My Fitness Journey - Cezar Zulewski
Cezar Zulewski is 26 years old. He was born in Poland and when he was 11, he immigrated to Sweden with his mother and younger brother.
The Early Years
It took a while for Cezar and his family to get settled in the new country. They moved from city to city a few times and he had to start over in new schools with every move. Eventually he started getting bullied as he was always the new kid in class. Cezar struggled with this. He wanted to be appreciated and respected. He always found himself among the best in class when it came to sports at school, but that didn’t solve the bullying issues.
The Interest for Training & Fitness
I realized I needed to get stronger and build some muscle to earn respect and solve some of my bullying issues. That was my initial motivation to start working out. The first year I did body-weight exercises only. Push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups... This really gave me the results I needed and the issues I was experiencing slowly got resolved.
Mental Distractions
When I met the love of my life during high school, I all of a sudden stopped working out. However, my passion for fitness quickly returned and when I was 18 I bought gym equipment, built up a small gym in my room, and started diving into diet and nutrition studies to learn more.
From Passion to Competition
I started competing at the end of 2015, winning my first show. That truly turned the fire up and my interest for bodybuilding developed further. My biggest achievement is winning the Overall title in Bodybuilding at the Nordic Championships 2018, where I also got awarded as “Best Poser” and another special award “Physique of the Year”.
Living a Fitness Lifestyle
This lifestyle is not only giving me a good looking body and possibilities to compete, it brings so much more. I gives me joy, it keeps me calm because I use my excess of energy in the gym, it makes me eat well and pick good food sources that helps me stay healthy. Thanks to healthy food choices my metabolism is higher and I can consume higher amounts of food which is great because I really enjoy eating a lot.
I always feel happy when I wake up in the morning and my energy levels throughout the day are stable, it gives me a deeper purpose in life and makes my life complete. Living a fitness lifestyle taught me about self-sacrifice and showed me how colorful and wonderful life is, and made me appreciate every single day living on our beautiful planet earth.
After winning my first competition I knew that this was my thing, and that I was the correct person for doing THAT thing. Endurance, sacrifice, discipline, routine, the character.
Next Up
Right now I'm weeks out of this year’s first competition. I'm also in my absolute prime and I'm very excited to show my end result. During spring 2020 I'm planning for 5 competitions. Starting at Stockholm Classic, Sweden Grand Prix and continuing internationally at European Championships in Spain, Fitness Mania Classic in Czech Republic and finishing in Italy at Panatta World Cup.
I'm also planning to win the 2020 IFBB ranking in Classic Bodybuilding and for that to happen I'll keep competing through the fall.
I'm a realist, but I'm never aiming for second places, I also know that quality takes time. Due to lacking a few kilograms for Pro league, my plans are to give myself time to gain and then in 2021 or 2022 change category to Classic Physique, achieve Pro status and start competing in IFBB Elite Pro or NPC league.
Staying on Track
I diet all year round, it's either a surplus or a deficit diet. So I spend a lot of time in the kitchen making up new fitness dishes and cooking fantastic meals. My wife is a real star in this area so she always helps me to stay open minded and creative.
Life Outside of Fitness
There is still a child hidden within me somewhere, so when I have some spare time I love to play games. Even better is doing it with children or younger individuals. I enjoy the laughs, challenges, and deep strategic requirements from us as players to solve the games.
I also love dancing and singing (I've been in a band in middle and high school), but that's another story LOL. I do believe that these life experiences gave me a lot of self confidence performing on stage and being like a dancer, which resulted in the “Best Poser” award in 2018.
Better Day by Day while Maintaining Patience
My advise to someone starting their fitness journey would be to find something that drives you forward, that gives you a purpose to getting better day by day. And stick to it really hard! When some days are tougher to get through, remember why you really want this. After some time you'll get into a routine that will automatically push you forward and this makes things easier. And remember, if you don't give up, you'll be proud and thankful to yourself.
One day you may be ready to pursue fitness on a higher level by for example competing. I would then say you know what it takes so the most important thing at that point would be to stay focused and work hard every day. But play it smart, work your weak spots and don´t overwork your body into destruction. Remember, great thing takes time to achieve.
The Better Bodies Family
2018 Better Bodies sponsored the outfits for the National Team and I really liked the clothing. Later on I connected with CEO Michael Johansson and met more people within the team. I realized this was the perfect team to which I wanted to belong.
Final Words
Spread love, not hate folks and always stay positive. Only a positive mindset can endure and succeed doing great things. Help each other to keep being driven. And if you ever would like my help, don't hesitate contacting me.
Watch the video about Cezars road to the European Championships HERE.
