2 Weeks to go!

After an unbelievable experience of winning the Hercules Olympia overall and qualifying for the Wabba World Championships in Athens after a 22 year break I was utterly overwhelmed by the response from well wishers and sponsors but I was completely shattered too, so I took 2 days off! The first break since I started my competition prep on January 2nd.

After all the adoration from friends and fans, reality finally hit home, The Nabba Mr Wales was looming, this time I would be under pressure to deliver especially since I had sold approx 50 tickets to friends and close family, there's no way I will disappoint.

My training intensity has increased markedly and I didn't think I could train any harder but I am! As a result my physique has changed again, looking fuller and more vascular than ever, I just hope I can show case the improvements I've made on the 10th May. 

Apart from friends, family and fans supporting me there will also be the guys that want to see me fail, I'm sorry guys but I will disappoint you! I'm in it to win and nothing else will do. My sights are set on qualifying for the Nabba Britain and do well there too. A couple of Nabba judges that saw me compete at the Hercules both said I have a great chance of winning the Britain, that was sweet news to my ears indeed. But I still have the small (well it's not small really) matter of doing the business at the Mr Wales.

My posing is becoming more and more polished, I practice every night, presenting ones physique at its best some times overcomes the bigger more muscular guys because you end up making them look clumsy and out of breath, so presentation is a key factor in my strategy, that's why it's important to practice, even when you're exhausted from all the training and dieting.

Another plus for me is that I know what my body responds to with food, I never have a so called cheat meal, I think that's nonsense and lacks discipline, instead if I'm feeling a little flat I just increase my rice or potatoes, simples. All I see on face book are pics of cheat meals consisting of cakes, biscuits, ice cream and other nutritionally deficient foods, that to me is a weakness, that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it, no matter what the so called Gurus Think!

In closing I would like to thank everyone who has supported me from the beginning and the new friends I've made since the Hercules, you guys are part of the fuel that drives me to train harder, without your support It would be a lonely road and much tougher. I want to win for me, my wife, my family, my sponsors and of course you my friends.

See you at the Mr Wales on the 10th May, please come and say hi and please shout for me when I'm on stage, you wouldn't believe the lift it gives me.

TRAIN WITH PURPOSE! Renzo

So here I am just a couple of days away from competing at Scott Hercs show, the first in 22 years.

January 2013 I began training hard with the goal of getting lean and muscular for the summer, the nearest competition last year was the Nabba Mr Wales in May, so my training partner Sean and I thought we'd take  look.
I never frequented many shows during my lay off because I got bored of body-builders doing compulsory poses to their music, which obviously we had all see during the compulsory round, and here they were repeating those very same poses to music, yawnnnn, so just got bored of it all.

The artistry and skill to display your physique in a statuesque way to original music, had over the years, developed into an unimportant part of competition! But I was curious about the over 50's class.
Seeing those guys in their 50's really impressed me and deep down inside a fire had been lit! I kept thinking that if I put my mind to it, I could beat those guys and make a good account of myself, so I began to 'Train With Purpose'. The goal - to win the Nabba Over 50's class in May 2014.
I planned on getting as heavy as possible without losing too much condition just so that I could meander into the show over a steady pace.
I attained my heaviest ever weight of 15st 7lbs by December, not big for a lot of guys, I know, but I could still see my abs! My diet would be a long one, I began dieting and Cardio, with earnest, from the 2nd of January. Early February the realisation of not competing for 22 years began to scare me. What if I trip? What if all the fat doesn't come off? What if I didn't have the confidence I once had to stand on stage again?
That's when the idea of doing a warm up show came to mind and I found on Face Book, Scott Hercs Olympia in Colchester on the 5th of April. Perfect to iron out any creases I had developed over the years of not competing and then I would have 5 weeks to correct my mistakes for Nabba Wales.
My training and nutrition took on a new fervent of winning - there is no other option. What I didn't realise was the speed at which this training and diet would condition my body beyond that of my last win 22 years ago. I kept repeating "warm up show" until Sean my training partner said there's no point in entering unless you enter to win - that stuck in my head and I went for it.

