There are a plethora of sports currently offered at Hawthorne High School including football, basketball, and soccer to name a few. However there are few sports that are not offered at HHS including Amateur Bodybuilding. Though it is not offered at HHS it has not stopped many students from achieving success in the sport.
There are many students who desire physical fitness, so they jog every other day and moderately attend the gym. Then there are a select few that take it to the next level and eat healthy constantly, attend the gym daily, take supplements and even enter in contests. This is the type of bodybuilder in which the average person would consider “hardcore.” Among these bodybuilders at HHS are senior Kelvin LaQuindanun and junior Sebastian Goyes. “I go at least 5 times a week and 2 hours daily,” said amateur bodybuilder LaQuindanun, “I feel like I haven’t put in enough work if I go any less.”
Both students compete through The National Physique Committee. Sebastian Goyes has yet to compete and will have his first competition in October. Kelvin Laquindanun, however, has past experience and has competed before. He has an upcoming competition in April in Elmwood Park. The competitors will be judged on proportion and tone as well as symmetry and definition. It is not uncommon for competitors to tan just before the contest to appear more muscularly defined.
I have had the pleasure of attending the gym with each of them. Their work ethic is incredible and the dedication they show to their sport is unparalleled. What makes them truly great bodybuilders however is not what they do inside the gym but outside of it. It is imperative that an aspiring bodybuilder eat healthy constantly or else they will fail to reach the physique they want.
Bodybuilding was popularized during the 20th century by Eugen Sandow, “The Father of Modern Bodybuilding.” It originally started with muscle display performances. Today, however bodybuilding is completely centered on shows displaying the athlete’s muscular development and physique. The most prestigious show currently in Bodybuilding is the Mr. Olympia, an event held annually to decide who the greatest bodybuilder in the world is. The winner usually receives a six figure check as well as a vehicle and occasionally a watch.
Although HHS currently does not offer bodybuilding as a sport to the students, that has not slowed down a number of students from achieving success in the sport. Bodybuilding is not only a sport, but a way of life. It requires dedication inside and outside of the gym as well as discipline and hard work. Bodybuilding requires an elite athlete who must make compromises to reach their intended goal, but it is all worth it in the end.