Riccardo Croci
Biographie
If there is something that has accompanied most of my life it is the love for cast iron, even in dark times when I was in disarray, training was my only constant. I have been training for 15 years pulling heavy weights without technical patches and with very rough feedings, still having excellent results.
One day in 2016 without ever having seen a competition and with a DIY preparation I decided to get involved in a world unknown to me until that moment. I attended the oneway with a very good 2 ”mp muscular seat. it was love at first sight. Immediately after I started the journey with the coach @titan_team_international - After a year of preparation and an incredible improvement we returned to the same races with a victory at the oneway and a discussed 2nd place at the Italian championships that everyone said I deserved to win. - without too much controversy we reappeared in 2018 with a condition so superior to the others that the judgment was not attackable.
Another oneway won and I was Italian champion !! it was time to aim high. - 2019 PRO CARD goal. The beginning was not the most fortunate, the scheduled races were the pro qualifiers in the spring, we touched the procard but without success. September Yamamoto Cup race that I had not planned prepared in just 5 weeks in which I lost 12kg, I participated without too many expectations after the previous disappointments instead we won everything, 1 place in the overall victory and procard category. The next day I found myself competing with the pros I was in the back stage with people I was watching participate in OLIMPYA the week before on TV ... the greatest thrill of my life to find myself with those monsters in 3rd place behind only 2 top 10 Olympias.
November 2019 Japan pro another indescribable top5 emotion with 35 professional athletes among the best in the world. Going to the other side of the world and finding people who knew me, shouted my name when I was on stage and signing autographs was something I never thought would happen to me in life. - 2020 started with a great physical evolution and scheduled races with the olympia dream broken by the arrival of the pandemic with all the races canceled and international transfers blocked everything seemed lost. Despite the difficulties I never stopped believing in that dream, continuing to give my best every day by training at home with makeshift equipment.
But in the end, this difficult 2020 paid off all the efforts made up to that moment, giving me infinite joys: in October I qualify for MR OLYMPIA 2020, ranking 2 "in the EUROPA PRO alicante - And in November I qualify for MR OLYMPIA 2021 by winning the SAN MARINO PRO competition. the day before the departure of the journey that took me to the most prestigious stage in the world. - December 2020 I am in Orlando in florida to train then on stage with the best athletes on the planet only after a few years of competition - In the race at MR OLYMPIA I classified about half way as I was in the center in the third callout but I am very satisfied both of the worn condition and of the posing much safer and more fluid than in previous races.
In 2021 I am again in preparation with a bulk phase already with excellent improvements with the aim of climbing the rankings at this MR OLYMPIA 2021
Workout
I train 6 times a week giving priority to shoulders and back to increase more and more the V shape which is fundamental in my category.
I have not trained my arms for 3 years because being a group for me already very developed by genetics I try to keep it proportionate to the other muscle groups. during my training I try to vary with different techniques on each muscle group and also periodically alternating the types of exercises trying to always give new stimuli to the muscle.
My training doesn't change much between off and onseason the only differences are in lighter loads also to reduce the risk of injury. And fasted cardio that goes from 2 times a week to 4 or 5 depending on the physical condition.
Off season
In the offseason phase, I generally follow a high-calorie diet: around 5000kcal; very high carbohydrates (600,700 gross), alternating very sources: pasta (gluten-free), rice, spelt, oats, biscuits. I keep Protein high: around 3gr per kg body and the protein sources I generally use are: egg white, chicken, beef, fish.
As for fats, on the other hand, I use around 1 gr per body kg and alternate with olive oil, dried fruit, mct. The off season is 1 or 2 free meals per week.
On season
In the cut phase, the sources remain almost the same, I greatly reduce fats and lower the amount of protein a little. I leave the carbs relatively very high.