Bodybuilder Stefan Havlik has racked up a slew of top placings, which arguably puts him at the top of the ranks of the Slovakian national scene. Some of his titles include IFBB World Champion, European Champion (five tives), overall International GP (25 times), and the Arnold Classic Amateur title in which he turned professional in 2012.
The bodybuilding community has not seen much of Havlik since he was last on stage in 2015 – when he narrowly missed qualifying for the Mr Olympia competition - so Dave Palumbo of RxMuscle.com tracked him down for an quick Q & A interview to find out whats going on with the worlds highest achieving Slavokian bodybuilder.
Hi Stefan, how are you? We have not seen you on stage for some time. What’s going on?
Stefan: Hello Dave, I am fine. Thank you for asking. I was on stage for the last competition in August 2015. If you remember, I went to 5 competitions in a row. In every single one of those competitions I was able to make it into the finals. Results were two fifth, two fourth and one third place. I missed the qualification requirements for Mr. Olympia by two points, it made me a little upset but life goes on.
I felt exhausted after the last competition. In fact, I have been competing for more than 20 years and you know it very well that life of a professional bodybuilder is physically very tough. I needed to rest a little and gain new energy.
Yes, I remember it very well. We posted a training video and another interview with you. 5 competitions, 5 finals, those are some remarkable results. Dennis James also prepared you for those competitions. Are you still in touch or anything has changed since?
Stefan: We agreed to work with Dennis for one season of competitions. It helped me tremendously and I can tell you with all honesty that I reached my best shape ever. Right now we are not in touch but I have plans to reach out to him again and I believe we will agree on more work together.
So we will see you on stage again, right?
Stefan: Look Dave, I will turn 42 in September and it is certainly not the age to end your competing career. We all know that you can improve past 45, too. I only needed to stop for a little while and breathe some fresh air. Gain new energy and motivation and I believe I was able to do it.
We both know that in fitness a pause for a year or two does not mean anything. Fitness is not like tennis where you have to be in tournaments nonstop.
Yes you are right and a lot of people in fitness take pauses like this in order for them to improve their shape. Tell us when can we see you again on stage? Do you have anything on your mind?
Stefan: It will be in 2018, for sure. I have always carefully planned all my competitions up front. It is not like a random lottery. Preparation is very tough on both physical and financial matters. I want to be well prepared.
Stefan, you are the esthetic type of a bodybuilder with nice lines. Tell us what would you like to bring to your next competition. Do you have any idea how should Stefan Havlik look like next?
Stefan: Of course I have an idea in my head. My last competing body weight was around 230lbs. I needed to gain a little on my upper body, but my legs were fine. So if I was able to come to a competition in a decent shape and a weight of 235lbs, I will be very satisfied.
Are you preparing a new training video?
Stefan: Yes for sure. I have not had time to work on this last year. I was working on my project called www.workoutic.com. It is a web portal that creates customized meal plans and training plans for customers. In regards this project I recorded more than 600 videos with instructions. That takes hours and hours of recording, I am sure you can imagine. We are currently launching this project and I believe it will be very successful.
Wow, 600 videos. I am not even sure if I know that many workouts. Anyways, if you had any new training videos, we will be happy to publish it. I keep my fingers crossed for your project and thank you very much for the interview.
Stefan: Thank you Dave, see you soon.
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