Flex UK - February 2018

FEBRUARY
2018
BACK TO
BRITISH
EDITION
www.flexonline.co.uk
FEBRUARY 2018 £4.20
02
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BACK. TO. BRITISH.

Those three words will remain at the forefront of our minds when
producing every future edition of FLEX UK.
For too long British athletes, trainers and industry pioneers have
been under-represented – and that is all about to change.
Starting in this edition, FLEX UK

will become packed with British talent.
From North to South, and East to West, we will With all that said, we want your feedback – what
be covering every aspect of the British content would you like to see more of/less of,
bodybuilding scene. who would you like to see featured or would you
like to be involved with this title? Whatever
There is, of course, a wide world of amazing your thoughts, we want to hear from you –
bodybuilding talent and where relevant we will please email editor@bodypower.com
be covering those international personalities as
well. With the exciting new content planned, we
simply do not have enough space to print
This is a magazine for new gym goers, everything – meaning we will be launching in the
bodybuilding fanatics, experts, coaches, coming weeks www.flexonline.co.uk a brand
personal trainers, men and women, and anyone new, content filled website (and mobile app)
who wants to further their bodybuilding goals. specifically for the UK readers.
You may have noticed recently that FLEX Covering as many fitness federations in the UK
magazine (and its sister title Muscle & Fitness as possible (PCA, WABBA, Miami Pro and UKUP
Magazine) was licensed in the UK to BodyPower are all now partners with more in the pipeline)
– a company with a vision to “Inspire people to this new digital portal will become an invaluable
get fitter” – and these iconic titles are now part part of your bodybuilding toolkit.
of this vision.
Now, onto the content…. and this month’s
With a magazine that, from cover to cover, is landmark cover features the legendary Dorian
filled with relevant content to you, our aim is Yates. The 6 x Mr. Olympia is a true ambassador
to help you achieve your goals by fulfilling our for bodybuilding and kicks starts our journey
vision. into British bodybuilding greatness….
www..tness-savvy.co.uk
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INSIDE THIS MONTH FEBRUARY 2018 COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY
CHRIS LUND
88 DEAN LESIAK & MARTYN

COVER STORY 116
FORD TRANSFORMATION
10
Dean Lesiak takes Martyn
Ford through the first steps
of his transformation.
DORIAN YATES,
THE MACHINE 96 NATHAN HARMAN Q&A
MINDSET Nathan “The Wizard” Harmon
Exclusive interview answers questions on how
with 6x Mr. Olympia he gets the best out of a
Dorian Yates as physique.
never seen before.
100 PCA PRO RANDEEP LOTAY
Randeep tells all on how he
became a PCA Pro.
104 THIS IS HOW I DO IT
PHOTOGRAPHS BY @AMRITSVIP
Sensational bodybuilder
Aaron Hudson explains his
training routine and why it
works so well.
112 BOBBY KHAN

IFBB PRO
IFBB Pro Bobby Khan tells 116 BEGINNERS GUIDE TO
his story of how he was king
CHRIS LUND
FIGURE POSING
of the classic.
The posing pro Emma
Hyndman gives a step
112 by step guide to looking
IN EVERY ISSUE 26 NATHAN DE ASHA, like a pro figure athlete
LIVING THE LIFE on stage.
4 EDITORIAL Nathan De Asha opens
8 NICK ORTON up and gives his inspiring 122 CONTEST NEWS
story from child to IFBB Pro WABBA Mr. and Miss
120 PRODUCT NEWS League sensation. Universe contest report
by Trevor Chung.
MATT MARSH
34 GONE TOO SOON:

FEATURES DALLAS REMEMBERED 128 CONTEST CALENDAR
The all-too-short life and 2018 Show contest dates.
16 RISING STAR career of Dallas McCarver,
Josh Maley, Being 6’6 and and the legacy he leaves.
Cuts Above the Rest Rising
star Maley talks about what
44 THE BEST MUSCLE FOOD AND SUPPS
it took to fill out his massive
6’6 frame. BUILDING SPLIT 54 JOHN BUCKLAND, 51 TRANSFORMATION
Akash Vaghela talks about
HORMONE OPTIMISATION WITH TASTE
the Dorian Yates inspired
20 STEPHEN BOX, Routine and how it grew his
John explains how to get Learn how to create the best
DIETING DECISION, the most out of your muscle tasting diet prep food ever.
physique.
building hormones.
HOW LONG IS TOO LONG
Stephen Box talks you 68 PHIL HEATH, ANOTHER LEG 56 KEEPING A PERFECT 51
through what length of 7x Mr.O Phil Heath shows
diet suits your lifestyle you the workout that he PH. LEVEL
for maximum results. hopes will propel him to an Champion bodybuilder
8th Olympia title. Dean Lesiak talks about the
24 CHARLES CLAIRMONTE, importance of pH. levels.
PRO PREPPED 76 HARDCORE LADIES,
Charles Clairmonte reveals EMPOWER 60 MEALS OF THE MONTH
how he intends to help bring Leica Gelsei shows you a Ab-friendly meals to help
back the classic look whole new approach to you stay lean in 2018.
In bodybuilding. shoulder growth.
63 1 FOOD 5 WAYS
5 different amazing recipe
82
ONLY 5 DAYS ideas of balanced meals,
TO LIVE from chicken.
PHOTO BY SNHFOTO
IFBB Pro
PHOTO BY: @HOJO
Samantha Forbes tells 64 ASK THE

FLEX exclusively how she
only had 5 days to live,
REGISTERED DIETITIAN
Will a low carb or keto diet
and still became a pro.
stop you making gains?
CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
David Pecker
UK EDITION
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Nick Orton
www.flexonline.co.uk
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER UK MANAGING DIRECTOR

Nick Orton Carl Walker
EDITORIAL ADVERTISING
UK MANAGING DIRECTOR HEAD OF ADVERTISING SALES
Carl Walker MUSCLE & FITNESS UK / FLEX UK
e-mail: c.walker@bodypower.com Samantha Lund
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US EDITION
EVP/GROUP PUBLISHING DIRECTOR
Chris Scardino
EDITORIAL ART
Brian Good, Zack Zeigler; Dave Ian Lee; Greg Merritt; Angelica Nebbia; Ramón Gamarra; Cynthia NG; Sean Otto; Anthony Nolan;
Andrew Gutman; Yeun Littlefield; Jeff Tomko; Marc Bailes; James Riley; Erica Schultz; Gaby Chiang
Russell Mendoza; Victor Kim; Declan O’Kelly; Rose McNulty
CONTRIBUTORS PHOTOGRAPHY
Michael Berg; Adam Bible; Eric Broser; Bryan Haycock; Per Bernal; Charles Lowthian; Ian Spanier
Roger Lockridge; Peter McGough; Steven Stiefel; Joe Wuebben
CONTRIBUTORS
MANUFACTURING & PRODUCTION Albert Busek; Caruso; Bill Comstock; Isaac Hinds; Kevin Horton;
Ann McCaffrey; Marc Melcher Chris Lund; Chris Nicoll; Rob Pick; Pavel Ythjall; Art Zeller
President of the IFBB Professional League JIM MANION

Founder and Chairman Emeritus JOE WEIDER (1920–2013)
We assume no responsibility for returning unsolicited material, including but not limited to photographs, artwork, manuscripts and letters. Membership on the Editorial Advisory Board does not imply endorsement of any product or
service advertised in this magazine. Views expressed in advertisements and editorials are not necessarily those of FLEX or the Editorial Advisory Board. Reader discretion is advised. Please consult your doctor before beginning any
exercise or diet programme, or when making changes in an existing programme if you have any doubts about your health status.Every care is taken to assure the accuracy of the information in FLEX, but no responsibility can be
accepted for the consequences of actions based on the advice contained herein. BodyPower Publishing Ltd makes every effort to ensure that the advertising contained in FLEX is derived from respectable sources. It does not,
however, assume responsibility for the advertisements, nor any claims and representations made therein, nor the quality or delivery of the products/services themselves.
Editorial articles relating to food supplementation and sports nutrition reproduced in this issue of FLEX, are for information purposes only and are not intended to solicit or otherwise promote any commercialised product
containing the mentioned supplements. FLEX is distributed on an international basis. To the extent permitted by law, Weider Publications, LLC, a subsidiary of American Media, Inc and its affiliates: BodyPower Publishing Ltd,
do not accept liability for the effects of reported supplements or products, legal or illegal or any loss, injury or damage caused by their use. It is the responsibility of the individual to abide by the laws and dosage allowances
specific to their country of residence. Always consult a doctor before commencing supplementation or changing dosages. Some supplements may not work effectively outside specific dosage ranges and may potentially
cause harm if taken in excess. Not all supplements, combinations of supplements, or dose ranges of supplements may be suitable, safe or effective for everybody.
Copyright © (2018) BodyPower Publishing Ltd. Published under license from Weider Publications, LLC, a subsidiary of American Media, Inc.
All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. ‘FLEX’ is a trademark of Weider Publications, LLC, a subsidiary of American Media, Inc.
and may not be used or reproduced without the permission of Weider Publications, LLC.
The information in FLEX is intended to educate. Do not substitute it for the advice of a qualified health care practitioner.
FROM THE CEO By Nick Orton
highlight future talents from

Britain. The talent coming
through is some of the most
eagerly anticipated ever, so
you can look forward to seeing
future superstars right here.
Britain hosts THE WORLD’S
best fitness event
You are into fitness, but you
haven’t been to BodyPower…
are you crazy?!
Ok, so I may be a little biased, as
BodyPower runs through me like
‘Blackpool’ does in a stick of rock,
but we have the world’s best
fitness event right here in Britain.
If you’ve not been to a BodyPower
Expo, you are seriously missing
out. It’s where the fitness commu-
nity comes together - there’s
competitions, celebrations, we
get motivated and we get inspired!
It’s the ideal forum to pick up
tips on how to do things better
and just generally mingle with
like-minded people. There’s a
massive expo, with special
show-only offers, samples
galore, athletes demonstrating
and educating. Nowhere else in
the world is there such an impres-
BACK TO
sive, well attended and vibrant
event….and it’s on your doorstep
at the NEC! (May 11th – 13th).
When I started BodyPower over
BRITISH
a decade ago, there was nothing
really in terms of expo’s, and the
bodybuilding and fitness events
were pretty shabby. It’s plain to
I
see how far we have come in
t’s a historic cover, a freakish outcast, rather than a
10 years… world-class events,
historic edition, and I love it…at world-class athlete, who
awesome stage sets, sophisti-
last, this great, iconic magazine dominated his era by winning
everything in sight. He said that the
cated exhibitors, huge prizes,
is featuring the best from our
own country (along with select media were only interested in incredible quality athletes…we
athletes from other parts of the headlines which portrayed him in a really do lead the way when it
world). We have such an incredible negative light. comes to fitness events. Other
back catalogue of home grown It has been a completely countries are looking to us to
talent that is world class, it’s about different approach to sporting see where we are going, what
time we celebrated it. It was around greats here compared to other we are planning and what the
ten years ago when I was sat in a parts of the world. For example, future holds.
coffee shop with the great Dorian in India, the Bodybuilder is hailed Britain holds THE best fitness
Yates, when he said something that as the ‘ultimate’ and used by the event, it’s FACT, HA!
really struck me and set me on a media to inspire others. It’s long
course to this day. He said he found overdue here, but at least now For more information:
it hard to accept that his own we can celebrate successes www.bodypower.com
countrymen treated him like a from the past, present and Connect with me @nickorton22
8 FLEX | FEBRUARY 2018

TRIBUTE In Memoriam
SHAWN
PERINE
(1966-2017)
S
ADLY, THE WORLD OF
bodybuilding has been dealt
a devastating blow.
Muscle & Fitness VP and Editorial
Director Shawn Perine has passed
away at the age of 51.
Perine was diagnosed with stage
IV lung cancer on September 22,
2017, and had remained upbeat and
positive throughout his battle.
Perine never drank, smoked, or
used drugs, which made the
diagnosis so unexpected. In fact,
he spent the last 38 years of his
life eating clean, pushing himself
in the gym, and inspiring others
through his commitment to health
and fitness.
For decades—as a fitness work at FLEX magazine in the ‘90s. other muscles, it will never lead
enthusiast, writer, editor, and later Later, his contributions earned him you astray.” —Shawn Perine
Editor-in-Chief and Chief Content a full-time position as FLEX’s senior Shawn’s passing has elicited a
Director for Muscle & Fitness, writer in California. huge response from the fitness
Muscle & Fitness Hers and FLEX In 2011, Perine moved from community.
— Perine became one of the most California back to New York to start “Today I was shocked and
authoritative voices in our industry. his dream job as Editor-in-Chief of saddened to hear the news that our
As a child growing up in Long Muscle & Fitness. His mission was good friend, Shawn Perine, had
Island, NY, Perine’s passion for to “carry the torch lit by Joe Weider” succumbed to his battle with
the sport of bodybuilding was and work hand-in-hand with AMI cancer. I first met Shawn years
fuelled by the 1977 documentary CEO David Pecker to spread the ago when he was a writer covering
Pumping Iron. By the age of 13 gospel of health and fitness to bodybuilding contests for FLEX
he was tearing through every the world. magazine. I was impressed with
exercise book he could find, and “Shawn was unquestionably the his knowledge and passion
also hitting the gym five days per finest fitness journalist I have for every facet of the sport.
week in hopes of carving a physique worked with in the 15 years He knew all the athletes dating
like Arnold Schwarzenegger, who since AMI acquired all the Weider back to the very beginning and
would later become one of Perine’s Publications,” said Mr. Pecker. could tell you the results of every
trusted friends. “His knowledge of health, training, Mr. Olympia. That passion grew
“Shawn Perine was not only nutrition, and the sport of body- even more through the years
a fantastic ambassador for the building was without equal. He was as he rose up to become editor-in-
fitness crusade and a wonderful my colleague, my friend, and an chief, and then chief content
editor of Muscle & Fitness, he was inspiration to anyone who knew director of Muscle & Fitness,
a dear friend and a great man,” him. The industry will miss him. FLEX, and Muscle & Fitness Hers.
Schwarzenegger tweeted. “I’m I will miss him.” Shawn loved bodybuilding and
heartbroken, and the world just lost Outside of the gym, Perine will be was dedicated to the fit lifestyle.
an amazing force. My thoughts are remembered for his love of animals, He will be sorely missed but
with his family and friends.” the environment, paleontology, never forgotten. Our thoughts
Although Perine concluded that architecture, and, most importantly, and prayers are with his family
his body wasn’t suited for the stage, his huge heart. and friends.”
he began to write fervently about “One thought regarding your —Jim Manion, IFBB Pro League
bodybuilding, which led to freelance heart: follow it. Unlike some of your and NPC President
FEBRUARY 2018 | FLEX 9

THE MACHINE
MINDSET
HAVING THE MINDSET TO ACHIEVE ANY GOAL
IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS, AND IF YOU KNOW
ANYTHING ABOUT 6X MR. OLYMPIA LEGEND
DORIAN YATES IT’S THAT HE HAS THE
COMPLETE DEDICATION TO ACHIEVE HIS
CHOSEN GOAL.
BY DARREN NICHOLHURST PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRIAN ROSE

WE ALL HAVE THE ABILITY TO CHANGE OUR FUTURE,
and this is exactly what Dorian did…with something he didn’t even
know he had: The Machine Mindset
FROM PRISON TO eventually achieve them. learned from guys like Mike Mentzer,
PRO SHOW I remember feeling an and packed on the dense muscle
As a youngster, a skinny uncontrollable desire to push mass needed to step out on stage.
Dorian found himself myself above and beyond what The once skinny, directionless teen
any other bodybuilder was had flourished into a man mountain-
behind bars.
doing, but I didn’t yet understand smashing his opponents in a line up
But how did the bodybuilding how to apply this passion.” and causing a huge rumble in the
legend go from a skinny 18-year- Dorian gave up partying and world of bodybuilding.
old young man in prison, to a 6x decided instead to eat clean, As a result, the WEIDER brothers
Mr. Olympia? train hard and get to bed by 11pm invited Dorian to New York for his
What he didn’t realise at the each night in order to allow his first American pro show. At this
time was that he possessed an body to recover and grow. event in 1990 named ‘Night of the
incredible ability to remain “I wasn’t proud of my past,” Champions’, the British newcomer
focused at all costs. Dorian had admits Dorian. “My new path placed 2nd to Mohammed Benaziza.
a machine-like mindset. needed a solid foundation and I Such an accomplishment was
“I knew that if I acquired was resolute in my desire to almost unheard of. Dorian had come
training and nutritional become a top bodybuilder. I from nowhere and packed on so
knowledge from top wanted to erase my past and much muscle in such a short space
bodybuilders, I’d stand myself in light up my future, and that of time. He’d then seemingly
good stead for personal fuelled me with an unrivalled effortlessly placed 2nd in his first
success,” recalls Dorian. “I knew vision.” pro show.
that if I could apply their mindset In a very short space of time, “Some people say my route to
to my own goals, I would Dorian had taken what he’d stardom illustrates special qualities,

but I would argue it’s all about the
mindset,” says Dorian. “There’s
no secret to it and I have no
magic wand- it’s just about
complete dedication, desire
and commitment.”
STRONG BUT
VUNERABLE
Dorian went on to enjoy a
successful reign of the Mr. Olympia
contests, before being forced to
retire due to injuries after his 1997
victory.
“My forced retirement left me in
a very dark place psychologically,”
reveals Dorian. “I was in complete
limbo and didn’t know where to
turn having been so committed to
my competitive career. I had spent
years focused on one thing, and explains Dorian. “I switched from strong and able to deal with any
now, overnight, that had been doing hardcore bodybuilding to signs of depression or anxiety.”
taken away from me. I was things like interval training, and I One thing to be learned from this
devastated.” even mixed this with yoga and legend is that anything truly is
In addition to his sudden meditation. This opened up a possible.
retirement, Dorian was left coping whole new world for me.” “Adaptation is the key to
with the loss of a loved one, which Today a highly respected fitness success- no matter what your
by his own admission sent him into and wellbeing celebrity, Dorian goal,” advises Dorian. “If you want
a spiral of depression and self- accepts this unexpected change to be great at anything, anything at
doubt. was for the best. all, then you need to work harder
“I knew I was suffering from “My new way of living and than your opponents and attack
depression and anxiety, but I was training has really helped me to from every angle. Train your mind
also aware of the fact I couldn’t let feel more in touch with myself and your body will follow. I learned
it overwhelm me,” says Dorian. “I’d mentally ad spiritually,” he says. “I how to tap into the depths of my
done it once and I’d do it again- understand my own mind more own mindset and some say that
whether that meant maintaining and I’ve slowed down my thought made me the strongest, most
my physique for the sake of public processes in order to tackle powerful weapon in British
expectation, or being comfortable everyday stress. This keeps me bodybuilding.”
in my own skin and adopting a new
direction in life. I didn’t want to let
fans down, but ultimately if I
wasn’t happy that’s exactly what
I’d be doing in any case. I accepted
it was time for change.”
ADAPTATION, LIFE
AFTER BODYBUILDING
After a long, slow battle realising
even he wasn’t immune to life’s ups
and downs, Dorian channelled his
unstoppable ability to be able to
adapt and grow into new goals.
“I began to find my spirituality,
and I changed from being an
insensitive ‘machine’ to a person
easily understood by others,”

