Neil Ashley Interview

with Michael Phillips

Michael Philips: OK, first question, although I have stretched it a bit! Compare your first ever contest and how you trained and prepped for that memorable competitive debut to what got you into top shape for your last contest? What were the big differences? What mistakes did you make then that you wouldn’t make now? Do you feel that you have mastered the art of getting into your top shape now, as opposed to the first time, when possibly there was some trial and error involved?

Neil Ashley: My first contest was the ANB Yorkshire in 2000 and was my easiest diet ever! I dieted for 8 weeks, trained 4 days a week and did cardio on the other 3 and came in at 11st 12lbs. I learnt some much about nutrition for that show, previously I’d be eating maybe 4 meals a day and not weighing my food. After I’d read all the diet articles in the magazines I had collected, I wrote my first diet sticking to 6 meals a day 1 every 2-3 hours and weighing my food. After the first week I’d gained 2lbs but stuck to the plan, the second week I lost 3lbs and either 2 or 3lbs for the other 6. Every diet after that has gotten harder and harder as I’ve tried to improve my condition for each show. My last diet was for the Mike Williams Classic and NPA finals in 2008 where I dieted for 20 weeks in total and achieved my best condition yet. I was still eating 6 meals a day, sometimes more, but doing a lot more cardio. Hopefully with what I learnt from that diet the next one will be a bit easier and produce a better result, after 10 years of competing I’m still learning.

Its generally accepted that those first few weeks / months of training can be very productive, as long as you train regularly, and in particular if your genetics are good then you can make very noticeable changes to your physique in those initial few months. These gains can come with any sort of weight-training, but what would you say has been your most productive system of training? The one that benefitted your physique the most? Was it Mentzer’s Heavy Duty? Or was it high reps, medium weights, fast pace? Maybe Joe Weider’s split routine principle did it for you?! Which system is the one that you will always say ‘that’ system is the best! The one that could change any physique from a 99lb weakling who gets sand kicked in his face to a Champion, because that’s what it did for you!

I think the system I’m using currently is the best one I’ve tried yet, it varies the rep ranges each week with different exercises training 4 days a week. I used to train 3 or 4 times a week sticking with the same exercises and rep range for up to 4 months, but trying to increase the weights by a small amount each week. I’ve always used a note book to record the weights that I’m lifting to ensure I’m always making progress, I lift as heavy as I can with good form.

This question I asked of Mark Oakes last year, and one I just have to ask again because I think it will be fascinating to see in which order you put these factors in regarding their importance in building a great physique: Training, Nutrition, Genetics, Rest and recuperation, Willpower and determination. In what order would you place these factors (and maybe other factors you wish to mention) in terms of what is needed to build a great physique, and why place them in the order you have?

I think all of those factors are just as important as each other, bodybuilding is a jigsaw where you need to have everything present, training, nutrition etc to make a complete picture. Anybody can create a fantastic physique as long as you have the training, nutrition, rest and recuperation sorted, but if you have the genetics and willpower as well you could be phenomenal!

Why stay Natural? We all know there are two sides to competitive bodybuilding; there are Natural contests, that are drug tested, and there are the contests that aren’t drug tested, with the competitors taking anything to make them bigger, better, and harder. This isn’t a question aimed at knocking the other associations (who are far bigger than the NPA) who don’t test, and it’s quite obvious to anyone within the sport that to compete in other associations you have to take gear if you want to be competitive. I just want to ask why some of our finest Champions choose to stay Natural.
Why have you never made ‘that’ move? Have you ever considered it, how close did you come to going over to the ‘dark side’, and what held you back?

Like the vast majority of natural competitors, the lads at the gym the have said to me “imagine how big you’d be if you went on the gear?” It used to happen loads when I first started competing, but not so much nowadays, I suppose they’ve realised that if I’ve not taken that step by now I never will. There’s so many gains you can make staying natural, if you get your training, nutrition and rest together. I feel the problem with the young lads starting out training at gyms all around the world is that they don’t learn enough about their diet before turning to ‘the dark side’. They’ll all be training flat out but not eating the right amounts of food to make maximum gains, they think the missing piece is the steroids. They don’t realise their bodies are full of natural hormones as they are still growing at that young age. I was buying Flex magazine every month when I first started out, there was always lots of diet articles and that’s what I focused on. When I knew more about nutrition I soon realised if I ever did start using steroids I would have to increase my food intake to support the new muscle and I was already spending a small fortune on turkey, chicken and protein powders! So the thought of having to buy more food, protein powder and the cost of the steroids themselves, plus the weekly injections, the yoyo-ing of body weight/size and the fact you don’t really know what’s actually in the  black market steroids put me off big time.

Go back to how you were before you took your first steps towards the gym. Bodybuilding needs a lot of dedication and focus, but did you have that before you started training, or is it something you’ve developed mentally over the years? Has your bodybuilding life-style benefited other areas of your life, and how much of that would you say is all down to you becoming a bodybuilder?

I used to play a lot of football with my mates and go fishing quite a lot when I was younger, but once I fell in love with the gym it slowly took over my life. When I first started out, my friends and I trained together and it wasn’t long before I started training on my own so I could do what I wanted to. As I mentioned earlier I was buying Flex every month and reading the print off it! So my dedication and focus grew over the years as I paid more attention to what I was eating and how I was training. Once I started training at my first (and current) hardcore gym, Body FX in Runcorn, I was completely hooked! The gym had taken over my life and to the amusement of my friends I might have developed a mild case of OCD as my whole life revolved around the gym and what time my next meal was!! Going to the gym and improving my physique has definitely given me more self confidence and competing has give me goals in life and something to aim for.

What next? What is it within you that drives you on to be better and better? Is it a title that still eludes you? Have you new worlds to conquer? Or is it just the way you are deep within yourself that drives you on to try to improve on past performances, on both personal and professional levels?

My next goal is to win the middleweight class and the overall at the NPA finals, which is the title I’ve been chasing for nearly 10 years now! I usually compete every other year and have placed 2nd in the middleweight class at the finals twice, I’ve come so close the last two times. In 2006 Andrew Merrifield had missed out on the lightweight class by 500g weighing in at 72.5 kgs and won, leaving me in second. In 2008 it was a close call between myself and Delroy Gallaway, I had beaten him 2 weeks previously at the Mike Williams qualifier and went on to win the overall as well as taking 3rd in a tough pro-am class of 7 past and present champions which was a fantastic day! I’ve also got a fantastic sponsor Body Temple in Stoke on Trent, they’re the official importers of Gaspari Nutrition. Last year I helped out on the stand at the Body Power expo and got to hang out with Rich Gaspari and Flex Lewis for 3 days, even doing a seminar with them at my gym! This year they’re taking me to the FIBO in Germany for 6 days where I’ll be with Rich, Flex, Mark Alvisi, Cathy Lefrancois and some of the other Gaspari athletes, then in May we’re back at the NEC for the Body Power! If you’re going to these events please come and say hello and I’ll see what freebies I can sort you out!! Hopefully I’ll write another article this year on supplements, maybe even do some more seminars and I’ll be on a few of the Gaspari stands at some of the UKBFF shows.

Michael Phillips, March 2010