Seven women and 10 men are slated to take part in the flex-a-thon that gets underway Saturday afternoon with the pre-judging and resumes that night for the Finals.

Kevin Davis, a former competitor and President of the SIUC bodybuilding club, said this year’s show has the makings to be one of the best on record.

The women’s competition is the best ever. Two of the women are faculty members in their 40’s and are in excellent condition and the other girls look just phenomenal, he said. The guys show should be great too, but this year’s women are in great shape.

One of the women Davis was speaking of, Kendra Knaga, is entered in the competition for the second-straight year.

A junior in exercise physiology from Carbondale, Knaga said she takes the Ms. SIU competition seriously, but not to the point where she would ever resort to steroids or vitamin supplements.

It’s (winning) important, but I don’t let it take control of my life, she said. I don’t go to the point where I’d do something extreme to win.

Knaga works out with a partner on a 2-days-on, 1-day-off cycle that gets her up at 5:30 a.m. on a daily basis. She does aerobics nearly every day, but said she might not be as motivated if it weren’t for her partner, Jorge Rebellon, pushing her