Lobban
Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer
KATHLEEN LOBBAN, a PhD Student in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of the West Indies, carries around a black and white notebook filled with formulas.
The listings are not of chemical reactions, however, but of her exercise programmes at the Campion Pep Up Gym in Kingston.
Five years ago, the student discovered that she loved something apart from science and teaching (she is also a teacher's college graduate). In the notebook are records of exercise programmes which help her to keep track of which exercise combinations were recently used and new ones which must be followed if she is to keep challenging her body. New challenges are the basis of her recent success in bodybuilding circuits.
Kathleen Lobban is this year's winner of the Body Fitness competition, run by the Jamaica Amateur BodyBuilding Association. In 2003 she placed second in the same contest.
Work on your weakness
In 2002, when she first entered, she did not do well at all. By constantly working on her "weaknesses" ('what weaknesses?' us lesser mortals would ask) she has excelled, walking away with the trophy which so many women on the bodybuilding circuit coveted.
Kathleen's appearance, at first glance was a surprise. Her body is not the muscled figure that one would expect of a bodybuilding champ. Instead, she is svelte, but with a whipcord strength that becomes evident when she begins her exercise routine.
This pleases her mother, Monica Harris who resides in the United States and who lives in daily fear that her now 30-year-old daughter will become so muscular that all hopes of changing her single status will disappear. Kathleen laughs at such things, as there is literally nothing and no one that can derail her from her bodybuilding programme. She was always interested in healthy living she says. At teacher's college she was known for always chatting about dieting, and running and walking.
"I had the right idea, but not the means of getting there," she reflects on those early attempts at fitness.
Since starting serious work in the gym in 1999 with trainer Stanley Goodridge, her training methods and eating habits have changed significantly.
"I did not know how to plan a diet back then," Kathleen admits. "I did not know how my body responded to carbohydrates." Now, she limits carbohydrate intake to heavy work out periods. Now, she not only reduces the amount of food she eats but also includes more protein and protein shakes, supplements and bars. "Protein shakes are very useful in improving your dietary intake, especially if you are interested in muscle development," she states.
She no longer snacks on fruits and fruit-based sweets, thinking that fruits are natural and therefore good. "For serious competition, you really need to cut out all sweets, especially in the last eight weeks before the competition." Her training is now pursued on a consistent basis, instead of seasonally. "One needs consistency to retain muscles and build strength. I have changed," she asserts.
The change has been for the better as Kathleen can unreservedly say that she is proud of her new muscle tone, possessing a figure now which she certainly did not have at age 21. At 16 she had a little tummy. Now, she says, "To be quite honest, I think I am in the best shape of my life."
Kathleen, on her best days, displays a four-pack abdomen and back muscles and arms which are distinctive. Her friends, who at first could not understand her obsession, have now accepted her "doing this".
General fitness
"If I get a cold, they are surprised." They also ask her advice on general fitness.
During the school term, her time is almost evenly divided between studying and pursuing new exercise programmes. "You have to be challenging the muscles all the time if you want to see improvements. I keep a journal to see what weights I use with what exercises so I can keep track of the changes needed." Based on the weekly changes in her measurements she observes what is working and what is not.
In 2003, determined to leave her mark in the Body Fitness competition, Kathleen dieted down to the point where her muscles were clearly defined. However, she was too small. In 2004, she made a big effort to come in five to six pounds heavier and also worked on the problem of balancing her muscles. He had a weak hamstring which she needed to "match" with her quads. There was also the problem of developing enlarged calves. To get the correct mixture of balance, shape and definition involved a lot of hard work. Balance and symmetry was what the judges were looking for. There were several women with better abdominal definition, and better legs (to die for, Kathleen recalls), but the perfect balance and superior definition of her overall profile was thought to be deserving of the crown. Kathleen remembers feeling "totally elated and so happy" but also had the secondary thoughts which said, "now the hard work begins".
The body builder will be entering her first international competition in September and feels that she will continue to head in this direction for as long as her body permits it. "As far as I am concerned, I am still in the first stages of body development. I have lots more to achieve," she asserts.
