On TV Again!
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Here is another transcript of a feature on me in the local CBS news program in my town.
Bodybuilding Senior
by John Marc Green
Aired: April 13, 2008
CBS 42 NewsThere are plenty of people working out every day at the Mt. Brook YMCA.
But there’s only one who’s also a World Champion Grand Masters Amateur and North American Grand Masters Pro Champion Bodybuilder.
“He’s really strict and he’s quite a task master,” said Mike Wilty, a client of personal trainer Scott Hults.
“When I turned 60, my wife Vivian said to me one day, ‘Scott, you look pretty good, you ever thought about competing?,’” said Hults.
He is 65 this year, so the former Naval officer goes by the nickname “Old Navy.”
He started getting in shape at age 50, when he developed symptoms of Type I diabetes, which killed his father and grandfather.
“And what’s interesting at 65 years old, what’s more important is I still have been able to stave off the onset of diabetes; I have the symptoms, but I don’t have the disease, and that’s what’s really important,” he added.
“Old Navy” says he teaches his personal training clients: the secret to good health is not about working out all the time. “I listen to their goals, and then I say, ‘Okay, we can achieve these goals, but 80 percent of what you want to accomplish, you can accomplish with a knife and fork.’”
He believes in eating smaller but more frequent meals, not skipping breakfast, and having a controlled dinner of lean meat and green vegetables.
“If you don’t eat breakfast, you’ll gain weight; and if you eat the wrong thing at dinner, you’ll gain weight.” he said. “That’s because you’re not doing anything active so whatever you put into your system, in your last meal, you’re not processing it, and the body likes to protect itself and save the things it doesn’t need and it saves it as fat. If you want to have a canole, or you want to have a cupcake or you want to have a piece of pie, have it at lunchtime, cause by the end of the day it’ll be gone.”
He also recommends drinking lots of water, for health as well as cosmetic reasons.
“If you don’t drink enough water, then your body holds onto the water, and you look puffy. If you drink a lot of water, and the body processes that water, then you look lean.”
Now, other weight lifters say he’s inspiring them to better habits, too.
“I think he’s pretty good, probably better shape than what I am; I’ve still got a good ways to get where he’s at,” said YMCA member Nathan Elmore. Mike Wilty added, “He gives me something to really look up to and look forward to in pursuing my own goals.”
You can view the video version of this story at www.cbs42.com by clicking here: “Bodybuilding Senior”.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
On TV!
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I was recently featured as the lead segment in a CBS News Sunday Morning program. Here is the transcript.
Fighting the Passage of Time with Fitness: An Exercise Old-Timer Shares Some of His Secrets
With Sunday Morning’s Emily Senay
Aired: April 13, 2008(CBS) Forget frail old age: A growing number of aging baby boomers have discovered the world of serious weight-training. From overweight folks who just want to feel better to dedicated 60-plus bodybuilders, the weight machine has become the new rocking chair. In a report by Sunday Morning correspondent Dr. Emily Senay, we meet the current senior National Bodybuilding Champion, a Manhattan gerontologist who preached a healthy lifestyle for years and is now taking her own medicine, and the legendary figure behind the modern fitness industry, Jack LaLanne.
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We’ve heard the old saw about how you’re never too old to get started. Truth is, most Americans tend to avoid heavy workouts, BUT there is a growing number of seniors who seem to live for them.
Ten years ago, Scott Hults was a Navy Reserve captain, and a prime candidate for serious illness.
“I was told I had some symptoms of diabetes,” Hults said. “That kind of worried me because my father and grandfather died of diabetes at early ages.”
So Hults hit the gym … hard. Before long, he began to look like a competitive bodybuilder and, at the urging of his wife, Hults became one. The former sailor, who was often the oldest guy on the stage, became known as “Old Navy.”
Last year, at the age of 64, Scott Hults won a championship in the over-60 division.
