Most of the world waltz into an air conditioned gym, after taking their freshly ironed gym towel out of their leather bags enclosed in perfectly manufactured gym lockers.
Then, it's big screen TV's, beautiful people, and bubblers with water so cool, you swear it's been carted in from the swiss alps. That's because, well, it probably has.
But such is not the case for 24 year old Kulbila Samson, a bodybuilder from Ghana.
With a hardcore makeshift gym in the hot African sun, this is hard enough to train in, let alone when he's out of action due to malaria.
But what does he think of that? "That's Africa for you" he tells Spot Me Bro, who originally brought this legend to our attention.
Kulbila Samson lives in the eastern region of Ghana in a small town called Akropong Akuapim.
He doesn't follow any specific workout plan, but rather just makes sure he hits all body parts in the week.
And hitting them is an under statement!
Kulbila Samson trains from Monday to Friday, and rests on weekends.
Here's a look at his chest program:
Dips – 5 sets of 15, 15, 12, 10, 8 reps.
Bench press – 5 sets of 20, 15, 10, 8, 6 reps.
Inclined bench - 4 sets of 15, 12, 10, 10 reps.
Decline bench – 4 sets of 15, 12, 10, 10 and I increase weight at every stage of sets.
And creativity is a must. Above is how Kulbila Samson is forced to squat.
Kulbila is 5 ft 8 tall and weighs 88kg.
But it's his diet that is most interesting.
There's no Walmart, Coles, or anything like that. So Kulbila's choice of foods to pack on muscle mass are all Ghanaian style:
- Garri and beans with fried plantain
- banku with grilled fish
- yam with nkontomire stew (cocoyam leafs stew),
- pounded yam with green soup with mushroom snails and catfish.
Garri (above) - a popular source of carbs for Ghanaian people. BELOW: Kulbila cooking up a storm.
Kulbila's homemade gym is owned by a friend right near where he lives.
He is forced to train at two homemade gyms, because some boast equipment that others don't.
When it comes to supplements, Kulbila says he's taken things like fish oil and multivitamins before, and has also trialled creatine. But because supplements are so rare and expensive in Ghana, Kulbila tends to rely on just his diet.
So the next time you step into your comfortable and air conditioned gym, give a thought to our mate Kulbila - who's certainly doing it tougher than we are!
"Stay Fit, Stay Flexed!"
Author
Dayne Hudson