Rene Alvarez | Be your own Mr. or Mrs. Penn

Everyone knows that dream where you're standing alone in front of a crowd in nothing but your underwear. That happened to me last week - only I wasn't alone, and it wasn't a dream.

Last Tuesday, about 30 other people and I participated in the Mr. and Ms. Penn Bodybuilding competition. And believe me, if you want to learn how to confront and overcome fear and anxiety, try standing on stage before a near-sellout crowd in Zellerbach Theater wearing a Speedo. But besides staring down fear, being a part of something like this teaches a great deal more about personal achievement and is an ideal experience for just about anybody.

Penn Track and Field assistant coach Tony Tenisci started the Mr. and Ms. Penn Competition 15 years ago for two reasons. One was fundraising: All proceeds from the show go to cover ongoing expenses of the track and field teams. The other was to celebrate the accomplishments of both mind and body.

"Only at a Penn could a show like this happen," Tenisci said during this year's opening clinic in October.

"I've always believed that if you give Penn students information, they know exactly what to do with it," Tenisci explained. "I give you the [training] program, and it's up to you to use it."

Going into that introductory meeting, I figured, "Hey, I'm no slouch. I've completed two marathons, about six half marathons and a number of other long and short distance races over the past five years. How much harder could this be?"

That attitude disappeared quickly, however, when I got a look at some of the other potential contestants, some of whom were half my age and twice my size.

But then there was Tenisci, part coach, part motivational speaker, encouraging us to accept the challenge of the training program, to make the commitment to eight weeks of diet and exercise and to reach our own personal goals.

"I guarantee," Tenisci said, "you will have the experience of a lifetime."

Tenisci proved too convincing to resist, and a number of us accepted that challenge. Suman Addya, an Engineering junior, was one.

"I've never had too much success with organized team sports," Addya said, "and I wanted to try something more individual. I just wanted to know that I belonged on stage."

During ongoing clinics, Tenisci reviewed our training, instructed us on posing and provided regular motivation through the metaphor of the journey. "Look where you started," he said as we lined up in front of the mirrors in Pottruck, "and look where you are now."

Granted, my six-pack abs were more like four wine coolers, but I began to notice changes and definition I never had before. I actually started to look forward to getting up on stage.

"I want you to enjoy your moment and think of the journey you all took to get here," Tenisci said at our last meeting before the show. "That journey and that moment is yours, and no one can ever take that away from you."

He wasn't kidding, and that moment can have profound effects.

"I definitely have more confidence after posing," Addya said. "I've matured a lot."

Megan VanBuskirk, a Nursing freshman and Penn triple jumper, agrees.

"It feels really good to know I have the discipline to stick to the diet and the workout," she said.

The lessons of discipline and commitment to personal goals can apply not only to physical fitness but also to academics. Besides representing the Schools of Nursing and Arts and Sciences and the Engineering School, this year's competitors also came from the Wharton School, the School of Medicine and the Dental School.

You can imagine the demanding academic workloads we regularly confront. And while incorporating daily workouts into our regular schedules was difficult, it forced many of us to optimize the time we devoted to our other obligations. Addya and VanBuskirk both acknowledged the satisfaction they felt from having structure in their schedules and the balance this brought to their daily lives. Finding that balance is as much a part of the journey as is getting to the end.

And, ultimately, the journey is what it's all about. Participating in things like the Mr. and Ms. Penn competition, marathon races or other amateur athletic events is not about seeing who is the biggest, the strongest or even the fastest. Rather, it's about rising to the challenge of doing something seemingly impossible for you to do and then relishing the feeling of personal accomplishment in athletics, academics and just about any facet of life.

So, get to work. The 16th annual Mr. and Ms. Penn competition is just a year away.

Rene Alvarez is a sixth-year History Ph.D. candidate from Chicago, Ill. His e-mail address is alvarez@dailypennsylvanian.com. Rico Suave appears on Tuesdays.

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