Fantom's Return to stage

Lisa Cross


Just been watching your routine at the leicester show. you really do pose well and have great stage presence.
totally agree with Jeff - your shape and symettry are definitely a winning package. your condition is easily rectified and it is best to have a blip now rather than at the Arnolds or the British finals. Also you will have stopped cardio by then.

Have a great time in Vegas. Want a full low down on what went on when you get back

x

 
Thank you Lisa,
 
I think stage presence is so important as it just makes you stand out from the crowd.
 
My condition is getting better by the day and Im looking forward to the next show already, should be 20% better for the Arnold.
 
Can't wait for Vegas now, Im going to buy myself a decent camera to take lots of pictures, I've just been planning my workouts over there so I can train everyday whilst Im there (saturday off) so will be a great experiance training at Golds with all the other pros.
 
Hope you've recovered from Sunday x

How was Vegas? 
 
Hope you had some great training sessions and really got inspired. 
 
xx

Hi guys,
 
Apologies for not updating here,
As many of you know i flew out to Vegas last wednesday for the Mr Olympia, ok i wont rub it in but i did have a fantastic time and it was so nice to get away from the usual day to day surroundings at home and also to catch up with all my old friends from around the world.
 
I have been going to the Olympia for the past 13 years and i have to say I never get tired of going to the USA.
 
 However this was my first time that i went whilst prepping for a show so I came as well prepared as I could.
 
I spent the whole day before making sure I took enough food for the flight and in case there were any delays, fortunately there wasnt.
 
The Orleans Hotel had an adequate fitness suite but every morning it was rammed packed with lots of fit young ladies(not that i was looking of course?!) the cardio machines were great and was nice to use different brands of bikes, cross trainers etc
 
I managed to do 50 mins cardio every morning which i actually enjoyed as back home i have nothing to look at. It was very surreal having all these Olympian atheletes all sharing the same equipment.
 
Food wise I did try to eat as well and clean as I could but i did give in to the temptation of the buffet but kept it as clean as possible.
 
I know if I lived in America I would end up looking like a sumo wrestler!!!
Before the trip I asked James if i could try some of his liquid sun rayz tan as i had a photo shoot lined up on the Saturday at Golds gym and I have to say after one spray coat I looked like I was African and not Chinese.
 
I will definately try this for the Arnold in Spain and hopefully the British in 4 weeks time. Looking at the pics of Lisa from last week she looked amazing, obvisouly not just due to the tan but it all helps with the final preperations.
 
Being at the Olympia really inspired me to keep up with my training and cardio etc I did recieve some really kind comments and even had lots of people taking pics of me at the gym and expo. Must of thought I was Hide Yamagashi???
 
Also it was great to see my good friend Flex do so well although I did have him as winner, Shaun looked like he belonged up there also and I had him 4th place. I know he was happy with his first Olympia outing so a massive congratulations to them both!!

The gyms in America are so vast and so well equipped that you spend half your workout looking and trying to figure out what equipment does what?? It was nice to use different equipment and machines as i definately felt sore all over. Not sure I could train there full time as there are way too many distractions and you end up just looking around.
 
The only negative thing I can say is that because these gyms are so big they do lack that atmosphere that you get in the gyms over here in the Uk?? Or maybe i have been spoilt training at Temple Gym for the past few years.
 
Regarding the show, well what can I say, i was literally 4 meters away from the stage(had a better seat than the British Grand Prix how u explain that one?)
 
As soon as Phil Heath walked out it was game over for everyone, Jay was off and he knew it and if they hadnt of given it t Phil that night then there would have been an uproar but the best man won by a clear mile and no one not even Jay Cutler fans could argue the fact.
 
Phil will have a long hold over that Olympia title as i dont see anyone touching him.
 
The expo was ok not as busy as last year but having been to the Arnold Classic in March it seems tiny in comparison. It was nice to see other people take the stress of running such a show,!! It was nice to see some familiar faces from the Uk over there too.
 
Saturday night after the show we went to the Encore hotel and to club XS (100 million dollar night club) the party went on to god knows what time, me and James managed to stay there till 3.30am and i was up at 7.00am doing cardio like the good boy i was!
 
Dorian and Chris Cormier were out partying and are always a bad influence on me, but this time i snook off before they could find me.
 
Well im back in the Uk now and its exactly 2 weeks to the Arnold in Madrid. I put on 2kg of water on the flight back but managed to dry out by training and dropping carbs slightly. I was a little concerned when i got back as all my definition had vanished and I thought oh sh*T!! But 2 days later I looked fine and probably drier especialy in the legs.
 
