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Published on Monday, 15 October 2012 18:04
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Written by by Steve Wennerstrom, IFBB Women's Historia
Mary Ellen Jerumbo: In It For The Long Haul, Honey!
How many adjectives are there to describe a female bodybuilder who has been so steadfastly passionate in her support and love of an sport that we all know isn't for the faint of heart? When it comes to Mary Ellen Jerumbo, there simp
ly aren't enough. In fact, it's difficult to even know where to begin in charting the path of this bodybuilding phenomenon – let alone stockpiling the adjectives to cover her story.
Most would say, “start from the beginning”. But that doesn't narrow the possibilities. Doubt it? Well, there's her amateur bodybuilding career, her pro bodybuilding career, her powerlifting career and let's also toss in the ballroom dancing she does as a lark – while managing to fly like an eagle as the owner of her own gym. There simply isn't another woman quite like this buffed energizer bunny with a constant level of bubbles and bounce. Not even close.
The Streak
To fully understand the uniqueness of Mary Ellen Jerumbo and her place in women's bodybuilding – or bodybuilding in general for that matter, it would be best to look at her background as a competitor, both as an amateur and professional combined.
If you're a fan of baseball history, everyone knows of Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak of 56 consecutive games. It's considered an unbreakable record in this day and age. But DiMaggio only played major league baseball for 13 years. For my money I'll take Mary Ellen Jerumbo's streak.
Think back to 1981. What were you doing that year? Some of you probably weren't even born yet. That's 31 years ago. And that's when Jerumbo began competing in bodybuilding with a third-place finish at a contest called the Pro/Am Midwest in Michigan. By 1982 she had moved to Texas and competed as an amateur 15 more times – eight of which were victories in contests such as the Mid-America, Texas Cup and Border Classic. Her crowning amateur moment came in 1985 when she won the middleweight class at the NPC Nationals earning her pro status. That year Diana Dennis won the overall National title moving on to what would become a Hall of Fame career that came to an end in 1994. With 16 amateur contests under her belt and ready to enter the pro ranks Jerumbo was just getting warmed up. Keep in mind that Jerumbo competed multiple times in of each the five years she spent in the amateur ranks.
The 1986 competitive season marked Jerumbo's pro debut when she entered the Ms. International and placed 10th. It was her only competition that year, but it was a watershed event that kicked off her run of pro contests in the coming years. Before the end of the 80's she had entered another Ms. International and three IFBB Pro World Championships.
During the decade of the 90's Jerumbo showed a equal level of enthusiasm and fervor to compete. It was a busy time. She entered 18 contests that included two 
Ms. Olympias, another Ms. International, nine Jan Tana Classics, three entries at the Prague Pro Grand Prix, another IFBB Pro World, a Slovakian Pro Grand Prix, and the1994 Canada Cup. Through the entire ten years in the 90's Jerumbo seldom cracked the top ten placements, but none of that was at the forefront of her goals. She possessed a compulsive desire (and that is meant in the most complimentary of ways) to take the results from her convective intensity of training to the stage and translate it to an equally zealous joy in her posing routines.
It was in the late 80's that Jerumbo also gained some well-deserved media attention in Flex Magazine, Women's Physique World and Lady Athlete among others. Former Flex scribe Julian Schmidt entitled his article on Jerumbo – 'Pocket Rocket'. With Schmidt frantically scrawling the endless quotes from Jerumbo's never ending desire to explain her lifestyle during his interview, in one exchange she offered, “Shoot, I felt I was at home the first time I walked into a gym. You see, honey, I train differently from any female who has ever been in bodybuilding. I don't train like a man, but I've retired more men in the gym than Social Security. I hate to say that, because I like to train with men; I like to train hard, and I like to train intense. Besides, men don't cry during a workout.
“At the same time, I'm surely not trying to be a man, because, honey, I sure love to be a woman. It's just that the more muscular I get, the more sensuous I feel, and that's when I like to put on my high heels, my hose and my dress and go out.” That's vintage Jerumbo to a tee, and she's never changed to this day.
With the coming of the new millennium and the implementation of weight classes in the pro ranks, Jerumbo would enjoy a string of more respectable placings that included her best-ever pro finish as a runner-up LW at the 2001 Pro Women's Extravaganza. In the ensuing ten years from 2000 to 2009 she would enter another 17 contests that included three more entries at the Jan Tana Classic, the Europa Super Show, Night of Champions, Charlotte Pro, Atlantic City Pro, Tampa Pro and Show of Strength. During that time, she never missed a year where she didn't enter a contest at least once.
