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MISUMZI WAKASHE
HE EASTERN CAPE IS KNOWN FOR MAJESTIC COUNTRY SIDE, UNMATCHED BEACHES AND GAME RESERVES WITH WILD BEASTS. To be specific the province is associated with the Big 7: lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, buffalo, whale and great white shark. Those are some scary beasts, to be sure. But what if we told you there is another side to this safari paradise and sprawling province?
For those of you who don’ t know the province, it starts at the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, runs all down and around the east and south coast line, all the way past Jeffreys Bay, runs up into the semi arid areas of Cradock, and east through frontier country to Grahamstown, King Williams Town, Queenstown and of course the rolling hills and rich heritage of the former Transkei and Ciskei. In other words, it is a big province.
The two major cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. Whenever there is a debate about the future of rugby, or any other sport really, in this country one will often hear about the massive untapped reserves of the Eastern Cape. The hills and plains of this province have given us some of the best boxers the country has ever seen, track athletes, soccer players and rugby players.
Bodybuilding has also benefitted. The talented Louis Bessinger is an Eastern Cape man and plies his trade and sculpts his physique in East London. So, the question arose: in a day and age where Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg dominates the headlines, why not go on an expedition to uncover some Eastern Cape bodybuilding talent?
Meet some of the Eastern Cape’ s bodybuilding beasts. As with all tourist safaris we have to warn you in advance: enter with caution. And don’ t feed them – they are bodybuilders for goodness sake, they will eat you out of house and home! All jokes aside, here are five bodybuilders we found in the Eastern Cape who are looking to make waves in the sport nationally in the next few years.
• NAME: Misumzi Wakashe
• AGE: 34
• HOME TOWN: Amalinda, East London
• TRAINS AT: Bodyculture Health & Wellness Centre
• WEIGHT: In season 89kg / off season 102kg
• COMPETITIVE ACHIEVEMENTS: 2000 SA junior lightweight champ and 8th in the world 2001 WABBA SA junior champ and 3rd in the world 2007 IFBB SA Champs – 2nd in senior middleweight 2013 IFBB SA Champs – 2nd light heavyweight
• FAVOURITE BODY PART TO TRAIN: I enjoy training all body parts as I concentrate on a balanced physique.
• FAVOURITE MEAL: My favorite meal on diet is Weetbix and whey protein. In the off season my favourite meal is Vital muesli with fat free flavoured yoghurt and whey protein.
• SPONSORS: Supplements SA
• GOAL IN THE SPORT: The future plan is to one day win the overall title at the IFBB SA Champs and the World Champs so I can get a pro card.
LEARNING ABOUT MISUMZI
One of the first things people always ask bodybuilders is why they started, and there is always a reason and everyone ' s reason is different but unique and important to them. Misumzi started lifting weights because he used to play soccer with guys who were older and bigger than him, and he wanted to improve his size and strength. He had a friend who did karate who trained in a garage gym, and so one day he went along with the goal of building up his body. That is when the bug bit and it has never stopped since then.
TRAINING PHILOSOPHY
Misumzi believes in always training to failure. As we know, there are various schools of thought on this, and when one should go to failure or stop short on some exercises etc. However, when it comes to bodybuilding the people who get somewhere are the guys who figure out what works for them and use it to their advantage, and one cannot argue with a guy who is getting results. Misumzi believes in training until he fails all the time, whether he is doing heavier weights with low reps or whether he is pumping out high volume with high reps.“ I am always changing things up,” says Misumzi,“ to me, it is not about the weight you can lift, what is more imporant to me is the intensity. It is all about the intensity.”
TRAINING SPLIT
( In-season split)
• Monday: legs
• Tuesday: chest and arms
• Wednesday: back and shoulders
• Thursday: legs
• Friday: chest and arms
• Saturday: back and shoulders
• Cardio: 20 minutes a day, three days a week, after training. There is so much information and so many opinions when it comes to how people should train, that often young guys don ' t know where to start. According to Misumzi, young guys, or beginners, need to learn as much as they can from as many sources as they can. This learning will never stop – one continually learns in this sport. This can only happen when one has a passion for the sport and building muscle.
“ TO ME, IT IS NOT ABOUT THE WEIGHT YOU CAN LIFT, WHAT IS MORE IMPORANT TO ME IS THE INTENSITY. IT IS ALL ABOUT THE INTENSITY.”
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