*** Members' Interview with Murphyblew ***

This week's interview is with Murphyblew, 

Please use this topic to ask him any questions about his lifestyle, training, diet and progress - or anything else - though please, nothing too personal or invasive.

Please bear with him and give him time to reply.

Murphyblew, thanks for agreeing to take part in this interview. A few questions from me first:

1) Can you give us a brief rundown of how you got into working out and how long you've been training?

2) How did you find out about MT, and what makes you stick around?

3) What are your short-term and long term training goals?

4) When was your avatar picture taken?

Thanks!

Hey Hazel,

Thank you. Is nothing but a pleasure. Sure.

1) You know what, i'll be honest, ive actually had to run a search to find my old journal to see exactly since when ive been training. Even though it hasn't been that long. How i got into it all is a bit of a long story. .
In short, left school, became a recluse for various reasons, found my old mans bench and weights and cracked on with that for a while, every morning, just for something to do. Still, within the confinment of 4 walls, over a period of a couple of years or so, i ended up becoming extremily self concious, decided i wanted to be slim, thus leading to exercising compulsively and eating very little for god knows how long. Anyway, in the end (apparently it was on the 5th of Sept 05 i started training properly, frm the journal) i withered myself down to just under 9st. Then through the wonders of the internet, ebay in particular (as i used to buy and sell a lot) little prbably do the guys know, i ended up emailing the whey consortium about some whey and speaking to the steves, who basically kicked my ass, made me realise what i was doing and convinced me into buying 2 tubs of WPC75 whilst doing it lol. so since then ive been training.

2) as above, through their links page and why, because its where i grew up and i know no different!

3) bit of a difficult one really, as im not too sure myself. short term, stay lean and maintain what i have up untill the new yea. Then start a long slow bulk, whilst hopefuly staying lean. i don't know how possible that'll be though, as im a bit of a foody.

4) that, well both the online and offline av pictures were taken on the 18th june last year at 76kg. I'm about 77/78kg now.

My Journal

Murphy

1) You always seem ripped on your avatars. Is it a struggle to maintain that condition or relatively easy?

2) If you were on death row, what would your last meal be?

3) Who is your hero?

4) Westlife or Take That?

Associate member of the "Foot under quilt to sleep" club

Thanks Murphyblew, you say you were exercising compulsively at one point, how long each day would you spend training?

Not really got a question to ask but just wanted to say that your journal was a cracking read. I remember when I started training I read it cover to cover and it served as a massive inspiration to me.

My journey to the 'Men's Health' look 

do you find it hard to gain weight?

what are you lifts like at that weight?

i haven't been under 80kg for about 5yrs but would love to get the condition you have.

 PB's 1RM

Deadlift  270kg
Squat     210kg 
Bench     130kg  

Irish Beast


Murphy

1) You always seem ripped on your avatars. Is it a struggle to maintain that condition or relatively easy?

2) If you were on death row, what would your last meal be?

3) Who is your hero?

4) Westlife or Take That?

Hi buddy
 
this is all seeming a bit weird, feel like im a bloody celeb or something. anyway, questions
 
1) that was the point at which ive looked my best imo. at the mo, im probably a couple of weeks off. when i was at that stage, yes, condition was pretty hard maintain or it would b easily effected. for example if the diet were to slip, there'd b noticeable differences the next day. but nothing if i just stuck to the diet and that was always the case. as my mind, when id have a task set, would be to get there. the hard part for me is knowing when to stop really and change. At the mo, well the past 12 months or so, ive not known really where i want to go, so ive just maintained and have been mostly dieting during the weeks and treating myself on weekends. Which is more the case now, as opposed to a while ago, where it was just a binge fest beginning friday night and ended sunday. sometimes streaming on to monday. But ive weaned myself away from all that.
 
2) Ooo big decisions. I'll come back to that one as ive got work in half an hour. It would consist of a few meals, combined and more than several deserts to equate to one
 
3) hero? i wouldn't really say i have a hero as such tbh. i have aspirations to be the best person i can be and appreciate many other peoples/people in the public eye's qualities  
 
4) take that. more my era i think. westlife are a bit weak
 
Hazel, i'll get back to your question a little later :)
 
The Goat, thanks fella. Reading that is an inspiration to myself, hearing that somehow through scribbling out what seemed to be mearly a load of training gumpf and jibberish, i couldve possible been an insiration to anybody else. Thats pretty rewarding in itself for me to hear and has put a smile on my face. cheers buddy :)
 
thanks all
 
 

My Journal

hi mate

1) ketosis or carb cycling?

2) your thoughts on the best workout plan you've used - i seem to recall you tried 5x5?

