Monday 1st February

Saturday night at the movies, who cares what picture you see? Well I do and I didn't fancy Avatar but as it took the "highest grossing" record from the rubbish "Titanic" I went to see it to say thank you. Boy was my initial instinct wrong! This movie has cutting edge CGI & SFX and as it is set in 2154 a very plausible storyline too. Believe the hype, go and see it. It will make you wonder how on earth they made it, how many hundreds of millions of dollars they spent to make it and if the guy that invented the female Avatars has a fetish for skinny girls with little boobs and little bums!

Monday 25th January

So how was your weekend? I do hope that you are not one of these people who is currently suffering from winter depression or the made up disease SAD. Come on, life is good, make 2010 a great year. Went to the movies to see "Up in the air" last night. A bit different to the run of the mill stuff that regularly disappoints, this one might even make you think about life when you come out of the cinema. Just a word about the film's star, George Clooney. Despite this guy being just two years younger than me, he is good looking, a great actor and has a brilliant voice. Yep, you gotta hate anyone who has all of that going for him!

Friday 22nd January

This week seems to have flown past. That is because apart from coaching most days I have gone back to 5 days a week training plus cardio on non training days. It's ok to increase the workload to that extent off season as long as you increase the food and resting time. It's working out well for me but my weight is now 18 and a half stone. Although I don't look fat and I don't eat fats it can't all be muscle so I'm going to start reigning it in a bit next week just by replacing some of the carbs with broccoli. I have a photo shoot coming up soon and I'm holding a seminar at a local college next week so best err on the side of caution. More importantly, here's the first picture of all 3 granchildren together, aren't they all gorgeous?

Monday 18th January

So today is, apparently, "Blue Monday", because of a series of factors all of which are designed to make you miserable. Whoever dreams up this negative rubbish? Coincidentally I have spoken to several people over the last week who have been having problems with doing the whole "New Year New Start" thing that I tell everyone to try every January. Many people blame the weather and I agree that the snow does make life difficult in some ways. But lets solve it all now. The snow has all gone so lets call today Red Monday, if not the first day of the year then certainly the first day of the New Start. Eliminate the bad stuff and focus on the good. Number 1 priority is to get your diet right and work out a sensible training programme. Let me know if you need any help.

Tuesday 12th January

Don't know about you but I've had enough of this snow now. It just seems to make everything wet and dirty (yes I know that there is a sexist joke there but I'll leave it). On the plus side the gym is very busy with people doing extra sessions as they have no work, although this does raise the question of overtraining. In a nutshell it's OK to do extra sessions as long as you get extra nutrition and extra rest, all parts of the model have to be working to get results! Had some good news today, the book that I have spent ages writing is almost ready for collection from the publishers! Many thanks to my son Steve for all of his help with the book. As a tribute to him, here is Caden, pretending to be "Uncle Teeeeev"

Friday 8th January

Firstly in response to the person who commented on my last post by saying that driving that fast in snow "won't get you there any quicker". Well actually it will, if I'm driving that much faster than you I will get there any quicker, much quicker in fact, it's obvious. Anyway, more importantly here is a picture of Caden with his first snowman, as you can see he was quite happy to play in the snow until it got dark! I had him for the afternoon today, the kid is a little angel when I have him to myself, he didn't want to go home and when Natalie came to collect him he asked if he could "stay here" instead! He's a little over two years old now and just the best person in the world to hang out with, I can't wait until the other two Grandchildren reach that age!

Wednesday 6th January

So how do you like this snow then? Personally I don't mind it at all, Caden made his first snowman today (picture on here soon) the garden and fields behind the house look beautiful and it hasn't caused me any problems. Why then is it that some people can't drive in it? Milton Keynes has a superb system of dual carriageways that are adeqautely gritted, yet still some retards insist on driving in the middle of the road at 15 mph. When I overtake them in my 4 x 4 pick up truck at about 60 mph they flash their lights and sound their horns, why? I'm an advanced driver in a vehicle that can easily handle the conditions, if they are not then they shouldn't be on the road in the snow!

Monday 4th January

The countdown to the seasons first show has started already! Had a look at one of my proteges today, Mark, who this time last year looked nothing like a bodybuilder but in May will try to win the London & South East 70 kg title, he has a great chance. I'm hurting after 10 days off but getting back into it now, I've always believed that a week in the sun at Christmas does you the world of good, the body really appreciates the rest and the warmth in the middle of a cold winter, so this year I went to Lanzarote which is beautiful. However the first week back in the gym when you get home is a killer!

Friday 1st January 2010

Happy New Year! I hope that your New Year has started off well, but it won't be as good as mine, because my 3rd Grandchild, my first Granddaughter, is here. Lilybelle Victoria was born on New Years Eve weighing 7lbs 13 oz and I am just so happy and so proud, probably just as much as Steve and Amy who are now parents for the first time. These are the days that make life such a wonderful thing, when I held her today for the first time and she fell asleep in my arms I realised that this was another life changing moment, she already has her Granddad wrapped round her little finger and I don't mind that one bit.