Fathuhulla Mohamed made a presentation about his journey into the sport of Bodybuilding. Popularly known as Vinnie Jones, he is also a Male’ Fitness Academy alumni. Amongst the attendees were Hamid Abdul Gafoor, proud Owner and Director of MFC, and several Personal Trainers who work at the gym.
Speaking at the presentation, Vinnie explained the importance of understanding the difference between bodybuilding as a sport and bodybuilding as a recreation interest. No doubt, many gym goers are motivated by the aesthetics of a beautiful body. The health benefits of fitness are obvious.
‘Is bodybuilding a sport?’
Vinnie asked the audience. This is in fact a sport that drive many gym goers’ dreams!
He elaborated on three broad categories that have evolved in the sport of bodybuilding. They are Physique, Classic Physique and Bodybuilding. Vinnie is competing in the Classic Physique category. This category falls between Physique (an unusually limited lower body focus!) and Bodybuilding (overall full body mass focus). According to Vinnie, the differences between the three categories vary in terms of how they prepare, build, and showcase their talents.
Vinnie competed in the recent regional bodybuilding competition in Kathmandu, Nepal from 18-21 July 2019. He won a Bronze in the Classic Physique category.
Women’s participation
Vinnie felt that women’s participation was growing in this sport even at the sub- regional level. He however remarked that he does not anticipate women participation in this sport in the Maldives in the near future. He was referring to the Maldives announcement to host the competition in 2020 and the likely absence of Maldivian women in this sport in that competition.
Training, diet, lifestyle and rest.
Throughout the 45-minute presentation, Vinnie referred to the importance of diet, motivation, and the need for an extremely disciplined lifestyle. He carries his meals to ensure he does not miss a meal on time.
Vinnie is a Trainer at the Maldives National Defence Force Gym in Male’. He explained that a typical “Classic Physique” athlete such as him train an average of 3 to 4 hours per day. The sessions are spread between morning and afternoon. Each training session focuses on specific parts of the body, By training different body parts he says, he avoids fatigue.
When asked if they got enough rest for the body to unwind, he explained that a typical week would consist of one or two days off for recovery. The sport requires a gruelling regime. Vinnie has been in training since his participation in Mr. Maldives this April. He has no time for a break any time soon. The Maldives National Bodybuilding Team, of which he is a member, is facing two internationals in the next quarter of this year. One is the 53rd Asian Bodybuilding & Physique Sports Championship 2019 in Batam, Indonesia from 27-3 Oct 2019. The 11th World Bodybuilding & Physique Sports Championships in South Korea from 5-11 Nov 2019 is to follow.
The presentation concluded with a brief Q&A session.
Male’ Fitness Club is the first gym to be opened in the Maldives, and have been paving the way for new and innovative ideas on promoting health and fitness into everyday lives.
About Vinnie Jones
Vinnie completed his Fitness Instructor National Level III at Male’ Fitness Club Academy in 2015, and went on to use his education and work experience to take part in national and international bodybuilding competitions.
Vinnie has won both Silver medal in the Athletic Physique at National Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship 2019, and Bronze medal at South Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship 2019.
As an active competitor and part of the National Bodybuilding squad who will be representing the country at the Asian as well as the World Championships later this year.
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