A fresh start

So how was Christmas for you then? Mine was great, I spent lots of time with people that I love and now I'm looking forward to a new year. I'll take from this year the lessons that I have learned, the main one being that sometimes you can be betrayed by the person that you would least expect to do that to you, and then I'll draw a line under the year and consign it to history. "Just one single tear in each passing year" to quote the song. Life is all about moving forward, I already know that 2012 is going to be brilliant for me and for those that I care about and that we will always be on the winning side!

One more sleep!

Is it that time of the year again already?  Well I've spent about a zillion quid on pressies over the last couple of weeks so I hope so! It's a great time of year for all sorts of different reasons to different people so all I will say is that whatever else you do make sure that you let those you love the most know that you care, today, tomorrow and every day, let that be the Christmas message that you carry into the New Year. So with that, I will say a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all of my many dear friends  and leave you with my idea of a "humorous" festive card!

The most wonderful time of the year

As Christmas approaches it is a very busy time for me both in and out of the gym. I now have several people bulking up for competition next year and they are all doing really well, it's great to see.  Needless to say a lot of it is to do with the fact that they are all on a high protein, high carbs and high fats diet, there's nothing like food to make you train well! In the New Year, when plans are made and we see who is really going to go the whole way I will name names, then there is no going back for those people!  Outside of the gym Grandpa is very popular as there is a lot of babysitting to be done at this time of year, I love every minute of that of course and the kids all have a brilliant time when we are together.  Here's Lily making cakes, she is growing up far too quickly and she just gets more beautiful every day.

The fight of their lives

Ever since the documentary about Nigel Benn v Gerald McClellan on ITV on Monday night I have been asked the same question by several people; do I think that Nigel Benn was on steroids?  I would say emphatically no. Nigel worked incredibly hard to keep his weight down to the super middleweight limit; steroids make your body heavier for a variety of reasons so it would have been counter productive for him to use them.  It’s a shame that this issue has become one of the major talking points from the programme as there were far more important things and many imponderable questions that came to light.  Being a boxing fan I found the whole thing very upsetting and to see Gerald McClellan like that was just so sad. If you were as moved as I was and want to help go to http://www.geraldmcclellan.com/trust.html


Back in the old routine

So with my holiday now just a memory and in many cases a blur (yes I do have a decent drink when I'm on holiday) and with recovery from the shoulder op progressing at a record rate I returned to Golds today for my first proper workout for almost 3 weeks. Obviously I can only do legs at the moment but tomorrow I will stretch the top half and see how long it will be before I can resume training to that. As you can see from the photo, which was at the NAC show on November 6th, this years constant dieting took it's toll.  I'm pleased to say that I look much better now but I will keep this picture and refer to it every time someone tells me to compete again next year.  I'm enjoying eating normally and I don't see that changing I have to say!

If it hurts - STOP!

After a great week in the Tenerife sun I came home and went straight into hospital to have an operation on the shoulder that has been injured for the past year. The pictures are from the arthroscopy that revealed all sorts of damage. Mr. Singh and the staff at The Manor Hospital in Biddenham did a great job of decompressing the joint by cutting away part of the collar bone and repairing the damaged tendons. I don't know how long I will be out of action, at the moment I can't even drive, but as soon as I am recovered I will be back in the gym. The main cause of this injury was many years of bench pressing, so if your shoulder hurts when you are benching stop at once and get it looked at by a doctor!

Holiday time at last!

Firstly, just to wrap up the bodybuilding side of things can I say that Steve will upload the photos from the NAC Open as soon as he gets a chance, I was pleased with the way that I looked and I've had a lot of good feedback, including people telling me that I definitely should have won, but to be honest it's all in the past to me now. More importantly, everyone that I'm coaching and prepping for next year is going very well, with one person, Del from Wales, doing particularly well. But while  next years champions are working hard in the gym for the next week, I will be on a beach in Tenerife getting some well earned rest!  Finally, I spent most of today with my gorgeous Princess Lilybelle.  Here she is, with her cheeky look that she gives me, eating the only two bags of sweets this year that were actually going to be mine!


Chubbing up nicely!

