| Training For My First Competition at Age
61: A "Senior" Bodybuilder's Championship Season By Scott "Old Navy" Hults The Stretch Run |
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I'm looking forward to the stretch run. It's Monday, February 21st, four weeks until the 2005 Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding Championships. The last two weeks have been a little tough. I felt very weak after each workout. I am constantly tired. It's the diet. The lack of carbs during this fat-burning/cutting phase is taking its toll. And, on top of it, my whole family caught the flu last week and we were all down for the count. Fortunately, maybe because of my exercise program, supplements and diet, I didn't get hit as badly as the others. I only missed one day of work and one day at the gym. When I did return, Will Lantrip insisted we do only light workouts for the rest of the week and said, "No cardio." I didn't mind that dose of medicine. On Saturday, I had a great posing session with Will, who video-taped and critiqued the entire hour. We are working on the fine-points of posing. The most important thing I must remember is to hold my poses, "hard." If anything relaxes, you lose the pose. I also had some photos taken which I sent to Mark Ritter at Beverly on Monday with my current measurements. I have "made weight" and am now officially a Bantam Weight (142 pounds) at 7.5% body fat. Mark made a few adjustments to my supplements and diet, including taking me off Glutamine and making my two extra "carb" meals on Monday and Thursday my regular fifth meals for those two days. So, five days a week I will eat my regular meals and on two days a week, "carb" meals. Our goal for the next two weeks is to continue cutting the fat, holding the muscle and bringing out the rips. I'm going to hold on for the ride. It's Monday, March 7th. I stepped on the scale for the first time in two weeks and was surprised to see my weight is now 140.5 lbs. My body fat is 6.5%. During the past two weeks, Will Lantrip increased my daily cardio, while we maintained an aggressive workout. He is not letting up and neither am I. This week, we will continue doing more reps with less weight. I'm usually going to failure on most sets. I'm also more tired than usual after my workouts. Mark Ritter has me taking about 20 Branch Chain Amino Acid tablets during each workout. They help keep my energy up. Next week, my last before the contest, Will will have me do legs on Monday or Tuesday, and then not again. Hurray! Most of the rest of the final week will be very light. On Friday, before I leave Birmingham, AL for Covington, KY, I will go to SportPlex at the usual time, but to practice posing and have a few "day before" photos taken. As for a change in diet this week, Mark has me substituting 99% lean turkey instead of 93% lean ground beef with my egg whites for breakfast. He also cut out the one yoke and has me on egg whites only. He has me replacing my lean meat in meals 3 and 5 with cod or halibut. I feel like "The Old Man and the Sea." He is keeping me on my Monday and Thursday "carb" meals and has increased the Lean Out fat burner by one per meal and cut out the Mass Aminos completely to help in weight loss. He want me to take some more photos on Friday and send them to him so he can make an evaluation for my last week. For the past two months, I have been going to the tanning bed three times a week. I am quite dark. During the final week of preparation, I will tan every day. On Monday, I'll do a standup for six minutes. On Tuesday, a laydown for 12 minutes. On Wednesday, I will be sprayed and then do a standup for six minutes (to help dry the spray). And, on Thursday, a standup, followed by a final spray and standup on Friday morning. Then, it's off to the airport. I will be very, very dark. But, if I have planned this right, I won't need to apply anything more than a very light coating of posing oil just before the pre-judging on Saturday morning. I had some photos taken on Saturday, which I posted in the DiscussBodybuilding.Com DB Members Gallery. I also posted a Poll, with four shots of me in my different colored posing suits and asked DB members and guests to vote on which color they liked best. It looks like I'll be wearing maroon or navy. I'm OK with either. I'm trying to stay in touch with reality, while I'm in the final preparation stage for this adventure. My wife, who suggested I try this in the first place, is very supportive and knows when I become a little "moody" it's because of the diet. She is terrific. My fellow gym rats are happy for me, but they also enjoy taking a few friendly shots at the "old man" during my workouts. We laugh a lot. My two daughters (20 & 18) know I'm