My First Bodybuilding Competition...at Age 61

Subject: My First Bodybuilding Competition...at Age 61 Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:32 pm

I wrote this story about my very first bodybuilding competition. I was 61 years-old and had trained 10 months for this contest. I hope you enjoy my account of this incredible adventure.

Scott "Old Navy" Hults

The NPC Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding and Figure Championships
Covington Kentucky Convention Center, Saturday, March 19, 2005

First the news. I competed in the Open 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, Alabama.

I got up at my usual 4:45 AM and met with my personal trainer at the gym at 6:30 to practice posing one last time and to take some day-before photos. I weighed 138 pounds with -5% body fat. I sported some nice cuts. After leaving my trainer, I went directly to the Birmingham airport for the flight to Cincinnati, Ohio. 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 NPC 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!
_________________
Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT
FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder
FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge

Train Hard. Train Natural.

My Web Site: www.BodyBuildingSenior.com