*** 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 New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

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?

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 journal

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  Start BF%25     Start Weight 100kg
Bench   130kg  Current BF%19 Current Weight 93kg 
Squat    210kg  Target BF%10-12

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 New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

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 New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

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 New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

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 New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

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?

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 New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

Hi MB

Thanks for being victim!

1) Why the name?

2) Have you considered competing in bodybuilding?

James Collier
MT Co-Owner & Event Promoter
Like us on Facebook:

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 New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

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

No biggie like, there are a lot worse things for you than using steroids, I mean I probably shouldn't have been smoking crack or getting into bar fights at your age TBH  - drab4

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?

Ironman Journal

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 New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

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.

No biggie like, there are a lot worse things for you than using steroids, I mean I probably shouldn't have been smoking crack or getting into bar fights at your age TBH  - drab4

Hi Murph,
 
First off again I want to say how inspirational your journal was, been saved to my favorites for a while now!
 
My question is mate, when you bulked to over 100kgs, did you feel like throwing in the towel at all and cutting as i'm at my heaviest now (only 90kgs) and in the morning I can see my abs but my face/jaw area has put on a bit and i get a bit paranoid of people thinking i'm getting fat! Also found some tasks i usually do with ease a bit more taxing, should I up my cardio?
 
Thanks for your time mate
 
 
 
 
 
 

Just having a look through your mega journal.

Some great pics of food.

Do you have a pic pre-cut?

Looking tonk in these though. Certainly shows what is achievable naturally.

"Half of the lads on here are batty's, 47% have low testosterone levels, the other 3% leaves me, you and a few others."

DonPaulo666- 02/04/10

PAGAN

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.

would that be full or part time hours? i get more than that from tescos buddy, so you'd have to make it worth my while is that your shop in your av? how about some shares in that? lol
 
cheers fella. maybe! when i get back into the bulking again, instead of being fixeated on having abs, it'll all be about size and strength anyway, so i may just switch then

My New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

Mike Lowry


Hi Murph,
 
First off again I want to say how inspirational your journal was, been saved to my favorites for a while now!
 
My question is mate, when you bulked to over 100kgs, did you feel like throwing in the towel at all and cutting as i'm at my heaviest now (only 90kgs) and in the morning I can see my abs but my face/jaw area has put on a bit and i get a bit paranoid of people thinking i'm getting fat! Also found some tasks i usually do with ease a bit more taxing, should I up my cardio?
 
Thanks for your time mate  
  

Hi Mike,
 
Thanks a lot dude and as ive already said, i would've been chuffed to hear that from doing it, its helped anyone, so im over the moon to hear thats its been a help and even an inspiration to more.
 
well 100kg was my target at the time and my heaviest. the plan was to slowly cut once i got there and i did. i held the weight well, but i felt a fatty and a bit uncomfortable. the cut was a long slow one, but with it, lifts still went up and bw weight came down, all the right measurements were staying put and with it the waistline decreasing, so i was making progress and didnt get disheartened.
On the way up to 100k on several occasions yeah, i did feel like throwing it in, as i hit a few walls and couldnt gain. This was usually the point at where Icemach (my online pt/coach, who seems to have disapeared nowadays) would either recommend a week or two's deload, followed by a weeks intensity phase, or i'd loosen the strings with the diet a bit.
 
Yeah, you could up your cardio. Its all down to you though buddy really and what you feel comfortable with. I'd say sod other people and what they think though. I think next time around i'll be more confident when i do puff up a little, as i'll know whats underneath.
Its not neccasarily a good way of doing it, but i find comparing what you may have or a stage where at which you have gotten your physique into and looked half decent at, comparing it to a prat who might be taking the mick or that your getting paranoid about and how they look underneath, without all of there clobber and everything else, gives you a bit more confidence.

My New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

tonk, lol thanks. that word cracks me up. yeah, i think so. i'll have a look ice. .
 
here you go. they're a bit blurry
 

 

 

 
pretty horendous eh!

My New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

I love it

You are IncredibleBulk's natural, younger brother.

"Half of the lads on here are batty's, 47% have low testosterone levels, the other 3% leaves me, you and a few others."

DonPaulo666- 02/04/10

Ha! the guys got a lot on me, but thanks

My New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

Murph you have really put my mind at ease. Your right, sod what others may think and to hell with being paranoid about this. I'm going to monitor my diet and tweak cardia till I feel comfortable and can make nice steady increases in weight.
Thanks so much mate especially for this and that little masterpiece that is your journal!
All the best buddy

Murphyblew


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!

But you've an excellent physique and it seems a shame to waste it.  It would be one way of conquoring your fears though

James Collier
MT Co-Owner & Event Promoter
Like us on Facebook:

Mate you have the conditioning that I aspire too and are a great inspiration. Keep up the good work fella

Cardifflads journal - feel free to explore and add your two pennies

Good choice.

Murph your days food intake looks quite light to me in protein intake, is this purposeful?

Im interested as it clearly doesnt seem to be effecting your development !

MT All Round Member of the Year

2011

Mike Lowry


Murph you have really put my mind at ease. Your right, sod what others may think and to hell with being paranoid about this. I'm going to monitor my diet and tweak cardia till I feel comfortable and can make nice steady increases in weight.
Thanks so much mate especially for this and that little masterpiece that is your journal!
All the best buddy

what the hell, cheers Mike  your very welcome fella. if you ever get stuck or whatever, just drop us an email and ill only be more than happy to help if i can. all the best with everything
 

James

 
But you've an excellent physique and it seems a shame to waste it.  It would be one way of conquoring your fears though
 

 
heard it all now. thank you James. Yes, it would be. . hm, well we'll see what next year brings in terms of growth. maybe then i'll surprise myself. 
 
cheers again for your comment and Cardifflad
 

 
Good choice.

Murph your days food intake looks quite light to me in protein intake, is this purposeful?

Im interested as it clearly doesnt seem to be effecting your development !
 

 
no sciene behind it really buddy, just doing what merely seems to work. no days are rigid, i rarely weigh things out anymore. every meal is just protein based and includes veg to bulk it up and healthy fats. this 4 or 5 times a day, apart from the last meal, which might be for example some quark mixed with some sweetener and s/free angel delight on top a protein choc bownie or just the quark a lone, just seems to work and its simple.
i guess i find it easy now aswell as ive been doing it for so long. it doesn't seem like an effort, its just what i eat, i quite enjoy it and its never bland. it'll be odd going back to eating oats, rice cakes, rice and pasta. im quite excited though. im secretly hoping for a bit of a spurt with weights increasing etc, got my fingercrossed.
 

My New Journal . .

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?m=3894787 

Can i have your autograph?!

Glad to here your doing well mate, keep it up!

No real questions, but just wanted to say fantastic physique with awesome strength to boot.

Jimbo

Formerly 'lil_jimmy'

Hi Murphy, believe or not, i once printed out your journal, it is more than 2000 pages, as you post a lot

and i try to follow it, but my strength is much weaker and i gave up But my excuse is, i am much older.... Some questions hope you do not mind.

1. what is the weight difference and time difference between the avatar pic and the bulking one you posted?

2. I also did 5x5 like you, gained quite a lot, esp legs. But my bench does not progress much. I recall at the first of your journal, you chest is so lacking progress. but somehow you get it worked later, so do you have any advice for me?

3.  When u bulk, do u feel self consious? e.g i know a professional bodybuilder. While he is busy shag girls every night after cutting, he will not sleep with anyone for 8 months during his bulking, as he feel kinda ugly

btw, how is your fish tank going?

Thank you for your replies