But Hults is the exception: There are 78 million baby boomers, with 8,000 turning 60 every day, or about 330 every hour. And most can’t even come CLOSE to Hults’ level of fitness, says Dr. Roseanne Leipzig, a professor of geriatrics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.“Nobody exercises enough, okay? Seniors are no different in that way,” Dr. Leipzig said. “But the other thing that happens as we get older is that our body compositions change. And we become, unfortunately, more fat and less lean body mass. Most of us know this personally, okay? So that men go from being about 18 percent fat to 33 percent fat. Women, unfortunately, start at about 33 percent and go to almost 50 percent. So what is lean body mass? It’s your muscles and your bone. And that’s what you’re losing as you get older.”
And exercise can help you keep it. At Manhattan’s 92nd Street Y, Dr, Leipzig practices what she preaches:
“I’d say I’m a convert. I think I grew up in a generation where doing exercise, doing anything physical was thought as if it were something not to be desired, okay? And now I feel pride in the strength that I have, in the way my body looks, in how I feel.”
Leipzig says that, in general, her fellow baby boomers are taking better care of themselves.“I think in general, the boomers are starting to recognize that it’s ‘move it or lose it.’ And they’re gonna be moving it and trying to make sure that their bodies stay in the best shape possible,” Dr. Leipzig said.
And that desire to be physically fit might have been inspired by something boomers saw on black and white TV many years ago.
The fitness revolution WAS televised, and Jack LaLanne was the firebrand with a vision of a fitter world.
Now 93, Jack LaLanne still works out two hours every morning, mostly on equipment he designed, like the device in his home pool that allows to him to swim against a current.
Lalanne and his wife Elaine were married in 1959. She’s 82, and healthier now than when they met.
“She was skinny, just terrible,” he recalled. “She was smoking cigarettes and all that stuff.
“I had two fried eggs! No bustline!” Elaine said.
Today, the LaLanne empire is built on things like health food machines and books, including the latest one, “Fiscal Fitness: 8 Steps to Wealth and Health from America’s Leaders of Fitness and Finance,” about how to keep your finances in order if you really do get in shape and live longer than you expected.
But Jack LaLanne’s message is unchanged since those first days on TV: Whatever your age or condition, start moving now.
“You’ve got to work at it!” Lalanne said. “Dying is easy. Living is an athletic event. You’ve got to train for it. But the time you put in taking care of this wonderful body and your health is minimal compared to the results you’re gonna get.”
And to those slightly older Americans who say aches and pains prevent them from exercising? Jack says, “You show me somebody over 40 or 50 who doesn’t have an ache or a pain, I’ll show you a liar!”
Jack LaLanne will turn 94 in September. His goal, quite literally, is to be living proof that his philosophy of diet and exercise was right all along.
“It’s an ego thing. Here I’m going to be 94. I want to see how long I can keep this up, using me as an example, right? But the average person if they would work out 20 or 30 minutes three times a week, that’s plenty - if it’s vigorous.”
If you think you can’t achieve any level of fitness, let alone be like Jack, you’re probably wrong. Here are some tips:
• Check with your doctor first.
• Start low and go slow, set small goals - baby steps. One of the biggest reasons people throw in the towel is they expect too much too soon, so take it easy.
• Aerobics doesn’t have to mean a bone crunching, Jane Fonda-style, braided headband sweat-o-thon. Studies have shown simply walking a total of 30 minutes a day can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and you don’t have to do it all at once.
• Once you’re on track, consider adding resistance training or weightlifting into your routine. If you don’t know how to do it, check out the local Y, gym or senior center.The goal is to feel good so you WANT to keep up your routine, and that can be as simple as walking the mall in Minnesota, teeing off in California, or hitting the pool in Florida.
Jack LaLanne says he wants to stay active as long as he’s physically able, and for the relatively youthful Scott Hults, there is no finish line, either:
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m gonna keep doing push-ups and sit-ups and pull-ups and bicep curls until I’m dead. And I hope one of these days, when I do die, I’ll be dying in the middle of record-setting bench press,” he laughs, “right here in the gym!”
