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MH first meets him on a cold Wednesday in January, amid the New Year gym rush. His base of operations for the day is On Your Mark, a training space in Chicago’s East Garfield Park area that served as a bomb shelter during the Second World War. The 1 765m2 site is packed with lifting platforms, heavy bags, and sprint tracks. A dozen or so athletes gather to work with their coaches, moving between stations, their faces masks of determination.
Weighing 195kg, De Leon stands out among them. But watch him for five minutes and you’ll see that this is a man in his element. Dressed in black trackpants, a black velour shirt, and Nike running shoes, he hoists a canvas ball over his head and slams it down with a guttural “Humph!” over and over, the impact echoing through the gym like a cannon blast.
Beside him stands his trainer, David Carson, correcting and motivating him. In between sets with the ball, De Leon steps laterally, up and over, back and forth, between yellow markers, pulling his knees up. “Ten seconds,” says Carson. “Give me 10 more seconds.” His face now shining with sweat, De Leon presses on, Carson helping him maintain balance in what looks like a kind of workout dance. After that, he moves on to the cable machine for a set of biceps curls, Kanye West booming from the gym’s speakers.
And on it goes, for more than an hour. By the end, De Leon is pouring with sweat, as he gulps from his bottle of water. Carson taps his shoulder and says, “Good job.” Smiling through the perspiration, De Leon nods, then claps, then throws back his head and shouts, “Yeeaah!”
Protective Armour
This story is from the July 2020 edition of Men's Health South Africa.
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This story is from the July 2020 edition of Men's Health South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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