Amateur bodybuilder inspires youth

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), only 30% of the U.S. population meets basic standards for physical activity, and roughly 42%have obesity. Health is on the decline in America, and nearly every stat warns of this eventuality, especially compared to much of the rest of the world. However, one Bitterrootter is on a mission to help change that.

Landen Conner, a 22-year-old from Conner, entered the National Mr. Health and Fitness competition. He described his path as a “unique intersection of a couple different events.”

A “sixth-generation Conner from Conner,” he is also a commissioned Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He will be working as a physician after he completes his education delay while he is going to medical school.

In the National Mr. Health and Fitness competition, he placed first in his original group. In that first stage, he competed against 50 other competitors from all across the US. The first stage involved hundreds of groups and thousands of competitors. From that, the competitors were whittled down to just 960. After making it to the second stage, he was placed in a group of 15 for the quarterfinals.