Others want to look like models on the cover of muscle magazines. Trainers at both gyms say physical transformation contests provide the structure and knowledge people need to reach their physical goals or discover their ideal body. Contestants get tips on diet, exercise and weight training. The Mountain's Edge holds seminars on heart rate and goal-setting. Contests work because they make people accountable, Moore says.
Prizes also help.
The Triad winner receives a trip to Mexico. Not everyone is as enthusiastic as Moore. Short-term body shaping contests can be unhealthy and unrealistic, some fitness experts say. Erin Carson, fitness director at Rallysport Health and Fitness Club, does not hold contests at her gym because they focus on superficial images, she says. She exhales and presses a 75-pound bar above her chest and sets it on a rack.