Ripped, Sans Wrinkles
By Jeffrey Sheban, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
May 12–Three years ago, Jim Schwarz was a flabby guy contemplating retirement.
These days, just shy of 61, he is a chiseled bodybuilding champion: Last month, he placed first in a 60-and-older amateur competition in Weirton, W.Va.
The former Columbus schoolteacher and others like him aren’t in it for money — with none at stake.
“You’re going to get old, but you don’t have to be old,” he said. “I like the idea about fighting the clock and not giving in.”
Schwarz is among a small but growing number of 60-and-older bodybuilders who are stripping down to Speedos, slathering on bronzer and strutting on stages.
Last year, the World Natural Sports Organization — one of about a dozen groups devoted to drug-free competitions — had 44 bodybuilders older than 60, up from two in 2000, said Jeffrey Kippel, a founder.
And, during the past five years, the number of men and women in their 60s and 70s competing in U.S. Bodybuilding Federation shows has doubled to 16, according to Commissioner Brian Washington.
Older adults make up the fastest-growing age group in competitive bodybuilding, said Rick Bayardi, a promoter who organized the Weirton event and knows Schwarz.
“People are growing older, but they’re still able to do the things they enjoy,” Bayardi said. “It’s also a great way to get in shape and stay in shape.”
Schwarz, who lives in Canal Winchester, is a case in point.
He taught physical education for 35 years. Three years ago, he found himself “fat and out of shape” — until his son urged him to work out.
For motivation, he signed up for an amateur bodybuilding competition in Kentucky. He went up against other men in their 50s.
“I placed fifth, got a trophy and caught the bug,” he said.
Months later, he finished third in a Columbus event; in November, he won a 60-and-older contest in Reading, Pa.
Mother Nature, however, doesn’t take kindly to the bodybuilding aspirations of senior citizens.
With age, the male body produces less testosterone — a hormone important for maintaining muscle mass.
Even active people lose some muscle fiber regularly and permanently by age 50, said Dr. Thomas Best, an Ohio State University professor and a co-medical director of the OSU Sports Medicine Center.
Fifty percent of muscle is gone by 80, he said.
“You can regain strength as you age,” Best said, “but it’s not likely that lost muscle fibers will ever return.”
Younger people bulk up by increasing the size of existing muscles and building new muscle tissue, he said; older people have to settle for increasing the size of whatever muscle fibers are left.
Giant muscles aren’t the aim, Schwarz said.
“We can be grumpy old men and women, or we can be people who others want to be around,” he said. “I’m determined I’m not going to be an old grouch.”
Moses Tomko can relate: At 82, the Bedford, Ohio, retiree calls himself one of the oldest competitive bodybuilders anywhere.
He was dating before some of his rivals were even born.
“Nobody my age is in the business,” he said in a phone interview.
Tomko loves the social aspect of competing or, as he said, “being in the crowd.”
Several years after retiring at 62, he started competing.
He works out three or four times a week at Rocco’s Gym in Macedonia, near Akron.
To maintain muscle, Tomko supplements a balanced diet with Russian-made protein powder.
“I have no regime to it,” he said. “I eat everything I would normally eat. I must have a fantastic metabolism.”
Workouts consist of stretching; lifting light dumbbells, then barbells; and working on machines.
His motivation is the audience reaction to his appearance in tight black trunks.
And his ability to defy the odds.
“Some guys have a beer joint; some guys live on golf,” he said. “I enjoy this. I want to see others get off their duffs and get in the gym. If I can do it, anybody can do it.”
Information from The New York Times is included in this story.
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