Stephen Merchent takes second at Chico bodybuilding contest

After Stephen Merchent finishes up at his day job with Brad Moss Drywall, he spends evenings at Body Works Gym working on building, toning and honing his body, mostly for fun but also for competition.

“I got into bodybuilding because I have been weight-training since I was 14 years old for wrestling,” Merchent explained. “Now that wrestling is over, I needed another activity to keep me busy.”

On June 13, Merchent competed for the first time in the Lightweight Men’s Division at the Chico Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Contest.

For his on-stage routine, Merchent did 15 poses, including eight mandatory poses: the front double biceps, the front lat spread, side chest, side triceps, rear lat spread, rear double biceps, abdominals, and lastly, the most muscular.

“My favorite pose is the side triceps pose,” Merchent noted. “It shows off your triceps muscle from the side, but also you have to flex every other in your body, so the whole picture looks good but the main focus is the triceps.”

Merchent took second place in his division and brought home a trophy, which currently resides at Body Works Gym.

Merchent noted his “breakfast of champions” usually includes four to five whole large eggs, 2/3 cup oatmeal with maple syrup, a piece of multigrain bread, and coffee.

To prepare for the contest, Merchent enrolled the help of veteran Willits bodybuilder Angela Higginbotham, who has been a personal trainer for the past 15 years.

Higginbotham was named both Ms. USA and Ms. California twice, and competed in many natural bodybuilding contests across the county between 1993 and 1996.For the last three months Higginbotham has helped Merchant refine his poses and routine, and aided him in preparing for the contest. Higginbotham said she gave Merchent advice, told him what to expect, and helped tweak things so the music flowed with the routine.

Higginbotham noted she would videotape Merchent once a week and have him review the tapes, enabling him to see how he displayed his muscles and how he could do so to the best advantage to the judges.

“I’m extremely proud of him,” Higginbotham said. “He did a wonderful job and gave a very professional show on stage. He did everything I told him [she laughed] and he looked very polished throughout.”

For those who want to start bodybuilding, Merchent offers the following advice:
“Read. Find out as much as you can about all aspects of bodybuilding and try to make up your mind as to how you want to go. Are you doing it for fun or because you want to be a pro?”
Merchent adds that he plans to compete in more contests, though probably not until fall.

Source - http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_12697574

NaturalBodybuildingEvents.com provides the most comprehensive and up to date list of Natural Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Contests and Results from those organizations which actively promote a drug-free lifestyle. Also provides information on Natural Organizations, Seminars, Trainers and Competitor Resources