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Old Navy Is in the News
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I was recently interviewed by The New York Times. Here is my Times story:
60-Plus, Ripped, and Natural Competitors
By Jessica Kourkounis for The New York Times
Published: April 3, 2008
Until nine years ago, Dr. Neal Grossman didn’t make a habit of parading around his bedroom in his skivvies and admiring his physique in the mirror. Nor did he ever imagine that his oldest son, then a teenager, would take one look at his father midflex and cry out, “Dad, put your clothes back on!”
But now that Dr. Grossman, a 60-year-old Baltimore dentist, is a competitive amateur bodybuilder, an extra ounce of flab makes the difference between a sizable trophy and going home empty-handed. “The minute you start winning, that’s all the validation people need to accept what you do as legitimate and something to be appreciated,” said Dr. Grossman, who is 5-foot-2 and a chiseled 121 pounds.
He is one of a small but growing number of 60- and 70-year-old bodybuilders stripping down to Speedos, slathering on bronzer, and strutting their stuff onstage in natural, or drug-free, competitions. The season for amateur and pro-level events begins this month.
Last year, the World Natural Sports Organization, one of about a dozen bodybuilding groups devoted to drug-free contests, had 44 competitors older than 60, up from two in 2000, said Jeffrey Kippel, a founder.
Many bodybuilding contestants are not tested and steroids use is rampant. But most natural bodybuilding contests require participants to complete urinalysis and polygraph tests before events.
In the last five years, the number of men and women in their 60’s and 70’s competing in United States Bodybuilding Federation shows has doubled to 16, said Brian Washington, the commissioner of the federation, another drug-free group. Those figures will not put senior softball leagues out of business any time soon, but in an age in which athletes are publicly flogged for using steroids and human growth hormones, it is heartening to find a cohort of older Americans hellbent on getting cut the old-fashioned way. Or so they say.
Skeptics believe that natural bodybuilders may not be entirely drug-free.
Still, the oldest age group of natural bodybuilders has drawn enough interest that last year the Fame World Tour, a series of physique competitions sanctioned by Mr. Kippel’s organization, hired Scott Hults, a retired Naval officer-turned-bodybuilder to be in charge of promotions for the 60-plus division.
“Age is a statistic, not a burden and there is no reason a man or woman can’t get into and maintain the best shape of their lives at any age,” said Mr. Hults, 64, who has competed in 26 shows since 2005 and last year won an age-group title.
Some older bodybuilders were weight lifters or wrestlers in their youth; others are fitness buffs who want to test their mettle; still others are retirees who refuse to go gently anywhere.
Although it is harder to build muscle later in life — 18 to 35 are considered the prime muscle-building years — it is possible, said Jose Antonio, the vice president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
Take Ed Cole, who entered his first bodybuilding contest last year at age 71. After retiring in 1992, Mr. Cole, who is 5-5, ballooned to 195 pounds. In 2000, he resolved to start weight training, which he had not done since he was a gymnast in his youth. He spent 90 minutes a day hoisting weights in the fitness center he built in his basement, and by 2004, he was 50 pounds lighter, and a certified personal trainer to boot.
He overhauled his diet, too. But after roughly seven years of diligent eating “for nutrition only,” he was ready to grease up his muscles and join the brawny and drug-free. To this day, he said, nothing stronger than magnesium has passed his lips.
Older bodybuilders tend to be disciplined purists. Younger competitors might want to push the envelope and beef up as much as possible, said Dr. Antonio, who has a Ph.D in muscle physiology. “Older individuals just want to improve their physique.”
Mr. Hults said: “Maybe if I had started bodybuilding in my 20’s instead of my 60’s, I might have used steroids. But since I did get into the game later in life, it made sense for me to go the natural route. I’m glad I did. I have been able to achieve much on my own, without illegal muscle enhancements. That in itself is very satisfying.”
