SPORTS
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
East Oregonian
Nationals:
Simmons:
Continued from Page A10
Continued from Page A10
try and balance, reminiscent
of Arnold Schwarzenegger
when he competed in the
1970s, rather than the more
heavily muscled bodies in the
men’s bodybuilding division.
The look of classic physique
bodybuilders makes it a
popular division with many
competitors and fans.
At about four months out,
Duncan said he is in a fun
stage of training and diet.
This is when he said he starts
“cleaning up” his food intake,
eating food that is more nutri-
tious and less fatty. And he has
a lot of energy and continues
training hard.
That changes as he nears
the competition date. At four
weeks out, he begins to “dial it
in,” he said, reducing his calo-
ries and increasing cardio.
His body takes peak shape,
he said, as muscles become
most visible, most defined.
By the day of the show, he
will be lean, vascular and
in the parlance of the sport
“shredded,” with little fat or
water between his skin and
the muscles underneath.
“He is a super good
coach,” she said. “He is
so smart in the basketball
department. He just wants
us to have fun. He leads the
team so well. I have only
heard him yell one time.
He’s quite a laid back guy.”
Getting into
bodybuilding
Duncan said he was skinny
and stressed in 2012 and real-
ized he would have to do
something diff erent. Of all the
things he could have done to
alter his life, he picked body-
building. It was, he said, some-
thing he could do to change his
energy level, his health and his
confi dence.
And it’s working out, he
said.
He said he was fi t enough to
begin competing in 2015. He,
then, put on as much size as he
could. Also, he began study-
ing nutrition, as he discovered
he would need to gain “quality
muscle and not just mass” if he
were to look his best, he said.
Duncan has competed in
nine shows, including Nation-
als. He also has become a
fi xture throughout the region,
competing in Washington,
Oregon and Idaho.
Duncan said his physique
Like mother like
daughter
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Bodybuilder Terrell Duncan poses for a portrait Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in the home gym of
his Hermiston residence.
was pretty good, and he was
placing high at contests to
prove it. He has won shows,
including first place in the
2020 Idaho Cup, that qualifi ed
him for national-level compe-
titions.
Last yea r, D u nca n
competed at Nationals in
Arizona. He did not win, or
even place very high, but
he called his appearance at
Nationals a good experience.
There, he was able to see top
amateurs from all around the
country.
“I will go wherever it takes
to become a professional,”
he said, as he has set his
eyes on obtaining the highly
valued “pro card,” the stamp
of approval that can lead to
making an income as a body-
builder.
Looking at the greats
Duncan said he has a lot
of respect for people who
have already obtained their
pro cards. Right now, the pro
schedule is starting to take off ,
as elite athletes ready them-
selves for the 2022 Arnold
Classic, March 3-6, in Colum-
bus, Ohio.
Duncan said he is look-
ing forward to seeing how
competitors face off in this
show, which in terms of presti-
gious professional bodybuild-
ing shows is second only to
Joe Weider’s Olympia Fitness
& Performance Weekend.
Last year, Duncan met the
winner of the 2021 Arnold,
Hunter Labrada, son of body-
building great Lee Labrada.
It was an honor, Duncan said,
and he was happy to have
received advice from the
young champ, who told him
to put on more muscle. Hunter
Labrada, 29, outweighs
Duncan by around 100 pounds
and is one of the world’s top
competitors. Even so, Labrada
is a nice guy, Duncan said.
Bodybuilding as
a life-changer
Duncan said he is a strong
believer in his sport’s transfor-
mative nature.
“You have more control
over your life and your body
than most people think,” he
said.
Bodybuilding can turn an
underweight, overstressed
individual into a better version
of himself. Likewise, it can
transform people who are
overweight, weak or other-
wise troubled into someone
with fewer problems.
After he started bodybuild-
ing, he said, he got married,
felt more confident and
obtained a better job. Now a
mechanic for Lamb Weston,
he said his life is good.
“I can’t complain,” he said.
Competitive bodybuilding,
though, will not put protein
on the table, he said. Only a
handful of people at the top of
the profession make enough
money to live, he said. For this
reason, Duncan stated that he
may not even compete as a pro
when he achieves his pro card.
Instead, he said, he will start
a business. By becoming an
IFBB pro, he will gain cred-
ibility and notoriety that will
allow him to begin his own
dietary supplement line and a
food prep business.
He said he likes helping
people, and he hopes he will
be able to assist others once
he starts his business. In the
meantime, he said, he has
been able to help other people
by passing his bodybuilding
knowledge onto them.
“I see a lot coming up in the
next fi ve years, and I feel very
excited about the way things
are going,” he said. “I think
I can help others by showing
them what I have done, and I
can continue to meet some of
my other goals. I’m going to
take some classes, learn more
about fi tness and pass this onto
others. I feel good about this.”
You don’t have to look
very far to fi nd out where
Simmons gets her basket-
ball talent.
He r mom , A l i s s a
Edwards Simmons grad-
uated from Hermiston in
1999, and was a four-year
starter on the basketball
team. The Bulldogs went to
state every year, but never
brought home the champi-
onship trophy.
“We won the IMC (Inter-
mountain Conference)
every year,” she said.
Alissa played college
basketball at University of
Oregon from 1999 to 2003.
She had limited playing
time as a freshman, but
became a starting point
guard part way through her
sophomore year.
“My fi rst two years, we
went to the NCAA tour-
nament,” she said. “My
junior year, we won the
WNIT tournament and the
championship game was at
Oregon.”
Izzy never knew how
good her mom was until
recently.
“I didn’t realize she was
that good until a couple of
years ago,” she said. “People
would say she played DI. We
started watching some fi lm
we had. What those people
were saying was true. I got
some athleticism from her.
It still shocks me when they
say ‘your mom played D1.’
It’s just crazy how it worked
out.”
Alissa married Justin
Simmons, who also went to
Hermiston, and later played
college baseball at Lane
Community College. Justin
joined the family busi-
ness — Simmons Finan-
cial Group — when they
returned to Hermiston. He
died of cancer in November
2020.
“That was tough,” Alissa
said. “Right before her
dad was diagnosed, Izzy
decided to put in more time
to be better at basketball.
She spent a lot of time in the
gym during COVID. We are
in the process of building a
shop with a basketball court
and a weightlifting area.”
Alissa coached Izzy
during her AAU years
through seventh grade.
“Now, I just enjoy watch-
ing her play rather than
coaching her,” Alissa said.
After watching her
daughter hone her skills,
Alissa felt Izzy was ready
for the rigors of high school
basketball.
“She has put a lot of time
and work into her game,”
Alissa said. “I told her it
was just another game. She
has played thousands of
games. If she was nervous,
she didn’t show it.”
Though they share some
tremendous basketball
skills, Alissa said she isn’t
quite ready to hit the court
with her daughter.
“Maybe once the shop
gets built I will go shoot
with her,” she said. “She’s
a way better player than I
was. I lived at the 3-point
line.”
Not only has Simmons
made an impact on her team
and in the MCC, but Ego
said her reach goes beyond
the court.
“When you have a role
model like Izzy, she sets
the bar pretty high,” Ego
said. “Little girls look up
to her. She leads by exam-
ple and plays by example. It
enhances the program and
it creates excitement for the
community.”
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