Power-lifting champ talks nutrition, exercise to kids BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer METUCHEN - Before 17-year-old Tony Malave became a power-lifting competitor, he said junk food was a weakness. "I really like the sweet stuff, including ice cream and soda," he said. "I would have dessert after dinner." However, when freshman year of high school rolled around, Malave was told he had to drop his weight from 225 pounds to 215 pounds for wrestling. "That's when I started to eat…healthier," he said. "I brought more organic foods into my diet and a lot of fruit, including oranges and bananas. I eat chicken, boiled eggs, and fish once in a while." Malave, a Woodbridge High School senior, spoke to a group of over a dozen rambunctious kids of the Metuchen Branch YMCA After-School Care at the YMCA on April 4 as part of the YMCAActivate America initiative, which is the YMCA's approach to addressing the nation's growing health crisis. Through Activate America, the YMCA is redefining itself and engaging communities across the country to provide better opportunities for people of all ages in their pursuit of health and well-being in spirit, mind and body. Malave said it wasn't that difficult to limit his sweet tooth. "I did not cut it out of my diet totally," he said. "I have it once in a while, but I did cut out dessert after dinner. It's all about will power. Working out became a tradition, and I will keep doing it." Malave comes to the Metuchen YMCA six days a week to work out for an hour and a half. "I drink a lot of water and eat four meals a day," he said. Malave relayed to the kids that he eats foods including peanut butter and jelly on wholewheat bread, protein shakes, oatmeal, a lot of cooked meat, including steak and chicken, and potatoes and other vegetables. "I eat a lot of oranges," he said. Malave demonstrated his power-lifting skills by lifting 270 pounds for the kids, who each had a chance to lift a 45-pound weight. The kids were so amazed, they asked Malave to pick them up, which was an easy task for him, since they only weigh between 45 and 55 pounds. Malave began his power-lifting career when he was a young teen, when his brother-in-law invited him to the gym one afternoon, and he just got hooked. At his first competition in late January, the Inter Power Lifting Association 2008 Jersey Power Challenge, Tony broke four world records in the squat, dead lift and bench events. At his next event, the All Raw World Cup Power Lifting Championships, he broke three world records when he finished first in his age division and weight class. The world records came without the aid of steroids or any other supplements. "There is no need for [steroid use]," he said. "I hear about steroids at school, but it's not worth it in the end. It's just about hard work. Steroids are for quick results; I don't mind setting world records at a slow pace." Malave's mother, Olga, said that even though Malave is the youngest of her four children, he is the biggest, at 5 feet 9 inches tall and 235 pounds. "He is my strongest baby," she said. Malave adds that his siblings - Edwin, 30,Angel, 29,Mimi, 26, and Eddie, 24 - are stronger at other things. Malave's main goal with a few weeks left of his senior year is to play football in college. "I am looking at Rutgers University, Hofstra University or Miami University," he said. "I would also like to study premedicine."