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Published on Saturday, 22 May 2010 01:00

Put simply, Lori Steele is not your garden variety bodybuilder - far from it.  And due in part to the fact that she is the reigning national lightweight champion, having won the 2009 NPC National title last November, Lori Steele's ‘bigger picture' paints a colorful mural of noteworthy accomplishments mixed with a day-to-day lifestyle that would bring many to their collective knees.

In fact, it is the demands of Steele's daily life that makes one wonder where she finds the time to train with the consistency necessary to reach the level of becoming a national champion.

Far from the ability to enjoy the luxuries of merely training, eating, and sleeping for various competitions, Steele's career is about as complex as can be conceived.

Having earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Miami with a double major in Marine Science and Biology - and a minor in Chemistry, Steele moved on to Duke University where she earned her Masters degree in Coastal Environmental Management.  And why all this high-powered education you ask?

"I am a fishery analyst with a Council that develops fishing regulations for federal waters (i.e., offshore fisheries for stock like cod, haddock, and scallops), relates Steele. "I coordinate the development of the regulations, conduct public hearings and other meetings, and prepare analysis and environmental impact statements.   I am essentially the coordinator for the public process that develops fishing regulations.  When decisions about regulations are made, I put together the package to submit to the federal government that contains compliance documents for various federal laws.  It's a demanding profession that includes quite a bit of travel throughout New England, a lot of public speaking and presentations, and a lot of writing and document preparation."

But then there's that little matter of winning the NPC National lightweight title last year.  Where did that germinate?  In actuality, her desire to compete may have been put in her head subliminally, long before she picked up her first dumbbell.

To be exact, the story dates back to the eighties and her days as a high school gymnast while she lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Coincidentally, Steele's coach was Lynn Conkwright, who was already established as a world class pro bodybuilder having won the 1981 IFBB Pro World Championship.  It would be many years before Steele would follow in the footsteps of her high school coach - but as they say, better late than never.

"I used to watch Lynn working on her posing routines when she was a bodybuilder," recalls Steele.  "I thought it was cool.  It was something I thought I'd like to try at some point in the future."

Having always possessed an idyllic overall skeletal and muscular structure, Steele began competing in figure events in 2005, and after winning the overall NPC New England figure title in 2006, she also wanted to explore bodybuilding competitions.  So, a week after the New England event, Steele entered the NPC Granite Cup contest in an effort to qualify for the bodybuilding Nationals in 2007.  She finished second, and with that, she had the bodybuilding qualification in her back pocket.

The reality of just how unpredictable the figure competitions could be hit home when she entered her first NPC Nationals in 2006 finishing in a sobering 16^th-place position.  It didn't take long for Steele to realize a change might be a good idea.

"I hadn't even gotten home on the drive back from New York to New Hampshire after the Nationals that I had made the decision to take bodybuilding seriously," remembers Steele.

Her decision was a good one.  Steele entered the 2007 NPC Junior Nationals at a razor-sharp 111 pounds and she promptly won the lightweight class.  Her strong structural characteristics and muscle shapes had set the stage for what would be a unanimous victory.  But the lightweight class at the Junior Nationals only included four contestants and Steele's knowledge of her true level of quality would remain on hold until late in 2008.

Maintaining a primary goal of entering the NPC Nationals, Steele entered the 2008 IFBB North American Championships and topped the lightweight class.  Again, the field was small - only three contestants.  With no control over the number of competitors entering a given contest, Steele competed with those who had entered and happily accepted the victory.

Finally, at the 2008 NPC Nationals Steele found herself in a very competitive lightweight class of 14 contestants, and it was a field that included a former NPC USA lightweight champion (Barbara Fletcher) and several others in a supporting cast that carried national-level credentials.  Her eventual fifth-place finish was all the motivation she needed to prepare herself for the Nationals in 2009.

When the '09 Nationals did approach Steele was ready.

Forgetting for a moment that this genetically sound, beautifully balanced 5-2, 113-pound bodybuilder was selected by a unanimous decision of the judging panel in the lightweight group, Steele set herself apart by becoming the first bodybuilder from the state of New Hampshire to win a weight class at the NPC Women's Nationals.  More significant was the fact that she is also the first competitor who began her competitive career efforts as a figure contestant and moved into bodybuilding to win top honors at the NPC Nationals. That transformation process certainly appears to have been a seamless one.

In winning the lightweight title unanimously, Steele out-flexed runner-up Kirsten Haratyk - the LW winner at the 2006 NPC Junior Nationals; third-placer Barbara Fletcher - the 2005 NPC USA lightweight champion; fourth-placed Stacey Pillari - a third-placer in the 2009 Arnold Amateur Classic lightweight category, and fifth-placer Margaret Negrete who had most recently won the 2009 NPC USA lightweight crown.  All in all, a pretty good group indeed.

Meanwhile, Steele's tentacles of strength reach beyond bodybuilding as she is actively involved in powerlifting - and it is an involvement that was more than just a passing interest or as a supplement to her bodybuilding exploits.  Beginning her powerlifting exploits in 2008, Steele quickly captured the 2008 USPF 132-pound class national title which included a 225-pound bench press.  Her efforts earned her the ‘Outstanding Female Lifter' of the meet.

"I really enjoy the strength aspect of powerlifting," reveals Steele.  "It's very different from bodybuilding.  In fact I've also begun learning the techniques of Olympic lifting, which is altogether different from powerlifting.  I have a definite curiosity about testing the ultimate strength of my body, and it's one that I really want to explore".

Steele's fascination with powerlifting and Olympic lifting will consume the entire 2010 calendar year while she makes her long-term goal of making a pro bodybuilding debut sometime in 2011.

There is little question Lori Steele is solidly well-connected both mentally and physically in her daily lifestyle, and her ability to function so well in such a multi-faceted way makes it all the easier to understand why she is a national champion in two sports and a competent leader in the workplace.

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