The Natural Athlete

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