Get To Know Farbod Chaharlang
Who is Farbod? II am 26 years old and live in Västerås with my girlfriend. I used to train Taekwondo when I was young but didn´t have the motivation to continue after a few years. My interest in weight lifting grew thanks to my older brother who trained at the gym. Already at nine years old I looked curiously as my bother trained and posed. In 2010, at 15 years old, I started to train in the gym and the rest is history!
Competition merits
Since 2017 have I completed 12 competitions and received 11 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 3 bronze medals. My biggest achievement is double World Champion gold medals 2020 and also 3 Swedish Champion gold medals that means a lot to me.
After my competition preps there is no limits to what I can do
The competitions has made me realize how much I can deliver physically and mentally when I push myself to the max. Doing my job, studies and two workout sessions per day. It brings so much pressure mentally which takes time to get used to and something I build up during several years. But if you manage that, there is literally no limitation of what you can achieve.
My training is a passion and foundation in life that I want to develop for life
My goals and ambitions with my training is that it should last forever. A steady development forward in time, physically as mentally. The training has always been fun and is fueled by my passion to the gym, which I believe has made it sustainable. The training has given me a foundation in life – a even bigger mentally training and made me realize that you have a lot of opportunities in life.
Back to basics always works in the gym
My training has always been very basic. When I started training, me and my brother took a lot of inspiration from the 70s and 80s bodybuilders and how they trained. Heavier weights with fewer reps and a lot of basic exercises. Of course some machines but for the most like a complement. My six first years I trained five days a week that became up to 7-14 sessions per week when I started my competitions during 2017.
The ability to look at life with gratitude and to see opportunities before problems
I believe in appreciate and to be thankful for the small things in everyday life. To try to see opportunities to learn and develop mentally instead of focusing on the problems and the negative aspects. Turn a “bad” situation and get something useful of it. You never lose. You learn and then move on. I am ready for the obstacles in life because I know they will be there. Thanks to them I will get better on what I do and develop as a person. In training my only focus is to do my best, because that is the only thing I have control over in the end of the day. I can only influence myself and my performance.
Dare to go against all odds and dare to fail in order to succeed
I didn´t have the best conditions when I started competing. And there were no indications that I would succeed in it. I was extremely skinny and weighted 50kg when I started weightlifting. My classmates thought it was comic when I told them that I was going to the gym after school. I realized to succeed I had to dare and not be afraid of failure. Look at it like an investment in yourself.
With discipline and hard work over time, I will succeed in what I do
Already in High School Irealized that discipline is crucial to get the job done and to get the results I wanted. As well in training I could see the difference with how many hours I put down and the outcome that came after. I learned to apply that in everything in life, for example in school. I eached de results I wanted and learned that everything is possible if you are mentally strong, works hard and be patient. Nothing is impossible. What matters is how much do you want it
Passion and visualization to find meaning, focus and motivation
For me, the key is to do what you are passionate about and what you think is fun. To do what makes you happy. Then it gets sustainable over time. And when you have fun and feel good you perform thereafter. In example a competition prep I, visualize the whole process and think of my purpose, why do I want this. All the physically and mentally, how it will make me better. The time on stage and the placing will only lift up the feeling of winning. The true reward for me is the journey.
The art of succeeding in becoming a champ
Believe in yourself and your ability to succeed with your goals in life but also to stay humble towards others. Define your purpose before a prep, give yourself a promise and keep that in mind no matter what happens. My promise to myself before the World Champions was that to obstacle was bigger that my will to succeed. Regardless of how tired or hungry I would be. When I got to receive that gold medal I knew nothing was impossible if you just have the right mindset and keep focus.
The importance of balance in life
When I prep it is a 100% focus. When I don´t prep I get more relaxed when it comes to my diet. Training and the intensity in weight training is the same, something I do with passion and with joy. However, I do not train any cardio. I truly believe that my ability to have a little distance to certain things in this lifestyle and separate diet and “offseason” has really been a key to success for me..