Firstly a big thank you to my brilliant son Steve for getting the website updates done. The NAC Open pics aren't here yet so he can't put those on, but apart from that pretty much everything else is up to date now. I'm well into the rebound training now and managed a personal best of weight gaining by putting on 7 kilos in the first 3 days! Needless to say most of that was not muscle and I have now gone back to a clean off season diet already as I am going to try to keep my weight over the winter at less than 120 kilos, that will be far more comfortable. Here's a picture taken at Golds on Tuesday, it would be nice to not get much fatter than that for the winter but Im not hopeful!

"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"

Yesterday at the Middleton Arena in Manchester I came second in the NAC British Open, beaten narrowly by John Roberts, just as I was in Nottingham.  As usual I had loads of people telling me that I should have won and the judges said that it was so close that they would like us to both compete in the NAC Mr. Universe in Hamburg in a few weeks time, but I have said no.  This was my seventh show this year and quite frankly I've had enough now. I don't plan to compete ever again but they do say that bodybuilding is a bit like the "Hotel California" - "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave".  Well we will see.  Finally, a huge well done to my friend Lee Jones, who competed in his first ever show yesterday, the UKBFF stars of Tomorrow, and won the Junior class!  It has been a long road for Lee to get this far but now the journey really begins, as this victory qualifies him for next years British finals!

Forward planning

Prep is going well for the NAC British Open on Sunday in Manchester. Having won the UK Open there earlier in the year I am looking forward to it but I am also already making plans to be busy after that and as well as continuing to try to push Danny and Martin to new heights I have several others who have shown interest in competing under my guidance next season to realise their full potential. I will reveal no names yet as some will drop out as they always do when the going gets tough but preliminary and dietary work has already started and will continue throughout this bulking phase of the year. However, in due course I will train each and every one of the new crop for a few sessions, then I will know if any of them can become a British champion, or know the reason why not.  Finally, I have an unlikely new hero, Hugh Grant, who's latest girlfriend is 30 years younger than him, quite right too mate!  Here's a pic from the UKBFF Britain that my sister Wendie likes so much she plastered it all over facebook!


Show pics and vids!

The video and photos from the UKBFF British finals arrived today, a big thank you to Eric Guy for getting them to me so quickly.  Here's my side tricep pose, a lot of people say it's my best pose and it is probably my favourite one.  I have uploaded the video to YouTube, here’s the link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frLxV8VRlVc     The photos from both this show and the NABBA England will be uploaded to the gallery when Steve gets five minutes to spare. In the meantime you can see them by looking on my facebook page.  Having reviewed the photos and video I can see why some people said that I should have placed 3rd at Nottingham but I can also see why I placed 6th, like I always say take a look and decide for yourself, but I must say that I have no complaints with the judging at either of my last two shows.

The morning after

I always enjoy the day after a big show because everyone always gets in touch to say well done. On Monday evening I was delighted to hear from, among others, my old protege Marc, he has had a year off from competing to bulk up and as he can't get to Gold's to train with me he will now be coached for competitions by my good friend and "Body Shack" owner Tommo, which means that he will come back better than ever next season. The other great thing, apart from the obvious 24 hour food slaughter, is seeing the Grandchildren again. I spent time with them all yesterday, and had Lilybelle for the morning. Here is my Princess, almost 2 years old and learning to read already, just like her Dad did at that age.


The big weekend!

Yesterday I placed 6th in the UKBFF British finals. This was my highest ever placing at this event and it was against, without doubt, the best quality opposition I have ever faced. Afterwards, a lot of people told me that they had me 3rd which was incredibly flattering as the winner and second, Oscar Roberts and Vince Wedderburn, were in a different league to the rest of us. Pictures will follow soon but here's one from the NABBA England a week before. Martin placed second, but should have won, in the NPA British finals. Danny didn't place as he wasn't quite ready but he did learn a lesson that will serve him well for the rest of his career, I know that he will respond positively and come back better than ever next year.