“ THE FATHERS OF
BODYBUILDING HEARD
OF DORIAN AND FLEW
HIM TO NEW YORK FOR
HIS FIRST AMERICAN
PRO SHOW.
”

RISING STARS
JOSH MALEY
CUTS ABOVE THE REST
BORN IN 1988 AND STANDING AT A TOWERING 6 FEET 6 INCHES,
JOSH MALEY IS A GIANT FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH…
BY DARREN NICHOLHURST PHOTOS: PHOTOARTS BY JAY
I
GREW UP SWIMMING,
begins Josh. “I used to look
to Michael Phelps as my
inspiration and swam at
national level. I actually wasn’t
too shabby,” he jokes.
But in truth, Josh had a far
deeper and more gripping desire;
the desire to become a successful
bodybuilder.
“The entire time I was swimming,
I knew it wasn’t what I truly wanted
to throw my heart and soul into,”
he admits. “I remember thinking
I really wanted to sculpt the kind of
physique you see on a superhero.
I wanted a body fit for a movie
screen. I wanted to become a
bodybuilder”
At the age of 19, Maley decided
to give up his career as a swimmer.
The passion he’d formerly lived
out in the pool had, by his own
admission, come to an end.
“I couldn’t continue putting so
many hours into something that
wasn’t making me 100% happy,”
says Josh. “At 6’6”, I weighed only
84kg and it was often said I’d
disappear if I turned sideways,
but I dreamed of becoming a
bodybuilder. With swimming behind
me, it was time to turn that dream
into a reality.”
Josh was aware of the fact related excuses in the gym,” says want to be just another excuse, so
his height would be against him in Josh. “There’s no getting away from I sought inspiration from someone
many aspects, but nevertheless he the fact squatting is much more with a similar physical structure to
was determined to step on stage taxing if you’re super tall, and having myself.”
as a competitive man of muscle. such long limbs can make lots of Josh found his inspiration in Eddie
“You do hear a lot of height- exercises tricky to perform. I didn’t Ellwood, a man mountain who was

THE BIG LEG
living proof it’s possible to bolt fuelling his body with the nutrients
dense muscle onto such a large required for such huge growth.
SESSION
frame. “Eating for growth was complete-
“I started training at Powerbase ly new to me,” he says. “It was
Gym in Loughborough, learning how imperative I concentrated on putting
to apply and endure some of the the right nutrients into my body- EXERCISE SETS REPS
toughest workouts in the book,” not only to fuel my workouts but to Leg Extension 4 20
says Josh. “This was the necessary aid my muscles in the repair and
Hack Squat 2 5-10
first step in order to get my muscles recovery stages.”
(until reaching a working weight to perform
to respond and start filling out my Josh was soon ready to step on
heavier sets)
huge, lanky frame.” stage, and his bodybuilding career
After a few months, Josh began went from strength to strength. Hack Squat 1st 8-10
(working sets) 2nd 15-20
training with a powerlifting friend “I strongly believe in staying
named Rich Ellis. Ellis pushed his relaxed, focused and positive at all Leg Press 4-5 20-30
lifts and the intensity of his lifting times,” he advises. “People say I’m Seated Leg Curl 4 10-12
to a completely new level. a gentle giant and comment on how (squeeze the quads
“Training with Rich was a new laid back I am. I attribute these on each rep)
ball game for me,” recalls Josh. qualities to my success as a body- Stiff Leg Deadlift 3 10
“I had been training hard, but my builder. Stress can have a huge (warm up set)
new training regime was insane. impact on muscle growth and Stiff Leg Deadlift 1st 8-10
My physique was growing rapidly development and therefore I avoid (working sets) 2nd 12-5
and I was reaping the benefits of my it as much as possible.” Glute Bridge Exercise 2 5-10
efforts in very visible stages. Not This approach is taken ahead of (warm up sets)
only that, I was getting stronger and every show Josh competes in. And (working sets) 2 12-15
stronger,” he says. whilst he was disappointed not to Walking Lunges 4-5 40-50
Josh focused not only on his place at the World Championships in (just with your bodyweight) strides
lifting, but also on ensuring he was Malta, he remained focused and
bounced back to place 2nd at the Josh doesn’t believe in overtrain-
NABBA England and then 3rd at the ing either.
NABBA Mr Universe the same year. “My view is that so long as you’re
This focus extends to his dietary consuming the right level of nutri-
consistency too, as he confesses he ents to support your training and
doesn’t believe in cheat meals… effectively manage your recovery,
“After so many years of complet- you should have no reason to
ing and learning how my body worry,” says Josh.
responds to dietary changes, I His sessions are typically
made the decision to never have two hours in length- but no more.
cheat meals,” says Josh. “At most, I’ll These sessions consist of high
enjoy refeed days, on which I volume reps and intensity to
consume higher quantities of encourage his muscles to respond,
carbohydrates in order to give my yet stay lean due to the endurance
muscles more fuel to train hard- he incorporates into his style of
without sacrificing my condition.” training.

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40 FLEX | JANUARY 2018
DIETING DECISION
HOW LONG IS TOO LONG?
I
F YOUR TRYING TO GET BY STEPHEN BOX PHOTOTGRAPHS BY SIMON HOWARD
ripped for the summer then
this is a must read. The amount another 12-weeks, by which time it need to eat no more than 1960
may be too late to look good for calories every day.
of time you give yourself to do
your goal. Guy B - let’s call him Ben, gave
your diet could be the difference
Everyone is an individual, every- himself 24 weeks, as he’s given
between being shredded or hav-
one has differing amounts of body himself a little longer he only needs
ing to keep your top on while on fat to lose & everyone needs to create a deficit every week of
the beach. differing calorie amounts to get 3645 calories, which is 520 a day.
leaner. Some people are also able to If Ben is maintaining his weight on
To get leaner, we need to rid handle dieting better than others, 3000 calories a day, Ben would
the body of as much body fat which is why you need an individual need to eat no more than 2480
(stored calories) as possible, plan and time frame to suit you and every day.
while maintaining our hard-earned your life. I know which one I would prefer.
muscle mass. Think of how much body fat you Now, it’s not just as simple as that.
have like miles you need to drive to Those numbers are based in a
A calorie is just a get to a destination and the weeks perfect world with everything going
measurement of energy. of the diet as the time you have right and never making a mistake.
And stored body fat is a lot of available to drive there. Life rarely happens like that.
stored calories. Give yourself too many miles in not There are a few things to keep in
Every successful diet involves enough time & you won’t make it. mind when setting the length of your
some sort of calorie deficit. Especially if you don’t allow for stop diet. As you lose weight and eat
Whether it is controlling what offs along the way. less, a couple of things happen:
goes in your mouth or burning more Basically, 1 lb of stored body fat is 1. You don’t train as hard and burn
stored energy through exercise, roughly 3500 kcal. If you need to less calories from your daily activity,
the approach you take should be lose 25 lbs or 11kg (the minimum you become lazy without even
one that suits your preference. amount I see most of my athletes noticing it as your body attempts
This will help you decide and pick lose before they hit the stage – you to preserve energy.
the tool for the job, but I will give always have more fat to lose than 2. Because you weigh less the
you some recommendations at the you think!) then somehow you need number of calories your body needs
end of this article as to the best to burn approximately 87,500 every day also reduces.
approach to take. calories to get to your desired goal. Throw in that day you ate some-
I pride myself on practising what You can either create this calorie thing you shouldn’t have, forgot to
I preach & I have tried every deficit by reducing your calorie track something you ate, had a
approach out there. I will share intake from food over the week and/ cheat meal, got sick, missed a
with you what I use myself and or by increasing how much training training session, picked up an injury,
what I use with my competitive you are doing. had that wedding to attend, had a
physique athletes to achieve the couple of drinks too many & these
best possible results. Let’s run a couple of examples all add to the deficit being reduced.
using the same amount of weight There’s also the inaccuracies of
So how long do we need to lose: food labels and your ability to weigh
to get lean? Guy A - let’s call him Phil, gave food and track it accurately. Even
We often hear about the magical himself 12 weeks, he needs to the most experienced pros make
12-week plan. But is 12-weeks the create a calorie deficit every week mistakes, we are all human at the
right amount of time you need to get of 7300 calories that’s 1040 calories end of the day.
lean? Or are you going to be looking a day. If Phil is maintaining his weight Picking apart these examples,
in the mirror thinking you need on 3000 calories a day, Phil would 3000 calories is more food than

most people can maintain their
weight on. If you’re a smaller guy
who sits on his butt in an office all
day, that number could be closer to
2500 calories & if you’re female it
could be lower again.
Because of this, there is going to
come a time when you stop losing
weight on your diet, so there could
be some weeks where you don’t
make any progress and will need to
cut calories even further. It might
even get to the point where you are
so tired and hungry you need a
week off or a “diet break” and this all
adds onto the timeframe you need
to allow to get lean.
You’ve probably heard about the
problems associated with dieting;
hunger, decreased training perfor-
mance, muscle loss, lack of sleep,
fatigue, decreased motivation, this
increases the likelihood of overeat-
ing or binging, stress, anxiety and
water retention, to name but a few.
The further you get into a diet &
the more you must restrict your
food to get leaner, the greater you
might suffer from these. Taking
longer to diet means less severe
restriction & potentially less impact
from these problems.
We’ve all seen that person who
entered a competition & stepped on
stage not quite as lean as they
wanted to be. It might be because
they didn’t factor these things in.
Experienced pros can diet in a short
period of time because they’ve done
it before, they know what to expect
and they know their body. Dieting to
a deadline is a skill & like any skill it • Work out how long you need to get sleep, monitor the weights you lift
can be practiced & perfected. lean then add another 25% - 50% in the gym and make sure you eat
of time, to account for life getting some carbs.
Top Tips in the way. • Finally make sure you are tracking
Here are my top tips to making it to • Focus on what matters most, your progress with a combination
the stage as lean as possible. and that’s your calorie intake and of weekly pictures, weigh-ins and
• Work out how much weight you activity. Tracking your calories, no measurements. Make adjustments
need to lose, then add on an extra matter what dieting method you only when they are needed and be
25% - 50% to be safe. If you chose, is a fail-safe way to ensure methodical in your approach.
haven’t competed before you will you make it. Activity trackers are a
be surprised how much weight great way to keep tabs on your Remember, don’t be that guy who
you will lose. You can always stop exercise and make sure you don’t blames it on peak week not going
dieting and increase calories back get too lazy. right and that he was just still
to maintenance if you find yourself • Remember the goal is to lose fat holding water.
ready early. and maintain muscle, so, keeping If you are shredded enough,
• Work out the calorie deficit you your weight training as intense as you don’t even need to manipulate
think you can handle each week. possible is going to help you most. water, peaking is just a case of
I would go for a reduction of Ensure you don’t drop calories too having some more carbs before
10-20% of total calories. much, focus on getting good show day.

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CHARLES CLAIRMONTE
PRO PREPPED BY DARREN NICHOLHURST PHOTO: CHARLES CLAIRMONTE
F
or those of you who pletely normal to stage ready in ries, is a public desire for more
are too young to know such a short space of time. Quite achievable aesthetics- like Ryan
who Charles Clairmonte evidently, Clairmonte has some of Terry with great lines and symmetry
is, let me give you an the best genetics that bodybuilding that many of these guys have.
insight into what this legend of has ever seen. So, this is where Clairmonte fits
bodybuilding gave the stage. Clairmonte went on to compete in in perfectly- he was the original man
Clairmonte, a former elite unit the Night of the Champions in New for this look.
member of the military, turned York, placing 4th and then qualifying Clairmonte never lost his passion
his hand to bodybuilding in the for the Mr Olympia and placing 7th. for bodybuilding. He has always
late 80’s. Following this was the Grand Prix been active with personal training,
Clairmonte’s first show was the tour, where he won 4 consecutive and continues to work with athletes
Mr England, at which he had no idea titles against Kevin Levrone and Flex such as Sergi Constance, who has
of what to do or how to do it. What Wheeler. grown bigger and developed even
you have to remember is, back then, deeper lines and perfect symmetry
there were no posing camps and no SO WHY RETIRE just like Clairmonte in his competi-
easy access to information on how What the public wanted from the Mr tive days.
to prepare for shows or how to diet. Olympia top ten was unfortunately Now, Clairmonte has teamed up
This was an era in which there was changing for Clairmonte, he at the with long term friend Abs Bichri
no internet, so knowledge had to be time was the guy who brought (Owner of BodyLimit Gym St Albans)
earned and learned from first-hand symmetry and lines with a tiny waist and fellow retired competitive
experience from other athletes. to the stage. But this was a time bodybuilder Jamo Nezzar.
These athletes were few and far when Dorian Yates was bringing the Together, this trio of knowledge
between. grainy mass to the Olympia. This with be travelling from country to
As a result, Clairmonte’s first was a look that Clairmonte didn’t country giving seminars on how to
show was comical to say the least. feel he wanted to achieve. In train each body part, plus posing,
He turned up unshaved with no tan, addition to this, he wanted to avoid nutrition and giving out recognised
to then be told these were essen- any consequences it would have qualifications to other personal
tials for appearing on stage… I’m taken to reach this completely trainers attending the courses.
sure you can imagine the sheer different style of bodybuilding So, it looks as if we might see
panic and rush that ensued! appearance. some classic cut physiques on
Also, with the continual hard- stage pretty soon, especially now
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS core training and really strict dieting, that there is access to this wealth of
Clairmonte’s first pro show was the injury started to creep in and his knowledge. I for one look forward to
NABBA Universe in 1988 where he body was showing signs that he seeing the athletes these 3 guys are
placed 1st. He then went on to win needed to retire. It was time to allow going to produce.
the Pro Universe, and then the his muscles and mind some time to I asked Clairmonte what he
worlds. recover. believes has given him such a long
In the early 90’s, Clairmonte was and very healthy career in body-
asked to compete in the English THE RETURN OF SYMMETRY building, and what advice he would
Grand Prix, and did so but with only We all know the whole bodybuilding give any new athletes looking to
6 weeks to prepare and then scene has changed massively, compete.
competed in the following Grand especially with the newer catego- His reply was something we
Prix Tour. So, do you see now, the ries such as the men’s physique should all listen to:
raw ability this guy had? It’s almost breaking through. However, the one “Think long term, be mindful on
unheard of, that any pro bodybuilder thing that is making a comeback, training, and any aids you use, there
would progress from being com- probably because of these catego- is life after bodybuilding”.

W
NATHAN DE ASHA
E HAVE ALL HEARD
stories of being unfortu-
nate with deprivation, but this
story really does show that we
IFBB PRO LEAGUE

are all able to achieve anything
“strength of mind gives strength
of life”.
Also, there is a huge misconcep-
tion that if you’re a bodybuilder that ONE PERSON WHO NEVER THOUGH THAT
your unable to be or do anything HE WOULD BE ANYTHING MORE THAN A BAD
else because of the so called selfish STATISTIC WAS NATHAN.
lifestyle that we are led to believe
you have to follow. and one sister, in a typical Liverpool Looking at how much Nathan
Nathan was brought up in Toxteth suburb where community and moral has achieved in such a short time,
by his mum, all living in a small values are the strongest commodity I would have expected him to have
council house with his two brothers you have. a typical idol such as Arnold
Schwarzenegger for his drive and
inspiration, but he didn’t, in fact it
was the footballer John Barnes.
How do you get a love of body-
building from football? It all started
because Nathan had an obsession
with doing sport, the reason for this
is because it was the only escapism
that young people in his community
actually had that wasn’t going to get
them into trouble with the police.
Obviously, every young guy
playing football in Liverpool knows
of the world-famous Wayne Rooney
and how he built a phenomenal
career doing something he loved,
coming from a very normal area and
family.
Nathan played football at a high
level but decided to leave and
eventually found rowing.
IAN SPANIER
After joining the local rowing

camp, Nathan showed massive
potential and was told that if he had

BY DARREN NICHOLHURST
REBECCA ANDREWS
PER BERNAL
a little more strength he could go

far. So, to be the best he could, he
punished himself training harder
when he was asked to take part
in a television programme airing
on channel 4 and being hosted by
five times gold medallist rower
Steve Redgrave.
Nathan smashed this fitness
test not even realising how well
he finished.
What’s Bodybuilding?
Thinking about the comment of
needing more strength, and being
even better Nathan decided to join
Bodypower Gym. Straight away,
gym owner Darren Smith could see
the potential of Nathan as a body-
builder and made a comment that
REBECCA ANDREWS
would change Nathan’s life for ever,

without even knowing “you have
great genetics, you would do great
in a bodybuilding contest.”
Shockingly even though aged 19,

Nathan didn’t even know what a only 4 weeks prior “How many or white, he knows these friends
bodybuilding show was, he was bodybuilders do you know that keep him grounded and not making
completely NOT into having to do could do that ?”. mistakes, oh and of course he loves
fake tan or oil and pose in front of the gym.
people in just a pair of posing The Key “Keeping it Real” His orals are high and he speaks
trunks. One person in professional body- very black and white.
However, as always, he decided building that really impressed There is no pretence to Nathan,
to give it a go, aged 20, his first Nathan was Markus Ruhl, and not if he sees a young skinny guy in
show being in Pendall Valley where because he is a sheer mass mon- the gym doing something wrong,
he won the Juniors. ster on the bodybuilding scene, but he will go over there and help him,
Then a week later he won the because he just acts himself and for no other reason than that’s how
NABBA, and then pushed and doesn’t care what others think of he and his community have been
competed in a further 43 shows him, he likes the fact that Ruhl keeps raised to live.
in a 2-year span. it very real. De Asha has a huge strength of
Nathan’s now close friend and Nathan believes that one of the mind, he had a choice in life, stay as
owner of Bodypower Gym Darren main reasons that he has managed you are, or make a name for yourself.
Smith said, “You will be one of the to achieve so much with so little Nathan chose to take the opportu-
top 5 one day “, then subsequently opportunity is the fact that he keeps nity that bodybuilding gave him and
he won the British Juniors, then the it real, keeping his friends from he feels the best way to be the best,
Intermediates and then the overall many backgrounds close, no matter is to keep living his life outside of
having run the London Marathon whether they are gay, straight, black bodybuilding, as well as competing.
REBECCA ANDREWS

He still plays his X-Box, still rides
his motor cross bike and looks after
his mind and body with incorporat-
ing yoga and fitness into the weekly
regime. This was the way that
Nathan kept his mental strength and
drive to not give in on his diet prep,
and keep pushing, if he kept his life
as normal and fun as possible then
that takes away most of the mental
stress of what he was doing, “after
all, bodybuilding and training is
supposed to be fun”.
The Legacy
Nathan has already carved out a
legacy for Liverpool by becoming a
world-renowned bodybuilder and
athlete, but he is well aware that
isn’t the biggest and nor is he trying
to be. His goal is to bring back the
achievable and healthy look of great
lines and symmetry to the stage.
Knowing that this will prove less
stress on his physical system, it
gives him and other athletes that
strive for the same goal, longevity in
the sport.
To Nathan however, there is a
much more real and important
legacy that he is focussed on…. his
children.
De Asha wants to ensure he
provides the father figure he never
had, and life he never experienced.
For them to be proud of him and
demonstrate clearly, that no matter
what you want to be, no matter
where you are from, “You can be
anything you want to be”.
Along side trying to be the best
father he can be, Nathan has one
last bodybuilding tip for all aspiring
athletes:
“God has
a plan
for you,
believe in
IAN SPANIER
yourself”.
IAN SPANIER
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GONE TOO SOON:
DALLAS
REMEMBERED
THE ALL-TOO-SHORT LIFE AND CAREER
OF DALLAS McCARVER,
AND THE LEGACY HE LEAVES.
BY PETER MCGOUGH
FINAL PLANS The duo agreed. Dallas signed

On Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, 26-year- off with “talk tomorrow.”
old Dallas McCarver in Boca Raton, Matt turned in that night with
FL, and his coach, mentor, and best thoughts of the Columbus prep fresh
friend, 28-year-old Matt Jansen in in his mind. The goals for the 2018
Lexington, KY, started texting as Arnold were to streamline Dallas’
they did at the end of every day. midsection, carve more detail into
This particular to-and-fro revolved his quads and hams, and come in
around resetting their programme dry and hard at 280 pounds. Matt
for the assault on the 2018 Arnold drifted into sleep, satisfied they had
Classic being staged in Columbus, correctly revised their plan and that
OH, next March. The original Dallas would win the 2018 Arnold
schedule deemed that they would be Classic. Yes, all was right in the world
in full off-season improvement mode of Dallas McCarver and Matt Jansen.
until the end of September, throttle
back a little for a few weeks, and DEATH IN THE FAMILY
then start serious contest prep for As dawn broke the next day,
the Arnold in early December. it seemed we were getting ready
But now the plan was under to begin just another day on the
review. Dallas was feeling calendar. But this was not just
compression in his lower vertebrae another day. The bodybuilding world
that didn’t allow for full range of would suffer a seismic shock, and
movement for certain exercises. it’s a good bet that in years to come
Matt texted, “Let’s not be stubborn many will remember where they
about this, man. Let’s shut down all were when they heard the news. In
the real heavy stuff now instead of this modern world of internet hoaxes
barreling on to late September, kick and fake news, there was a hope
back a little, and then start our that this was just another made-up
Arnold prep a little bit earlier.” work of fiction.

