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Wong Hong Bodybuilder

Interview with IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Wong Hong

Q. Where are you from originally?

A. I am Chinese-Malaysian. My grandparents migrated to Malaysia from China in the early 1900's.

Q. What is your occupation?

A. I have a personal training business at Steel Gym in Manhattan. I have a personal trainer for over ten years. I have an extensive knowledge in nutrition and weight training and can leverage this experience with my clients.

Q. How did you decide to get involved in bodybuilding?

A. I got involved in bodybuilding during my high school years. I was into sports such as track and field and we were required to train with weights for added power. Once I used weights I was amazed how my body responded. As I started gaining increased size I was motivated to train even harder. Ever since I was a kid, I was always amazed with bodybuilders. It was amazing what a piece of metal does. Ever since then, I knew that to be a bodybuilder required lots of hard work. Sculpturing a physique to perfection is a form of art. Most Asians have small frames and bone structures. I always wanted to be different. I wanted to be big, muscular and powerful. How did you become a professional bodybuilder? After winning he overall at the Eastern USA in November in 2002. Mr Paul Chua, the IFBBB vice president for Asia, from Singapore wrote me letter of recommendation for me to turn professional and obtain pro status. A few months later in February I was grateful and happy to be given a pro card.

Q. What was it like to compete in your first professional bodybuilding contest?

A. Competing at the Night of Champions was a great experience for me. The standard is so much different at the professional level as compared to the amateur contests. It was pretty intimidating at first competing with some of the bodybuilders I have seen in the magazines over the years. However, everyone was cool backstage. Most of all the Night of Champions was held in New York City and since that is my hometown, I was made to feel very welcome.

Q. How do you juggle the demands of competing and working?

A. I work as a personal trainer in Manhattan. When preparing for a show, I can be very busy. Training twice a day, doing cardio, taking care of 5-6 clients a day, practicing posing, tanning and consuming a lot of calories is hard work. It all comes down to time management to balance work and competing.

Q. What does a typical day include?

A. A typical day includes:
Wake up 8:00 am
Meal #1 8:30 am
Meal #2 12:00 pm
Clients 10:00 am-2:00 pm
Meal #3 2:00 pm
Meal #4 5:00 pm
Clients 3:00 pm-6:00 pm
Train Self 6:00 pm-7:30 pm
Meal #5 8:00 pm
Listening to music, computer, reading from 8:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Meal # 6 10:30 pm
Sleep 11:00 pm
Meal # 7 3:00 am (Protein Shake)

Although my schedule may seem a little rigid I have been doing this for several years and it is part of my routine that I feel very comfortable with.

Q. What is your academic training?

A. My degree is in nutrition and my occupation as a personal trainer goes hand in hand. Nutrition is one of the three most important factors in bodybuilding besides training and getting enough sleep. My knowledge in nutrition makes it a lot easier when I write clients diet plans based on their physical condition and goals.

Q. What was your first job once completing college?

A. I worked as a food scientist working in a research and development department in a food company.

Q. What are your views towards the future of bodybuilding?

A. The bodybuilding and fitness industry is a multi-million dollar industry. Bodybuilding and fitness equipment and supplements have been big in America and some parts of Europe in the past ten to twenty years. I believe that this industry will blossom in the future when bodybuilding and fitness "go global," especially in Asia.

Q. What are some of the problems and issues you see in the sport today?

A. In my opinion, I see the sport is heading in the wrong direction. Honestly, I prefer the classical physiques back in the 80's and early 90's. For the past 10 years or so, it is obvious that the judges have been favoring mass over symmetry in pro bodybuilding shows. As a result most of today's pro bodybuilders are getting heavier and blocky as compared to those in the 80's. Today's pro bodybuilders build mass just for the sake of mass and many of them are beyond huge with distended features. The use of synthol has ruined the sport. I am sad to say that today there are not many pros with classical and symmetrical physiques. A symmetrical and proportional physique with some mass is what bodybuilding should be more about. To the general public, when every the subject of bodybuilding is mentioned the first thing that comes to their mind is a muscular physique with a small waist. The reason I am in the sport besides trying to become one of the best bodybuilders in the world is to inspire others to train.

Q. Do you think that the professional bodybuilders work together to improve the sport?

A. I do not see the sport as so many cutthroats except there continues to be trash talking among some of the athletes. I believe that all the competitors are working together to try to bring the sport to the next level. What is your one greatest challenge to reach your career goals? I am going against the odds, as you know bodybuilding is a sport not dominated by Asian physiques. Breaking this barrier as a top Asian bodybuilder is a great challenge. Also most Asians have small frames and this makes it a lot harder for us to build quality mass. Therefore to continue to build quality mass is a one of my greatest challenges. I love challenges, life would be boring with out them.

Wong Hong can be reached at his site www.wonghong.net.

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