One in ten

It's an accepted fact that 9 out 10 bodybuilders will never compete simply because they can't do the diet, cardio and other show prep. So anyone that can make it to a British final in their first year deserves a lot of respect.  Danny has acheived that, and when you consider that he is only 20 and I did my first show and first British final at 50 you again have to realise just what he has accomplished. Yes he has struggled to make it for this Sunday but as you can see from the photo he will make it, just. British finals are a huge step up in class, when I won my first regional title I used a song called "Stop And Stare" for my free posing, but when I got to the finals that's exactly what I did, stopped and stared!  Martin, Danny & I are all almost ready, and looking forward to our respective British finals this weekend.

No complaints

Yesterdays NABBA Mr. England was an excellent show, the quality of the competitors in all classes was astonishing and I was priveleged to be a part of it. I placed 4th and although I have today found out that some of the judges placed me 3rd I have no complaints. The winner was Dave Steele, who has won several Mr.Britain titles, in fact the top 3 had 9 British titles between them so I was pleased to push them as hard as I did.  As you can see from the picture, taken cold on Sunday morning, my condition was spot on and it will be even better for this weekends UKBFF Mr. Britain. Tomorrow will be my penultimate look at Danny so I'm hoping that I will have good things to report as his show is also this weekend.

Ready early!

Preparation for Nottingham has been going very well over the last few weeks, so much so that I am ready a week early and, as this is the case, I will now do an extra show and tomorrow try to win the NABBA Mr. England title at Brierly Hill in the West Midlands. It's incredible to think that exactly 2 months ago I was in a hospital bed after the return of my tummy problems, wondering whether or not I would ever compete again. When I came out of hospital I knew that I would need a whole new level of determination, combine that with the fact that this is my last year of competition and you can imagine just how much dedication I have had, let's hope it's reflected in tomorrows result! Danny is still touch and go for the NPA Britain, I'll get an up to date pic of him on here if I can so that you can decide if he's going to make it. Meanwhile, here's Caden on our shopping trip, the other one isn't me!

That's entertainment?

This close to a show I tend to be quite tired from dieting so that results in me relaxing in front of the TV quite a bit. "Spooks" is as good as ever and "Strike back project dawn" is excellent. "TOWIE" is hilarious but "New two and a half men" is absolute rubbish, they are using recycled actors & actresses who have previously played other characters, the same old scenes and story lines and even recycled jokes, "add to cart" has been used several times and isn't even funny. This was once the best thing on TV, now it needs to be shot and put out of it's misery. Tomorrow is shopping day with Natalie & the boys for Colby's birthday which will be great, Caden is more fun than ever lately, this is from our trip to Willen Lake the other day

La la la la life goes on

So the rugby world cup for England is over, and if I'm honest, all the support in the world wouldn't have got us past France yesterday. Time to re build for the next one now, that means pensioning off those that won't be about in 4 years and also getting a new coach.  I like Jonno but we need a Southern Hemisphere coach to fulfil our potential, just like Wales have. Paul Mcartney 69, has married a 51 year old, how ridiculous, he should have gone for someone much younger, for me there has to be a minimum age gap of 20 years. Finally, Caden came to stay on Friday and promptly disappeared, here's how I found him, in my bed, with my iphone, playing "Angry Birds"!

Making the most of it

Woke up to hear the sad news this morning that Steve Jobs had died.  Here is a man who had everything that he could possibly want and more money than he could ever spend, now he's just the richest guy in the cemetery. It won't happen to me I assure you, in just one month's time 6 days a week in the gym will turn into 3 days a week, thus giving me time to enjoy life at last. I'm making the most of the prep for these last shows and my legs are coming through so well that even Eddie Abbew, who taught me that "legs win shows" would be pleased (probably).  Danny is also back on track but will need to stay on a very strict diet right up until the show.  Martin is of course ready as usual, I'll see if I can get a pic of all three of us posing together on here sometime.

Why love a loser?

It's been a great weekend for sport, the highlight of course being Tottenham's win over Arsenal this afternoon. Even the most stubborn of Arsenal supporters would now admit that the balance of power has shifted in North London, it's about time too! Yesterdays Rugby result was also excellent, although it seems that every England win has to be soured by the media.  I don't mind the "has beens" like Dalaglio and Fitzpatrick having an opinion, I belive that they have earned the right to give their views publicly, but an idiot like Steve Rider, who has never even played the game should just shut up and go back to appearing in knitting patterns, or whatever he does for a full time job.  Sadly, as Clint Eastwood said, opinions are like assholes, everbody's got one. Apparently yesterday England were crap and Scotland were brilliant and heroic, so why did England win then?  Just for once can people please get behind the national team!

