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Fit to be champ By TIM PYLE,Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By TIM PYLE,Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 11, 2003 at 2:00 AM Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 9:28 AM By TIM PYLE,Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 11, 2003 at 2:00 AM Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 9:28 AM » Social News Susan Lefebvre, a mother of three, wins a state bodybuilding title in her first-ever competition The motivation was simple when Susan Lefebvre started working out in 1999. She had recently delivered her third child ' and the second within about a year ' and wanted to slim down. I was 198 pounds after (giving birth to Jacob), Lefebvre says. Size 16. I was very, very large. I decided, I gotta lose some weight. Little did she know just how far her new hobby would go. Four years later, Lefebvre, now 34, is a bodybuilding state champion. In her first-ever competition, she won the women's novice title at the Oregon State Championships in Portland on June 29. Everybody always told me that I work hard and said, 'You should compete. You should compete,' says Lefebvre, who is also the mother of Brianna, 10, and Megan, 5. I said, 'I could never go on stage.' But then I thought, 'Well, it might be something kind of fun to see if I could do it.' I decided, 'Oh yeah, I'll give it a try.' — She did more than try, defeating two other competitors in the novice heavyweight class and then prevailing in a posedown against the lightweight winner ' Medford Superior Gym's Jessica Hickman ' to take overall novice honors. I didn't really realize it, but people have been telling me it's some huge feat in the bodybuilding world, says Lefebvre, who was one of about a dozen competitors representing Medford's 24 Hour Fitness. I didn't know how unusual it is to win everything like that the first show. Guys at the gym have been saying, 'It's like bowling a 300 game. It's huge.' The decision to enter a bodybuilding contest didn't take root for Lefebvre until February, when she moved her workouts to 24 Hour Fitness from Gold's Gym. Trainer Craig Stillwell, upon first meeting Lefebvre, put the seed in her head, and she eventually agreed to do it. I was immediately struck by her condition and encouraged her to do a show, says Stillwell, 44, who placed second in the masters 40-50 age division at the Oregon State Championships. I had just done a show (the Bill Pearl Classic in Canyonville), and I thought she could definitely do it. Lefebvre, who weighed in the low-150s when she joined 24 Hour Fitness, soon started working toward the state championships. Along the way there were setbacks ' from a pulled shoulder muscle that prompted an emergency-room visit to a sinus infection to pulled groin and chest muscles ' but Lefebvre persevered. A little help from her fitness friends went a long way toward pushing Lefebvre forward. Every single step of the way, I had help from lots of people, says the Medford native who graduated from North Medford High in 1987. I think the hardest part was the mental, quite frankly. In the six weeks leading up to the show, she participated in posing classes taught by Tony McDougal for an hour twice a week. And in the last few weeks before her competitive debut, Lefebvre was in the gym seven days a week. She would do cardiovascular work twice every day ' an hour before breakfast and an hour before bedtime. The middle of the day, six times a week, featured 1& 189; hours of weight work and 30-45 minutes of more cardio. The weight routine was orchestrated: Mondays chest; Tuesdays biceps and triceps; Wednesdays quadriceps, calves and some glutes; Thursdays shoulders and trapezoids; Fridays all of the back; and Saturdays more legs ' concentrating on the hamstrings ' glutes and calves. Stillwell, her training partner for the final few months, was often there with her. I don't think I ever remember her saying she didn't want to do the workout, Stillwell says. During the cutting down phase in the final few weeks, Lefebvre also had to adhere to a strict diet. A typical day included: oatmeal for breakfast; a protein drink before the mid-day workout and a protein bar afterward; salad with chicken for lunch; and a piece of chicken, pork or, occasionally, steak for dinner with sweet potato or another vegetable. The food regimen became more than a little redundant. The last three weeks are hell, pure hell, says Lefebvre, who works out of her home doing court reporting for Jackson, Josephine and Deschutes counties. Nonetheless, she chewed her way through and weighed in at 123 pounds for the competition. There, it all came together ' from a minute routine performed to music through a couple of posedowns ' for Lefebvre, who is now planning to compete at an October show and again at the state championships next year. She will have to enter the women's open division now that she's won a novice title. But with the bug firmly planted, there's no telling how far she'll keep going. I'm in the best shape I've ever been, she says. This isn't for everybody. To each their own. ... It takes a lot of dedication and intensity, but it was totally worth it. By TIM PYLE,Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By TIM PYLE,Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 11, 2003 at 2:00 AM Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 9:28 AM » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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