As the pace of the story went into How to make sense of a 26-year-old
overdrive, we learned that this was struck down in his prime so
no hoax. This was fact. Dallas suddenly and so wretchedly?
McCarver, one of the most promising I spoke at length the next day
bodybuilders on the planet, had with Matt Jansen. Given the
passed away at age 26. Twenty-six? trauma he was going through,
Late on Monday evening, it tells you all you want to know
Aug. 21, Dallas returned to his Boca about Matt’s character and
Raton home after a workout. Just loyalty that he wanted to go
before midnight, Australian on the record about his friend,
bodybuilder Josh Lenartowicz, who although at times, quite
was staying with Dallas to complete understandably, he became
OPENER: PER BERNAL. THIS PAGE: GARY PHILLIPS; PER BERNAL
the last three weeks of his Olympia emotional. Through Matt, I gained
prep, returned from the gym. What a deeper understanding of the
he found was shocking. Dallas was young man we had lost.
facedown on the floor, his face was Instead of the normal format
blue, and it seemed he had choked to of an article, I will tell the story
death on something. of Dallas McCarver interspersed
Josh heroically performed CPR on with Matt’s thoughts on his
his host and then handed that over to best friend.
the paramedics when they arrived.
Dallas was transported to the DALLAS THE
hospital and pronounced dead WUNDERKIND
shortly after arriving. In an era of bodybuilders usually not
The bodybuilding world went into turning pro until they’re in their late
almost universal shock, which was 20s, Dallas McCarver bucked the
pretty unusual in my experience. norm. Originally from Jackson, TN,
(See “The Dallas Wowboy,” opposite). he won his pro card at age 21 by

THE
DALLAS
WOWBOY
Why did the Dallas
tragedy generate
universal emotion?
First of all, it was
his age. Death at
age 26 goes way
against the norm:
Children are
supposed to outlive
their parents. At that
age you expect to
have another 50
years left. It’s that
decades-long
potential that has
been taken away that
Dallas will never tap
into. There was also
Dallas’ appearance,
with his all-American
clean-cut look,
topping off one of
the biggest physiques
on the scene.
But there’s more
to the eulogies that
were posted, and
more than the
previously mentioned
points. Quite simply,
Dallas was special;
people instantly
liked him upon first
meeting. His appeal
was across the
whole gamut of the
industry. Show
promoters who hired
him were knocked
out by his friendliness
and energy. Fans
who gained a selfie
photo op waxed
enthusiastic about
how much time
he gave them.
Magazines were
impressed by his
professionalism at
photo shoots. And
his special Itfactor
radiated throughout
all his video
presentations.
Everybody loved him
and remembers
when they met him
for the first time.
People talk of the It
factor—quite simply,
Dallas McCarver
had it.

winning the super-heavyweight
and overall titles at the 2012 North
Americans with 241 pounds
distributed on his 6’ frame. Given
his dimensions, he was quickly
dubbed “Big Country.” He waited
two years and eight months to
make his pro debut before
winning the 2015 California
State Pro Championships,
weighing 261 quality pounds.
A few months later and a few
pounds heavier, he finished 13th
in his Olympia debut. In 2016 he
won the Chicago Pro and rose
to eighth at the Olympia. His star
was shining brightly, but it turns
out that the orbital energy he was
generating was to be more akin to
resembling a shooting star going at
warp speed through the firmament
to rapid demise, rather than a
permanent entity.
Matt: “We first hooked up to work
together for the 2015 Olympia. And
we connected with each other
completely immediately. I can’t
believe he’s gone. On Monday night
everything seemed so clear-cut for
the year ahead. Today [Tuesday] I’m
looking at pics and can’t believe he’s
gone, that he’s lost such a great
future, and that I lost my best friend.
In our relationship, I had to wear a
few hats, like being his older brother
and even at times his dad by telling
him, ‘Hey, get your shit together.’
“But what I remember most
PER BERNAL
is not the training and competing
but how much fun we had together.
He stayed with my wife, Jordan,
BIG
COUNTRY
GROWS
The evolution of Dallas McCarver’s
physique from his pro card win
at the 2012 North American
Championships to the 2017 Arnold.

and me for four weeks to prepare
for the 2015 Olympia. We had a
90-minute drive to the airport to
catch our Vegas flight. For the first
30 minutes he was quiet. Then with
some emotion he started to thank
Jordan and me for all we had done
for him, for having him stay with
us—he praised Jordan’s great
cooking in particular—and believing
in him as no one else did. Then he
broke into a medley of country
music—yeah, Big Country loved
country music. He sung the songs
at the top of his lungs, finishing with
his favorite, Sammy Kershaw’s
‘Queen of My Double Wide Trailer.’”
INTO 2017
In 2016, Dallas moved to Boca Raton
to be nearer his sponsor, Redcon,
headed by Aaron Singerman. He
began to work out regularly at Flex
Lewis’ Project Flex Gym, and the two
were frequent training partners.
PER BERNAL; ISA AC HINDS; ASUN CAPALUNGAN; PER BERNAL
“With me and Flex, it’s like Boca

against Kuwait,” Dallas said.
In 2017 he gained runner-up spots
to Cedric McMillan at the Arnold
Classic in Columbus and to Brandon
Curry at the New Zealand Pro a week
later. Seven days later he collapsed
during the Australian Arnold because
of an upper-chest respiratory
problem and had to drop out of the
contest and indeed out of contest
action for the year.
Matt: “As a teenager, Dallas was
an accomplished footballer, so he
was an athlete who ended up being
a bodybuilder. He didn’t bodybuild to
2012 North 2015 2017

American Cal Pro Arnold
make up for lack of size or poor into something you love, it brings a
body image or because anyone lot of joy. Some guys are really hard
made fun of him. That was never on themselves. I think if they took a
part of his inner workings, never minute to enjoy it, it might actually
drove him to be a bodybuilder. He have a positive influence for them
used to say that the only time he in the long run. At the end of the day
wished he was a normal size was my goal is to do the best I can and
when he was around kids, because to be the best I can.”
he didn’t want them to be scared of Matt: “We went to Barcelona for
his look. He wanted to be normal so the 2016 Arnold Classic Europe.
the kids felt comfortable. He had a [Dallas was ninth.] We were
great affinity with kids, and one of supposed to have a room each, but
his goals was to open a home for when we checked into the hotel we
disadvantaged inner-city kids. If you had only one room with a small bed
wanted to see Dallas really light up, that wouldn’t have held Dallas’ left leg.
put him among a bunch of kids: He But he was undeterred; all he wanted
was a 300-pound teddy bear. to do was ride round Barcelona on
“We would talk about the future a mountain bike. So the general
and what we would be doing 10 years population was treated to this
down the road. [At this point Matt mountain of a man with a big smile
breaks down] Aside from my wife, on his face riding around on a
Dallas was the only other person mountain bike.
I talked to about such things.I believed “We did not work together
in my heart that we would win for the early 2017 contests, and our
multiple Olympias together and travel relationship became a little strained.
the world, and he would fulfill his But we finally got back together, and
ambition of opening that home. as I sit here today with him gone, it
“I spent a week in Boca with Dallas drives home to me that if you’ve got
during his last days, and I went home an issue in life with someone you love,
the day before he died. We had a make sure you reach out and resolve
blast of a week. it. If I hadn’t reached out to Dallas and
“We had so much fun doing things gotten our close relationship back on
other than bodybuilding—that’s how track, his passing would have been
we really bonded. Bodybuilding was even more difficult to process.”
our life and passion, but we had fun
joking and discussing about football. THE LAST ROUNDUP
It was important for Dallas to give One sentence of my 2016 interview
bodybuilding a mental break because with Dallas resonates with me even
there was so much pressure on him more after his passing. He told me,
at such a young age. He had to have “As with most things in life, if I can’t
someone in his life that he could shut do it and enjoy it, I don’t want to
off with, and I was that guy. And he do it.” Take a deep breath before
was that guy for me.” digesting the next sentence: “My life
is too short and everybody’s life is
DALLAS THE FUNSTER too short to live an unhappy or
Dallas had a fun-loving nature, unfilled life.”
as exemplified in a video interview Well, Dallas’ 26 years were too
I did with him in 2016. He started off short. Some say that when you pass
by instructing me playfully how to away, your whole life flashes in front
conduct interviews. I mimicked of you. If Dallas experienced that
nervousness and started biting sensation, he would have observed a
my nails. He asked, “You got it?” I young man universally loved, one who
nodded, and then I began, “So I’m was larger than life and admired and
here with Justin Compton.” Dallas who will forever be remembered as a
clapped his hands and let out a bellow shining example of how a life should
of a laugh that would have woken be lived, no matter how short.
Congress. On Sept. 12, 2017, Jordan Jansen
In that same interview, he told me, gave birth to her and Matt’s first
“I work out hard and diet hard, but I child, a son. His name is Dallas. And
refuse to be miserable about it all. so the circle of life and Dallas’ legacy
When you put everything you’ve got goes on.

MATT’S ABIDING
MEMORY
“Dallas was extremely thoughtful and
loving with his words to people he
cared about. He wanted them to feel
appreciated and loved. He didn’t
have insecurities as other guys do.
Even backstage he acted more like a
footballer than a bodybuilder. Some
bodybuilders act as if they don’t want to
talk to anybody and want to stay in their
own little world. At the 2016 Chicago Pro
[which Dallas won], all the guys were
lined up ready to go onstage, and Dallas
walked the length of the line and shook
everybody’s hand, hugged them, and
wished them luck before taking his place
in the line. I’ll always remember that.
Dallas was a true gentleman.”
—matt jansen
GARY PHILLIPS

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THE BEST MUSCLE
BUILDING SPLIT FOR
INTERMEDIATES
I
F YOUR GOAL IS TO build INSPIRED BY
muscle, lose body fat and
transform your physique,
your focus in the gym should THE DORIAN YATES 1983-1986
TRAINING PROGRAMME
be to trigger muscle protein
synthesis and stop training.
If your current workout split

looks something along the lines of… I BELIEVE THE NUMBER ONE MISTAKE THAT
30 sets of chest on Monday NATURAL LIFTERS MAKE IS DOING TOO MUCH
30 sets of back on Tuesday VOLUME, SO WHEN I SAW THIS TRAINING
30 sets of legs on Wednesday PROGRAMME THAT THE LEGEND DORIAN
And so on…
YATES HAD WRITTEN, I TRIED IT AND IT
Then you’re probably hammering
way too much volume.
WORKED BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE I
To build muscle, you want a large HAD USED BEFORE.
disparity between protein synthesis BY AKASH VAGHELA PHOTOGRAPHS BY BEN MARK
and protein breakdown. Excessive
volume will only lead to more protein adapt, which is what happens when If you perform 1 set with all out
breakdown, depleted glycogen you bomb a muscle with 7 different intensity, what will another set do?
stores and increased cortisol exercises for 5 sets of each. Maybe it taps off any remaining
beyond the necessary levels When you perform this many motor units that were left
required for effective training sets, your intensity level actually untouched in the first set.
adaptation. goes down – it’s impossible to train So what about the third set?
Because of these factors, your hard and long at the same time! Maybe that’s your ‘insurance
ability to recover from your work- When you cut your volume in half, policy’ set.
outs diminishes. If you can’t recover, you’ll be able to train harder, get But the 4th, 5th, 6th?
you can’t get stronger. And if you stronger, put more into each set, Now you’re wasting time, energy
can’t be progressive with your and provide the extra stress and resources.
training, your body won’t change. necessary to force adaptation Whether you’re a man or a
without exceeding your recovery woman, if you’re lifting the same
Muscle Growth In capacity. weights as you were 12 months
Response to Stress Adding more sets doesn’t accom- ago – even 3 months ago - chances
Muscles grow bigger in response to plish anything besides burning into are your body will look the same!
stress. When your body is subject- your energy stores and cutting into The best workout plan for you is
ed to new stress, it responds by your body’s ability to rebuild new the one you can recover from.
adapting and becoming stronger. muscle tissue. No one understood this better
But if the stress is too intense or too than Dorian Yates. Given this
long, the muscles won’t have the The Logic month’s Flex is a ‘Best of British’
necessary recovery capacity to Think about it. edition, it’s only fitting that we look

P H O T O B Y: C H R I S T O P H E R B A I L E Y
into why some of Dorian’s splits

were so effective.
One of my favourite Dorian
routines is the split routine he used
between 1983 and 1986 in the lead
up to winning his first British
heavyweight title.
This is how it’s set out:

Workout 1: Chest, Back, Delts & Abs
Workout 2: Quads, Hamstrings,
Calves & Arms
On this program, you can train

either 3 to 4 days a week, depend-
ing on your recovery capacity. Each
workout consists of typically 3 to 8
sets per body part, trained in the 6
to 10 rep range. The idea was that

2. Higher Frequency most important factor in building
Dorian’s methods came off the back muscle: progressive overload while
of a period where all bodybuilders maintaining perfect form.
were training each body part once a
when you could hit the top end of a week with high volume on a 7-day
rep range without failure, you add cycle. His workouts immediately
weight. slashed volume in half (maybe
If you’re an intermediate level, more), and allowed body parts to be
even early advanced, this is one of trained more frequently (every 4 to
the most results-producing splits 5 days). By doing so, you can trigger
that you can train on. I use a varia- protein synthesis and apply pro-
tion of this with almost all of my male gressive overload more often, and
muscle-building clients, and the ultimately build more muscle in the
results speak for themselves. long run. Remember, the more
frequently you can train a muscle
Why does it work so well? while still getting stronger and
1. Moderate Volume without exceeding your recovery
Dorian’s philosophy with training capacity, the more progress you’ll
was to get in and out of the gym as make.
quickly as possible so that he could

go home and grow. As he became 3. Progressive Overload &
more advanced and could apply Training Logs
even higher levels of intensity, his Dorian was a big proponent of
volume dropped further. But for the keeping a training log so that he
majority of you, this provides the could work out what worked for
perfect blend between stress and him and what didn’t. It also allowed
recovery. him to keep track of the single

EXAMPLE WORKOUT
Workout 1: Chest, Back, Delts & Abs
1. Low Incline Dumbbell Press 3x6-8

2. Incline Bench Press 3x6-8
3. Chin Ups 3x6-8
4. Bent Over Row 3x6-8
5. Press Behind Neck 3x6-8
6. Side Lateral 2x8-10
7. Rear Bent Laterals 2x8-10
8. Hanging Leg Raises 3x10-15
Workout 2:
Quads, Hamstrings, Calves & Arms
1. Lying Leg Curls 3x6-8

2. Back Squats 3x6-8
3. Hack Squats 2x8-10
4. Standing Calf Raises 3x8
5. Hammer Curl 3x6-8
6. Lying EZ Extensions 3x6-8
7. EZ Curl 2x8-10
8. Overhead Rope Extension 2x8-10
Key Points:
l Always maintain perfect form
l Add weight when you reach
the top end of the rep range
l Rest between sets only as much
as you need to apply equal
intensity to the set again
In the example above, there

are only two workouts to rotate
between. My other favourite method
of using this split is to set up two
variations of each workout, and
vary the rep ranges between them,
so you’ll have one ‘heavier’ day in the
4-8 rep range, and a ‘lighter’ day in
the 8-12 rep range.
Conclusion
If you’re someone who hasn’t

made progress in the gym since
Dorian retired, maybe it’s time
to simplify your routine, cut back
on your volume and start training
with intensity again!

