DATE: Sunday, June 15, 1997                 TAG: 9706130197

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: CLOSE-UP 

SOURCE: Doris Townsley 

                                            LENGTH:   74 lines

NOAH BOYD: 70-YEAR-OLD CHURCHLAND BODY-BUILDER

Talk about strong men - 70-year-old Noah Boyd can leg-press 1,380 pounds.

Boyd, a great-grandfather and Churchland resident, started body-building when he was 45 years old, and has been at it ever since.

``I started at European Heath Spa,'' said Boyd, a Shriner who enjoys fishing, hunting and riding motorcycles. ``It was here in Churchland, and I would go about three or four days a week. I weighed about 155 pounds.''

Now at a muscular 218 pounds and with a 50-inch chest, Boyd, who has been retired for five years, follows a 2 1/2-hour body-building regimen, five to six days a week at East Coast Fitness in Churchland Plaza Shopping Center.

Until several weeks ago, when he pulled a tendon in his elbow, Boyd was abe to bench-press 315 pounds. Now, he's bench-pressing 265 pounds, injured elbow and all.

Is that strength or what?

Boyd's trainer at East Coast Fitness, James ``Jimbo'' Wynn III, thinks so. ``Noah is as strong as 90 percent of the 20- to 30-year-olds who come in here,'' Wynn said. ``He wears me out.''

Not only does Wynn believe that Boyd is one of the gym's strongest patrons, he believes he's in the top 1 or 2 percent in the United States in the bench- and leg-press.

In January, Boyd will enter his first body-building competition - the Masters Men contest in Charlottesville. And he'll be one of the oldest men in the competiion - the top age category is 60-plus.

Wynn believes that Boyd could enter competition right now and come out a winner, but first he wants to see him rebuild his bench-press weight back to 315 by January.

Paul Kube, owner of East Coast Fitness, views the outcome of this event optimistically.

``For Noah to enter at his weight,'' he said, ``there's no doubt he'll win.''

Name: Noah A. Boyd.

Nickname: Hammer.

Neighborhood: Edgefield.

Number of years in Portsmouth: 46.

Birthplace: Richlands, Va.

Birthdate: April 22, 1927.

Occupation: Retired from Norshipco.

Marital status: Married almost 50 years to Vella.

Children: Two children - Bobby, age 49; Deborah, 47. Two grandchildren - Brian, age 27; Alex, 23. One great-grandson: Cole, age 3.

First concert: I can't remember who played, but it was at the Grand Ole Opry.

What book title best describes your life? ``Gone with the Wind.''

If you won the lottery, what's the very first thing you'd buy? I'd give most of it away to people in need.

If you could trade places with anyone in the world for just one day, who would it be and why? A general in the Army, just to see what I could do.

Biggest accomplishment: Working at the shipyard, acquiring a house, and raising my children.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would like to have started working out earlier in life.

Perfect way to spend the day: Watching football on TV.

I can't resist: Watching national football on TV, especially the Washington Redskins.

Favorite Portsmouth restaurant: Wynn's Seafood.

Favorite Portsmouth hangout: East Coast Fitness.

Biggest problem facing Portsmouth: The roads not being kept up.

If you had three wishes for Portsmouth, what would they be?

1. More places of business.

2. Better living conditions.

3. More harmony among residents.

What do you like best about living in Portsmouth? Everything is close. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY C. KNAPP

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