Wheelchair Bodybuilders Are More Than Amateurs with Weight Lifting Equipment

Weight lifting equipment are the tools of the trade for many physically abled bodybuilders, but even those bound to wheelchairs can shine in bodybuilding championships.

Seven bodybuilders in wheelchairs competed in the National Physique Committee’s USA Wheelchair Championships and Gulf State Championships which was held at the Landmark Hotel in Metairie. A total of championships 204 bodybuilders participated in the event.

The Landmark has been the perennial host of the NPC Gulf State Championships, where the wheelchair category was included two years after the event’s first inception.

Robin Tesvich, who served as promoters for the championship, said that the wheelchair division is a powerful motivator for others who feel confined in wheelchairs or even those who simply discouraged from improving their physical fitness.

Many residents of New Orleans can take advantage of discount weight lifting equipment and start launching their bodybuilding careers. Or better yet they can just give themselves the great gift of physical health and fitness, as the bodybuilding contest, as Tesvich points out, is about moving forward in life.

Walker Runnels, 24, who is one of the seven wheelchair competitors, is just exactly just that. He has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and has been riding a wheelchair most of his life. Runnels have been competing in bodybuilding events for four years.

Obsessed with sports at a young age, Runnels never thought he would ever be able to compete. He started working with weight lifting equipment as a teenager to improve his upper body strength. After he found out about wheelchair bodybuilding, he was encouraged and since succeeded in competitions.

Bodybuilding has opened new prospects according to Runnels, who is a resident of Effingham, Ill. He wants to promote the sport to get more people to improve their fitness and even compete in events. Willie Runnels watched his son win the lightweight division trophy.

His son has always wanted to be an athlete, said Willie Runnels, who is proud of Walker’s latest achievement.

Another competitor, Kyle Roberts, 26, was paralyzed after a fishing camp accident in Bay St. Louis. Roberts has previously played football in St. Bernard High School prior before he injured his back in the incident. He started lifting weights while undergoing rehabilitation at the Tour Infirmary in new Orleans.

Roberts knew he would be confined in a wheelchair but he wanted to be able to take care of himself and become independent. He won the middleweight division trophy.

Being a former high school athlete, Roberts is proud that a wheelchair did not stop him from succeeding. He thrives in the mental and physical demands of the competition.

40-year old Gene Bergeron, a former professional wrestler, has been in a wheelchair since 1997 due to a back injury incurred in the ring. He began competing in wheelchair bodybuilding four years ago. Bergeron, who lives in Thiboduax, thought that his time in the spotlight has passed. But after never giving up on weight lifting equipment that even upright people frown upon, his labors bore fruit. Bodybuilding has catapulted Bergeron back to the stage where he enjoys the cheers from the crowd.

If you are interested in how to begin a physical fitness program and avail of discount weight lifting equipment that guaranteed high quality, visit Fitness Expo Stores. The company provides topnotch exercise equipment for cardio, strength, and core-training mostly offered at discount prices.

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