Blessing Awodibu is a bodybuilding prospect and entertaining social media star. He has garnered attention through his efforts both in, and outside of the sport, leading to his massive mainstream appeal. This is the story of how he became as popular as he is.
Blessing Awodibu
(Bodybuilder, Influencer, Personal Trainer)
| Full Name: Blessing Awodibu | ||
| Weight | Height | Age |
| 235-245lbs (106.6-111.1kg) | 5’10 (177.5cm) | 31 years |
| Date of Birth | Era | Nationality |
| September 20th, 1991 | 2010, 2020 | Irish |
Early Life
Born in Ireland, Blessing Awodibu was always a bit of a scrawny kid. Like many other incredible athletes, he actually struggled with body image issues growing up. He would describe himself as being too shy to even take his shirt off at the beach, fearing being mocked by people for his small physique.
Eventually, it got to the point that Blessing wanted to try to make some improvements to his body. However at the time, he was unable to secure a membership to a gym due to financial restrictions. Therefore he chose to improvise, instead constructing a makeshift workout area in a garden shed, using weightlifting as a way to bulk up.
It was not long before Blessing realized how easily his body grew muscle, yet a career in athletics was far from his mind. Instead he put more energy into pursuing academics, in hopes of getting into his ideal college, to pursue a dream career. When this unfortunately became an impossibility, he decided to shift focus more into the weight room, looking to see how far bodybuilding can take him.
Blessing Awodibu – Early Bodybuilding Career
After he knew that he could not get into the school of his dreams, Blessing Awodibu completely devoted himself to weightlifting. At the age of 18, he felt like his physique was big enough to enter his first bodybuilding show. Although he did not score the highest, landing in fourth place at an RIBBF show, this was a massively important learning experience for the young athlete. For example, he realized that he should have competed as a junior, as well as receiving some critical advice from the judges.
Taking this advice, Awodibu was able to make some massive improvements to his physique in time for his next show. This would lead him to winning this show, getting the first victory of his career. At this point he knew that he had what it takes to make a career of bodybuilding.
Before he knew it, he won the 2016 Arnold Classic as an amateur, making sure that the world knows how legitimate of a talent he is. From there, Blessing Awodibu was able to repeat this success in 2017, before going on to earn his Pro Card at the IFBB Diamond Cup later that year, in his first international show. A week after this he would head over to Portugal for the IFBB Diamond Cup, Espinho, getting another amateur win here and earning his second Pro Card.
Blessing Awodibu – Professional Bodybuilding Career
At the time of writing, Blessing Awodibu has yet to make his professional bodybuilding debut, despite maintaining a massive amount of hype and anticipation. Initially he was making the decision to take time to build his body a little more. However the global pandemic interfered with his ability to compete for the first time, when it forced the 2020 Arnold Classic Australia to get shut down.
“Next year, definitely I’m going to make my pro debut,” Awodibu said in an exclusive interview with FitnessVolt. “To be honest, I see it as a blessing in disguise. This will give me more time to get better. People want to see me for the first time, of course I want to impress the judges. I want to give them that wild card, I want to look good. Pushing it to next year just gives me time to get better, to put on more mass, and now that I’m working with Chad (Nicholls), I have so much confidence working with him. I’m super excited for the future with him. I think working together we’re going to make a lot of noise.
“I’m super excited. It’s been so long; 2017. And I love competing. I love being on stage. So being away from the stage for that long it’s like…arrg! I’m just super excited to get back to doing what I love doing and hopefully we will start with the Arnold Classic Australia, if not then we’ll do the Brazil, which gives me a lot of time.”
Instagram Fame
One of the ways that Blessing Awodibu has been able to keep his fame and momentum going, is by his massive following on Instagram. Interestingly enough, a good portion of his more than 1.6 million followers have become of a fan of his without knowing about his bodybuilding endeavors. Instead he has gotten a following from his hilarious gym sketches and good sense of humor. He says this side of him is natural, and that he just hopes to change some of the he stigma around bodybuilders being too serious and aggressive.
“The videos, for me, just come naturally,” Awodibu said. “I love having fun. I’m a poistive dude, always full of energy, even when I’m prepping. I’ve always enjoyed making people laugh, and in 2017 when I was going for my pro card I looked at social media as a way to get myself out there. Especially when you’re a bodybuilder from Dublin because you’ve never really heard of any IFBB Pros from Ireland. The bodybuilding community there is very, very small, and I saw social media and stuff as a great platform for me to get myself out there, be seen. I just let it all out, be myself and do skits and stuff, and just try to mix it all up.
“I want to be relatable,” he went on. “Not just to the bodybuilding community, but I want to be able to penetrate the other, wider range of audience, which helps me to get my followers. Half my followers don’t know nothing about bodybuilding. They’re just regular kids who enjoy a little bit of entertainment.”