doing this for the right reasons and they are rooting for me. I am very happy and satisfied with what I have accomplished during these last ten months. I am anxious to see the end result on Saturday morning, March 19th. To that end, I have been going over my contest diet for the final week. The most significant change is the amount of water I need to drink. From Sunday, March 13th to Wednesday, March 16th, it's three gallons a day. On Thursday, 1 3/4 gallons, on Friday, one gallon, and on Saturday, just sips as needed. The diet and supplements for Sunday - Wednesday remain the same, except on Wednesday, there is a large "carb" meal added as the final meal of the day. On Thursday, the diet and supplements are the same, but again includes a small "carb" meal. During the week I will add a daily intake of Potassium and additional Creatine to my supplements. On Friday, it's an all-beef and grapefruit diet. On Saturday, contest day, it begins with steak and three eggs and ends with a large Snickers bar about 30 minutes before pre-judging. My training for the last week includes posing, about 30 minutes a day, light workouts for pump, and moderate cardio through Tuesday. I will train for the last time on Wednesday, but will continue posing through Friday morning. I leave for Kentucky at 11 A.M. The Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding and Figure Championships Covington Kentucky Convention Center, Saturday, March 19, 2005 First the news. I competed in the Bantam Weight (-143 ½ lbs) class and finished Sixth and the Masters (50 Years +) class and finished 10th. Now I will describe one of the most awesome, fulfilling and challenging experiences I have ever had: At 137 pounds, I was the lightest male and at 61 years, 11 months, I was the oldest athlete in the entire competition. But, let’s first go back to Friday morning in Birmingham. I got up at my usual 4:45 AM and met Will Lantrip at the gym at 6:30 to practice posing one last time and to take a roll of day-before photos. I weighed 138 pounds with -5% body fat. I sported some nice cuts. After leaving Will, I went directly to the Birmingham airport for the flight to Cincinnati. The flight arrived on time and I picked up my rental car and headed for the hotel in Covington, KY. At check-in, I had to sign a form saying I would be held responsible if any of the bed sheets or towels in my room were stained by tanning products. After unpacking and finishing another meal of beef and grapefruit (my fifth of the day), I went to the lobby to register and weigh-in for the competition. Mark Ritter, my nutritionist/counselor and some of the other staff from Beverly International, the contest’s sponsor, were there setting up. It was great to finally meet Mark in person. We have spoken once or twice a week since last September and we both were glad to finally say "hi" face-to-face. I met one of my fellow Masters Class competitors in the lobby. Homer is 50 years-old today. He is a ripped 200 pounds heavyweight with 4 ½ % body fat. Homer is a national competitor, this being his fourth competition, and his first as a 50 year-old. I thought to myself, "Too bad his birthday isn’t on Sunday." We spoke for a few minutes and wished each other success. Homer was later to finish third in Masters 50+ At 7 PM, the athletes gathered in the lobby where we registered and were directed to a conference room to weigh-in and, in the case of Teens and Masters, show our ID. I made Bantam Weight at 137 lbs. I stuck around to watch some of the other competitors weigh-in. We were required to wear our posing suits and I saw some incredibly cut men and women who will compete in this contest. The room had a cordial atmosphere with a lot of friendly greetings and high-fives and some gentle ribbing and good-natured jibes as the competitors stepped on the scale. Some of the competitors missed their weight and opted to either lose or gain the needed pounds overnight and check-in on Saturday morning. The Northern Kentucky is a popular show and many competitors have competed here two or three times. I met Roger Riedinger, the founder of Beverly International, who was there to greet the athletes. He knew who I was through Mark Ritter and welcomed me to Covington. He said the Northern Kentucky is one of the largest state shows in the country and he expected this year to break the record, with athletes coming from New York, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and, of course, Birmingham, Alabama. We sat and talked about the competition. At one point, I asked him casually if my tan was dark enough. He said he didn’t think it was and then asked one of his assistants to take me outside, in my posing suit, and apply another coat of spray. Now that’s