👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
My name is Francesco Grezza and I’m 25 years old at least they say so but I don’t believe it much! I’m from Sardinian, Italy and living in Porto Torres in North Sardinian.
I’m an international personal trainer, athletic trainer, sports article writer and a motivator & inspiring sporty owner of my gym/iron gym called, Francesco Grezza Legacy™®. I also offer personal training services online on my site for advanced athletes but I prefer to follow people from live.
I help people improve both physically and mentally by giving them the right motivation, by letting them know the tools they already have inside themselves and expressing their maximum potential to reach their goals.
For now my partner are the iron. I’m not an easy one for relationships, we need the right person who understand my lifestyle, and who is not only beautiful but also intelligent and knows how to make me laugh and support me!
I had a cat Logan and I loved him so much, but unfortunately died too soon because he was killed. I have also a dog that is like a child and it’s called Zaira, 11 years old but she doesn’t seem to know what aging is!
I lost over 45 kg starting from a weight of 125 kg without ever resorting to operations or shortcuts. Instead, I resorted to several years of sacrifices, hard work and dedication, in which my transformation and good results and the motivation I daily give on social media like Instagram have inspired and motivated many people throughout the world.
I have been practicing martial arts since I was three years old in which I am a brown belt in Judo and I have achieved good results even at a competitive level in some regional championship!
I have written over 11 articles on training, nutrition and sports supplementation for a known English company Bulk Powders in 2016. The articles were published on their Italian site in the section about the core.
I also collaborated with one of the largest sites in Italy called, My Personal Trainer in which I helped the users of the forum by answering their questions about the gym. Some years ago I have also opened my portal Francesco Grezza Legacy in which I published several workouts and notions completely free that have helped many people to obtain a better reach of their goals!
I’ve been training in a practical gym since I was 16 years old. I started my path to lose weight and after losing about 15 kg followed by my first instructor job, then I found my vocation and I started my own way which led me to achieve the results that everyone knows: losing over 45 kg!
Bodybuilding has become a fundamental part of my life, it has led me to improve not only physically but also mentally, it has shaped my character through pain and suffering.
I have managed to overcome many obstacles, and if I think from where I started and what I did up to now at the age of 25, I am very proud of myself even though I would have done a lot more because I toured several gyms.
After I started to be fairly known, many became envious of my results and the feedback I had. That’s why they always tried to cut me off by not giving me any chance, because they didn’t want to be overshadowed by my presence in the gym, but in the end and although no one has ever believed in me and helped me, I was gritting my teeth and going forward and they stayed and remain behind. More and more behind!
Apart from bodybuilding and judo (also at a competitive level), over the years before the age of 16, I have practiced numerous sports including football, tennis, basketball, karate, boxing and krav maga. For a while, I have also tried ju-jitsu and weight lifting.
I am passionate about medicine and general health, I like fishing, cooking (and modestly I can cook pretty well), listening to music, mainly rock, blues, rap even if it’s more old school. I play a little guitar, I like shooting games, I really like technology and computer science. I would love to travel and to know so many people, especially in the fitness environment!
I’ve collaborated with several companies but I was never sponsored by any one of them because there were no terms that suited me well enough to make a sponsorship!
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
I train a lot of old school training. My preparations vary depending on the goals I want to achieve, I don’t use guided machines, but mainly I insert basic and complementary exercises, often varying them during my training using series and repetitions depending on the objective and based on my experience and studies I have dealt with over the years.
I use superseries a lot, giant series and other advanced methods, but I also like training with a group a day! With fairly short recoveries: Minimum of one minute and maximum of 1:30 minutes!
My workouts can vary from five to six times a week and last an average of one hour and can even include two sessions a day, depending on what my goal is!
I obviously like my programs, among which I very much adore the advanced workout pro bodybuilding training, which was made entirely by me and is available together with many others for free on my site! I generally vary my training often and in general varied the exercises each week!
I train in my own gym at Iron Gym Francesco Grezza Legacy™®, which will be opened to the public I think in December of 2019. Before that I had been training in my room for several years because I did not like like most of the gyms here because of the way they are managed.
I usually train alone but I also like to train with a partner, even better if I train with a woman! Then it depends on what I do because not everybody can withstand certain workouts! I don’t play at the gym!
As for my training preparation, if I do cardio in the morning, I take only a cup of coffee and then I cation, usually before I work out or take advantage of breakfast or lunch if I train in the afternoon!
If I really want to supplement before the cardio, I can take BCAA and creatine! Before weight training and if I really want to use supplements, I take coffee and citrulline, but apart from proteins I don’t take these supplements intensively!
After the training, I take proteins. Then if I want to use some supplements I would take creatine and also glutamine! It can vary depending on the necessity!
As for my fitness bag, the usual things inside are belt, water, towel, and straps.
For my cardio regimen, early in the morning I practice 30 minutes of low intensity cardio, in the tapis or elliptical. Before that I used to run on the road for 30/40 minutes, sometimes I also adopt HIIT systems!
Mu favorite exercise is dumbbell bench press. I use a chronometer as a tool to measure my training. I don’t keep a training log but it’s all in my mind.
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
When I need to go to the gym but motivation is low, I get up my ass and go to train! The desire is there to always improve and never feel like you’ve arrived, to always reach new goals! To be an example to others and to have some sense some sort of responsibility in those who now believe in me and have me refer to them!
