Login | Register

Local bodybuilder still going strong at 40
Tuesday July 29 2008 By Mike Rawn, Staff Writer Turning 40 this year, Rob Schuler had one goal: to be in the best shape of his life.
That’s no small feat for the amateur bodybuilder, who won the 2004 provincial level III and 2005 provincial level II bodybuilding championships with just over two per cent body fat.
How the local resident improved his physique is intriguing; however, the end result, a fourth place finish at the recent provincial level III masters (age 40 to 49) competition was disappointing, according to Schuler.
“I’m a little disappointed with the fourth place finish,” he says. “There’s a lot of politics involved at that level. There is money involved, endorsements. I talked to some of the judges… trying to find out what I could do better. They want me to be heavier with more muscle. But I’m not sure I want to do that anymore. I’m worried where the sport is going. They’re pushing it toward the freaky side. I was one point away from going to nationals [the top three qualify]. How much more muscle do I need?”
Schuler tore his hamstring while training for a provincial level III competition in 2006. His doctors told him that his bodybuilding days were over.
“An injury like that usually takes care of your career,” Schuler says. “It’s devastating. And even daily routines become difficult. Just tying your shoe was very difficult. And a lot of those injuries happen from bodybuilding-style training. In the long run, it’s actually not great for your muscles and tendons as you get older. It’s not functional; you’re not doing any twisting. You become muscle-bound, everything becomes tighter and tighter, and you have no real range of motion. That’s when you tear things.”
It was while watching his daughters compete in gymnastics that the local resident began to question his previous style of training.
“By watching them I realized some things. First of all, gymnasts are very muscular. They don’t do any cardio. So what are they doing differently? One of my dreams was to compete at the national level. If I’m going to rehab my leg myself, then I would have to totally change my workout routine. Plus my age was a factor. Everything had to be changed. The training I did when I was 20 years old, or 30, is not applicable when you’re 40. If you want to have longevity in the sport, or even to look good, you have to change your training.”
Schuler — who spent an average of six hours per day doing weight training and cardio for previous competitions — cut that number down to an hour per day. And he eliminated all cardio exercises from his workout.
“I collect muscle magazines from the ‘60s and ‘70s, and I was looking at those and doing some research. The Arnold [Schwarzenegger] era, or some of the older bodybuilders like Steve Reeves, there was no cardio apparatuses. So how did they stay in shape and stay lean? It was done through their diets and through their training. All these guys were functional in their later years. So obviously their training was different. I went back to old school training, combined it with gymnastics training with lots of twisting. I feel better now than I did when I was 20 years old.”
Schuler also had an intense diet to reach his goals. Although he weighs over 200 lbs, he consumed only 1,400 calories per day for six days of the week, eating nothing except boiled fish and chicken and egg whites. On Saturday’s however, Schuler had what he refers to as a “re-feed day.” Over a 24-hour period, he takes in 15,000 calories, consisting mainly of fatty foods not normally associated with bodybuilders. Meal one consists of two dozen Tim Horton donuts and a can of whipped cream.
“I’ll eat the first dozen before I even leave the parking lot. And on the way home I’ll eat the other dozen. I put the whipped cream on it, it’s crazy.”
Schuler follows that with a meal of pancakes, eight to 10 scrambled eggs and 30 slices of bacon. Then it’s off to Wendy’s fast food restaurant for three triple burgers, two large fries and two large Frosties. The other meals consist of such items as pizza, chocolate bars, cheesecake and steak.
“It took me two years to eat that amount of food and be able to metabolize it,” Schuler says. “Your body temperature is the reason for the concept; it resets your thermostat in your body.
“My body temperature would probably go up one to one-and-a-half degrees over that 24-hour period. The body doesn’t know what to do with 15,000 calories. So what it does is resets the thermostat, raises the body temperature and then tries to burn it off that way. And it burns fat at the same time. Foods with lots of fat and lots of sugar works best for me.”
So how did it work out? The proof is in the, well, pudding.
“I was up eight pounds from ’05, which is a huge amount of contest weight, eight pounds of solid muscle. I weighed 202 with just a touch under three per cent body fat. It was definitely the best shape of my life. I achieved all of the goals I wanted to.”
Although he says that bodybuilding will always be a part of his life, Schuler doesn’t know if he’ll enter any more competitions.
“I don’t like where the sport is going and where the judges are pushing it. The attendance is down a bit because people don’t want to see the real freaky stuff. I want to keep my proportions, have a nice physique… If I gain more muscle it’s going to throw me out of proportion, and then I’ll be one of the freaky guys.”
He is happy to be able to show other people his age that life truly can begin at 40.
“There’s a myth that you can’t get more muscular at 40,” Schuler says. “But I’m proof that’s not true. I gained more muscle for that show than I did the last five years.”

North Peel Media Group Newspapers: The Brampton Guardian Caledon Enterprise Independent & Free Press Orangeville Banner