Nottingham approaches

So almost three weeks after I mentioned it here in the blog we have controversy over the balls in the Rugby World Cup.  Coaches being suspended, stats showing that you can't kick the new ball, surely I'm not the only one who can see that the Kiwis are desperate to avoid what happened to Australia in 2003 happening to them?  Danny had a bit of a shock on Thursday after returning from a long weekend away, he is very soft and is now on a killer diet right up to the NPA British finals in 3 weeks.  Day 2 of my UKBFF British finals is on the same day and as you can see I'm pretty much on course, now that the man flu has almost gone too I can really get on it right up to show time.

Time to get serious

At this time of year there is a show almost every weekend and yesterday was no exception. I took Martin to the UKDFBBA show in Rugby where he competed against some over 40's and came joint 2nd which was a great result.  The whole show was excellent so well done to Lee Kemp for organising it all.  So now it is less than 4 weeks to Nottingham and I have to get serious about being ready although today I have man 'flu so the "hard yards" training will now start tomorrow.  I'll post pictures as I do them but heres one from a couple of weeks ago when someone at Golds asked for a photo of my back, as you can see, that body part is coming in early as usual!

Ready for Glasgow

All is on course for the BNBF British finals in Glasgow on Sunday.  As you can see from this picture, Martin Duckett, who is, unbelievably, a year older than me, will be presenting a whole new package this year in an effort to remain BNBF British masters champion for the 3rd year running.  I can't claim to be his coach as he pretty much looks after himself and he coaches me as much as I coach him, but we do train together at least once a week and we see each other most days to discuss progress and strategy.  The people at Golds are constantly astonished at how both Martin and I can look the way that we do and it's nice that we can help everyone in the Golds "family" with their training. 

9/11, again

Today is September 11th, exactly 10 years to the day since the 9/11 attacks in the USA and exactly 11 years since I lost my Mum. I mention it every year because neither of those two things get easier to get over no matter how many years may pass. But life always goes on so let us focus on now. Today I looked at Martin in preparation for this time next week, he looks amazing and we will be taking his best ever package to the BNBF finals in Glasgow next week. I will put the result on here on the same day if possible. Finally, the Rugby World Cup is underway and although England were not at their best yesterday they have shown that they will be hard to beat.  I felt sorry for Jonny, maybe the ball that they are using has been designed by the Kiwis for ball in hand rugby and not kicking rugby, I wonder why????

Degrees of happiness

As it's a cold wet Sunday here's a bit of philosophy. I was booked to compete tomorrow at muscle beach, Venice, California but due to the events of the year, some that I've talked about and some that I haven't, that won't happen. When I booked it I was planning to fulfil an ambition so I was really happy, then when I cancelled it I was quite low. Now, with my recovery from my latest tummy problem almost complete I'm very happy to be getting ready for Nottingham, a show that made me so unhappy last year that I said that I would never do it again. John Lennon was right when he said "life is something that happens to you while you're making plans". This year has simply reinforced my two beliefs that you should enjoy every day as if it was your last and enjoy the simple things in life as they are the most important and the most fun. Here's a pic from Friday to prove my point.

7 weeks out

Amazingly, I have got back on track so well that people at the gym are already telling me that I look closer to competing than 7 weeks out. My weight is just under 18 stone but the cuts are coming through already, even the legs are beginning to show. So tomorrow I will do my first proper posing practice, Danny will look at me for a change! Although he is also just 7 weeks away from the NPA Britain so he will do a posing practice too. I looked at Martin in the week, he is ready now, but in 3 weeks time he will look even better, I'm really looking forward to going with him to Glasgow to see if he can retain his BNBF British title. So with 3 "Britains" coming up you might think that it's taken over my life, it hasn't, here to prove it is a picture of Caden when we went to the park the other day.

