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By
Phil Stevens |
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The world of fitness as we know
it has grown immensely with the advent of the internet. What
used to be shared by fellow gym rats, team mates, or possibly
a region, are now out there for the world to see. If one wants
to find information on any type of fitness regime or nutrition
protocol you are merely a google click away from thousands
of pages that will fill your need.
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Yet as I explained in the first article
we are still largely blinded by our own selves, the latest crazes,
and largely by the western world, US and Canada. We get in our cliques,
or groups as fitness enthusiast and even coaches and get blinded
to the world as a whole. My aim with this series is to open our
minds to both this global market, give us all a glimpse of the state
of the industry elsewhere from the eye’s of the people living
it and I’m sure as well learn a few things we may adopt.
(Candidate photo
from local elections 2008)
PS: With
that I welcome Harry Hayfield from the UK. Harry thanks for lending
us your time today for this interview and a glimpse into your life
and the state of training and nutrition in the UK.
HH: Thanks
for having me Phil, it’s my pleasure.
PS: First
off Harry about as simple as it gets, you mentioned your from a
small village, where exactly in the UK are you from?
HH: I
live in a small village on the Irish Sea coast of Wales called Ffosyffin
(pronounced Foss E Fin) which translates as "Boundary Ditch"
in English. It is located about a mile from the county town of Aberaeron
and is roughly halfway between the towns of Aberystwyth and Cardigan.
PS: So
you are officially in the middle of Nowhere huh? : ) I take it most
of the fitness and nutrition info comes then via the internet?
HH: The
middle of nowhere with knobs on! (in fact we are thinking of moving
to a location to be nearer my uncle who lives in the middle of nowhere
halfway up a mountain!). That is indeed correct, but I am very wary
of the source of the information. If I get a message regarding something
I always look at the names of the people cited. If they are natural
I take it on board, if not, it gets binned!
PS: When and how did you get interested
in fitness. You mentioned you first got into fitness in 1979 so
you were what? 4 or 5? were you into athletics as a youth or was
it much later, and was your childhood relationship typical of those
in your village? You also told me you didn’t get serious until
2000 what brought that on?
HH: That's
correct, mainly due to having a neighbor who was a regional strongman
competitor. I have only lived in this village since September 2002.
I have lived in a large number of locations since I was born stretching
from the Welsh coast to the Midlands of England. Here in the UK,
fitness (in terms of bodybuilding and strength athletics) are usually
only thought of as sports participated by those who are gay or brutish
(i.e bouncers or hooligans) and therefore is not usually discussed
in English families. That was a result of two things. Firstly, the
Sydney 2000 Olympics and the wettest autumn in the UK since records
began. I lived in the village of Bontnewydd (New Bridge) and during
the month of September, I recorded 14 inches of rain. This left
me and my grandparents who I live with all suffering from varying
amounts of SAD and when suffering from this I saw a person my age
clean and jerk three times their bodyweight I thought, "Time
to perk things up a bit!"
PS: What
does your training revolve around now and how does that relate to
years past, prior to the change in 2000 as it relates to fitness?
Prior to 2000: Nothing
Post 2000: Walking
PS: So
have you not ventured into things more then walking? After being
inspired by the Olympic performances have tried to under take any
type of strength training at all, be it body weight or odd implements
much like your childhood neighbor must have having been a strongman
competitor?
HH: Sadly
no, this is due to the restricted income I am on ($90 a week as
of August 5th 2009) and of this $17 has to be paid towards a state
tax, about $34 on foodstuffs (inflated due to local supply and demand)
$17 into a personal pension plan and the remainder is spent on making
sure I am able to travel to the place where foodstuffs are sold.
Therefore there is little or nothing left to travel further a field
to enroll at a gym. The nearest (based on UK Government assessments
of 30 minutes, three times a week) would entail a total weekly cost
of $31 (in other words, the personal pension plan would have to
go by the wayside and in this day and age of company pension plans
going south, all governments are recommending self provision)
PS: How
about your nutrition growing up, did that evolve along with your
love and knowledge of fitness? Where is it at in the grand scheme
of things and how has it progressed?
HH: I
don't remember that much about food when growing up. All I do is
that I always preferred reduced fat spreads to butter from a young
age. Today I don't have any butter or reduced fat spreads at all,
but have cheese triangles / spreads that are rated between 3% and
16% fat. Due to our location, they are usually the 16% variety,
but when I travel to a large town I always stock up on 6% fat varieties.
PS: so
other then the cheese spreads, what is a typical view of your diet?