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FOOD & SUPPS
NUTRITION TIPS TO FUEL TRAINING AND GROWTH
52
Try one of our
recipes from the
“Transformation
with Taste”
article.
PHOTO BY: @HOJO
Hormone Optimisation: The Role Keeping a Perfect pH. Level Meals of the 1 Food, Ask the Registered
of Insulin & Carbohydrates For Health and Body Recovery Month 5 Ways Dietitian - Carbs Count
PAGE 54 PAGE 56 PAGES 60, 61 & 62 PAGE 63 PAGE 64

FOOD & SUPPS BY AKASH VAGHELA
TRANSFORMATION
WITH “TASTE”
IN ORDER FOR ME TO BE MY BACKGROUND AND PASSION CAME FROM
competitive I decided I would use
THE LOVE OF COMPETING IN BOTH
my sports science degree to
present the best lean physique
POWERLIFTING AND BODYBUILDING NATURALLY.
to give me the edge.
The only problem is, as I’m told
time after time from my personal
training clients whether they are
actors, athletes or anyone, is that
the prep looks unbearable.
But why is it, and is this the
reason that most people fail their
diet plans?
All the everyday diets that I had
heard of were beyond bland and
incredibly tasteless.
So, this is where I thought that
I could do something a little
different, but WITHOUT
compromising the end LEAN
goals.
I extensively researched what
ingredients would flavour food , but
would also assist with the process
of fat reduction and aid the rate of
recovery.
I was surprised at the vast
amount of natural ingredients
available. These are great for giving
your dishes maximum taste, and at
the same time, benefitting your
PHOTO BY: BEN MARK
health. And if the food tastes good,
you will want to eat it.
The end result being you are less
likely to fail the diet, simply because
you will enjoy your food more.
Indian culture is one of the most Growing up in a Gujarati
Indian Food Every Diet Day! rich and diverse, boasting some of household, I know all about this.
Prepping for bodybuilding shows the most extravagant and exciting The missing ingredient however is
is no walk in the park and if you’ve flavours you’ll ever find in food. simple: education. Which is why
ever dieted hard, you’ll know that if Sadly, there is a misperception that over the course of the next few
you can make it easier in any way, all Indian food is unhealthy and that months I’m going to show you a few
you’ll do it. What have I found that’s our nation’s love for Indian food is Indians twists on traditional ‘prep’
helped me? Being able to eat Indian one of the contributing factors as to foods that’ll fit both your physique
food every day in the lead up to my why so many struggle to keep our goals while simultaneously
shows. waistlines under control. stimulating your taste buds.

FOOD & SUPPS
RECIPE 1.
THE CHICKEN CURRY
BATCH COOK
When I’m on prep, I typically eat five times
a day with a diet along these lines:
Meal 1: Eggs, Smoked Salmon, Oats

Meal 2: Chicken and Rice
Meal 5: Whey, Peanut Butter, Oats
For meals 2 to 4, what I’ll do is batch cook

a load of chicken and then divide it up into the
necessary portions.
Today’s recipe will be based off a batch cook of

500g chicken for three meals of the day.
Time to prepare: 5 minutes

Time to cook: 30 minutes
Serves: 2 to 4 meals (depending on protein
requirements)
Ingredients:
l 2-3 sprays of 1 kcal spray
l 1 whole onion – chopped finely
l 2 cloves crushed garlic (optional) NUTRITIONAL INFO:
l ½ tsp sea salt Per portion: 125g
l 1 tsp coriander & cumin mix Weight: 500g total
l 1 tsp turmeric (divided into 4 servings)
PHOTO BY: @GAURAVMASAND

l 1 tsp fresh ginger or ginger powder Per Serving:
l ½ tsp red chilli powder Calories: 145kcal
(to taste, optional) Protein: 30g
l 100g tomato passata (or can of chopped Carbs: 4g
tomatoes)
Fats: 1g
l 500g chicken breast
l 1 tsp tandoori masala powder
l Chopped coriander leaf (optional)
Why turmeric? as the ‘universal cure’. This plant is loaded
Method: Turmeric is the spice which gives curry its with nutrients and compounds that provide a
> Dry cook the onions, garlic and sea yellow colour and distinctive flavour. The host of health benefits for your body.
salt in a pan until onions begin to soften golden spice has been used for thousands of The part of the plant used as the spice is
(if onions begin to stick add a little bit of years in Asia as a dye and for medicinal called the rhizome, which is the underground
water) purposes. The medicinal benefits turmeric part of the stem that sprouts the roots. Within
> Once softened, add spices (coriander & boast stem from a family of compounds this, the compound most responsible for its
cumin mix, turmeric, ginger) and tomato called curcuminoids, of which the most benefits is called gingerol.
passata (Puree) (or chopped tomatoes) important and heavily researched is
> Stir for a few minutes and then add the curcumin. Some of the key benefits
chicken include:
> Add the Tandoori masala, stir it into the The benefits are vast, with the two most Digestive health: improves gastric
chicken, turn the heat up to high-medium potent being: emptying and can help relieve nausea
and close the lid for 3-4 minutes. Check Ø Anti-inflammatory: curcumin attacks symptoms
chicken intermittently. inflammation at a cellular level by acting Anti-inflammatory: ginger can help inhibit
> After 3-4 minutes, turn the heat down and against NF-kB, a molecule with the many enzymes involved in the formation of
let it cook for 15 minutes. Stir as necessary. potential to travel into cells and turn on inflammatory compounds, acting in a similar
pro-inflammatory genes. (but milder) fashion to NSAIDs like aspirin
The trademark of a great curry is in the Ø Anti-oxidant: curcumin acts as a ‘double and ibuprofen.
perfect mix of spices blended together to agent’ in the body by not only acting as a
give you the intense flavours that make it strong antioxidant itself, but by increasing And there you have it…you’ve now got
taste so good. the activity of the body’s own antioxidants, a triple benefit effect of eating like this. You
Taste aside, there are also a ton of health such as glutathione. get to eat curry every day. Your taste buds
benefits too. Especially in turmeric and won’t be dying during prep. And you’ll get
ginger, which are both nutritional and health Why ginger? some extra health benefits at the same time.
powerhouses! In traditional Indian medicine, ginger is known Enjoy!

NUTRITIONAL
INFO:
Per Serving:
Calories: 467kcal
Protein: 45g
Carbs: 65g
Fats: 3g
PHOTO BY: @PAULBRIGHTON
RECIPE 2. l 100g tomato passata > Add 100g tomato passata

l 500-1kg vegetables of choices > Let chicken cook for 15 minutes on a
CHICKEN BIRYANI medium heat
Time to prepare: 5 minutes Method: > Add vegetables of your choice into the pot
Time to cook: 30 minutes > Put the rice on to boil – quantity will depend on your needs
Serves: 3 meals > In a separate pan, apply 2-3 sprays of 1 kcal (anywhere between 500g to 1kg works
oil spray. well)
Ingredients: > Add ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds on a medium > Cook the chicken and vegetables
l 250g Rice (will depend on your heat together for 5 minutes on a medium
carbohydrate requirements) > Once cumin seeds are popping, add the heat
l 2-3 sprays of 1 kcal spray chopped onions in > Once the rice is done, add into the
l ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds > Cook the onions until soft, and if needs be, pot, mix it all together and cook
l 500g Chicken add a little water on a very low heat for another
(will depend on your protein > Add the chicken into the pan, and 5-7 minutes
requirements) continue to add water when required LINKS
l 1 whole onion – chopped finely (depending how saucy you want it) Follow me on
l 1 tsp sea salt > Add 1 teaspoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon
l ¼ tsp turmeric powder turmeric powder, 2 tablespoons of Instagram @akashvaghela,
l 2 tbsp coriander & cumin mix coriander & cumin powder mix, or Facebook at
l 1 tbsp fresh ginger 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, ¼ teaspoon https://www.facebook.com/akash.vaghela,
l ¼ tsp green chillies green chillies, 1 tablespoon paprika via email at info@rntfitness.co.uk, or my
l 1 tbsp paprika powder powder website at www.rntfitness.co.uk.

FOOD & SUPPS
HORMONE OPTIMISATION:
THE ROLE OF INSULIN &
CARBOHYDRATES
THE LIKELIHOOD OF US OVER INDULGING WITH
BY
STRESS AND GENERAL LIFE IS QUITE HIGH, AND JOHN
HAVING A BREAK OR RELAXING OUR EATING BUCKLAND
Bsc HONS
HABITS IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY BENEFICIAL, SPORT
SCIENCE,
WATCHING EVERYTHING WE PUT IN OUR PHYSIOLOGY &
NUTRITION
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM CAN BE DEMANDING.
AS MUCH AS THIS MAY BE

a mental break…Particularly for
competitive athletes, this can have
a suppressive effect on our immune
function, lower testosterone, and
lower insulin sensitivity this is not
to say we cannot enjoy ourselves.
So how do we bring our hormones
back on line and what has actually
occurred during a time of over
indulgence.
Insulin is an anabolic hormone that
helps us store energy in muscle, the
liver, or fat cells. The term nutrient
partitioning really describes the
PHOTO: JEFFREYRASMUSSEN, ISTOCK

action of where we store this
energy. What, when and how we eat
has a great influence on this and so
does our genetics. As bodybuilders,
we want to drive as much of our
nutrient energy into our muscles
and liver to be stored effectively for
use later when we are training hard
in the gym.
For optimum nutrient partitioning Damaging Insulin Sensitivity store energy in fat, when these
we want to be as sensitive to insulin Sugary foods damage our insulin cells are full we make new fat cells
as possible. The sensitivity means sensitivity, these are the highly which is an enzymatic pathway for
we produce less insulin from the glycaemic foods that spike our converting dietary carbohydrate
pancreas, and that insulin is in blood sugar level and cause us to into fat, or de novo lipogenesis*
effect more potent. Less is needed produce huge amounts of insulin. and as a side note, the capacity to
to do the same job so not over Our cells quickly become insensitive convert fats into carbohydrates
working the pancreas. This results or blind to insulin so we produce does not exist.
in energy being more readily stored more, this also causes storage of As you can now see the more
as glycogen in our liver & muscles nutrient energy in our fat cells. The sugary the food and the larger the
not our fat cells or giving us high more we do this, the more we quantity the more likely we are to
blood sugar levels. condition our bodies become to store fat and ruin our nutrient

PHOTO:DISSOID, ISTOCK
partitioning and lose our insulin So, if we have had larger we want to reduce cortisol levels
sensitivity. indulgence what do we do about it? to stop catabolism of our muscle
Sugary carbs can also increase Firstly, we want to get our insulin protein
cortisol production levels to rise, sensitivity back on track as soon as By consuming a breakfast of
which blunts our testosterone possible by lowering our intake of proteins and healthy fats we
levels, so storing these carbs is sugary foods and stick to low optimise, keep growth hormone
critically important, or we can also glycaemic, high fibre carbohydrate levels high, and absent of the insulin
suppress the immune system. foods such as vegetables which spike that would work in opposition
do not cause an insulin spike. to it and reduce cortisol levels. We
Minimising Issues Next is where nutrient timing now optimise growth hormone and
So, this is how to minimise these enters the story. When we eat our encourage our body utilise fatty
issues whilst we have our over carbs is also as important as what acids and switch on protein
indulgent periods. type we have. Our hormones have synthesis or muscle growth.
We can eat sugary foods with or different levels of activity when we By keeping carbs low or absent
just after other more nutritious are in different states, such as insulin will be low, and will not
meals rather than on their own. The sleeping, pre-and post training, for spike until your next carbohydrate
nutritious meal contains Fibre and example and our use of nutrients meal. So the longer we can stay
protein which helps to slow down change with that with fats and protein the less insulin
how fast we metabolise the sugars. After our last meal of the day you have stimulated, if for example
Pro-biotics digest sugars for fuel. blood glucose levels will drop due we ate our last balanced meal
Things like Cinnamon can lower to insulin response. at 9.30pm and ingest our first
blood sugar levels and reduce As we sleep insulin drops off carbohydrate meal at 12 midday
insulin resistance. and growth hormone pulses (after some more protein and fat
Importantly insulin has an during the night as we wake up, meals) you will have had low levels
antagonist action to Growth growth hormone will be secreted in of insulin for 14 and a half hours, this
Hormone, which means when a large pulse, gh-relin is also high, will increase you insulin sensitivity,
Insulin is high, growth hormone refer to it as a hunger hormone but unlike fasting you will have
is low and visa-versa…so having as it causes the desire to eat. promoted your metabolism to
extended and high levels of insulin Cortisol levels, from our adrenal sustain and gain muscle and burn
will lead to a blunting of growth glands, liberate stored energy and fat and when you do consume
hormone so when we eat and what turn on gluconeogenesis, which your carbs they will be stored
we eat has an important bearing on means breakdown of protein to effectively by your muscles and
whether we are optimising our make fuel. liver not your fat cells.
hormones or not. As bodybuilders and athletes, Instagram: ministryofiron

PHOTOS: ELENABS, iSTOCK. PHOTOARTS BY JAY
56
FOOD & SUPPS
FLEX | FEBRUARY 2018

KEEPING A PERFECT
pH. LEVEL FOR
HEALTH AND
BODY RECOVERY
A
S I’VE GOTTEN oxygenated the
older, I’ve become solution is, the lower
a lot more health the reading the more By
conscious. acidic and oxygen DEAN
The two most important deprived it is. LESIAK
things in life to me are my Perfect blood pH. is
time and my health. 7.365, much below or
I’ve become obsessed above this and you’ll
with my pH. levels, I’m develop symptoms and diseases.
convinced that keeping your If blood pH. moves below 6.8 or above 7.8, cells
body in the perfect pH. stop functioning and the body dies.
state is the key to staying Your body consistency fights to keep your pH. at
healthy. 7.365, when you continue to compromise the balance
pH. is the chart from 1-14, then problems occur.
1 being extremely acidic A diet high in acidic food puts constant pressure on
and 14 being very alkaline, your body’s regulating system to maintain pH. naturally.
our perfect pH. is slightly The extra stresses this puts on your body can lead
alkaline at 7.365. to depleted alkaline minerals like sodium, potassium,
It’s pretty impossible to calcium and magnesium.
stay at 7.365 all the time Minerals are then taken from vital organs and bones
with our life styles. When to neutralize acid and remove it from the body.
we train hard lactic acid Research has shown your body cannot heal itself,
seeps into the blood, when if your body is not in a slightly alkaline state, no matter
we stress the body releases what medicine you take, your body won’t get better
cortisol and ammonium, when until your pH. balance is correct.
we eat sugar and meats our
body releases massive amounts The pH. Effects Everything
of stomach acid, all of these pH. effects everything, acidosis will decrease your
things put your body into an acidic body’s ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients.
state. This then decreases the production of cells and
Your body will constantly fight to decreases the ability to repair damaged cells. It will
keep you at the right balance so it’s then decrease the ability to detoxify heavy metals
very important to do all you can to give and then gives a perfect environment for tumour cells
your body what it needs to keep in an to thrive.
alkaline state. Toxic overload, extreme stress and acidic diets lead
your body to having a mineral deficiency which can all
HERE’S HOW IT ALL WORKS. help towards putting your body into an acidosis state.
The pH. (potential of hydration) Your body will compensate acidic pH. levels by using
Is a measure of the acidity to the alkalinity of a alkaline minerals. If your diet doesn’t contain enough
solution, the ratio between positively formed irons (acid of these minerals, then you get a buildup of acid in the
forming) and negatively formed irons (alkaline-forming). cells which leads to acidosis.
The higher the reading the more alkaline and Stored acid in fat cells will make it very hard to lose

FOOD & SUPPS
PHOTOS: ELENABS, iSTOCK
fat, and over time your body will body in an acidic state for too Garlic Avocado
leach calcium and alkaline stores for long and your body will use up Lemon Grapefruit
the bones, in a desperate attempt all its resources to maintain a Beans Seeds
to restore pH. levels. perfect state, when you alkalising
This is why some people shrink minerals are depleted, that’s Here are foods that are acidic
when they get older. when your body can start to fall Meats Fish
into acidosis. Dairy Nuts
KEEPING A CHECK ON YOUR Hi in fructose fruits
pH LEVELS. Urine pH test. So, this is all of that into
I do this every day to keep a check simple terms. REMEMBER
on how efficient my body is at If you Put a gold fish in a tank of Don’t avoid these foods, it’s all about
getting acid out my body. dirty water with low oxygen and balancing the more acidic foods you
Urine shows a pretty accurate don’t feed it all it needs, then that eat with the more alkalising foods
picture of the body’s chemistry. fish will get very sick or die, give it all you should eat, to balance the pH.
The kidneys filter out the buffer the Medicine in the world and it will levels out.
salts of pH. regulation and provide stay sick until you change its Bodybuilders diets contain a lot of
values based on what the body is environment. meats so it’s simply more important
eliminating. However, put it in clean water, for them to consume a lot more
Urine pH. can vary from 4.5-9.0 in feed it the nutrients it needs greens.
extreme cases, but ideal is between to heal itself and the fish will
6-7, healthy functions should range get better.
about 6-6.5 in the morning 6.5-7 by
FOODS TO AVOID
Sauces
the night time. Here’s a few good foods to help
Although the urine pH. is not that boost your pH. levels Sugar
accurate if done on a regular basis, Broccoli Asparagus Sweeteners
it will give you a good idea when you Green beans Kale Alcohol
are consuming to acidic foods or not Spinach Cabbage Caffeine
enough alkalising foods. Sweet potato Cauliflower These foods have no health benefits
So, yes food does have an impact Carrot Celery but many health risks when
on your blood pH. levels, put your Cucumber Lettuce consumed in excessive amounts.

FOOD & SUPPS MEALS OF THE MONTH
SQUASH
MUSCLE CRAMPS
Butternut squash equals
bananas for potassium,
which can help alleviate
muscle cramping
following workouts.
Winter
Bowl
SERVES 1
1⁄4 cup quinoa, uncooked 20g

1⁄2 tbsp extra-virgin
olive oil 20g
85g cubed butternut squash
5 oz ank steak
1⁄4 tsp Himalayan sea salt
Black pepper
1⁄4 onion, thinly sliced
1⁄2 tsp chili powder
1⁄2 tsp garlic powder
1 egg
1⁄4 avocado, sliced
1 tbsp crumbled goat cheese
1. Cook quinoa according

to package instructions
and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a medium-size
skillet over medium heat.
Add squash and sauté for
10 minutes, or until squash
is tender and edges are
lightly browned.
3. Meanwhile, season steak
HEALTHY
with sea salt and pepper.
In a separate skillet over
medium-high heat, sear steak
for about 5 minutes per side
AND FIT IN 2018

(for medium-rare). Let cool,
then slice and set aside.
4. Add onion to pan with
squash and cook until it
begins to caramelize. Add
WANT TO START THE NEW YEAR cooked quinoa, chili powder,
OFF RIGHT? STICK TO THESE and garlic powder. Stir and
allow flavours to develop.
AB-FRIENDLY MEALS TO HELP Turn off heat and set aside.
YOU GET RIPPED IN 2018.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTOPHER TESTANI
5. In a pot or pan, cook egg

any style. Then, in a serving
AS THE CONVENTIONAL best. We help you get a jump on bowl, add squash-quinoa
wisdom goes, winter is when you your physique goals with these tasty mixture. Top with steak slices
go into mass-building mode. You’re recipes featuring fresh, healthy fare, and avocado slices, then add
egg. Sprinkle on goat cheese.
bundled up with fewer chances to like pumpkin, squash, cinnamon,
show off your abs, and you have all and apples, to get you in shape and THE MACROS
that holiday eating to do, so it makes still keep your taste buds happy. Calories 544
sense. But now that 2018 is here, Put these on your menu and your Protein 50g
you want to shed the excess weight physique will be ready for its grand Carbs 41g
to kick off the new year looking your unveiling when spring comes calling. Fat 20g

BY OLIVIA LANGDON
CINNA-WIN
An active ingredient
in cinnamon,
methylhydroxychalcone
can increase your body’s
ability to metabolize
sugar by 20 times.
Apple-Cinnamon 45g cup nonfat Greek yogurt slightly fold in and are brown, carefully lift
Protein Crepes Vanilla crème avour Raw honey (optional) up with a spatula. Cook remaining
2 crepes.
SERVES 3 1. Place a sauté pan on medium heat. 4. Spread ¹/³ of the apple mixture over half
Add apples, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, of the crepe. Fold over, then fold over again
2 apples, peeled, thinly sliced 2 tbsp water 3 tbsp stevia, and 2 tsp butter. Stir and cook to form a triangle. Repeat with the other
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice for about 10 minutes, or until apples soften. 2 crepes.
1⁄4 tsp cinnamon, plus more for garnish Set aside. 5. Top each crepe with ¹/³ of the yogurt
3 tbsp stevia, plus 1⁄2 tsp for crepe 2. In a blender, add whey protein, egg mixture. Garnish with cinnamon and drizzle
batter whites, almond milk, axseed, coconut our, with honey, if desired.
4 tsp reduced-fat grass-fed butter 1⁄2 tsp stevia, and 1 tsp butter. Blend until a
1 scoop vanilla whey protein batter forms. THE MACROS
55g egg whites 3. In a large sauté pan on medium heat, Calories 191
1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla spread ¹/³ tsp butter to coat bottom of pan. Protein 20g
almond milk Pour ¹/³ of the batter; spread to form a thin Carbs 16g
1 tbsp ground axseed 1 tbsp coconut our layer by tilting pan. When edges start to Fat 5g

FOOD & SUPPS MEALS OF THE MONTH
PEPPER IT
If you can stand the
heat, use a liberal
amount of cayenne
pepper. It’s been shown
to boost metabolism,
reduce hunger, aid
digestion, and lower
blood pressure.
Savoury Breakfast
Skillet
SERVES 1
1 sweet apple chicken

sausage, diced
85g cubed sweet potato
1 tsp olive oil
45g sliced baby portobello
mushrooms
20g diced red bell pepper
20g thinly sliced white onion
½ tsp smokedpaprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
Sea salt and black pepper
3 eggs
1. Heat oven to 200°C.