The best hack for improving in the gym is be the man who works the hardest in the room.
To make myself keep going and pushing harder I always think about who I am, who I want to become and what I want to demonstrate not only to myself but also to others! Continuously breaking down my limits, recognizing the fact that there is no fucking limit.
I always make time for training, a day has 24 hours. Six hours of sleep has been scientifically proved to be enough, so there are still 18 hours left for training and it only takes one, so there are no excuses.
Life is already a big challenge, which we all face every day! For this, being strong is not an option but the only possibility you have!
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
What I have faced made me the person I am today!
Well, I have resumed a new program recently to move towards a better shape! My goal is to keep on improving myself because you never stop learning and improving! To reach this goal, I will continue working hard with sacrifices, sweat, and dedication!
I’d like to improve my gym more once it is open and I’d like to make it known everywhere, and I hope to achieve many other goals like having my own family one day!
If I could start all over in my bodybuilding/fitness journey, I would change nothing because I live without regrets. What I have faced made me the person I am today!
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
Warm up well, recover properly, eat properly, don’t underestimate things if you have trouble. If you don’t feel good, avoid pushing too hard! Restart more loads and be more motivated than before, learning from mistakes and trying not to do them again!
Let the body rest. Don’t miss a few weeks of rest to smoke years of training! Health is always first. Eating well and taking the right precautions during training!
It is not a few days of rest that will make your years of earnings vanish! The body also needs to recover, otherwise the risk of injuries will be greater!
To improve my recovery, I do alimentation as the base, but if I have to supplement I use proteins ISO, BCAA, glutamine, creatine, CLA/omega3 and mineral multivitamin.
My recovery techniques are cardio, stretching and warming up before training.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
I don’t count my calories, I evaluate my results in the mirror.
I decrease my carbohydrates if I have to lose fat mass, and I increase my protein and fat if I have to put on mass. Increase carbohydrates a little and maintain high proteins and normal fats.
I don’t count my calories, I evaluate my results in the mirror.
I try to eat protein at every meal and carbohydrates at least for breakfast and before training!
When I go out and have to eat outside, I consider it as a cheating day. I try to contain myself in choosing something that doesn’t hurt too much or that can affect my training!
I often use proteins, if I want to integrate other uses creatine, BCAA, CLA, omega 3, glutamine, citrulina, multi vitaminic mineral and ZMA. I prefer BulkPowders because I have confidence in their manufacturing processes and quality of the raw materials, I found myself well with this brand!
My cheat days happen usually once a week or so when I want to follow a correct diet for as long as possible! I usually eat pizza or ice cream or some special pasta like carbonara, lasagna. In general I love sweets!
I try to maintain a low fat mass because I tend to very easily get dirty a lot! However, also trying to maintain a good volume! When cutting, I lower carbohydrates and do cardio daily, my workouts are imposed with short recovery.
When I diet/faste, I take low glycemic index foods that release energy over long periods of time by keeping blood glucose levels balanced. I always try to take carbohydrates before or after training! Moreover, the body can draw energy even by itself through ketosis!
I don’t drink alcohol and I don’t smoke, I drink coffee 3/4 times a day, I hate tea or other herbal teas, I love milk!
I don’t use any fitness tracker but a website like MyFitnessPal can be a good diary if used correctly and with personalizing the parameters according to one’s needs!
👍 What has inspired and motivated you?
Obviously the Arnold films! His prowess, his story like that of Columbu (another Sardinian like me)! Then other characters I like, when I was a child, I saw Batista and John Cena, but I also appreciated Coleman and Shawn Ray! And obviously the great Greg Plitt inspired me and motivated me a lot and pushed me to do the same with others!
I listen to music that charge things up, such as old school rock/rap! I listen to some artists like Nirvana, 2Pac, Eminem, 50 Cent, Three Days Grace, 12 Stones, Skillet, Disturbed, and many more!
If your mind believes it and your heart too, then the body will find a way to succeed.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
Learn the technique well without messing around too much, mainly in the basic and complementary free-load exercises! Concentrate during training without distractions and feel the muscle burn and work well! The fundamental thing is to feed properly!
The strangest/stupidest thing I have seen in the gym was a guy who had become an instructor. He asked me how he put the bench in the squat rack to make a high bench, once he had positioned the bench and the barbell, he sat down and banged his head on the barbell!
The most common thing I see people do wrong in the gym are that they use loads that are higher than they can lift properly, they often use clothes that are not suitable for the gym, they are afraid of loading the weight, they perform exercises in an incorrect and harmful way and they do not put the right enthusiasm and determination during the training!
I would combine of course bodybuilding with other sports, because the gym helps at 360° both in the development of muscle mass and in the power and maximum capacity of expression. The gym helps with the suitable exercises and protocols, it helps to improve whatever the goal is!
When you are outside the gym, live life with humility, without feeling that you have reached the top or are superior to others. But also, you cannot even feel inferior. Give all of yourself in what you believe are your dreams and abilities, fail, get up and try again even a thousand times if you need but without never give up!
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
I take clients of course, both in my gym and online. For online, I only entertain advanced athletes with experience of at least two to three years.
I also follow people as personal trainers wherever they are but the price is quite high depending on all the needs of travel and accommodation.
Usually after one week people with me see results if they follow everything to the letter and are 100% committed to training and nutrition!
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
Please visit my website. Follow my Instagram @francesco_grezza_official, and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
