Getting into, and maintaining, peak physical condition is basically a full time job in and of itself.
One must spend many hours working extraordinarily hard in the gym, concentrate on eating perfectly and at regularly timed intervals and basically manage every aspect of their lives with rigid, militaristic precision.
The results, though, speak for themselves, and it those same results that bodybuilders strive for; rippling muscles, popping veins and - of course - the all important year-round tan.
Italian father-of-two Roberto Casarotto has been weightlifting for two years now, inspired by his son Stefan to try it out. After growing unhappy his physique, Roberto challenged himself to undertake a year of gruelling training and now weighs a lean 12 stone 8lbs with a collosal 41 inch bicep size.
Describing his son's influence, Roberto says;
"My son inspired me to sculpt my body; he decided to compete, and I joined him. We have started to train very hard together, and we helped each other progress.
"Everyone asks us if we are brothers. When we say no we are father and son they are very surprised.
"I started seriously bodybuilding in September 2016. My goal was to compete in May 2017."
He achieved that goal, as he recalls;
"In May 2017, I came sixth place at the Ifbb Nord Italia Men's Physique Over 40 category and in November, I came second place at the IfbbNottedelleStelle Men's Physique Master 40 category.
"My son inspired me to sculpt my body; he decided to compete and I joined him. We have started to train very hard together and we helped each other progress."
Talking of that progress, Roberto describes their training regimen thus;
"Training in two is important; it allows you to push yourself to the limit. I was not happy with my body. I have always seen other people with the perfect physique and I decided that this was what I wanted.
"I am very satisfied now, but as you know, to have a goal is the first power for training hard and getting a better physique.
"I train four times a week for two hours. When I'm closer to the competition date I up my training to five or six times a week.
"Food plays an important role; my diet is different during the year. In any case, I have to keep my consumption of macronutrient carbohydrates under control, with the addition of protein and fats.
"For a bodybuilder, diet rise, and chicken are the main base and you have to add all of the correct supplements."
Gratifyingly, Roberto's improved physical fitness and diet has also made him feel better psychologically;
"When you start to see the change, you appreciate what you see in the mirror and this makes you feel good," he said.
"Your physique changes radically; you can see change every month according to different training and diet routines.
"Having a good physique makes you feel better psychologically, which makes you have more energy and power."
Kudos to Roberto and his son for having the dedication and determination to make their dreams a reality.
