# James Llewellin's Road Back to the British Grand Prix 2012



## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

As I explained in my thread over in 'Shows, pro's and inspiration', I have taken a good few months away from bodybuilding, dieting and the rigours of hard training.

After the Olympia I decided I not only needed a break physically but also mentally after competing on average 3x a year since 2003!!

Having acheived my lifetime ambition of qualifying for the Olympia, I decided in the weeks after the show, that I would retire on a high after competing in the worlds gratest bodybuilding show.

Since September I have eaten on average 3x a day, sometimes twice and sometimes 4x a day but on average just three 'bad' meals a day. I tried to have at least 1 protein drink a day and carried on using my Pro recover PWO when I did train which has been on average 2-4x a week depending on how I felt.

Training has been sporadic and has been generally light and fairly brief (40-50 mins) per session.

In late Feb I decided I needed focus again so upped my training to 4-5x a week and upped my food to consistently 4 meals a day, sometimes 5. They haven't been the greatest meals but they have been calorie rich. Freid breakies with toast and jam (which I had this morning), a post workout drink, 5 whole fried or scrambled eggs on toast, a protein drink and fruit and then dinner has been spaghetti bol or pizza or somthing with chips (steak or fish or bacon)

Perhaps my biggest failing has been going out, partying and drinking 3-4x a week excessively, hardly condusive to a bodybuilder let alone a pro.

This has now just been cut back to the weekends and will soon be down to once a week after the 6 Nations this weekend.

Now one could have said it may have been best to just get straight back in and jump in at the deep end but I felt that would just be such a massive lifestyle change that I would very likely revert back, so instead I have been gradually cleaning my act up and as a result my body hasn't gone into shock!! lol

Today for instance my diet has been as follows

3 fried eggs, 3 rashers of bacon, 2 slices of white bread, 1 pro MR

TRAIN

2 scoops of Pro Rec and 1 scoop Pro Pep

300g fillet steak, 250g white rice

2 wholewheat toast and strawberry jam, 2 sccops pro peptide

Later I will have 4 eggs, 100g salmon and 3 slices of wholewheat toast and before bed I'll prob have oats and pro pep

I have relied extremely heavily on eggs over the last 6 months (normally fried) and white and wholewheat bread as my main carb source and chips. I have occassionally had oats and have had rice probably about 10 times since Sept.

Up until 2 weeks ago I hadn't eaten any chicken or white fish since Sept!!! But I have had cod in batter if that counts

So as you can see my food still needs to be cleaned up radically but suprisingly I have retained good conditioning throughout

3 weeks ago I went back to Empower Performance (Mike and Leica Gelsei) and have trained there once per week which will soon rise to twice a week from April

I have around 7 months to get myself back to my very best (and better) and probably have 3-4 months before hard dieting starts.

I have my passion back and head back on but I will still be living a little bit but balance is gonna be very high on my list of priorities until my prep proper starts around 12 weeks out.

The following pics were taken today at the Power House Gym in Aberaman, nr Aberdare, where I now live and have done since last feb 2011.

I have also had a tattoo since I decided to retire (as I've always wanted one) but as you'll see it doesn't detract too much from my physique, well at least I dont think it will once I'm tanned up. Its stands out like a sore thumb on my pearly white skin right now!

So this will run now until my prep starts in July time. Any questions please ask but remember there are some topics I cant cover for obvious reasons.

I'll be attending various events this year and will again be available for guest spots once I get myself back in shape

I'll be 39 in a few weeks time but I still think I can improve. I think once all the peices of the puzzle are back in place my body will respond well after a good lay off.

My bodyweight was around 14st 2lb in these phots and bottomed out a couple of weeks ago at around 13st 8lbs, so you can see in a couple of weeks I have started to volumise already.

I hope this thread gives you an insight into my world and all that is good and sometimes bad!!

J


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## 44carl44 (Apr 24, 2013)

All the best and will follow.

Must say you still look great even with only 3 meals a day.


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## ParaManiac (Mar 20, 2007)

If i lived that lifestyle for any more than a week i'd look like ****e,unbelievable........! and not fookin fair!!!

Good luck James.


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## Feelin-Big (Apr 12, 2011)

Drinking, socialising, eating whatever you like and training a couple of times a week and you still look like that.... Not going to lie.... Im jealous!


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## DiggyV (May 6, 2011)

James, followed your Olympia prep, and am in on this one as well. Looking good considering how much crap you are shovelling in - [email protected] :lol:

Be interesting to compare you and Paul's prep - as am following his run, hopefully, for the Universe.

Good Luck buddy.


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## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

That is crazy you have managed to stay in that condition, do you believe this shows how much your body needed the rest?

I was expecting a bloated mess when you said fry ups and chips alongside loads of white bread all the time! Lol

Have fun through prep and the rest of the offseason hopefully see you about mate


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

44carl44 said:


> All the best and will follow.
> 
> Must say you still look great even with only 3 meals a day.


Thanks, it should be a fun journey



ParaManiac said:


> If i lived that lifestyle for any more than a week i'd look like ****e,unbelievable........! and not fookin fair!!!
> 
> Good luck James.


Thanks mate



Feelin-Big said:


> Drinking, socialising, eating whatever you like and training a couple of times a week and you still look like that.... Not going to lie.... Im jealous!