On it like a tramp on chips

The decision is made, I will be at Nottingham. I can't believe how different I feel to this time last week, It's like the whole stomach thing is just a bad memory, but pictures like this, from Danny's BNBF show, remind me that it was so bad that we had to do the obligatory "coach & pupil" photo in an unorthodox way as my tummy was so swollen. I am back in full show prep training and have had no adverse reactions at all, the bruise is going and the lump and pain have all but gone, go figure. So life is back to normal, I had Caden for the afternoon on Thursday and that was an incredible experience as usual. Martin is 3 weeks out and looks amazing, I'll see if I can get a pic of him on here soon!

Answers on a postcard please.....

So the latest news is that I woke up this morning to find that the lump had decreased massively and I was in no pain for the first time in weeks. Instead, where the lump was there is now a huge bruise. I'm guessing that whatever it was has bled internally to a point where the lump has nothing in it, I say guessing because I called the doctors and they couldn't explain it either! All I know is that I had my first day off from painkillers in a while and already I'm thinking that although my tummy is still badly swollen I have time to fix that, so maybe Nottingham is still a possibility. First though, now I'm well again, I have to focus on helping Martin Duckett get ready for the BNBF Britain on September 18th, updates on that to follow!

Protein shakes and Tramadol

Well life is getting somewhere near back to normal, sort of. As you can see from the hospital letter their best guess now is that it is scar tissue. They have given me Tramadol which I take before training and that gets me through my workouts, some meals have had to be replaced by protein shakes too. The lump is getting smaller and the pain less and of course I will stay positive, tomorrow I will see the Granchildren for the first time since I went in, Im really looking forward to that. Finally can I just say a huge thanks to everyone who has been so kind and supportive throughout all of this, with a special word for my son Steve who put me before anything else in his busy life to make sure that my hospital stay was as comfortable as possible. Years ago, as a joke, he put a note on his contact card on my laptop that I was "lucky to have him as a son". I've always kept that note on there because its absolutely true, I am blessed.

A week of my life completely lost!

So after being in hospital since Monday I am now being sent home, none the wiser, with no corrective work done and still in as much pain as when I got here. My body has been put through a bettery of tests yet still they don't know what's wrong despite a lump being visible on my lower abdomen and me being in constant pain. I will go to the gym tomorrow, duly drugged up on painkillers and just do some stretching and cardio, after that I will see how my body feels and I'll have the rest of the weekend to decide what to do from here with regard to competitions etc. It's a depressing time but I will remain positive and hope that they can still come up with a solution.

The best laid plans....

I had forgotten just how much I hate hospitals. In 2008 my 3 weeks of hell were mainly a blur as I was hooked up to a morphine pump the whole time and that takes away all the pain by putting you in a constantly spaced out state. This time however they won't give me a morphine pump as they say it's not as serious as before. Although from a medical point of view they are right, it is  very serious to me as it means that my competition plans for the rest of the year have been thrown out of the window. I have to just accept that and get on with life but it is incredibly disappointing. The latest news is that after nearly 48 hours they still don't know exactly what's wrong and I am currently awaiting a colonoscopy, which will be most uncomfortable to say the least!

The pleasure and the pain

Well yesterday Danny won the NPA Midlands Junior title. It was a great day, he was so happy and I am so proud of him, he thoroughly deserved it for all of his hard work. However, what he and nobody knew was that my tummy has been getting progressively worse but I kept it quiet as I didn't want my problems to affect his chances. Today however I saw the doctor, he confirmed that my old troubles have returned and to cut a long story short I am currently  blogging from a hospital bed. I'm not quite sure yet just how serious it is or where this leaves me in relation to the shows that I am currently preparing for. I will regularly update the blog with the latest news, after all I won't have anything else to do for the next few days!

Do it again

So tomorrow we will do it all over again with Danny as he tries to win the NPA show at Stratford on Avon. It's hard to improve in 2 weeks but a mixture of carb cycling, variable training and an extra days depletion has worked well for him and he looks even sharper than he did at the BNBF show. You never know who you will be up against of course but both he and I are very confident. I've had a busy week and not just bodybuilding wise. I've spent a lot of time with the kids, their kids and their friends and their kids! I must admit it makes me want to give up bodybuilding and have more children of my own but I don't think that it will happen. The highlight of my week was having Lilybelle for the night on Tuesday, here we are having morning cuddles, just after she had woken me up at 6.30 am!

And so it starts again....

