Individuality

There are so many competitors out there today, be it for bodybuilding, fitness, physique, bikini, so what sets you apart from the rest?
INDIVIDUALITY. It is key, not only to making an impact on stage, but also in life in general, no one wants to be just another number on a page, they want to stand out, and you should because we are all unique, the trick is showing your strengths and your individuality to the people.
When you prepare for a show, really prepare, work on the body you want not what your friends or you think the judges want, be yourself, build yourself. When you come on stage don;t just stick to the basic poses, and then repeat them in your routine, be different. Pick music you like, pick a style of posing you like to watch, poses that show your best features, your strengths and your talents, if you are flexible show it, if you are artistic show it, if you have a huge back, play up to it, and show it off, what ever makes you unique show it. You want to make the crowd and judges remember you, because sometimes in competition it is so close between competitors on stage that something a little different just sends you up a level in the judges mind, and can make the difference between being on the podium, or being an also ran, from being number 1 or 2.
It can also been seen how much it has faded when you look at the comparisons between the old and current class of athletes on the top stages of the sport. In the 70's 80's and early 90's you could almost tell right away who an athlete was by his or her silhouette, their individual hair styles, body shape, characteristic pose, stance, or taper made them stand out as an individual, where as today more and more athletes are opting for the short back and sides, with most having little difference between the structure and shape of their physiques. They have lost that individual edge.

What do I do?
I work on my posing, I work on building my ideal physique and I make sure to have a fun and impressive routine the way I want to pose and using poses I admire and like to look at. For me the compulsory poses are good because people know them and can appreciate them in a routine, but you need some spice and artistic expression to bring the art that is bodybuilding to completeness. I am a big fan of a good posing routine and I work hard at mine when getting ready for a contest, spending several hours each week organizing the poses I want to use into a flowing and impressive display in time with the music. I have always been quite flexible from kickboxing so I use slit like poses in my routine, I also pick music that builds from slow to a rousing crescendo and fit my poses in with that, using more artistic lunging poses first and building up to the back double biceps and most muscular the crowd loves. Also just be yourself, there is nothing better and no other way to have fun. Enjoy the process of working on yourself for yourself, and keep making those improvements. 

Stuffed Sweet Potato and Chicken

This is quite simply DELICIOUS. Seriously, it is awesome, and very clean and low fat at the same time.
packed with vitamins, minerals and lots of clean carbs and protein this is a great meal to sit down and enjoy after a tough workout. And that's just what I did last night.
Having blasted through an arm workout I came home and got to work. its pretty simple to prepare as well, just oven bake the chicken and the sweet potato, making sure to slice it down the centre to let you fill it when ready. Then when they are around 5 minutes from being ready you stir fry the veg and then put it all together. For veg I used sweet corn, broccoli, mixed peppers and red onion.

As I say it is packed with protein and it gives you a good boost towards hitting your daily intake of vegetables so its a win win.

Ingredients:
200g chicken breast
200g sweet potato
50g sweet corn
50g mixed peppers
1 portion of brocolli
1/3 of red onion sliced

Nutritional Values:
Protein - 46 grams
Carbohydrates - 64 grams
Fats - 9 grams

Patience

Patience is a virtue. Never has this been more true. Patience is key, it is everything, without it you will either fall short of your goals, or attempt to rush the progress and end up with problems and ultimately failure.

As a natural bodybuilder patience is a huge part of the journey, I hear it all the time that I can't get big without steroids, or if I take this or that I will gain 10 pounds in a week, or in a month, or I will not win because I am not big enough. BUT, with patience you can achieve your goals, and stay natural.
2 and a half years ago I stopped Kickboxing and started to focus on Bodybuilding, and in those 2 and a half years I have gained 32 pounds of muscle mass. That's pure muscle, calculating out the fat and water weight, so with patience and dedication you can do it, it takes a long time, but anything worth doing is worth doing right, take your time and do it to the best of your ability.

Patience is also very important when you are preparing for a show, you can't shred down in 3 weeks, unless you are already sitting at a low body fat to begin with, and even then it may take at least a month to get ready. You need to be patient and consistent in your endeavour. Patience is also a big necessity for the day of the show, you may have to travel for hours or even a few days to make it to the show, and when you finally get there, there is a lot of waiting before you get on stage.You may be registering at 11am, then not on stage until 2pm for prejudging, and then not on stage again until 8 or 9pm for the night show. So you need to be patient, don't go out after pre judging and go nuts with food, if you can be strict for 12-14 weeks you can be strict for 6 more hours and actually look good for the audience that night.

