Be Like Bruce.

The web is awash in newspaper stories about guys and gals who are training to compete onstage. And while I’m all for good bodybuilding press, I’ll have to admit I don’t pay a lot of attention to the articles themselves. It’s great to hear that some wonder woman in Red Deer, Alberta, trains hard, or the nerd turned bodybuilder in Dalton, Georgia, is in a growing phase, but I’ve read (heck, I’ve lived) that story before. But every once in a while, a story catches my attention and impresses even a jaded guy like me.

This time, that story came from the Grand Bahama Bodybuilding and Fitness Show, where athlete Bruce Silvera stepped up onstage for his very first competition. What made Bruce’s story special was that while he looked surprisingly like a seasoned pro, he certainly wasn’t. In only 20 months, Bruce has lost over 100 pounds and put on some serious and striated muscle, all at the age of 51. That’s the kind of story that makes me proud to be a bodybuilder. Great job, Bruce!