Margie Calderone and Bogalusa resident Brandi Beaudette both won firsts at the National Physique Committee Battle on the Coast on June 15 at the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, Miss., and Bogalusa resident Ricky Singleton competed for the first time in about 30 years.
Calderone and Beaudette both competed in women’s physique, which is broken up into two divisions, 5-foot-4 and under and 5-4 and above.
Calderone is a Bush resident and she and her husband own Roe’s Pro Auto in Boglausa.
Calderone won the 5-4 and under division and brought home the top spot in overall physique.
“Winning felt incredible,” Calderone said. “It was my first overall win, but every lady who was up there on the stage with me worked as hard as I did and put in the same amount of time as I did. You could see their conditioning.”
This was Calderone’s sixth competition. She got into body building following back surgery in 2012 from a horse riding accident. Calderone broke her back and has rods in her back. She said her doctor told her not to sit in the recliner and that’s why she started in the gym.
Last year, she had her C3-C7 vertebra fused in her neck.
For this competition, Calderone started a 12-week prep with her trainer Tony Blanchard and they worked seven days a week. Two of the days were nothing but cardio days and he set up a special diet for her and calculated my macros of how much protein, carbohydrates and fats. From that point, they increased or decreased each week depending on how she was feeling. They also took body mass measurements once a week and adjusted the diet as to whether she gained or lost weight and they practiced posing three nights a week for about 30 minutes each time.
“You have to stay dedicated and you have to stay focused,” Calderone said.
Peak week begins the Monday before the show. Each day, she only had carbohydrates in the morning and none the rest of the rest of the day. On Thursday, she started carb loading to put that back in the muscle to full out.
“We adjust our water and salt intake. Come the day of the show, we get our spray tan, hair and makeup done and our suit. The day of the show, you go out there and just have fun. It’s all about having fun. You’ve worked hard. You show what you’ve worked for,” Calderone said.
Calderone said that they had a large group of women and they all looked amazing.
“They all conditioned as hard as I did. It was a very close, tight class,” Calderone said. “I was surprised. We had a lady who is 63 years old and has been competing for 30 years and placed eighth in nationals. She was one of our biggest competitors. She looked really good. Brandi (Beaudette) has so much size over me and such a good physic. If she can tweak her diet a little more, she will blow everybody off the stage. Brandi is going to be an amazing competitor.”
Beaudette won the 5-4 and above and finished second overall in physique.
“It was a wonderful experience,” Beaudette said. “I met a girl from the Talisheek area. Being with women with the like mindness is better than winning. Having Margi there was a big help. She helped me with diet and has mentored me with any advice I need like workouts. She’s given me a suit and has been there for me with encouragement. She did not compete in this competition last year, but competing along side of her this year was an overwhelming experience. Being able to do this with Rick was an answer to a prayer and a goal we set five years ago.”
Rick is Beaudette’s fiancée, Ricky Singleton.
Both are fitness instructors at the YMCA on Avenue B in Bogalusa.
Singleton was competing for the first time in about 30 years and brought home a pair of third-place places.
He was in Men’s True Novice and Men’s Over 50.
Singleton said there was a lot of support backstage.
“The guys who have been competing were very supportive,” Singleton said. “There’s a lot of chatter. They were helpful, trying to relax you and talk to you and just let you go out there and do your best because everybody’s a little nervous. Walking out there on that stage was definitely a new experience. I enjoyed it. It was very well emceed, very well judged, everything is very fair. The promoter Doug Sellars from Iron Works Gym in Biloxi did a fantastic job. He takes care of his competitors. The whole experience was enjoyable.”
Singleton said he and Beaudette have been training for a little over three years now.
Singleton and Beaudette compete again at the NPC Camellia Championships that take place on Aug. 3 at the Slidell Auditorium.