I think because I hold a fair amount of muscle for my height, and although I've eaten sh1te, the cals haven't really been that high plus I do have a good metabolism I guess



DiggyV said:


> James, followed your Olympia prep, and am in on this one as well. Looking good considering how much crap you are shovelling in - [email protected] :lol:
> 
> Be interesting to compare you and Paul's prep - as am following his run, hopefully, for the Universe.
> 
> Good Luck buddy.


Yeah I'm following Pauls prep too, we prep quite differently so there should be a good contrast. Just shows in this game the plan is very 'person specific' plus

there a plenty of ways to skin a cat, so to speak!


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

OJay said:


> That is crazy you have managed to stay in that condition, do you believe this shows how much your body needed the rest?
> 
> I was expecting a bloated mess when you said fry ups and chips alongside loads of white bread all the time! Lol
> 
> Have fun through prep and the rest of the offseason hopefully see you about mate


Yeah I KNOW my body needed a rest although the rest I gave it probably wasn't the best 'rest' it could have had, ill admit that. yeah I will and I'm sure we will bump into one another at some point in the not so distant future.

J


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

Looking excellent james especially considering your lifestyle since September I am seriously shocked to be honest. Really an glad your back and I sort of knew it wasn't the end last time


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## billly9 (Sep 1, 2010)

Man, them arms look freakin insane! You look awesome for someone who has ~6months off, especially considering the diet you've been eating (I am so jealous). I don't post much on here, but I followed your last thread and will do the same with this one. All the best!


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Suprakill4 said:


> Looking excellent james especially considering your lifestyle since September I am seriously shocked to be honest. Really an glad your back and I sort of knew it wasn't the end last time


Thanks mate, appreciate your kind words. I genuinely had no intentions of coming back to the sport in a competing capacity but the lure was just too strong!! 

j


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

billly9 said:


> Man, them arms look freakin insane! You look awesome for someone who has ~6months off, especially considering the diet you've been eating (I am so jealous). I don't post much on here, but I followed your last thread and will do the same with this one. All the best!


Thanks Billy, I've got a lot of work to do between now and Oct

J


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## Feelin-Big (Apr 12, 2011)

Ill definitely be keeping an eye on your progress!


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

supercell said:


> Thanks mate, appreciate your kind words. I genuinely had no intentions of coming back to the sport in a competing capacity but the lure was just too strong!!
> 
> j


I can imagine mate. I'm yet to compete but cannot wait to reach that level. What's your plans after the comp or is it a case if concentrating in this for now?

Hope it's all going well in Wales and was definitely a good move? It was quite worrying in a way to see how low you got in the last DVD so must have been a nice fresh start.


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## &lt;JAY_JAY&gt; (Jan 4, 2007)

lol if i had ate the way you did i would have been fat as hell, still kept your fat low, good stuff..  bacon, fried eggs, mmm


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Feelin-Big said:


> Ill definitely be keeping an eye on your progress!


Thanks buddy, hope you find it useful



Suprakill4 said:


> I can imagine mate. I'm yet to compete but cannot wait to reach that level. What's your plans after the comp or is it a case if concentrating in this for now?
> 
> Hope it's all going well in Wales and was definitely a good move? It was quite worrying in a way to see how low you got in the last DVD so must have been a nice fresh start.


I dont have any plans after the BGP, I always just look one show ahead. Yeah I'm happy here in Wales, my last DVD, The Awakening, highlights that there are many things that make up a top BBing competitor and when some things go wrong in your life, it shows just how much of an impact it can have competitively and emotionally. I was in a very dark place indeed and wanted people to understand to some degree what I had gone thru but also what is still acheivable if you have the right mindset and resolve. It even upsets me to watch it, even now.



> lol if i had ate the way you did i would have been fat as hell' date=' still kept your fat low, good stuff..  bacon, fried eggs, mmm  [/quote']
> 
> Yeah i think most people would have been Jay Jay, but Like I said I wasn't eating many meals so therefore my overall cals were low as was my protein (around 100g a day max!) but shows that when you aren't breaking down muscle tissue regularly the body needs very little protein to maintain to some degree, what muscle you have
> 
> J


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## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

that dvd shows the dark place you went in but also the struggle of overcoming it and the light at the end of the tunnel. Still watch the first dvd, completely different that alarm scene still makes me laugh...DIET HEAD lol 

Also on the new one Kerry looks like he is having fun with training you, was it fast glycotic training? Reminds me of Mr Collier yesterday when I checked in with him and training that 60rep giant set on close grip pulldowns lol


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## Dai Jones (Dec 1, 2009)

Will be good to follow you again


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

supercell said:


> Thanks buddy, hope you find it useful
> 
> I dont have any plans after the BGP, I always just look one show ahead. Yeah I'm happy here in Wales, my last DVD, The Awakening, highlights that there are many things that make up a top BBing competitor and when some things go wrong in your life, it shows just how much of an impact it can have competitively and emotionally. I was in a very dark place indeed and wanted people to understand to some degree what I had gone thru but also what is still acheivable if you have the right mindset and resolve. It even upsets me to watch it, even now.
> 
> ...


Im glad you put it in the video mate, too many DVD's dont cover anything but the training side but yours gives the emotional and mental side of things. Upwards and onwards though mate, some good times to come im sure! Ill be atteending the BGP and cannot wait for it.


