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Stefan Chapovskiy

Natural Bodybuilder and Fitness Model

I became interested in sport at the age of eight, and I trained for track and field athletics at 10. I was very skinny teenager with thin bones and a fast metabolism and indifferent to the look of my body. The situation changed at the age of 13 when the first tapes of Hollywood action movies became available in my city. The first movies were about martial arts and they inspired me to learn Tae Kwando. Although this sport didn�t improve my physique, it strengthened my spirit, provided good stretching exercises, and gave me self-defense skills. Soon after seeing Rambo starring Sylvester Stallone in 1992 I began bodybuilding. Stallone became a cult figure for me for many years and his movie characters Rambo and Rocky were great sources of motivation.

When I was 15 years old, I was 170 cm tall and my weight was about 50 kg. While I may not have had the genetics for bodybuilding, a fire was burning in my soul, and just like in Rocky 3, I had "the eyes of a tiger". At first I trained regularly and intensely at home, inspired by the posters of Stallone on the walls of my room, but for the next two years, I went to a gym. By the age of 18, I weighed 70 kg and grew to 183 cm and my strength grew, too. But the progress became slower, then it stopped for three years.

My friends with whom I began training with began to use steroids for visual progress, but I was a staunch opponent of anabolic steroids. I worked with my head not just my muscles. I analyzed my training, found many mistakes and learned the right way for me, which provided my second birth in bodybuilding. For the following years I grew extremely fast and strengthened myself. There was a moment when my weight reached 107 kg and in some volumes I surpassed those using steroids. Then I turned my attention to the quality of my muscles and methods for killing fat. My impetus was a desire to take part in an amateur competition where good body proportions were necessary and I studied sporting dietetics to work out a special diet.. I also used such additions as protein, amino acids, vitamins and microelements. As a result, at the competition I demonstrated the best aesthetics of muscles and quality of relief.

My self-esteem had grown radically and next year I received an invitation from the US to take part in a competition for new fitness models in Hollywood. I worked hard for a year to prepare myself for it and used a low carbohydrate diet and two weeks without carbonhydrates at all. I still didn't use any prohibited substances, not even ephedrine. Before the competition I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and found the star of Sylvester Stallone. As a fan from Russia who went so far, it was a really magic place to be. At that moment I understood that I would have to win. Next day it happened. I won in the fitness model category, and dedicated this achievement to Stallone. Who knows what lies ahead, but I am sure that I won't stop at the current level. I don't know where I'll be in a year or two, but for the next 10 years I will continue with natural bodybuilding and encourage new people to take up this wonderful sport.

Training philosophy: It is necessary to set a high goal. Not an unrealizable one for a natural athlete such as a victory in the Mister Olympia competition, but rather mobilize all your inner resources and to go all out to get as close to your goal as possible. And one more trick for those who like role models of the �old school". In my CD player there are many soundtracks from old action movies starring Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Van Damme. I am training with these songs, and I identify myself with one or other character. My motivation is soaring heavenwards together with my results.

Recent news: At the 2009 California Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships on 27 June I won third place in bodybuilding and second place in fitness in contest. My image and show item "Rambo" drew interest from many spectators in Los Angeles and, later, New York.

Contact: stefanchapovskiy@yahoo.com