Iron-pumping will
He looks like a Mr. All-American – 5-foot-10-inches, 181 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes.
For now, “Mr. Utah” will have to do.
Utah State University senior Matt Leonhardt claimed that title at the Mr. Utah Natural competition held at Murray High School on March 27.
If that wasn’t enough, he also won a trophy as the best poser and one in his weight division: 172-189 pounds.
It doesn’t stop here. Leonhardt will be in the regional competition held May 8 at Logan High School.
“The winner from that show wins their professional card, which means they go on to compete professionally,” Leonhardt said.
This means soon his face and body could be seen all over muscle and fitness magazines.
Meanwhile, he’s enjoying being a model for Icon Health and Fitness.
He models their equipment and clothing line.
“It’s just one of the benefits of body building – it gets me jobs like that,” Leonhardt said.
Although his favorite part of preparing for body building competitions is training for the show, the show itself is a side benefit, Leonhardt said.
He enjoys spending time – a lot of time – at the gym.
His workout routine begins at 6 a.m. at either the Fieldhouse or the HPER Building. For an hour he targets one muscle group. Then after going to school and work all day, he returns to the gym later that night. There he targets the same muscle group he worked that morning. This is his routine … everyday.
He likes seeing the changes to his body and the improvements he makes, Leonhardt said.
“It’s kind of like being an artist,” he said.
Not only does he have to work out his body on the outside, he also has to worry about taking care of it on the inside as well.
His diet consists mostly of vegetables, fruits and tuna fish.
“I eat some pretty weird things,” Leonhardt said. “[It’s] pretty bland.”
He makes all of his own foods so he can keep track of his calories in the proteins, carbohydrates and fats he eats.
“My roommates thought I was pretty crazy,” he said because he wouldn’t go out to eat with them.
Leonhardt and his roommate even made a bet that if he cheated on his diet, Leonhardt would have to pay his roommate $10. Leonhardt kept his cash.
Leonhardt emphasized this isn’t a beauty pageant.
“It’s more like a meat market,” he said. “You’re in a Speedo all night with a number [on the side.] They don’t even call you by name, they just say ‘number 14 move over by 72.'”
However it was probably 42, Leonhardt’s number, they were calling most of the night.
The competition started with the prejudging at 8 a.m. The prejudging is the longest portion of the competition where most the judging takes place. His weight group was on stage posing and flexing for about a half an hour. The evening competion started at 5:30 that night and brought out the winners from the four weight divisions. Then they had to compete with one another. He had to remain on stage while he won his three various trophies.
“I felt sick afterward,” he said.
This was Leonhardt’s fifth competition. Only his roommates and friends came to see him win the title. His family, in Wisconsin, has never seen him compete.
Back in high school, he and one of his lifting friends debated back and forth about the benefits of body building and lifting weights. Leonhardt always felt the lifting aspect, how strong he was, was most important. His friend felt body building was more important. Now his friend is in the Air Force and captain of the par lifting team. And Leonhardt has won Mr. Utah Natural.
“I guess we both convinced each other of the other one being right,” Leonhardt said.
Leonhardt feels the body building competitions have influenced other areas in his life. He will be graduating in nutrition science this May and soon will be working on his master’s also in nutrition science … in case the mastery of body building doesn’t work out.
-acbailey@cc.usu.edu
Mr. Utah Matt Leonhardt is a USU student majoring in nutrition science. (Photo by Jennifer Wheatley)
Leonhardt continues to build muscles to maintain his build. He trains mornings and evenings in the HPER – focusing on a specific muscle group each day. (Photo by Jennifer Wheatley)