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## cas (Jan 9, 2011)

Looking great, I was expecting to see a old dude with a pop belly, what a surprise 

Was you still taking your supplements during your down time?

I would bloody love to be that size, can you put your own socks on still? Lol


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## delhibuilder (Mar 24, 2008)

nice one for comming back, im sure more will goto bgp just to see you.

have you ever had any shoulder injuries? like rotator cuff etc? do u do any rotator excercises?


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

cas said:


> Looking great, I was expecting to see a old dude with a pop belly, what a surprise
> 
> Was you still taking your supplements during your down time?
> 
> I would bloody love to be that size, can you put your own socks on still? Lol


Haha, Well you saw an old dude just minus the pot belly and yeah I was still taking one serving of pro peptide (most days) and one serving of pro recover (after training).



delhibuilder said:


> nice one for comming back, im sure more will goto bgp just to see you.
> 
> have you ever had any shoulder injuries? like rotator cuff etc? do u do any rotator excercises?


Thanks Del.

No I dont do any specific RC exercises, the only time I did was when I had a partial dislocation of my right shoulder when I was squatting and the physio gave me various exercises to do. I have also hurt my rotator arm wrestling and carrying the hoover upstairs lol!!!

But touch wood, I am injury free and have been most of my BBing career

J


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

OJay said:


> that dvd shows the dark place you went in but also the struggle of overcoming it and the light at the end of the tunnel. Still watch the first dvd, completely different that alarm scene still makes me laugh...DIET HEAD lol
> 
> Also on the new one Kerry looks like he is having fun with training you, was it fast glycotic training? Reminds me of Mr Collier yesterday when I checked in with him and training that 60rep giant set on close grip pulldowns lol


Yeah thats the training mate, it was brutal, I was sore for 8/9 days afterwards!!

Yeah as far as the alarm went, I had absolutely no idea what the code was. I used to set it regularly but my mind just went completely blank!! LOL



Dai Jones said:


> Will be good to follow you again


Thanks Dai

J


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## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

Hurt your rotator arm wrestling?! Weren't being the alpha male down the pub were ya?!


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## chrissy_tee (Jul 28, 2008)

Glad to see you will be competing again would of come to support you again at the grand prix this year but my girlfriend due to give birth around the same time good luck with the months ahead will be following mate.


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

OJay said:


> Hurt your rotator arm wrestling?! Weren't being the alpha male down the pub were ya?!


Well there may have been a little bit of alcohol involved..........I think ;-)



chrissy_tee said:


> Glad to see you will be competing again would of come to support you again at the grand prix this year but my girlfriend due to give birth around the same time good luck with the months ahead will be following mate.


Thanks bud, I wish you and your lady all the very best with the birth of your baby in the Autumn 

J


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## Ginger.Tom (Feb 28, 2012)

Good luck with the prep ahead, will be following your progress. As already said you have kept incredibly well despite the lifestyle and loving the tatoo, looks awesome!


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## miggs (Jan 8, 2011)

Bet your well happy after the rugby yesterday mate!! Welcome back looking forward to following UR progress mate.. All the very best


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Ginger.Tom said:


> Good luck with the prep ahead, will be following your progress. As already said you have kept incredibly well despite the lifestyle and loving the tatoo, looks awesome!


Thanks buddy



miggs said:


> Bet your well happy after the rugby yesterday mate!! Welcome back looking forward to following UR progress mate.. All the very best


Yeah was a great result, the atmosphere there was awesome with a capacity crowd at the Millenium! Feeling it today though lol

J


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Monday 19th March 2012

Today I'm feelin the effects of Sat but saying that, I started the day off with a trip to see Mike at Empower Perfomance to train chest with my training partner Jon.

The workout was as follows:-

All the excerises today were performed on the floor starting with.........

1. Floor Dbell press 6x10-15 with one drop set to finish

2. Floor Dbell flyers with resistant bands 4x10-12 with 2 drop sets

3. Floor cable cross overs 6 sets of 10-20

Great workout and very different to what I am used too. Got a great pump even though Im feeling a little jaded today. Mike took a look at me today as today is when I start eating properly again so he will take a look now every monday to monitor my conditioning etc.

Dont know what my weight is today so I'll probably weigh tomorrow now. Im guessing my weight is down today as I only ate two meals on sat and three yesterday, so looking forward to filling out a bit now this week.

I'll be training with Mike again on thursday morning and will do hamstrings and calves then.

Im doing a training seminar this coming saturday for Paul Smith and CNP if anyone is interested in attending at midday at 24/7 Fitness, Down End Road, Fareham. PO168TS

J


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## Feelin-Big (Apr 12, 2011)

supercell said:


> Monday 19th March 2012
> 
> Today I'm feelin the effects of Sat but saying that, I started the day off with a trip to see Mike at Empower Perfomance to train chest with my training partner Jon.
> 
> ...


What benefit do you get from doing them on the floor as oppose to a bench J???


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## GolfDelta (Jan 5, 2010)

I am interested in the floor thing too as I am in a leg cast and training on the floor would suit me ha!


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Feelin-Big said:


> What benefit do you get from doing them on the floor as oppose to a bench J???


It means that the arms can never go back more than 90 degrees which means the force is concentrated more on the chest and less on the front delts, which for me are a strong point.



gduncan said:


> I am interested in the floor thing too as I am in a leg cast and training on the floor would suit me ha!


