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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, July 24, 2008

FITNESS PROFILE
Get out and work out

By Lacy Matsumoto
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Personal trainer Ailina Eddins performs dip exercises at Ala Moana Beach Park.

Ailina Eddins

Age: "Very young, and getting younger every day"
Profession: personal trainer
Home: Honolulu. "I've lived here in Hawai'i for 11 years now, and in Washington state prior to that."
Height and weight: "Short and light!"
Stays in shape by: Water workouts, eating healthy Interesting fact about yourself: "I have won 16 first-place overall prizes in bodybuilding"
Workout habits: "Honolulu Club sauna and cold dips daily. Plus, training my clients in the water and with weights, and then also my own rigorous workouts."
My good foods and bad foods: "Good: sweet potatoes, fresh fish and salads. Bad: martinis."
When and why I started working out: "At 19, taking an aerobics class."
Learn More: www.ailina.info .

Photos by ANDREW SHIMABUKU | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Ailina Eddins

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Eddins instructs clients Greg Dehnert, left, and Analiza Filion to hang from the pull-up bar, which will help build core strength, while lifting their knees up and down without touching the ground.

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Ailina Eddins right, and Analiza Filion work on strengthening abs. Filion will pull the cable down, crunching her upper body toward her knees.

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As she lifts her chin over the steel bar, Ailina Eddins' perfectly shaped abs peek out of her shirt. Her ankles are crossed and her triceps bulge. She continues, talking as if she was having a normal conversation.

"I'm so glad you're here," she says, as she shows how to do a proper chin-up.

Ala Moana Beach Park is busy with families, beach-lovers and joggers, but very few people are on the public exercise equipment.

"I love meeting with my clients here. They don't have to pay for a gym membership, they're out in the fresh air and sun, and they're getting fit with me," Eddins says with a grin.

Eddins, a popular personal trainer, has created a workout regimen for every body type, including people with health and physical problems.

"If someone has a bad knee or torn ligament, I can take them in the water where they can safely work out. Or if they are able to, we can work out right here on this equipment," she says.

As the owner of the Fitness & Shape gym in Puyallup, Wash., Eddins taught aerobics daily and began to enjoy the benefits of weight training. Then she took up bodybuilding — and rose to the top in competition.

Since 1990, she has earned 25 titles in bodybuilding competitions, including 16 first-prize awards. The requirements included attaining 5 percent body fat, toning every visible muscle, and learning different poses and stances to exhibit her muscles.

"I loved taking my body to a new level and fine-tuning my physique. ... It takes a lot of discipline to bodybuild — you have to watch your diet, exercise constantly and train yourself," she says.

Eddins stopped competing as a bodybuilder this year after she was involved in a car accident in September. But that inspired her to concentrate on her current passion: a water workout.

"I love it. I love how you're outdoors, you're not inside a gym. You can burn fat and tone muscle while you're doing a non-impact exercise. It's easy on your joints, but you're still working out," she says.

"I'm going to look into figure contests in November. It's not because of the car accident; it's really because I've already won every title there is to win. I want something new," Eddins says as she directs a client to start a set of pull-ups, then guides another client to a low bar for dips. "This exercise is great for your chest and back," she explains.

The morning sun is a few degrees hotter than when the workout began, and Eddins' clients are beginning to sweat.

"Good job you guys! Now let's hit the water," yells Eddins, as she ushers the two toward the water.

The trainer has developed her own tools for water workouts — hybrid inventions that help a client stay afloat while also increasing resistance during exercise.

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