6x Natural Olympia champ Kiyoshi Moody lets us know how he’s prepping for the 2022 Natural Olympia.
The Super Bowl of natural bodybuilding, Natural Olympia, is less than a month away. The 2022 Natural Olympia will take place November 10-13, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV. 6x Professional Men’s Natural Bodybuilding Association (PNBA) Men’s Bodybuilding Natural Olympia champ Kiyoshi Moody is coming out of retirement to compete at “The Pinnacle of Natural Bodybuilding.”
Generation Iron received some insight from Moody into his preparation for the 2022 Natural Olympia, why he’s coming out of retirement for this show, and what he expects.
Who Is Kiyoshi Moody?
Kiyoshi Moody won Natural Olympia six years in a row from 2009-2014. He’ll be coming out of an eight-year retirement for 2022 Natural Olympia. Moody, unfortunately, had to step away from natural bodybuilding after battling a cancer diagnosis that led to losing more than 60 pounds. Fortunately, Moody did enter remission and is now preparing for the most prominent natural bodybuilding stage globally.
When Kiyoshi Moody retired in 2014, he planned to come back to compete in the Masters division if he ever came out of retirement. Eight years later, he had his mind set on the Men’s Bodybuilding Grand Masters division. Until a little convincing from INBA PNBA founder Denny Kakos and 4x Men’s Bodybuilding champ Philip Ricardo Jr. convinced him otherwise. Moody plans to compete in the Men’s Bodybuilding Open and possibly the Masters or Grand Masters division.
Kiyoshi Moody’s Natural Olympia Training Questions (Q) and Answers (A)
Generation Iron connected with Kiyoshi Moody on social media for some Q and A. Moody informed us of his training and diet to prepare for Natural Olympia and why he’s coming out of retirement.
Q: What made you want to come out of retirement for 2022 Natural Olympia?
Moody: “I miss the camaraderie, I miss the athletes from different countries. But in all, this sport keeps me healthy. It makes me eat right, makes me drink water like there’s no tomorrow. I love the physical change my body goes through, and I love to compete. But most of all the Natural Olympia is the Pinnacle of Natural Bodybuilding.”
Q: How’s your contest prep been for the 2022 natural bodybuilding season?
Moody: “This hasn’t been the usual prep as when I competed before, I’ve been trying to figure out my body for the past 5 months as to how it responds to a certain food, how much protein, carbs, and fats effects my body and what it looks like. Something I did back in 2014 hasn’t been the same as the present day. Guess I got a little older. I can’t consume the same amount of food etc., so it’s been a challenge, but at the same time, it’s been fun. These last 3-4 weeks have me excited about the changes my body has been able to achieve at 52.
When it comes to training, I’ve always been instinctive. I know the body part I will work on in that session, but I feel it out after warmups. But I’ve taken a lot of what I do, a lot of pyramids and drop sets and FST7 training that Hany Rambod made popular with training his clients and use it and have always used it this way. It’s been successful for me.”
Q: What do you expect going into the show?
Moody: “My mindset has been to have fun. Let the chips fall where they may. Let’s see what this body can do at 52. As much as it has been through, let’s put it to the test. Honestly, I don’t care where I place. I’m just happy to be back training and competing. I miss the camaraderie.”
Future After Natural Olympia
Kiyoshi said things haven’t been easy coming out of retirement. He stated:
“Learning this whole process again has been difficult – in terms of getting things lined up, tanning, making sure I have the right equipment for backstage for pumping up, oil, sheen, picking the correct posing suit, picking the music for the routine, posing. The little things people really don’t hear about.”
Although getting back into prepping for natural bodybuilding shows has been rigorous for Moody, he did say that he plans to be back each year after Natural Olympia as long as his health allows it.
Kiyoshi Moody expressed:
“Thank you, Generation Iron, for even considering me for a write-up. Special thank you to the gym I train at that gives me positive motivation day in and day out. The Gym Chula Vista. No place I’d rather train. Thank you to everyone that has supported me. The positive and negative feedback is motivation.”
Generation Iron wishes Kiyoshi Moody the best of luck at the 2022 Natural Olympia!
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