Try it, it certainly gives you a new dimension to training, plus you can lie down between sets lol

J


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## IC (Jan 4, 2009)

Good to see your back in the competitive mind-set mate! Leave the f*cking beer alone!


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## GolfDelta (Jan 5, 2010)

I'll def be trying it I've no choice haha!Good to see you back,all the best.


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

IC said:


> Good to see your back in the competitive mind-set mate! Leave the f*cking beer alone!


Yeah, I'm getting there now and yes the beer will be left alone.....Only vodka now lol



gduncan said:


> I'll def be trying it I've no choice haha!Good to see you back,all the best.


Try it, you'll be suprised!

J


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## RACK (Aug 20, 2007)

Will be following as usual mate, all the best with this


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

RACK said:


> Will be following as usual mate, all the best with this


Thanks Rack and you too bro

J


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## RACK (Aug 20, 2007)

Just had a message from Scott (Francis) saying all the best too.

I had to tell you or he might have upped my cardio more haha


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

RACK said:


> Just had a message from Scott (Francis) saying all the best too.
> 
> I had to tell you or he might have upped my cardio more haha


LOL tell Scott I said hi and no doubt I'll bump into him soon at one of the various events

J


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

UPDATE Tuesday 20th March

Had a good days eating yesterday, in fact the most meals I have eaten in one day since my prep for the Olympia back in Sept!!

Diet was as follows

Meal 1 1 egg, 4 rashers bacon, 2 slices white bread, 1 Pro Mr

Pre workout drink (thanks to Mike)

TRAIN

Meal 2 2 scoops Pro Recover, 1 scoop Pro Peptide

Meal 3 200g chicken, 250g basmati rice

Meal 4 1 Pro Mr, 50g cashew nuts

Meal 5 150g salmon, 3 eggs, 3 slices wholewheat toast

Meal 6 80g oats, raisins, 70g pro Peptide, 1 pot yogurt

That for me was a good day!!!!

Today I started with

Meal 1 2 slices wholewheat with strawberry jam, 1 pot yogurt, 1 banana, 1 Pro Mr

Train

Meal 2 2 scoops Pro Recover, 1 scoop Pro peptide

Meal 3 200g chicken, 125g basmati rice

Meal 4 1 Pro Mr, 60g cashew nuts

Meal 5 150g salmon, 3 eggs, 2 slices wholewheat bread

Meal 6 (prob the same as last night minus the yogurt)

Training today was back

Chins 5x10-12

Single arm bent over T Bar rows 4x10

Machine Pullovers 3x15 with one triple drop set to finish

Plate loaded single arm row machine 3x12

Narrow grip pulldowns 2x12 followed by single arm pulldowns 2x15

Felt good, good pump and felt strong with plenty of energy

One thing I have noticed is a huge rise in body temp since I have been eating regularly, Im constantly sweating right now and last night was no exception so slept with the windows open.

So second day in all good

J

M


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

Diet looks considerably better than two meals and beer mate lol! Sweats, that'll be metabolism which must be fast as you stay so lean?!?

Glad it's all back on track mate. Looking forward to seeing you compete, I saw you in the crowd at the ukbff finals last year and you just had a presence about you if that makes sense. Will come say hi next time if I'm not too shy!


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## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

Nice lump of food there what sort of calories would you estimate you had compared to your prep last year ?


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Suprakill4 said:


> Diet looks considerably better than two meals and beer mate lol! Sweats, that'll be metabolism which must be fast as you stay so lean?!?
> 
> Glad it's all back on track mate. Looking forward to seeing you compete, I saw you in the crowd at the ukbff finals last year and you just had a presence about you if that makes sense. Will come say hi next time if I'm not too shy!


Yeah my metabolism is fast anyway but I guess eating more has just increased it further. LOL @ presence, that was probably after hitting the clubs the night bfore and stumbling around the following day lol



OJay said:


> Nice lump of food there what sort of calories would you estimate you had compared to your prep last year ?


I'm not eating as much right now, during my prep last year I was eating around 3500-4000kcals a day so Id be way down on that I would guess at the moment but the plan is to increase it slowly

J


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

UPDATE 23rd March

Yesterday it was off to see Mike again at Empower Performance to train hamstrings and calves.

I always look forward to training at Mikes because his workouts are always different and I always have that feeling of trepidation before going!!

1. Lying leg curls (each set performed for a minute with the negative phase at least 5 secs long) supersetted with smith machine straight leg deads 6x20

2. Sled leg curls (performed lying on your back, heels on a weighted sled and dragging the sled towards you then pushing back to start postion 4x12 plus 1x triple drop set

3. cable calf raises (10 single leg then 20 double leg) supersetted with smith calf raises (with a 10 second pause in the bottom position stretching the calf to the max) 4x35 plus 1x35 with no pause in the bottom position.

*All reps include the total reps from the whole superset*

It was a brutal workout and my hamstrings are in bits today. My calves are sore but they will be far worse tomorrow than today.

