WILLIAMSPORT -- With a laugh so infectious it hurts the abs, with a mind so tuned it inspires the soul and with a body so toned it could be on the cover of "GQ," Jesse McKinney, of DuBoistown, Lycoming County, is more than charismatic, he's invigorating.
Afflicted with cerebral palsy at birth, McKinney, 36, was the winner of the 2005 National Physique Committee's lightweight wheelchair bodybuilding competition in West Palm Beach, Fla., in February.
The NPC is the official U.S. governing body of men and women's amateur bodybuilding competitions, and in order to become a professional bodybuilder in the International Federation of Body Builders, one must first compete in the NPC.
"People get confused about the competition and think that it is like the Special Olympics, and I know the Special Olympics is a really awesome thing and I love to help out with that. But what I do is actually part of the NPC, which is the amateur version of pro bodybuilding," McKinney said.
McKinney said during high school, he was "very frail and was mistreated by certain people" because he was weak. Then he met a man who had cerebral palsy, as he did, who was a weight lifter.
"He was incredibly strong, and I wanted to be strong, too, so I would never be physically mistreated again," McKinney wrote in an e-mail to the Sun-Gazette.
A graduate of Penn State University, McKinney holds a degree in horticulture. He met his wife, Christine, while attending Penn State, and the couple have a daughter, Kayla, who is, according to McKinney, "Six years old, going on 21."
"That is why I have to look so buff, for when Kayla gets older and starts to date," McKinney said, laughing.
While surfing the Internet in 1996, he stumbled across the NPC Wheelchair Bodybuilding Nationals Web site and thought, "Hey, maybe I could go," he said.
In 1997, McKinney participated in the competition for the first time and placed fifth in the novice category.
"It was then that I became a serious wheelchair bodybuilder. Now, if anyone tried to abuse me, they would be in for a surprise," he said.
In 2001, McKinney placed first in the NPC's novice category; in 2002, he placed second in the lightweight division. In 2005 came his greatest accomplishment to date, placing first in the lightweight division.
"I felt really great because I have worked hard for eight years and have competed since 1997, but I have competed against guys who were on steroids and have upper body control, which I don't have," he said.
McKinney trains with the help of his friend and assistant, Chris Silvangi, using equipment at the Williamsport YMCA three or four days a week.
"We go to the weight room, get him out of his chair to the flat bench, lay him down, strap his legs into position and wrap his hands around the bar," Silvangi said. "At that point, he has full control of his arms, and I just have to wrap my hands around his to hold them in place. I think at that point, the training and his body just kick in."
McKinney, who also works with free weights, agrees with Silvangi that there just seems to be something about lifting that kicks his muscles, which are not usually under his control, into high gear.
"When I lift, my body can only move one way," he said.
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