2. Place a cast-iron skillet
on medium-low heat and
add sausage. Sauté for
about 10 minutes to allow
fat to develop.
3. Add sweet potato and
sauté for another 10 minutes,
stirring occasionally, until
potatoes become tender
and brown on edges. If pan
is too dry, add olive oil. Add
mushrooms, red pepper,
onion, and spices and stir
to combine.
4. Make 3 holes in the
vegetable mixture, crack
an egg into each hole, and
transfer skillet to oven.
Bake for 5 to 10 minutes,
depending on how runny
you like your egg yolks.
THE MACROS
Calories 401
Protein 43g
Carbs 28g
Fat 13g

FOOD & SUPPS 1 FOOD, 5 WAYS BY JENNA WERNER, R.D.
4
PARMESAN
Dunk boneless, skinless
chicken breast halves in egg
whites, then in whole-wheat
panko breadcrumbs with
garlic powder and Parmesan.
Bake on greased dish for
THE FOOD: 20 minutes in 200°C oven.

Top each breast with
CHICKEN
2 tbsp marinara, 1 thin slice
mozzarella, and chopped
basil leaves. Bake again for
10 to 15 minutes. Serve over
bean-based pasta.
WITH MORE THAN 40 GRAMS OF PROTEIN
PER 170G, THIS BIRD IS A LEAN
AND VERSATILE MUSCLE BUILDER.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: VIRGINIE GOSSELIN/OFFSET; BRIAN MACDONALD/GETTY IMAGES;

KIP DAWKINS/GETTY IMAGES; DAVE KING/GETTY IMAGES; ALAMY; SHAIITH/GETTY IMAGES
5
BURGER
Mix 453g ground chicken
1 2 3
breast, 1 chopped red
pepper, ½ diced onion,
270g chopped spinach,
SALAD TACOS SANDWICH 45g whole-wheat
Place 453g boneless, skinless Shred the meat of a skinless Start with sliced chicken breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 1 tbsp
breast. Layer chicken on top
chicken breast in a zip-top rotisserie chicken. Mix meat salt-free garlic-and-herb
of toasted whole-grain
bag. Add 1⁄4 cup orange juice, with desired amount of hot bread. Add avocado, seasoning, and 1 tsp minced
1⁄4 cup balsamic vinegar, sauce and salt-free taco mustard, cheese, lettuce, garlic. Form into 4 patties
2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp Dijon, seasoning. Heat in a skillet. cucumbers, and tomato. and grill until cooked. Wrap
1 tsp salt-free garlic-and-herb Add chicken to whole-grain in lettuce leaves.
seasoning, and 1 tsp chopped tortillas. Top with fresh
garlic. Marinate up to 24 salsa, reduced-fat cheese, PRIME POULTRY
hours, then grill. Slice chicken a dollop of plain Greek Opt for skinless chicken
and use to top a salad with yogurt, and veggies. breast. It’s the leanest
part of the chicken,
mixed greens, veggies, and Serve with lime wedges.
containing the least fat
whole grains such as quinoa. and saturated fat.

FOOD & SUPPS ASK THE REGISTERED DIETITIAN BY JONATHAN VALDEZ
CARBS COUNT
STRICT ADHERENCE TO LOW-CARB DIETS COULD
DERAIL YOUR PROGRESS.
Will a low-carb whereas it’s normally 45 to 65% The bottom line is, if you’re consistently
or keto diet keep me of the diet. doing strenuous exercise, you’re not
from making gains? Most research has shown that going to perform as well without some
a low-carb or keto diet will do carbohydrates. And remember that
more to help you with maintaining keto diets cut out a bunch of food
The ketogenic diet was originally
weight loss versus assisting in any groups like fruit, dairy, grains, and
devised to assist with controlling
muscle gains. And in order to maintain many vegetables, so if you are on
epilepsy in children, but it isn’t
LEW ROBERTSON/GETTY IMAGES
lean body mass during weight loss, a it you may need to take supplements
recommended for adults because
higher protein intake is needed, around so you aren’t missing out on key
it’s very difficult to follow. You will
0.5 to 0.8 gram for every pound you vitamins and minerals.
be eating about 30 to 40 grams
weigh. In addition, more research
of carbohydrates a day, or eating
seems more promising in the endurance
3 or 4 grams of fat for every 1 gram
arena versus muscle building, which is Jonathan Valdez, R.D.N., A.C.E.-C.P.T.,
of carbs and protein, which
not surprising since muscle is made out is the owner of Genki Nutrition, a
means you’ll get about 60 to 80%
of muscle glycogen, and muscle glycogen nutrition wellness and counseling
of your diet from fat sources, while
is derived from carbohydrates, while fat business in New York City.
carbs may be 2 to 4% of the diet,
is stored in fat cells.

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BODYPOWER PRESENTS TWO
SATURDAY 12TH MAY 2018

BODYPOWER EXPO | WWW.PCAOFFICIAL.COM
PH YSI CALCU LTU REA S S O CIATIO N PCA_O F F ICIAL
WORLD-CLASS COMPETITIONS
S U N D AY 1 3 T H M AY 2 0 1 8
BODYPOWER EXPO | WWW.PCAOFFICIAL.COM
WWW.B O DY PO W E R . C O M /C O N T E ST S
ANOTHER
LEG UP
SEVEN-TIME MR. OLYMPIA PHIL HEATH
IS HUNGRIER THAN EVER TO IMPROVE ON
HIS ALREADY DOMINANT PHYSIQUE.
HERE’S THE WHEELS WORKOUT THAT
WILL PROPEL HIM TO A POTENTIAL
EIGHTH SANDOW THIS SEPTEMBER.
BY JOE WUEBBEN PHOTOGRAPHS BY PER BERNAL

P
Phil Heath, at this point, is a
finely tuned machine. Since 2011,
when he won his first of seven
consecutive Mr. Olympias, he’s
been the undisputed best
bodybuilder in the world. But
while his title hasn’t changed
over the years, his training
certainly has.
Indeed, it would be tempting
to employ the philosophy of
“if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,”
and keep repeating the same
workouts, year in and year out.
That approach worked for Ronnie
Coleman, after all. But Phil Heath
isn’t wired with an “autopilot”
setting.
“I’m always trying to get better.
I’m always trying to fine-tune my
physique, no
matter how dominating my
performance was at the last
Olympia,” says Heath. And for the
record, his performance at the
2017 Mr. O was as dominant as any
of the others. “Bodybuilding fans
PHIL don’t pay good money and show up

to watch the event live for me to
HEATH just phone in my training and show
up with the exact same physique
Birth Date: as last year. They want to see if
Dec. 18, 1979 I can look even better this time.
Height: 5'9" And as I said after the show [2017
Weight: 245
Olympia], I think I can bring my
to 250 lbs most dominant package ever to the
(contest); stage in 2018. I’ve got one more
280 lbs year of experience under my belt
(off-season)
now. I know my physique that
Residence: much better.”
Denver, CO
And what Heath knows about his
Nickname: physique is that it responds well to
The Gift
quality contractions and utilizing as
Career many different angles as possible
Highlights:
in his training. This approach
2011–17 Mr.
Olympia, 1st; worked for his legs two years ago,
2006 New York in 2016, when he brought up his
Pro, 1st; 2006 lower body so that it was on par
Colorado Pro, with Big Ramy’s—the bodybuilder
1st; 2005
NPC USA,
currently known for having the
heavyweight biggest, baddest legs in the sport.
and overall Ramy placed an impressive fourth
winner (earned that year at the Olympia, but in
pro card)
2017 he moved up two spots and

HEATH’S
TRAINING
SPLIT
DAY 1 Shoulders, biceps
DAY 2 Legs: quads (a.m.);
hamstrings, calves (p.m.)
DAY 3 Back
DAY 4 Chest, triceps
DAY 5 Off
DAY 6 Cycle repeats
Training Notes:
The above split is a generic
template off which Heath will
base his training. When he’s
focusing specifically on leg
development, as he’s done the
previous two years, he often
trains legs twice a week.
Heath’s training split is subject
to change as he gets closer
to the Olympia.
HEATH’S LEG
WORKOUT
EXERCISE SETS REPS
Quads
Leg Extension 4 12–15
Plate-loaded 4 15–20
LEG EXTENSION
Squat
Leg Press 4 15
Mr. O says: “At the
Machine Hack 7** 15
beginning of the workout, Squat*
leg extensions serve the
purpose of warming up the Single-leg 3–4 15–20
quads and knees and also Extension per leg
pre-exhausting the quads Hamstrings + Calves
before doing the big
Lying Leg Curl* 4–5 12–15
squatting and leg-press
movements.” Single-leg Curl 4–5 12–15
per leg
Stiff-leg 4–5 12–15
was runner-up to Heath. Granted, ample volume, high-quality Deadlift*
we can all agree that he was a contractions, and high intensity. Seated 3 20–25
fairly distant second place, but A routine Heath believes will give Calf Raise
he’s nonetheless nipping at the him the edge
Standing 3 20–25
champ’s heels. on any leg pose on the Olympia Calf Raise*
Heath plans to fend off Big Ramy stage, even when compared
45-degree 3 20–25
the same way he fended off Shawn side by side to Big Ramy. Sled Calf Raise*
Rhoden and Kai Greene—his “I’m going to give people a
*Not pictured.
previous two “rivals,” if we can show,” he says. “I’m going to keep
call them that. With hard work. it interesting. I’ve been making **Resting 30 seconds between sets,
Exhibit A is the leg workout you see consistent improvements in my per FST-7 protocol.
on these pages, a routine physique for years, and that doesn’t
composed of basic movements, stop now.”

SINGLE-
LEG
EXTENSION
Mr. O says:
“When I’m doing
extensions late
in the workout,
obviously the
quads are
already warmed
up. So now I’m
just trying to
fatigue every
last muscle
fibre at the end,
and doing the
exercise one
leg at a time,
isolating each
side individually,
helps me do that.
Doing the move
unilaterally is
also good for
ensuring
balanced
development
from side to
side.”
SINGLE-
LEG CURL
Mr. O says:
“I always like to
include at least
one single-leg
exercise when
training
hamstrings,
just for balance
and making
sure one side’s
not getting
stronger than
the other.
You can do
one side at a time
for any variation
of leg curl—lying,
seated, or
standing.”

LEG PRESS
Mr. O says: “Leg presses
are all about moving as
much weight as possible for
relatively high rep counts.
Because you’re seated, you’re
really locked into the machine
and don’t have to worry about
balancing yourself or the
weight. Leg presses are a
major go-to move for building
size in the quads without
nearly as much glute
involvement as you get with
squats and lunges.”
SEATED CALF RAISE

Mr. O says: “The soleus
muscle is mostly hidden
PLATE-LOADED SQUAT
behind the gastrocnemius,
but it’s definitely there and
needs to be isolated to
Mr. O says: “I definitely like the safety aspect of doing a machine squat develop good thickness in
rather than free weights. Also, it’s a matter of being able to overload the calves. Bending the
the target muscles [quads, glutes] with heavy weight without a lot of knees is what isolates the
assistance muscles helping out, and having the freedom to alter my soleus, and there aren’t
foot position. With a barbell squat, you can’t move your feet forward many ways to do that other
to target the glutes more; with a machine you can.” than seated calf raises.”

CHAMPIONSHIP
GEMS
Words of training wisdom
from a guy who’s learned
a thing or two in the gym
over the years: seven-time
Mr. Olympia Phil Heath.
DON’T GET FANCY

“The biggest lesson I’ve
learned is that you don’t
have to reinvent the
wheel. You don’t have to
come up with any exotic
movements if what you’re
currently doing is
working. The goal is to
find out what works.”
GYM MYTH
& FACT
“Saying, ‘Oh, I’m just going
to focus on higher reps
and shred up’—that’s a
fallacy, I believe. I don’t
buy into that anymore.
Early on in my career,
I believed that. But not
anymore. I realize that a
strong muscle is always
a bigger one and that you
should be able to lift
heavy throughout your
contest prep until maybe
the last 10 days.”
INSTINCTIVE TRAINING
“There are days when
I don’t count sets at all,
but then there are some
days when I have to
realize that I don’t want
to overwork, because
I still have an hour of
cardio ahead of me or
another training session
later that day.”
RECOVERY IS KEY
“A lot of guys think that
you have to hammer it
out at the gym every
single workout. Ideally,
you want to do that. But
you have to keep in mind
that your body may not
be recovering as fast,
and you might actually
be doing more harm
than good.”

HARDCORE
LADIES
EMPOWER BY LEICA GELSEI PHOTOGRAPHS BY LASZLO GELSEI
I
STARTED TRAINING OVER My profession is coaching which
30 years ago with the leads me to be in the gym for 12
direction to enhance my hours a day, and always being at
karate. I was fighting hand for the athletes being prepared
internationally and needed for their shows or photo shoots.
to be bigger and stronger to I conduct around 60-80 sessions
be competitive with the more per week, along with looking after
advanced athletes from the around 70 online clients. My clients
other countries. are mainly competitors which range
This is where I first fell in love from bikini models right through to
with the gym. After many years of
training I felt physically and mentally
strong enough to turn my focus
towards competitive bodybuilding.
I decided to compete after
researching and structuring a
tailored diet that would suit my
physique.
Eventually I won 3 Welsh titles,
placing in the top 6 at the EFBB
British Finals and on a number of
occasions as a heavyweight
bodybuilder.
This lead to me having the
privilege of judging throughout the
UK and all over the world at many
top events such as Arnold Classics,
World Championships and Amateur
Olympias.

super heavyweight champion
bodybuilders.
I don’t compete anymore but
still train every day and wouldn’t
expect any of my clients to do
anything that I haven’t done
myself “Practice what you
preach! “.
My intention is to bring you
knowledge and experience that
changed mine and other top
athlete’s careers. You will be able
to apply this information to your
training programs to bring you
results.
You may think this column is
aimed at only females in the
sport, but guys you might learn
something too!
EVERY DAY
SHOULDERS
This month we are going to
look at shoulders and creating
dense thickness with my
specific techniques used on
my athletes.
Every Day Shoulders is

the strategy I use with
competitors to give them a little
more roundness (Capping) in
their delts
WHAT?
Shoulders every day?
Quite simply “Yes “,
Isn’t that overtraining I hear
some of you asking?
Not necessarily. Look at

sports such as gymnastics
where the athletes train
using the same movements
every day, I think you’ll agree
the upper body development
on the male gymnasts is
outstanding.
Also, you see this sort of

thing with manual workers,
great development of body
parts they use every single day.
The key is to not to be

training to failure, however you
need to put in a certain level of
work but not make it too taxing
on the muscle involved.

