Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 10, 1995 TAG: 9508100026
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRIS KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The dream was capturing the championship of the Mr. Virginia bodybuilding contest. On May 6, that dream became reality for the 28-year-old Gaines. It was the culmination of many years of hard work and frustration. He previously had placed second in the contest, losing by one point in 1992.
After being runner-up again the following year, Gaines decided not to compete in 1994. While he mulled his future in the contest, he promoted his own show, the Blacksburg Body Building Classic.
Skipping the Mr. Virginia competition for a year refueled Gaines' desire to win it. In May 1994, he rededicated himself.
First, he changed his diet. Gaines almost completely eliminated eating fat, relying primarily on rice, chicken, fruit and vegetables.
``A lot of bodybuilders go on crazy diets right before a competition, and then go back to eating what they want,`` Gaines said. ``The thing about a diet is that you should pretty much be able to sustain it the rest of your life, and I can follow this one.``
Gaines new eating habits departed from a conventional bodybuilder's diet, which is heavy in protein. He didn't overlook protein, but he did not eat three of four servings of meat a day like many of his fellow competitors. That, along with his gym and road work, has resulted in a chiseled 5-foot-8, 178-pound frame that contains roughly 3.5 percent body fat.
``I dieted through Christmas and Thanksgiving,`` Gaines said . ``The worst thing I ate was toasted wheat bread.``
At one time in his life wheat bread wasn't Gaines' biggest dietary vice. Pizza and other fatty delights were once frequent entries on the menu.
Though he had progressed from the 130-pound kid who started lifting weights at the age of 16, Gaines quit working out for a while after he received his business-finance undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech in 1989.
``Like most guys, I wanted to be big; and my idea of big was big,`` said Gaines, who finished third in his first competition in 1987. ``I didn't care whether it was muscle or fat.``
As a result of his quest to be ``big,`` Gaines ballooned to 228 pounds at his peak. It didn't take Gaines, who is asthmatic, long to realize that big didn't have to mean obese.
After his asthma attacks increased, Gaines decided he needed to get back in shape. He hasn't stopped since. He has watched his waistline shrink from a high of 40 inches to 29.5 inches.
Gaines' training regime consists of working out on the average five days a week. Included is cardiovascular work to help him combat asthma. Gaines runs up to five miles a day and often runs the steep steps at Lane Stadium.
When not running the steps, Gaines is likely to be teaching a class or completing course work in graduate exercise physiology. Gaines was an instructor in three weight lifting classes last year and just completed the data collection for his thesis on the specificity of speed in training.
He attributes some of his success in the classroom to confidence from capturing the Mr. Virginia crown. It was shortly after the contest that he proposed his thesis.
``I feel real good about school right now,`` he said.
He feels so good about school that after completing his graduate degree Gaines would like to earn his doctorate in exercise physiology.
``When I graduated [as an undergrad] I worked for three years as a human resources coordinator and I liked it,`` Gaines said. ``But I knew in my heart that I wanted to be in exercise.``
Gaines now hopes help other people in their quest to become physically fit, as well as continuing his career.
``Bodybuilding is a hobby for me, just like some people golf or fish,`` said Gaines. ``I was just so happy when I won, it was a great achievement. It was like I got something back after 12 year of doing it. No matter what happens, I will always be Mr. Virginia 1995.``
by CNB