Now a student at SUNY Fredonia, Russell has continued to pursue her interest in athletics and wellness as she pursues a bachelor’s in exercise science with a focus in pre-med.

But like so many other talented athletes, Russell found herself looking for another outlet. Now, it seems that she has found just the right one.

In late May, Kuzminski competed in her first every bodybuilding and physique event, the Northcoast Championships in Kent, Ohio.

Competing the National Physique Committee Bikini Division Novice and Collegiate Classes, she was hooked from the start.

Christine Kuzminski, pictured at the Northcoast Championships in Kent, Ohio, will next compete at the NPC Western New York Championships at Riverworks in Buffalo. Submitted photo

“It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life,” Kuzminski said. “I’ve always been in to sports. I played pretty much every sport in the book growing up. At JCC I was on their swimming and diving team. After I graduated and I was done with sports, I just felt like I was missing something. I wanted to compete again and wanted a challenge for myself.”

Fitness competitions were a natural fit for Kuzminski, who also works as a trainer for The Fitness Bunker in Lakewood.

Before entering her first competition, Kuzminski followed a 14-week training period of diet and exercising nearly twice a day every day of the week.

“It was really, really intense and my diet significantly changed. I was weighing everything that I was eating. It is not for the weak. You have to dedicate yourself to a whole new lifestyle.”

Depending on the category that they are competing in, bodybuilders will have to go through a long process of adding muscle to their frame before leaning out and cutting water weight in the weeks and days leading up to competition.

It is a process that many people can find grueling, but for Kuzminski the challenge has been a part of the journey.

“The day of the competition was the best day of my entire life,” she said. “I just have so much respect for everyone there.

“Everyone has put in the work and you are around a group of like-minded people,” she added. “What is great about this sport is that you get out of it what you can put into it.”

As you might expect, Kuzminski was already thinking about signing up for another competition after her memorable experience in Kent.

She found one in the 2019 NPC Western New York Championships on July 27 at the Riverworks in Buffalo.