Held on Monday April 11 was Durant’s Mr. and Miss Cougar Body Building Competition with six boys and six girls each competing to win the 2022 title of being the best bodybuilders at Durant.

These 12 contestants were judged on their poses, muscle mass, leanness, and muscle definition. 

A lot goes into preparing for a bodybuilding competition, such as dieting, working out, and mastering poses. Each contestant also had to perform a short routine for the audience and three judges attending the event.

Junior Hunter Krubl, contestant #5, is Durant’s 2022 Mr. Cougar. He first heard about the competition during his freshman year. He always liked the sport of bodybuilding, so he knew he wanted to compete.

“So, when they held [the competition] this year, I wanted to give it my best shot,” said Krubl. “It didn’t hurt that a good majority of my friends wanted to see me do it.”

Krubl prepared for three months leading up to the competition. He cut out all “bad foods” and gradually cut down his calories until he was satisfied with the calorie cut. He worked out for two hours each day and then would go for a run after. 

“Earning the title of Mr. Cougar was ecstatic and exhilarating. [It was] one of the coolest things I got the chance to do,” said Krubl.

Durant’s 2022 Miss Cougar was contestant #9, senior Shelby Allen. Within the past year, Allen got into weightlifting and wanted to challenge herself, so she decided to compete for the title of Miss Cougar. 

She started training for Miss Cougar around October, but her diet started about a month and a half before the competition. She worked out five days a week until softball season, then she changed to three days a week due to softball games. 

Allen has waited to participate in this competition for four years now. 

“Being able to compete in this competition for the very first time and winning it was very exciting,” said Allen. “When you work so hard to accomplish something, the reward of winning makes you feel like you can do anything you set your mind to.”

Multiple contestants faced difficulties while preparing for the competition. The most common factor was the strict diet needed to help each contestant look their best on stage. 

Senior Austin Bovee, contestant #1, was the Male Runner Up and has been preparing for the competition since January. He first started preparing by cutting out all carbs and eating lean protein, vegetables, and fruit. He also worked out in the mornings before school and after school.

“The hardest part was definitely the diet, not being able to eat any sweets or something you really want is tough,” said Bovee. “It’s a lot of work, but the reward of competing out there on stage was one of the most exhilarating things I have experienced.”

Getting up on stage in front of an audience while posing in swimwear is not easy to do. Most of the contestants had nerves about going out on stage and posing for the competition. 

Contestant #2, senior Ethan Perry, really enjoys the gym and this competition was an amazing opportunity to put that hard work towards a goal. He’s been preparing for the competition for about 4-5 months after he first decided to compete back in December. 

“[The] hardest part about the competition was the nerves leading up to the day,” said Perry. “Eating of course too, but to get over the nerves of people seeing you in the position on stage is hard to get through your head.”

Perry is really glad he decided to compete. About halfway through preparation, Perry almost dropped the competition, but his friends convinced him not to and he got back into the rhythm of working out and dieting. He’s thankful to his friends for getting him back into the competition and everyone who came out to support him.

Senior Aidan Leonhardt was Durant’s contestant #3. He wanted to compete to show off his hard work throughout the process of preparing for this bodybuilding competition.

“I prepared by doing cardio and cutting calories. I ate 1500 calories a day and mostly ate meats like chicken and ground beef leading up to the event,” said Leonhardt.  

Many contestants had intense workout schedules to help them get into shape for the competition. 

Regan Williams is a junior at Durant and was contestant #12 in the competition. She was also the Female Runner Up.

“To prepare I obviously trained at the gym everyday after cheer practice for two hours,” said Williams. “I’ve been consistently working out for over a year now but to prepare it was a four month process.”

Contestant #10 was senior Tabatha Spinks. She prepared for the competition for three months. She worked out 5-6 days a week and pushed herself when she had little motivation.

Spinks stresses that this competition should not encourage students to compare their bodys to others.

“Be yourself and never compare yourself to others!” said Spinks. “You are your own person and you have an amazing body, because it’s you!”

Sophomore Addison Nihiser was contestant #6 and was the youngest Mr Cougar contestant. He first learned about the competition in January which is when he started training. 

“I recommend to anyone interested in this competition to train hard but diet even harder and to have fun with it,” said Nihiser. “I was stressing over nothing, it’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever done.”

If students are thinking about participating in the Mr. and Miss Cougar competition in the future, previous contestants stress the importance of starting to prepare early for the best results. Students should start dieting early and working out. It will make preparation for the competition much easier when getting ready.

Congratulations to Durant’s 2022 Mr. and Miss Cougar and to the rest of the contestants that worked hard for the competition.