ABOUT THE ARNOLD CLASSIC AUSTRALIA FITNESS EXPO

THE Arnold Sports Festival is Australia’s largest fitness expo and multi-sport festival with over 40 different sporting events, over 10,000 professional and amateur competitors, and over 60,000 visitors attending the three-day schedule jam-packed with activities for all sports lovers, families and fitness fanatics alike.

It has become a highlight of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mission to bring his Fitness Crusade to the world, encouraging people of all ages and abilities to take part in sport and activities that promote fitness, health and wellbeing.

Schwarzenegger returns to Melbourne for the fourth annual Arnold Sports Festival at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on March 1618. HONING CRAFT: Wesley Vick trains Brooke Kowalczyk. but girls are getting into lifting and lots are really taking to it.”

Vick is confident Kowalczyk will surprise people with her results in Melbourne later this year.

She currently has personal bests of squat 170kg, bench 90kg and dead lift 180kg.

The busy mum says it can be difficult to juggle work, her family and training but she enjoys the challenge.

“It is hard to fit it all in,” Kowalczyk said.

“I like to train first thing in the morning.

“My kids love it. Every time they meet someone they say stuff like ‘my mum is a powerlifter’.

“They are talking up how much I can dead lift and are pretty proud of everything.

“They come and watch me train and help out sometimes, which is great.”

Most people dabble in good nutrition, but rarely eat well consistently, especially when they are training so hard.

Here are some top tips to help you reach your full potential in less time and less pain.

1. Eat every three hours. Your body needs a constant source of energy availability to repair and rebuild, so don’t skip meals.

2. Carbohydrate is essential. Include good sources (brown rice, sweet potato, legumes, fruit) around the times you are training.

3. Include a source of protein at every snack or meal (egg, tuna, yoghurt, cottage cheese, lean meat).

4. Remain hydrated. Insufficient hydration can be a bigger performance killer than poor nutrition.

5. Remove alcohol and high-sugar, high-saturated fat foods from your diet – they can make you sluggish and tired.

And if you really want to see performance improvements, look at all areas: training, psychology and nutrition.

An accredited sports dietitian can help you put together a plan to suit your goals.

YOUR BODY NEEDS A CONSTANT SOURCE OF ENERGY AVAILABILITY TO REPAIR AND REBUILD

Mitch Smith is the director of Health Management Dietitians based in Cairns.