Cape bodybuilder becomes N.J. champion

Date: 26-06-2003 Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamUnited States

Melissa Loper has a strange way of getting ready for bodybuilding competitions. While others in her sport are popping steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, the Del Haven resident shuns pills for a natural diet heavy in fibers, green vegetables, fresh fruits and plenty of water.

Others only pump iron to get big and win the attention of the judges. Loper, 39, does work out in the gym, but her strength training also includes hauling firewood with her husband, John, or running on the Delaware Bay with her 8-year-old son, Byriah.

After 18 years of working out, 17 years of entering competitions, it finally paid off. On May 3 in Florham Park, Loper won the All Natural Bodybuilders Conference, or ANBC, title. This means she qualifies for the national all-natural competition being held in Boston in November.

"I won Miss Natural New Jersey. I'll represent the state of New Jersey in Boston. My goal is to get in the top five," Loper said.

But she doesn't have a self-centered reason for wanting to do well. The Commercial Township schoolteacher, with a master's degree in education, isn't really in this to win titles. Loper said she just wants to "increase her credentials" so she can bring her message to more women.

The message is that you can get fit and live a healthy lifestyle through bodybuilding. Loper is a tad taller than 5 feet, 4 inches and she once weighed almost 200 pounds. Now she competes at 108 to 110 pounds. She credits the bodybuilding lifestyle for losing the weight and giving her the energy to keep up with the fifth-graders she teaches.

Loper knows that women face special problems when it comes to building the perfect body. Women have more body fat than men and they have a tougher time losing extra weight, especially as they age. Women also have a hard time building muscle. It has taken her years to get the physique that, through a series of poses to bring out various muscle groups, won her the state title.

Loper says a woman can still be feminine while building a body that impresses judges with muscle hardness, definition and symmetry.

"Women think they're going to get big in bodybuilding. They aren't. As a natural bodybuilder, you get shapely. You can train your physique," Loper said.

Loper works out at the Ultimate Fitness gym in Lower Township. She complements the weight training workouts with running, biking, walking, yoga and martial arts training such as Tae-Bo. She hauls firewood for the saunas she takes to cleanse her system of toxins. She makes fresh air part of her regimen by getting outside every day. She also keeps a positive attitude.

Loper also adheres to a strict diet that is based in part on her specific blood type. The Lopers have an organic vegetable and herb garden. They make their own healthy juices to drink. She keeps her insulin level steady with a balanced diet of lean proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Once a week she allows herself to splurge with a piece of chocolate or ice cream, but she religiously returns to her regular diet the next day. The result is that Loper has reduced her body fat to about 7 percent, compared with an average for women of 20 percent to 28 percent.

But an all-natural bodybuilder must also be drug-free. The competitions include drug and lie-detector tests to make sure no performance-enhancing drugs are taken. For years Loper competed in events that did not test for drugs, and she never won them. Then she found out about natural bodybuilding.

"The ones that don't test for drugs are full of drugs," Loper said.

Loper admits she first began bodybuilding after seeing a competition.

"I said to the gentleman I was with at the time, 'Wow, I'd like to look like that."'

But she has stayed with it because it is such a healthy lifestyle. She is working on her doctorate in holistic health and plans to write a book and be a motivational speaker for women.

"I want women to know you can do this. I want to encourage women of all ages to go for their fitness goals," Loper said.