My eatinjg wasnt too bad yesterday but it could have been a lot better

Meal 1 2 slices wholewheat toast and straw jam, 1 yogurt, glass grapefruit juice, 1 pro mr

Pre workout drink

TRAIN

Meal 2 2 scoops pro recover and 1 scoop pro pep

Meal 3 200g chicken, 250g rice with peppers and courgettes

Meal 4 1 pro Mr with 50g cashews

Meal 5 3 eggs, large plate of fries

Today will be better eating, I have quads this morning and know I'll be starving hungry after. My sleep as normal is rubbish, I'm always too hot and restless in bed so I will see if I can catch up on some after training. I lie on the sofa and start to drop off in the evenings and then once I go up I'm wide awake. I've always had trouble sleeping but I can function well on around 5-6 hours a night.

I'll be having a relatively early night tonight as I have a seminar tomorrow on the south coast so I'll be having an early start and a 7 hour round trip!!

J


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## Dai Jones (Dec 1, 2009)

supercell said:


> UPDATE 23rd March
> 
> Yesterday it was off to see Mikie again at Empower Peerformance to train hamstrings and calves.
> 
> ...


Now we're talking, i didn't realise you had a varied diet


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## tiptoe (Jun 22, 2007)

great to see this mate. have always looked up to you and enjoy reading these. i wish you all the best and thank you for always taking the time to chat and have a pic with me and my little lad at expo's shows ect. the scene is a much better place with you here.


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

tiptoe said:


> great to see this mate. have always looked up to you and enjoy reading these. i wish you all the best and thank you for always taking the time to chat and have a pic with me and my little lad at expo's shows ect. the scene is a much better place with you here.


Thankyou for your kind words that means a lot to me and is again one of the reasons why I love this sport and the fans that surround it 

J


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Dai Jones said:


> Now we're talking, i didn't realise you had a varied diet


Chips are a staple for me, to be fair my friend, one of the secret anabolic foods out there; well maybe anabolic favouring fat but nonetheless anabolic )))

J


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## Dai Jones (Dec 1, 2009)

supercell said:


> Chips are a staple for me, to be fair my friend, one of the secret anabolic foods out there; well maybe anabolic favouring fat but nonetheless anabolic )))
> 
> J


haha nice one


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Today I trained quads.

My hamstrings were in bits but I soldiered on and had a great workout. One thing I did notice is how vascular I have become just in the last few days since eating more. I'm certainly leaner but my bodyweight hasn't really changed an awful lot but I'm not really bothered by that.

I remember in my prep last year my weight stayed pretty much the same from start to finish and it was only in the last week (with water manipulation) that things really dropped by a few lbs.

Anyway the workout was as follows:-

1. Single leg leg extentions 3x15 (each leg) fairly light but reaching failure by the 15th rep

2. Double leg leg ext 4x10-12 heavy and reaching failure by the last rep. Finishing with 1 triple drop set to failure on each drop

3. Dumbell lunges onto block 4x10-12 (legs a long way apart and concentrating on the glutes and adductors as well as the outer sweep of the quads

4. Sissy squats 3x15 (feet back and hips way forward over toes as low as possible without pulling yourself up to much)

5. Leg press 3x15-20 (fairly light on these. Heels together and toes out at 90 degrees to concentrate on outer sweep. Feet low on platform to excentuate lower portion of quads and keep glutes, hams and adductors out of it)

Great session, trained alone but had huge pump, vascularity was off the scale, in fact it wasnt far off what it is just a few weeks out from a show. My legs have stayed incredibly lean, so much so that cross striations are visible on the lateral and medial heads as well as straitions in my glutes.

I felt sick afterwards due to sheer exhaustion but now feel ok.

J


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

I have oven chips every evening with 300g rump steak and a touch of mayo (for good fats lol)!! lovely meal


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## Chelsea (Sep 19, 2009)

Good to hear your progress mate and the wheels sound like they are in good shape!

Feeling sick after legs....... a familiar feeling, sign of a great workout though! :thumb:


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Suprakill4 said:


> I have oven chips every evening with 300g rump steak and a touch of mayo (for good fats lol)!! lovely meal


MMMMMmmmmmmm mine are always deep fried........well you do need sat fats for optimal test production dont you?! ;-))

J


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Chelsea said:


> Good to hear your progress mate and the wheels sound like they are in good shape!
> 
> Feeling sick after legs....... a familiar feeling, sign of a great workout though! :thumb:


Thanks buddy, yeah I rarely feel sick after legs, its normally back that has me feelin rough.

J


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

supercell said:


> MMMMMmmmmmmm mine are always deep fried........well you do need sat fats for optimal test production dont you?! ;-))
> 
> J


Thats my excuse yes but 100g mayonaise may just be overkill lol.


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## defdaz (Nov 11, 2007)

Great news that you'll be competing again James! Looking forward to following this - thanks for doing this, very inspirational. Good luck with your training and prep!

How are you finding things in Wales, settled in?


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

defdaz said:


> Great news that you'll be competing again James! Looking forward to following this - thanks for doing this, very inspirational. Good luck with your training and prep!
> 
> How are you finding things in Wales, settled in?


Thanks buddy.

Yeah I love Wales but then it has always been a massive part of my life as my whole family live here (except my parents now). I find the people friendly and the atmosphere laid back plus the gyms and the boys that train in them are a sound, friendly bunch and you are given a little bit more respect for being a BBer here than in the SE, where people look at you as if you have two heads!!