what I call taking care of the competitors. I went to my room to eat my last microwave-heated meal and then hit the sack. I spent a restless night. I think it was the excitement of what was to happen the next day. I woke up at 5 AM and was greeted with a remarkable sight. Me! I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn’t believe how cut and ripped I was. At this moment, this is the most muscular and cut I have ever been in all my 61 years. All of the sweat, effort and pain I have gone through these past 10 months were measured at this moment. Was it worth is? Oh yes! After I stopped flexing and staring at myself in the mirror, I began final preparations. I went to the hotel’s restaurant where I ordered a 6 oz steak and three eggs. It tasted great. Then, back to the room for a final body shave with an electric razor to prevent cuts or nicks. I applied a moisturizer and then dressed in my black posing suit and warm-ups. I checked my sports bag to make sure I had the things I would need backstage and headed for the Northern Kentucky Convention Center for the 10:20 AM athletes meeting. Sandy Riedinger, Roger’s wife, and chairperson of the NPC for the State of Kentucky opened the meeting with some very interesting words. She said, "Everyone who got where he or she is today, had to begin where he or she was. Only one in a thousand knows how to really live in the present. The problem is, we seldom think of what we are. We instead think of what we are lacking." She continued, "People everywhere try to convince themselves they are either too small and must get bigger to compete, or they are not lean enough to shed their external clothing to show their physiques in public. You, on the other hand, broke out. You saw your dream and the challenge and went for it. You began at the beginning with a desire. You are one in a thousand. This is your show, this is your passion. And it’s powerful. Enjoy it." After Sandy’s greeting, she introduced the head judge who spoke about sportsmanship and how the contest was to be run. Then, we were assigned our posing numbers, which were to be attached to the left side of our posing suits.. I got #135 for Masters 50+ and #165 for Bantam Weight. There were 170 athletes registered, and including crossovers, 252 numbers were assigned. This is a big show! According to the head judge, it is as large as an NPC National Competition, and looking around the room, the judge noted the high quality of the assembled contestants. As the pre-judging audience began flowing into the Grand Ballroom, we headed back- stage to prepare for the 11 AM Pre-Judging round. First up were the Teens, followed by Women Figures, then the Men’s Novice Lightweights, Middleweights and Heavyweights. While the Masters 40-49 were filing on-stage for judging, the Masters 50+ went into the pump up room to get ready. Finally it was our turn. At the moment I stepped onto the stage, I wasn’t the least bit scared, just very excited. I had a grin on my face that stayed there the whole time. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I hit my poses and felt great. Then, about half-way through, my mouth got absolutely dry. I kept smiling and worked through the dry mouth. What fun! After we left the stage, there was a short intermission. Then the women went back for another judging round. They were all knockouts. Beautiful and graceful. 100% feminine. Following the beauty, the Bantam Weight beasts went on stage. What an outstanding class of competitors. No dry mouth for me this time. I actually posed better the second time. After my competition, I stayed around to watch the Light Weights, the Welter Weights, Middle Weights, Light Heavy Weights and Heavy Weights. Many of the competitors are former class and open winners in other contests. Most of these outstanding body builders would not "place" in this competition. The pre-judging ended at 3:30 PM. I left the Convention Center to attend the Palm Sunday Vigil Mass at the Covington Cathedral and then returned to my hotel to eat and rest for the Evening Show which was scheduled to begin at 7 PM. Just before 7:00, I changed posing suits. I wore black for the pre-judging and would wear maroon for the Evening Show. At the Evening Show, every competitor performs a short posing routine to music of their choice. When it was my turn, the announcer said, "Our next competitor is a retired U.S. Navy Captain. He is a 61 year-old natural bodybuilder, competing for the first time. He has put together a very special posing routine, dedicated to the fighting men and women of our Armed Forces. His routine is called ’21 Gun Salute.’ Lets give him a warm welcome." This was greeted with a huge round of applause. And, following my routine, based on Glenn Miller’s "St. Louis Blues March," the audience cheered. As I stepped off stage, many of the competitors who were watching from the side high-fived me. It was a great personal moment. I watched the rest of the competition and was awed by the quality of the competitors. Having gone through the training for this contest myself, I could appreciate how much work, dedication and effort goes into getting ready for a body building competition. The show ended at around 12:30 AM. It had been a very long day. After the competition, I spoke to the head judge and asked how I might improve as a Bantam Weight. He told me I was well on my way to being very competitive. He said I posed well and showed what I had to show well, but I still needed to put on a little more mass. I pretty well knew that, but it was good to hear. The next morning, I wore my 2005 NPC Northern Kentucky Body Building and Figure Championships competitor’s tee shirt to the airport. As I was walking through the terminal, I noticed I was swaggering a little. I smiled. I am a body builder! I competed with some of the best bodybuilders in the country! Less than 1/10th of 1 % of men who work out regularly ever do what I did, at any age! On Sunday, I enjoyed a family meal, without diet restrictions. On Monday, March 21st, I began final training for the S.N.B.F. Georgia Natural Body Building Championships in Marietta, Georgia on April 2nd. It’s Wednesday, March 30th. I am nearing the end of my two-week competition diet, after just coming off the same regimen to get ready for the Northern Kentucky show. The diet is no easier than it was the first time, but the results are more dramatic. This morning at the gym, my trainer, Will Lantrip took me through a contest pre-judging pump up session (something I didn’t do well in Kentucky) and then we had a posing session. Will has a critical eye, having competed in and judged many bodybuilding contests. He said he has never seen me more ripped. It really made me feel good. My confidence is sky-high as I end this long preparation for my first "natural" bodybuilding competition. I don’t think I could be more ready. But I must not get cocky. Early on, Will said, "You can be ripped, cut, muscled, tanned and look the best you ever have, and win. You can also be ripped, cut, muscled, tanned and look the best you ever have, and not place. You never know who will show up at one of these contests. Just be the best you can be on that day." Good advice. I’ll have one more pump-up and pose session with Will tomorrow. Tonight I begin my final tanning preparation. I will be sprayed, followed by a six-minute stand-up booth tan, and on Thursday, the same thing. On Friday morning, a third and final spray and stand-up tan. Then, it’s on to Marietta, where I have a 3:45 PM appointment to take a polygraph test to determine in the last five years if I have ever used testosterone boost, prescription diuretics, growth hormones, andros or steroids. And, since I haven't, I will be ready to compete on Saturday morning. Will Lantrip will be backstage with me and my wife will be in the audience, cheering me on. The contest opens with Figure Swimsuit, Fitness Swimsuit, Female Fitness Model Swimsuit and Male Fitness Model Swimsuit. I’m one of the first male competitors with the Open Men’s Short (5"7") competition. After the Men’s Medium and Men’s Tall class, there are four more Fitness and Figure classes. Then I'm up again with the Super Grand Masters Men (60+). The last event of the pre-judging is the Novice Light Weight Men’s class. So my three classes are spread throughout the morning. I hope I get to watch some of the other classes between mine. 2005 FAME Georgia S.N.B.F. Championship, Marietta, Georgia, April 2nd. First the news. It's all good. I left Birmingham later than planned on Friday. After driving through a thunderstorm the entire way, I arrived at 9 PM, in time to check in, be weighed and measured for height, and submit to a drug test. All competitors must be drug-free for five years. The tests are random, either polygraph or urinalysis. I was assigned to take a urinalysis. After the test, I met Bruce and Carol Johnson, the founders of the Supernatural Bodybuilding and Fitness (S.N.B.F.) organization. Bruce and Carol were cordial and made me feel welcome. I received my competitor's tee shirt, set myself up for a S.N.B.F. photographer to take six photos of me backstage after Pre-judging, and purchased the Evening Show DVD that would include individual posing routines and awards ceremonies. I was hoping I might be called on stage the next night to receive one of those awards. I checked into my hotel room and ate a protein snack, a "secret" mix given to me at the Northern Kentucky show by