But he does acknowledge knowing several senior athletes now on steroids, human growth hormone or testosterone replacement therapy.
For the most part, the senior bodybuilders say they take great pride that their amped-up pectorals are strictly the result of diet, exercise and vitamins and supplements.
Prized supplements include creatine for strength, glutamine for muscle recovery, branch chain amino acids for muscle development, all of which Dr. Antonio, who is also the chief executive of International Society of Sports Nutrition, recommends for bodybuilders.
Mr. Kippel’s group, along with the International Natural Bodybuilding Federation, the amateur arm of the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation, randomly test during the year. Still, antidoping experts wonder just how natural “natural” bodybuilding is.
Neither the World Natural Sports Organization nor the International Natural Bodybuilding Federation perform blood tests, which is the only way to test for human growth hormone, said Dr. Gary Wadler, an internist and a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
There are also certain so-called natural supplements that can contain traces of banned substances.
“We saw for many years that dietary supplements were contaminated with androstenedione, which is converted in the body to testosterone, but many people were not knowingly taking it,” Dr. Wadler said. “That problem has been diminished, but whether it’s been totally eliminated I have no way of knowing.”
The athletes insist they are clean.
“The older guys despise the drug scene,” said Len Bosland, 82, from Glen Rock, N.J., who has been a bodybuilder for decades, still competes and was Mr. New Jersey in 1952.
Unlike weight lifting, which depends on brawn, bodybuilders train to look good in swimsuits that leave little to the imagination. They must perfect 8 to 10 poses and are judged on criteria such as grace, muscle symmetry, definition and body shape. A choreographed routine to music is also required.
Melvin Cooper, 64, a father of seven and a Brooklyn pastor, did not expect to be bodybuilding in his twilight years. But two years ago, while working out at a gym, a bodybuilder approached him and said: “ ‘You look good, man. Where do you compete?’ ” Mr. Cooper recalled.
“I said, ‘I don’t,’ and he said, ‘At your age no one would beat you.’ ”
Mr. Cooper, whose strongest stimulant of choice is Red Bull, entered his first competition, the Hercules, in June last year, and won.
“I do one-handed push-ups for my finale,” he said proudly, adding that he goes to the gym up to three hours daily, except Sundays.
“I make a lot of noise so everyone can hear,” he said. “I’m a big show off.”
So is Dr. Don Morse, who won the Natural Physique Association’s Natural Mr. USA bodybuilding championships for men older than 70.
“I love to get in front of a crowd,” said Dr. Morse, 77, a retired endodontist from Cherry Hill, N.J. After all, it is quite a boost when bodybuilders decades his junior gush: “I’d be so happy if I could look as good as you.”
Bodybuilding has helped a lot of competitors conquer demons. Dr. Grossman, who has won more than 200 trophies, used to have stage fright. “But another fellow in the gym had competed and he said: ‘Who cares? You don’t know anyone.’ I said: ‘Yeah, I’m a grown man. What do I care?’ ”
Doing What I Want to Do with the Rest of My Life
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On February 1st, I started my third career.
My first career was as a member of the U.S. Navy, where I served as an enlisted sailor and as an officer for a total of 30 years. I started as a Recruit and retired a full Navy Captain in 2003, when I turned 60 years of age.
While I was serving as a Navy Reserve Officer, I pursued my second career in the business world.
I spent more than 30 years in the communications field, working for such companies as the New York Daily News, NBC-TV, MTV, Financial News Network (today CNBC), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, United Press International (UPI), The Weather Channel, The Learning Channel, and Eternal World Television Network (the Catholic channel). I held several executive positions in marketing, sales, and communications in these companies.
I started competing as a natural (drug-free) bodybuilder about four years ago and stepped onto a stage for the first time in 2005, at the age of 61. I have entered a total of 26 contests and am currently training for my fourth Pro show, the 2008 FAME World Championships in Toronto on June 14th.
