In a sea of lifters, Aaron Kahn was hoisting weights as part of his weekly routine in preparation for the Mr. EIU fitness competition.  

He later stepped in front of a mirror in the rec center to practice his poses with a bunch of strangers around him. 

This has been his life for the past four months. 

The changes Kahn has made for this competition have altered his body drastically since the start of his training. 

Kahn cut carbohydrates from his diet and started to eat more protein — he carries around canned chicken in his backpack when heading to class. 

His lifts, sprints, diets and practices his poses in front of the mirror every day, losing 45 pounds in the process. 

Kahn said working though these last few weeks have been tough since his body has begun to slow down and must force itself to get through workouts.  

Last year was the first time he tried competing for the title in the Mr. EIU fitness competition.

 When he tried it last year, Kahn said he was filled with a lot of doubt because bodybuilding was something new, though he was a wrestler in high school and was accustomed to losing weight to gain entrance into a certain weight class. 

“I’m not as stressed about it anymore,” Kahn said. “I have a better understanding of what it takes to be successful in this sport.”

Kahn has brushed up on his knowledge about dieting and exercise and learned more about bodybuilding in a healthy manner. 

Plus, Kahn said, it does not hurt to live with a nutritionist and roommates who will compete with him come Saturday. 

Despite all of his work, Kahn said dieting causes insecurities within him.

“The diet plays tricks with your head, and you feel unsure about whether you’re at your target weight,” Kahn said. 

Sometimes he said his stomach craves food at unusual times. 

“Sometimes you just want to eat a loaf of bread at any given moments,” Kahn said. 

Alcohol, which contains a lot of empty calories, is something Kahn gave up entirely for the competition. 

Going out on the weekend can be detrimental to his training because there is alcohol all around him, or temptation as he referred to it. 

“It’s hard to go out and be the only sober person in a room,” Kahn said. 

So, he found company among other lifters and his roommates.

Kahn, a senior accounting major, currently takes twenty credit hours and is coaching tugs, but has managed to put time aside to prepare for the competition. 

His road to success, though, has not been smooth. 

Kahn has had three major deaths in his family. His sister, aunt and grandfather passed away this year, and they would have traveled to Charleston to come see him perform, even if he is only on stage for 10 minutes, Kahn said. 

But he has not been deterred from competing. 

The treatment he has received from people outside of the sport has not affected his motivation. 

Kahn said people who have never had any sort of contact with someone who body builds treat him like an odyssey and are often perplexed as to why he would put his body through so much strain. 

Others question whether or not he takes steroids, but Kahn said he does not. Plus,

as a requirement of the competition, Kahn and other lifters are randomly tested by officials for “steroids and other substances.”

Kahn said he really has no particular reason for why he body builds, but he said he enjoys the competitive aspect of it. 

“You only have so much of your body to work with, and what you do have will determine whether you have worked as hard as you need to.”

He said the excitement of the crowd and the blinding lights of the stage also play a factor in his love for competitive bodybuilding. 

“Your heart just pounds as you face the audience,” Kahn said. 

Kahn said winning does not mean as much to him as the amount of support he has received from other students and his family. 

And his family, Kahn said, was hesitant about his decision to compete in the Mr. EIU Fitness Competition the first time around. 

A Facebook page he created to promote himself has amassed 92 fans going to support him, and the Penalty Box is sponsoring him. 

While some may have qualms about bodybuilding’s affects on the human body, Kahn said he has gained a lot out of the sport. 

“I’ve learned to enjoy reading. I’m always doing research and reading to better understand dieting, and now I can sit still on my coach and really enjoy reading books that have nothing to do with body building,” Kahn said. 

He said he has learned to take on loads of responsibility and complete all of his daily tasks without hesitation. 

He has also learned how to cook healthy food. 

Kahn has done his homework on dieting to make sure he is doing this the right way. He said bodybuilding can be dangerous if not done carefully, but he argued that drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes can be just as damaging to person’s health. 

While he is enjoying this lifestyle, Kahn said he misses being able to eat without being on a diet. After the show is over, Kahn said he plans on celebrating. 

“The first thing I’m going to do is go to town on a Chubby’s fireball pizza and some Cadebury cream eggs,” Kahn said. 

The Mr. EIU and Mrs. EIU fitness competition starts Saturday at 7p.m. in the McAfee Gymnasium. 

Jaime Lopez can be reached at 581-2812 or jlopez2@eiu.edu.