HH: In
simple terms, whole grains (where possible), low fat foods (where
possible), occasional treats (once every 4 - 6 weeks), and a small
piece of chocolate every day between December 1st and January 6th
(less than 5g)
I am a non meat eater (so therefore
meat plays no part whatsoever, neither does poultry or fish). I
do eat some vegetables in the form of frozen ones but only when
they are on a bargain. My fruit intake is restricted to a low calorie,
non sugar sweetened orange drink (which according to every website
I have read does mean I get my five allocations of fruit a day)
PS: Is
your choice to be a vegetarian a usual one in your community? Is
this choice one of health or moreso an economic decision, or other??
How do you assure you get in your proper protein intake, and what
about fats. You say you steer clear of fatty foods what about nuts
and oils?
HH: It
was purely a personal decision (and as I have lived in several communities
over the years it's difficult to assess how usual or unusual it
is). I have no idea what protein levels I should be getting (as
this is one element the UK government doesn't publish). All I do
know is that I am nowhere near the maximum salt intake a day (6g),
always try and keep to 50% of the maximum calorie intake (2,500)
and am well below the daily fat intake (90g / 20g sats). As I don't
really like nuts and don't fry things, those aren't issues
PS: Since
2002 when you moved you say you have been trying to promote fitness
and nutrition in a rural community, you’ve even went as far
as trying to be elected in the city council can you tell us a bit
more about this?
HH: Certainly.
In Wales there are several structures to government. Working in
reverse order you have community / town councils, county councils,
the National Assembly, Parliament and the European Parliament. I
became a member of the Welsh Liberal Democrats (positioned in-between
the left wing Labor Party and right wing Conservative Party) in
July 1992 but was not able to stand for election until 1995. Sadly
in Wales, a large number of people stand as "Independents"
for local elections and so when I asked if I could stand for the
Liberal Democrats in the local elections of 1995 was told that the
Independent had the Liberals support. The next opportunity to stand
was a special election for a town council seat in February 1997.
I was told that I could stand provided I did not confuse my candidacy
with that of the newly appointed candidate for the Montgomeryshire
district, so agreed to stand as an Independent Liberal Democrat
(and made it clear that if elected I would take the Liberal Democrat
whip).
That didn't occur but I did manage
to poll 23% on a platform of making sure that the town council made
sure that the recently developed Celtica centre made sure that local
residents were able to attend the exhibition for free and that the
local leisure centre offered either free or reduced training sessions.
The next local elections were due in 1999 but as I had moved, I
fell foul of a 12 month residency rule so was not able to contest
those elections and when we moved here in September 2002 thought
the same thing would happen again in May 2003.
However, the Assembly put back those
elections to 2004 and so I was able to stand for the Henfynwy (Old
Mother) community council and without realizing it forced the first
election for the council since it was formed in 1973. I polled 151
votes for that election (but came bottom of the poll and was therefore
not elected) on a similar platform. In 2008, the sitting Independent
county councilor announced his intention to stand down and so I
was adopted as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Ciliau Aeron
ward and fought that election on three planks 1) Make sure that
the existing speed limit was enforced 2) Ensure that the electors
were able to access fitness (regardless of their age) 3) Nominate
our community to host a small nation for the 2012 Olympics.
I was opposed by a Welsh Nationalist
and an Independent Anti European Union candidate and despite losing
to the Welsh Nationalist by 67 - 19, did manage to beat the Anti
European by 4% (a result that was hailed as one of the best results
in the county by a first time candidate).
PS: You have also been pretty aggressive with your networking
as well in the fitness community have you not?
HH: Guilty as charged! On the
various social networks I am a member of I would have to guess as
having connections with over 300 bodybuilders (pro, am, natural
and non natural) ranging in age from 17 to 80 and although I never
like to boast about my connections, I do count amongst my friends:
* A gold medal winning Gay Games athlete
* A former Mr. Olympia runner up
* A multi time state champion from Washington state
* And several up and coming stars
PS: OK
Harry, now lets move away from you and more onto the culture of
the UK as a whole, fitness and nutrition wise, from your point of
view.
HH: There
seems to be a huge culture divide when it comes to fitness. Firstly
satellite television was marvelous for watching bodybuilding and
fitness shows (as they were screened regularly on the Eurosport
Channel) then from 1990 to 2009 they were restricted to just fitness
infomercials but this month two fitness channels launched. One backed
by LA Muscle.com and the other called Fitness TV. Whether this will
address the main problem that low income families are unfit and
high income families are fit will remain to be seen.
PS: As
you know North America and much of the world is in a Obesity epidemic.
Is the same true for the UK? Are the people generally fit, obese,
or somewhere in between. Is the average person interested in fitness
and nutrition? Is there a difference in those in the smaller towns
vs. the larger cities?
HH: It
just so happens that I also collect data on this issue for the Liberal
Democrats. Sadly though the figures are not that up to date. The
most recent numbers I have relate to 2005 when a report was published
listing all the council areas in the UK and how obese they were
(compared to the national average). The best areas were: Kensington
(37% less), Westminster (36% less), Camden (32% less), Hammersmith
(30% less) and Wandsworth (29% less) which are all located in London.