Evening all :)
 

Hazel


Thanks Murphyblew, you say you were exercising compulsively at one point, how long each day would you spend training?

. . Going back to your q Hazel, yep. Well, i'd usually get up early in the morning, despite having nothing else to do and jump on my treadmill (which was bought especially) for 40 minutes to an hour at its highest incline and at a very fast walking pase. it started less but i pushed on and set myself new targets, like 600/700kcal for example or a round numbered distance. can't recal how far i would get. Anyway, after this, for another reason unknown to myself i'd have a bowl full of allbran sticks with a cut up nectarine on top, a dollop of yoghurt, with a mix of water and ss milk. This was 9:30am and it was the greatest meal ever at the time. I remember, it being all i could ever think about. Id have nothing then untill 9:30pm. I'd take the dog out for a 30/40 minute walk around midday and then later at around 5:30pm, id go for a run, again with the dog. The poor bugger, he went through it all aswell. i have no idea now, how long i used to go for, but i had a certain route. About a mile a long a road, up through 3 fairly large fields, out the top of the third, back down and around the 3 down the backroads and i'd loop that 3 times, all up hill and back down again. Then on the way back i used to go into the school field and do 10+ laps (think theres an 800 or 1200m track in it) and then home. evening meals consisted of lettuce wraps, more lettuce, mixed salad stuff, cottage cheese, p/b and some kind of meat . 
 
 

My Journal

Dick Dastardly


do you find it hard to gain weight?

what are you lifts like at that weight?

i haven't been under 80kg for about 5yrs but would love to get the condition you have.

Alright Dick
 
No mate, not at all. I can gain and loose it pretty easily. Just takes a bit of effort with the diet in manipulating it. Up untill the end of my last bulk, i kept everything dead clean and was scoffing a good 4-6000 kcals a day, gaining 1 or 2lbs a week. Towards the end though, as much for my sanity, aswell as kick starting things, as it all stalled, i loosened up a bit and the gains begun again.
 
lifts now for my bw and comparing them to previous bests when i was bulking etc, for me are reasonable i think.
 
bench - around 102.5kg for 3/5
dip - 45kg for 5
squat - 145kg for 5/8
db row - 50k for 10
 
other lifts such as deadlifts and ohp havent been in my routine for a while, but before d/l's were around 177.5 for 6/8 and ohp 80k for 6

My Journal

ac


hi mate

1) ketosis or carb cycling?

2) your thoughts on the best workout plan you've used - i seem to recall you tried 5x5?

hi matey
 
1) well at the moment, i suppose you could say ketosis but avatar says carb cycling. I had better results from the timed carb approach. But maybe thats due to me being less strict now, compared to how i was. IME ketosis can bring on a fear of carbs also, which isn't exactly a good thing.
 
2) Yes. The 5x5 was a gooden. Great for building up a good base and strength rocketed. Both of which thank fully worked very well for me. Also the deload/intensity phases kick started things again and awlays worked, when progression got slow. As regards to hypertrophy I'd rate the westside for skinny bastards routine - the one Im actually doing at the moment. its good fun and theres lots of exercises to choose from!
 
cheers for the question buddy :)

My Journal

As other have mentioned,  you always appear to be in great condition. Do mates, work colleagues etc ever accuse you of using AAS, if so, how do you deal with it?

Looking great Murphy

What would be a typical day of eating if your were eating well and trying to stay lean?

Quote: FatFreeVanillaIce: Always moisturized and tanned to the max. Don't get it twisted. Alpha 4 Life

blue_lagoon3000@live.co.uk

morning
 

B80


As other have mentioned,  you always appear to be in great condition. Do mates, work colleagues etc ever accuse you of using AAS, if so, how do you deal with it?

not really mate, as most know i have a phobia of needles. i cant even see or watch them on tv or talk about them for too long lol. I had an ex, whos housemate once mentioned something, but thats all its ever been and i just laughed. not a lot of people know, as apart from looking slim and obviously in shape with clothes on, i guess i look a fairly adverage size. its always been a bit of a shock if the situation has come up, such as at the beach or first times with a gf.
 
thanks for the question
 

Blue_Lagoon3000

 
Looking great Murphy

What would be a typical day of eating if your were eating well and trying to stay lean?
 

 
ta mate
 
Im notbeing that strict at the mo, but yesterday for example went like this. .
 
