SIBUSISO KHUZWAYO
THE RISE OF THE NEXT
GENERATION
P
eople in this industry have
said that I’m part of a new
breed of young athlete; a
new generation of bodybuilders
who sport the muscular
development and conditioning
that were previously the reserve
of the more experienced, more
mature athletes. That may be the
case, but I would have to credit
these more experienced athletes for
our ability to achieve what we have
so early in our careers.
You see, knowledge is, by far,
the most important element for
young athletes. In our youth we
have all the energy, motivation and
time needed to be successful, but
we’re naïve. Sound knowledge and
know-how are the lacking elements
to success. That is why I knew I
needed the right guidance when I
first entered this sport. Thankfully
I found a trainer
who had the tools
needed to shape
me, in the form
of Stone Cele. The
House Of Stone
team has been a
great place for me
to learn about
SIBUSISO SAYS
“Knowledge is,
by far, the most
important element
for young athletes.
In our youth we
have all the energy,
motivation and
time needed to be
successful, but
we’re naïve.”
training and teamwork. They have
coached me and educated me on
the different training techniques
and on lifting form. In addition,
as all athletes come to know,
bodybuilding is an individual
sport and one can easily become
swept up by narcissism. However,
working in a team teaches one to
be less selfish and more selfless.
The final step in my ultimate
success as a young athlete was
finding the right dietitian as diet
is so important to your ultimate
success in this sport. As the saying
goes, “everyone can lift weights,
but not everyone can diet”. And
that is so true! Thankfully Niall
Naidoo has helped me tailor
a nutrition protocol to get me
through my contest prep and
the off-season. More importantly
though he is also using our time
together to educate me. We have
been trying some new dietary
techniques such as flexible dieting
and isocaloric counting, and we
constantly monitor my body to see
how it responds. Once I had all this
guidance in place the rest was up
to me. I simply had to implement
the training and diet protocol
effectively and consistently, and
the results soon followed.
However, despite this support
and assistance it’s still easy to
want to give up because you
might not see the results you
want or because you don’t have
the resources needed to succeed
in this sport. I know I nearly did,
but then I read a quote from
Andrew Hudson: “Rock bottom has
produced more champions than
privilege”. I now understand that
success can be a lousy teacher
as it can make one think they
can never lose. That’s why my
goal is to always out-do my last
performance.