Spanish Stroll

Blogging today whilst enjoying the Spanish sunshine, I could take no more of the seemingly endless British winter so I've been here for almost a week tentatively looking at property. I lived here during  2008 and moved back to England in 2009 for family reasons but I'm constantly lured back here by the good weather, the Mediterranean diet and the manana attitude. Due to the recession the country has changed quite a bit since I lived here, what was once a prosperous country is no longer that but the people haven't changed much and at least there's no snow, I have to head home soon so I hope that it's all gone from England when I get back!

Rock On

So England came up short in the rugby proving that they are far from the finished article as we suspected. Looking at it positively though it's good that any weaknesses can be dealt with now, 2 years before the next world cup.  Repraw, my new clothing sponsors are now officially trading, please have a look at their website www.repraw.com   I'm pleased to say that my old friend Rob Reinaldo is now also a sponsored Repraw athelete.  Rob and I competed together in Mr. Universe a few years ago and we have been friends ever since.  Finally, I've had a few people ask me if a high complex carbohydrate bulking diet makes me fat during the off season. Look at the picture taken this week and judge for yourself.  As I approach my 54th birthday I'm eating well but clean, so that I can train harder and with more intensity, which means that the muscles can get bigger without me going no more than about a stone over competition weight.

Fix You

I was a bit put out to hear that  one of my favourite movie stars, Gwyneth Paltrow, refuses to allow her children to eat carbs.  Personally I have never been a fan of the Atkins, Dukan or Ketosis diets or indeed any diet that regards carbs as a bad thing, simply because they are an important part of any diet.  Whether you are a bodybuilder or not almost every diet that I write starts off with oats for breakfast because carbs are important not only for growth but also for keeping muscles full and firm, without them you will go soft. Gwyneth is still pretty even at 40 but she is underweight and to me she looks anorexic and anaemic, which is unattractive and unhealthy, she needs to eat more carbs!  Meanwhile, to prove my point, as I approach my 54th birthday my off season high complex carb diet is working well as you can see from the pic.

You Oughta Know

I had to laugh at the latest health surveys that have hit the news headlines this week.  They all say the same, if you fill your body with lots of crap you will die young.  Wow, really?  Who knew?!  Apparently life expectancy in the UK is worse than ever, this is mainly due to a steep increase in the use of recreational drugs like cocaine and cannabis.  Alongside this we have the UK culture of "Oh I think I'll have a burger instead", coupled with more and more pointless binge drinking and of course self poisoning, or smoking as it's more commonly known.  All of this brings me to a very obvious conclusion!  Finally, am I the only person who totally agrees with Roy Keane that it WAS indeed a red card? Keane knows a bit about being sent off, ask Alf Inge Haaland, but nowhere in the laws of football does it say that it's acceptable to fly through the air with your studs showing 5 feet from the ground with no regard for anyone else on the pitch.  Well done ref!

Life In A Northern Town

As we head into March I'm happy to be back at home after spending a lot of February on the road.  The people that I'm helping these days do not have ambitions to become competitive bodybuilders but they desperately want to change their lifestyles and improve their lives, I'm happy to say that every single one of them is succeeding very quickly.  It's far more rewarding for me too and I don't miss the bitchiness and back biting that goes with prepping people for shows. Although I did have to laugh this weekend when I was told that I am "unashamedly vocal" which is a nice way of saying that I upset people with my honesty. True maybe, but if you want to shape up then see me, if you want a friend then get a pet! The picture is of the seafront at Hartlepool, many thanks to Gavin Lancaster and his team at the Best Western Hotel there, it's without doubt the nicest of all the hotels that I have stayed in on my recent travels.