INSPIRATION
From rock bottom
to rock hard
Serious workouts and a visualisation program helped
Renato Stoiljkovic haul his life back from the depths.
I
n 2011, Renato, 25, a health
insurance worker and
remedial masseur from
Geelong in Victoria, was
esteem had hit rock bottom and his
life, in his eyes at least, was hopeless.
He tipped the scales at 105kg — and
his frame of mind was suicidal.
“It was a combination of things,”
he says. “I just had no direction or
enthusiasm — I had accepted I was
the chubby guy and that was the
way it was going to be.”
Growing up in a European family
where larger food portions are the
norm, Renato had always been
overweight, but his natural tendency
to eat a lot was compounded by a
liking for computer games, which
meant he spent a lot of time on his
backside. The result was a physique
he was unhappy with and which
undermined his sense of self-worth.
Nine months ago he met up with
personal trainer Matthew Critchley.
Renato unburdened himself to
Matthew and the 26-year-old MBS
Fitness expert came up with a plan
to get Renato in shape — and his
life back on track.
T ALE O F
THE S CALE
Renato is
mind and
body.
RENATO’S TOP TIP
>
your mood and play with your mind.
You can see the weight you’re losing
Measuring body-fat reduction is
much more important.”
might look like. “It was a bit funny
make it easier to imagine that you
could get that ripped.”
a week: in the mornings he did highintensity training — lots of sprints,
bodyweight exercises and interval
work — to shred fat, and in the
RENATO
STOILJKOVIC
AGE: 25
F R OM: Geelong, Vic
HEIG H T: 183cm
WAS : 105kg
LO ST: 31.6kg
NOW: 73.4kg
LOST
31.6
KG
head space. A goal was set to have
him sporting a six-pack in six months
put in place. Before each workout,
Matthew would show Renato clips
of inspiring sporting and movie stars
such as Muhammad Ali and Will
Smith to understand the hurdles
they too faced on the road to success.
A “vision board” was also set up.
On it, Matt would cut out the
picture of a ripped celebrity, then
stick an image of Renato’s face on top
so he could get an idea of what he
THINK YOURSELF
compound [multi-muscle] moves.
His diet was overhauled too.
Instead of big servings, each day he
ate six to nine protein-based meals
cooked in bulk the night before.
The results were astounding:
Renato’s body fat went from
22 to eight percent and he
lost 31.6kg. However, it wasn’t
always plain sailing, and when
he was struggling, he employed
what he calls a “one inch at a time”
philosophy. “Every session I would
believe I was getting closer to my
goal, even if it was only one inch
closer. Believing in what you are
doing is everything.”
Now, Renato is feeling better than
ever. He has regained his zest for life
so that he can add it to his remedial
massage knowledge and become
an “ambassador for health” and help
people change their lives too.
“I feel there’s nothing I can’t do,”
he says. “If you get your mind right,
everything else follows. I’ve even
It’s amazing when you think where
I was not that long ago.”
If you have a story like Renato’s you’d
like to share, send an email to simon@
before-and-after photos (photos must
be at least 1MB each).
STRON GER
Psychologists encourage sportsmen to envisage their success by rehearsing in their minds every aspect of their
performance done perfectly. Visualisation can also work when it comes to building muscle, a study conducted by
increased their strength by 53 percent, and the biceps exercisers by 13.4 percent. Measurement of brain activity
when visualising showed strength gains were due to improvements in the brain’s ability to signal muscle movement.
OL YM PIC TRIVIA …AU STRA L IA’S FIRST GOLD ME DA LL IST WAS EDWIN FL AC K, WHO WON THE 800 M AN D 1500M ON THE TRAC K IN ATHENS IN 1896
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