I woke up at 3am this morning and couldnt sleep so like a mad man i did and hour fast walk to Birmingham city and back before the birds even started to sing.
 
Feel extremely tired and drained now due to jet lag etc but I have to say it was well worth the trip.
 
Two weeks left and i am working my ass off to come in as hard as possible. I wont even step on the scales between now and then as i want to see how i look rather than how much i weigh. I think if you get caught up looking at the scales all the time it can mess with your head. I will compete at whatever weight i look best at whether light heavy or heavyweight?
 
I am excited about competing abroad, dont know what to expect but i know the standard will be very very good, i am hoping to be competitve at what ever weight i fall under and it will only help me get harder for the British.
 
Im going to try out something different regarding water manipultion for the Arnold, I wont bother with any carb depleting or loading as i think it is too hit and miss and looking at the pics from Leicester I looked worse for it.
 
What ever happens I will give it 100% so i can walk away knowing i did all i could.
 
Anyway its bed time for me.............have a good weekend everyone!! See you at the Birmingham show if youre there!

I know what you mean ref the gyms over there, I spent a week in Santa Monica and Golds is massive, but the vibe British gyms have isn't there, I actually prefered Eastons gym than Golds!. Anyway Simon all the best for the Arnolds.

great post glad you liked it Si
 
I know what you mean about atmosphere in bigger gyms the one in temple is one of the best atmospheres i've witnessed even when completely empty the pics all round make you feel like the bbers of past and present are making you smash every set and give it everything!
 
good luck

Your a braver man than me Si. I would be ****ting it this close to British after all that hard work etc having a break away especially somewhere with so many distractions. Still, i am envious you whent to the Olympia and were hanging out with the big gunz. Sounds like an awesome time though mate. One day Josie and i will join you and co.

BDP


Your a braver man than me Si. I would be ****ting it this close to British after all that hard work etc having a break away especially somewhere with so many distractions. Still, i am envious you whent to the Olympia and were hanging out with the big gunz. Sounds like an awesome time though mate. One day Josie and i will join you and co.

 
Ha you have to enjoy life too mate, bodybuilding can be extremely consuming so taking a break from  the norm has done me good, it's inspired me to train and diet harder than ever so all good!!
 
As long as you're prepared then it shouldn t matter where you go!

Good write up, Si and we did have a great time (let's rub it in to make the readers feel jealous!).
 
The workout in Gold's, Vegas was great - that gym is vast!
 
And yes, Si is followed by Japanese tourists with their cameras wanting their photos with him.  Bodybuilding Buddha is an Oriental icon!  it was the tan that did it!
 

James


Good write up, Si and we did have a great time (let's rub it in to make the readers feel jealous!).

The workout in Gold's, Vegas was great - that gym is vast!

And yes, Si is followed by Japanese tourists with their cameras wanting their photos with him.  Bodybuilding Buddha is an Oriental icon!  it was the tan that did it!

Lets not forget the one rep max stringer vest i had on too mate!!

Not sure how Si got on but found this pic looking good Si well done
 
 
 

He got 7th out of 20 odd - just missed the top 6

Hi guys,
 
Sorry for the lack of posting on here of late but had a real bad few weeks with sh*T going on,
 
All started off 2 weeks ago with my house being broken into and car stolen and a lot of my personal belongings taken. If anyone has ever been burgled then you'll know just how i felt
 
So the Arnold in Madrid has just been and gone, overall I was pretty happy with my condition especially the day before as i weighed in at 88kg!!! I couldnt believe what the scales said but i made the weight easily.
 
I carbed up fairly heavily after the weigh ins but after losing so much fluid the night before my condition suffered and by the time pre judge came.
 
There were 20 in my class and i missed the first call out but was in the following 4 so i knew i was at least in the top 8 maybe top 6 at a push.
 
The standard was very good especially the top 4 competitors, I honestly didnt know what to expect from this show but I was'nt overwhelmed or blown away by anyone by no means. And i thought the package i bought was competitve so i was happy to be a part of history.
 
I did ask for some feedback from the judges and got some good constructive crtitism which will help push me throught he next 13 days.
 
I'll try and post some pics up when i get chance but for now back to the gym!!

thats bad luck but good to see didnt let it stop you and good luck with the follow couple weeks Si wish i was going to the finals this year