Upcoming 23-year-old bodybuilder Mohammad Yousuf earned the fifth position in the recent South Asian Championship’s 65kg category. “I know it is not much but before this I had only earned gold in the 2010 and 2011 Sindh Games. I’m only just starting out. Later, I want to go for the Mr Asia and Olympics titles,” he says.

Yousuf started training just two months ahead of the competition. During this time he was up every morning for his workout. “After half an hour of jump squats, lunges, pushups and jumping jacks and some light stretching, I would be ready for my first and most important meal of the day,” he says before going on to talk about what’s on the menu.

“Breakfast comprises six eggs, one boiled chicken, one plate of boiled rice and a mug of black coffee. The coffee, mind you, is without milk or sugar and the eggs with the yolks removed, of course,” he points out.

Yousuf hails from Sukkur where he used to work as a labourer. “I used to weave industrial rope. As a child I loved watching Schwarzenegger movies and wanted to look just like him one day so at the age of 13, I joined a small gym in my area which charged me Rs50 per month. But the gym wasn’t really a professional bodybuilders’ club so I decided to approach the one which was bigger and had more facilities to offer. Still it was some two kilometres from my place and I had to walk the distance. But seeing my dedication, the gym owner, Akram Soomro, refused to charge me any fee. Now I’ve moved to Karachi where I work as a fitness instructor at a gym in Defense Housing Authority,” he says. “I’ve led a tough life so tough training in preparation for a competition was no problem for me,” he says.

“I love milk products, especially ice cream, but that was a strict ‘NO’ during training. The food was all mostly boiled so no joy there as well,” he admits. “But nothing beats the joy of success. I know I didn’t win but I got noticed by the judges at the competition,” he says.

Breakfast would be followed by a little rest and then 45 minutes of walking. “By noon I’d be hungry again so I would go for a big salad which was more for filling the stomach than adding calories. The salad mostly comprised leafy vegetables such as cabbage with tomatoes and cucumber,” he tells us.

“Then after napping a little I used to have orange juice, boiled potatoes and boiled beans at around 4pm,” he says.

More rest followed before the 7pm workouts. More food including six egg whites and more boiled potatoes came before another little rest and the evening would be rounded off with a couple of chicken tikkas. “I only worked on one part of my body in a day so it would either be the biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest, back or thighs,” he explains.

“And there, too, we don’t advice to do the exercises on your own. You should always have a coach or instructor present by your side while also checking your own posture in the mirrors,” says Yousuf’s friend Bahadur Ali Tipu. “Otherwise one bicep or tricep will grow a bigger muscle than the other or one side of your chest will be bigger than the other,” he points out with a laugh. “It has happened!”

“Also bodybuilding isn’t for everyone. “Your instructor must first check whether your physique can even take it. And even then there are certain rules that must be followed like wearing the power lifting belt when lifting heavy weights or you get a hernia. Also you can slip a disc in your back if you don’t take care,” he adds.

“The texture of your skin also matters in bodybuilding. For instance I have thicker skin than Yousuf so I have to exercise more in order for my muscles to show whereas Yousuf has thin skin so his muscles get noticed almost immediately and therefore need less exercise,” Tipu says. — S. Hasan