A healthy and fit lifestyle is the way to go according to Newcastle’s Health and fitness motivator
After countless back, knee and shoulder injuries, breaking his arms, fingers, ribs, jaw and nose, tearing his spleen and hamstrings, and a few dislocations, he decided to dedicate himself to the gym he has now been running for about 30 years
NEWCASTLE – Have you ever been overly critical about the curvy areas of your body reflected in the mirror, lamenting bulges and fat rolls?
Born and bred in Newcastle, Leon van Staden has dedicated his life to helping people overcome their physical hang-ups.
Always pushing the boundaries, Leon embraced sport as an integral part of his life. He was a Northern Natal Rugby player for a few years, then a motorcycle racer, an off-road racer and a stunt rider. He won the Natal Championships for off-road racing in 1994. He also qualified for SA Barefoot Water-skiing, which is a great achievement. He competed in track and oval track car racing as well. After all the adrenaline filled excitement, he embarked on a committed journey in health and fitness training.
After countless back, knee and shoulder injuries, breaking his arms, fingers, ribs, jaw and nose, tearing his spleen and hamstrings, and a few dislocations, he decided to dedicate himself to the gym he has now been running for about 30 years.
Leon won the Natal Bodybuilding Championship and Natal Inter-gym Bodybuilding Championship in 2002. In 2005 he came second in the South African Bodybuilding Championship, and won the Northern Natal Bodybuilding Championship in 2005. He also participated in Northern Natal powerlifting competitions.
Leon is very involved in school sports and fitness and condition training programmes in the community, and is a judge for the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, and World Physique Federation.
“I consider my greatest achievement to have been invited as a motivational speaker for the value of activities, and a boot camp and gym instructor on the Healthy Hotel Initiative Programme, which was a Tsogo Sun tour, hosted in collaboration with Discovery Vitality. The tour was an amazing experience and I met many great people. It feels really good to make a positive difference in peoples’ lives and helping them gain confidence.” During the tour Leon travelled across the country, from Johannesburg, to Kimberley, Bloemfontein and many places in between.
He said community involvement in the local fitness industry really picked up over the past few years because people were starting to realise the use of technology made life too easy and caused people to exercise less.
“Once you are aware your life lacks exercise, making relevant changes is the first step to taking back control of your health and fitness. Excuses and laziness also need to be eradicated in order to better your physical health,” he said.
Leon’s advice for anyone who is trying to stay healthy and keep fit is never to give up, stay dedicated, be disciplined, and change your mindset into a positive way of thinking.
