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The Prep Diary: Journey’s End Part 3

Chris Kenny August 20, 2018

When 7:30am rolled around, it was time to mobilise. With a last look cast upon my hotel room, I laughed to myself at the state of the bedsheets, courtesy of my spray tan (apologies Premier Inn for that one!) I travelled to the show once again with Tim and Lucy and we stopped off for a coffee at a really great place that was diet friendly, dog-friendly and on another occasion, would have been a nice spot to whittle away the day at. Yet there was business to attend to so with the last sip of our beverages, Tim was off to go and train and Lucy and I continued on to the Middleton Arena. We were hours early for the show to start, but Lucy, who was going to be the one announcing the event and playing the role of host, had to prepare her jobs and for me, it was time for spray tan round two.

In order to get to where the tans were taking place, I had to walk through the auditorium where in a few short hours I would be showcasing myself to a few hundred people. Seeing the steep seating arrangement angled down to the barren stage made me feel nervous more than excited. I took everything in and tried to visualise myself standing at the front, exposed to all and running through my poses. There is simply nowhere to hide on the stage, all eyes are on you, even more so than the arena in Margate, as the seating arrangement there is relatively flat, so the gaze can wander a little easier. However here, I felt as if every single eye would be fixated on me when I did eventually arrive on stage and this really did make me feel, all of a sudden, very nervous. Pushing these thoughts aside though, I continued my mazy walk towards the tanning area.

This time the tan felt a lot less frantic, as there were far fewer of us around. I was specifically called in as the team wanted me to look darker. Now against the normal lighting of the day, the tan looks so dark and out of place, however once on stage, the benefits are clear, as muscle definition is enhanced and you don’t look “washed out” under the harsh lighting. With the second coat applied, it was time to once again get back to the all-important waiting around. I can’t honestly remember what I did with this time afforded to me; not much is the likely answer. The next item on our itinerary was registration and Athletes meeting, which is where we would receive our numbers (I was #47) and be informed of how the day would proceed, as well as getting some general tips on how to correctly eat during the day (i.e. don’t suffocate under a mountain of sweets in an attempt to fill out or look more vascular).

With the doors flung open to the public and stage appropriate clothing on, it was time for the opening Athletes Parade. Now I’m not sure if the intent here is to get everyone on stage in an effort to calm the nerves before going for your individual categories, but that is certainly what happened with me. I wasn’t nervous for the parade, however being out there, with the bright lights shining and the crowd roaring, it fired me up and squashed any thought of fear. I immediately loved it, the reception, the energy the entire feel was something I’d been craving for years and I was now excited for my categories. Straight after the parade was the Men’s Tattoo Muscle category, in which my friend John was competing. So I quickly threw a hoody on and made my way into the arena to see how he’d get on. He did so well and looked great out there and it was so pleasing to see this, as we’d been talking a lot in the leadup to the show about how we felt and what we were going through, it was nice to think that we’d made it here finally. With that done, I proceeded up the steps to sit with Ollie and relax a little. My first category, Beach Body, would be after the interval, so I had a couple of hours to kill first, but boy, did that time go quickly. Before I knew it, I was backstage, eating rice cakes and swallowing sweets (sour wine gums in case you’re wondering) and using my recently purchased resistance bands to pump up.

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole backstage process and got myself into a place where I was comfortable with how I looked, but not exhausted from the effort. When we were called up to line up for our grand entrance, I did get the nervous feeling again, however, it was mingled with excitement and anticipation for what was to come; this was it. Months of dieting, years longer of training and so much time consumed with my love for this sport and dedication to my body was about to be exhibited to all present in just a few short moments. I couldn’t wait. I put myself into a different mindset altogether, I basically became a character. This character would walk on stage, brimming with confidence and prepared to show everyone exactly what he was about. With this mantra guiding me, I stepped into the light at the announcement of my name and ran through all that had been practised. I couldn’t really see the audience, as the lights were so bright and pointed directly at me, but I could hear noises of appreciation, as well as shouts of support. After completing my T-Walk routine, I waited at the back for the other competitors to finish their individual routines. What followed was us all being called to the front to execute our quarter turns, where we would be “posing down” in direct comparison with one another. Things can certainly get a little tight on stage and space is limited, so it’s vital to make your presence felt and give yourself as much exposure as possible. When the judges made their decision, we were free to go and the first of my three categories was completed.

Next up, was Men’s Fitness Model Under 75kg. This was an extremely tough category, with some incredible guys involved. The process was the same as before, however this time I was first out. I had a lot of nervous energy, so I was literally bouncing up and down on the spot and focussing on the task at hand. If you’ve ever seen Brock Lesnar in a WWE ring when he’s being hyped up by Paul Heyman, it was this sort of “bouncing around” that I was doing, except I’m about 150lbs lighter than Brock, so probably not quite the same look. Anyway, as I said, it was largely more of the same as Beach Body, however, my wait at the back was extended due to the sheer amount of competitors we had. Let me tell you, it was excruciating trying to keep my entire body tensed and looking good for that amount of time. Eyes will always be on you, be it judges, audience members or other competitors, so just because you’re not front and centre, you need to still be keeping things tight and looking your best. When we were called forwards for our quarter turns, it was a relief for me as I had a moment of reprieve during the short walk. The standard was very high and we were kept on stage for a long time before the judges made their call and it was like a wave of pressure had been lifted off; the two “big” categories were done and now it was just International Model left.

