Chinese bodybuilders' coach makes the most of flex timeAt 17, Jicheng Qian watched 'Rambo' and 'The Terminator.' At 23, he decided to bulk up his 5-foot-6 frame. Now 42 and retired from competition, he lives in Alhambra, his apartment serving as headquarters for the World Assn. of Chinese Bodybuilding. Its mission statement: 'We are aiming to show the world a new image of the Chinese people.'By Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times
Jicheng Qian barely noticed the pungent mix of sweat and tanning oil.
His focus was on one man, dressed in skimpy purple trunks. As 20 bodybuilders rushed past, Qian yelled at No. 585 to keep his shoulders up.
Onstage, Caleb Sun adjusted the position of his abs and tightened his chest. Satisfied with the symmetry of his flexed body, Sun lifted his head and grinned.
"A ya! He's still sagging his shoulders," Qian said. "But, mmm, his form — not bad, not bad at all."
Coaching Chinese hopefuls in Columbus, Ohio, at one of the world's most-talked-about bodybuilding competitions, Qian gazed wistfully at the trophy he never had the chance to win.
As a 17-year-old, he watched "Rambo" and "The Terminator" on screen. At 23, Qian gave up his job in mechanical engineering to focus on making his 5-foot-6 body stronger. For much of the next two decades, he lived and trained in San Ya — China's popular beach destination.
Now 42 and retired from competition, Qian lives in Alhambra, his modest apartment serving as headquarters for the World Assn. of Chinese Bodybuilding. Its mission statement reflects his commitment: We are aiming to show the world a new image of the Chinese people.
"I want Chinese [bodybuilders] to realize their dreams," he said, sitting in his sparsely furnished office, decorated with a poster of himself and a world map that covers an entire wall. "I understand their passions, their goals. Why not help others get to where I've gotten — and beyond?"
A former coach for China's national team and the first of his countrymen to win an International Federation of Body Building and Fitness championship, Qian came to the United States in 2011 and began forging friendships and making connections.
His dream took a giant leap forward the day he met Dexter "The Blade" Jackson at Gold's Gym in Venice.
"He's an IFBB professional, 2008 Mr. Olympia, three-time Arnold Classic champion," Qian said excitedly, rattling off the bodybuilder's accomplishments from memory.
Jackson was on his way out of the gym when Qian, through a translator, launched an impromptu presentation in hopes of persuading Jackson to travel to China.
In truth, it was an easy sell, Jackson said: "We were trying to get more people involved in the sport, teach them how to work out, eat better, live a more healthy lifestyle."
Jackson lighted up a competition last December in San Ya, during which Qian recruited two Chinese bodybuilders to compete in Arnold Schwarzenegger's annual sports festival, site of a high-profile amateur competition that offers finalists the possibility of turning pro.
On a chilly March weekend, Qian — in his favorite red China tracksuit — joined Max Yu, 38, and Suqing Lin, 39, at the Sheraton Hotel in Columbus.
Anxious about his international debut, Lin had bought a mini rice-cooker for his pre-competition diet of rice and dozens of hard-boiled eggs.
The bodybuilders sat around listlessly in their room, occasionally weighing themselves and practicing poses in front of the mirror. Fatigued from intentional dehydration, they spoke only when necessary.
On weigh-in day, Yu happily ran around the warm-up room, taking photos with his iPad. Qian posed for pictures beside every poster bearing Schwarzenegger's face, wishing he could meet the real deal.
With them was Sun, 32, who had turned down a spot on China's national team and moved to the United States after marrying an American law student. This thrust him into a more competitive and established world of bodybuilding . . .
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-chinese-bodybuilders-20120408,0,785472,full.story