I'll never move back to England now, my roots are here and always have been

J


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

UPDATE Sun 25th March

Yesterday I did a training seminar down in Fareham on the S Coast at 24/7 Fitness. The event went off really well and was well attended considering the weather was stunning........I know where I'd rather have been.......On the beach! lol

Anyway I started off by training arms with two volunteers (one guy and one girl) and took them thru one of my own arm workouts. Afterwards I stripped off and did a little posing (luckily the lighting was dim lol) and then answered any questions they had on all aspects of training, diet, supplementation, injuries etc. It lasted around 2.5 hours and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Paul Smith attended (as the S.Coast CNP rep and distributor) and there were loads of free CNP supplements and shakers for those that attended.

I am hoping to do another one down in Brighton at Cheetahs Gym in the next month or so, so I will keep you posted. I have been promised a good night out down there afterwards so I'm looking forward to letting my hair down after the seminar I do there )

It was a fairly long day yesterday with a 6 hour round trip but made easier by the great weather and clear roads.

Today I am helping run a pool tournament for the local kids. Its something we decided to do a couple of months back to get the local teenagers off the streets and it proved to be a massive hit with the kids and their parents. So what was just going to be a one off has now turned into a monthly event!!

I have just had a nice fried breakfast this morning washed down with a can of fully leaded red bull and am looking forward to a nice lamb cooked dinner a little later.......I love sundays!!! 

J


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

UPDATE Tues 27th March

Yesterday I trained down with Mike again and we hit chest, the workout went as follows

1. Dead stop rack incline bench 4x 60 seconds (as many reps as can be done with a negative of around 5 seconds on each rep)

2. incline dumbbell flyes (with thumbs turned out at the top of the movement) 5x10-12

3. Partial cable cross overs (literally just a few inches of movement at the point of contraction) 5x as many reps as possible until failure

4. Close hand press ups (elbows tucked into sides) 3x failure

great workout but today the bulk of my DOMS is in my frontal delts. We will adjust workout next time in order to activate the chest more.

Today was back and went as follows

1. Wide grip chins 4x12

2. Incline dumbbell pullovers 4x12 (up to a weight of 55kgs)

3. Bent over single dumbbell rows (with a twist at the end of the contraction bringing the hand in close to the waist) 4x12 each sidee

4. Lever plate loaded pulldowns 4x10-12

5. Straight arm pulldowns 2x15

6. Wide grip chins 2x failure

I finished off the workout by just stretching and hanging for as long as possible on the chinning bar. My lats are already sore. great workout and great pump

Diet so far today

Meal 1 2 slices of wholewheat toast and jam, 1 yogurt, 1 pro Mr

Meal 2 2 scoops pro recover and one scoop of pro pep

Meal 3 1 chicken wrap with yogurt

Meal 4 250g of ribeye steak with chips and a white magnum

Thats it so far

J


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

Glad the seminar went well mate. Its great to here about you doing things for the community too, shows what a true gent you are 

Training looks great, different but great and i may try some of these methods.

Will there ever be another DVD, love the last two but think there needs to be a third mate outlining your retirement but then the withdrawel symtoms hit and your back with a bang


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## The Project (Jul 21, 2007)

Not a big fan of these types of treads. But its nice to see a guy on his game live a little! Will be following this one, and the best of luck J.


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## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

Nice chest and back session

Those turn outs on flyes I never realised how much slight wrist position change alters movements until I trained with James collier a couple times it's crazy! Wish was people like that and who I see in Birmingham closer to Norwich to train with each week!


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## s&amp;ccoach (May 18, 2011)

Do you have any links to your videos with mike?


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## exalta (Jul 23, 2009)

Enjoying the thread, really interesting.

Would be good if you could put up actual weights used more often for the exercises you do - I know it's not always about how much you lift etc, and it opens up people calling you out and crap like that, but, from my perspective at least, it adds a little more context to the training sessions.

Also, how do you perform those leg presses with heels together and toes at 90 degrees? Just tried doing that motion here and I can't get my toes out to 90 degrees lol.


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Suprakill4 said:


> Glad the seminar went well mate. Its great to here about you doing things for the community too, shows what a true gent you are
> 
> Training looks great, different but great and i may try some of these methods.
> 
> Will there ever be another DVD, love the last two but think there needs to be a third mate outlining your retirement but then the withdrawel symtoms hit and your back with a bang


Yeah training is very different mate to be honest and its great to have a variation every week. I can then take these exercises away with me and tweak them further if need be. As for a 3rd DVD, not quite yet, I'll see how things go over the next 12 months or so but if I do it would be very different from my last two (which are very different from each other)

I'd quite like to write a book too, sometimes I feel very creative and think that a book would be a great way to get across exactly what has happened in my life and bodybuilding. Something akin to an autobiography but financially I know it wouldn't be a viable option. However not everything has to make money, sometimes just getting your point across is more important.



The Project said:


> Not a big fan of these types of treads. But its nice to see a guy on his game live a little! Will be following this one, and the best of luck J.


Hahahaha yeah I think its safe to say that those that are close to me (and those that aren't) have certainly seen me live a little too much over the last 6 months!! I'm just like everybody else, I'm no different; I have my vices, my faults and my good and bad points but then I'm human. There will always be a self destructive side to me, that's just my personality and most, if not all of it, is self inflicted!!



OJay said:


> Nice chest and back session
> 
> Those turn outs on flyes I never realised how much slight wrist position change alters movements until I trained with James collier a couple times it's crazy! Wish was people like that and who I see in Birmingham closer to Norwich to train with each week!


