How I Got On The Cover Of Muscle & Fitness

Probably no glass. No.

Alright.

What's going on everyone? Welcome to today's video. In this one, we're going to talk about how I got on the COVID of Muscle Fitness magazine.

So let's get into it.

It was just a childhood dream of mine. Like, you know, I grew up reading these bodybuilding magazines. I would literally cut them out and pin them on my wall. I'd look at these physiques and use them as motivation. And for me to end up on the COVID of one, it's just surreal is the main word that I use to describe it. One thing that really struck me is when my mom and my dad text me and they said, "We can't believe you're on the COVID We just saw it there. This is insane. Well done." And the reason for that is a cover, it's a physical thing. It's timeless. It's just, you know, been around for decades and everyone gets it. Whereas if I show my parents, my family, you know, hey, look, my Instagram following, or look at my YouTube channel, or hey, look at this video I did, they kind of don't understand it. But everyone gets a cover. So that was just a huge moment for me, making my family proud. When you think about it, 12 people get on the covers every year. 12 people in the whole world get on the COVID of Muscle Fitness. People like The Rock, Mark Wahlberg, the heroes of mine. And so for me to be up there, I just can't believe it, and it's a surreal feeling. Having a date to work towards— it was early June— and, you know, having the photoshoot date to prep for, which I'll get into a little bit, it was really motivating, and it's made me want to take it to the next level and 100% step on the Men's Physique stage again next year. So hold me to that. I'm saying it. I don't care if I win or lose. I want to do it anyways. Yes, stay tuned for that. So the diet I followed to get in shape for for this shoot was the same diet I've been following for the last 6 years, and that is IIFYM, or flexible dieting. And this is a diet that's controversial to some people, and some people talk down upon it. So I think it's very cool that, you know, I use this diet to get in cover model shape and land the COVID It's basically, you know, enjoying the foods you like in moderation and focusing on total calories and total macros for the whole day, and eating something you love every day, be it like, you know, pancakes Greek yogurt, frozen yogurt. Watch my full day of eating videos and you'll see what my diet is like. But it's super sustainable for me, gets me killer results, and you know, again, I can stick to it long term. 6 years, for example. So that was the diet I followed. Protein intake per day was 200 grams. Carbs, seeing as I had a little bit less time to prep for this shoot, they were under 200 grams, which is quite low for me. And I kept fats in around 50 to 60 grams. Again, this is quite low fat for some people. Um, but I just find that keeping my carbs around 200 and my fats lower just works better for me. It's all down to personal preference. Total calories and total protein intake is really what matters. So my diet leading up to this shoot, I was traveling the months beforehand, so I had to kind of shred down quick and go on lower calories and higher cardio than I usually do. Um, in previous years' cuts, I'd like to give myself a little bit more time and cut slowly. I recommend this way as It's less of a crash diet, it's more sustainable, and you'll probably preserve more muscle and strength and performance in the gym cutting down slow. But look, I had a date to hit, um, it was early June and it had to be done. So I went for 200 grams of protein per day, under 200 grams of carbs, and around 50 to 60 grams of fat. For cardio, I was doing 20 to 30 minutes every single day, and that's how I like to kind of break up my cardio, is total minutes per week. So one day I'm feeling it, I do 40, then the next day I do 20 minutes, It's fine, you know, I just really go by the total weekly amount that I did. So I like doing low-intensity steady state. If you like doing HIIT, that's absolutely fine, go for whatever cardio you prefer doing. Um, so yeah, I'd always just put in a podcast, listen to a seminar, and just blast it out. Now for training, I did the usual legs, push, pull, uh, so training 6 times a week, then taking a rest day on Sunday. One thing that I did change up is I started throwing in some extra ab days, and I've actually found this made a big difference. And this is kind of like, you know, there's one camp saying that you don't need to train abs and that compound movements will, you know, hit your core effectively. Then there's the other camp saying that if you really want to make your abs pop, you do want to hit them directly. I used to actually kind of believe that just doing compounds would be perfectly fine and then having a low enough body fat, but anecdotally I've found that hitting abs directly makes them pop. It kind of brings them out that little bit more. And again, when you're going for a cover shoot It's all about the abs. You know, you want those six-pack abs and you want to make them pop. Same with your obliques. So I started training them 3 times per week, every second day, and it kind of felt good as well. You know, my core felt really strong. And so that's kind of the, the main thing I changed about my training. And I want to really keep that going in my training by, you know, training abs more often because I think it actually does make a difference. Comment down below what you think. Do you think it's all just about having a low body fat and lifting weights, or do you think training abs directly helps? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Now to answer the title of the video, how do I get on the COVID of Muscle Fitness? The answer is you guys, because there is so many other fellas out there with way better physiques than me. But basically, the owners of BodyPower and Muscle Fitness, it's all under the same company, and they saw me meeting all of you in person at this year's expo and previous years, and they were like, whoa, he's built up a real community, like real people, really positive, energetic, outgoing community. And they said, you know, this guy deserves the COVID So the people that I'm thankful for is you guys, the LF Army, and you know, this community that we've built up. It just means the world to me. And from going from the first ever videos, me sitting in my conservatory doing Q&As, to here, it's just a crazy journey. And thank you so much for following along, like really, I mean that. So finally, the day I found out about my cover was when I was recently in New York, and I was actually vlogging that day, and it turned out to be one of the best days of my life, to be honest. So I'm gonna play that now. Sit back, relax, and enjoy it. And before I start playing that vlog, I just want to say thank you so much for following this journey. It just means the world to me. And since day one, I've always said I want to positively impact as many people around the world as possible. And I really think the way for me to do that is through fitness. So again, thank you so much, guys, and enjoy the vlog.