10:30 - wake
 
11:00 - double black coffee, 1 green tea cap
 
11:30 - 40 min walk
 
12:30 - 250g rump steak, bag of birdseye cauliflower, peas and carrots, brown sauce, 2 fish oils, coffee
 
3:30 - tin of tuna, 25g soya nuts, some sweetcorn, ex light salad cream, a medium carrot with some houmous, 2 fish oils, coffee
 
7:00 - 250g roast beef, bag of mangetout
 
11:00 - 200g chicken, family pack of stirfry, more peppers, spinach, fried in olive oil with chow mein sauce out of a packet (never usually use it, but it was fine) after, 100g quark, mixed with some sweetener and strawberry sugar free angel delight
 
plus 4+ litres of water/juice during the day
 
thats about it
 
sundays are a treat day though, well i have a treat meal. ah which reminds me . .
 

Irish Beast

 
2) If you were on death row, what would your last meal be?
 

 
still a hard one! As of last sundays all you can eat buffet, which was bloody gorgeous and a meal of epic proportions, i am now a fan of chinese food, whereas before i wasn't much.
 
I love indian currys, but would never settle for one kind and when i have one, i usually have 3, with pilau rice, naan breads and popadaums. dessert would have to consist of a good icecream and a cheesecake, preferably of 2 or 3 kinds, a fruity one, a toffee/caramel one and a chocolaty one. same goes for icecream really.
back to mains though, an indian curry buffet could be a contender, a good pizza buffet also, with all the extras, a good carvery with all the trimmings, to include a roast rib of beef and yorkshires, in unlimited quantities ofcourse, ribeye steaks im a huge fan off, but i couldn't decide what i would have it with.
 
so basically after all that, i probably wouldnt be able to decide and the executioner would probably end up getting so pissed off i wouldn't be given the chance, due to my undecisivness 

My Journal

Hi MB

Thanks for being victim!

1) Why the name?

2) Have you considered competing in bodybuilding?

James Collier
MT Co-Owner & Nutrition Consultant

Hi James

Ha, no problem.

My jack russel goes by the name of Murphy, the poor sod i mentioned earlier and 'blew' is the beginning of my surname.

Never really, seriously. I mean ofcourse, ive thought about it but then ive just gone noo. Ive never considered it properly. I dont think id have the confidence to jump up on stage in speedos tbh. not with previous issues. it'd be a great turn around and im a lot more confident now, but i'm still not 100% 'there' so to speak, care free and all better now. I still suffer from lack of confidence now and sometimes it stops me from doing or saying things pretty regularly. another problem of mine is talking myself out of doing things and thinking into them so much, but i shant go into that as i seem to have floated off from the initial question enough already!

My Journal

Nevermind bodybuilding , have you thought about U90k strongman comps! your strong for your weight.

When I win the euro-lottery  tonight would you like to come and be my personal chef? I always remember pics of food you had made looking really nice as well as healthy

If I recall correctly, like me, you have a liking for cake and you used to struggle with binging - is that something you've got on top of entirely or still a work in progress?

     New Journal - Bench and Dead PB vids

PAGAN


Nevermind bodybuilding , have you thought about U90k strongman comps! your strong for your weight.

When I win the euro-lottery  tonight would you like to come and be my personal chef? I always remember pics of food you had made looking really nice as well as healthy

alright m'dear. been a while buddy, how are you?
 
ha are you serious? strongman? i wouldnt of thought so! no, i havent. .
 
ofcourse, only if we split or came up with some kind of deal though. 35/65? you buy the food, i'll cook and eat for free too. deal? i'd also give in to the strongman suggestion, if i got chance to come along to a few sessions with you and t
 

tubbyman

 
If I recall correctly, like me, you have a liking for cake and you used to struggle with binging - is that something you've got on top of entirely or still a work in progress?

 
hi mate,
 
yeah, you recall correctly. still a work in progress really, but its gotten majorly better now. Its usually only sunday evening meals. but i mean the quantities are unlimited and i eat untill i cant anymore. monday its back to normal. although last monday i gave in and finished off half of a belgian choc and pecan panacotta brownie thing and did 2 tubs of ben & jerrys. . thts kind of what its like at the moment!
 
how is it with you?

My Journal

alright m'dear. been a while buddy, how are you? ha are you serious? strongman? i wouldnt of thought so! no, i havent. . ofcourse, only if we split or came up with some kind of deal though. 35/65? you buy the food, i'll cook and eat for free too. deal? i'd also give in to the strongman suggestion, if i got chance to come along to a few sessions with you and t

 
I'd pay you mimimum wage !
 
Your overhead strength is pretty damn good. Bodyweight overhead press for reps is impressive mate. I'm sure Tony would make you welcome but we are about 300+ miles away I guess. If you did ever fancy giving it a go I'm sure I could find out where there's a local strongman gym near you.