The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahamians Charnice and Desmond Bain have been together for 21 years - married for 14 and competing in bodybuilding for the last decade.

As a husband and wife combo, they will be on stage again representing the Bahamas this weekend at the 43rd Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding Championships at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island.

While Charnice will be entered in the women’s body fitness, Desmond will be competing in the light heavyweight and masters categories in bodybuilding and because the championship is back home, he indicated that there’s more pressure than competing on the road.

“There is more pride going into this one, so the diet is much more stricter, a lot more harsh, a lot more disciplined because I want to put my best foot forward in front of the home crowd,” he said.

With his wife joining him on stage to compete, he said it brings a lot more incentive.

“We support each other. It’s best to do it together,” he said. “So instead of someone bringing home pizza and the next one bringing home salad, we talk about eating the same thing because we know that we have to diet together. It’s why we are a husband and wife team.”

When the competition is done, Bain said they have a chance to critique each other’s performance.

“We train each other, so we look out for each other. It’s a team effort,” he said.

Like her husband, Charnice has represented the Bahamas at least eight times.

“It’s definitely a bonus and a benefit because we actually feed off each other,” she stated. “I feed off his strength and he feeds off my weakness.”

At times, Charnice said she finds herself reminding Desmond that they are one.

“It’s not a competition between us,” she said. “As a female, I tend to work more on my upper body, but he has lower body leanness, so we go back and forth. But I feel it’s more of a plus than a negative.”

To get ready for the show, she admitted that it has been the most hectic experience that she has encountered so far.

“I’m training to go for the gold this time,” she said. “I gave up candy and fruit, so that’s something that I’ve never done before. That has given me a tremendous feeling because my body doesn’t have the sugar. This is the best feeling that I’ve ever had.”

With that said, Charnice said her goal is to win the gold.

“Last year, I didn’t do so well, but this year, I’m looking forward to coming back and doing extremely well,” she stated. “I’m ready to compete.”

Charnice and Desmond Bain also have the distinction of being one of the few couples to have represented the Bahamas on the international stage in any event, whether as competitors, coaches or administrators. They hope at the end of the weekend to add a pair of medals to their portfolio.