Mark Ritter of Beverly International. It's called "Goo." Great tasting stuff that "Goo." Then I went to sleep. Competitors were told to arrive at the venue at 9 AM Saturday for a meeting. I enjoyed a reasonably good night's sleep and arrived at the Southern Poly Tech University Student Center in plenty of time. More than 50 athletes received their numbers and handed in their music for the Evening Show individual posing routines. I was assigned number "20" and Will Lantrip and I went backstage, where he helped me apply a coat of posing oil and pump-up for my first event, the Open Men's Short (5"7") Class. Will was a great help backstage. He kept me calm and focused. We prayed together before I began my first competition. There were five of us, including a 17 year-old and a couple of 20-somethings. I, of course, was the oldest. All of us looked good and posed well. My next competition was Super Grand Master (60+). This is the Class I trained 10 month to enter. I stood against last year's 50+ Champion in this same event and last year's 50+ Champion at the S.N.B.F. National Championships. Two tough competitors. They were both here to become the first ever S.N.B.F. Super Grand Master (60+). The three of us posed well and enjoyed the positive response we received from the audience. My final event was Novice Men's Lightweight (-165 lbs.). Four young musclemen and one elder muscleman hit the stage and went through our required poses. I was the lightest competitor. The others were all middleweights. Since, as Novices, this was a first for us, we knew our posing would be critical. After the Pre-judging we left the Student Center and went to lunch, where I had a small steak, vegetables and a baked potato with a pad of butter. Carbs! I didn't leave a bite on my plate. We returned to the contest venue at 6 PM. The Evening Show started at 7:00. This time the Order of Events for individual posing and awards was Novice, Masters and Men's Open. They brought the Novice Men's Lightweights on stage for a series of poses and then we returned one-at-a-time for our posing routines. I was first up and nailed my 90-second routine. After the others completed their routines we returned to the stage for awards. The two 20-somethings took First and Second. I took Third. Next up were the Super Grand Masters (60+). Since I had already performed my individual routine, I watched from off stage while the two former 50+ Champions did theirs. We were called back on stage and I was named the first S.N.B.F. Super Grand Master Champion. My last event was the Men's Open competition. The Men's Open Short competitors did their individual routines and at the awards ceremony that followed, I picked up another Third Place trophy. My first all-natural, drug-free, bodybuilding competition was a smashing success! Two Third Place finishes and one First. The Rest of the Story: In my first year of competitive bodybuilding, I competed in six major competitions. Here are the six contests and the results: 2005 NPC Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding Championships, Covington, KY, March 19th Bantam Weight Class (-143 1/2 lbs) - Sixth Grand Master 50+ - 10th 2005 FAME Georgia S.N.B.F. Bodybuilding Championships, Marietta, GA, April 2nd Novice Men's Lightweight (-165 lbs) - Third Open Men's Short (5' 7") - Third Super Grand Master 60+ - First 2005 FAME Capital Classic S.N.B.F. Bodybuilding Championships, Montgomery, AL, May 21st Open Men's Short (5' 7") - Sixth Super Grand Master 60+ - First 2005 FAME World Bodybuilding Championships, Toronto, Canada, June 10 - 11th Advanced Men's Lightweight (-150 lbs) - Sixth Super Grand Master 60+ - Third 2005 NPC Southeastern Gold's Gym Classic Bodybuilding Championships, Gadsden, AL, June 18th Bantam Weight (-143 1/2 lbs) - Third Grand Master 50+ - Second Super Grand Master 60+ - First 2005 FAME Southern Open Bodybuilding Championships S.N.B.F., Suwanee, GA, July 16th Open Men's Short (5' 7") - Third Super Grand Master 60+ - First Best Male Poser - Southern Open Six Contests - 11 Trophies Four First Place Finishes One Second Place Finish Five Third Place Finishes One Best Male Poser Award For me, it was truly a Championship Season. I received a final tribute a few weeks ago when I was profiled as Bodybuilding.com’s Amateur Bodybuilder of the Week. (www.bodybuilders.com/hults.htm) So for this year, I have hung up my posing suit. During the off-season, I will bulk up and add some lean mass. Then I'll decide which contests to train to enter next year, when I'm 63. It has been an outstanding experience, with very satisfying results. I've enjoyed sharing all of this with you. God Bless. Regards, Scott "Old Navy" Hults |
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