Reporter Volume 25, No.24 April 14, 1994

By MARY BETH SPINA and ANN WHITCHER
As a youngster growing up in Cleveland, Michael Burke was so skinny
other kids taunted him in gym class by pretending to "play" his ribs
like a xylophone.
	It was so humiliating that he sent away for the body-building
secrets of muscle man Charles Atlas, whose ads appeared in comic
books.
	For a mere $3.98, Burke learned the rudiments of
body-building. And Atlas, like any wily entrepreneur, also peddled all
kinds of neat stuff would-be Atlases could purchase to speed them to
their goal, things like high-protein powders, barbells and other
supplies that promised that faithful followers never would be called
"skinny" again.
	On March 26, after a long hiatus from those Charles Atlas
days, Burke, adjunct assistant professor of organ and director of
student programs in the Music Department, was named "Mr. Buffalo" in
the over-50 class competition held at Maryvale High School and
sponsored by the Niagara Association of the Amateur Athletic Union and
Gold's Gym. At 57, he was the oldest person in the all-day event that
had several categories of competition. 
	The musician-turned-bodybuilder is enthusiastically
maintaining his regimen, entering additional body-building contests
and hopes to write a book spurring others to similar achievement.
	Since winning the contest, Burke bubbles with excitement and
pride. On Palm Sunday, his pastor at St. John Lutheran Church of
AmherstQwho had witnessed Burke's win the night beforeQannounced the
news from the pulpit. Burke, up in the choir loft in his longtime post
of organist and choir director, acknowledged the hearty applause.
	To win the competition, Burke was required to perform eight
mandatory poses, along with several supplemental positions that judges
can require at any point in the preliminary round, which counts for 90
percent of the final mark.
	"You never relax," says Burke. "You have to do all those poses
and you have to come out separately and you have to be ready to do
these supplemental poses. They might ask you to do a calf raise, which
is not easy. You're standing with your back to them; you have to step
up on your calves quietly and tense. Your whole body is tense. 
	"Between the mandatory poses, they say, 'Relax, gentlemen,'
but you never do. We were on stage 15 minutes at a stretch during the
preliminary judging, which is a long time to be constantly flexed. And
then they call you back on to do your minute-and-a-half posing routine
alone on stage without music. They want to see as much striation in
your muscles and the vascularity. It's very strenuous, it's like going
through a two-hour workout. You walk off stage and you're absolutely
breathless." 
	The night show contains routines done with music and has more
of an artistic quality, Burke explained. "Your presentation is all
part of what you do, how you present your poses and how you move from
pose to pose. It's almost like ballet. The judges want to see the
muscles at their best development. In order to do that, you have to
practice posing in front of a mirror and with people looking at you." 
	Burke, who also serves as organist and choir director at
Temple Beth Zion, credits his initial interest in getting fit to UB's
faculty/staff fitness program directed by Jack Baker, associate
professor of physical therapy and exercise science. But the real push
toward body building began after meeting Robert Gosch, Mr. America
1986 and Mr. USA 1989, now at the Buffalo Athletic Club on Transit Rd.
Gosch, 33, who plans to compete in the Mr. Universe" competition in
England in October, began one-on-one training with Burke, who was
impressed with his articulate command of nutrition and exercise
principles. Then came a moment of truth. 
	"I asked him if I could try for a physique competition, if it
was realistic for someone my age," Burke recalls. He said, TIf you're
serious, then I want to look at you.'" What followed was a
nerve-wracking few days as Burke anxiously prepared for the review. 
	"That morning I woke up with butterflies as if I were about to
give my first recital. You think someone's going to look at your body.
He exercised me for about an hour, brought me in a room where there
are mirrors, making me pose, punching my skin, testing to see what my
body was like. I was real embarrassed. I must have been beet red. But
he gave me the thumb's up. TYou're going in the competition and you're
going to win.'"
	Burke began training for the competition with daily workouts
of two and half hours plus cardiovascular work. Gosch, whom Burke
regards as one of the country's leading body building trainers, also
stressed the psychological dimension, with readings from Stephen R.
Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the
Character Ethic." Burke also kept a daily log, precisely listing what
he had eaten in terms of protein, fat grams and calories, and how he
felt before and after eating. "I was a very good student, I did all
that he asked me to do to the letter. 
	"My diet changed drastically," says Burke, who consumes a
maximum of 30 grams of fat daily and "tries for less." He also tries
"to eat clean foods," i.e., those not prepared with sauces, and avoids
canned food because of the salt content. He eats unlimited quantities
of fresh vegetables, plenty of grains, and restricts meat consumption
to chicken breast, fresh fish, turkey breast, pork tenderloin, and red
meat only twice a month. 
	Over the nine months of competition training, the 5'11" Burke
went from 219 to 175 lbs.; his waist was cinched to 32" from 38-1/2".
His daughters, Jennifer and Kathleen, both of Cleveland, saw their dad
about six months into the competition training. "They couldn't believe
it," he says. 
	Burke, who holds master's and bachelor's degrees from the
Cleveland Institute of Music, did have to cut down on concertizing,
but is planning a faculty recital of Brahms, Widor and two
contemporary composers, coincidentally set for March 26, 1995,
anniversary of the big win.
	"People have asked me, TWhy did you do it, whatever motivated
you?' Probably because I love challenges, I really do. This was a
challenge that I thought, TOh my God, will I ever be able to do this?'
I just wanted to do it. I had an incredible desire. Here I wait until
I'm 57 years old to do it at this level. 
	"What it has done for my performing, is quite amazing. I've
always felt prepared for a performance and fairly confident, but never
with the confidence the last time I played. People say you'll get
muscle-bound and it will affect your (keyboard) technique. If
anything, it makes it better because you are much more disciplined."
	Burke says he would like to write a book about his experiences
and then "to work with older people, who are afraid to get into this.
"I'd like to show them there are ways, that it's not impossible for
anyone, unless the doctor says no exercise. If a person is generally
healthy, this kind of exercise can't do anything but improve their
life.
	"I've never felt so good, I feel like I'm 25 years old."