MONCTON – René Leger muscles are pumped and ready for this coming weekend. He’s one of New Brunswick’s amateur bodybuilders heading to Canadian National Bodybuilding championships in Hallifax.
“To be able to compete against the best in Canada, I mean, that’s pretty amazing in itself. I know I am ready. I have done my homework.” he told Global News.
He has done about three-years worth of hard core training to be ready to compete on the national stage.
But, Leger is not new to the body building stage. The 35-year-old has been pumping iron since he was a teenager.
“I entered my first competition when I was 17 and it went really well. I took first place in my class, and after that I pretty much got addicted to the sport.”
Leger said bodybuilding has become his way of life.
Getting his body sculpted to compete didn’t happen overnight. It took years of discipline, dedication and sheer will power.
“I eat mostly chicken, white fish and I put a little steak in there for red meat and for my carbs I eat mostly white rice,” he explained.
Vegetables and fruits are off his menu because any kind of sugar, even natural sugars, are a no no.
Leger said a strict diet accounts for about 85 percent of his physique and working out only 15 percent.
“Everybody thinks we spend about all day in the gym — like 5 or 6 hours in the gym. But, for me, it’s a couple of hours per day, about four times per week.” he said.
Yvon Cormier owns the gym where Leger trains, in Shediac. He said Leger is focused and ready to compete.
So, when people question whether or not bodybuilding is actually a legitimate sport, Leger takes it personally.
“To me it is one of the toughest sports out there because you bring your body to the limit.”
Leger won’t say whether or not he’s ever used steroids to help him bulk up his muscles.
“Steroids it is in every sport. You’ve got some guys that use them you got some guys that don’t. It’s hard to prove who does and who doesn’t,” he said
The New Brunswick Physique and Figure Association says The Canadian National Championships don’t actually do drug testing partially because the testing is too expensive to complete.
But, Leger does admit that they are present in the sport.
As for the dark tan, he said it’s a must if you want to look cut up on stage.
“It’s because of the big spot lights. the spot lights will make you look white. So, if you go there with no tan at all you are going to look like a ghost on stage,” he said.
The Canadian National Bodybuilding Championships take place this Saturday in Halifax at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium at Dalhousie University.
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