Competition History
- 2x Arnold Champion
- 4x IFBB Overall Champion
- IFBB Pro Card – (2017) IFBB Diamond Cup Czech Republic overall winner
- 2021 Indy Pro – 3rd
- 2021 New York Pro – 6th
Blessing Awodibu – Training Regimen
When it comes to training, Blessing Awodibu tends to focus on his weaker areas twice a week. However, his favorite body part to work is his triceps, enjoying the activation he gets from working them. This is how he splits up his week
- Monday: Back/Cardio
- Tuesday: Hamstrings in the morning/Chest in the evening
- Wednesday: Arms/Cardio
- Thursday: Rest
- Friday: Shoulders
- Saturday: Quads/Cardio
- Sunday: Rest
Admittedly, Blessing feels that his legs are his weakest body part, because he used to focus a lot on upper body, so he puts extra focus there nowadays. As far as cardio goes, he tries to regularly work his conditioning two to three times a week. His prefers doing 20-25 minutes on stair master, but he will also do 5-10 minutes on a treadmill.
Shoulders and Traps Workout
- Upright Rows: 3 sets/12-15 reps
- Shrugs: 4 sets/12-15 reps
- Standing Behind The Back Shrugs: 4 sets/12-15 reps
- Seated Behind The Back: 4 sets/12-15 reps
- Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets/12-15 reps
- Dumbbell Front Raises: 3 sets (to failure)
- Seated Shoulder Press: 5 sets/12-15 reps
- Barbell Front Raises: 4 sets (to failure)
- Bent-Over Lateral Raises: 5 sets/15-20 reps
- Seated Bent-Over Lateral Raises: 5 sets/15-20 reps
Leg Workout
- Lunges: 3 sets/20 reps
- Squats: 6 sets/12-15 reps
- Lying Leg Press: 4 sets/15-20 reps
- Leg Extensions: 6 sets/15-20 reps
- Leg Curls: 8 sets/15-20 reps
Back Workout
- Pull-Ups: 6 sets/15-20 reps
- Lat Pull-Downs: 5 sets/15-20 reps
- Lat Pull-Overs: 3 sets/15-20 reps
- Barbell Bent-Over Rows: 3 sets/12-15 reps
- Seated Cable Rows: 3 sets/12-15 reps
- Dumbbell Bent-Over Rows: 4 sets (to failure)
Chest Workout
- Incline Dumbbell Press: 6 sets/8-10 reps
- Incline Bench Press: 4 sets/15-20 reps
- Bench Dumbbell Flyes: 3 sets/12-15 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 4 sets/12-15 reps
- Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets/12-15 reps
- Pec Decks: 3 sets/12-15 reps
- Bench Press: 6 sets/12-15 reps
Arm Workout
- Barbell Curls: 9 sets/12-15 reps
- Seated Barbell Curls: 3 sets (to failure)
- Seated Dumbbell Curl: 4 sets (to failure)
- Standing Hammer Curls: 4 sets/15-20 reps
- Seated Hammer Curls: 4 sets (to failure)
- Cable Triceps Extensions: 4 sets/15-20 reps
- Barbell Triceps Press: 3 sets/12-15 reps
- Decline Skull Crushers: 3 sets/12-15 reps
- Cable Triceps Extensions: 3 sets/12-15 reps
- Skull Crushers: 3 sets/12-15 reps
- Dips: 4 sets (to failure)
Lower Back, Glutes, and Hamstring Workout
- Lunges: 3 sets/20 reps
- Leg Curls: 8 sets/15-20 reps
- Back Extensions: 3 sets/15-20 reps
- Deadlifts: 5 sets/15-20 reps
Diet and Nutrition
Blessing Awodibu says he typically eats around 6-7,000 calrories a day. Of this, he consumes 400g of carbs, and 550g of protein. Eating six meals a day, he typically never has snacks or junk food. Although on his cheat days he has been know to eat some delicious ribs or sushi.
The staples of Blessing Awodibu’s Diet include
- Red meat
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Egg whites
- Oatmeal
- White rice
Below is a breakdown of Blessing Awodibu’s typical daily diet.
Meal One (Pre-Workout/Breakfast)
- Oatmeal (75g)
- Milk (10oz)
- Eggs (4)
- Whey Protein (2 scoops)
Meal Two (Post-Workout)
- Tuna (129g)
- Whey Protein (2 scoops)
Meal Three (Pre-Workout/Lunch)
- Pasta (550g)
- Ground Beef (8oz)
- Whey Protein (2 scoops)
Meal Four (Post-Workout)
- Chicken Breast (500g)
- Whey Protein (2 scoops)
Meal Five (Snack)
- Noodles, 170 grams
- Duck Eggs, 4 eggs
Meal Six (Dinner)
- Pasta (550g)
- Grilled Chicken (8oz)
- Cashews 100g)
Meal Seven (Snack)
- Cereals (100g)
- Milk (10oz)
Additional Information
There is still a lot to see from Blessing Awodibu, in terms of his full bodybuilding potential. Yet there is no denying his physical gifts and impeccable physique. He is also proof that there are ways for bodybuilders to make a name for themselves outside of competition, before their athletic career really kicks off. It will be interesting to see how the career of this young, talented athlete unfolds moving forward.
