Let’s start this by being honest and fair. I like to call myself a bodybuilder, I train like a bodybuilder, I even train legs! However, given the fact that I’m not on any anabolic chicken, I’m never going to compete with folk that use enhancements. I have no problem with that at all and it’s my problem not there’s. Fundamentally, I’m going against everything that the sport promotes/requires. (and my body clearly shows this) I don’t have meat, fish, supplements, steroids and I train with my wife. (there’s nothing wrong with that by the way as she would give half the men a run for their money, especially the effort she puts in) I have decided to do it this way as I crave for knowledge and as long as I’m in no rush to see changes, I can discover things with my own body in my own time.

So, now that I’ve gave myself a pat on the back for trying to make it harder for my myself, I would like to talk about a few things…

People ALWAYS ask, where do you get your protein from? Quite naturally I avoid this question. Why should I be taking the hard and long path to give them the answers and let them pass the information on to boost their ego or to sell on?! This is my own little thing and something that will make me feel good in my own little way. If anyone is bigger than me, they clearly already have the edge over me. I find it quite funny how they ask me when I’m much smaller than them.

How do I balance my macros (protein/carbs/fat)? 

I usually do this with a plastic fork, sometimes I forget my plastic cutlery and have to use my finger though. On a serious note, it’s easy. Yet, why would I consider sharing this information with folk if I haven’t pushed myself to see if it actually works first. I’ll share this information in my own time, even if I fail reaching my goals. There’s plenty of information on the internet I guess, it’s just what’s true and what’s making money.

I can easily get over 200g Protein, less than 80g carbs and 30g fat. Getting more carbs and fat is even easier.

My goals?

To be like I were in my last show when I was on every supplement, 100% dedicated and ate meat religiously, but without anything I just mentioned.

So what’s this thing I’ve discovered?

Ok, this is my fun bit. I can play on the park. Obviously the most important thing in my life, is my family. I was with the kids on the park the other day and I have plenty of energy to run around and play. There’s a steep twin bar climbing frame on the park that the kids slide down. For no other reason than to play about, I tried doing pull ups, letting go of my hands in between movements and working towards the top. As pointless as it sounds, I discovered that I have definitely made the right choice by staying natural whilst my children are young. Granted, this is my way of justifying why I have stayed natural and skinny for now.

Competing

I’ve already decided I want to compete at some point. I’m just deciding if I should do my own real thing, which is to take photos in the gym at my own leisure without any pressure at all, or go up against part time natural bodybuilders on stage and feel dwarfed* or to go in a federation that clearly uses enhancements, just so I can do my own thing and take away the stress of the actual competition. All I genuinely want are my photos on stage that I can keep in my archive and compare myself over the years to see exactly how and what is going on with different ways I try things.

*I have never said anyone in a natural show is on steroids and I quite frankly don’t care. If they are on steroids or have been and compete in a natural show, they are already losers in my eyes. But I wont even mention anything about this on my blog…

The last year.

If I see any difference in terms of muscle growth it is down to being consistent and nothing else. If I do see any sort of positive growth, I will be very pleased, as I’m going against almost every principle promoted. Not intentionally, just as a challenge for myself that I enjoy. This is another reason why I am small and I know this.

My plan

My blog is what I use to track certain points along my journey and everyone can see what I’m doing. I have no secrets that I have to hide. You can click through the links and see how I’ve changed and what path I have took. My plan is to eventually help others achieve their goals through hard work and they can hopefully trust me, as I know how different things affect my body and I can relate to them when they hit rock bottom and feel they need to give up. I ain’t talking about helping folk at a professional level, I’m talking about genuine folk that have goals and aims they want to achieve.

Also I will have years of notes that people can look at and see my background and see that I’m not one of these people who pass the online PT course and try to tell everyone everything and yet they look terrible and keep asking others for help themselves. But again, I won’t talk about that on my blog…

I also note down all my foods, and gym progress. It will all help me one day and it already does.

I never say I’m vegetarian as I don’t know if I want to cut out meat long term. I’m 100% sure I want to be meat free for now, yet if I decide to step it up a level, I think it may be important to add meat back to my diet. I will compete meat free before I consider going back on it though.

Transition.

Back when I started, I had no idea about nutrition at all. I though bicep curls would make me a bodybuilder (I guess some folk still do) the changes I have made over the years have been small and have took a long time. I remember when I swapped chippy chips for home fried chips and then to oven chips and then to jacket potato and so on. This alone took months if not years, as I had no idea what-so-ever about nutrition. I certainly didn’t have a clue what protein was let alone what it did.

I remember buying my first tub of protein from Holland and Barrett. At the time I thought of it as a steroid type product. I was afraid to use it and followed the instructions to the exact letter. I remember using a knife to scrape the excess off the scoop as I didn’t know if it would cause me harm. It’s funny looking back at it, but at least I did it all myself! This make me now wonder if everything in the sport is over complicated (for a basic level like myself) and that’s why I enjoy the challenge.

Business

Let’s be fair, if people buy, people make. I’ve used many gimmick products that I see folk praising up and I buy into it to find they are absolutely rubbish. I wont name them as I don’t want to upset folk directly, but let’s just say that, chalk, straps and a GOOD QUALITY belt is all I need. I have knee straps that I never use, however a good belt like the DY one I use is essential for me. I have bought many in the past and they haven’t even been worth keeping in my gym bag. Obviously I have my own opinions and others will disagree, I just try not to buy into all the junk now, HOWEVER I find these steps I took to be essential from an exciting journey point of view and from an experience point of view. The discovering stage is great fun! Now I feel boring and miserable without all the products that make me feel and look like an Olympic champion.

If I had an opportunity to get free stuff from promoting something I thought was rubbish, I would avoid it at all costs. I don’t feel that I need to do that, for what I want from the sport right now. Things change though and If I do ever have that opportunity, I would have to let people know the situation.

Oh last things

All natural bodybuilding shows should have natural folk running them in my opinion.

I believe (which may not be true) that 99% of the athletes promoting products have never even used the said product. It all looks good in marketing and that’s business. For an example, if you want a true idea of how things work, I have had certain foods that I have had religiously and they have helped me through some rough craving times. I certainly don’t look anything like the athletes promoting the products. At least they have put me on the right path though, as they are a brilliant alternative to the junk I was eating.

And if folk are on steroids, it doesn’t matter if you use a little or a lot, steroids are steroids.