The worst areas were: Sandwell (18% more), Sedgefield (19% more),
Knowsley (20% more), Corby (21% more) and Easington (22% more) which
are all scattered across the country but are connected by having
formerly large numbers of heavy industry.
PS: Are
training facilities/gyms abundant and if so what are they like on
average? More the fitness facility or the hard core gym?
HH: If
you live in an urban area you can find everything. Bodybuilding,
Powerlifting, Yoga, Aerobics. In a rural area you are very lucky
indeed to find a 60 year old leading a weight loss class.
PS: The
personal training industry? Are personal trainers abundant, and
if so how are they regarded in general as far as competence, effectiveness,
etc.. by you, and then as well the general public. If there is a
difference?
HH: That
I cannot comment on (as I haven't seen any!)
PS: So
physical activity wise. If people are going to take part in it what
would be the most popular. I'm guessing it lend more toward walking
or endurance activity as opposed to strength training. Is there
even what you would call a prevalent / visible populous of people
into strength sports such as powerlifting or strongman there?
HH:
Bingo. you have hit the nail on the head. The London Marathon and
the Great North Run are the most attended personal physical events
in Britain. Those into strength events tend to be involved in strength
themselves.
PS: Where
do people in general turn for the vast majority of their fitness
and nutrition knowledge? Does the government push training and nutrition
to any degree, the schools or is it up to the individual to seek
knowledge.
HH: Believe
it or not, Supermarkets. In 2008, several of them launched "food
wheels" which listed the five main category of nutrient and
coloured them red for Watch it, orange for Go Steady and green for
Go Right Ahead. The government does publish guidelines but does
not advertise them and gets the food manufactuers to.
PS: How
are athletics / athletes viewed by average adults? In the US we
are seeing a larger separation between the average person and the
athlete compared to in the past So sadly an athlete is something
many feel they cant be. Its just not an option. Is it he same in
the UK you know?
HH: Athletics
in general is quite widely viewed (thanks to the success of the
Olympics in Beijing) but how many of those people make the move
into the gym? About 0.1%
PS: How
about the supplement industry?? Is it large and booming much like
in the states?
HH: Cannot
comment
PS: Wow,
so honestly from the sounds of it there is largely an un tapped
market for some young entrepreneur in the fitness industry if they
were to find a way to address much of the rural market in the UK,
No?
HH: In
a word, no. To establish a personal training business in the UK
in an area such as this you would need to have an inital outlay
of nearly £100,000 ($170,000), which would mean charging each
customer a minimum of £100 ($170) a session. A price so high
as to make it uneconomic
PS: What
about Anabolic's and performance enhancing drugs. I know many of
the eastern block countries we see large imposing athletes that
are openly using, have been popped by various federations and governing
bodies, but it is totally legal in their country and at times pushed
by their coaches. As you know they are all the rage in the US media
when ever fitness and sports are brought up and I and most I the
industry feel the issue is largely over blown. Is this topic something
you deal with, hear about there on a regular basis as it pertains
to athletes or general population of enthusiasts?
HH: The
media only covers bodybuilding in one of the following three catergories:
1) BODYBUILDER CHARGED WITH DRUG POSSESSION
where they point out that the bodybuilder was supplying and using
steroids
2) BODYBUILDER DIES AFTER STEROID ABUSE which is self explantory
3) AND FINALLY... where the bodybuilder is either very old or in
a profession where muscles are not usually linked to.
Generally speaking, steroids are banned
in the UK but can be sought with a prescription.
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PS:
Harry I want thank you so much for joining me today
and sharing with us your view of the training and nutrition
world in your country. I feel you’ve given us exactly
what I was hoping, a unique perspective into the world you
live, a whole other fitness and training economy that many
of us may never have otherwise had the chance to view. .
HH:
That's quite all right. Anything to assist those
who want to highlight that fitness isn't always bronzed bodies
on the beach wearing next to nothing and flexing huge muscles
every time a lady or camera crew is within sight.
PS:
Stay tuned everyone in the coming weeks I have
interviews in this series lined up with people from the Netherlands,
Japan, and more. If you are someone in a country aboard and
would like to chime in drop me a line.
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About The Author
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Coach Phil Stevens is an accomplished
strength athlete with considerable experience in both powerlifting
and strongman competition. Phil is the 2007 APA World Champion
in the 242-pound class (total). He currently holds the APF
275-pound class raw National bench, squat, deadlift, and total
records. Phil’s marquis lift was his 700-pound raw deadlift,
performed on February 14, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Phil has been ranked in the “Top 10” in the deadlift Nationally across all powerlifting federations, also serves as the Arizona State Chair for the North American Highlander Association, as well as the founder of Lift For Hope, an annual strength-competition
with proceeds donated to Charity (www.Lift4Hope.org).
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