Eat right, exercise, forget the pills

Date: 19-12-2002 Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamUnited States

Columbia's Iron Devils program promotes building strong bodies without using nutritional supplements

A bodybuilding program at Columbia High School promotes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches over nutritional supplements, and its message is being spread to high school athletes throughout the Capital Region.

Known as the Iron Devils program -- a play on the school's nickname, Blue Devils -- the program involves 16 weeks of weight training and education, and stresses the importance of building strong bodies naturally.

The program begins in November and runs four days a week. It culminates on the first Friday in March with the Blue Devil Lift-off, a weight lifting competition that has grown from 40 lifters and three schools in 1991 to 13 schools and more than 400 competitors.

"The program's goal is not for a kid to win the competition, but to teach them how to attain new levels of strength and fitness naturally," said Ron Annis, a certified athletic trainer who oversees the Columbia program as the school's strength and conditioning coach.

Annis said the annual lift-off includes a presentation on supplement-free training.

"We hope that message is being spread to all the schools, because that's the gist of why we hold this program," he said.

The lift-off was the brainchild of Annis, longtime Troy High football coach Jack Burger and the late Watervliet High football coach Dan Reinfurt.

Current Watervliet football coach Nick Fitzgerald makes his anti-supplements message clear when he opens his school's off-season lifting program.

"I tell my players, 'We don't want to hear anyone taking supplements. Eat right, but don't touch creatine or anything,' " Fitzgerald said. "We sell hard work, and they feel better when they do it without supplements."

Burger said: "The kids are wasting their money on supplements. It's overrated and overpriced. I tell them to eat an extra meal if they want to gain weight. Everyone is always looking for the shortcut, but there isn't any."

Annis agreed supplements are perceived by high school students as an easy way to reach goals.

"It's all about image and self-esteem, and so they go to these products for a quick fix," Annis said. "We feed them peanut butter and jelly and milk, and tell them we can do it with this nutrition right here."

Annis said the Iron Devils, composed of 35 boys and 15 girls, are measured and weighed before the program begins. Each year he sees an average gain of 8 inches, comprising their arms, chests and legs.

"That really opens their eyes," he said.

Lindsay Piper, a senior guard on the Columbia girls' varsity basketball team who will play lacrosse at Virginia Tech next season, said the program has improved her basketball game.

Piper officially joined the Iron Devils this year but has been working out with Annis since she was a freshman.

"It may seem pretty abnormal for a girl to lift every day, but it has really developed my muscles and my flexibility," said Piper, who is 5-foot-9, 140 pounds. "It's really helped my vertical leap in basketball and made me an overall stronger rebounder and passer."

Piper seems to be the perfect ambassador for the program.

"I think supplements are bad for you and unnecessary because you can make gains without them," she said. "All the trainers around here are making it known that supplements are not good to use. We also talk about it in health class and learn about the background and the potential harm."