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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Ryan Fahey

World's 'most ripped boy', 12, nicknamed 'mini-Hulk' for his punishing workouts

This is one of the most ripped 12-year-olds in the world thanks to a training regime that would make most adult athletes go weak at the knees.

On weekdays Cauzinho Neto - from the city of Salvador, the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia - gets up at 5.30am and runs five kilometres (3.1 miles) before doing sit-ups.

Then he tucks into breakfast before going to school.

After getting home, he rests before studying and doing his homework.

He then begins his second workout of the day, doing crossfit weight training sessions for two and a half hours before going to bed at 9pm.

Cauzinho - who can deadlift more than 200lbs (91kg), three times his own weight - got into weightlifting when his dad Carlos Pitanga Filho took him to his gym in 2021.

Now he has a whopping 265,000 followers on Instagram and is reportedly on his way to becoming a top-rated weightlifter.

His crossfit weight training sessions last two-and-a-half hours (CEN)
He also does pull ups and free weights (CEN)

Footage of his training shows Cauzinho doing first deadlifts, squats, bench presses and then bicep curls.

His proud dad said that his son decided to join a class of older teenagers at the Crossfit Oxente gym giving up his beloved football.

Carlos said: "He used to be crazy about football before, but then he just wanted to know about crossfit.

"We agreed that he would train during the end of the year holidays until the beginning of the next school year.

"But with 15 days of training, with classes adapted to his age and physical conditioning, Cauzinho was already able to easily execute movements that students who had been training for months couldn't even do."

Cauzinho quickly learnt a number of techniques and built up his muscles, even participating in an amateur LPO Olympic weightlifting championship in Salvador, coming in third.

He has participated in an amateur LPO Olympic weightlifting championship (CEN)

The young boy now only plays football for fun and has his own team made up of a coach, doctor, physiotherapist and nutritionist.

Carlos said: "I've been doing sports since I was 10 and it hasn't hindered my growth, so much so that today I'm 1.91 metres tall.

"But of course, we have this concern and Cauzinho has the follow-up of specialists to anticipate any problems and calibrate his training.

"In the year and four months, since he started training, he has grown about 13 centimetres, which is expected for his age group."

But his parents insist he spends weekends away from training hanging out with his friends.

His proud dad said that Cauzinho currently weighs 37 kilogrammes (81 lbs) and can deadlift 92 kilogrammes (202 lbs).

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