Well after a few hectic 7 day weeks lately I'm pleased to say that this coming one will be a little bit more relaxed. That's not to say that it will be quiet though; tomorrow, as well as training, I have some serious coaching to do. Danny is fine and on course for his NPA show on August 14th but I have several people that are just starting to diet for various shows in October and November. Along with this I am now of course dieting myself in preparation for Nottingham in October. All things considered relaxation time will be at a premium but I'll have some this weekend when I go shopping to buy stuff for all my loved ones. Caden had his present yesterday when I got him a Captain America outfit, he now owns one of every outfit that was in the shop!

A cruel sport

Well after perfect preparation and total dedication Danny performed brilliantly yesterday but still did not place in the top 4. We won't know his exact placing for a day or two but I was genuinely surprised that he didn't place as his condition was immense as you can see from this picture. Bodybuilding can be cruel sometimes but Dan was very upbeat after, mainly because the quality of the opposition was amazing so he knew that he had been on stage with some of the best in his class from all over the country. In fact I have never been to a regional drug free show of an overall higher standard than yesterday. A big thank you to everyone in the team from both me and Danny. He must have enjoyed it as we are going to do it all over again at the NPA show in 2 weeks time!

Busy but happy!

Firstly my apologies for the lack of blogging, Ive just been so busy but it's all been good positive stuff, culminating in last weekend which was brilliant thanks to many people. All is good with Danny as you will know if you have been following his progress on facebook (KevWilson BodySculpture). He is whining about training and moaning about being hungry and I am so pleased about that because it proves that he's doing the diet! Everyone is saying that it will take something special to beat him on Sunday, the whole team has done well and we are all looking forward to the show. I've still had time to be a Granddad though, Colby was here last night and slept soundly after being bribed with chocolate buttons for supper as you can see here!

Is it on your diet sheet?????

Had a great day at the Herts & Beds first timers show yesterday, well done to Trevor Cheung for putting on such a good show, and to Jim Georgiou who won the overall, he looks like a young Zack Khan! Had to laugh at Danny last night, he is 2 weeks out from his show so no more cheat meals are allowed. He texted me about 10 pm to ask if he could have some Ovaltine and milk before bed! About this time of year, with so many on holiday and show diets I get a lot of similar requests, so I keep a note on my iphone which I simply copy and paste as a reply to such texts, it simply says "IS IT ON YOUR DIET SHEET???" Needless to say I rarely get a reply to that! Here is a very rare shot of Danny smiling whilst posing, we have 2 weeks left to make sure that he always does that!

The busy season

So much is going on at the moment! All members of team BodySculpture are doing well, although one is causing me great concern, KFC & pizza? You know who you are so stop it NOW. Danny just looks better every day and tomorrow he will do a ridiculous amount of reps and cardio to bring his hamstrings through, everything else is coming in perfectly on time. On Saturday I'll be at a local first timers show, so please come and say hi http://www.colloseumgym.co.uk/images/events_4_832382012.jpg Like I say, loads going on, and in the midst of this I'm trying to gain some size for October without getting too fat, as you can see from the pic, it's not as easy as it sounds!

Danny video trailer now on YouTube

So the "News of the screws" will publish it's last edition on Sunday, bloody good job too, after what has been going on there for years it's nothing less than the right thing to do. Also, Luka Modric, you have a thing called a contract which you happily signed for loads of money so do the honourable thing and see it out! Now, calm again, I have posted a trailer for the Danny video on YouTube, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIT8jnBGQ2g He is coming along well and I will post more photos on here next time, or you can see them now on Facebook (KevWilson BodySculpture). Finally here is my big Princess, arm in arm with my little Princess, it's impossible to say which one I love the most!

A good big 'un beats a good little 'un - again

So David Haye's dreams were finally shattered, but he should feel no shame, Klitschko is a great champion who vastly outweighed him, so David, don't even think about a rematch or fighting his brother. Off season life is busy and rewarding, the new Bodysculpture project that I launched on Facebook is going well (add me, KevWilson BodySculpture) and Danny is right on course with just 4 weeks to go, I am making a video of him which I hope to have ready to show in a few weeks or so. Also we are doing more filming for the documentary this week, heres a link for the new trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CXHGTLyj0A Finally, one more pic from last Sunday, I presented the trophies for the classic class, as you can see the standard was very high.

