INTERVIEW: IFBB PRO BRYAN BALZANO

The next athlete we are about to meet has made a tremendous transformation with just a few years of training. He did his first competetive debut last year in the middle weight division at the 2014 Michael Francois classic, a show that he won. Afterwards with just a few weeks between the shows he stepped on stage at the NPC Nationals and did take the title there as well and that meant that he claimed his IFBB Pro card.

Thereby its time for Rising Muscle to welcome IFBB Pro Bryan Balzano for an interview.

Bryan Balzano
Country: US
Age: 26
State: Ohio
City: Columbus
Occupation: Underwriter
Height: 5’4 ft / 165 cm
Weight: on: 176 lbs / 80 kg  off: 208 lbs / 94 kg

Contest background:

1.pl 2014 Michael Francois classic 2014
1.pl 2014 NPC USA bodybuilding championships

RM: Could you please give use some insight on the area and environment you grew in and how it interacted with your journey in bodybuilding?

BB: well I grew up in Cleveland ohio where a lot of people went to the gym, but it wasn’t to compete just to looked good. I originally just started lifting to look a little better cause I started out at 110 lbs. I was the definition of a skeleton.  I just hated being blown away by the wind so I decided to go Into the gym and gain some weight. over a few years I grew to love the gym and the gym became a lifestyle for me  but it still never crossed my mind to compete. then I moved here to columbus ohio for a job after graduating college. I joined a bodybuilding gym down here and I met a ton of people who encouraged me to do a show and without all the support of the people at metro fitness I would have never done one. that gym is what made me realize I have something special.

RM:What training methods have been prosperous to you and illustrate your philosophy as to why they have. 

BB: My training philosophy is train smart. I do not lift heavy nor do I care what weight I have on any bar or machine at any point. I believe in just truly engaging the muscle. I believe in using weight not moving weight. I do alot of volime, supersets, tri sets, quad sets, negatives, pause reps, rest pause just to name what I can off the top of my head. but ultimately the main idea of how I train is mostly mental not physical in a way. I close my eyes pretty much most of the lift and listen to the muscle respond.  I dont like looking or watching my body. I never look Into a mirror and I am always covered up 100% in sweat shirts  and pants and use my mind to listen to my body.

RM: Can you contribute some mistakes you’ve made during prep to up and coming bodybuilders? In addition to how you overcame them?

BB: well I only have done 2 shows and pretty much I never made a mistake during my prep. I had road blocks and unexpected things pop up that made it difficult at times to stay on track. but during any situation you must remember you cant control everything and we have jobs that  we must give priority to. we all have different situations that we are in but we must not forget that we can never be perfect. true success comes from understanding that a bad day will happen and knowing how to make the best of every situation. things may not have gone according to plan but that doesnt matter, just do the best u can with what is going on in your life or situation and not letting everything overwhelm you and letting one bad thing collapse a lot more. success does not come from the good days but comes from how you contain the bad times.

RM: Was there any barriers you faced during your 2014 USA victory that could have changed the turn out of the show for you? If so how did you make your adjustments? And what strategies did you develop to over come them.

BB:  I did have some barriers that I faced during my USA experience and fortunately it didn’t affect the turn out for me. my biggest barrier I had was I was traveling to vegas all by myself and had no one with me and didnt know anyone in vegas to help me out. first off my plane arrived late and I got to vegas really late. having to pick up my rent a car which was given to someone else because the plane arrives late and there was a high demand for cars during that weekend.  I lost extra time trying to get me another car. by the time I got back to the hotel I lost half a day of prep. I had to then go shopping for all my food. so I ran all over town to pick up what I needed and then had to cook it all. I started to cook at midnight. I still had to do my skin prep and I had to weight in that early afternoon the next day. so I realized I was going to have to pull an all nighter and do what I have to do. and I got all of it finished and I didn’t sleep at all. I was exhausted so bad but I couldnt make an excuse for what I had to do to make sure I step on stage at the best I can. it would have been eaiser if I had just one person but I didnt and I had to do everything my self, but as the show came to a close I was still blessed enough to walk out with a victory. all the hard work I had done paid off and I couldnt have been happier.

RM:How has becoming a Pro bodybuilder impacted your life?

BB: Becoming a pro has impacted my life but it has not changed who I am. people now know who I am and when I go places people want to get to know me and tell me how my stroy has inspired them to chase their dreams. I cant explain how it makes me feel knowing that I am helping change people’s lives because of my dream and me chasing my dream. its just incredible. but becoming a pro hasent change who I am. all the success I had is a blessing but im still a quite, shy kid that just loves to lift weight and eat healthy. I love this lifestyle and and am in this sport because the sport is me. im not here for any anterior motive, I just want to show the world my heart.

RM: What can we expect to see from you in the fitness industry.

BB: well I cant tell you what I expect cause I dont expect anything but I can tell you what I dream about. I dream about being being one of the greatest ambassadors this industry has ever had. not only do I dream about being the future Mr. 212 but also traveling the world to every event telling my story and Interacting with as many of my fans and followers as possible. I want to help as many people as I can to always chase what they really want in life and to never give up or lose hope.

RM: Balzano it’s time for the round-up, if there is anything you want to add or someone you want to thank, please feel free to do so:

BB: I would like to personally thank my close freind and mentor justin compton for everything he has taught me. I would also like to thank matt Jensen of INOV8 elite performance for all the help he has given me along my journey. additionally I want to give a thanks to my biggest supports at my home gym James Bowe, Ryan Kiowa Propst Marcus Perry, and Mica Schneider #MWP. And i want to give a special thanks to a very good freind of mine Sara Abdeljabbar! Your the best Sara!