READing Your Style: "The Big O Campaign"

VSU professor, Dr. Rodney Gaines

Reading the Richmond Free Press last week, in the “Sports” section I came across an article highlighting a local “Bodybuilding Champion” . Me having always been perpetually skinny all my life, I’ve always admired people who were able to be worthy of participating in competitions such as that.

The “Bodybuilding Champion” in the spotlight happens to be a strength-conditioning coach and associate professor at Virginia State University’s Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Dance and Sports Management. His name is Dr. Rodney Gaines, and he is the nephew of the late Othaniel Gaines who had owned a restaurant-nightclub in Tappahannock, Virginia called “The Big O”, where right behind it was a baseball diamond he named the “The Big O” as well. It was here where Mr. Rodney Gaines practiced baseball, which eventually earned him a spot on the baseball team of his alma mater, Virginia Tech. 

With a handsome 47-inch chest, and 27-inch waist, despite having been diagnosed with diabetes in 2007, he has gained awards in this year’s Masters and Open divisions at the Glass Scepter Bodybuilding Championships in Ohio; he won the Masters (40-over) title in the Arizona State National (drug-free) Championships in Arizona; and furthermore, he is the 1995 Mr. Virginia Contest winner. At the end of 2011, he was elected President of the Virginia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (VAHPERD) [source].

Gaines (far left) participarting in the
Natural Physique Association Championships

What intrigued me most about this article are his efforts on the front of obesity. Considering I graduated from an HBCU myself, (Norfolk State University), I was very proud to find out that Mr. Gaines has initiated “The Big O Campaign”, a campaign he is involving HBCU’s across the country to fight the growing obesity epidemic. This venture will also try to encourage more minorities to participate in the field of exercise science and strength training. I think this is a marvelous effort for Mr. Gaines to pursue for I feel the more that health is stressed to the public, the more people will want to conform to the consensus of attaining good health and wellness. I feel in our modern era of eating for convenience, we tend to overlook the long term affects of our poor eating decisions and over-indulge in gluttonous behavior, sans a challenging workout regimen to make up for our appetites. Maybe it’s not so much that we eat too much, or we eat the wrong things, but I feel that actually committing ourselves to a workout is the hardest part.  Mr. Gaines is reported to not only lift weights, but he commits to a 12-mile run on top of lifting and he is said to feel depressed and stressed when he doesn’t workout [source]. I often feel that way as well when I go a morning without at least going through some sort of intense routine on a daily basis. In light of Mr. Gaines and his commitment to fitness, I have included a few tips from Weight Loss Specialist, Micheal Glatter on some good reasons to remember to exercise everyday to beat the battle of the bulge. 

Here are the top 3 ways that your body will feel better with exercise:

This past weekend he was to have participated in the National Physique Association event in Norfolk; then he is slated to be heading abroad June 23 for the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation in Barbados, and to the Czech Republic June 30 for the International Natural Bodybuilding Association finals. I will be keeping up with Mr. Gaines’ program more on IMF.blog to see how it develops. In the spirit of looking good to feel good, I say this: DON’T BE LAZY!