Mount Prospect senior credits God and good genes for brawn

Back in the old days in Finland, Adolph Gustafson Boxstrom was known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger of his time.

"My grandfather, Adolph, was a super, super strong man," said Art Virta of Mount Prospect, Boxstrom's grandson. "Instead of lifting weights, he lifted logs. He took the biggest log and lifted it easily. My dad described him as having the strength of five men. I have the same genes as my grandfather; it's all from this blood line in Finland."

Whether through the gene pool or hard work, Virta is getting his strength from somewhere. At 85, the feisty senior is still bench-pressing 250-plus pounds. He wins weightlifting competitions, besting competitors half his age.

"Art set a new Masters National bench press record at the Great Lakes Regional Championship Open, sponsored by the Natural Athletes Strength Association at the YMCA in Niles on Nov. 17 last year," said Ken Hedrich, owner of Body Evolution in St. Charles, and the person who convinced Virta to enter the competition. "He also won the Best Lifter award, which is based on a formula that involves all people bench-pressing."

Originally from Illinois, Virta has lived in Mount Prospect for the past 55 years. His father, Ivar, who came from a family of 10 children, and mother, Lydia, who came from a family of 20 children, came to America from Finland in the early 1900s.

"My mother's first job as a young child was scrubbing the backs of others in a sauna," Virta said. "Her second job was shearing a sheep, and by the age of 5 she was spinning yarn into clothes.

"My father made monuments, but he used his brain instead of muscle to lift it."

Virta's list of accomplishments is long:

"I win competitions like the 1997 World Bench Championships. I also got a Certificate of Achievement from Sun Light Power for setting a record in the Masters Men 80- to 84-age division."

Virta's wife, Lois, who has since died, was at one time president of the Mount Prospect Garden Club. The father of four children -- two of whom are still living -- also had a career as a mechanical engineer prior to owning his own company, A.W. Virta and Associates in Wheeling. He also worked on top-secret government projects at the Triangle Package Machinery Company, he added.

Virta explained he first became involved in weightlifting when he was young. After he damaged his eardrum swimming, his coach advised him to take up a different sport.

"At first, I just played around with it. I lifted my brother over my head and I would walk on my hands up the stairs," Virta said.

When he married, Virta took some time off from weightlifting. Then, in his 70s, he joined the Strong Athletes Against Steroids group. He set three records during his time with that team.

"I got a lot of attention because I don't use certain equipment or wraps," Virta said. "I'm from the old days when we used dumbbells, kettle bells and iron slabs with weight on it."

At the age of 80, Virta's practice sessions had him bench-pressing 300 pounds. He entered a contest against lifters from Germany, England, Canada and other countries.

"I set a World Bench Congress 248-pound record," Virta said. "I was going to go for 300, but it was the week after my wife died, and I almost didn't make it there. I had a strange feeling when I did the lift because it seemed weightless. I thought it was my wife. I told her, 'Lois, you are an angel. I think you're here helping me, but let me do it myself.'"

His twin brother Norman Virta, also in excellent shape, isn't surprised by Art's accomplishments.

"I'm not surprised at all the challenges he's won," Norman said. "He pours his heart into whatever he does. People see me and tell me I'm the strongest 85-year-old they have ever seen. I tell them, then you've never seen my brother. He's twice as strong!"

Norman commands a lot of attention whether in competition or just working out at the gym for two hours, four times per week. Each session involves bench pressing 250 pounds and lifting 85-pound dumbbells. When people ask him his secret, he explains that he prays a lot, eats a lot of oatmeal and takes vitamins.

"I think Art should be the rule, rather than the exception, because he's in good health due to competitive lifting," said Hedrich, who holds the 2005 title of the Fittest Man in Chicagoland. "Art is an inspiration to me. He's a living example of maintaining strength and health. He's also strong and fit mentally because of his attitude. I hope to break his record when I'm 85."

"I always pray for strength and thank the Lord for it," Art said. "It is the Lord who gave this talent to me. I will give testimony that that's where I get it. God can take it away as fast as he gave it to me."