INBA PNBA Italian natural bodybuilder Davide Donati flashbacks his leg-shaking Natural Olympia experience.
An average resting heart rate lies between 60-100 beats per minute. Although, your heart rate can climb much higher than that. You can find your max heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. For your heart rate to beat that fast, though, you’ll need vigorous exercise or a nerve-racking experience. For instance, INBA PNBA Italian bodybuilder Davide Donati’s heart rate reached 200 beats per minute at 2021 Natural Olympia. Donati stated:
“When it was the turn of my category I got on the Olympia stage, my legs were shaking and my heart was beating at 200.”
Natural Olympia is the Super Bowl for natural bodybuilding competitors, so it’s no surprise this show spiked Davide Donati’s vitals.
Davide Donati’s Entrance Into Natural Bodybuilding
Davide Donati was born in August of 1971. Which he thanks for his competitive spirit since he’s a Leo. His competitive nature started early as a footballer (soccer) at five. By the time Donati was in his early teens, he admired big and strong guys lifting heavy weight. That lit a fire in him, and he was inspired to be bigger and stronger than them.
Donati’s interest in bodybuilding got him to start reading magazines on nutrition and training. And he bought an Olympian’s News magazine – the most popular bodybuilding magazine in Italy at the time. This magazine built a strong desire for Donati to compete.
After years of training, he decided to start competing in 1994. Donati made his debut in the Wabba Italia federation, and he placed well (3rd place out of 25 athletes in the Bodybuilding Lightweights division). Donati went on to win nine Italian titles in four different federations and a silver medal at the NABBA WFF European Championships in Germany.
Donati’s Road to Natural Olympia
In 2009, Davide Donati discovered NBFI and decided to compete in 2010. He won a silver medal at the Italian Championships, which qualified him for the WNBF European Championships in Zurich – winning the European title, pro card, and best poser title. Donati continued to dominate the European and WNBF World Championships for five years.
He also decided to become an NBFI federal judge. The NBFI affiliated with the INBA PNBA in 2018, and Davide Donati discovered them and liked what he saw. So he entered the 2019 World Championships in Romania.
Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 in 2020, Donati didn’t compete. However, he returned in 2021 and led a team of 50 NFBI athletes to great success at the INBA PNBA World Championships 2021 in Romania. Ultimately, Donati’s goal was to compete at Natural Olympia.
That time came in November of 2021 when Donati shared the stage with the world’s best pro Men’s Bodybuilding Grand Masters class.
Donati’s Heart-Pounding Natural Olympia Experience
The anticipation of competing on stage caused Donati’s heart rate to spike. Donati stated:
“I started climbing the stairs, my heart was pounding and the adrenaline skyrocketed. For a moment my heart stopped, my blood was frozen.”
Despite the anxiety-provoking experience, Donati demonstrated an excellent posing strategy that piqued judges’ interest. The judges began to call up the top competitors, with Donati being one of them. He ended up placing in the top five, which was a lifelong dream of his.
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