Andreas Cahling

• 2012 IFBB Masters Olympia & Pro World 16th
• 2011 IFBB Pro World Masters Championships 13th
• 1993 IFBB Niagra Falls Pro 18th
• 1993 IFBB Chicago Pro 20th
• 1993 IFBB Pittsburgh Pro NP
• 1990 IFBB Niagra Falls Pro 4th
• 1984 IFBB World Pro 6th
• 1981 IFBB Grand Prix Canada 6th
• 1981 IFBB World Grand Prix 6th
• 1980 IFBB Mr. International 1st
• 1979 IFBB European Men’s Championships 3rd
• 1979 IFBB Mr. International 2nd
• 1978 IFBB Mr. International 6th
• 1978 IFBB World Amateur Championships 5th
• 1977 IFBB Mr. World 2nd
• 1976 Mr. Venice Beach 1st

“I started weight training at age 11 in 1964 to get stronger for wrestling. It was all bodybuilding from age 23.”

Biography

Junior Wrestling Champion In Japan

In Andreas’s early days, he competed in different styles of wrestling, including freestyle and Greco-roman. He moved to Japan at the age of 17 and earned his black belt in Judo. He learned the language and enjoyed the different culture, this is where he absorbed new and amazing experiences.

He remembers the thrill of being in a new country and belonging to the wrestling team in Japan. Learning their style of training and taking in their deep and rich culture. Andreas also recalls that he had the opportunity to train with riot police.

Andreas also worked in a German bar in Osaka called Edelweiss. This gave Andreas the opportunity to live in Japan and continue his love for wrestling. He continued to wrestle in the Japanese freestyle wrestling league, where he represented Momoyama University in Osaka. He also entered the senior level of Japanese wrestling championships at age 18 but he was knocked out.

It was actually at the age of 11 years old that Andreas started strength training, this he knew was the key to winning and dominating over his wrestling competitors. This understanding for strength later grew into a love for bodybuilding.

Moving To California’s Gold’s Gym

After some time living and enjoying his youth in Japan, Andreas moved back to Sweden, where he was originally born. He took part in the Swedish Judo championships upon his return, winning the youth title.

Realizing the importance of weight training for enhancing all sporting performance, Andreas became hooked on strength training, in particular, bodybuilding.

After experimenting with strength training further, his passion for strength continued to grow. He knew there was a movement of bodybuilders in America at the time, especially the world renowned Gold’s Gym Long Beach California.

He hopped on a plane and moved to California, where he recalls walking into the original Gold’s Gym after only two hours after stepping off the plane. It’s clear to see that Andreas was serious about hs fitness and training.

Competing In The ’70s & ’80s

Andreas was fortunate enough to live in the time of the golden era of bodybuilding where he would train with the likes of Arnold, Ric Drasin and many others. The atmosphere and energy from Gold’s Gym hasn’t been replicated since.

He enjoyed a long career on the stage and being featured in numerous magazines and commercials for health and fitness. Andreas even owned his own swimwear shop in California, which became very successful at the height of the late ’70s.

In 1976 Andreas won 1st place in the Mr. Venice beach competition, and a year later he took 2nd place in the 1977 Mr. World for the IFBB. In 1978 he placed a respectable 5th place in the IFBB Mr. World amateur championships.

Continuing his love for competing, Andreas placed 6th in the 1978 IFBB Mr. International but worked harder to beat most of the competition the very next year. In 1979 he came in 2nd place in the IFBB Mr. International. The very same year, Andreas competed in IFBB European Men’s Championships where he placed 3rd.

Making A Comeback

In 1980, the height of Andreas’s career, he won 1st place in the IFBB Mr. International. Andreas continued to compete all the way from 1981 to 1993.

He made a successful comeback to bodybuilding in 2011 in the IFBB Pro World Masters Championships, and again in 2012 where he placed 16th overall in the IFBB Masters Olympia & Pro World at the age of 59.

Andreas has proven that a healthy mixture of consistency, passion and drive can produce amazing results.

The Key to Longevity

Here’s Andreas talking about the key to longevity;

“A lot of it is genetic and hormonal. Nutrition and exercise are also key components along with a positive attitude and gratitude for the little things in life. The ability to appreciate, We need to take care of ourselves the way we would a classic car and be smart about our exercising. No need to run yourself into the ground.”

Featured Flim

Davis Sandberg’s film Kung Fury features Andreas as the character Thor. The film is a martial arts action and comedy, based on the classic 1980s martial arts and police films of the time.

The director wrote to Andreas after seeing him online and said he would be perfect to play the character, Thor. Needless to say, Andreas accepted right away and flew over to Sweden. He was the only hired actor on set.

Andreas then and now.

Facial Tumour

There’s been a lot of rumors that Andreas suffered a stroke, due to his slightly dropped left side of his face. Andreas reveals that he had a tumor removed from his face that was connected to facial nerves leaving his face the way it looks today.