Great show on Sunday!

Had a great day on Sunday at the UKBFF Muscle Talk show in Bedford. It was a busy day helping some friends out backstage and also doing some promotional work for Golds gym, I even got to present some trophies (see pic) The only thing that spoilt it was the worst decision I have ever seen that robbed my good friend Richie Goodwin in the Under 90kgs, he accepted the result much better than most would have but I did feel for him. All is going well with everyone else that I'm coaching, Danny is 5 weeks out and spot on. It's nice being off season but everyone keeps on telling me that I have to do the UKBFF Britain again in October, I'm leaning that way now I must admit.

Back in the groove

So here as promised is the first picture of my newest protege Danny Henman. It's his 20th Birthday today and I'm preparing him for his first proper bodybuilding show, the totally drug free BNBF show at St. Albans on July 31st. He's doing really well and I'll keep you updated regularly. I'll be working at the Muscle Talk event at The Corn Exchange in Bedford this Sunday, promoting Golds gym and also helping some friends back stage, please come along and say hello. Finally here's two links, firstly one for the Trip Advisor review of my holiday http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g189119-d1739623-r114593719-Longevity_Wellness_Resort_Monchique-Monchique_Algarve.html and secondly a trailer for the documentary that is currently in production. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CXHGTLyj0A

A week in Monchique

Just got back from a brilliant relaxing week in Portugal at this beautiful place www.longevitywellnessresort.com and now I feel great again, which is bad news for those that I coach because when I have lots of energy they need to have the same! Chubbed up nicely whilst away but eating clean again now, being 19 stone is nice at mealtimes but its a lot of weight to lug around in the sunshine all day so some of it can come off now. It's time for Danny to get serious too so we are having a full posing practice and diet review on Thursday, I'll post a picture of him on here after that so that you can see how my totally drug free protege, who will be 20 tomorrow, is looking.

Here comes the sun

Holiday fever has hit the gym, it seems that everyone is going away sometime soon. That means, as is usual for this time of year, dishing out advice on how to look good on the beach. Although in almost every case people leave it too late and expect miracles in a matter of weeks when it really is a year round thing to keep in top shape and look your best for the summer. A quick word about Jenson Button on Sunday and that word is awesome! The drive was incredible, as was the look on Lewis Hamilton's face as he tried so hard to be pleased for his "team mate" Spent yesterday afternoon with Caden, he's so grown up now, here he is eating with his knife and fork in the wrong hands, just like his Granddad does!

Bodies Knackered / Site hacked

Well Danny got through the leg workout - just! At one stage he was lying on the floor in agony so I bellowed at him to get up and to his credit he did. Later he was dizzy and felt sick so I put my arm around him and made sure that he was OK. That's how I coach people, push them to the limit but make sure that I care about them too, and it works, that's for sure. I too am feeling the pace, it's been months since I had a holiday so I'm counting the days. Apologies for the website being down for a while today, I spoke to Steve and he said that it had been hacked! What a nightmare, fortunatley he fixed it, what would I do without my super son!

Portugal beckons

One week of rebound training and I've gained over a stone. Highlights of the week were shopping with Natalie & the boys and curly fries with chimichangas, just because it's fun to say chimichanga - try it! I have now cleaned up the diet and am counting the workouts and days until I go to Portugal. I need a holiday and I'm also going to have a look at property out there as I do miss having a home in the sun. First though I have to get Danny properly set as his show is at the end of July, so that starts tomorrow with his first show prep leg session, I feel sorry for him because it does hurt but I know that he will respond well. They are also doing some more filming for the documentary this week, that will be at my house and Danny is going to be in it too as he is my number 1 protege. Here's another picture from my win at the NAC UK Open.

Like a rhinestone cowboy....

...getting cards and letters from people I don't even know and offers coming over the phone. Well it's not been quite that good but almost! I have been overwhelmed by the congratulations that I have received since Monday morning, all the people at Gold's and the bodybuilding community in general have all been so kind. Believe it or not, that means more to me than any trophy or title so it has a been a hectic but very rewarding few days. But life is about the future so the first person that I called (after I had spoken to my kids of course) was Danny, so that we could organise him for his show on July 31st. He will now have 2 months of feeling the pain that I know so well, and hopefully the glory at the end of it, we will see. Here's a photo of the winning line up on Sunday.

