Nicoll proves age is really no barrier

Looking at Rigaud resident Peter Nicoll, most men closing in on midlife will probably tell themselves they could only hope to look half as good when they reach his age.

If you’re a woman of any age, you might blink twice in amazement at how this amazingly toned and sculptured man has managed to maintain such a fantastic shape for a person whose body by all rights should be heading in the opposite direction.

Nicoll is 66 years old. Don’t tell that to him, though. Someone who openly admits he stays so busy he needs 40 hours in a day, the Pointe Clare raised Nicoll who worked as a mechanic for Air Canada for 32 years before retiring, has parlayed a lifetime of staying in top shape into a newfound occupation as a senior bodybuilder. Newfound is the right word. He only started entering bodybuilding competitions in the Super Grand Master level last spring, and success has come quickly. He won gold at a competition in Miami last April and at the Quebec provincials, held at the Outremont Theatre in October. “I have always done some kind of sport throughout my adult life,” said Nicoll. “Whether it was martial arts or working out with the weights in the gym, it was usually twice a week. When I was studying at John Rennie High School, many years ago, my dad gave me a pair of weights that were actually wheels off a train car. At 13, I started to lift them in my basement. By the time I was 16, people started to call me ‘Cruncher’. I had this humongous body. I couldn’t fight my way out of a paper bag, but I was strong. I managed to stay in good shape all my life.”

That’s a good thing, for one very important reason. The five-foot-nine Nicoll, who weighed 169 pounds for the past two years but dropped down to 149 pounds for his last competition – he has only four or five percent body fat on him – suffers from a rare heart condition where without warning his ticker could start racing to 180 beats a minute, which could result in a stroke. “Nobody knows what causes it,” it said. “I had it really bad a couple of weeks ago. My doctor said it might be caused by too much protein, or stress. I believe there’s a lot less chance I’ll suffer a stroke from this condition if I stay in good shape.”

Nicoll said he was drawn into the brazen world of all-natural bodybuilding through a friend at Air Canada, who is also a senior-level bodybuilder. “I always wanted to be a personal trainer,” said Nicoll, an admitted dog lover who waxes detailed cars and boats when he’s not in the gym. “I was always interested in what makes the body move. I used to watch Arnold Schwarzenegger when he competed, was motivated by people like Ben Weider, and felt I could possibly do well in the sport of bodybuilding. Finally, last April, I decided to take the step.”

He admitted to being extremely nervous and fearful at his first competition in Miami. Once it was over though, he was amazed at the camaraderie and good feeling at these events. “That being said, you can’t be shy in this sport,” he said. “You have to like the limelight. I actually used to be a singer with the Beckett Players for years here in the West Island. It also doesn’t hurt when pretty women look my way either.”