Sunday, August 22, 1999
Mom's a fitness star
Pleasant Ridge mother of two puts training, gymnastics skills to test
BY REON CARTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Sharon Henderson performs legs-over-shoulders push-ups.
(Tony Jones photos)
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Sharon Henderson displays the type of jaw-dropping flexibility that puts Gumby to shame.
The legs-over-shoulders push-ups that would make a chiropractor cringe are just one of the talents that make this petite, green-eyed blonde a force on the fitness competition circuit.
Fitness competition, an amalgam of bodybuilding, beauty, aerobics and track and field, has exploded in popularity in the last few years as hundreds of women flock to compete for such titles as the Fitness America National Championship, Ms. Fitness World, Ms. Fitness USA, Ms. Galaxy, Fitness International and Fitness Olympia.
HENDERSON FILE
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Name: Sharon Henderson
Age: 28
Residence: Pleasant Ridge. A native of Cincinnati, she graduated from Anderson High School and attended Cincinnati State.
Family: Married to Steve; two children Alexis, 41/2, and Marcus Allen, 3.
Occupation: Runs Hardbodz personal training service; bank reconciliations representative.
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Mrs. Henderson, a Pleasant Ridge mother of two, was inspired after watching last year's Fitness America National Championship on ESPN.
With a gym-honed 4-foot 11-inch, 103-pound physique, 11 years of gymnastics experience and encouragement from her husband, Steve, she was convinced that she could be a contender.
Mrs. Henderson immediately racked up second- and third-place honors in small competitions before placing second out of 50 contestants in the nationally televised ESPN2 1998 Fitness America Series.
Her most recent wins: The Ohio Open National Physique Committee Fitness Championship last fall and the National Physique Committee Cincinnati Fitness Championship this spring.
She training for the Gold Cup Miss Fitness Competition at Peel's Palace in Erlanger Oct. 2 and the National Physique Committee Nationals in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 15-16, when she hopes to earn her pro card. (Fitness competitors are ranked as amateurs or professionals. Pro competition winners can win $20,000 per show).
We caught up with Mrs. Henderson at Das Gym in Pleasant Ridge, where she works out and meets with personal training clients.
QUESTION: ESPN and ESPN2 air fitness competitions as continuously as infomercials. What was your initial reaction to the first one you saw?
ANSWER: “I realized just how much I missed performing and competing. I'd been in gymnastics and cheerleading for a long time, then suddenly they weren't a part of my life any more. I saw fitness competitions as a way to use those skills again.”
Q: After a long break, gymnastics can't be like riding a bike. How difficult was it?
A: “I knew how to execute the moves. It was just a matter of giving my body time to adapt again. I had lost a lot of my strength and flexibility. My flips were kind of sluggish at first. It took about three months before I started feeling that old spring again.”
Q: Now that fitness competitions are getting mainstream attention, do you think the public understands the concept?
A: “Not as much as they could. Most people don't know the difference between a fitness girl and a bodybuilder. They see muscles of any kind on a woman and they automatically think bodybuilder. I explain that fitness girls tend to be smaller, and we work twice as hard because we have to perform a challenging fitness routine.”
Q: How would you describe your fitness routine?
A: “It has some of everything. I do gymnastics — back tucks, back hand springs; a variety of dance — hip-hop to ballet. I also do strength moves, such as one-hand push-ups and straddle holds.”
Q: What do you say to critics who believe a swimsuit segment has no place if fitness is to be taken seriously as a sport?
A: “I don't see anything wrong with them. It's the best way to display how hard you've worked to get into top shape.”
Q: You're on a three-days-on/one-day-off training schedule. How do you fit in all the training required?
A: “It's not easy because I work third shift (at the bank job), have kids, a husband and a personal training business. I don't get a lot of sleep. It's so funny when people say they can't find the time to exercise. If I can find the time, anybody can. You just have to make it a priority.”
Q: You train year round. When do you crank up your contest preparation?
A: “About six weeks out.”
Q: The typical fitness competitor gets her body very lean (8 to 12 percent body fat) for a show. What's your diet like?
A: “Off season I eat as well as I can. I might have one or two cheat days when I'll have pizza with the kids. But when I'm getting ready for a contest, I'm very strict. It's mostly chicken, egg whites, tuna, broccoli, greens and Beverly International supplements - protein pills, amino acids and super vitamin packs.”
Q: Your weakness?
“Chocolate.”
A: What body part do you enjoy training the most?
“Chest. I have maxed 185 pounds for one or two repetitions on bench press.”
Q: Least favorite?
A: “Legs. On squats, I can max 450 pounds for 8 to 10 reps on a Smith machine.”
Q: What are your goals?
A: “I'd like to earn my pro card and be a role model for women, especially moms. Just because you have children doesn't mean you have to give up. You don't have to look like a fitness competitor, but try to maintain the best possible shape for you.”
Q: Any frustrations with the sport?
A: “There tends to be so much inconsistency in the judging sometimes. It can be hard to know just how to prepare. Sometimes they go for a bigger, harder, ripped look, then the next minute they're rewarding a skinny swimsuit model type. Also, the girls in California, New York and Florida tend to do a lot better than Midwestern competitors with getting magazine exposure, sponsors and endorsements. I'd like to be one who puts Ohio on the fitness map.”
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