Leading film star Waldemar Torenstra built his ultimate body for a new TV series in just 16 weeks at Ultimate Performance Amsterdam.
The 43-year-old actor forged a lean and muscular physique for his most challenging role yet – playing a kickboxer in the series Vechterhart.
Waldemar’s character is an ageing heavyweight who is making the switch to Mixed Martial Arts – so the actor needed to build an impressive body that would look the part on screen when he came up against real professional fighters.
The body transformation results he achieved in just 16 weeks at UP were incredible, resulting in Waldemar gaining the well-deserved Client of the Month.
He got a six-pack and packed on significant lean muscle, making him look every inch the ultimate heavyweight fighter.
Here Waldemar explains how his training and nutrition at UP helped him get in the best shape of his life for the series…
Talk us through the TV role, what part you plan and the kind of physique you wanted to build for it?
In the the series ‘’Vechterhart’’ (Fighter’s Heart) I had to play a character called ‘’Nick’’. Nick is a top athlete who’s at the end of his career. All the training, fighting and punches he received in his pro career are taking their toll.
He’s a heavy weight kickboxer who’s making a transition towards MMA. As an actor I had to be capable to fight for hours. So I had to have a body like a top athlete. Physically but also mentally. I had to be able to record endless fighting.
“Nick get’s seduced to take steroids for a short time to stimulate his vitality and recovery. Besides that he wanted more definition and a fit, athletic body.
“All the fights were recorded with real pro fighters out of the heavy weight division. So in front of the camera I had to look the part and well matched.”
“The goal was to look like an impressive 100kg pro fighter, that could go for hours. That would match the physique of the real pro fighters in the series.”
How did your UP trainer build you a programme to help you achieve these physique goals?
“My trainer made a very specific periodisation plan tailored to my body specific needs work schedule and work-to-rest ratio.”
He has a tremendous amount of knowledge about the body, nutrition and supplementation. Even when I had several injuries due to the recording of the fight with the pro’s. He always managed to train around it.
“To squeeze out every possible repetition so we could continue to make progress. Although I didn’t like it at the time it did bring the results!”
What were your expectations/motivations going into your UP transformation?
“I was motivated by my work. The series is called Fighter’s Heart so I thought I also had to show my fighter’s heart to achieve this goal!”
I heard a lot of good stories about UP and about my trainer so I thought if there’s one place in Amsterdam where I can achieve such a goals it must be at UP Amsterdam.
“I’m so glad I went there. They have such professional, dedicated and passionate trainers. And the gym is filled with amazing training equipment.”
What were the most challenging parts of the transformation process?
“The most challenging was that, besides all the training in the gym, I also had to learn MMA and Kickboxing and was filming 10 hours a day. Due to all of this, I didn’t have a lot of rest and often felt tired.”
“All of this in combination with food preparations, eating a lot etc., I didn’t have a lot of time for other things.”
“This meant I had to be super focussed all the time. Luckily my trainer was all the time on my tail for support and tips. Without him I probably wouldn’t have made it.”
How were you feeling physically and mentally before you started?
“I felt fine but due my work and the irregular hours I didn’t always eat very well. And then there are some days that I didn’t feel very fit.”
How did this change when you started training with UP?
“The first period when I wasn’t allowed to eat carbohydrates, sugar and alcohol, I felt pretty miserable, I often felt tired and the sessions were hard.”
But after 2 weeks I actually started to feel better, more focussed and more energetic.
“I realised that how you feel depends a lot on what you eat.”
How did the training fit around your busy schedule?
“This was actually the hardest part. Because there was never enough time. And after week 6 I started to feel really tired.”
“One of the most important things for fat loss and muscle growth is sleep.”
But due to night recordings, work and training I didn’t get the sleep I was supposed to have.
Luckily my trainer knew exactly how to deal with this kind of thing. He would always make adjustments on the way I felt and my performance. This way we could still train hard and make progression.
Have you trained before for film roles and how challenging was the training you did with UP for this role in comparison?
“I’m a fairly sportive guy. I did some fitness but mostly outdoor sports.”
But I never trained so hard in my life.
“Because there was a very clear goal. I needed to be big, lean, flexible and had to have a lot of stamina.”
How quickly did you start seeing results from your training and diet at UP?
“After I started feeling better due to the changed diet I started to see a real difference in about 5 weeks.”
What were the most powerful or beneficial lessons you learned training and dieting with UP?
“I learned a lot during my time with UP.”
“How you should eat, how you spread your meals efficiently over the day.”
“How you can start to feel really good without sugar.”
But mostly how you can achieve amazing results by focusing on what you are doing.
“To execute exercises with a precision that includes technique, breathing, squeezing and the tempo of the exercise. Sander really knew what he was doing!”
“He taught me how to train way past my comfort zone, and to go beyond a level I didn’t know existed.”
How do you feel now you have completed your transformation?
I feel happy and proud of myself.
“But also happy that we can start to train a little less intense ;-)”
Can you tell us about the results that you achieved with UP?
“I started with 95kg and a fat percentage of 21% and I ended with 94.2kg and a fat percentage of 10% but I gained 10kg of muscles!”
Has it helped you perform better outside of the gym as well as inside the gym?
By training so intense for 16 weeks I learned things I will never forget.
“I’m a lot more conscious about what I eat.”
“If you have such a good trainer as Sander who taught me how to keep the focus and how to go way beyond my comfort zone.”
“Made me aware that outside of the gym your also much more conscious about your ability to persist to reach your goals. Your whole mindset gets refined!”
- We show you the best, we don't show you the worst.
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- We show you those who inspire even us with their commitment to their results.
- You cannot get results exactly like these. You are unique and that means you can only get your own best possible results.
- Your results are a function of time spent following the plan; your genetic response to the right exercise and diet program; how hard you train; how consistently you come to the gym; how disciplined you are with your diet; & your starting point.
- Oftentimes the lower your starting point (poor fitness, terrible body composition) the better your results.
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In the end the result is down to you.
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