| Training For My First Competition at Age
61: A "Senior" Bodybuilder's Championship Season By Scott "Old Navy" Hults Twelve Weeks Out |
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On New Years Day, 2005, under Mark's direction, I began 12 weeks of contest diet. My goal was to get below 143 1/2 lbs., the Bantam Weight limit for the NPC American Classic contest in Auburn, Alabama scheduled for March 19th. I planned to compete as a Novice, Bantam Weight and Grand Master (50+). I also planned to compete two weeks later in my first "natural" contest at the Georgia S.N.B.F. show as a Novice LW, Open Men Short (5' 7") and Super Grand Master (60+). Two shows in two weeks. We had my work cut out for us. For the first few weeks, I stayed on the Beverly International lean mass diet plan of five meals a day with supplements, including Creatine Select, Glutamine Select, Antioxidants, EFA Gold, Muscle Synergy, Super Vitamin Pak, Ultra 40, Mass Amino and Ultra Size protein powder. I continued training with Will five days a week and added a sixth session with him on Saturday morning for posing and photos. I also practice posing for 30 minutes at least two nights a week. I end my practice sessions by doing my 90 second posing routine with the music CD. I purchased five posing suits off the web from "Cherry Bombs" in Minneapolis (www.cherrybombs.net). They are great. I can't wait to compete wearing one of Cheri's suits. I called her to tell her how much I liked her suits and she also advised me about tanning, posing oil and other contest prep. Cheri was a big help. Ten weeks out I had a posing session with Will Lantrip followed by photos, to record my progress. I had lost three pounds since January 1st. I'm now at 148. I sent the photos to Mark and he said I looked great. He said I should be thrilled with the results I have seen. He also said I am going to do extremely well in my first contest and that no changes are necessary, which is a good thing. Mark said we may make changes in diet and supplements in another two weeks. I felt really great about Mark's comments. I'm getting to the stage when I really need to count on Will and Mark's expertise to help me through the last hectic weeks of preparation. Mentally though, I'm ready! A big surprise at SportPlex this morning (Tuesday, January 18th). A news camera team from the local NBC-TV station in Birmingham was there to do a live segment on early-morning workout enthusiasts. The reporter was told about a 60-something body builder training for his first contest, and soon I was standing before a live camera being interviewed by a knockout reporter. She asked about my motivation, my training and then asked me to flex a bicep for the world to see. The world saw. I can't believe how many calls I received throughout the day saying they saw me on the number one TV news station. I guess I have now had my 45 seconds of fame. Anyway, it was fun. Well, so much for fame. I received an email today (January 20th) from the promoters of the NPC contest scheduled for March 19th in Auburn, Alabama. It said the NPC has moved the date of the show to April 30th. That means, if I did nothing, my first bodybuilding competition would be the S.N.B.F. show in Marietta, GA on April 2nd. I had hoped to compete in a show before the S.N.B.F. season started so I could "learn the ropes" in my first contest before competing in S.N.B.F. shows. I am training as a "natural" athlete and I want to be competitive with other like-minded natural bodybuilders. S.N.B.F. shows require you to take a polygraph test at the on-site registration to determine if you have used banned substances within the last five years. And the Overall winners are also given a urinalysis screening after the competition. The S.N.B.F. is only interested in natural athletes and former "users" who have been drug-free for five years. It is an affiliate of the World Natural Sports Organization (WNSO) based in Canada. So, undaunted, I sent in my registration form today to compete in the 2005 NPC Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding and Figure Championships in Covington, KY, just outside of Cincinnati. The show is on March 19th, so I'm back in the game. I will compete as a Bantam Weight (-143 1/2 lbs.) and a Grand Master (50+). At 61, the Grand Master category will be tough, but I'm tough! One bonus is the show's sponsor. It's Beverly International, which is located in nearby Cold Springs, KY, so I will be able to meet Mark Ritter and some of the other helpful people at Beverly. The NPC Northern Kentucky is a large show, with up to 200 contestants. It can be intimidating, but it can also be a really great learning opportunity. The show has a reputation of being well organized and well run. So maybe the change in date of the NPC Auburn show is a blessing in disguise. Anyway, that's how I'm looking at it. And when I told Mark Ritter I was competing in the Northern Kentucky show in Covington, he said, "Great! I competed in that show myself a few years ago." Well, it's Monday, January 24th, eight weeks to go. On Saturday I had my posing and photo session with Will Lantrip, who is helping me fine-tune my posing. He said it's the little things that can make a difference. For instance, pushing down on my spiked leg in a front and rear bicep pose or front and rear lat spread pose. By flexing and pushing down, the calves, hams and quads look