“I did have a very unusual tumor removed from a facial nerve about 10 years ago. It grew real close to my brain so I opted for surgical removal. This is one reason why my face looks as it does today. I have never suffered physically before or after the surgery. For many years I was misdiagnosed as having a facial paralysis.” – Andreas Cahling

Andreas Today

Andreas continues to supply the word with a fascination of the human anatomy and how we can achieve our goals through the correct lifestyle approach and attitude. When it comes to training, Andreas believes that there’s no one set rule for optimum health, but instead, he looks at the basics such as whole unprocessed natural foods, listening to the body and variety.

You can find him online talking about numerous subjects, including the use of hormone replacement and how we can avoid the damaging effects that modern day living causes to diminish testosterone levels, which Andreas believes, is the key to a long and strong life.

Among the many health talks Andreas likes to give, he also hopes to create training programs of his own so people can follow in his footsteps and create a strong and healthy body.

A young Andreas Cahling.

“Choose activities that stimulate both body and mind.”

Training

Mental strength

Andreas has a large amount of will and mental strength to step up to his fears and achieve his goals, not only in bodybuilding but also in life. He talks about the way he’s always had a tough mental attitude since a young age, and that it’s empowered him on to greatness. Here you can see Andreas talking about his tough mental edge;

“My mental strength is that I have always, since very young, launched challenges, including forcing me to do things I was afraid of. For example, as I was afraid of heights, I trained to become a military parachutist and I got it.”

Andreas And Variety

Enjoying a life of variety, Andreas likes to change his workouts often, not ever sticking to a workout schedule, he always acts on instinct. When he steps into the gym, he’ll decide then and there what he wants  or needs to train.

Sometimes he’ll train twice per day hitting the same body part to force more growth. A lot of the time Andreas will use lighter weights and higher reps, you can see some training videos of Andreas online using high reps lighter weights in his workouts.

Apart from strength training and bodybuilding, Andreas likes to keep his mind healthy as well as his body, His training consists of weight lifting, posing, balance training, dancing and bicycling.

Nutrition

Hormones And Testosterone

Andreas is a firm believer in the way the human body should be adapted to best suit its needs. He stresses the importance of whole foods, eating enough to support your training and most importantly, the increase of testosterone in the body.

He also likes to stress that it’s not the hours of endless cardio that will get people in shape and loose weight, but it’s the metabolism and the hormones that play the biggest role in this. He says that is the no1 thing to stay lean and healthy, not counting or suppressing your calories.

Switching Diets

Andreas has eaten in many different ways shapes and forms over the years. He’s been a vegan eater and vegetarian, but now he believed that there’s no one rule for obtaining your goal when it comes to diet. But instead, more of an importance should be made to how much we eat and the quality of the foods we buy that’s really going to make a difference.

Here’s Andreas talking about his way of eating;

“I have not eaten red meat for 27 years. Today I’m not a vegetarian, but my obsession is to eat only natural food, not processed, ecological (organic) and with a high nutritional value.

The training gave me the best results is that which has been combined with a maximum of food, all synchronized with my hormonal system.”

Supplements

For overall health, Andreas will take a variety of supplements that will support not only his health but also his hormone and testosterone production. He will take breaks from taking supplements every few days to give his body a rest and to get the best results.

He uses a whey protein when wanting to increase muscle mass and several types of vitamins, such as C, E, B, D3, but also organic supplements such as chlorophyll, chlorella, and turmeric. Andreas will also supplement with wheat-grass juice, glutamine, lysine. He also likes bee pollen. Andreas like to point out that food is the most important thing above anything else.

“I trained judo with the riot police in Osaka, Japan. I picked up judo quickly because of my wrestling background.”

Idols and Influences

His main influence in life was his father. Apart from his father, his wrestling coach at Momoyama University in Osaka Japan, who was called Mr. Oshidate, was another great influence in Andreas’s life. His Judo teacher who was a Japanese riot police officer, also made a big impact on the young Andreas. He trained Jodo with the riot police of Japan and picked it up quickly.

What we can learn from Andreas Cahling

Andreas has had a long and healthy career and enjoyment from sports and bodybuilding. His detailed approach to nutrition and the hormones within the body really shows us that it’s incredibly important, especially the type and quality of the food.

For training, variety is also important. Andreas shows us this is true, not only in the gym but also out of the gym. He makes sure he has a mixture of activities to keep himself active and healthy, both physically and mentally throughout his life.

Andreas believes that listening to the body and to learn as much as possible about nutrition, is the key. But also to train the mind, become strong and achieve goals. Here’s Andreas talking about his approach to life;

“Learn to listen to your body. Learn about nutrition. Focus on natural organic foods. Learn to train with minimum risk for injuries. Train your mind to think positive thoughts by focusing on what you have and not on what you do not have.”

Taking Andreas’s approach to life and seeing his strong mental attitude with a healthy approach to life, and goal setting, can all lead to greatness.