The Mr. EIU/Ms. Fitness contest will offer a new category this year called Ms. Physique.

Josh Jones, a graduate assistant at the student recreation center and coordinator for the event, said the category was added to expand the contest and increase female participation.

Ms. Fitness focuses more on flexibility and comparing how fit all the contestants are. There is also a dance portion. Jones said Ms. Physique will be more similar to Mr. EIU since it will focus more on muscle mass and have a pose routine as well.

The contest will be at 7 p.m. Saturday in McAfee gym. Tickets are $5 and are sold at the door.

Keighley Bailey, a junior Spanish and psychology major, is a contestant in Ms. Physique and said she and several other contestants strove for this new category.

“It brings something new to the table,” Bailey said. “After seeing the last couple, I felt there were a lot of stereotypes over what Ms. Fitness was. I think this shows that it is okay for woman to have muscle mass.”

Another contestant in Ms. Physique, Megan Murphy, a junior psychology major, agreed with Bailey and said it should help women get respect in any gym.

“Guys aren’t used to seeing girls lift with them,” Murphy said. “I want to inspire other girls who want to do this but haven’t.”

Murphy also said that this contest will be her “road to redemption.”

“I quite two sports in high school and had a really bad attitude towards myself and to my coaches,” Murphy said, “I can prove to myself that I can do something really hard without quitting. It’s possible to do this with school and anything else. Just make a strong commitment.”

Mark Ouska, a sophomore marketing major, has been training for Mr. EIU for ten weeks. He said he never thought he would be able to do this. In addition to diet and exercise, Ouska said he has been measuring his food to know incoming calories. He has also tanned everyday.

“It’s been really hard. I love milk and have not had it at all during the preparation time,” Ouska said.

Robert Tesmer, a sophomore accounting major, said the competition has been a great way for him to get accustomed to body building culture. He has also been able to meet students at Eastern with similar interests.

Seth Schroeder can be reached at 581-2812 or scschroeder2@eiu.ed.