During my time as a bodybuilder, I started a distance personal training business. I work with athletes around the U.S. and in a few other countries, providing ongoing training and diet assistance to aspiring competitors. As a Certified Personal Trainer, I also train athletes locally one-on-one as a part-time trainer (early mornings and weekends). This brings me to my third career.
On January 31st, I retired from my communications company as a vice president. After taking the weekend off to enjoy my retirement, on February 1st, I joined the YMCA as a Personal Trainer.
My new work clothes are sneakers and sweats. My new “office” has a weight room, tennis courts, swimming pool, track, tread mills, a sauna, deep tub, and steam room. How cool is that?
I have been working at the Y for about four weeks and already have 17 clients and nearly 200 hours of personal training time booked. Old Navy is in the house.
Scott “Old Navy” Hults
Does Age Affect Your Training?
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In a word, yes. Age does affect your training. That’s the short answer. But how it affects your training is really up to the individual.
If you are 20-something, you can train until you drop, and other than being tired and maybe a little sore, the effects wear off quickly and soon you are ready to hit it again. It’s not that easy if you are in your late middle age or early old age.
I am 64 years old. I worked out in the gym at least five days a week for about 15 years. My training, while vigorous, was never strenuous. My goal was always to stay fit. Then about three years ago, I got the outrageous idea that I could train to prepare myself to enter a bodybuilding contest. Now that’s an idea whose time had come. Imagine my wife’s reaction when I told her the news. But she was supportive, and so I proceeded.
Training for a bodybuilding competition required many hard hours in the gym, a strict diet and a totally different lifestyle. Here, age makes a difference and does have an affect.
Lifting heavy weights with “old” muscles can be dangerous if you don’t stay focused. It’s easy to pull, rip, tear, or stretch a muscle during an exercise that can stop you in your tracks and end your contest preparation on the spot.
I took great care in the gym to make sure I stretched my muscles before and after each set. I drank plenty of water during my workouts and I never continued a lift or pull if I felt the least twinge. I stopped the set at that point and didn’t continue the exercise. I also never lifted more than I should, just for the sake of lifting. My weight training was purposeful and therefore carefully planned. I always left my ego at the gym door.
To prepare for my first contest, I trained 45 minutes a day, five days a week for 10 months prior to the contest date. During that time, I worked progressively harder each week as I grew stronger. I never suffered a single injury nor did I miss a day of training, and my energy level remained very high. My fellow gym rats frequently gibed, “Old Navy is pumped today.” I entered my first contest ready to compete.
I continued to train vigorously for the next two years and entered a total of 26 bodybuilding competitions, winning 42 trophies, four Best Poser awards, and three Master Pro Cards—again, without sustaining a single training injury. I am currently training to enter my third Pro Show on June 14, 2008.
Simply put, if you are 20, it’s OK to act like you are 20. If you are 64, it’s not OK to act like you are 20.
Scott “Old Navy” Hults
Living an Active Lifestyle—with Health Issues
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My journey into fitness began in the US Navy. When I turned 50, during a Navy physical exam, I discovered I had several symptoms of diabetes, the disease that took the life of my father and grandfather at an early age. That’s when I began a workout and diet plan that eventually led me to competitive bodybuilding. I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to go the way my father and grandfather had, and immediately began aggressive weight training and diet programs that eventually led me to where I am today. At 64, I still have the symptoms of diabetes, but I do not have the disease.
There is an assortment of information about the benefits of exercise in older adults, yet older Americans often have a difficult time starting an exercise program. Many have lived a sedentary lifestyle for most of their lives, or have developed ailments that may lead them to believe that an exercise program is not going to provide any benefits.
I am a Certified Personal Trainer with the National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT) and with the National Gym Association (NGA). I assist people with a variety of fitness issues, from competitive athletes to people wanting to take better care of themselves.
One of the first steps is setting realistic goals. In a society that markets to rapid results, our expectations are often distorted by commercials and advertising campaigns.
