Prize-Winning Bodybuilder Leslie Crook Draws on Her Strength

There she sat in her car outside the Powerhouse Gym in Londonderry, N.H., watching athlete after athlete walk through the front door for more than 30 minutes.

Windham resident Leslie Crook was no stranger to putting her body through the ringer. Her family owns Raymond's Turkey Farm in Methuen, and she grew up tossing 100-pound floor bags over her shoulder, even when she weighed just 11 pounds more than the bags.

This was different.

"I was so nervous to work out that I just sat in the parking lot and finally I said, 'I've got to get out of the car,'" said Crook, now 51, of that first venture into the world of physical training 18 years ago.

"I went in and there was only one girl in there," she said. "But eventually, the owner's girlfriend showed me a few things and it got to be this thing where I was there at 6 a.m. It was like a job."

She has excelled at that job.

In 1992, just two years after that first day in the gym, Crook took first place in her division at the American Natural Bodybuilding Conference in Scarborough, Maine.

Now a well-known amateur bodybuilder, she has competed in 17 shows, most recently at last month's Masters Nationals Bodybuilding and Figure Championships in Pittsburgh.

Last year, she took second place at that competition, but she didn't fare as well this year. She wasn't in it for a medal this time around, however. Rather, she was seeking a distraction from the pain of losing her husband of 20 years.

"I wasn't going to do it this year," Crook said. "But my son said, 'Dad would want you to do it.'"

The couple were in Las Vegas one year ago today when Bob Crook, 70, had a heart attack that left him in the hospital for nearly a month before he died of infectious complications.

The loss was immense for Crook.

"He was my greatest support system," she said.

Crook's 29-year-old son from a previous marriage, Joshua Fitzgerald, developed an incredibly strong bond with his stepfather. And despite his advanced age, "Bob acted like he was 50. He was a riot," Crook said.

He also supported Crook's bodybuilding endeavors, even when it was tough to keep up with the intensity of training and competing.

"He would put the (body) paint on before a show. He would go to the grocery store if I was running low on eggs," Crook said. "My husband was my No. 1 supporter — financially, emotionally. He was amazing."

Today, Crook's pain is still very real. But in retrospect, she realizes the rigorous preparation for the national competition was therapeutic to her healing.

"I was just trying to stay focused on stuff other than the negative, trying to stay positive to get through a lot," she said. "I had a huge support system through the gym and the people there."

Maintaining a training schedule during the months following her husband's death was difficult for Crook and her trainer, Greg Rando.

While she works out year-round, her training greatly intensifies in the 18 weeks before a competition. In addition to teaching spin classes at local gyms, Crooks does 130 minutes of cardio a day. She lifts weights with Rando for 45 minutes three days in a row and then takes one day off.

Though she says numbers aren't important to her, at one point Crook could squat 360 pounds.

Her strict diet during this time is equally important. She eats 1,500 calories in six meals a day: Two days of protein, then two days of protein and a little fat.

On Crook's daily menu: a protein shake, 12 egg whites, a cup of green beans, romaine lettuce and maybe 5 ounces of red meat or turkey from the farm. Carbs, dairy, Splenda, ketchup and diet soda are not allowed. She hasn't had ice cream in nine years.

Rando, 38, a professional bodybuilder himself, has been working with Crook for roughly six years — but things changed after her husband's death.

"She would come to the gym and physically she'd be there, but emotionally, she wasn't," said Rando, who is partially blind. "I tried to understand her mood as she got to the gym and take her through a workout that was effective but less physically demanding, just to keep her going without hitting that breaking point."

Though she placed 10th at nationals last month, Rando believes her physique and attitude both deserved a medal.

"She really peaked this year," he said of her physique at competition time. "Her 125 pounds were perfectly balanced. She was what we say in the industry, 'cut and shredded.'"

While she continues to work through her grief, Crook knows that by focusing on the details of the day and the future rather than the past, she will persevere.

She still is teaching spinning classes at Gold's Gym in Derry, N.H., Latitude in Bradford and Methuen, and Choice Fitness in Haverhill. And training with Rando, she might even attempt to go for a "pro cut," which would bump her from amateur to professional status.

"I am going to compete again. It might not be this year. But I just always come out of retirement," Crook said. "I say, "Why stop now?'"

Source:  New Hampshire Eagle-Tribune