Natural bodybuilding - clean to peak performance part 2

Continued (click here for part one)

Berend Breitenstein has the perfect physique: muscular and not an ounce of excess fat. Mens World by Eric:Barbier gives the Hamburg native an insight into his routines and reports on setbacks, sacrifice and late success.

“Like a hermit”

After graduating with top marks, the next defining turning point came: his girlfriend broke up with him, he was completely out of shape and had no job. “I started to question everything and had to get myself together.” So Berend sold his car so he could focus solely on training for four months. His parents thought he was mad, but he wanted to see what was possible during that time. Starting at 110 kilograms and with 4,000 marks from the sale of his Peugeot 206, he headed to the gym every morning at six o’clock.

The coming period consisted of training, eating and sleeping: “I lived like a hermit.” Berend documented his body’s transformation with photos, which he later sent to a sports magazine and which were published there. They opened the door to a lucrative sponsorship deal with a supplements company. Drawing on his experiences from this period of total dedication, Berend wrote a book – an idea that was to pay off. When presenting his debut work, “Bodybuilding. Successful. Natural. Healthy” – which is still available to buy online today – at the FIBO fitness trade fair in Cologne in 1996, he first heard about competitions in the USA that were completely free of doping – natural bodybuilding.

Finally on stage

Contact with the States was quickly established, and the first photos of his physique were sent by post across the pond. A few weeks later, a wildcard arrived in his Hamburg postbox: the ticket to the world of clean competitions. The promised land, where only hard work and no doping counts. In 1998, at the age of 34, he competed for the first time and immediately took fifth place in the Pro class at ‘Mr International’ in New York. This was followed by physique competitions on stages in Atlantic City, Barbados, Iowa, Miami and, most recently in 2014, in the over-50s category in Nitra, Slovakia, where he achieved his greatest success with a fourth-place finish. A fabulous career, considering that Berend Breitenstein never seemed destined for such sporting heights.

Alongside his active career, he also laid the foundations for clean bodybuilding in his home country and founded the German Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness Federation (GNBF) in 2003, which he chairs as president. Every year, the federation organises a national and international German championship and has its athletes tested in accordance with the criteria of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Yet, unfortunately, there are black sheep here too. “Of course, I’m disappointed when that happens. And I don’t understand it either. Why do they take doping if they come to us?”

Get up, coffee, sport

The question remains: is bodybuilding even conceivable without illegal substances? “There will always be people who try to snatch that last little bit of advantage for themselves,” says Berend. Not dismayed, but thoughtful and realistic. He is encouraged by the growth of the GNBF, particularly among young people: whilst there was no clean alternative for competitive bodybuilding when he first started out, it is precisely this that is becoming increasingly accepted today.

And Berend? When he pulls into the car park in his silver compact car at ten o’clock, he has already been up for six hours. He is currently working harder on his physique again, which means: up at the crack of dawn, a black coffee for breakfast, off to one of the three gyms he is a member of, or alternatively a run in the woods. Afterwards, he offers coaching support and works from home. Whilst most people are just getting started with their day, the athlete is already in full swing.

A sweet weakness

Linked to the increasing training workload is also the need for self-restraint. Berend skilfully ignores the macaron served with his coffee during the interview, just as he does the sugar bowl. Only when it comes to the cake made by his girlfriend’s mother does he let his guard down; once a week he treats himself to a small slice. After all, there’s more to life than just sport.

This becomes clear when looking at his plans for the future. Together with his girlfriend Simone, starting a family of their own is on the cards in the near future. “We’d love to have three children – as we say, ‘our finalists’,” explains Berend. His green eyes shine even brighter than before. Beneath the tough exterior lies a soft core and a family man; his mother also works for the association he founded. So: when is a man a man?

P.S.: You can find Berend Breitenstein’s training tips here.