Bodybuilders ready to strut

Next Monday in Annenberg's Zellerbach Theatre, 36 Penn students -- 15 women and 21 men -- will preen and pose for the cameras, judges and a raucous audience in the eighth annual Mr./Ms. Penn Contest. The contest is the brainchild of assistant women's track coach Tony Tenisci, who has coached the contestants through a strict diet and workout regimen since late September. "Wait'll you see this show," Tenisci said. "We've had about eight weeks of preparation and they've all done a tremendous amount of training." There are five contest divisions: light-, middle- and heavyweight for the men, and light- and middleweights for the women. In each division, the contestants compete in two categories. One-third of the judge's decision is based on mandatory poses that each contestant must master, while the remaining two-thirds are decided by the freestyle competition, in which each contestant designs a routine performed to the music of his or her choice. "That's the reverse of professional shows, which are really won in the mandatory round," Tenisci said. "[This way] makes for more of an exciting show." The top three contestants in each division come back for a final pose down, and then a winner is chosen for each weight class. Finally, the winners of each division return to compete for the title of Mr. or Ms. Penn. To reach that level, the contestants work very closely with Tenisci and others in shaping their bodies for the competition. Most contestants work out twice a day, and all of them adhere to a very strict diet, easily the least popular part of the training. "[The diet] pretty much sucks big time," said Adam Saltzman, a senior Computer Science major and first-time Mr. Penn hopeful. "You eat six times a day and get one portion of protein, one of fibers and one of starch." While being forced to eat six times a day may not sound like punishment, it's no picnic. "No dairy, no sugar, no sodium," Saltzman said. "You name it, you probably can't have it." Women's track freshman Erin Rhoades even has a list of things that she's going to eat when her diet ends. "Belgian waffles, Sourpatch Kids, a chicken sandwich from McDonald's with mayonnaise," Rhoades listed. While the contestants may not like the diet, they do like the results. "Every day that I've done this, I'm in the best shape I've ever been," Saltzman said. "I'll never be in this good a shape again." Tenisci, who had run a similar program at the University of Washington before coming to Penn, wasn't sure it would fly at an Ivy League school because "everyone is so focused on academics." But after seeing a certain number of students working out on a regular basis, Tenisci decided to give it a try, and the program has gained in popularity every year. "Penn has decided that it likes [the contest]," Tenisci said. "It's become a campus event, part of the fall at Penn." Tenisci welcomes contestants from all parts of campus and university life. There are freshmen, seniors and Ph.D. candidates in Business and Philosophy. "This event really shows the diversity of Penn," Tenisci said. "I'm so proud of all these kids. "I always tell them, it's like a journey -- once you're on the journey you find the truth. Once you find the truth of how your body works, it's really something. [The contestants'] bodies are their own prize."

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