Student turns heartache into muscle
By HAILEY MAC ARTHUR
Special to The Gainesville Sun
Published: Monday, June 30, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 11:59 p.m.
Maggie Martin isn’t your stereotypical ex-girlfriend.
She won’t indulge in pints of Häagen Dazs. She won’t immerse herself in reruns of her favorite soap opera.
She will, however, train for a figure competition.
Martin, a 21-year-old University of Florida student, trained for more than six months for her first such competition - the 10th Annual Ancient City Classic Bodybuilding and Figure Championships held this past weekend in St. Augustine.
"Some people ask, "Skating?" Martin says with a laugh, "and I’m like, ‘No, not figure skating.’ "
Competitors in figure competitions are judged on their physique, symmetry and muscle tone. They pose and pivot on stage adorned only in high heels and swimsuits.
Martin, at 5-foot-3 and 118 pounds, said she began training for figure competition after a series of breakups with boyfriends who were physical trainers and bodybuilders. After each breakup, she tried something new.
The first breakup motivated her to work out. The second encouraged her to eat more healthy foods. By the third, Martin said she was ready to compete.
"Some girls go to ice cream," she said. "I go to the gym."
Martin trains at Bailey’s Powerhouse Gym five times a week. Mike Falkner, her personal trainer and friend, has her on a strict training routine. His job is to motivate her to do more than she actually can, he said.
Falkner watches as the muscles in Martin’s legs quiver and veins in her forehead bulge. He asks her to increase the weight on the squat machine from 30’s to 45’s. She shakes her head.
"Put on 35’s then," he said. "Now, you have motivation."
"One more and I’m going to cry," she retorts.
She works her way up to the 45 pound weights. White knuckles and sweat on her brow is worth it, she says.
Falkner has her run up and down stadium steps three times a week and bicycle twice a week. She increases her strength by executing leg extensions, lifting weights and completing squats.
Every workout begins with 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise and ends with 45 minutes more. She works out at least twice a day, each workout lasting three hours.
"Sometimes I’ll get up and go to the gym before class, before I even eat breakfast," she said.
Her breakfast consists of a cup of egg whites, oatmeal and a sugar substitute, following the plan draw up by Falkner.
"I don’t like to call it a diet," he explained, "because people think you skimp on what you eat."
But, Martin doesn’t skimp. She must eat every three hours, which equates to six well-proportioned meals. She consumes 1,500 calories, 220 grams of protein and 20 grams of fat per day. Sugars are out of the question.
A typical meal consists of turkey and sweet potato, all measured beforehand. She cooks all her own meals. When her friends invite her out to eat, she must bring her own meal in Tupperware.
Martin has seen her shoulders grow broader, calves and biceps increase and her body fat decrease since she began training.
"I’m halfway to Hulk Hogan’s," she said, displaying her nearly 12-inch biceps.
Falkner is impressed by the results of Martin’s hard work.
"I know what looks good and what doesn’t," he said, "and she looks good."
