THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 30, 1995 TAG: 9507280200
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
DONNA KARR couldn't wait to get to her favorite restaurant, where the plan was to destroy a huge fudge brownie delight.
She deserved it.
All the months of brutal weight lifting and strict diet had paid off. She was the new AAU Masters Ms. America bodybuilding champion and it was time to celebrate.
But instead of gulping down the rich dessert, she savored every bite.
``I thought, `Do I have to swallow it.' It tasted so good,'' said Karr, 40. ``But I'll tell you what, it kind of felt weird in my stomach. I'd become so accustomed to eating all the right foods that it kind of upset my stomach.''
Karr - who works for orthodontist Carl Roy - is a single mother of two teenage daughters. Always one looking for ways to improve herself and stay in shape, she took to bodybuilding rather easily.
``I'm constantly looking for fulfillment,'' she said. ``Every time I conquer something, I want more.''
After teaching aerobics for five years and after toying around with roller blading and other healthy activities, Karr began lifting weights six years ago. She got serious about the competitive aspects of the sport about 18 months ago and was successful right off the bat.
She received about a 45 minute pep talk from some friends at Wareings Gym at the Oceanfront and jumped in head first.
``I figured, what the heck, why not?'' said Karr, who now trains at Flex Gym under the guidance of Al Walke. ``I was satisfied with what I was doing with lifting and that was it. That's not me. I wanted and needed something more and they convinced me.''
Reassurance came in her first contest - the Tri City - where she finished third in masters and surprisingly, first in the overall. At her second event, the Virginia State AAU, she captured the masters division.
Then, earlier this month, she took the national title in Petersburg.
``I never went in with the expectations of winning,'' she said. ``That's not my attitude. I'm so young in the sport that it would have been silly to think I would win.
``Besides, with training, you always win whether you win the contest or not.''
Like many newcomers - and even lots of veterans of the sport - the diet aspect of bodybuilding was the hardest for Karr.
Fudge brownie delights aren't on the menu.
``The hardest part is trying to maintain a normal lifestyle while you do this,'' the 5-foot-1, 108-pounder said. ``But you have to really pay attention to what you eat. I'd say diet is 75 percent of what you look like. You can run and do aerobics and all that other stuff, but it boils down to what you eat.
``Yes, the diet is hard.''
Fighting urges to slide, Karr said the diets sometimes affected her mood to the point where she had to ask people to get on her if she was too much to be around. Her daughters - Heather, 17, and Ashley, 15 - have been supportive. Even to the point of thinking about training with mom.
``I used to look at these people and think that I wanted to do what they were doing. I wanted to look like they did,'' Karr said. ``And you can. You just have to put your mind to it and do it. But you have to want to change the way you look to make it work.
``Like anything else, you have to give it your all to be successful. And at 40, I was becoming more self-conscious about the way I looked. I want to be healthy and I want to look good.
``Yes, it'a vanity sport. Sure!''
And it shows come contest time. Karr was at first nervous about posing on stage, wearing a skimpy bathing suit.
``Oh, it was very scary,'' she said. ``I was anxious and nervous. You know, they pretty much have you judged by your first appearance on stage.
``But there were other girls on stage wearing the same skimpy suits I was and they were probably nervous about the competition, too. So after a while, I was all right.''
Karr worked on her posing routines with Vladimir Popov of Bulgaria, a personal trainer at Results Fitness Club in Chesapeake, absorbing everything she could into making her routines fun and helpful to making her look good.
``He's an artist,'' Karr said of Popov. ``I get so many compliments on my posing. It's very important to making you look as good as you can.''
But Karr, as fitting with her personality, is never satisfied.
She plans to continue to push herself to new heights.
``Right now, I'd have to say (the sport) is my passion in life,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
``I'd say diet is 75 percent of what you look like. You can run and
do aerobics and all that other stuff, but it boils down to what you
eat,'' says 5-foot-1, 108-pound Donna Karr.
by CNB