More than 50 years under the iron has taught me what really matters.
Don't get me wrong. Winning is bloody good fun!
I've been fortunate enough to win some pretty impressive bodybuilding titles over the years, and I'm bloody proud of every one of them.
Every trophy represents years of hard work, sacrifice, discipline and determination.
Nothing was handed to me. Every title was earned.
But here's the thing.
After more than 50 years under the iron, I've come to realise that the greatest rewards from weight training aren't sitting in my trophy cabinet.
They're the strength, health, confidence and independence that a lifetime of training has given me.
And to understand why I feel so strongly about that, I need to take you back to 1984.
1984. GÄVLE, SWEDEN. A LESSON I'VE NEVER FORGOTTEN.
Then and Now
I was 27 years old and had been training consistently for approximately 11 years.
After all those years under the iron, I finally decided it was time to test myself on a bodybuilding stage.
My first competition was in Gävle, Sweden.
A fellow gym mate was also entering the same show, competing in the same category.
I'll never forget something he said to me.
"Tony, if you want to win bodybuilding shows, you need to take performance-enhancing drugs."
I didn't want to believe him.
After all, I'd been busting my backside in the gym for 11 years. Surely that dedication, consistency and hard work would count for something?
He took second place and I came third, and were both soundly and fairly beaten by the undisputed winner.
And he'd been training for less than two years.
That was a bloody hard pill to swallow.
Here I was, with 11 years of solid training behind me, being beaten by someone with a fraction of my experience.
His words stayed with me.
And for the first time, I seriously questioned whether natural training alone would ever allow me to achieve my competitive ambitions.
A DECISION THAT MAY HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE.
After that competition, I thought long and hard about his advice.
Did I want to win badly enough to go down the performance-enhancing drug (PED) road?
Was that what it would take to reach the top?
Fortunately for me, life had other plans.
At the time, I was a broke adult student, trying to complete my education and establish a future for myself.
Quite simply, I wasn't in a financial position to pursue my bodybuilding ambitions.
So I made the decision to put competing on hold until I'd completed my education and established myself professionally.
Looking back, being broke may have been one of the luckiest breaks of my life!
Because by the time I was financially and professionally established enough to return to competitive bodybuilding, drug-tested natural bodybuilding federations were beginning to emerge.
Suddenly, there was a pathway where I could compete against other athletes under rules designed to support drug-free competition.
And that's where I eventually made my mark.
Not by taking shortcuts.
Not by compromising my principles.
But by doing what I'd always done.
Training bloody hard, training intelligently and remaining consistent.
WHAT IF I'D TAKEN THE OTHER ROAD?
I've thought about that question many times over the years.
And knowing my personality, it's a question I don't take lightly.
I've always had an all-or-nothing attitude.
When I commit to something, I don't do things by halves.
That's served me incredibly well throughout my bodybuilding career.
But I also recognise that the same attitude, applied to performance-enhancing drugs, could have led me down a very dangerous road.
I genuinely believe that had I started taking PEDs back then, there's a real possibility I wouldn't be alive today.
And even if I had survived, I seriously doubt I'd be enjoying the same level of health I enjoy now.
Of course, nobody can know with certainty what might have happened.
But I know myself.
I know how driven I can be.
And I know the temptation to keep pushing the boundaries would have been enormous.
That's a gamble I'm bloody glad I never took.
Because today, at 69, I'm still training hard, still challenging myself and still enjoying the rewards of more than five decades under the iron.
And no trophy in the world is worth sacrificing that for.
THE REAL REWARD IS WHAT TRAINING GIVES YOU.
At 69, I can look back on my competitive achievements with enormous pride.
But the thing I'm most proud of isn't a title.
It's what my body is still capable of doing.
It's being able to train with intensity.
It's maintaining strength, mobility and confidence.
It's being able to do things that people half my age sometimes struggle with.
And it's knowing that the discipline I developed all those years ago continues to pay dividends today.
That's the real victory.
You don't need to be Mr Australia, Mr Universe or a world champion to experience those rewards.
You don't even need to set foot on a bodybuilding stage.
You simply need to make a commitment to your health and follow through.
AGEING IS INEVITABLE. GIVING UP IS OPTIONAL.
We're all getting older.
There's no avoiding that.
But how we age is something we can influence.
As the years roll on, maintaining muscle mass, strength, balance and mobility becomes increasingly important.
And that's where resistance training comes into its own.
Not simply for appearance.
Not just for bigger muscles.
But for maintaining the physical capacity to live life on your terms.
To get out of a chair without struggling.
To carry your own shopping.
To enjoy your hobbies.
To remain active, capable and independent for as long as possible.
Because living longer is one thing. Maintaining your quality of life is another.
And if there's one thing more than 50 years of training has taught me, it's that your health deserves to be treated as an investment, not an afterthought.
DISCIPLINE TODAY. FREEDOM TOMORROW.
One thing I've never believed in is shortcuts.
Whether it's bodybuilding, improving your fitness or simply trying to live a healthier life, there's no substitute for consistency.
You can't buy discipline.
You can't fake years of hard work.
And you can't expect your body to look after you if you're not prepared to look after it.
The benefits of training are earned over time.
One workout at a time.
One sensible decision at a time.
One year after another.
Neglect will lead to regret.
That's something I firmly believe.
Because the choices we make today can have a profound influence on the quality of life we enjoy tomorrow.
THAT'S WHAT NEPT IS ALL ABOUT.
When someone walks through the doors at NEPT Alphington, I'm not interested in turning them into the next Mr Universe.
Unless, of course, that's what they want!
My priority is helping them become stronger, healthier, more confident and more capable.
That's why every new client starts with a comprehensive assessment.
I want to understand their training history, posture, muscular imbalances, core strength, previous injuries, medical considerations and individual goals.
Because training should be tailored to the individual, not the other way around.
After more than five decades of training, I've learnt that intelligent programming, correct technique, progressive overload and consistency are what deliver sustainable results.
Not gimmicks.
Not miracle solutions.
And certainly not shortcuts.
The lessons I've learnt throughout my bodybuilding career are the same principles I bring to NEPT every single day.
Your health comes first. Everything else is secondary.
TROPHIES COLLECT DUST. YOUR HEALTH DETERMINES YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE.
Looking back at that 27-year-old standing on a bodybuilding stage in Sweden in 1984, I sometimes wonder how differently things might have turned out.
At the time, finishing third was disappointing.
I wanted to win.
I wanted to be the best.
And I was prepared to work bloody hard to get there.
But what I didn't appreciate back then was that the biggest victory of my bodybuilding career might have been the road I chose not to take.
The trophies I've won since are wonderful reminders of what I've achieved.
But they don't define me.
What matters is that more than 50 years after I first picked up a weight, I'm still here.
Still strong.
Still healthy.
Still passionate about training.
And still helping others discover what a lifetime of looking after yourself can give you.
That's worth more to me than every trophy sitting in my cabinet.
Because at the end of the day, bodybuilding was never just about building muscle.
It was about building a better life.
And that's something no trophy can ever replace.
A SOUND MIND IN A SOUND BODY.
And if you happen to pick up a few trophies along the way?
Well, that's a bloody good bonus!
NO CROWDS. NO SHORTCUTS. NO BS.
YOUR HEALTH IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.
Tony Haranas
NEPT Alphington
Over 50 years under the iron. Still going strong.
