Andrea Khoo has three words for you: Strength, grace and athleticism.

Once a self-proclaimed “junk-food junkie” who did anything to get out of physical education classes in high school, today Khoo is a UC Davis physical education lecturer and competitive bodybuilder who uses her own fitness to motivate others.

‘Most popular’ exercise instructor

“Exercise, fitness and good health are the catalyst to helping men and women appreciate themselves and be happy with their lives,” she said.

Khoo is teaching four physical education activities classes this quarter: three fitness classes and Self-Defense for Women. All of her sections are full, with 48 students wait-listed.

“Her classes are, indeed, the most popular in the Physical Education 1 activities class curriculum,” said Physical Education Chair Jeff Weidner, professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior.

“She teaches 14 over the course of the academic year, and all her classes enroll to capacity every time she offers them. There are usually many wait-listed students, easily more than 100 for the year.”

Khoo, who earns her living as a freelance apparel designer for national retailers, started teaching 18 years ago “as a hobby” at UC Davis while she completed her undergraduate schooling in design.

‘Natural bodybuilder’

During evenings and weekends, the Davis resident also coaches kickboxing and group weightlifting at the Peak Performance gym in Davis.

Among her many hobbies, Khoo competes as a “natural bodybuilder,” a sport in which athletes are supposed to be tested on- and off-season for banned substances, hormones, steroids and illegal use of prescription medications. She also competes in “figure bodybuilding,” in which athletes are never tested. And she models.

“What makes Khoo happiest in life is making others happy. She considers herself a catalyst of happiness via fitness and nutrition,” wrote UC Davis student Michelle Jones in her Prized Writing profile last school year.

“The entire goal of my physical education lectures is for UC Davis kids to regard working out as ‘fun.’ That way, we are more prone to exercise because it doesn’t feel like a chore,” Khoo said in Jones’ article.

“If someone shows me they are committed to changing their life, I’ll do whatever I can to help them acquire their dream.”

To watch a UC Davis NewsWatch video and read Michelle Jones’ essay about Andrea Khoo, visit www.ucdavis.edu — click on “Getting a Physical Education.”

PRINTED MATTER

Michelle Jones, a student majoring in psychology, wrote an essay on Andrea Khoo, “I Don’t Want to Be Barbie, I Want to Benchpress Her,” for English lecturer John Boe’s journalism class in the spring of 2008. It turned out to be one of 23 essays out of 330 submissions chosen for publication in Prized Writing ‘07-’08, an anthology of student writing sold in the UC Davis Bookstore and used in composition classes. A reception for this year’s Prized Writing authors is scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 22 in the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center. More information: prizedwriting.ucdavis.edu.