Airmen rise to the top at bodybuilding competition Published July 7, 2009 By Senior Airman Kali L. Gradishar 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- He walks onto the stage where all eyes turn to him. He slowly moves into his first stance, muscles bulging on his bronzed body. The judges take notes as he transitions from pose to pose. His dedication to perfecting his body shows results as he places third in the Ultra Bodies X bodybuilding competition June 20 at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England. It started in the ninth grade when Michael Toderick dedicated himself to playing football, a sport requiring strength and agility. With a competitive drive, he set his mind to something new - weightlifting. After competing and placing in two power-lifting events in high school, he found a new hobby to stick with. Now a senior airman and 52nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron public health technician, Airman Toderick continues lifting weights but has moved on to different activities, signing up to compete as a heavy weight in Ultra Bodies, a bodybuilding competition. The competition consisted of two shows. The first involved mandatory poses for pre-judging, and the second included a personalized pose routine to music for the audience. Along with Airman Toderick, Staff Sgt. Hoa Mai and Airman 1st Class Ricky Kranning, both from the 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron, competed in the event. Sergeant Mai, a lightweight, placed first in his division and was selected as having the best routine and best abs. Airman Kranning, a middleweight, placed first in his division and first overall in the competition. He was also selected as having the second-best abs. "I feel like we really represented the Air Force well," said the 6 foot, 210-pound 22-year-old Airman Toderick. "We compete like this in memory of Solandro Lee, (a prior active-duty Airman who) worked on base as a personal trainer. He passed away Jan. 21, 2009, after he collapsed in the gym." "He originally started to train me before he passed away," he added. Staff Sgt. Marcie Ireland, 52nd Force Support Squadron and bodybuilder, took on the task of coaching the Airmen to prepare them for the Mildenhall competition by writing diet plans, helping practice poses and setting up workout plans. "Mostly I helped them practice poses, having them hold poses for as long as they comfortably could- if that could be comfortable," said Sergeant Ireland, who also participates in bodybuilding competitions - three of them last year where she placed third, fifth and second consecutively and another scheduled Aug. 22. "Sometimes the judges will keep you in a pose for a while to compare your body against someone else's, then move you next to someone else and compare your bodies again." Weeks before the competition, which was open to all servicemembers, family members and Department of Defense identification card holders 18-years-old and older, Sergeant Ireland led the three Airmen on dieting regime phasing between extreme water intake then switching to carbohydrate loading and dehydrating. "The drier you become, safely, the better your body looks on stage," said Sergeant Ireland about the meal plans. While on the hectic diet, they continued training an average of three hours per day, lifting weights, doing cardio and posing. "The workouts are pretty intense. We pretty much do a body part a day, four exercises and 16 sets total. We do low intensity cardio for about 30 minutes, and then work on posing for about an hour," Airman Toderick said. "Then we take Sunday off to relax." The hard work paid off, as Airmen Toderick and Kranning were invited by the Ultra Bodies judges to attend the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation British Finals, a competition scheduled for Oct. 4 in Scotland. If the Airmen place first in their respective divisions they will be placed in BNBF professional status and receive a BNBF professional card. "They judge off talent and potential. They thought we had the potential to compete well there, so the judges invited us," Airmen Toderick said. "This is one of the greatest feelings because of the personal satisfaction that comes out of body building. We might train together, but it's not a team. "It's just you. It's you who got your body to that place," he said.