Present day, I can honestly say I could not have done more than I have today, I'm skin and muscle, no fat to be seen any where! My barber, whilst cutting my hair, said that I had a muscular body with a skull attached as the head! It was funny at the time and that comment reaffirmed the sacrifices Julie my wife and I had given - Julie was keen for me to enter and she's stuck through some tough times, thank you Julie, its always unconditional with you, you're my Rock.
I am in great shape, my posing routine is class and my music is originally mixed by my son Niko - with strict instructions that I didn't reveal it to anyone except my wife. I know the last sentence sounds cocky, but if I can make a good account of myself in one of the biggest shows in Britain, with athletes coming from Italy, Spain and most of the European countries and even as far afield as Dubai, then I would have a great chance of winning the Welsh title again.
The show on Saturday is a qualifier to the world championships held in Athens in June and I would love to be part of the British Team.

Thank you to all of my friends that have followed my blogs over time and the informative comments you have made on each one, you have all been a big inspiration to me.

I'll post to face book on Sunday, just to let everyone know my placing and remember you can only be at your best if you TRAIN WITH PURPOSE!

10 Weeks and Counting

I never thought I would say this but I'm almost on contest condition, at 10 weeks out from the Mr Wales, so what started out as a warm up show in 5 weeks (Scott Hercs Olympia in Colchester) has now become an event I'm out to win! Saying that though Scott's show does attract body builders from around the globe but what a great test for me, if I can do well against those guys then the Welsh Show should give me the confidence of a win.

It's been an odd experience this time round, everything is so different from 22 years ago when I last competed, everything except hard graft, discipline and self belief but boy has this 54 year old body felt felt some pain, unlike any other pain I can remember. The upside of that is that I'm in probably the best shape I have ever been in and here lies the dilemma.

Of course I'm quite level headed and take compliments for what they are and I appreciate them all but people are seeing me without comparing me (cause they haven't seen them) to other competitors and are now saying I should enter the tougher classes like class 3, by the way the more experienced competitors, current and former champions are decided in order of height with class 4 being the shortest to class 1 being the tallest and then the winner of each class competes for the overall. Over 50's are not included in the over all,  it's just one of the rules of Nabba.

My original plan and it still is to qualify for the over 50's British, which I believe I would have a good chance in.

It would be great to hear your thoughts on this though, the pic I posted a couple of weeks ago which had a fantastic response (thank you) doesn't not resemble the physique I now have, it's improved considerably from that and will continue to do so right up to competition day.

I love blogging and love hearing from friends and haters too, all your comments good or bad give me the energy to train harder, diet harder and be the best I can be. TRAIN WITH PURPOSE!

Renzo

101 days to go

10th of May is 101 days away, that's how long I have before stepping on stage for the Nabba Mr Wales! Now I'm not one to leave things to chance, I have my music, my routine is almost finished, my trunks have been made (3 different pairs), My cardio began on the 2nd January and my training is going better than it ever has, but I haven't stopped there. I'm actually going to enter a competition in England called The Hercules Olympia in Colchester 5 weeks before the Wales, why would I do this? Well first off it's 22years since I last stepped on stage so leaving nothing to chance I need to test the package I have put together.

My training partner will be in the audience, we'll check the tan, the way I stand, the way I pose, my posture and so on. From this we'll be able to iron out out any glitches, of course I'll still be 5 weeks away from tip top condition so it will also give me a measure of how tough the last 5 weeks are going to be and what diet adjustments I need to make.

Don't get me wrong although I won't be in 100% condition I'm still going to give it my all on stage, apparently many athletes from all over Europe will be there so its going to be tough and the organisers have almost hit there quota for entrants, it's that popular.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether you think I'm making a mistake entering on April 5th, of course I currently have tunnel vision and total focus so I might have missed something, so please share, I really do appreciate all your comments and feed back, thank you and TRAIN WITH PURPOSE!