Brains and Brawn; Rod Bannister 09

Sometimes you just got to speak your mind or in Rod's case write. Rod Bannister didn't have any serious writing experience, didn't know how he was going to get his book published but he knew inside him that he needed to get the words out about his experiences of his 40 years.

He pursued his passion and Voila " Fitness from the inside out - Forty life lessons from over forty years of living" was born and published.

Rod's from Wanganui and has represented NZ in Squash at u19 and u23 level, worked in senior management roles with various corporate workplaces and currently with Ricoh. He's also competed in bodybuilding shows the past couple of years so he has plenty of experience from life, work and fitness to share and motivate others with.

William ' the conquerer ' Uelese

In this update we catch up with William Uelese, a hunky kiwi, who's been living in London for the past 5 years. Some of you may know William from his competition days back in NZ when he competed in 2002-2003. William's still training hard and has competed in numerous shows in England, mainly the British Natural Bodybuliding Federation and has made his presence felt.

Here we ask William about life as a bodybuilder in the UK and find out about food, his network and the general bodybuliding scene in London.

1. Height: 1.80m

2. Contest weight: Between 102-104 kgs, ideally I need to be around 95-97 kgs come finals day.

3. Off season (normal) weight - ranges between 110-115 kgs, I try to avoid getting any heavier than this as it means having to diet longer for a show

4. Years you've been weight training: Seriously for the last 7 years, before that I dabbled a bit as part of my rugby training

5. . How many shows have you competed in - incl in NZ? How many in UK.

I competed about 5 times back in NZ with the NZFBB between 2002 - 2003. My first show was the 2002 Wellington Champs in which I won the novice over 90kg class and then just lost out on the Overall in my first show. My next show I decided to move up to the open over 90kg class at the CNI's which I won as well. From there I placed 2^nd in the Heavyweight class at the 2002 NZFBB finals and was lucky enough to make the Australasian team for the following year. I went on to place 3^rd at the Australasian's in 2003.

Since moving to the UK I have competed in 9 shows including 2 finals in 2008. I placed 2^nd in the Heavyweight class at the BNBF (British Natural Bodybuilding Federation) finals, and placed in the top 6 in the heavyweight class at the NPA finals. This year (2009) I won the Heavyweight class at the BNBF Welsh and Central regional qualifiers.

Dave Weeks

Would you buy a car from this man? well ofcourse you would wouldn't you ladies? Hunky Dave is 34 years old and runs a car yard in Grey Lynn Auckland with his one of his brothers. All up he has 4 older brothers who happen to be quite an athletic lot. 3 of them have run marathons and 2 of them are tri-athletes who have completed Taupo Ironman (that race is nuts! says Dave). Kerry did ironman this year in 10 hours 3 min, and is doing Ironman Australia in December in the hope of going under 10 hours.

Needless to say fitness is in Dave's genes and it shows in his athletic physique, which he will be showing at the NABBA Wellington Champs on 10 October. Dave is about 170 cm tall, 75 kg normally (around 5% bodyfat) and just under 70kg when competing (2%).

Marvellous Mose!

January 07

Mose Petaia would probably admit he was more chunky than hunky 2 years ago. But after years of overeating and the thought of dying young like his Dad, Mose's turned his life around.

He began his journey at the start of 07 and lost 42kg to compete in his first Club Physical Bodybuilding Champs in Aug 08.

So lets find out how Mose shaped himself into our hunk!

August 09

1. What sorts of food were you eating before you did your first 12 week challenge?
I use to eat highly processed/ fatty food. One of my favourites would be corned beef with onions on a large bed of rice.

For breakfast I would have 4-6 full slices of white bread with heaps of butter, jam and peanut butter.

I basically ate heavy 4 times a day when I felt a little hungry but mainly when I was bored. Food became an escape, feeding the emotions rather than using food as a fuel source. I basically ate myself to obesity.

Tony and Johnson's Mandates

Everybody needs an extra push now and again. Even long time trainers like Tony Liga Liga and Johnson Reihana need it to get that extra edge in their bodybuilding goals.

So every Sunday for the past month, Tony and Johnson have been having mandates. No, not a latte in Ponsonby but hardout weight training sessions to push each other so they can get more from their training.

Click above pic to watch
the boys interview, training
and Tony strikes some poses for us.

Hunk of the Moment

Brains and Brawn; Rod Bannister 09

William ' the conquerer ' Uelese

Dave Weeks

Marvellous Mose!

Tony and Johnson's Mandates

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