughed at him And then about three months later, I had on a nice outfit that complimented my body, and you could see some of the skin on my body.

And, he thought that I looked quite nice.

Narrator> Bodybuilding takes dedication.

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges is finding the necessary mental skills, along with building physiques.

Despite months, even years of training, the ultimate outcome of whether those years of work will pay off, rests in the decisions of the judges.

A panel of men and women, all with a thorough knowledge of bodybuilding will look, look some more and do more looking until they make a final decision.

Kim> It is the function of each judge to be able to determine who is the best total package on that day, in that particular line up.

Robert Schutz> ...little bit.

Double bi if you need to like three more bends and a wider base.

Narrator> This is Beth Schutz posing for her husband, Robert.

During Beth's training for an upcoming contest, Robert is there to lend his support, and it's this support from family members, which is so vitally important to bodybuilders, especially as contest time nears.

Beth> I always enjoyed working out, but I spent a lot more time away from home and my family.

I usually get up about 5:30 in the morning and go into the gym.

Pray contest.

I workout before I go into work.

I'm a physical therapist and then after work, I go back to the gym and do some aerobic training and do some tanning.

So I might not get home in the evening to see my husband until about 930, 10:00 some nights.

Yeah, it's definitely worth it.

You know, they get their time on stage and, it sure makes you proud, you know.

I try to be her number one best fan.

I get to come out here and take pictures of her and her, posing suit, wherever I want.

And, that's what I get for putting up with everything else for the last three months, is I get to take the pictures and I get to set them on my desk at work, and when people say, hey, is that your wife?

And I say, yeah.

And they say, oh, you only find women like that in magazines.

That can't be your wife.

That's kind of my reward for the whole thing.

Jim Porter> Looking good.

Let's go.

Good.

Give me a few more.

Come on.

Narrator> Nancy and Jim Porter are a team as she prepares for the South Carolina bodybuilding championships, Jim's been with her every step of the way.

Jim> Well, I usually go with her every day she works out.

Sometimes I can't make it, and I kind of exactly, you know, tell her exactly what, exercises I want her to do, what body parts she should be doing.

Nancy> Well, most of all, he supports me.

We work out every day.

He goes with me every day.

He helps me with the exercises, the training.

He helps me with my diet.

He, prepares my food, and he's.

He's just.

It's a lot of moral support that my whole family gives me.

And that's what I need, because I really don't think I can make it without them.

♪ Narrator> The outer body is what will be judged at contest time.

To get the outer body to look its best, the inner body has to have the right balance of food and supplements.

>> Supplements are really, an insurance policy that that are used during the contest preparation.

You're dieting very strictly, and they can assist that process by assuring that the body's getting all the nutrients that it needs, especially during the stressful training.

Kathy Comer> The main reason we take that is for your, your vitamins and minerals.

I think that with the weight training program that you need that extra, vitamins and minerals, that you're not going to get it all out of the food.

They're working all the time to try to make the supplements better and better, to meet the bodybuilders needs.

Reporter> How much, say, is it going to cost per year to do these supplements for your bodybuilding?

Kathy> Per month, pre contest right now is costing about $320 a month.

So you're talking probably over $2,000 a year on supplements.

Reporter> Is it worth it?

Kathy> I think it is.

Reporter> What's some other things you like to fix for lunch when you're, getting your clothes, that kind of thing?

>> Well, for lunch, basically, I've been eating, one chicken breast with some type of vegetable.

A green vegetable or yellow vegetable, which might be broccoli or, spinach.

Reporter> Why shrimp?

Why... Is that...just that, a good bodybuilding food?

>> It's a good source of protein.

And it, The reason most people don't eat shrimp on a diet is because it is so expensive, and it's cheaper to have fish or chicken, and instead of having the same old.

Diet, I like to have a variety.

So I will get shrimp and maybe, some fresh fish, occasionally, just to break the monotony of the diet.

Robert> Well, I heard a comedian made a joke that, bodybuilders, despite their tan, everything they eat is white.

Rice is white.

Potatoes are white.

Fish is white.

(indiscernible conversations) Narrator> All the strict dieting will come to an end.

Usually the day after the contest, it's time for unrestricted eating.

A pig out.

Kim> A pig out is just something that must be done to release all the dieting stress that you've gone through for the past 12 weeks.

When preparing for a contest, you are restricted to the type of foods you can eat.

And once it's all over with or during the time you're dieting, you're constantly writing down things that you want to eat.

Once the competition is over and again, that pig out is is set aside to just, you know, have a good time and to eat what you want to eat and just get it all out of your system.

>> It's a big stress relief, I'm eating dairy products.

