Natural Athlete Ruth Bush

My name is Ruth Bush and I am a 54 year old natural bodybuilder. Yes, you read that right; I am 54 and still successfully bodybuilding. I am from Stroudsburg, Pa. and I am a preschool teacher of many years at The Pocono YMCA where I am known as Miss Ruth. I just signed up to your forum and read some of the Athlete Profiles. I would love the chance to be part of this section and hopefully be an inspiration to women who would like to enter bodybuilding especially women 40+(or in my case,40+++). I will start by answering the profile questions.

   1.I have been in a weight room since the late 70’s when women with weights were truly the minority. Rachel McLlish was a huge inspiration to me. After watching her in Pumping Iron; The Women, I knew that’s how I wanted to look and live my life! I admire her physique-strong but still very feminine. I competed in a few shows and even though I did well, I never really understood what a comp. diet was. I was always very dedicated to training until a couple of years ago when my mother died and then 6mo. later my brother died. Emotionally it took its toll on me and I slipped into what I called, a silent depression. Then one day, call it divine intervention or just a wakeup call, but I decided to attend Jen Hendershott’s Phat Camp in Atl.! I caught her contagious motivation and competed that spring 2007 in The USBF York comp. I won the novice, masters and overall which qualified me to compete as a Natural Pro! This year I took 3^rd in my first Pro comp.!

  2. Presently I am trying an Anabolic Diet which seems to be working well with my body. I am very eager to try something new because I have complete faith in my nutritionist and trainer. I am the type of person who needs a specific diet plan or I will eat and eat. Funny how I can resist temptation as long as I have a plan. When preparing for a comp. I usually start contest prep 17 weeks out. It’s a love/hate relationship from there on. I always say though, I’d go through all the craziness for that 10-15 min. on that stage! It is still so amazing to me how a natural athlete can transform their body!

 3.As far as a philosophy, I guess mine is that of “old school”. Go in to train as if preparing for battle. Go in with a plan, attack it and go home .Working out can be fun, but Bodybuilding is a 24/7 job!

 4.In general, my role models are those who constantly reinvent themselves. Those who are strong enough to rise above adversity and those who have passion for whatever they do. My specific role model would be Rachel McLish; such a great example of the original natural bodybuilder!

5.I guess my advice would be ..Don’t accept defeat but let it humble you enough to learn what you need to do to win next time. Most of all Stay Hungry! Next, Train hard .Train smart and do it as a Natural Athlete! If you take care of your body, you will be pleasantly surprised at my age!

   I am looking for sponsors to help me continue my journey of bodybuilding. If anyone has been inspired by my profile and would like to assist me please contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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