5-day stimulation, then 2-day
annihilation, performing all reps
and sets standing.
1st exercise
10 rep Lateral raises, (Making
sure you raise through the elbow
and DO NOT engage the traps at
any point through the entire set.
Using the same weighted

dumbbell move straight into;
2nd Exercise
10 rep Front raises, (Making sure
in each rep, the dumbbells are
brought together at the highest
Strategy point, DO NOT bang the dumb-
Here is how it works; bells together, gently does it.
Every day I would like you to Then move straight into;

do a Stimulating Shoulder
workout. 3rd Exercise
10 rep L-laterals, (Making sure
This workout should only take each rep is performed by
10-15 minutes and will help bending the elbow 90 degrees
develop the full shoulder. to make the arm look like the

letter L. Always take the dumbbell sets, keeping the intensity on the
level with the elbow, DO NOT allow deltoids.
the dumbbell to hang lower than the
elbow) Start off with 2-3kg dumbbells,
building up to no more than 5kg.
Then move straight into;
Do this every day for 6 weeks on
4th Exercise top of your usual 1-2 shoulder
10 rep Standing dumbbell press, sessions per week, then train as
(Making sure your rep range starts you normally would on shoulders
at chin level and press upward to for 4 weeks to allow for maximum
just above head height, DO NOT fully recovery and growth after this
lock out the elbow joint above the stimulation.
head)
“Watch your shoulders grow and
Then move straight into; change condition like never before’.
5th Exercise
10 reps Bent over laterals raises,
(Making sure the elbow are raised
up to be in line with the rear delts,
keeping the arms slightly bent and
long, DO NOT raise the elbows
higher than the shoulders, as not to
engage your traps or your back).
Perform the string of exercises

for 4 sets, with no more than 1-2
minutes rest between each of the

AY S
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u n n di
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s

The days that ensued were tough
for Sam, as she battled health
issues that prevented her from
spending precious bonding time
with her newborn daughter.
“After I returned home from
hospital, things took a turn for the
worse,” recalls Sam. “I was in such a
bad way that I was unable to spend
time bonding with Indigo, and that
was heartbreaking. My left lung
collapsed and I was rushed back
into hospital- it was terrifying.”
Doctors couldn’t identify what

was causing the problem, which
lead to a long two weeks of tests
and close monitoring for Sam.
“They tested me for so many
things that I started to lose count,” telling me that due to my organs unless it was to take Indigo to her
she says. “I felt as if the bond with shutting down, I only had five days routine check-ups.”
Indigo was non-existent- she wasn’t to live,” Sam recalls. “My only hope
even allowed to visit me because of was to be admitted for emergency Sam’s own doctor advised she
my condition. Although my auntie surgery.” find a hobby to help her take her
was keeping me updated, I was just mind off things. She decided to start
so devastated that I couldn’t be with In a bid to save the young mum’s going to the gym in a bid to reignite a
her in the days following her birth.” life, doctors operated on Sam and passion for sports she’d felt as a
thankfully, the surgery went well. child.
It soon became apparent Sam’s “I was so relieved, but I knew the Sam started her fitness journey
condition wasn’t improving and the road to rehabilitation ahead of me training in her local gym, with only
treatments weren’t having the was going to be a long one,” says her cousin by her side for support.
positive effects doctors had hoped Sam. ‘I couldn’t walk for almost eight She quickly became addicted to the
for. weeks, which led to a lot of weight changes she could see in her body.
“I will always remember when gain. I was in a state of depression “I used to love sports when I was
eight doctors surrounded my bed, and didn’t want to leave the house a kid and made the decision weight

training could be for me,” says Sam.
“Sure enough, from the very
moment I first picked up a weight, I
was in love- and I’ve never looked
back. My fat loss was evident as the
clothes I normally wore began to
feel looser, and I started to develop
real muscle definition. I realised ever
cloud really does have a silver
lining.”
It wasn’t long before gym newbie

Sam began having competitive
thoughts.
“A fitness instructor said to me I
had great potential for competing,”
she says. “He noted I’d packed on a
decent amount of muscle in a very
short space of time, and thought I’d
be good on stage. I went home and
spoke to my family about it, and they
thought it was a great idea. The very
next day I decided to enter a body
fitness class that was due to take
place later on the same year. I
promised myself I’d knuckle down

and throw everything at my new
goal.”
Sam selected a coach and began

dieting and training to step on stage.
“My coach had previously won the
British finals and competed interna-
tionally, she says. “I found the prep
really challenging because I wasn’t
used to such a strict diet and
training regime. Not only that, I had
to learn how to pose and perfect my
stage presence, which was a really
daunting task for someone with
such low self-esteem.”
The big day arrived, and Sam

stepped out on stage with emotions
running high.
“I had so many doubts going
through my head, but I just kept
telling myself I could do it,” Sam
says. After having to deal with
depression, I had no choice but to
remain focused and stay positive if I
was to pull through and succeed as
a competitive athlete. I placed 5th,
which I was thrilled with, but I knew
I could do better,” she continues. “I
started prepping right away for my
next show!”
Sam went on to take the British

body fitness title and became an
IFBB Pro. She took 3rd place at the
Arnold Classic Europe in 2016 and
repeated this success in 2017. It
seems there’s no stopping the girl
who once had no confidence and
just five days to live!

WINNING
BACK
ROUTINE
EXERCISE REPS SETS
Lat Pulldown 10-12 4
Seated Low
Pulley Row 12-15 3
Barbell Bent
Over Row 8-10 4
High Hammer
Row 12 3
Deadlift 12-15 3
“I love bodybuilding and I wouldn’t I’m able to isolate my lats and really have helped me to develop the
give it up for the world, says Sam. focus on technique and quality mid-area muscle groups and bring
“I always make sure I get plenty of contractions under a good load. a dense look to my back on stage.
sleep and I’ve developed lots of I also use a number of rowing Mixing things up using a combination
aesthetic tactics over the years to movements. I believe the best are of reps and focused contractions
help me look my best. “My waist the seated row and single arm along with some heavier loading has
gets as small as 24 inches on stage, dumbbell rows. These exercises yielded the best results for me.”
and coupled with my flaring lats that
gives me a lovely tapered appear-
ance. I think this illusion sets me
apart from the other figure and
body fitness girls for sure. In fact
almost all of the compliments
I receive pertain to my back.”
Sam kindly agreed to share her

bat wing tips with Flex readers.
“I take a lot of pride in training my
back and in the off-season, I adopt a
DC style of training, which focuses
on controlled negative reps, pro-
gressively heavier weights and
maximum intensity,” she reveals.
“During competition season, I tend
to use higher volume training to help
bring my condition in better, harder
and tighter. My favourite exercise
for back is the lat pulldown, as I feel

00 FLEX | JANUARY 2018
THE U
LT IN
A
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D E
UP YBUI XCLU
W LD
ING SIVE
RE ITH ,
VE B C
TRAN IMATE
AL RITI HAM FOUR
WH SH
DEAN LESIAK AND
MARTYN FORD
AT MO PION TIME
IT T VIE ‘D S
AK ST EAN BRITI
A
ES T S
TO R MA HE PR H
SFOR
GE R
T IN TYN OTEIN
TO FO ’
TO RD T TEAM
PS O S
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!
JANUARY 2018 | FLEX

MATIO
BY DARREN NICHOLHURST PHOTOGRAPHS BY PHOTOARTS BY JAY
00
N
M
ARTYN FORD IS
unstoppable.
Having worked
with Pierce
Brosnan in Final Score and
Scott Adkins in Undisputed
4, he is really is starting
to turn heads in the film
industry and making a
strong name for himself
as the UK’s new ‘bad guy’.
We have the privilege of

following Martyn and his cham-
pion prep coach Dean as they
carve out Martyn’s physique
ahead of his next movie role.
This month, FLEX caught up
with the lads to see what their Martin eat to prep for a movie main reason we do this is so that
training and nutrition is like, and role? we know exactly how much we
here’s what they had to say. “To start with we add up all are consuming each day.”
the calories we consume on an “You have to keep each day
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT average day, cut out any bad very consistent, so when you
“We’re going to talk you through foods and replace the calories weigh in at the end of each week
our prep step by step over the we’ve omitted with good you know what changes need to
coming months. We will not only calories.” be made.”
share our progress, but reveal “Just doing this alone will mean “Firstly, you must weigh
how we do it too.” you’ll start to see a difference in yourself and then get your body
So, what does a giant like how you look and feel, but the fat percentage taken, so that

you can work out your lean
body mass. Lean body mass is
your total weight minus the fat
weight.”
“If you were 100kg and had
10% body fat, then your lean
body mass would be 90kg.
“We consume 1-1.5 grams of
protein per pound of lean body
mass. Martin’s lean body mass
is about 210 lb. Just to make it
simple let’s round it down to
200 lb. 200 lb. lean body mass
eating 1.5 grams of protein per
pound = 300 grams per day.”
THE PLAN
“We eat 7 meals a day, so
300 splits over 7 meals is
43 grams of protein per meal.
“As for fats, we keep them low
but make sure we consume
enough good fats. We do that by
having a few egg yolks, mixed
nuts, steak, salmon and avocado

in our daily diet plan. It’s very
important to have good fats like
omega 3 omega 6. Omega 3s
help to fight inflammation and
help the health of your joints,
they also help to create an
anabolic environment in your
body by helping to hold glu-
tamine in the muscle which
will ultimately speed up the
recovery process. Omega 3 can
also increase your receptor’s
sensitivity, helping you to hold
more glycogen in the muscle.
This makes your body release
less insulin and helps to store
more of the carbohydrate you
eat in the muscle, rather than
storing
it as fat.
“Good fats also help to raise
testosterone levels and help
support higher growth hormone
levels. Cutting out all your fats

will only give you negative mass. So, 200 lb = 600g of carbs
effects on your health and shut a day.
down your hormones. “The first change we make
It’s easy to lose weight, it’s during prep is to cut carbs by
much harder to only lose fat. 25%, which gives me 450 grams
The key to holding muscle and per day. We consume these over
losing just fat is all about the first five meals, and the last
keeping your metabolism two we cut the carbs out.
high. Breakfast and post workout
“Once your protein and meals should have the most
fats are set, you don’t need carbs. As a guide, spread half of
to change them at all your total daily intake across
throughout the whole prep- those two and then spread the
carbs are the only calories remainder equally across the
you need to play with. Every- other other meals.”
body has different genetics,
some people will need a lot more MOST
carbs than others. A good IMPORTANTLY
guideline to go by is about 3 “The most important thing is we
grams per pound of lean body are eating the same each day so
that we can adjust if we need to
each week. It’s pretty impossi-
ble to lose more than 3 lb. of fat
in a week; any more than that
and you’re probably losing
water/glycogen weight, or much
worse, muscle.
“We want to achieve a nice
steady 1-2 lbs fat loss every
week- this way we know we are
holding muscle and only losing
fat. If you lose more than 3 lb,
then you need to increase the
carbs.
“If you’re losing less than a
pound a week, then you should
either decrease the carbs or
add in cardio.
“Now, we’re not big fans of too
much cardio- too much can
leave you looking stringy or
cause you to lose muscle. So,
we’d rather lower the carbs than
add in cardio.
“Losing muscle will make the
metabolism crash and make it
more difficult to lose fat. So, it’s
in our best interest to keep it at a
one to two-pound loss per week,
so we only change something
when the fat loss slows down.”
THE RIGHT NOW

“So, that’s the lowdown on
where we’re at right now. This is

the third week into the diet after
cutting carbs by 25%.
“Training is intense and heavy,
and we keep it heavy all the way
through. Heavy weights are
what grew the muscle, and
heavy weights will hold the
muscle as we diet. It’s a big myth
about doing light weights and
performing more reps to cut up.
If you hit light weights for too
long, your muscle will have no
reason to stay big and strong
and will start to decrease in
size.”
NEXT MONTH
“Next month we will go into great
detail about the training side of
things and will keep you updated
on our progress, and share the
changes as the diet goes on.”

NATHAN HARMAN
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
PREP WHIZZ NATHAN
ANSWERS YOUR NATHAN’S BIO
QUESTIONS Nathan’s passion for nutrition and training
Q My arms have always been first started when he fell in love with
quiet big, but I’ve never had a great cycling, after watching the great Tour de
bicep peak, and really look flat in France on TV. At the age of ten, he entered
some of my poses on stage. What his first competitive cycle race around the
old motorcar circuit at Crystal Palace.
exercises can I do to help achieve
Despite being diagnosed with diabetes in his
this?
teens, Nathan later went on to represent the
Charles, Worthing
Great Britain cycling team.
A This is a great question that I get At the age of 23, Nathan felt it was time to try his hand at a new
asked a lot of the time. Like all body sport. Having used weight training to enhance his cycling performance,
parts, genetics play a major role. he found his interest in aesthetics had grown.
Most people will never ever have a “I remember looking at Flex magazine for the very first time when
huge peak like Phil or Kai. But you I was 14, my cycling coach was a firm believer in resistance training
can make small adjustments to help and seemed to own every single copy of the magazine ever printed.
as much as possible. Holding I was fixated- I couldn’t believe how the body could look that ripped.
contractions for longer periods has It’s astonishing what can be achieved through hard work and
certainly helped athletes in the past. dedication. I knew from that day onwards the fitness industry was
I’d recommend around 3-5 seconds. for me and decided it was time to increase my own knowledge of the
human body,” says Nathan.
After gaining a whole host of top level qualifications, Nathan went
Q My arms are my weakest body
into show prep. 2010 was the first time he prepared someone for
part, what do you recommend to
a show.
try and change this?
“If you knew me back then, I weighed about 12 stone and any
Chris, London bodybuilder I spoke to about prep would look at me like I was a
A Firstly I always recommend nutcase,” Nathan laughs. “So I came up with a plan- I started
training a weak body part twice per working with female competitors and built a very strong team including
week. In this case you will hit arms IFBB PRO Figure and PRO Bikini athletes.
three times in total. Train biceps and “In 2011, I was introduced to Shaun Joseph-Tavernier. We met the
triceps together on a Monday, then week of his IFBB Pro debut. Here he placed 5th in the 202lb class.
triceps and back on a Wednesday. Unhappy with the outcome, he asked my thoughts on his physique.
Lastly, triceps and chest on a We started working together and began prepping for the Toronto
Friday. Pro show.
The reason I split them this way is “Just three months later, Shaun hit the stage 22lbs heavier (10kg,
because back and biceps are pulling 1.8stone). For all his efforts he was awarded 1st place and crowned
IFBB Toronto Pro 202lb class winner. It was the first time I had ever
muscles and chest, deltoids and
worked with a male athlete, and only one year after actually helping
triceps are pushing muscles, so you
any athlete!
will be pretty fatigued if you use the
“I felt incredibly proud of what I’d achieved. First male client, first
pushing muscles in the same show, first win and the first time an English man had won a pro show
sessions and same with the pulling since Dorian Yates some 10 years earlier! We were on the way to
groups. Vegas baby- ready for the Olympia. Shaun placed 5th and was
As arms are the weaker body awarded rookie of the year 2011. This was an amazing achievement
part, I would also recommend ºfor us both- and the start of many great results.”
training them as the first muscle

high as 30 reps on biceps and
triceps. Some may be surprised but
each individual is very different and
what works for one person may not
work for the next.
I’m a high volume guy so I love this
style of training. Volume can also be
increased with the amount of sets
performed. For example, you could
train a weak body part for 4-5
exercises, 5-8 sets, with 8-30 reps.
If you have a weak arms include
drop sets, super sets and partials
into your program, as this will shock
group. I’d recommend this training and should stay away from the body and increase muscle break
plan for around 4-6 weeks and no machines until I can perform basic down and optimum nutrient uptake.
longer as your body will be unable to lifts. I’m female and really want to If your arms are good just do the
recover. We will use this period as work on the back of my arms as I basics of 3 exercises with 3-4 sets
an overkill cycle. Return back to hate them, can you please tell me and 8-12 reps.
training arms normally for 4 weeks what to do.
then return back to the above cycle Jenny, Scotland. Q How important is forearm
for another 4-6 weeks. A When I first got into the industry I training for competing? I see some
One huge factor that people also heard the same sort of stuff. A lot of athletes with huge biceps and
forget when trying to bring up my approach is very common sense triceps and little development in
lagging body parts is adapting their based. If you’re told to do a deadlift the forearm area.
nutrient intake. I always recommend but don’t see any progression in Rich, London
increasing macronutrients. Whether your tricep area are you likely to A This is a great question. Like the
it be carbs, proteins or fats or all 3, continue to train? No is the answer. inner thigh it’s probably the most
it’s a MUST for optimal growth. What I recommend to all newbies is neglected body part by bodybuild-
Some of my athletes will use cheat train all body parts equally, using ers. Some athletes just have great
meals and some will use a high machines and free weights. This genetics and don’t need to train
quality carbohydrate powder. This way your body will learn certain them as they are stimulated enough
will all depend on the individual. movement patterns that are as- from training the rest of the arm and
sisted and unassisted until you can grow indirectly as a result, and
MONDAY master all movements. Please don’t some people are just damn lazy and
Bis and Tris forget it’s very important to have a never directly train them when they
good diet and cardio regime as this really should.
TUESDAY will help you to lose the fat around The brachialis and brachioradialis
Delts the body part creating a tighter and muscles really set off the rear
harder looking physique. double, side chest and most
WEDNESDAY muscular poses by closing the
Tris and Back Q What should my rep and set gap between the forearm and
range be for working arms. the bicep. This creates a thicker
THURSDAY Matt, Colchester looking arm with no gaps. It’s
Legs A Like all muscle groups, I recom- important to use hammer curls,
mend hitting a variety of different reverse-grip curls (with a thumbless
FRIDAY rep ranges to stimulate growth in all grip), reverse grip wrist curls and
Bis and Chest fibre types. Our muscle is made up wrist curls. What’s most important
of slow and fast twitch fibres, which is also finding the angles that suit
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY react differently depending on how your body best. If you feel the
Rest days they are stimulated. muscle working better in a certain
I’d never recommend going any position, be sure to use it! Just
Q Hi Nathan I’m very new to lower than 8 reps, as I feel with because a machine is made in a
training and have heard people say arms this could be asking for injury. certain way does not mean it’s right
I should stick to basic movements Shaun Jospeh-Tavenier will go as for you!

Below I have included one of my
arm sessions I recommend for
athletes.
TRICEPS
TRAINING SYSTEM
SETS & REPS
Dumbbell Overhead ex – SS
- Cable machine kick back –SS-
Rope pushdowns
Giant set
4 x 15-20
Close grip bench press – SS -
Dumbbell skull crushers – SS Dips
Giant set
3 x 8-12 - 3 x 8-12 – 3 x Failure
Alternate dumbbell curls –SS- handle attachment on the cable the cable to avoid over and under
Machine preacher curls – SS – machine. Like all exercises you may muscle development. From this
spider curls (ez bar) need to adjust your body until you position, press down until you’re in
Giant set feel you have targeted and con- full extensions, then contract for
4 x 15-20 tracted the muscle properly! 3-5 seconds and slowly on the
Cross body hammer curls – SS eccentric return to the starting posi-
– over head cable curls –SS- Q Hi Nathan, I’d just like to ask tion. Repeat 5 sets of 15-20 reps,
Cable standing curls what exercises you would recom- then the next time you perform the
Giant set mend to make my most muscular exercise complete 5 x 8-12 reps.
3 x 8 -12 pose look even better? My biceps
are good but I lack that roundness Q Hi Nathan, what are your
Q When doing any overhead in the triceps when pushing my thoughts on different styles of
extensions, I can’t seem to con- palms together. training systems you see nowa-
tract the triceps properly and feel Pete, Birmngham. days? Are they effective and do you
my delts over power everything. A This is something that Shaun recommend them for arm training?
What exercise can I do that will Jospeh-Tavenier has been working Jodie, Yorkshire.
target the long head? on over the last few years. His delts A To be honest, there are so many
Rob, Bristol just pop so much in this pose, that it ways to train nowadays, but what’s
A The long head is such an impor- caused his triceps to look weaker most important is to find what suits
tant muscle to be targeted and can than what they actually were. When you and is safe and effective. I’m a
often be overlooked when training you are in the gym, you need to think huge believer in volume training. All
triceps. If you neglect long head that every exercise you’re perform- of my athletes will tell you this and
training you will be found out, not ing is how you’re going to look on hate me for it, but it’s so important
only in the side pose but also in all stage posing. to train using all different rep
the back shots. Like the inner thigh, Lat pull downs for example ranges, sets exercise and angles to
peroneus longus and tibialis anterior resemble your rear double. Your optimise muscle growth. I’ve never
muscles, the triceps also play a front double will resemble you recommended any athlete to do a
major in your front relaxed poses. performing overhead cable curls 1 rep max though!
An example of this is Jay Cutler, who standing central within the cable What’s most important to me is
had an awesome front relaxed pose, machine. Shaun showed me an how you lift the weight- performing
having lumps and bumps all over his exercise I hadn’t seen before. Using a controlled movement that maxim-
physique- he was eye catching to the cable machine he attached the ises the contraction. It’s important
look at. triangle handle. Placing both hands to master the basics as long as you
Reverse grip pushdowns are what on the handle with the palms facing are keeping the physique in check,
I would recommend if the deltoids each other and elbows pointed out however too many athletes are
take too much control in the over- resembling a most muscular pose. getting injured doing squats and
head movements. Done using a It’s important to try and keep your deadlifts too heavy and not using
straight bar for both arms together bodyweight over the hand position, the correct muscles to perform the
or as a single arm using the single whilst keeping your head central to lifts.

