Zainab Al-Mehdar
Pontiac Aug 10, 2022
Winning in three categories a local bodybuilder distinguished himself at Montreal’s Popeye’s Natural Classic competition .
THE EQUITY caught up with Marc Pieschke originally from L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet, to talk to him about his recent wins since the last competition we reported on June 1, 2021. Since then Pieschke has gained 12 more pounds of muscle, he said.
Competing on July 24 Pieschke won gold in three categories; first position novice 18 years and over, first position master 40 years and over as well as first position 50 years and over.
He also won a . . .
silver medal for the open class with athletes 18 and over and was the eldest out of the three who won. He was very surprised to have been recognized because there were younger and bigger athletes, he said. He never thought at the age of 51 he would be competing in the same class with much younger and bigger athletes.
In his early teens he fell in love with bodybuilding but as life got in the way he didn’t go back to it until about nine years ago when he started facing health issues, and thats when he made the choice to get back in shape, he said. So when he started seeing the changes through training he started feeling better and thats why he stuck with it for so long, he said.
“I can run, I can lift, I can do everything. So it gave me a second life,” he said. “I bought some years for my life that’s for sure. I feel more energy. I feel like a youngster about 30 years old.”
Through his time at the gym and his transformation losing about 117 pounds he fell back in love with training and bodybuilding.
“So I said to myself, why not get in shape and try to do more?” he said. He participated in his first competition after a hiatus in 2017 and has been doing it ever since.
After the Popeye’s Natural Classic in Montreal, he was approached by coaches who wanted to train him for the Toronto competition coming up in the spring, he said. And after some deliberation he chose Robin Rock, who’s a big coach in Canada, and a person he’s learned a lot from for his own coaching.
Taking only a day off after the competition, Pieschke was back in the gym and on a strict diet on July 26 and hoping to gain 25 to 35 pounds of muscle, he said. He starts his training days at 7 a.m. and ends at 11 p.m. To be in tip top shape for the upcoming games he has to eat about five-thousand calories a day and work out about five times a week.
Along with training, about a year ago he opened up a gym called M&E home gym coach transformation, in Malartic, Quebec where he currently lives, to help others on their weight loss journey. It all started because he was getting a lot of questions about his massive weight loss. Currently he has 12 private clients that he helps get in shape or train other people who want to also become bodybuilders like himself, said Pieschke.
“I want to do that for other people, it’s never too late to get back into shape.”
At his gym he also works with at risk youth because growing up he struggled with alcohol and drugs and being able to combat that it was important for him to help other youth. He doesn’t see himself deviating back to drinking or using drugs as bodybuilding has become a lifestyle for him, he added.
Popeye’s competition gave him the motivation to want to work for the upcoming spring competition in Toronto.
“That competition motivated me to do everything I can to win and it was really, really awesome. Just to see that I almost won everything and to see the other coach wanting to get me in their team,” he said, adding that it really gave him the push he need to start prepping for the upcoming tournament.
