From chef to international bodybuilding gold medalist

Excellently winning 3 gold medals in 3 categories at the NPC Worldwide global classic Vietnam 2023 international bodybuilding tournament, organized by the IFBB Pro International Bodybuilding Federation, but few people know that before that, Nguyen Viet Khoa used to be a chef.

At the NPC Worldwide global classic Vietnam 2023 international bodybuilding tournament, organized by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness IFBB Pro on July 30, Viet Khoa (28 years old, residing in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City), excellently won 3 gold medals in the semi-professional category over 1.78 m, all-around semi-professional category over 1.78 m and professional category over 1.78 m.

To achieve such an impressive achievement, Khoa had to go through many months without eating spices, and had to abstain from water for 7 days before the competition. For many years now, Khoa has maintained a training regimen of 4 hours a day.

Từ chàng đầu bếp tới huy chương vàng thể hình quốc tế - Ảnh 1. — *Nguyen Viet Khoa has an admirable physique.*

During the training process, Khoa had to spend a lot of time learning knowledge to reveal detailed muscle groups and muscle dryness in order to achieve high results in bodybuilding competitions. Currently, Khoa has an ideal body with a height of 1.78 m, weight of 95 kg and a fat ratio of only 3%.

Before becoming a professional bodybuilder , Khoa studied hotel management in Australia from 2009 to 2014. After graduating, Khoa returned to Vietnam and applied for a job as a chef at a restaurant specializing in European cuisine in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. Although the job brought in a stable income, it took a lot of time, so this young man switched to professional bodybuilding in 2018.

Từ chàng đầu bếp tới huy chương vàng thể hình quốc tế - Ảnh 3. — *Nguyen Viet Khoa used to be a chef specializing in European cuisine.*

"When I became a chef, I started training to compete in professional bodybuilding. If I wanted to achieve the best results, I had to abstain from eating. Every day, facing delicious food without being able to try it was a big challenge. Sometimes I couldn't control myself and broke the rules to eat a little bit, but it didn't affect my muscles much. What I felt most uncomfortable about working as a chef was that it took up too much time. Some days, I had to work overtime for 12 hours," Khoa said.

Từ chàng đầu bếp tới huy chương vàng thể hình quốc tế - Ảnh 4. — *For many years, Viet Khoa has maintained a 4-hour exercise regimen every day.*

In addition to the achievements in the recent competition, Khoa also previously won a number of other awards, such as: bronze medal in the semi-professional category and bronze medal in the professional category at the Men's physique 2022 tournament held in Thailand...

Mr. Nguyen Duy Binh, working at 231F An Duong Vuong, An Lac Ward, Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City, has more than 13 years of professional bodybuilding competition, and was also Khoa's teacher in the early days of pursuing this field, said: "I have known Khoa since he was a restaurant chef, at that time he was very passionate. Although he was a chef, exposed to and made a lot of delicious food, Khoa was very good at dieting, had a very strong will. Khoa is an easy-going person, very receptive and always strives to achieve his goals".

Thanhnien.vn