P H O T O S B Y: P H O T O A R T S B Y J AY
By RANDEEP LOTAY
PCA PRO
Let me introduce myself, for those of you who
don’t know me, my name is Randeep Lotay.
I am from Birmingham and I train at the amazing
Ultimate Fitness Gym in Birmingham and I have been
a competitive bodybuilder for the past 7 years.
RANDEEP LOTAY
I
GOT INTO TRAINING
from a young age whilst still
at school. I remember on
Friday afternoons, we had
a choice to play football, go ice
skating, stay in school or hit the
local council gym. I decided on
the latter and have pretty much
been hooked since!
I have always been an active
P H O T O B Y: P H O T O A R T S B Y J AY
individual and trained many times
per week in my local council gym
and studied the martial arts of
Kung Fu for approx. 4 years.
I did my first real bodybuilding
diet in my early twenties which was
just for myself, mainly to see how
I would look. Then by the age of 25
I entered my first bodybuilding show age but only when I had seen some taller than me, wide as a house and
which was the NABBA Novice. of the great physiques in the gym, he had a sleeveless hoodie on and
I entered this show with no real I then trained hard and thought...” was all tanned. I said casually
expectations other than to say “wow”, I wonder if I could ever look “competing today mate... what
I done it. I walked away with a half as good.” class?” he answered, “yeah first
first-place trophy and some great I then got the help of a Personal timers” .... my heart sank and I
feedback. This really inspired me Trainer who is now a good friend dragged my feet all the way back to
to keep going and I did the NABBA and my brother in law (Lee Atlas the car thinking I was just going to
Novice All Sports UK Finals later Harding.) embarrass myself.... little did I know
that year and placed 3rd. He gave me the belief that I could I would go on to win the first timers
Since then, I have competed enter a show and he then prepared class! just goes to show, it's not all
several times (10 to be precise!) me for it. I recall dieting for this about being the biggest on stage!
with a few different federations. show and I had the intention that I That was approximately, 7 years
The most recent and my proudest would do this, just to say I have ago and since then I have done a
achievement to date is with the done it. I had no real expectation of number of shows. I will be the first
PCA where I won the class 3 ever placing let alone winning! to admit, despite having an impres-
category at the 2017 British Finals, I remember on the day of the sive trophy cabinet of successful
then went on to win the overall show, I was paying for my parking placings, my own self confidence is
British title and was awarded with ticket at the Brierley Hill Civic Hall not always high, which is why I am
my PCA Pro card. and a giant of a man came and so grateful to have some real great
So, what or who inspired me? stood next to me also waiting to pay. people around me who truly believe
I had always trained from a young He was huge! easily over a foot in me all the way, which in itself has

Peters and of course, not forgetting
my two 'brothers from another
mother' training partner Dean Lesiak
(4 x British Champion) and Simon
Fan (who owns the amazing Ultimate
Fitness Birmingham) they all have a
P H O T O B Y: M Y T H I C F R A M E S P H O T O G R A P H Y
wealth of knowledge in bodybuild-
ing/competing and as well as being
like family, they also are the ones
who currently prep me for competi-
P H O T O B Y: P H O T O A R T S B Y J AY
tions.
STRUGGLES OF
BODYBUILDING
So what were the main struggles
and how did I overcome them? I
guess it really depends on what you
define as a struggle! In terms of
pushed me to go way beyond what getting up at 5am for cardio, was especially family. Coming from an
I thought I was capable of. that a struggle? At first yes but Indian Sikh background and being
I soon got used to it. The biggest approx. 10 years ago, bodybuilding
INSPIRATION struggle for me this year when and training to the extreme that we
Who inspires me now? I could name prepping for the PCA Finals was have too was unheard of in my
the usual big names like Phil Heath, time and lack of energy towards community. So, education was the
Flex Lewis, Kai Green (I actually the latter few weeks. key here, the more I involved family
think Kai is awesome and such I would typically get up at 5am for and friends and told them why I was
a nice guy) and although they cardio, 10-15 mins posing and then doing what I was, it gradually
certainly do inspire me I actually breakfast and off to work. After became a little easier and they were
seek inspiration a little closer to work would be straight to the gym a little more understanding. Then
home. We have some amazing talent to train, cardio and then home to after winning my first show, they
here in the UK, the likes of Nathan shower, prep meals for next day realised why I was so strict and
De Asha reaching the Olympia, Peter and generally getting myself sorted. dedicated to not cheating and
Molnar, Shaun Tavernier, Jordan When you add into the mix a busy sticking to my food plan exactly
family life and sometimes extra
work commitments it was hard
finding the time to get it all in, but
somehow, I managed. I always say
to people when they ask, "How did
you manage to do all that and have
a busy job/family life?"... and my
answer is always the same. "If you
want something bad enough, you
will make time to fit it in!"
I do remember however, when
P H O T O B Y: J O D Y W R I G H T P H O T O G R A P H Y
I first started competing, trying to

get my close friends/family to
understand why I can't eat their
food, why I have Tupperware boxes
P H O T O B Y: F I V O S AV E R K I O U
with me and why I generally have

been a little less sociable was pretty
difficult, "one small bit won't hurt"
was all I would hear, but that's just
it... it would.
So, educating family and non-
gym going friends was difficult,

as it was. That said, my family media. Its great and very touching to understatement. I am really looking
members still try today try to get me know that I can inspire and help forward to stepping on that pro
to have a little something here and others, whether that’s in the gym, or stage! I will certainly give it my all
there, and if it's off season and I giving them generally motivation. It’s and will ensure I make an impres-
fancy it, why not! if I'm dieting and great to see my followers just go for sion... an impression to last, it's
prepping for a show, big no no.... their goals because let's be honest funny, rewind to the start of 2017,
simple really hey?! (and to say this is somewhat a little never did I think I would be writing
bit of a cliché) but if you put your a column for Flex magazine talking
STRONGER IN EVERYWAY mind to it, work damn hard at it, about my debut pro shows... but
Having been into training and there is absolutely nothing in this here we are!
bodybuilding from such a young world you cannot have or achieve! I think that's enough from me for
age, I believe that it has massively now, feel free to give me a follow
influenced my life (For the better WHAT’S NEXT? and watch my progress on
I hope!) it has taught me how to So, what's next in the pipe line? I am Instagram (@randeep911) and look
be physically strong but equally currently enjoying a bit of an off forward to catching up with you all
mentally strong. What I find most season, training hard and making during the very many shows I will
interesting is how it has mentally got improvements where required. I will attend throughout the year...
me pumped... I mean who in their start my prep around May/June 2018 Stay blessed!
right mind would squat or dead lift to be stage ready around Septem-
silly numbers without being a little ber/October time. There are plenty
bit wacky in the head? The body can of PCA pro shows on around then all
sustain so much and take so much... over the world (China, Korea, Hong
it's the mind that usually gives up Kong, Thailand, Australia, USA...the
first well before the body. Resisting list goes on!) So, to say PCA are
the mind and going ahead to lift giving their athletes some amazing
that pb or push past the pain of a life changing opportunities to not
100 rep sets or even starting a set only compete, but to also see some
knowing it's going to take you to amazing parts of the world is an
hell and back.... that's being
mentally strong! and I guess
a little mental too.
However, now I find myself
constantly pushing and striving for
more! Be that in my career, gym,
training and generally me as a
person. That is not necessarily a
bad thing, just sometimes it's nice to
sit back and appreciate how far you
may have come or what you have
achieved, rather than constantly
analysing everything and almost
telling yourself that it's not good
enough and you must push and
strive for more (Or is that just me?)
PHOTO BY MYTHIC FRAMES PHOTOGRAPHY
I sometimes get asked how does

it feel being an inspiration? To be
totally honest, I never really have
ever seen myself as an inspirational
figure. I just do what I love, which is
training hard and pushing myself to
limits. If I have inspired a few on the
way that's a bonus, but what will
never get old is when a complete
stranger says hi and tells me they
recognise me or follow me on social

BY DARREN NICHOLHURST PHOTOGRAPHS BY FELIX SHUMACK

T
HIS IS AN INSIGHT
to how Aaron
Hudson trains and
believes is the best way
to build muscle in order
to be a competitive
athlete.
He trained using this type of
routine with small changes here and
there, for many productive training
years. This type of routine has led
him to have a competitive life,
spanning 6 years so far in
federations, such as NABBA and
UKBFF, where he won the super
heavyweight class.
This routine is how he will be
currently preparing for the 2018
season, he believes that if you Hudson will do either three mind-muscle connection, he thinks
follow this approach to training, you exercises (four sets per exercise) or it’s more vital to feel the muscle
may also achieve the sort of great four exercises (three sets per through a full range of motion than
gains that he will be showcasing on exercise) and works on a rep-range simply lugging heavy weights which
the stage very soon. of 6-10, always aiming to hit failure can invariably put stress on the
on a set rather than hit a certain joints and tendons. Try to be aware
The Training Approach number of reps. So, if he’s able to just because there’s more weight on
Hudson typically adopts a low(ish) get more than 10 reps he will the bar it DOESN’T mean you’re
volume approach, and believes in increase the weight, or if he gets causing the muscle to grow! Leave
full range of motion “compound” less than 6 reps he will do less your ego at the door… You aren’t in
exercises and hitting failure. He is in weight on the next set. the gym as bodybuilders to take
the gym five, sometimes six, (if Hudson advises that if you feel up unnecessary injury risks to smash
recovery allows for it) days a week, to it and it’s safe to do so, throw in world records, you’re there to
and works on what he calls a “12-set some negative reps on top of the stress the muscle properly to make
principle”, whereby he gives himself last few reps or drop sets. Really go it adapt and grow!
12 sets to take the muscle group, all out on the muscle and don’t leave
hitting each body part once a week, anything left in the tank.
to absolute failure. Hudson is a huge believer in
BACK
Day 1 – Back
This is how Hudson structures his
workouts in order to get maximum
gains, but yet with maximum
recovery also.For back he typically
alternates between a row and a
pull-down… so row/pull/row/pull…
like so…
3x wide grip chins (4 sets) –
nothing beats chins for hitting all the
muscles within the back. Lock your
lower legs behind your hamstrings
(try and get your heels to touch your
hamstrings). You can use an
assistance machine or ask someone
to spot you if you find these difficult
to begin with.

BACK
PHOTO BY: CHRIS BAILEY
3x Pendlay rows – 990-degree

bend in the hips, the bar should be
hitting just below the pec-line at the
top. Use 10kg plates to lengthen the
range of motion if you’re shorter.
Make sure you squeeze at the top
and control the negative.
3x lat pulldown (or similar machine
pull down… there’s many sorts to
choose from in most gyms) – Don’t
be afraid to use your hips on the last
few reps to get the weight down.
This isn’t “cheating”, it’s “controlled
momentum”.
3x Rack pulls or one arm
dumbbell rows or deadlifts.
Hudson only this year started doing
deadlifts, previous to this he hasn’t
done them for over 6-7 years, He’s

never been a massive fan of them,
but has starting to like them now. He
doesn’t do them every session, but
once in while they’re a nice change
for the routine.

CHEST
Day 2 – Chest
Similar to back, Hudson tends to
alternate between the two
movement types: presses and flies.
So, flies/press/flies/press.
3x Hammer Strength incline
machine press, Hudson advises
that you make sure you fully stretch
on this. Use this exercise to get
warm and engage the chest. He’s
found if he uses a free weight to
start, he unknowingly engages the
front delts more than he’d like, so he
uses the chest machine press to
isolate the chest, it gets the muscle
warm and prepares it for the
session.
3x Dumbbell flies, Hudson
believes flies are the best exercises
for his chest. Pressing incorrectly
can lead to your triceps and/or your
delts to take over, however, flies
eliminates this. Make sure you get
a full range of motion and stretch
properly.
3x Inline dumbbell press, make
sure you tuck your elbows slightly,

and press from the arm pits…
almost try to follow the plane of
motion that an incline machine
would, with a slight arc from the
arm pits at the bottom to around
the level of your chin at the top. If session, afterwards, he can’t string idea of this it to put more tension on
you prefer barbell bench press, together a proper sentence, let the quads. He makes sure his
then go for that. alone start blasting out some leg backside hits his heels. If you can’t
3x Machine/cable flies, Hudson curls! go all the way down, lower the
uses this to finish his session off, 4x Leg extensions, make sure you weight! Remember, the muscle
make sure you fully stretch and put a lot of blood in the quads here doesn’t care or understand that you
contract. He likes to put some – you’re going to need it! If that have 4-plates on each side and you
negatives in at the end also to means drop sets or slowing the want to look hard-core, the muscle
fatigue the muscle properly. reps down in a time-under-tension only understands stress and load,
fashion, then go for it! so load it appropriately and stress
Day 3 – Quads 4x Squats or front squats or the muscle properly by doing a full
Hudson likes to give quads their own hack-squats, typically Hudson range of motion.
day. He doesn’t get how anyone can doesn’t go for standard squats at 4x leg press or vertical leg press
give 100% squatting and leg the moment, but Is a huge fan of or hack-squat (if you didn’t already
pressing and everything else that’s front squats. He likes to go for a do hack-squat on the last exercise)
required to grow huge quads and fairly narrow stance (feet shoulder just insure this is a different
then be able to start over and hit with apart facing forward) and also exercise to the other exercises
their hamstrings! put a small lift (i.e. a piece of wood performed already!
When Hudson hits a big quad or a 5kg plate) under each heel. The Drop sets are very easy on a leg

CHEST
those frames for behind the neck

presses where you can do these.
Hudson believes that you should
NEVER do behind the neck press!
“It’s an awful exercises which can
pose a huge injury risk! Why on
earth you’d want to squeeze a bar
behind your neck risking injury when
there’s ALL that space in front of
you where it’s perfectly safe.”
3x Bent over dumbbell flies (rear
delts), 90-degree bend in the hips,
face the floor and “fly” the dumbbells.
Hudson performs this by making
sure he keeps his elbows straight
and keeps the shoulders forward,
not involving the lats to assist. This is
essentially like doing rear-flies on a
chest machine. He reckons that you
should be able to hit roughly the
same weight of dumbbells here as
you were doing seated dumbbell
raises.
4x Barbell or dumbbell
shrugs – Hudson’s tip on this

exercise is that he recommends
leaning your head forward onto your
chest and really squeezing. Your
traps are technically part of your
press, especially if you have a water jugs. You can do these back, so squeezing the trap/neck
training partner… give yourself 10 standing, but Hudson prefers to and also the shoulder-blades will
seconds rest between drop sets, perform it seated because you get a give the best effect.
get your mind refocused, set better range of motion and can use
yourself back up and hammer some momentum on the last few reps. Day 5 – Arms
more reps out! 3x Dumbbell press or seated Hudson’s arms have always
… and then collapse in a sweaty military barbell press (front delts), responded well to training, it seems
heap on the floor! Hudson’s advice on this is, if you’re that whatever he does, they grow,
doing dumbbell press, make sure so he tends to throw hamstrings or
Day 4 – Shoulders / your dumbbell touches your front calves in at the start or end of arms.
Traps delt at the bottom of the movement Hudson looks at arms training as
Hudson tends to add calves to the and don’t lock out at the top. Locking more of a “fun day”. He generally
end of a shoulder or arm workout, out can cause elbow issues but also alternates between bicep and
and structures it like this; takes the tension off the muscle. He triceps exercises, here is a list of
3x Machine press (front delts), also likes to have the bench not them separately, this way you can
any machine really, the aim is to totally 90-degree upright, but he alternate them with ones that suit
simply get warm. angles it back a touch. When it’s your gym or physique.
3x Seated dumbbell raises totally upright you risk having to arc
(middle delts), lead with the elbow, your lower back. Biceps:
get the arms out straight (none of Hudson feels very strongly that If 4x Machine curls
this bent arm rubbish… far too you prefer to do a seated military 4x Seated dumbbell curls
easy!) almost like you’re pouring barbell press, a lot of gyms have 4x EZ Bar curls

DELTS
Triceps: Hamstrings: doesn’t have unwanted stress

4x V-bar pushdowns 3x Laying leg curls causing muscle loss.
4x Incline single arm dumbbell 3x Standing leg curls If Hudson has a slightly weaker
extensions, these are performed 3x Standing leg curls training session, he knows It’s just
laying on an incline bench, elbows 3x Stiff leg deadlift his body saying, “yeah I’m not feeling
towards the ceiling with a dumbbell this today”. It’s not an issue, all he
in each in hand, holding it in a Weights and does to work productively through
hammer position touching the front numbers this is overload the muscle the best
delt… and extend in an extension/ Remember, don’t chase numbers he can and train to failure for the
skull crusher motion. on the bar. Weight is irrelevant. “environment” the body is in there
4x Any kind of tricep machine… Hudson believes that if you squatted and then, that way he knows he did
after the last exercise it won’t take 3-plates for 6 reps last week, but more than enough, and the session
much to finish them off! today you had a stressful day at HAS been productive!
work or were up all night with the Hudson trains smart, listens to his
Add on days – kids being sick, you just have a usual body. If his body tells him to “back
Hamstrings and calves “real life”. With these typical day-to- off”, he won’t push it, and this way
This is what Hudson throws in after day events, you are going to be tired doesn’t cause injury. He stresses
arms, chest or delts depending on and may only manage 4 reps, so that whatever you do, don’t be a
how much energy I have left. don’t beat yourself up! moron and think “I need to beat last
The approach Hudson has may week’s lifts”.
Calves: sound laid back but you won’t lose Having a lighter session when
4x Seated raises muscle! You won’t lose size! You your body needs it will make no
4x Leg press toe dips won’t NOT gain muscle! difference. Push yourself to the
4x Standing calf raises or This is how he has lead his limit for that day, at that moment.
donkey calf raises training lifestyle, this way, he Make every rep, every set and

BICEPS
every session count. Intensity, his focus back and smashes on with cardio vascular output” or “burn
consistency will get you further and it. None of this 2-3-minute rest calories” (he’s seen this done
with less injuries than a log book periods playing on the phone. Your before) you aren’t going to get the
ever will. body will tell you when to go again. most out of your session.
You cannot red-line your car Hudson says that there is nothing But also, don’t be sitting around
constantly, same goes for your more or less to it than that, and if for 10-15 minutes going cold. Keep
body. Something has to give, and it’s you try to get another set in within the momentum, keep the muscle
usually a tendon or muscle a time period in order to “increase warm and keep the session flowing.
attachment! Which is not ideal.
The body only understands stress
KEEP THE BODY

and load. It doesn’t care for ego or a
log book.
GROWING
Rest times
This is how Hudson manages his
rest during training. He does a set,
catches his breath, has a drink, gets

BY DARREN NICHOLHURST PHOTOGRAPHS BY MATT MARSH
BOBBY KHAN IFBB PRO,

THE HEART OF
CLASSIC BODYBUILDING
K
HAN ALSO VERY FROM AN EARLY AGE, BOBBY KHAN WAS REALLY
much admired the ACTIVE IN SPORTS SUCH AS FOOTBALL, MARTIAL
physiques of Jean- ARTS, STREET DANCE AND MOUNTAIN BIKING
Claude Van Damme WHICH HE ENJOYED A PASSION FOR. HE FELT HE
and Sylvester Stallone. He NEEDED TO BUILD A FIT AND MUSCULAR BODY,
used to reference their BUT WANTED TO DO THIS WITH-OUT SACRIFICING
bodies in building his own ATHLETICISM AND FLEXIBILITY.
look, which grew to become
both unique and classic.
Unfortunately for Khan, at the
time, there was no bodybuilding
category which met his physique
style, or indeed his needs from a
balanced lifestyle point of view. He
had competed previously in middle
weight competitions and won
several of these, but in his heart, he
knew that it was deviating from the
ideal physique that he had always
envisaged.
Just as Khan was ready to
consider an early retirement from
the sport, a new category was
introduced. The classic class was
now the latest class in UK body-
building. Khan’s great friend and
renowned nutritionist, Wade
Stafford, advised him that this was
the category he had been waiting
for, and that he should enter and
compete in it. After reading the
guidelines of what the classic class
entailed, Khan decided the new
class was a perfect fit for both his
proportions and his vision.
After several months of solid classic look stood out from the rest for future athletes who wanted to
training and dieting in 2009, the and subsequently he took 1st place. build a similar physique. Little did he
ambitious athlete was prepped and This was a dream come true- not know how profound this quiet idea
ready to compete at Leamington just from a personal point of view, in his mind could be.
Spa as a new classic bodybuilding but also as a milestone for the Khan had just kicked off the start
competitor. Although there were aesthetics Khan brought to the of what classic physiques have now
some tough cookies to crumble, stage. It occurred to him this win become the mainstream desired
judges decided Khan’s natural could perhaps create a road map look.

