INBA PNBA Australian natural bodybuilder Kris Beretov earned a bronze medal in the Men’s Physique Masters division at Natural Olympia, despite battling leukemia.
Kris Beretov is a Men’s Physique competitor and appeared in his first Natural Olympia at 2021 Natural Olympia. Despite battling leukemia, Beretov earned third place in the Men’s Physique Masters class.
In 2010, Beretov was diagnosed with leukemia after undergoing a standard glucose test after experiencing diabetic symptoms. After a few months of fighting leukemia, Beretov’s mental health turned for the worst. According to Beretov, chemotherapy put his body in pain and made him very sick. That’s when Kris Beretov knew he needed to shift his mindset.
Kris Beretov started to put more time in the gym and cleaned up his diet. Within a short time, Beretov noticed a vast improvement in his recovery from leukemia treatment and mental health.
Training And Nutrition With Leukemia
Kris Beretov said in a written statement:
“When it comes to training some days are definitely harder than others. When your bones ach [sic] just getting out of bed, your struggling to keep food down from treatment energy levels are at level 1 out of 10 you have to dig deep tell yourself there are people worse if than you [sic]. Nothing is going to stop you from reaching your dream. Some days you do it for yourself other days you do it to inspire others not to give up.”
Kris Beretov avoids training with heavy weight, but he still keeps the volume and intensity high. He’ll hover in the 12-20 rep range and perform sets of 4-5 to build the physique of a top natural bodybuilder. Beretov states, “Learning how to fuel my body correctly is critical for me as I need to get the absolute most out of my training sessions & recovery to be competitive against my the athletes [sic].”
Beretov loves competing because he says the gym and the stage are the two places where people never felt sorry for his leukemia. It warmed his heart seeing his daughter draped in his first and third place medals he won after stepping on an INBA PNBA stage. Beretov’s love for natural bodybuilding and early success had him set new goals to strive for.
In 2019, he competed at the INBA PNBA World Cup in Sydney and came out on top in the Masters and Open division in the Men’s Physique class. He planned to attend Natural Olympia that year. But unfortunately, he had to pull out due to health concerns. That didn’t stop Beretov from stepping on the Natural Olympia stage in 2021, though.
Kris Beretov’s Road to Natural Olympia
Kris Beretov’s road to 2021 Natural Olympia wasn’t a smooth path. First, because of covid, he dealt with gym and border lockdowns. But with determination and perseverance, he made it to the largest natural bodybuilding event globally – Natural Olympia.
Kris Beretov expressed:
“The feeling i felt walking on Natural Olympia stage for the 1st time is a feeling I will never forget. Then to make a fairy tale come true, to stand on the podium in 3rd place with the Australian flag wrapped around me still feeling amazing and gives me goosebumps now. The tears of joy with my fellow competitors knowing we all did our families, supporters & countries proud. We all from all parts [sic] of the world but we are all one big family.”
Kris Beretov represents Australia, his family and friends, and anyone battling leukemia and other forms of cancer.
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