Bodybuilding: Leaguie celebrates first national title

Former Hawke's Bay rugby league star Don Poloa won his first national bodybuilding title at the weekend. Photo/Warren Buckland

Juggling a decent 50th birthday bash with training for a national bodybuilding title is far from the ideal mix.

But former Hawke's Bay rugby league star Don Poloa got the recipe right and won the International Natural Bodybuilding Association's men's masters 50-plus title in Hamilton at the weekend.

"That's why I did the qualifying event early back in May. By finishing second in that show I qualified for the nationals. I was able to have a break from training and celebrate my 50th in style before getting back into training eight weeks ago," Poloa explained.

"I certainly ate well during my break. I was 106kg when I started my eight-week training stint and got down to 85kg which was my target."

That was a tremendous feat for the Silver Fern Farms Takapau plant butcher who weighed 132kg in 2017.

"You know what us Samoans are like ... we eat too much of the wrong food," Poloa said at the time.

A 1996 and '97 Hawke's Bay Unicorns rugby league representative, Poloa, was a key member of the Tamatea premier team which completed a four-peat of Hawke's Bay premiership titles in 2002. He displayed the benefits of his vast experience when helping Tamatea win the title again in 2008 and in 2011 Poloa played for the Outkast Sports team which won the reserve grade comp.

During the 1998 and '99 seasons Poloa played for New South Wales Country in Australia under former Unicorns coach and former Kiwis winger Mark Elia. He last played rugby league in 2012 at the age of 43. A groin injury was the signal to call it quits.

Poloa was a bodybuilder before he took up rugby league and when he returned to bodybuilding in 2017 he did his first show since 1991. He finished second in the 40-plus tall class at the 12th annual NABBA Hawke's Bay bodybuilding show in Taradale.

The first Flaxmere bodybuilder to enter a NABBA Hawke's Bay show, Poloa did his first bodybuilding comp in 1990 and was selected in a New Zealand Junior Men's team to attend an IFBB event in Sydney in 1991. Because of his birthday date he was put up to the open men's under-80kg class where he finished third.

Poloa was full of praise for the support he received from the FlaXrock Gym in his latest success and in particular Anahera McClutchie who assisted him with his cardio side of training.

"I've got to thank Stephen Hill Motors in Hastings for providing a vehicle for us to go up to Hamilton in too," Poloa said.

He pointed out he was just as disciplined with his eating during the last eight weeks as he was with his league training during his prime.

"It's all about disciplined training and disciplined eating. There's been no sugar, no salt, no dairy products and no bread. I was on a high-protein diet.

"People used to ask me how I got so fit for league. I just used to adapt the dedication and commitment I had for bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is all about self-discipline, nobody else can do the training for you. It's not like league when you miss a tackle and hope one of your teammates will make it for you," Poloa said.

"It's an activity which goes unrecognised most of the time but it is one you have to make a lot of sacrifices for.

"I'll have a bit of a break before I start training again. You always aim for more improvement," Poloa added.