The biggest obstacle I have with clients is helping them set and agree to realistic goals. Don’t tell me you want to lose 60 pounds. Let’s agree that you want to lose five pounds in 6-8 weeks and keep the weight off. Once we achieve that goal, let’s lose 8 pounds over the next three months. Then, let’s lose 5 pounds… Pretty soon, my client has lost the 60 pounds, one pound at a time.
I train people in person and through an internet business that allows me to reach clients as far away as Hong Kong. I work with athletes in two ways. I train one athlete at a time, in person; in effect, this person becomes my training partner. I lead the workouts and do the same exercises and help my client achieve his or her goals. In recent cases, I have trained a 28-year-old, a 40-year-old and a 66-year-old athlete to enter their first bodybuilding competition.
I also operate an internet-based distance personal training business, BodyBuildingSenior, LLC, and work with clients in California, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Georgia, Massachusetts, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Canada, Hong Kong, and Baghdad, Iraq. Using email, online chat, cell phone, snail mail, and fax, I provide diets, training plans, and ongoing consultation. Some of my clients are trying to lose weight, get into shape, recover from illness, or prepare for sports competitions, including bodybuilding. I also work with two marathoners, as well.
As a personal trainer I have three goals:
Manage my diabetic symptoms and demonstrate that it can be done with diet and exercise. Because of the diabetes in my family I knew I did not want any of the complications. As I said earlier, both my father and grandfather passed away from the disease. Diet and exercise has helped me avoid the onset of diabetes.
Be a role model that motivates others. I use myself as a living example. You can get into shape at any age. The clients that I train want to be healthy, look good and feel good. People respect that I live a healthy, natural lifestyle—and it shows.
Show others that you can be fit without too much supplementation or any illegal drugs. When working with younger kids, motivate them to remain natural athletes—not load up on supplements and other chemicals. Show them that you can work hard, use the proper diet, and exercise the proper way and achieve results.
Scott “Old Navy” Hults
Age-Defying Workouts
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To me, age is a statistic, not a burden. I am a world-class master professional bodybuilder. I train “natural”—that is, I do not use any illegal muscle enhancers that promote growth by chemistry. I do it the good old fashion way, with hard work.
I offer myself as an example that you can get into and maintain the best shape of your life at any age. I have competed in 26 bodybuilding competitions and won 42 titles. It’s always my goal to be in the best shape of my life each time I step onto a stage. So far, I have.
Most people know very little about the sport of competitive bodybuilding. They have to learn the posing, the science of diet and exercise, and how to peak at the right time
The sport is my mentor. There is a lot of available information for anyone who wants to do this. Talking to other competitors and the experience of the shows helped me out tremendously. I enjoy the science of the sport and working out.
My body is my equipment. I don’t need a ball or club to be involved. My goal for each show is to be in better shape than the last show. I train hard and I train smart. I work out 90 minutes a day, Monday through Friday. My training is intense and varied. I train two body parts a day and usually add cardio and abs work. As I prepare for a contest, my training is intensified and I add posing practice several times a week. I have a set contest week training schedule and diet that brings me to the stage in peak condition.
At 64, I have not always been the oldest competitor to walk out on stage. At the 2005 NPC Southeastern Gold’s Gym Classic in Gadsden, Alabama, there was a 70-year-old Warrior who had been competing for about 30 years. Backstage, before our contest, I helped him get ready and when we went on stage, I stood next to him, because he couldn’t hear too well. I told him which pose to do and he did it. He placed last in the Class, but received a warm welcome from the audience, judges, and his fellow competitors. The promoter named him honorary “Mr. Gadsden” that night. I won three trophies at that show, 3rd in Bantam Weight, 2nd in Men’s Master 50+, and 1st in Men’s Master 60+.