More recently Jerumbo has been more selective entering the Battle of Champions in 2009 and 2010, and the PBW Tampa Pro Championship this year. That last event was her 43rd pro contest, and when combined with the 16 shows she entered as an amateur makes a total of 59 contests in a career where she has an unbroken string of 32 years where she has entered a contest annually. It would be safe to say that no o
ther bodybuilder can make that claim. She is the epitome of the famed Three D's: Dedication, Desire and Determination. Imagine. The next time she enters a contest, it will be the 60th time she has taken the stage to display the fruits of her labor. SIXTY !
Normally that would be the end of a remarkable story, right? Uh, no. Not in Mary Ellen Jerumbo's case.
She's Stronger Than a Yard of Garlic, honey!
As most everyone will agree, powerlifting and bodybuilding are not considered complementary pursuits for competitors entering both sports simultaneously. While a bodybuilder makes every effort to reach an aesthetically pleasing physical look with specialized progressive resistance training combined with a diet that will make the results of the training visible in every muscle group, powerlifters are interested in just one thing.... lifting a maximum level of tonnage in the bench press, squat and deadlift.
But of course when tossing Mary Ellen Jerumbo into the equation, all bets are off. She's up for about any challenge, and powerlifting was also a niche where she found even more success than in bodybuilding. Far from a hulking brute, Jerumbo stands just 5-1, and most of her time as a bodybuilder and powerlifter was spent weighing in the vicinity of 125 to 148 pounds depending on which sport she was competing in at the time. As one observer noted after watching her compete at a major National Powerliting Championship, ….”She's stronger than a yard of garlic.....pound for pound one of the strongest women I've seen in powerlifting”. That pound-for-pound statement is true and it was made many years ago, but still holds true.
Without being buried in a sea of numbers, poundages and formulas that illustrate Jerumbo's impressive accomplishments, the Cliff notes version still gets the point across in her prowess to 'move iron'.
Beginning her powerlifter efforts in the mid- 80's Jerumbo was quickly setting Texas state records in the 132 and 148-pound classes. In short order, she developed into a world class lifter in the 90's winning seven world championship titles in the process. On the All-Time World Powerlifting ranking list for 132-pound competitors, one number stands out in particular – 240 kilos. That's 529.1 pounds and it's the third best squat of all time in the 132-pound class. Performing the lift at 59.6k (131.12 pounds), Jerumbo became the first female to squat QUADRUPLE bodyweight. Her magnificent squatting effort came in 1996 at the same meet in Durban, South Africa, when she also totaled 1,196.0 pounds (542.5k) – a mark that is also in the top 20 all time in the 132-pound class. For those curious, her bench press was 236.5 pounds and her deadlift was 429.0 pounds (which, by the way was in excess of a triple bodyweight effort).
Not a bad day's work.
During much of that time, Jerumbo was married for ten years to Scott Warman , himself a world class powerlifter who was a US National Champion and World Championship runner-up as a 275-pounder. In those days the couple was generally recognized as the world's strongest husband/wife combination.
Heavy Muscle, Heavy Weights, But Light on Her Feet
If there was ever the most unlikely combination of sports, Mary Ellen Jerumbo's mixture of bodybuilding, powerlifting and ballroom dancing (Dance Sport) would be tough to top. In the middle of her rigorous careers as a pro bodybuilder and a world class powerlifter, Jerumbo also trips the light fantastic in the world of ballroom dancing. As she will freely admit, she has always had a strong love of dancing – all kinds. So, in 1998 she decided to jump in with both feet given competitive ballroom dancing's offer of a wide array of styles from swing, foxtrot, waltz, tango, rumba, American smooth and American rhythm Having competed in many events that also included Latin and Solo (which requires lifts and jumps), she's game for all of it and has won events in both Texas and Arizona.
Think about the possibility of the ultimate Mary Ellen Jerumbo photo op to illustrate her mega-active lifestyle . Decked out in a bikini (bodybuilding), wearing high heels (ballroom dancing), while deadlifting, say, a mere 300 pounds. Priceless.
Meanwhile Back at the Gym
If there could be anything Jerumbo may be more proud of than her sporting accomplishments, it just might be her gym. “Oh, honey. You gotta come to El Paso to see my gym,” she beams with her usual over-the-top enthusiasm. “It's amazing. We opened January 1, 2006 and it's called The Back Street Gym. Honey, it's state of the art. The strength and cardio equipment is amazing, we even have dumbbells up to 200 pounds.” And yes, she's the CEO. The gym really does need to be seen to be believed. Check it out at: www.backstreetgym.com . And who knows Mary Ellen might even teach you a foxtrot step before you leave!
Now at 55, Mary Ellen Jerumbo is a glowing example of 55 being the new 25. She truly is in it for the long haul, honey!