more cut. Good advice. On Sunday I emailed my photos to Mark Ritter at Beverly International to determine if my diet and supplements needed changing. On Monday he called me and said they did. Mark has taken me off of the Lean Mass Diet and has started me on a Rapid Fat Loss/Competition Diet. All of the supplements remain the same, but he added some fat reducers, including Lean Out, fat transport system and 7-Keto MuscLEAN, a metabolic fat loss formula. He also changed my protein shake from Ultra Size to Muscle Provider. Mark then added a sixth meal on Monday and Thursday evening. He said I should start seeing some real cuts in about two weeks. The Competition Diet is designed to continue adding muscle with strong workouts while cutting fat and losing about a pound a week. This is not an advertisement for Beverly International, but so far I'm very pleased with how their advice and supplements have helped me. Today I weigh 148 with 9.5% body fat. I'll take photos again in two weeks and see where I am. I have decided to add a little more about my diet. I began my Competition Diet last evening (January 27th). There is a big difference between a Lean Mass Building Diet, which adds and maintains lean muscle and a Competition Diet, which adds muscle and burns fat. For instance, in the Lean Mass, breakfast is 4 egg whites, two whole eggs, 4 oz 93% lean beef, and a 1/2 cup of oatmeal. The Competition diet breakfast is 3 egg whites, one whole egg, 4 oz 93% lean beef and 1/2 a grapefruit. For lunch, the Lean Mass diet is 8 oz of chicken, 4 oz of sweet potato or 1/2 cup of brown rice and 1 cup of vegetables or salad with 1 oz low cal dressing. The Competition lunch is 8 oz chicken and 3 cups of salad with 2 tablespoons of oil and vinegar. For dinner, the Lean Mass diet is 8 oz of lean beef, chicken, turkey or fish and 2 cups of vegetables, while the Competition diet is 8 oz of lean beef, chicken or turkey breast, or fish and 1 cup of green-leafy vegetables. And, with the Competition diet, the 6th meal on Monday and Thursday includes 1 cup of oatmeal or cooked rice, 6 oz of sweet potato, 4 oz of banana and a cup of broccoli. In both the Lean Mass Diet and Competition Diet, there are two protein shakes each day. It will be interesting to see how effective the Competition Diet is going into the final weeks before my contest. Monday, January 31st. After choir practice last evening (I sing bass in my church choir and in the Birmingham Concert Chorale), I returned home to eat my sixth meal of the day. This meal, on Monday and Thursday only, is interesting in its contents: I mixed the rice, sweet potato and broccoli in a container and heated it in the microwave. I had the banana for desert. Man, I never thought I could enjoy a meal more. I'm starting to feel the hunger throughout the day, because of the drop in carbs and fats in this "cut the fat/get the cuts diet." I have already dropped about three pounds. And, on Monday, Will Lantrip changed my daily workout routine. We had been doing heavy weights, with lower reps (8 - 10 per set). Now, and for the rest of the pre-contest training, it will be lighter weights with more reps (12-15 per set). Will said this is done for two reasons: 1) When you don't have as much lean-mass body weight and go lighter in weights as you cut for a contest, you have a better chance of avoiding injuries that you might suffer if you continued with heavy weights. and 2) It's a good time to change your routine in order to "trick" your body into doing something different, thereby encouraging new muscle growth. At seven weeks out, I'm starting to see some interesting cuts, especially in my quads. February 7th, six weeks to go. Will added a new element to my practice posing session on Saturday. He video taped the entire session and afterwards, critiqued my posing. One thing for sure, it's different when you pose in front of a mirror then it is in front of a video camera, pretending the camera is the judge. I noticed I need to squat down a little more in all of my poses so my quads, hams and calves show better cuts. Other than that, Will thinks I look pretty good. Most first-time competitors fall down on their posing. I hope to be ready. We will video tape the rest of my practice sessions until the competition. Later, Will took some photos which I had processed and emailed to Mark Ritter at Beverly International. Mark called on Monday and said he is pleased with where I am (144 pounds, 8% body fat) and added a few more supplements to help me reach my contest goal. He added Muscle Mass BCAA, a strength and growth factor to be taken during workouts and three fat loss/lean mass retention supplements: Energy Reserve, GH Factor and Muscularity BCAA. He also told me to cut back on the Glutamine (one dose instead of two per day) but said for now to continue with the Creatine. We will probably add some potassium during the last two weeks. I'll let Mark tell me when. The only physical difference between the lean mass diet and the fat burning/cutting diet, is I feel a little more tired after my workouts with the latter. Both Will and Mark said it's because I am holding less fat on my body and it takes more energy to do the work. |
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| Come back next month for part three as Scott continues his journey for the stretch run! | |
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