Former IN Champ competes in Mr. Ball State competition

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http://www.bsudailynews.com/media/stora ... lynews.com

Armed and ready
Exercise, dieting lead up to Mr. and Ms. Ball State competition
Kwame Stiffler Micah

Issue date: 4/18/06 Section: FEATURES

Completely exhausting himself for the second time today at the treadmill's mercy, 21-year-old senior exercise science major Jeffrey S. Meding must check his bodily inventory to ensure his eligibility to compete in the bodybuilding competition. Off comes the white, long-sleeved shirt and navy blue sweat pants to reveal the weapons he conceals. Facing the mirror, he grounds a stance to focus his pose. He flexes his biceps. On the ball of his left foot, his quadriceps contract; the muscle seems to separate into two entities. Inhaling deep, the abdominals flatten, each pose rippling a new muscle's showcase. He squeezes his fist and it vascularizes the many green veins against the thin skin of his hand. He is still sweating from his aerobic exercises. Meding puts his clothes on after internally affirming that he will be prepared for the competition almost three weeks away.

Meding has practiced this ritual of posing in the men's locker room at Irving Gymnasium in preparation for the Mr. and Ms. Ball State Bodybuilding Competition.

"I don't want the other guys to see what I like," Meding said to explain the reason why he works out full clothed in the gym.

The Merrillville native was always active in sports. Throughout the course of his life, Meding has been involved in soccer, track, football, and power lifting. The highly acclaimed athlete has placed fourth in the 2002 Indiana State Track Meet for pole vaulting, won the most valuable lifter award for weightlifting, and was All Conference in football.

Meding attended Purdue University to pole vault for for the track team during his first semester. He transferred to Ball State University in the spring of 2003 to join the football team.

His football career at Ball State was short lived. He suffered from dizzy spells as a result of head injuries he had suffered throughout his life.

Meding then decided to transfer his focus to weightlifting. Because of his power lifting background, it was easy for Meding to transition into bodybuilding. So, in 2004, he decided that he was going to enter the 2006 Mr. and Ms. Ball State Bodybuilding Competition.

Following New Year's Day, Meding enacted his meticulous 14-week plan of dieting and exercising with very little room for variance. Meding took dietary supplements to replace lost nutrition and energy.

Meding was in the gym seven days a week, almost always going in twice a day. It was important for Meding to compete in his best shape for the competition.

"Ice cream is my one pittfall; ice cream and pancakes," Meding said.

When he reminisced about his favorite dessert it was like hearing a James Taylor song. "Well they tell me, it's only a dream in Cold Stone (Cold Stone Creamery). And nothing can be as sweet as it seems on that very first taste down." The sheer thought brought a smile to his face in anticipation of the competition's ending.

Meding said he did not cheat on his diet because he believed it would not help him in the long run.

He lived by a quote from Tom Prince, a professional bodybuilder who said "There is no defense in bodybuilding."

To him this creed meant that he could not worry about what the other competitors were doing with their bodies - he could only focus on his own.

With much speculation of steroid usage in the field of bodybuilding, it was important to Meding to hold on to his integrity throughout the process. He transformed himself from a bulky weightlifter into a leanly defined bodybuilder without the use of steroids.

Before the competition, Meding and best friend Ryan Podell, a 22-year-old senior exercise science major, reclusively found refuge from the other "pumped up" competitors. With other contestants running around, applying last minute tanning solution, eating junk food, and laughing, the two friends laid on opposite ends of the floor in front of the dressing room as way of meditating and finding vascularity.

"Alot of the times when you lay on your back and you have your legs bent or sort of elevated, a lot of the times the blood will flow towards yourupper torso and head and stuff. and when you stand up, gravity will bring the blood towards your lower torso and your legs and your vascularity and your veins will be more prominent," Podell said.

The two waited until the show before they showcased their bodies. Neither Meding nor Podell removed their jackets until they were about to set in place before the curtains opened. Podell and Meding were wearing identical, wet-black posing suits and possessing similar physical features (dark hair, tan skin and lean body mass), making it difficult to pinpoint who was who. They strategically positioned their identifying numbers in front of the posing suit as to not obstruct their bodily lines of symmetry. They hiked up their suits to expose their legs being their best qualities.

When Meding posed, he stared with a steely-eyed gaze, flexing his leanly defined muscles, which had flattened significantly in the weeks leading up to the competition. He exhaled to transition every movement. His hand gesticulations aided in painting a vignette of a professional-looking bodybuilder.

"I'm f---ing pumped man, it was fun as hell. It took awhile but now it's done and I'm ready to see what the results are," Meding said during the intermission.

When the results came in Meding did not place. He took the gracious approach to sum up his experiences.

"Really no excuses, that's just the way it is. That's life. I mean granted, obviously I wanted to win, every body wants to win, but hey, that's the way it works," Meding said.

Podell placed as second runner-up in the tall class. For Podell this night was a double celebration because he placed and turned 22 years old at midnight.

Podell said he was more than happy to share his success vicariously with Meding.

"I care about the kid and I'll do anything to ensure his happiness." Podell said.

Podell and Meding both plan to attend graduate school at Ball State in the fall following an internship in Tampa, Florida. Meding was awarded a graduate assistantship and plans to major in Sports Performance.