I'm eating bread.

These are things I haven't had in my mouth for six months.

This is feeling really good.

>> It's just, it's wonderful.

(laughs) Just just like Anna said, it's a stress relief.

It's a lot of stress off.

Reporter> What are some of the foods that you're eating now that you couldn't touch, say, two days ago?

>> The dairy products like butter, dressing, bread, tea and just everything.

Everything that I couldn't have, I can have now.

♪ ♪ Narrator> An integral part of preparing for a bodybuilding contest.

is learning how to show the physiques for maximum effect.

>> Squeeze those body fats.

Don't forget your legs, abs.

Smile.

Good.

Looking good.

Looking good.

We're learning in this class how to project the seven mandatory poses that each athlete will be judged upon.

It's also used as a time to for the coach to assess the physique, point out weaknesses in the posing, check into each individual's posing technique, and continually... help them present their packages more professionally.

♪ Generally, I like to start with the music, and also with the idea of the person's physique that you're working with.

If you have, girls in general, you have to look at them on the aspect of size, really.

A little small girl, you probably wouldn't want to pose with a hard rock song, heavy metal, something like that.

You would want to compliment the physique with the mood of the music, and the person generally has a feeling for that also.

So you listen to several different cuts of music and, play around with it a little bit, and then when you get it narrowed down to a couple of songs, you take your basic poses, your mandatory poses, and choose ones that are the best for you and use the best side of your body, from the best angle, And then you.

Take those mandatory poses and you might modify them somewhat.

Add a little flourish here and there, string them together in some kind of logical order where you move back and forth across the stage, present yourself from front to back to side to side, and you just have to put that into some coherent order, and then you have to, see how it goes along with music.

And you may change it a little bit after that.

♪ ♪ ♪ Great care is given to choosing the posing suit for the stage.

In fact, it's as important as developing muscle tone because the suit has to match the bodybuilders physique, hair, and skin tone.

Nancy Porter and Donna Thornton discuss what to look for in a suit.

But with so much riding on selecting the best suit for you, you should take into consideration the durability of the suit, the quality of the material, and the, color.

Of course, the main thing to remember is, is the suit is all you take with you on that stage.

And, you know.

You've got to make sure that.

it's flattering and it really is... there's an asset to your overall appearance and your total package.

♪ ♪ ♪ Narrator> When Marianne gets into a tanning bed, she does it to darken her skin.

(door screeches) (wind whistles) But for Kim, tanning takes on a whole new meaning.

Kim> The reason for the tan is that, it does give a healthier look.

Also, when you are up on stage, the lights are much brighter.

And, you need to have a very dark tan.

Some, some people, if they had the time, will lay out depending on their schedules and lifestyles.

They out in the sun every day.

Others will use the sun bed.

You could use capsules with the sun bed that, are supposed to make you, tan quicker, bringing out the melanin in the skin when you are in the sun bed.

Others use are a form of dye to stain the skin.

Maybe, they'll start a week before the show and apply it every day and apply several applications each day.

But what that does do is when you are on stage, the darker you are, the happier you look, and it brings out the separations and the definition much more.

When you are darker, you can see it much better than when you are at fair skin.

We're applying, color when we get exceptionally dark tan because the lights will wash out no matter how good of a tan you think you've got, it's never enough.

And, this time I'm starting with a product called Summer's Blond, which is like a self-tanning lotion.

And Donna's going to put it on and it'll just sink into the skin.

In a couple hours, I'll be a couple of shades darker, and then after I do that for a bottle worth or two bottles worth, at the end, I'll go to something like this, which is the dye-dermis.

It's a stain, which is an actual dye that you put on your skin, and we apply it with these little applicators, and that ensures that you have the darkest possible tan, and also that it will stay on, won't wash off.

(wind whistles) Narrator> It's Friday afternoon, just one day before the competition, and all the participants have to weigh in to be certain they're still within their weight class.

>> Well they have the three weight classes at this show.

And, we had light, middle and heavy weight classes.

And, each contestant has to weigh in and I weighed 119.

It's pretty light.

I didn't expect to be that light, but, I think the scales are off a few pounds.

Reporter> If you are a little bit lighter how much does that affect your performance in the contest?

Kim> It will be better than being too heavy.

I've got to eat.

Coach>...couple of rounds.

Great.

Narrator> Now, it's Saturday morning contest day and the participants have gathered in the pump up room.

Kim> The pump up room is an area set aside for the athlete to do the final preparation, the last 15 minutes ready in their bodies before stepping on stage and being judged, by the judges.

During that time, you, do several things, such as warm the muscles up, try to improve the vascularity of the body.