I'm very fortunate to have Mike and Leica so close here in S Wales. They are great guys and really good friends of mine. They know my destructive side better than most and I have had a few very stern tellings off from Leica over the last few months



s&ccoach said:


> Do you have any links to your videos with mike?


If you go to www.empowerperformance.co.uk you should be able to check out all of the interviews and training sessions there.

J


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

UPDATE

Sunday 6th May 2012

Sorry I have't updated things over the last few weeks, I have just been getting my head down and cracking on with the job in hand!

Things training and diet wise, have been going really well over the last few weeks and I am now sitting at around 14st 8lbs in good condition. I am aiming to try and get to around 15st before my diet starts in July.

I am now consistently eating 5-6 quality meals a day mon-fri with both sat/sun being days where I eat exactly what I want to. Today for instance I had a pro MR and a banana first thing and now I've just had 3 rashers bacon, 3 fried eggs, toast, milk, tea with 3 sugars and some chocolate!! I'll be following that in a couple of hours or so with a roast dinner with all the trimmings and a large pot of ben and jerrys ice cream )

Its going to be a busy time for me now over the next month or so with either shows or seminars to attend until early June. I'm attending the NABBA Wales on saturday and then the UKBFF SE show at Hayes where I will be working on the CNP stand. The following weekend is my 39th birthday (fri 18th May) so I'll be staying in Wales on the friday but then travelling up to attend the Bodypower weekend on the saturday and sunday (purely in a social capacity) before then travelling back.

J


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## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

You got the same birthday weekend as me but mines the Monday 21st.

Sounds like things going great for you mate great news you will be at the show next week I'll be in the classics the tiny looking one lol asking for a flapjack Choc orange afterwards and some of your bacon rashers! Is anyone else on stand with you?

Got some pics week out to put in my journal in a sec but started depletion workouts and get rest of plan from mr collier tomorrow can't wait.

What sort of size do you think you will be at the brit?


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

Mmmmmmmmmm Ben n jerrys!!!

Glad things are going well James. Hope to bump into you at bodypower on the Sunday.


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## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

ive got two of the core ones as were half price in sains......all wrapped up waiting for me after my meal the monday after show


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## IC (Jan 4, 2009)

supercell said:


> Thanks buddy.
> 
> Yeah I love Wales but then it has always been a massive part of my life as my whole family live here (except my parents now). I find the people friendly and the atmosphere laid back plus the gyms *and the boys that train in them are a sound, friendly bunch and you are given a little bit more respect for being a BBer here *than in the SE, where people look at you as if you have two heads!!
> 
> ...


I'm glad we've got that sorted! 

Good luck with your prep mate and i'll see you hopefully on 12th/


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

OJay said:


> You got the same birthday weekend as me but mines the Monday 21st.
> 
> Sounds like things going great for you mate great news you will be at the show next week I'll be in the classics the tiny looking one lol asking for a flapjack Choc orange afterwards and some of your bacon rashers! Is anyone else on stand with you?
> 
> ...


Hahaha yeah but I wouldn't be wanting a CNP flapjack (as nice as they are). I dont know who will be on the stand with me yet but I'm looking forward to catching up with old friends from my old stamping ground. I like the Beck theatre, its where I did my first ever show as a first timer back in 2003 just a couple of weeks before my 30th bday!

No idea on weight, I'm not gonna be chasing weight, just chasing ultimate conditioning. I'm never gonna compete on the size front but I can with conditioning and the illusion is what I aim to be trying to achieve.



Suprakill4 said:


> Mmmmmmmmmm Ben n jerrys!!!
> 
> Glad things are going well James. Hope to bump into you at bodypower on the Sunday.


Thanks buddy. Im sure we will bump into each other come up and say hi if you see me first



IC said:


> I'm glad we've got that sorted!
> 
> Good luck with your prep mate and i'll see you hopefully on 12th/


Thanks buddy, I'll be there on sat cheering you on mate. Its been a long journey for you but one I hope you can look back on with great pride, what you have achieved is massive mate and you deserve every success!

J


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

exalta said:


> Enjoying the thread, really interesting.
> 
> Would be good if you could put up actual weights used more often for the exercises you do - I know it's not always about how much you lift etc, and it opens up people calling you out and crap like that, but, from my perspective at least, it adds a little more context to the training sessions.
> 
> Also, how do you perform those leg presses with heels together and toes at 90 degrees? Just tried doing that motion here and I can't get my toes out to 90 degrees lol.


Thankyou.

Yeah I will put some weights up but tbh they are fairly irrelavant to me. BBing is all about making a weight feel as heavy as possible through the ROM, so what weight you use isn't that important as long as you are always trying to push the output; whether it be an extra rep, shorter rest times or slightly more weight. Its all about progressive overload.

As for the leg presses. put you feet together on the plate and trun them so the angle at the heel is a right angle (90 degrees), it should be very simple. I think you may have tried 180 degrees which would be almost impossible lol

J


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## Delhi (Dec 8, 2005)

Hey James,

Nice to see you are getting back on track again mate.

Do you feel your development has been given a boost from the time off mate?

Will probably see you at expo mate as I intend to come down for one of the days


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## IC (Jan 4, 2009)

supercell said:


> Thanks buddy, I'll be there on sat cheering you on mate. Its been a long journey for you but one I hope you can look back on with great pride, what you have achieved is massive mate and you deserve every success!
> 
> J


Thank you mate it means alot. I just hope that all that has gone into it will be revealed as best it can on the day. Look forward to getting a drink with you after its all done and dusted.


