07.01.2004:Over 40 Female Bodybuilding Title to Laura Williams

from the kingsbayperiscope, kings bay georgia:

Thursday, July 1, 2004

Last modified at 3:01 p.m. on Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Williams recently placed first in her first bodybuilding competition, which was held at Armstrong University in Savannah. Photo by JO2(SW) Michael Wiss

NFCU assistant manager takes bodybuilding crown

By JO2(SW) Michael Wiss
Periscope Staff

Webster's New World Dictionary defines motivation as an inner drive to achieve a specific goal. This was a key element for Laura Williams when she won the Southern Isles Bodybuilding Competition June 5.

Williams, an assistant manager at the Navy Federal Credit Union branch aboard NSB Kings Bay, went from spectator to champion in her first competition after only five months of training.

''I went to this event last year to watch some friends who were entered and I became interested,'' she said. ''I started training full time last October and have been hooked ever since.''

Laura Williams, assistant manager at the Navy Federal Credit Union won the Southeast Division over 40 lightweight bodybuilding crown. Photo By JO2(SW/AW) Michael Wiss

Athletic training was nothing new for Williams. Before getting involved in bodybuilding, she was an accomplished marathon runner and completed the Boston Marathon in 2003. Williams said the toughest part of her training was changing her diet.

''As a marathon runner you can eat anything you want because you burn if off when you run,'' she said. ''The bodybuilding diet I followed was very strict. I was trying to get my body fat down to about 10 percent.''

Bodybuilding is a commitment: besides weight training and adhering to a strict diet, it requires an overall lifestyle change.

''It takes dedication and will power to compete,'' said Staff Sgt. Marty Dunn, close quarter platoon sergeant for Marine Corps Security Force Company and the overall Southern Isles men's champion. ''Laura has worked hard and has shown she has what it takes to win.''

Finding time for serious bodybuilding training can be hard to schedule in anyone's life. Williams' challenge was finding time to work out as well as hold down her full-time job.

''My husband was attending the police academy for 10 weeks,'' she said. ''That gave me a lot of free time to really train hard.''

Aside from the long hours spent in the gym, support from friends and co-workers was another essential element Williams credits for helping her to capture her first bodybuilding title.

''The support from everyone was overwhelming,'' she said. ''The encouragement from everyone at the gym and throughout the community is what kept me motivated. I could not have done it without them.''