28 fitness
Walking through life and muscularity as Mr Universe
Protein shakes: protein shakes to boost muscle growth?
The HEALTH | APRIL, 2018
28 fitness
Sazali Samad
Walking through life and muscularity as Mr Universe
W
HO would have thought a local Batu Pahat boy who put all his heart into becoming a sepak takraw player for the national team could end up making Malaysia proud by becoming one of the world’ s most successful bodybuilder.
Sazali Abd Samad made the nation proud when he won his tenth Mr Universe title at the World Bodybuilding and Fitness Physique( WBFP) Championship in Mumbai, India, four years ago.
It was his tenth title in six consecutive years.
Surprisingly, body building was never on his mind when he was young as he always loved sepak takraw since primary school.
However, everything changed back in the 80’ s which was the starting point of his 30 years of success.
Speaking to The HEALTH, Sazali shared the turning point of his life.
“ Personally, I was active in sepak takraw since primary school and it continued until I finished my secondary school.”
“ Back in 1986, I came across a picture of Malek Noor in a newspaper and I was stoke to see the size of his arm and body. I was so excited that I cut out the picture and pasted it on the wall.”
“ From that moment onwards, he became my inspiration. I straight away looked for metal rods and kept playing around with it as long as I could make my arm bigger. I even poured concrete mixture into the Milo tin in order to make it into a dumbbell since I could not afford getting one,” he said.
Sazali won his maiden Mr Universe title back in 2000 at the Asia Amateur Bodybuilding Championship before completing his milestone in Mumbai.
However his success was all down to discipline as well as having a very supportive wife cum manager, Hashrine Hashim, by his side.
“ I started off my daily routine with eight egg white plus four spoons of oatmeal and one spoon of protein in the morning before consuming a light meal around 11am.”
“ In the afternoon, I consumed protein and carbohydrates based foods such as chicken rice before continuing my gym exercise at 3pm.”
“ The amount of food differ based on
Making the nation proud … Sazali Abd Samad at the World Bodybuilding and Fitness Physique( WBFP) Championship in Mumbai, India. the situation I am in. If there is a competition coming up, I tend to eat up to eight times a day,” he explained.
Asked whether he ever felt worried of the food intakes, he said:“ With the experience for almost 30 years in bodybuilding, I have a full understanding of my body. Even when I am not competing, my body is always at its best.”
The former sub-inspector for Polis Diraja Malaysia( PDRM) currently is on the road travelling across Malaysia to share his input and life experience towards the general public.
“ I want to share my experience and all my struggles in order to help others achieve success as I did. No matter what we do, discipline plays an important role.”
“ Sacrifice is also a must. These two factors will determine how one can become successful one day,” he added.
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Protein shakes are regularly used throughout the world to add muscle mass to body builders.
NOWADAYS, everyone seems busy trying to get fit hence it comes as no surprise that there is an increase of gym and fitness centres in Malaysia in the last few years.
While the ladies try to achieve their dream body by saying goodbye to unwanted fats, guys on the other hand try to get ripped.
A part from trying to look good in white tight t-shirts to impress the ladies, men are taking gym very seriously and sometimes a little too much.
The extent can be seen in the availability of protein shakes used to increase muscle mass while doing regular exercise. No wonder it is well sought throughout the world by gym enthusiast.
According to 10 times Mr Universe, Sazali Samad, protein has helped him in his career as a body builder.
Nonetheless, he stresses the importance of getting a grasp of the amount of protein one should take.
“ Protein should be taken with proper guidance from the doctors, physio and coaches. In my case, I made frequent visits to the doctors to check the level of protein in my body. If it is too high, the doctor will advise me to decrease the intake of protein.”
“ As a bodybuilder, I also understand the importance of drinking a lot of water after consuming protein. If everything is done accordingly, it will have a positive impact on the user’ s body.”
Do humans really need to depend on
by AMIRUL AZREEN ZULKIFLI aazreen @ revonmedia. com
A gym freak’ s best friend
Philips Lee at his regular gym hangout.
Sazali Abd Samad flexing his muscle to The HEALTH team when met at Putra Jaya.
Protein shakes: protein shakes to boost muscle growth?
Speaking to The HEALTH, Malaysian Dietitian Association( MDA) certified personal trainer and a member, Philips Lee, explained how protein is a gym enthusiast’ s best friend.
“ There are various types of supplements in the market but whey protein is the most common as it has always been associated with the development of muscles.
“ It is for a fact that protein helps in the development of muscle. Research shows that we need to consume a higher intake of protein to develop enough muscle.”
“ My recommendation is the amount of protein taken should be according to your body weight. If your weight is 60 kilogram, then the minimum intake should be 60 grams,” he said.
However, Philips suggest that the intake of protein should be determined by one’ s lifestyle.
“ If you are living an active lifestyle including going to the gym and packed with work, then I suggest one should start with protein supplementation,” he added.
Protein shakes VS natural protein
According to Philips, protein shakes has its own perks compared to natural protein provider – meat, eggs and salmon.
Like all supplements, protein is best used as part of your overall health and fitness efforts.
“ Whey protein brings forward the highest form of quality. It is also cost-effective.”
“ Consuming natural protein food is not a sin although you might be facing some struggles,” he added.
Trying to chase the natural protein will evidently put a huge hole in your bank account.
Nonetheless, Philips admits consuming protein shakes without proper guidance might lead to negative side effects.
“ One of the common side effects is acne and bloating. However, these effects differs from one individual to another.”
“ As one of the ingredient of protein shakes is milk, consumers who are lactose intolerant may experience certain effects.”
“ There’ s no harm in consuming extra protein unless the consumer has an existing kidney issue. If this is so, it is then advisable to restrict one’ s intake of protein,” he said.