Bodybuilder prepares for ultimate test

The sport of competitive bodybuilding is a game of not only adapting your training and diet to manipulate your physical appearance, but it is also mentally challenging which only a few can master.

Tanya du Preez (42) has, however, mastered both and last year she qualified to take part in The Arnold Sport and Fitness Expo. This is the first time this expo will be held in South Africa and will be attended by legendary bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not anyone can enter this prestigious competition. You have to qualify.

Du Preez told the newspaper that she has been training in the gym for the past seven years.

“A couple of years ago it was not as serious. I worked as a personal trainer in a gym. One day I paged through a fitness magazine and saw this picture of a mother of two children standing on a bodybuilding stage and I thought to myself, why can’t I do that?”

She then joined Kine Girls and trained with them for a year before she met up with her current coach, Wayne Price. Price is also the national executive president for the International Federation of Bodybuilders South Africa (IFBB).

“I have been competing professionally for three years now. It started with me competing in the Ms SA Extreme and have for the past three years obtained my provincial colours.

“Last year I came third in the SA championships and that is how I qualified for the Arnolds.”

She has also appeared in the magazine, Muscle Evolution. “You can’t do too many competitions because of the constant dieting. For about six weeks before a competition you are on a diet of basically hake and broccoli, six small meals a day which is steamed without any spices. In that time your body fat drops to about six to eight per cent.”

This, however, takes a huge amount of dedication. “You have to be mentally strong especially for this upcoming competition. I have a huge passion for the sport and I have a very strong support system in the form of my husband, Naas and my children.”

Du Preez gyms three times a day: once in the morning, then in the afternoon and in the evening.

She says people think that bodybuilders use stimulants to achieve their desired bodies. “It is absolutely not the case. It is such a natural process you have to go through.

“You are constantly monitored by doctors and your coach. You also get tested at competitions and if you use any illegal substances, you will be disqualified.”

In previous years she only participated in body fitness. This year she will, however, be entering the physique category. Athletes get judged on their entire body. This includes their definition, how hard the athlete worked their diet and how lean they are. “You have to have no cellulite, nothing must wobble and you have to be extremely smooth all over, but I love it. I enjoy every moment of it.”

But bodybuilding is also an extremely expensive sport.

Du Preez has to rely on some form of sponsorship to participate at this event. In order to help her achieve the goal, contact her on 073-871-9032.