Okay, it's my brother, not the one I'd like to. I know she gonna be ready when I slide through. If you forgot, I got it, I'll remind you. 'Cause I got what they got, I'm talking types too. Disagree with me and you've been lied to. I am nothing like you, and no, I'm not the type to follow bullshit y'all give the hype to. I can see the fake, so when I look in your direction, understand I'm seeing right through the hollow you follow. Everybody's not the real McCoy. Worldwide, yeah, they feel the boy. California out to Georgia, Florida, then up to Illinois. When I Listen to your music, I just feel annoyed. Haters, I don't understand them. Nah, bread Jordan was from 2001.

Hi people, so back at the hotel and I just saw, I started getting a few tweets on Twitter, a few pictures, and I nearly died, okay? I'm like, I actually screamed like a girl, right? Okay, I'm just going to show you guys quickly.

Ah!

So insane. This is what I've been talking about in the last couple of videos. And what I was cutting down for, that kind of surprise I had in store. I'm on the COVID of this week's Muscle— this month's Muscle Fitness UK. And oh my God, look, I wrote like a big caption on Instagram about, you know, how I feel. But like, I'm gonna say it again because, because literally it's just how I feel. But like, ever since I started like lifting weights and getting into bodybuilding, the gym, you know, I'd look at these magazines because social media wasn't actually that big back then. I'm 27 now, you know, I started getting interested in lifting about like, you know, 16, 17, and I would read all these magazines and I'd actually cut out pictures from them and put them on my wall. And that is no word of a lie. And nowadays, now to just see myself on the front, it's just like a surreal feeling. And like, you know, don't give up on your fucking dreams, okay? If anyone tells you otherwise, it might sound— you might think it sounds crazy to them, but you know, just, just if that's what you really want to do, you just need to go at it, okay? You need to focus on it, work on hard every single day. Do something that'll take you one step closer to that. And that's what I've been doing for the last 6, 7 years of my life. Every single day I've been putting out a piece of content, being hitting the gym, doing something that'll bring me close to my goals. You know, some days won't be as good as the others, okay? But every day, as long as you do one thing, you're moving forward, okay? And so today is just a really good day for me. I'm gonna celebrate. Linda actually surprised us um, with a place. I don't know where we're going. She said we're gonna love it. It's meant to be really good. I actually got you a surprise as well. You're gonna open it on camera as well.

What?

The actual surprise? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyways, okay, so I'm buzzing and I'm so glad to be vlogging today. We're in New York! This happened! Ah, I just can't believe it. But so what I also said in this caption as well, the main thing is, and what I'm most thankful for I actually said this in a podcast recently as well, is you guys, people that click on the video, people that like my posts, people that I meet in person at expos, people that I meet when I'm walking down the street, people that I meet in Raw, it's people that go to my events, okay? That's the main thing, okay? You guys are the main thing, and you are what I'm most thankful for, okay? So that's coming straight from the heart, that's how I feel. Yeah, you're great too. You're great. But yeah, thanks so much, guys. Big moment for me. Okay, it's nothing big, right? But like, when we're doing cardio together, you can't be going around with the wires, okay?

Oh my God, I've turned from old school to modern age.

But yeah, all I've eaten today is like a protein bar, a shake, and a croissant. Mm, look at this, right? And let's see, baby. Oh, unbelievable. He's having the best day ever. Look at this outfit, by the way. You look so fresh. I love you. Linda's taught me. She's like, she's my stylist, okay? She studied fashion and design, okay? This is my new look. It's the old school wife beater underneath, right? And the shirt—

people were DMing me asking me where your shirts are.

I know, looks like a movie star.

Yeah, baby.

All right. I'm so hungry, let's go! Oh my God, I swear to God, I've heard about this place! Ah, look at that! Look at steak in a string! Oh my God, Italy! I want to eat Italy!

I want to go to Italy!

Oh my God, you're the best! I love Italian food. One thing, right, I do not allow myself to eat because I just know I'll eat too much of it, okay?

It's my favourite food.

But I just can't eat too much of it, is pasta and pizza.

This seems to have everything.

But this week I'm getting it out of my system, okay? I'm eating as much pasta and pizza as I want because look where we are. It would be a shame not to drink all the wine and eat all the Italian food. Look where we are. Amazing. Can't wait to show you guys where we're at. We're carving up, bro.

Wait till you get upstairs. Oh, you're still recording?

Yeah, you're a vlogger now. This is madness. This is madness. We're excited. Very excited for Italian food and wine. Apparently it's also NYC Restaurant Week, so that's a good thing. So Linda booked this place, it's called Ely, and it's one of the most places, one of the most beautiful places I've ever sat down. What's going on? We are celebrating. Yeah, yeah, let's definitely have some wine. Come on, Paris!

1, 2, 3!

Nailed it, nailed it!

Hit that car, baby!