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## Nickthegreek (Jan 27, 2011)

Hi James , was great meeting you on Sunday at the UKBFF London Championships.

Thanks for taking the time out to talk to me mate. Was interesting hearing what you had to say.

Look forward to keeping up to date with your prep for UK 2012 Gran Prix!


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## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

Errr nick it was Sunday even I could say that and I had turned into a sprinter trying to lose that weight after they messed my weigh in up 

James good to see you too  I found my training partner in end he'd done a runner back to the car then ended up coming 2 Nd in the supers!


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

Any more updates mate? Come on, get with the programme I need more motivation!! Lol.

Was you at bodypower Sunday? Tried looking out for you desperately wanted a pic but couldn't see you. The missus wasn't happy! Lol


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Suprakill4 said:


> Any more updates mate? Come on, get with the programme I need more motivation!! Lol.
> 
> Was you at bodypower Sunday? Tried looking out for you desperately wanted a pic but couldn't see you. The missus wasn't happy! Lol


I was at Bodypower on the saturday but unfortunately after not getting in until 4am on the sunday morning I didn't quite make it to the Expo on the sunday!! lol

Sorry for the lack of updates guys.

I'll give you a quick over view of the last few weeks.

J


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

UPDATE 31st May 2012

As I said its been a busy few weeks for me with seminars, expos and shows to attend, culminating in the NABBA finals up at Southport this weekend where I will be on saturday.

Training has been solid, I have missed a few session due to travelling and going back home to see my parents but those I have had have been very productive. My diet has been good during the week but has been lax at the weekends. I now have around 5 months (just over) until the British Grand Prix and for the first time in a few weeks I will be travelling to see Mike this morning to train and get an assessment of where I am and when he feels the diet should start.

Looking at my conditioning and weight I feel I could get ready comfortably within 10 weeks but will probably give myself a little extra time so I am ready a couple of weeks out from the show. I want to be truly conditioned for this show, so will do what it takes to get there.

My training partner John is getting ready for the Welsh and started his diet this week so I have a few weeks of rubbing it in before I too start and will be miserable with him )

My weight has remained stable over the last few weeks at around 14st 7-9lbs and my condition has remained fairly consistant.

The weather here in the Valleys has been stunning over the last week but today it looks like rain but its been a real mood lifter although its been hard sleeping at night due to the heat and I'm not the worlds best sleeper as it is.

My recovery between workouts has been excellent and the pumps I have been getting during my workouts have been insane. I have physio tonight which I am in need of as my hip flexors are really tight at the moment although (touch wood) I have been injury free for months, not even really any niggles like tendonitis, so I am really thankful for that. Its meant I haven't had to comprimise anything in the gym and always been able to give 100%

Last saturday I did a seminar at Basement Gym in Aberistwyth, on the coast in mid Wales. It was a stunning day weather wise and we had a good turnout too, so a big thankyou to Tyrone and the members for making me feel so welcome!!

J


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

Good to get an update mate. Shame didn't see you but hopefully will at some point. Do you do anything to help with sleep as I struggle alot and rarely get more yha

4-5 hours a night tops.


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## Zara-Leoni (Mar 12, 2007)

supercell said:


> I was at Bodypower on the saturday but unfortunately after not getting in until 4am on the sunday morning I didn't quite make it to the Expo on the sunday!! lol
> 
> Sorry for the lack of updates guys.
> 
> ...


Hahaha...... Deja vu lol!


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Suprakill4 said:


> Good to get an update mate. Shame didn't see you but hopefully will at some point. Do you do anything to help with sleep as I struggle alot and rarely get more yha
> 
> 4-5 hours a night tops.


I probably get around the same mate, its just one of those things. i dont seem to need a lot of sleep tbh and its always broken sleep but when i do sleep I sleep deeply and dream vividly. The only time i sleep well is if I have a drink but i dun do that v often now lol


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## supercell (Aug 23, 2005)

Zara-Leoni said:


> Hahaha...... Deja vu lol!


Very funny Z! lol


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

Yes I'm the same, sleep like a baby after a drink but only done thst about twice in three years!!!!

How's things anyway James, training and diet etc.


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## Rotsocks (Jan 1, 2010)

Just caught up on this James.

Have always enjoyed your journals and have learnt a tremendous amount from them.

All the best and I will be there in Manchester cheering you on


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## Raw meat 1984 (Sep 17, 2008)

supercell said:


> UPDATE 23rd March
> 
> Yesterday it was off to see Mike again at Empower Performance to train hamstrings and calves.
> 
> ...


James, where can i either get a copy or watch a copy of your previous dvd's?


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

Raw meat 1984 said:


> James, where can i either get a copy or watch a copy of your previous dvd's?


Not sure James comes on here anymore mate. If you can't buy them from him then I can send you mine to watch mate.


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## Raw meat 1984 (Sep 17, 2008)

Suprakill4 said:


> Not sure James comes on here anymore mate. If you can't buy them from him then I can send you mine to watch mate.


Dude that would be superb if you could!


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## Suprakill4 (Jul 11, 2008)

Raw meat 1984 said:


> Dude that would be superb if you could!


Let me know if James doesn't reply in a few days mate.


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