British champion at last!

What a hectic but great weekend! Saturdays NABBA show went as I expected it to, I didn't place. I could make excuses about hating morning prejudging and it being my first year etc. but I won't, instead I will just say that the quality was as high as last years Universe and I can't argue about my "DNP". Sunday was a whole different story, a smaller field, an early evening run through show which I love and judges who appreciated my physique against the shorter guys. The result of an incredibly hard fought contest was that I won my first ever British title. Whilst it may not be quite as prestigious as the NABBA title I'm sure that anyone would be very proud, as I am, to be able to call themselves the British champion. Photos and videos to follow when I get them, but here's another "2 days out photo" from last week.

Show time at last

So finally the big weekend is here. In a few hours I will leave for Liverpool as I have an early check in and morning prejudging in the NABBA Britain finals tomorrow. The main show isn't until tomorrow evening so it will be a very long Saturday. It's my first ever NABBA Britain so I'm not expecting too much, but then on Sunday in Manchester I will do my second NAC Britain, and I'm a bit more confident about that one. Regardless of anything else, I can only be at my very best and according to everyone at Gold's I am definitely that. Bigger certainly, and more ripped than at either of the previous two shows that I have done recently. Here's a photo taken yesterday so see what you think. I'll report in on Monday with the weekends results, probably whilst eating a huge bacon sandwich!

Almost there

So after the luxury of actually eating properly for a whole day on Sunday I went straight back onto the depletion diet on Monday.... and it is hurting. Just today and tomorrow to go now and then I'll be carbing up on Friday. As I have the NABBA Britain on Saturday and then the NAC Britain on Sunday the carbing will be a delicate balancing act! I can't wait until Monday, not just because it will be the start of the food slaughter but also because I'm hooked on "Made in Chelsea". Depending on what happens in Monday's episode, I may have to go and slap Spencer and walk away with Funda over my shoulder, yeah 'cos she would love that - not! First TOWIE now this, what is going on? I blame Natalie. Finally, here's the winners pose from Saturday at the Bodypower.

Back to winning ways

Yesterday at the NEC in Birmingham I won the Over 50's Bodypower title for the second year running, 2 for 2 at Bodypower is an acheivment that anyone would be proud of. I must say a huge thank you to everyone from Golds who came along to help and support, especially Martin of course, who is featured in the two new videos that have already had hundreds of views in their first few days online (see last Thursdays blog for links). I said that whatever yesterdays result was I wouldn't do the UKBFF British finals this year but I do always say that the peoples comments mean more to me than the judges. Well yesterday so many people told me that this year will be my year in Nottingham that I will have to think carefully about whether or not to do it, it's not a bad problem to have I suppose!

It never rains but it pours

Such a busy day but first a rant. Ken Clarke, you shouldn't just be sacked, someone should shove your hush puppies up your arse and then kick it into the street, what kind of an idiot are you?! Now, today, whilst at my most tired and depleted, I have received the photos from the NABBA show and two videos from the documentary people, one training and one posing, both filmed recently at Golds. Steve has only just got back from Corfu so I will ask him to upload the photos as soon as he can. Meanwhile, I, whilst being tormented by the smell of my carb up food cooking, have uploaded the videos to YouTube, here are the links, I'll report in on Sunday with the Bodypower result. Workout video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVo9ypWDztg Posing video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wv37-HhMXc

3 days from the Bodypower

All preparations are on course for my next competition at the Bodypower Expo at the NEC, Birmingham, on Saturday. I won there last year so if I can do it 2 years running that will be a great achievement. Whatever happens it should still be a great weekend, some of the guys from Golds are coming along to cheer me on which I really appreciate. Here's a link so that you can see what it's going to be like www.bodypowerexpo.co.uk Now, you will have heard about Arnold Schwarzenegger and the news that has broken about him having an affair and indeed a child with his housekeeper. Arnie has always been one of my heroes, but after all of this, well, he has in my book attained true legendary status!