According to Herald & Review - Jun 21
www.herald-review.com/By BOB FALLSTROM - H&R Community News Editor
Body of work: At 66, Murrell Hall still holds to strict regimen and has trophies to prove it DECATUR - Bodybuilding takes perseverance and patience in everyday training and the courage to resist the temptation to overeat.
The results can be awesome.
Look at Murrell Hall's physique: bulging biceps, taut triceps, rock-hard stomach, deeply carved abs.
The Decatur muscle man is 66 years old. He's still training, still competing - without the aid of steroids.
He has resumed weightlifting after Jan. 31 shoulder surgery in Indianapolis.
"I've been lifting for 43 years; I've been competing for 26 years," Hall said. "I started young and kept at it."
A retired physical education teacher and coach at Warrensburg-Latham Middle School and a former paratrooper with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, he has a garage full of trophies and plaques accumulated in state, regional and national competitions.
Ironman magazine calls Hall "master of muscle." Indeed, he has a body that defies time and aging.
His weight is a steady 170. That's because of a longtime steady training routine. It goes like this:
n Monday: Chest, biceps, abs. Includes sit-ups while wearing a 41-pound vest.
n Tuesday: Back, hamstrings, calves. Includes the weighted vest.
n Wednesday: Cardio exercises, mostly on exercise bike, six weeks before competition
n Thursday: Triceps, calves, hamstrings.
n Friday: Quadriceps, abs. Includes squats while wearing a 51-pound vest.
n Saturday: Sometimes cardio exercises.
"This is a comeback workout," Hall said. "I do what I can. If it hurts, I stop."
It takes perseverance to maintain this schedule. Perhaps even more willpower is required to follow Hall's everyday diet.
In the morning, he has a protein drink with glutamine, creatine and flaxseed oil, plus a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries. He then goes to the Decatur Indoor Sports Center to serve as a trainer for three clients.
Upon returning home, he eats one egg scrambled with four egg whites. Training time follows at Club Fitness of Decatur, formerly Gold's Gym. After about an hour and a half, he has another energy drink.
Lunch is a hamburger patty with low-fat cottage cheese and strawberries. For a snack, he will have a protein drink or fruit.
Supper's menu is chicken, turkey, fish or lean red meat, corn or green beans, and, for dessert, yogurt with grapes, walnuts and bananas.
Later, a snack: a small bowl of cheerios
"I eat five or six times a day," Hall said. "It keeps the blood sugar on an even keel. I also drink a gallon of water a day; the more you drink, the less water in your system. I stay within 5 pounds of my competitive weight."
He began weightlifting in college and started competing on a bet, finishing fourth in a Chicago event. He has promoted bodybuilding events at the Decatur Civic Center for nearly a decade, starting in 1989.
John Hansen, writing in Ironman magazine, sums up Hall in the first sentence: "Murrell Hall is what bodybuilding is all about."
Nola Hall, Murrell Hall's wife since 1969, is certain: "He loves bodybuilding; he loves competing."
"Amazing, unbelievable, he still comes in and shows young guys how to do it and kicks butt. They can't keep up with him. He's a tremendous trainer," said Bob Lentini, general manager of Club Fitness of Decatur.
Isn't training a chore?
"No," answers Hall, "training for a competition gives me a good feeling, keeps me going."
........................
........................
........................
................
(photo courtesy of Herald & Review/Lyndsie Schlink)
Personal trainer and body builder Murrell Hall, 66, who has won various competitions including Masters Mr. Illinois in 1982 is featured in the March issue of Ironman magazine.