Scott “Old Navy” Hults
It’s Never Too Late to Start
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I began training for my first bodybuilding competition in May of 2004. I was 61 years old and had retired the previous year as a Captain in the US Navy. As a naval officer I always tried to stay fit. From the time I was 50, I visited the gym at least five days a week. After my retirement, I continued to work out at least five days a week and maintain a modest diet that kept me in shape.
One day, I was having a cup of coffee with my wife and she said, “Scott, you look pretty good, even better than some of the younger guys at the gym. Have you ever thought about competing, doing a bodybuilding contest?” She continued, “Why don’t you give it a try, it might be fun?” So, without too much urging, I jumped at her suggestion.
I trained for 10 months to enter my first contest. And, oh, what a contest I picked. I entered the 2005 NPC Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding and Figure Championships in Covington, Kentucky. This is one of the largest regional shows in the United States, drawing more than 260 competitors. It’s a non-tested show, which means they don’t test the athletes for steroids so there were a lot of “big” men in this competition.
I entered the Open Bantam Weight Class and the Men’s Masters 50+ Class because they didn’t have a Men’s Masters 60+ class. Out of six Bantam Weights, I placed 6th. Out of 11 Men’s Master 50+ contestants, I placed 10th.
I had the time of my life. I remember walking down the corridor at the airport to catch my plane home wearing my competitor T-shirt. I had a grin on my face. I said to myself, “I am a bodybuilder. I did it!” I did what very few people of any age ever do—that is, train for and enter a bodybuilding competition. What fun.
After my experience at the non-tested Kentucky show, three weeks later, I entered a drug-tested contest in Georgia, the 2005 SNBF Georgia Open. I placed 3rd in the Men’s Novice Class, 3rd in the Open Men’s Short (height) Class and I won the Men’s Master 60+ Class, my first victory. Now, that’s more like it. I was elated. I worked hard for this and when I put it all on the line and was successful, it felt pretty good. I was hooked.
Scott “Old Navy” Hults
The Natural Athlete
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My name is Scott “Old Navy” Hults. I am a retired US Navy Captain. I am also a natural pro athlete in a sport that, for the most part, is not natural.
I am a professional bodybuilder.
Bodybuilding, like major league baseball and several other pro sports, is going through the painful process of self-examination to determine how steroid use has affected an athlete’s performance. It’s not a pretty picture.
The major amateur bodybuilding organization, the National Physique Committee, NPC, does not condone the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs, but neither does it test its athletes who are preparing to compete in NPC competitions.
The professional organization that accepts NPC athletes who have won their pro status at regional and national amateur competitions is the IFBB, International Federation of Bodybuilders. The IFBB runs the Arnold Classic and The Olympia Championships every year, featuring huge steroid-using athletes, to the delight of audiences that marvel at the size and amount of muscle these big men and women bring to the stage. The description, “freak,” is a badge of honor to these warriors.
The good news:
There is a quiet revolution going on in the world of bodybuilding, called Natural Federations.
During the past twenty years, several drug-free bodybuilding organizations have sprung up that offer tested competitions, which allow men and women bodybuilders and fitness competitors and women figure competitors to compete on a level playing field against like-minded drug-free athletes.
One of the leading organizations in this field is the World Natural Sports Organization (WNSO), which runs competitions in the United States, Canada, the UK, and other counties around the world. The shows, called FAME events, test their athletes before each competition and also give random drug tests to their athletes in the off season.
I am a “Proud FAME Athlete,” which is lettered on my FAME T-shirt. I have competed in seven FAME competitions and am the 2006 FAME Grand Master World Champion. After turning pro in this organization, I entered my first FAME pro show last November in Miami, Florida and am the 2007 FAME North American Grand Master Pro Champion. My next FAME event is the 2008 FAME World Championships in Toronto on June 14, where I will compete in the Grand Master Pro Class.
My goal here is to share my training and diet secrets as I train as a Natural Athlete for my upcoming competitions. I welcome your comments and suggestions.
I guess I should tell you one more thing: I will be 65 years-old in three months.
Scott “Old Navy” Hults
