He's sinewy. He's ripped. And he knows it.
When Joe Seldin, a fifth year psychology major with an accent so distinct it could only mean he is from Long Island, decided to join the Mr. Buffalo bodybuilding contest April 7 at the Center for the Arts, he knew he had a lot of work ahead of him. But it still didn't stop him from giving it a try.
At the time 5-foot-9 and 230 pounds, Seldin was no stranger to exercise and lifting weights. Ever an avid athlete, he played football, lacrosse and wrestling, was an instructor at two mixed martial arts schools and even earned a black belt in karate. A sizeable force to be reckoned with, he was known for guarding his 16-year-old sister from young men with dishonest intentions.
With the help of a personal trainer experienced in bodybuilding at the Steel Mill Gym in Lackawanna near the home of his favorite "Uncle Frankie," Seldin dropped a somewhat unhealthy 60 pounds over the course of four months. He now tips the scales at 169 pounds, and hopes to be down a couple more before the competition.
"I love it. This is the best shape I've ever been in," Seldin said, grinning from ear to floppy ear. "I feel like I could run through a brick wall."
Every morning at 5 a.m., he can be found a few blocks from his home running with high knees up 32 rickety, metal stairs with openings straight to the bottom, rain or shine, his lungs on fire from the cold. With only a teaspoon of applesauce for energy, he gives it his all for 15 solid minutes, trying his best not to fall.
"I fly up those stairs like an animal now," he said. "I probably did 50,000 of them, up and down."
From there, he returns home where he prepares his food for the day, before making it to the gym at 6:30 a.m. He is now in phase four of dieting for the big day, all junk food and carbohydrates are depleted from his low sodium diet, including vegetables.
The last time he went shopping, he left with a cart filled with 15 cantaloupe and 20 pounds of frozen tilapia fish. They are the two staple items he has been consuming the past two weeks, along with an assortment of vitamins and minerals that he takes throughout the day with long swigs from gallon jugs of water. He carries two with him when he comes to school, as if they are textbooks in his sports bag.
A constant flow of water keeps him hydrated and cramp free, which is especially important after he became ill a few weeks ago from dehydration.
At the gym, Seldin warms up on a stationary bike before stretching and pumping himself up for a 2-hour workout compacted into 30 minutes with his trainer, "The King," at 7 a.m., followed by 25 minutes of abdominal work from every angle imaginable. Three hours after he has started, Seldin finally leaves tired.
Somewhere between noon and the evening however, he finds the energy to do it all again, this time adding an hour of cardio. He walks on a treadmill at a high incline in a sauna suit, because if he ran, he would lose too much muscle. In the late evening hours, he poses in front of the mirror in his uniform - a bright red bikini bottom - to practice his flexes for the competition.
"Ninety percent of it is the presentation of your body," Seldin said. "Hours and hours of work are brought down to 90 seconds on the stage."
On top of training, Seldin is still a student taking a modest, though full, course load. He also makes time to shadow a podiatrist, an occupation he hopes to one day pursue, to run subjects in a social psychology research experiment, and to work 25 to 30 hours at, of all places, a pizza joint.
"I make 1,000 wings and don't touch one of 'em," Seldin boasts. His coworkers are good about teasing him, but when they do, Seldin simply lifts his shirt to show off his perfectly chiseled stomach, and the six-pack (or is it eight?) speaks for itself.
Overall, Seldin says, he has spent $4,000 preparing his body for the competition. Maintaining his rigid program wasn't easy, however. At times, compliments about his changing physique were the only thing that kept him going.
"I haven't had a piece of bread in four months. No candy," Seldin said, shaking his head and laughing as if he were joking. His energy and humor is infectious, making one think that what he has been doing is either definitely easy, or he is just plain crazy. But his is a natural high, the student with a 3.85 average hasn't even considered taking steroids.
"I don't cheat on my diet and it's hard, especially at night, so I just go to bed," Seldin said. "It's rough. I'm hungry."
Even consuming a protein bar is considered cheating. When his cravings are at their worst, Seldin said he has found himself in the ice cream aisle, staring at his favorite vice: Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby.
"I've been dreaming about that ice cream for four months," he said.
Seldin admits his current diet isn't as healthy as he'd like it to be, and it will only get worse. Two days before the competition he will eat one shredded wheat biscuit every two hours and drink 6 ounces of water the entire day. Nothing else. The morning of the competition though, he will finally get to eat a man's meal of eggs, bacon and toast to keep his muscles looking perky.
Saturday evening after the contest is over, in which he hopes to place in the top five in his weight class, pizza and wings will be calling his name.
Obsessed? Perhaps. Even Seldin worries that he will never be able to eat normally again. His stomach is like a baby's now, and his taste buds have changed. Even the hay-like shredded biscuits taste good after a carb free diet.
After the competition, Seldin plans on gaining 10 to 15 pounds, a much healthier weight for his frame. He will continue working out and will even allow himself a good splurge once a week.
Seldin has even considered sharing his newfound contours with the art of stripping, and may one day open his own gym.
"It's not a competition against anyone but myself," Seldin said. "There's no negative output from this. I look great and I feel great."
Is he glad he decided to become a bodybuilder?
"Oh yeah," he said. "I love it. I definitely love it."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
