👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
Hi, my name is Anthony Catanzaro. I am known all over the world as the Superman of Fitness. I am currently 48 years old and I live in New York City with my beautiful wife Tina.
I have been in the fitness industry for quite sometime and have been working out since the age of 15.
I have won numerous fitness and bodybuilding championships, but my biggest challenge has been battling Parkinson’s disease for the last 7 years. I was diagnosed in 2015, and since then my life has changed dramatically.
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
I used to train 5 days a week, hitting two body parts per workout. I trained with mass intensity, never took steroids or any other enhancement drugs. I remained natural my entire career.
Even to this day with Parkinson’s, I still train 5 days a week, but obviously not with the same intensity.
I train in my personal training studio called Tony’s fitness studio of out my home. I used to go to Limitless Fitness in Howard Beach, NY. This was my 2nd home for many years. I miss my friends dearly.
I strictly do free weights only, no machines. This allows me to really work the muscles in the old school manner that I love.
With Parkinson’s I take my time training, I focus on the pump rather than focus on the movement. If I think about getting out of balance, I will get out of balance.
I try to be as natural as possible and by using free weights I am able to do so without being restricted by machines. Its also harder because I have to balance which is great therapy for me.
I have always told people if you want to grow, you have to envision what you want to look like in your mind. You have to see your physique, in order to build your physique. Have a clear vision of what you want to look like in your mind and then go out and make it happen.
I’ve always believed in weight training more than cardio, because when you build muscle, you automatically lose fat and when it’s done naturally, it could be a beautiful thing.
I never believed in fancy routines or fancy exercises. I am old school all the way and will be for the rest of my life.
I also believe in training with a workout partner who is as motivated as you are because you feed off each other’s positive energy. Just make sure your training partner is positive and not negative.
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
Training is like breathing to me
I’ve always said if you love what you do, its never a chore. What I mean is I couldn’t wait to go to the gym to do my next workout, my next rep, my next set.
I knew that every rep I did and every set I did I was getting closer and closer to reaching my goal.
I see people at the gym on their cell phone texting or scrolling through their phone in between sets or wearing headphones constantly. These are people who need outside stimuli to keep them motivated.
I have always had it inside of me, it’s a passion and love I cannot describe.
So, when people ask me how do I keep going especially now that I have Parkinson’s, I just tell them training is like breathing to me, I don’t think about it, I just do it.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
Well I continue to struggle with Parkinson’s.
Before I was diagnosed, I can tell you in a split second what my plans and goals were for the future. But at the moment, my goal is to beat this disease and to inspire people to never lose hope in whatever challenge they may be facing.
I believe God gives us as much as we can handle. I have been blessed my entire life, I have travelled the world, been in magazines and on TV and made people smile.
I have so much more to do in life, so much more to accomplish for I believe life is not planned, its lived.
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
I believe that rest is just as important as training maybe even more so because you don’t grow in the gym, you grow when you are sleeping.
Before Parkinson’s, I didn’t have one ache or pain, now I have ached and pains throughout my entire body.
To combat this, I have a massager called the Myo-Buddy and my wife uses it on me once a day. This helps with circulation and helps my muscles to relax.
I don’t believe in supplements, but I do take magnesium citrate. The brand I use is Calm and it comes in a powder form. This further helps the muscles relax.
I try to get as much sleep as I can and practice deep breathing throughout the day.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
I believe in a balanced whole food diet. I am now a vegan since August 2017, so I do not eat or drink any animal products whatsoever.
We are not designed to eat meat or consume dairy and I believe this is why a lot of people are sick today.
I used to consume massive amounts of chicken and I did this for about 20 years. Not realizing how much trauma both physically and mentally these animals are going through before they are killed so consuming them is a very unhealthy thing.
I eat six meals per day consuming foods such as whole grain oats, all types of fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, pasta and brown rice, olive oil and non-dairy substitutes.
You will be surprised at how much better you feel both physically and mentally once you give up eating animal products.
👍 What has inspired and motivated you?
Like I have said I have been training since the age of 15. I wanted to create a body like Arnold, just a smaller version. So, Arnold has been a huge inspiration throughout my entire bodybuilding career.
I am a huge believer in mind over body as the body is just a product of the mind. If you see yourself on stage winning contests, or if you see yourself 100 lbs overweight or alone on a Saturday night, you will achieve what you believe.
So, I guess you can say I am motivated by success in what I what to accomplish. We all should to have a goal in life, otherwise we are just spinning our wheels in life.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
If you want to fly like an eagle you can’t hang around the chickens.
First of all, it is very important to hang around people who have achieved or want to achieve the same goals as you do. For instance, if you want to fly like an eagle you can’t hang around the chickens.
So, surround yourself with Eagles and set small goals each day and once you accomplish one goal, move on to the next one for I believe goals are destinations and without a destination, where are you truly going?
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
Unfortunately, I am not taking any clients at the moment. I am working on my full recovery.
Parkinson’s takes a lot of time and energy out of me, it is a constant struggle, but I plan on getting back to my old self soon, I keep a positive outlook on life, and I believe that god is in control.
All I have to do is keep my faith and press forward!
Thank you for this opportunity and I hope that I have inspired many of your readers. Until the next time, this is Anthony Catanzaro the Superman of Fitness.
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
Facebook – @anthony.catanzaro.121
Instagram – @realtonycatanzaro
Youtube – @tcatanzaro
0 thoughts on “I’m the Superman of Fitness. This Is How I Keep Training after Getting Parkinson’s Disease”
Thank you for your kind understanding of how food animals suffer. So sorry that you have suffered so much with Parkinson. You and your wife are beautiful people both inside and out. Good luck with your efforts to overcome Parkinson.
Tony I have been you and your wife’s friend on fb for a long while..you have inspired me in so many ways. Love your strength and how you love life..keep fighting my friend ????.
Good on you Anthony.
Always been my inspiration .
Thank you
Godbless