Septuagenarian Competes in First NYS Bodybuilding Contest

By WRILEY NELSON
SYRACUSE

Clifford C. Crandall Jr., of New Hartford, has decades of experience in martial arts and extreme sports. The 76-year-old is founder and grandmaster of the American Martial Arts Institute, has completed nearly 1,000 skydiving jumps, and is recognized by Guinness World Records as the first person to break a board with his hand in a freefall at 8,300 feet. Now, he has a new sporting event under his belt. Crandall competed in his first bodybuilding competition, the Organization of Competitive Bodybuilders New York State Amateur Open/Masters Pro Qualifier in Syracuse, on Saturday, November 4.

For the past year, Crandall has produced a video series, “Still Alive and Kicking,” to promote life-enhancing physical activities for seniors. He also writes a semi-regular column for the “Rome Daily Sentinel” on the same subject. Crandall began an intensive training regimen last February, setting out to show other seniors that there are no limitations on physical fitness.

“I want to go to the extreme to show people how much can be accomplished,” he said.

He stressed that he does not expect others to follow such an extreme course, but simply hoped to inspire others to begin or increase their fitness work.

“I was told as a young man that muscle gain becomes nearly impossible after age 40, and that it’s just a long, slow withering away after that,” Crandall continued. “That was the wisdom at the time. That always made me feel, especially when I was young, like I was a grape that at some point would shrivel up and disappear. We know now with new research that that isn’t true and that seniors can continue to build muscle into their 80s.”

No stranger to intense training, Crandall was nationally recognized in the 1970s as the martial arts “Tonfa Master.” After retiring from teaching and school administration, he dedicated himself to full-time, professional work as a martial artist. Crandall has taught and trained in 22 different countries, written 14 books and founded the American Eagle Style of martial arts. However, bodybuilding presented novel challenges.

“The training was a real learning experience,” he recalled. “So much has changed technically and culturally. I worked virtually with a coach in Rochester and had to familiarize myself with the new technology, but the plan was optimized for my age class and goals, and noticeably increased my muscle mass.”

“It’s definitely worth your time to use Internet resources. You may think you know how to use a particular piece of equipment properly, but there’s often a trick to it,” Crandall said. “It also took a great deal of training to learn the showmanship part. There are four mandatory symmetry poses and seven muscle poses, all of which have to be executed perfectly and in the right order. I had to be trained and then practice posing for nearly an hour a day for the last two months.”

The most unpleasant parts of the process were sticking with the diet and the pre-competition tanning, he said.

“It was hard to give up bread and sugar, and your brain gets a little foggy for a few weeks while your body adapts to not having carbs. I learned a lot about exercise and about food; it’s all much more precise than it was in the old days,” he said.

“I’m so glad I have such a supportive family,” he continued. “My wife and daughter were always there for me. It’s the kind of activity that calls for whole-family support. Your friends and family can’t eat McDonald’s and cookies in front of you all the time. It’s just very difficult to deny yourself so many of the small pleasures of life.”

“The tanning the day before is really uncomfortable; it’s extremely cold air in the spray brush to keep the pigment in place and keep it from running off with your body heat. The spray is necessary because, under the lights at the show, you completely wash out and it’s very difficult to see the muscle fibers. The last day and a half or so is very difficult; you can’t shower without running all the spray off, and you have to sit for nearly an hour in a polygraph test to prevent doping.”

Crandall said he had a fantastic time at the competition itself. He praised the sportsmanship and dedication of the athletes and coordinators. The audience was supportive and Crandall was particularly pleased that the announcer highlighted him as an example for all aspiring athletes.

Between the competition and the announcement of judging results, each competitor completed a 60-second musical posing routine. Crandall did a number of poses and movements inspired by Korean martial arts and the movie “The Matrix,” all to “Thunderbolt” by AC/DC. He said that the audience went wild and that it was one of the best parts of the competition for him.

“They said they had never seen someone integrate another form of sport into the competition like that,” he recalled. “It was incredibly fulfilling to bring something from my own area of expertise into another sport and have such a positive response.”

Crandall was a finalist in the open novice division and took first place in his own division. Immediately after the show, his wife took him out for his first slice of pizza and apple cider donuts in months.

“I set out to do this for the men and women in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s,” he concluded, “but I learned as I trained that my message was really for everyone. It’s never too early or too late to start training your body for good health.

“I want to encourage everyone to find something that keeps them strong and helps them live their lives to the full. The first step in having a great day is having your full health, and you can never take that for granted.”