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Grand master of natural universeDate: 17.12.2006
Posted by: Anabolic Info Team Canada
Grand master of natural universeGrand master of natural universe
Chuck Thomson wasn't the proverbial 98-pound weakling - but he was pretty close.
When he was 17 years old, the Edmontonian was a diminutive 128 pounds.
A far cry from the Herculean physiques he idolized in the pages of muscle magazines, Thomson sent away for a mail-order Charles Atlas calisthenics course while in Grade 12.
"I wanted to gain weight and play football," he recalls.
Thomson ended up getting stronger, but he was still a skinny kid liable to get sand kicked in his face.
So a short time later he ordered a Joe Weider bodybuilding course, which turned out to be a promising introduction to weight training.
"I gained an inch on my arms in the first month. I was counting the months until my arms would be 20 inches," he says with a laugh.
Thomson never ended up playing high school football, but he became a gymnast in university.
Along the way, he ate well and continued to weight train. It gradually had an effect.
By the end of his first year of university, Thomson had beefed up to 164 pounds.
Over the next few years, he packed on more muscle until one day, during a visit to Calgary, well-known gym owner BJ Annis suggested Thomson enter the 1977 Mr. Alberta contest.
Thomson did. And while he placed in the middle of the pack - 16th out of 25 competitors - he loved the experience.
Bodybuilding would become his passion and life-long hobby. But just a few years later, circa 1981, he reached a fork in the road, when a bodybuilding judge suggested he take steroids to continue making progress in the iron game.
Thomson weighed the pros and cons. Ultimately, the school teacher figured drug-free was the only way to go.
"You can't preach the health benefits of exercise when you're messing around with drugs," he explains.
It's a decision that has led to his longevity in the sport.
While working out at Panther Gym in Edmonton for the past 30 years, Thomson has competed in more than 50 bodybuilding shows.
Last month, he earned his biggest accolade - the Mr. Universe Grand Master (50-59 years old) title at the International Natural Bodybuilding Association's Natural Universe contest in California. He plans to compete in the Natural Olympia next fall in Greece.
Now 53, Thomson - who weighs a muscular 175 pounds (160-165 when he competes) at five-foot-eight - pumps iron three times a week, usually for an hour each session.
A teacher at Strathcona High School, where he's also a defensive line coach with the football squad, Thomson says his decision to avoid steroids has also kept him healthy all these years.
He's quick to point out that his father died at 61 and his paternal grandfather died at 50 - both of heart disease.
Thomson, who met his wife through bodybuilding, has no plans to slow down. For much of his bodybuilding career, he has used the same towel backstage. He says he always figured he'd retire when he could no longer use that towel.
"But now that it's threadbare, I'm just gonna get another towel," he says with a laugh.
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