Local puts physique to the test with competitive bodybuilding

Kendra Rawluk placed sixth in her first body building competition. She’s continuing her training to compete in June 2018. Photos taken by Ken Rawluk at the ABBA Southerns Competition June 2017.

Kendra Rawluk, former Central High Sedgewick Public School graduate, spoke to The Community Press about her experience training for and competing in the Alberta Body Building Association (ABBA) Southerns Competition Figure B class this past year, and the work she is currently doing to prepare for the upcoming season while living in Carstairs.

Rawluk says, “So far, my first and only show was on June 10 at Southerns where I placed sixth out of eight girls.

“I was a little disappointed in my placing, but that makes me want to do it that much better next year.

“I will be doing the same competition next June in hopes of placing top five in order to carry on to Provincials. Right now, my goal is just to get to Provincials, but I would eventually like to compete in Nationals.”

Her preparation for this first show began in June 2016 under the guidance of her coach, Dustin Gruninger.

“We started my off-season training together in June, which means that I was lifting a lot of weights five times a week, with little to no cardio.

“I ate healthy but had a few cheat meals and drinks here and there,” she says.

Then the intense training began, in January.

“I was adding in cardio and there was no more drinking and no cheat meals because I was on a strict diet. I did my prep for five months.”

According to Rawluk, during the summer she is working out and eating healthy regularly, but the official off-season training will begin in September. Until then, her workouts are less regimented.

She says, “My training involves lifting weights five times a week, with two rest days. Right now, I add in cardio almost every day, walking my dogs, but in the gym I do cardio three to four times a week.”

Rawluk says that she has been training and eating well fairly consistently for the past three to four years, but has only been involved in the competitive sport for just over a year.

“I had been toying with the idea of competing for about two years, but couldn’t justify the cost of it while I was in university. “I wasn’t sure if I had it in me, but decided to go for it last June.”