Bodybuilder and garbo Matt Smedley heading to National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association world titles

MATT Smedley lifts bins in the morning and weights in the afternoon — and it’s a good thing his job allows him time to get the gym each day after work.

Adelaide’s Matt Smedley is a garbo for East Waste by day, and this weekend competes in the National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association world titles in Brazil. Picture: Dean Martin

MATT Smedley lifts bins in the morning and weights in the afternoon.

“That’s the good thing about being a garbo,” the 31-year-old bodybuilder grins.

“Five days a week I’m up early and in the truck, but I get that time later in the day to go to the gym.”

And with a gym schedule like Smedley’s, every minute counts.

Each day, an hour-and-a-half of targeted weights training. Another 45 minutes on cardio.

And that’s before the meticulous planning for a daily nutrition program that involves eating 1.5kg of lean chicken or beef, split across six separate meals.

“It can be tough, but it’s a lifestyle thing,” he says.

It’s this disciplined lifestyle that, for the past six years, is all Smedley has known.

By 5.30am, Monday to Friday, driving his East Waste garbage truck out of its Ottoway depot for kerbside pick-ups. On weekends, working as a personal trainer at the PowerHouse Fitness Gym in Prospect where he also trains.

And after, following the strict workout regime that has sculpted every muscle in his 186cm, 105kg body into a shape that has earnt him a chance to represent Australia at National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association world titles in Brazil on June 18.

Matt Smedley ... in bodybuilding mode.

“The beauty of this sport is that you’re constantly trying to get this body part or that body part a little bit better, or leaner, or bigger,” he says.

“It’s a sport where you never stop learning. I’ve been training for 10 years, competing since 2011 — and I’m still learning daily.”

Smedley, a former amateur kickboxer, says contrary to popular belief building muscle to flex on stage is not dependent on stacking every weight in the gym on a barbell.

“The weight is part of it — but what people sometimes forget is you’re a bodybuilder, not a powerlifter,” he says.

“Off season, I can deadlift 200kg, 220kg for working sets. Bench press, maybe 140kg.

“But when you’re up on that stage, no-one knows how much you weigh or how much you lift. It’s all about what you look like.”

Smedley begins his 30-hour flight with partner Emily Cartlidge by his side, on a course for Natal having secured the Southern Hemisphere Class 1 title on the Gold Coast a week ago.

At 105kg, the Para Hills “gentle giant” is about 15kg below his everyday weight, having stripped his diet of calories across the past 18 weeks to highlight muscle definition for a string of competitions culminating in this month’s world titles.

He says win or lose in Brazil, he is looking forward to celebrating with a brief reprieve from his hyper-disciplined habits.

“With all my friends, we’re all bodybuilders, so we’ll allow ourselves one night to have cake, chocolate, pizza, junk food — and have a good splurge,” Smedley says.

Originally published as Bodybuilder and garbo Matt Smedley heading to National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association world titles