The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
FIVE-TIMES in a row Mr Bulawayo winner, Lovemore Munyamana has withdrawn his participation from Arnold Classic Africa set for Johannesburg, South Africa from 5 to 7 May since he cannot afford the cost of dieting.
The 33-year-old was due to take part for the second time in the biggest multi-sports event on the African continent to be staged at Sandton Convention Centre. Munyamana, an electric technician struggled to secure sponsorship for his diet. He required $20 to $30 on a daily basis for his diet, something he cannot afford. Last year, Nathan Greenland, the owner of Body Works Gym in Bulawayo where Munyamana trains paid his Arnold Classic registration fee of $350 which lessened the burden on the bodybuilder.
“I have pulled out of Arnold Classic. I failed to find a sponsor for my diet. Last year I had a sponsor Lynnette Magigwana but this year I have no sponsor at all. I needed money for dieting, close to $500 for my preparations, it’s difficult to compete against the whole world when you are not settled. For me to properly diet, I need $20 a day for a dozen of boiled eggs, half or full chicken, fish worth $3, for supplements I need whey proteins — three scoops per day. I also need oats, brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes and fish in the form of bream or hake,’’ said Munyamana.
In 2016, he participated in the welterweight which is for those below 75 kilograms where he finished fifth out of 186 contestants. Looking at Munyamana’s plight, Sunday Life sought to get an idea of what sort of expenses other bodybuilders are facing in order to fulfill their dream of participating in the Arnold Classic. Most of the funding relates to food and supplements for these athletes. For another bodybuilder, Selina Manuel’s family last Saturday held a fundraising event in a bid to come up with the rest of the funds she requires to take part. Selina’s mother, Magdelene said the fundraiser held at Bulawayo Agricultural Society Hall situated at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair was not a success since they failed to meet their target. Manuel, who at 18, is the youngest to represent Zimbabwe at the Arnold Classic, is taking part in the beach bikini fitness for those aged from 16 to 23. Her supplements cost $75 a month.
“We still need to raise $900 more for Selina, the fundraising was a not a success, we have to make another plan. We want to leave 21 April to attend her brother Saleem’s graduation. We have to buy her a bikini, find her a gym to train when we get to South Africa until time of the competition. She is on a strict diet which costs $6 a day and started dieting two months ago. For breakfast she has five egg whites and 50 grams cooked oats in water and green beans, her morning snack is one rice cake with two hydroxycuts, for lunch she has a bowl of salad with butterfly chicken breast, she also eats cucumbers in apple cider vinegar. For dinner she takes grilled fish or chicken breast then green tea without sugar,’’ said the mother.
Mr Zimbabwe, Paul Goredema’s diet is eating $20 to $30 from his pocket daily with his budget standing at $1 500. The 27-year-old who started dieting at the beginning of March is heading to South Africa on Wednesday where he will be based as he gears up for the Arnold Classic.
“I am leaving for South Africa on Wednesday. I am spending $20 to $30 on diet only, I have to buy chicken breasts at $4 per kilo, I eat two kilos a day and fish fillets. I eat 12 boiled egg whites per day, broccoli and cauliflower, green beans, brown rice, sweet potatoes and oats. For snacks I have whey protein sometimes twice a day and casein protein before I go to bed,’’ Goredema said.
Last year’s Mr Ironman Zimbabwe runner up, Pardon Dube said his fine tuning for Arnold Classic was being slowed down by lack of proper supplements. That means he can only train once a day at Body Works Gym because pushing too much without supplementing his diet would damage his body.
“My training is coming out well, everything is working well. I am leaving on 2 May to compete in the men’s physique. It’s time to start dieting with food, no supplements, they are expensive. I eat oats in the morning, butternut, tea with honey, lunchtime I eat brown rice, boiled chicken with broccoli then I train. After training I eat sweet potatoes, apple, brown rice in the evening, boiled hake fish, fruit. I need $5 a day in terms of diet.
“I am supposed to have whey protein, BCAA, glutamine for recovery to maintain muscle mass. I need to have whey protein before I sleep. I am not having any of that, it’s obvious our competition is getting all that, even more sometimes. We can present what we have and gain experience. I only train once a day for one-and-half hours, I can’t train twice because I don’t have supplements, I will end up doing more harm than good,’’ said Dube. Shantel Greenland who started dieting from the second week of March said her preparations have been tough because she has had to adjust her training schedule. She could not quantify how much her diet costs on a daily basis but her supplements gobble up $70 a month. The 30-year-old wife of Body Works Gym owner, Nathan, is taking part in the bikini fitness.
“My preparations are hard, we have changed our training schedule to start cutting costs, we have also adjusted our diet. I have oats in the morning, three egg whites anytime of the day, black coffee with honey, I train for two hours, after training I take whey protein and vitamin then toast with no butter, tinned fish. Lunchtime I eat chicken breasts, pasta, supper is brown rice, broccoli, random vegetables no oil, chicken breasts or lean beef and lettuce salad, black coffee with honey.
It’s expensive because everything is not your normal meal. Supplements are costly, $70 for one month’s supply, with the competition getting closer we adjust supplements. It’s a challenge, we are going up against a lot more contestants from other countries, it will be an eye opener for me, hopefully something will come out of it,’’ she said. National Federation of Zimbabwe Body Building and Fitness spokesperson, Quiet Shangai said four athletes have dropped out which leaves the country with 25 confirmed as heading to South Africa. It means that with Munyamana also dropping out, 24 Zimbabweans are participating in the Arnold Classic.
“We have 25 athletes who confirmed going, we know we will have one or two causalities because of the economic situation, on top of the $250 registration fee, there is 30 Euro for the IFBB International card. If an athlete can raise at least $150 that should be enough for transport and decent accommodation,’’ Shangai said.
Arnold Classic Africa, in its second edition this year is the biggest sporting event on the continent with tens of thousands of participants across a wide range of sporting disciplines over three days. It is the brainchild of Hollywood star and bodybuilding legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