Oil the body, make sure that your suit is straight, your numbers on, your hair, all the last minute detail things are done in that particular area.

(silence) (guests cheer) (silence) Narrator> The morning of the contest is the time for prejudging.

This is the first time the judges will see the contestants.

Tommy> The morning show is more important than the, than the night.

The night is just a show.

As far as you put on.

The morning is where the judge and whether you are, you know.

The places are decided.

At the night show, the judges are just sitting back and watching.

(silence) guest> Oh yeah.

(silence) Narrator> As the contestants are doing their routines, Kim has a problem.

Her veins are not showing.

And in bodybuilding, vascularity is important in highlighting the body.

Kim> My vascularity wasn't coming out, and I felt like I needed some salt.

So I was running around asking everybody if they had some table salt.

so we could stick it in, stick it in my mouth so we could, see what the salt would do.

Usually the salt with the high sodium will cause the body to, add heat to it, and it can, if you've got the vascularity, it will make it pop out.

And we thought that would help, but we couldn't find it.

So anyway, it was a state of panic, but, we, we were running really far behind schedule as far as the bathing suit and oiling up and all that stuff.

So I took it.

I was in the downstairs bathroom and I took a bath to the upstairs pump up room.

And when I got up there, we had five minutes to put, pump up... and... automatically that, that kind of took the cake there.

And I was so rushed, I wasn't even nervous to go out on stage.

(Announcer speaks) The side to side... guest> Go Kim.

(guests cheer) Announcer> And next face the rear.

Narrator> Contest night and the participants file back on stage.

In the junior USAs, only the top five from each weight class from pre-judging do the routines for the night show.

(Song: "Black Cat" by Janet Jackson) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (silence) Narrator> Despite her best efforts, Kim was not called out.

She had placed eighth.

Kim> There was 15 women in my class and, I was called in the second round, so I knew that meant that I made the top ten.

So at that point my confidence was boosted back up.

But, I knew that I was off.

So I knew I didn't make the top five, but I knew I was in the top ten, so that, that made me feel much better about the whole, outcome of the contest.

The women in the contest were unbelievable.

Everyone was in great shape.

It's, it's the hardest and most complete set of bodybuilders I've ever been up against.

All the girls were in phenomenal shape.

As far as how, how I did, I think that, it's the, the best that I could have done for this length of time that I dieted and put into, the training part.

Narrator> Less than 48 hours after Myrtle Beach, Kim is back in the gym.

Halfway through her workout, she makes a discovery.

I can't believe what I just saw.

I just finished doing some bicep curls and it makes me disgusted.

The veins are popping out everywhere on my upper body, and what that means is I've got some of the salt back in my body and some of the waters in there, and, they're just popping out all over me.

Mean, I didn't have that vascularity Saturday.

It's amazing what your body can do, after two days of pigging out.

Narrator> Several days after the contest, Kim takes a break from the weights and decides what her next step will be.

Kim> Next two weeks.

I'm just going to concentrate on relaxing and, taking each day as it comes and seeing how my body is going to feel.

My body was under a lot of pressure and, I'm going to take off the next two weeks just to, give it a little bit of, rest.

♪ ♪ Narrator> Maryann works out almost every day.

Visits to the gym helped to keep her body toned.

She says there's a difference between women who lift weights to build muscle and those who lift weights simply to stay in shape.

Maryann> Kim is probably a little a little more serious.

She puts probably a lot more time in it than I do or that, Someone else that works out seriously, would.

I think that we've learned that when you pick up a weight, that doesn't mean you're going to look like Arnold.

When women pick up weights and start working out with them, it actually shapes them instead of, it doesn't necessarily add mass.

♪ Narrator> But will female bodybuilding continue its growth both in participants and in public acceptance?

Kim> I believe that the public has, began to, accept some of the women bodybuilders, more so since it has been around for, several years now.

And there's more women that are doing it and they're trying to become a little bit more, muscular and more toned and fit into this area.

Most women that do, begin to lift weights don't do it to compete.

They do it for themselves.

And, further, they may further that into a competition if they had that driving incentive to do so.

But, I do believe that the public is, beginning to, accept the female bodybuilders more than they have in they ever have before.

(Song: I'm working on it) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ and say gimme, gimme, gimme, ♪ say I aint got the time.

♪ ♪ ♪ And just say I'm walking.

♪ ♪ ♪ I'm working on it.

♪ ♪ Working on it.

♪ ♪ ♪ Working on it.

♪ ♪ ♪ I'm working it.

♪ ♪ Working it.

♪ ♪ ♪ I'm working on it.

♪