Patience is vital to any athlete, growing slowly, day after day, getting one more rep, losing 1 more pound, and growing that little bit better each and every day. So keep your head up and keep aiming higher, every day is an opportunity to get better, to learn and to grow.

Fresh Air

At this time of year it can be hard to get some cardio done, especially in the great outdoors, but this morning we had a great clear, bright and dry autumn morning. So with the sun shining and the leaves crunching beneath my feet I set of for a relaxing Sunday walk.

I drove to Stormont park and began there, walking around the lower forest paths before leaving the park and heading along the road towards another favourite spot of mine. After about 15 minutes or so I was there, the best bit being that it only took 1 traffic light crossing, so there was very little waiting around and almost no interruption to the steady pace cardio I had planned. Then it came into view, Motte Park. The site of an ancient Motte and Bailey castle in Dundonald. The view this morning looking back towards my house was epic and so I snapped a quick pic from the top of the mound before heading back down the steps and along the road to the forest paths of Stormont once more.

In total the walk lasted around an hour, and it is one I will use now and again to mix up the otherwise repetitive cardio section of the gym, especially after weeks of contest preparation when you want the variation and ease the gym cardio equipment provide, as well as the easy heart rate and calorie monitors they have installed. 

But there is nothing better than a nice walk in the cool fresh air to help clear your head and let you get your thoughts in order for the day and week ahead. And when you have the great scenery around you like I had this morning then it makes it even better.

Blueberry and Cinnamon Porridge

This is a high carb and low fat breakfast I use some days to load up before a training session, not only is it an effective kick start for your day but it's also pretty tasty.
Take 100g oats and pour them into a bowl, then add 100g of plain natural yoghurt on top. take 1 banana and 50g blueberries and lay these on next, before sprinkling it all with cinnamon. Nice, simple and quick to make. and if you want to add some more protein you could add some nuts or a protein shake to the mix, but today I chose black coffee, leaving the protein until post workout.

Ingredients:
100g oats
100g natural yoghurt
1 banana
50g blueberries
1 tea spoon cinnamon
1 cup of black coffee

Nutritional Values:
Protein - 23 grams
Carbohydrates - 78 grams
Fats - 5 grams

IBFA All Ireland 2014

So its been a few days since the IBFA All Ireland Show in Londonderry. I have to say that night I had mixed emotions about the result. Personally, like everyone else bar the winner I'm sure, I felt I should have placed higher, but having said that it was a very tough line up and I will happily take a top 5 finish.
Placing 5th as a natural body builder in a non-natural show, going up against guys who almost all out weighed me by at least 10 pounds, in some cases 30 pounds I can feel proud and satisfied with my personal performance.
In terms of my own package I gained 7 pounds of muscle from the previous contest in April and had almost as good conditioning, with lighting playing a part as well, in the presentation. So that is a big plus for me, that was my goal, to bring a bigger physique and I did it. I was also super, super excited and thrilled with my posing routine, the crowd loved it, I loved it and I wanted to just stay there and keep hitting shot after shot as each was greeted by a roar. When you have an atmosphere like that, you honestly don;t care what suffering you went through to get there, you just love every second, and want to get back on stage as soon as possible. So when I step back and asses it again 5th place seems acceptable, and like I always say it is you against you, you can only try to bring what you want to look like and what your goal is and if the judges like it great, if the fans like it even better, but as long as you are happy and improving, then you are a winner.

The venue itself was awesome, the Guildhall is a sight to behold and the backdrop to the stage was a massive and beautifully carved organ, the walls lined with stained glass windows and the entire building felt magical. it gave me almost a religious ceremonial feeling while pumping up and then posing in such a beautiful and ancient arena.

If you want to see the pictures from the show check out the gallery page or the routine page at the top and you can enjoy some of the best shots of the night.

So, what's next? Well a few months of off season and then I begin to look for the next contest, but before then it's all about hard work, making improvements and as always working on being the best you, both physically and mentally that you can be, every single day.