11.01.2004:Ohio Street Sweeper Wins Female Bodybuilding Contest in Ohio
Monday, November 1, 2004 at 17:33 from toledoblade (click this link for larger photo of Julie):
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( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER ) |
MONROE - At the Powerhouse Gym on South Monroe Street Thursday evening, Julie Castellese - all 5 feet 2 inches of her - hoisted a weight that towered above her.
Heads turned.
For those who know her, her prowess at the gym is not surprising.
But even her weight-lifting pals took notice when, at a regional bodybuilding and figure competition on Oct. 2 in Cleveland, Ms. Castellese - in what was only her second meet - wowed the more experienced field by taking home a first-place trophy.
She once bench-pressed 140 pounds - 13 more than she presently weighs - but has since altered her focus.
Ms. Castellese is part of a new breed of female bodybuilders who are less about bulge and more about fitness and femininity.
"Now I'm more into shaping; it's all about being symmetrical," said Ms. Castellese, a warm, vivacious woman with a 1,000-watt smile.
In May, when she decided to enter her first competition, Ms. Masi told Ms. Castellese she'd have to drop 24 pounds, to 106.
So she switched to a seven-meals-a-day high-protein diet, and began working out three times day, beginning at 5 a.m., before manning her street sweeper.
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