For Kim Bella, mid 30s a perfect time to start posing

NEWTON - Sometimes discovering something later in life can add purpose and youth to your being. That’s what happened to Kim Bella, when the 36-year-old decided to give body building a try. Bella, who works as a physical therapist in Newton and lives in West Milford, has entered two shows and has a new-found love in her life. She’s learned from the sport and used it not just to improve her fitness, but her outlook on life and her ability to set and achieve goals. This past June, Bella entered the Novice class in the prestigious Beyond 2000 Nutrition Hercules International Bodybuilding, Figure & Fitness Championships (Super Proqualifier)” in New York City. To her surprise and delight, she placed fourth, but it wasn’t an easy road to victory. Bella grew up in first Nanuet then Orange County, New York. As a child, she was a competitive figure skater and remained so until she was 17. While in college, Bella earned an aerobics certification from ACE and began teaching. She graduated from Southern Connecticut with a B.S. in biology in 1992, and began managing a fitness club back in Orange County called Aerotone. “It was there that I became serious about weight training,” Bella recalled. She continued teaching aerobics at various clubs for another three years, all the time realizing she might want to continue her education in physical therapy. “I loved fitness and exercise, and I wanted to work with people and help restore their strength, flexibility and promote overall wellness.” Bella followed her dream of becoming a physical therapist, graduating from D’Youville College, in Buffalo, NY, Magna Cum Laude, with a Masters in Physical Therapy in 1998. She’s been practicing since then in outpatient orthopedics and sports medicine and I has continued her education through certifications as a Pilates Instructor, Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA, and a Personal Fitness Trainer. Last October (2005), another trainer and friend, Rose Crane took second place in her first bodybuilding show. “Rose is slightly older than I and I was awed by the transformation in her physique,” Bella said, “It was at that point that I decided I, too, wanted to take my strength and conditioning regimen to the next level.” Bella approached John Wilkens, owner of Health & Body in Sparta, and Rose’s primary trainer for her first show and asked if he could train her to be competition material. “John stated, ‘I want nothing less than 110% or don’t do it.’” Those were the words Bella needed to hear. The challenge was on. On November 28, 2006, Bella and Wilkens set the June 3rd competition as her goal. Bella worked out with five days each week, training with her trainer for 30 minutes and then working out on her own for an additional one-and-a-half to two hours. Monday was chest and triceps, Tuesday was legs, Wednesday was back and biceps, Thursday was shoulder and triceps, Friday was a mixture of legs, back and arms, and Saturday was body part of my choice. Bella would do cardio once a day for 45 minutes to an hour, then as the show date got closer she upped that to two times a day for 45 minutes each. Cardio was usually the elliptical. “I was not allowed to jog because it would make my legs leaner and we were trying to save mass.” Though many days she said she was “dragging” by 4 p.m. and the training was hard, “the discipline needed with the dieting aspect was even harder.” Bella learned, through the process, “it is about taking it day by day and keeping my goal in site and about learning to love the process and the driving force comes with the rewards you will see with your hard work and perseverance.” As muscle definition started to show itself , it helped Bella make each day a “clean day” of eating and pushing through the workouts. Bella found the posing that goes along with the sport of bodybuilding very challenging, “especially when you are on stage in front of so many people in a posing suit, which really is a bikini.” It entails contracting every muscle from the bottoms of the feet to the neck and takes “a lot of focus, concentration and muscle endurance.” Thrilled with her June competition, Bella decided to raise the bar with her training for a show on September 23rd. “It was actually 2 separate contests that I went into,” she said. Entitled the INBF Naturalmania Nationals & Best Body Swimsuit Contest, the competition was held at Martin Luther King High school Auditorium in NYC. Bella competed in “figure” for this show. This was different from June’s competition in which she’d competed in “bodybuilding.” This time, as part of her training, Bella dropped 15 lbs for this show. “I went from 113 to 98 lbs and competed in both the Novice Figure and in the Best Body competitions. Though Bella didn’t place in this competition, she said, “I was a little disappointed but not surprised. All the girls had gorgeous bodies, and many had fake breasts which certainly helped. It was a great day, though. I met many nice people.” Not placing didn’t in any way discourage her, “I will push forward with proper dieting and exercise and continue to love this new journey on which I’ve embarked,” she said, “But I’ll do it naturally.” Bella said when she was at the September show, it was an all-day event, and she had a chance to talk to a lot of the competitors. One girl, in particular, made an impact. “She’s been in the sport for five years and never placed,” Bella said, “Until she got breast implants.” She said, “If I had to do that to place, I’d sooner quit competing.” But she won’t stop competing. She’ll continue to enter “au natural.” “My attitude is, once you get fake breasts, why stop there? Then get a face lift and try to perfect yourself with plastic surgery. I don’t think that’s what the sport should be about.” Bella plans to take a few months off from competition now since she just bought a house. After that, she’ll pick another competition, but said she’ll focus on “figure” rather than “bodybuilding.” “I’m very short, and I don’t like how my body looks putting on bulk for the bodybuilding competition,” she said. “Figure is a little more feminine and a little less bulk.” In addition to that, she wants to expand her fitness horizons and plans to enter a 5-kilometer race this weekend and learn to rock climb. “It’s all about setting and achieving goals. I just love that and the way you feel when you do.”