Becoming a Pro.
Shortly after his win at Leaming-
ton, Khan wanted to complete
another mile-stone in his bodybuild-
ing career by competing at the
British championships. To be
crowned British Champion was since he was a child and a power- and could be achieved by upcoming
something he had always aspired to, house within the fitness industry. athletes.
especially acknowledging the great Fellow athletes representing the As he eventually wound down his
competitors he would be up against. brand included the legendary fitness career as a competitive athlete,
Before long, it was time for Khan icon Greg Plitt (RIP) and now the Mr. Khan watched, with great interest,
to step on stage in the competition, Olympia, Phil Heath. For several the rise of categories such as the
and sure enough, he became British years Khan travelled with these physique classes, and looks back
Champion, earning him his pro great sportsmen and learned many and smiles. He reflects on how hard
status. valuable life lessons from them. he worked and recognises that
Sponsorship offers began Being a sponsored athlete offered being one of the first classic pro
flooding in from around the world. many luxuries, but Khan still felt the athletes can have a profound impact
Khan was overwhelmed and felt so greatest gift that came with the gig on the entire fitness market.
lucky to have so many companies was that it gave him a platform to With all that said, Khan’s focus in
appreciate his overall physique demonstrate to bodybuilders life now is to help upcoming athletes
package, but he jumped at the around the world, that the physique achieve their dream physique and
opportunity to sign a deal with of greats such as Bob Paris, Frank help them reach heights they never
MET-RX, a company he had known Zane and Serge Nubret was back, imagined possible.

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BY EMMA HYNDMAN PHOTOTGRAPHS BY @AMRITSVIP

H
ow serious are you about bringing and feeling the engagement of the
the full package to the stage? muscle, I like to do this with single
arm lat pull downs on the cable
Well if you are, here is The Posing
machine and putting my free hand
Pro’s Emma Hyndman. Emma, the UK, onto my working muscle so I can
British and world Toned Figure Champion FEEL when its engaging.
and UK’s number one posing coach, has
given FLEX readers a step by step, top 10 STEP 4.
guide to ensure you’re ready to pose like Start to identify your strongest
poses, acknowledge which ones
the professionals in no time. Follow each
STEP work best for your figure. Be
step and learn the best way to present mindful that the judges are looking
2
your hard-earned physique. for that all important ‘X shape’ which
actually applies to every category.
STEP 1. If you go through this process every For the figure classes, most females
Start by mastering the mandatory time you practice then eventually look great from the side and I
compulsory poses, it’s important you won’t have to think about it. always encourage clients to work
to learn, just like in any skill, that the side poses as much as possible.
you always start at the beginning. STEP 3.
Start with the quarter turns as this Feel and make the mind to muscle STEP 5.
is what you will present to the connection when you are in each Once you have learnt the
judges first, these are probably the stance. If you know how your compulsory poses you then need to
most difficult poses to learn for the muscle should feel when you are start to piece it all together, we do
ladies but if you follow these steps posing then it will be easier engaging this by adding transitions in between
I promise you that you will step on and switching on each body part. each pose, this is your opportunity
stage like a pro! A lot of people struggle to do this to showcase yourself to the judges
with the lats, so spend some time even more. Always be mindful that
STEP 2. in your training session doing some you should always be presenting
Always set up your poses from the light work and focus on activing when you’re on stage and
feet and work upwards through the
pose, make sure you are activating
the right muscles and presenting
yourself to the judges. For example,
in the ‘front relaxed’ pose place the
feet together, rotate the heels
inwards, rotate the quads
outwards, tip the pelvis backwards,
lift the midsection and pull the
stomach into the spine, engage and
flare the lats and pop the shoulders.
STEP STEP
3 3
STEP STEP
4 4

STEP STEP STEP
5 6 10
especially when you are doing athletes that have a similar figure
your comparisons in the center of to you and try out poses that they STEP
the stage. Almost imagine your time are doing, I often spend hours on 10
on stage as one full performance, YouTube watching shows and
NEVER relax and always stand learning from others. Also listen
poised, you never know when to the live commentary on shows
you’re being judged! it’s an absolutely great way to
pick up tips on what the judges
STEP 6. want to see.
Make your posing look natural
and effortless, the key to mastering STEP 8.
this is to start practicing as soon Once you feel comfortable in your
as possible. Approach posing poses, you then need to stop
practice like it’s part of your training, practicing in the mirror. Remove it
start immediately and don’t leave and replace it with your camera,
it till the last phase of your prep. record yourself doing your sessions
This is where most competitors and you will see so much more.
go wrong, they do all the training You will see what you are doing
and the weeks of dieting but they wrong and right, I advise my clients
then fail to perfect their posing to record, then watch it back and
and stage craft and as a result make notes and apply the notes to STEP 10.
they don’t present themselves your next session. This is probably Lastly practice your stage craft
well on stage. As a judge one of one of the best techniques to and presentation, remember you
the most frustrating things is self-critique and improve. are showcasing yourself from the
seeing an athlete with a stunning moment you step on stage, so
figure that doesn’t know how STEP 9. practice in the studio from your
to pose properly. Make sure you stretch, posing is not walk on to your walk off, know
easy in the slightest but you can what your first pose is going to
STEP 7. make your body more mobile by be, practice so much that you get
Do your research, there’s an stretching to allow yourself to sick of posing and then practice
abundance of information available manipulate your figure into better some more.
on the internet and it’s all at your poses. Apply this at the beginning Instagram:
fingertips. Watch previous of each training session and you will emmahyndman_theposingpro
competitions, learn what looks good see that your posing will improve, Facebook:
on stage and what doesn’t. Find it’s also great for muscle growth. emmahyndman-theposingpro

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WABBA MR. AND

MISS UNIVERSE 2017
TEAM GB
SHOW REPORT
BY TREVOR CHUNG PHOTOGRAPHS BY GIORGIO MESGHETZ

WABBA MR. AND MISS UNIVERSE 2017
W
ELL FOLKS, I AM BACK BLIGHTY
and what a trip it’s been. When it was
announced that the WABBA Universe
was going to be held in Budapest, I knew this
would be a great contest.
Bodybuilding is hugely popular in Hungary although
the average wage out there is much lower than that
in the United Kingdom, so not many athletes can afford
JUNIOR to travel abroad but the culture is there, in the past we
have seen some great athletes from Hungary.
My suspicions were confirmed at registration.
Hungary submitted the biggest team they have ever
had. Over 50 athletes across all 20 classes were
measured and weighed, some stripped off and others
didn’t need to and kept everything under wraps, but we
just knew this team was quality. Our team registered
next, also the best team we ever had and we stamped
our authority on this contest there and then.
Then came the mighty Italy with 60entrants, Spain
MASTERS OVER 40 with 20, Ukraine with 30, Greece with 10, France with
20 and numerous smaller teams from India, Mauritius,
USA, Switzerland, Belgium, Iraq, and Cyprus.
It took 8 hours to register them all, with the last
athlete registering at 10.30pm.
Hungary’s organization was superb, the hotel we
were in were a set of studio apartments, our team
were able to control their food much better with their
own cooking facilities. Supermarkets were close by
and food is really reasonable in Hungary so going into
the show, the conditions for our team were as good
MASTERS OVER 50
as we could possibly make them.
The Contest
The contest itself was incredible, from the moment
the Juniors came on in the first class, we knew the
standard would be off the scale. The Junior winner was
Hungarian, he would have stood his ground in the Men’s
classes. The home team had started like they meant
business.
Next up was Masters Bodybuilding Over 40, we had
MISS SHAPE 2 team members in this class, Danny Ingram and Dee
Cee Clarkson, both were narrowly edged out of the top
6 in what was a savage class, the winner was again
Hungarian and we could feel a pattern forming here
but we knew our team had some big guns to fire yet.
Masters Over 50 was next with Mickey McKay taking
6th and making a great account of himself in a very
tough class.
Next up was Miss Shape, Hungary’s strong suit,
the last Miss Universe and last World Champion had
been Hungarian so we knew the class would be tough.
SHORT 168 We were not disappointed, there were 22 athletes in the

Miss Shape class with 3 Hungarian Athletes in
the top 6.
The winner Emanuela Manfredini from Italy was
an amazing example of the ideal for this class and
narrowly edged out Portugal’s Solange Paulini. Our
two athletes Nikki Antonaccio and Dannii Cage couldn’t
break the top 6 on this occasion but held their own in
the strongest class of the day.
Luke Bagster was in our first Men’s Bodybuilding Class
and completely dominated from start to finish, MEN’S CLASSIC -175
as soon as he got on stage I quickly grabbed hold of our
Union Jack, it was obvious that we would most certainly
have a winner here.
Next class up was Men’s Classic Bodybuilding -175cm,
Ian Nelson was our guy in this class, Ian shocked me
with his condition at the Grand Prix and he had brought
it with him today.
Ian more than held his own in the class and made
the top 6 which was his goal, with some added mass
Ian will definitely be one to watch next year.
Gemma Lancaster was in Miss Fitness, straight off the MISS FITNESS
back of her NABBA Universe, Gemma was here to unify
the titles, but today was not going to be the day with
Portugal’s Diana Correia narrowly edging Gemma for
first place.
This was going to be Tony Bailey’s first WABBA
international contest, Tony is a 3 time UKBFF British
Champion so he used to competing in top level contests
and he had definitely brought his A-game here today,
Tony performed like a winner and left the judging panel
in no doubt that he should be crowned Mr. Universe
SHORT-170
here today over Italy’s amazing Trofeo 2 Torri winner:
Emanuele D’Agostino.
We had 2 competitors in Classic Bodybuilding +175,
Baz Beattie and Sean Betts, both were in the best
condition of their lives but we’re muscled out by much
bigger guys in the lineup. Both guys know what they
have to do to improve and will be here next year to make
the impact that they know they can.
Sarah Williams and Sharon Madderson finishing 1st
and 2nd in 2016 was always going to be a tough act
to follow but we did it! Violet Schwarz and Angela MEN’S CLASSIC +175
Kirkpatrick were the dominant force in this class and
the British flag got a third outing with the two ladies
reinforcing the UK’s dominance in this class.
The men’s Medium class was a real battle, some great
albeit, very different physiques were pitched in together
but it was the powerfully built Cristian Pancorbo from
Spain who took the top honour in this class.
We had 2 competitors in this class both from Wales,
Nik Joshi and Jasam Ahmed made up our Welsh
contingent, unfortunately neither Nik’s aesthetics or
Jasam’s grainy condition could break them into a very MISS BODY

tough top 6 all of which were very seasoned international
athletes.
Bikini Over 35 was a very tough class and with Niina
Gronqvist, DeeDee Nyx and Emma Pawson representing
the UK.
I knew we would be very competitive here. Emma
Pawson made a tremendous performance to take 5th
place, Emma moved really well and worked hard to keep
herself in the judge’s eyes.
MEN’S MEDIUM -175 The Men’s Medium class was a tough affair with
WABBA Veteran Matt Adams selflessly throwing himself
into the toughest class to ensure that we had a
representative in this class. The standard in this class
was incredible, the winner of this class was from
Hungary beating Saxon Gym’s Sergio Lima into a close
second.
TEAM GB had 3 athletes in the Miss Bikini -165 class:
Grand Prix winner Laura Hernandez who was joined by
CoreSport Classic winners Kate Sheard and Meisha
Micklewright in a tough line up. Meisha and Kate placed
MEN’S MODEL and incredible 2nd and 4th respectively in a really close
top 6, an amazing result in their first WABBA International
outing.
The men’s Fitness Class was another tough class
with last year’s winner, Arold Triberti coming second
and GB’s Leo McNeill 7th.
The Ukraine maintained and strengthened their
reputation in the Bikini classes with an absolutely
stunning winner in the +165 class, regrettably neither
Monika Mikolajczyk, Sam Lau or Enrika Tarutyte Could
squeeze their way into the top 6.
MISS BIKINI OVER 35
There were some absolute monsters in Men’s
Bodybuilding Supertall, GB’s Wayne Niemiec found that
his extended journey had not helped his cause. Wayne
had struggled with the travelling and it all proved too
much and he didn’t place as well as he would have liked.
The Ukraine’s giant Volosov Vyacheslav took this class
and his Pro Card, he had nailed it today with undeniable
mass and hardness.
10 couples made this the toughest Couples class we
had ever had, Matt Adams and Gemma Lancaster were
TALL -180 here to emulate their 2015 success today but amongst
some great routines it was the Spanish duo Pancorbo/
Aldouni that took a controversial 1st place.
We had 3 representatives in the new Men’s Physique
class, the experienced Tony Reveglia was moving up a
class from Fitness and both Leon Mitchell and Lewis
Riches would be making their international debut here
but it was Lewis Riches incredible structure saw him
into the top 6 to finish a tremendous 3rd place.
With no Adaptive athletes present we moved straight
into our first Pro Bikini class which consisted of the
MISS BIKINI -165 winners of the 4 Model and Bikini Classes here today

which were all Ukrainian and trained by Ukraine’s top
trainer Vitaly Podolsky. In the end +165 winner: Marina
Andrienko took the top prize of €1500 and deservedly so.
The Men’s Pro line up was a star-studded cast, TEAM
GB had 4 representatives in this class, the experienced
Rob Reinaldo and Luke Nichols as well as our two new
Pro’s Luke Bagster and Tony Bailey. It was a huge 20 man
line up which was hindered by some technical
difficulties.
The inimitable Peter Molnar battled hard but could MIXED COUPLES
not match the condition of the incredible Tall Class
Winner with TEAM GB’s Tony Bailey muscling his way
into the top 10.
We at WABBA GB would just like to take this
opportunity to thank the WABBA International
Committee, WABBA Hungary and all of our fellow
WABBA Nations for making this event an incredible
success but most of all to our athletes who are the
driving force behind our federation, without you guys
we could not be the driving force in international
Bodybuilding that we are. MEN’S PHYSIQUE
MENS FITNESS MISS MODEL
MISS BIKINI +165 PRO BIKINI
SUPER TALL +180 PRO BODYBUILDING

COMPETITION CALENDAR
2018 SHOWS
MP WORLDS April 15th

MP UNIVERSE October 28th
VENUE: The Alban Arena, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 3LD

SAXON CLASSIC April 8th LICHFIELD
GIBRALTAR April 14th
SCOTTISH April 15th MOTHERWELL
EAST COAST April 29th HULL
IRISH OPEN May 6th BELFAST
PCA BODYPOWER May 11th-13th BIRMINGHAM
NORTH EAST May 19th NEWCASTLE
TNT CLASSIC May 20th EXETER
THE INTERNATIONAL
HAMPSHIRE June 2nd ALDERSHOT CHAMPIONS CUP Sunday May 13th BODYPOWER
MUSCLETALK June 16th KETTERING BIRMINGHAM
EAST ANGLIA July 1st NORWICH
THE HERCULES
OLYMPIA Saturday May 26th THE VENUE
MANCHESTER September 9th MIDDLETON THEATRE, MK.
MIDLANDS September 16th BIRMINGHAM THE AMATEUR
GRAND PRIX Saturday September 15th TOWNSGATE
CUMBRIA Date TBC Shortly CARLISLE THEATRE,
LONDON Date TBC Shortly BASILDON.
THE KINGS OF
WELSH Date TBC Shortly THE NORTH Saturday October 20th CARRIAGEWORKS
JP GRAND PRIX Date TBC Shortly THEATRE, LEEDS
JERSEY October 7th CHANNEL ISLANDS THE RHINO Sunday November 4th STAMFORD CORN
CLASSIC EXCHANGE,
FINALS October 13th-14th BIRMINGHAM STAMFORD
PCA WORLD THE UK
CHAMPIONSHIPS Date TBC Shortly CHAMPIONSHIPS Saturday November 24th RILEY-SMITH HALL,
TADCASTER.
ULTIMATE PHYSIQUES
UKUP BODYPOWER CLASSIC May 11th
(Pro Qualifier)
WUP ULTIMATE PRO
BODYPOWER CLASSIC May 13th
UKUP SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIPS June 10th
WUP WORLD CUP INVITE ONLY July 29th
UKUP WELSH/SW CHAMPIONSHIPS August 11th
UKUP SOUTHERN CHAMPIONSHIPS September 9th
RIUP IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
(Pro Qualifier) September TBC
UKUP NORTHERN CHAMPIONSHIPS October 6th
UKUP BRITISH FINALS (PRO QUALIFIER) October 20th

L I V E Q & A ' S , N U T R I T I O N A L TA L K S &
WORLD-RENOWNED SPEAKERS
SUPPORTED BY
2018
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Flex UK - February 2018

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FEBRUARY

YOU DON’T KNOW

Take Best BCAA™

Take Best BCAA Shredded™

before your fasted cardio to

prevent muscle loss.*

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BACK. TO. BRITISH.

Starting in this edition, FLEX UK

Compare prices Filter by Watch videos of Find the latest

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highlight future talents from

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WAITING FOR TEXT

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1. Low Incline Dumbbell Press 3x6-8

1. Lying Leg Curls 3x6-8