International Model is something I think every competitor should do. It’s so much fun, you get to come out all suited and booted, it’s a more relaxed posing routine and leans more towards a catwalk style presentation than the aforementioned T-walk. Here is where I got the best crowd response, likely due to the fact that I was in a pretty sharp suit if I do say so myself and also because I was absolutely loving every moment out there. I think that translates to the crowd and people can feel whether you’re genuinely enjoying it, or faking the emotion. Before stepping out, however, it was a real mad dash to get ready, as the International Model is split over two rounds. First round you walk out in underwear, however, the second round requires evening wear (typically a suit) to be thrown on in record time, which adds another dynamic to proceedings! After an exhilarating round, it was results time and International Model category was up first (so we could stay in the suits.)

Results and Aftermath

So, how did I get on? I placed Top 5 in Beach Body, I came 2nd in International Model and I didn’t place Top 5 in Fitness Model.

Top 5 – Beach Body

Am I happy? Reasonably so, yes. I think it would be remiss of me to declare myself unsatisfied with the results, as this was my first show after all. At the end of the day, I’ve come home with two trophies and lots of fantastic memories, which is certainly enough for me. It’s given me the spark to better myself further, come back and see what I can do.

What’s next then? Well, after the show I had a photo shoot with the very talented Matt Marsh at my local gym in Sutton, GoGym. This was another chance to don the spray tan, get my muscles out and see what I could bring and I’m very happy with the results. From here, there’s plenty of opportunities to showcase myself within this industry, so it’s a case of being patient, planning ahead and seeing what works best for me. In terms of competing, the plan is to go again in April, which gives me ample time to craft and hone a better overall shape and bring a tighter package to the stage.

So with that, it’s time to draw a close to the Prep Diaries for now. There’s no more show, no more diet, just back to the grind, back to working hard and keeping myself moving forward. One thing you can guarantee is that I’ll not be standing still or settling for mediocrity, not a chance in hell.

The Prep Diary: Journey’s End Part 2

Chris Kenny August 12, 2018

Friday 20th of July. A peculiar day in many ways, it began with a relatively early wake-up call as I clambered into my method of transport for the day; a VW Polo. I travelled up with good friends Tim and Lucy to Manchester and we had a seamless drive, bar one moment where we very nearly wiped out by an “elderly” driver (to put it kindly), but apart from that, no dramas!

Upon arrival in the North-West, we elected to spend the next few hours shopping and grabbing a bite to eat before finally checking in to our hotel. At this point, we’re over halfway through the day and it would be easy to forget I had a show at all; I was relaxed and distracted in a good way and cruising through the day. However, check-in signalled the starting point for things to get serious, it would only be a few hours until I got my first tan before the show. After unpacking and catching 40 winks, it was time to get myself over to Middleton Arena, which is where the show was taking place, as well as playing host for the tanning squad to do their thing. As I sat in the cab, the reality of the situation was beginning to sink in and with it, nerves bubbling to the surface.

Middleton Arena – Home of the Pure Elite Manchester show.

Arriving at the venue for my first tanning session was an experience I’ll never forget. I remember stepping in line, awaiting my turn and striking up conversations with other competitors, thinking “is he going to be against me? Will he beat me?” That’s my competitive streak. It’s difficult to suppress, but I managed to bury those thoughts, as I didn’t want to appear like that, instead I elected to be friendly, supportive and showcase myself in as positive a way as I could for the simple fact that we’ve all worked so hard to get here, it really becomes irrelevant where you place.

The tan itself was certainly something to go through. Six or so tents crammed into a changing room which was populated with virtually naked guys (a sock covering our modesty left nothing to the imagination), a vibrant and boisterous team of tanning girls and air swirling with the scent of biscuits that only a spray tan can bring. I thoroughly enjoyed having a good laugh with everyone, and finally seeing some colour doused on my skin was a welcome sight, plans to hit sunbeds in the lead up to the show fell well and truly by the wayside, so I was in desperate need of a good tan. With this applied, it was time to get back to my room and make final preparations.

Looking bronzed and ready.

I’m fortunate to be surrounded by kind-hearted, supportive and truly incredible people. One such person is my dear friend Ollie, who travelled straight from Barcelona to Manchester to see me compete. It’s honestly something which has still left me speechless many weeks later, as I’m so grateful for this act of solidarity and companionship. Having someone who I’ve grown up with and shared countless memories with being there on one of the biggest and most important days of my life is truly special and something that I’ll never forget. Also, it was Ollie who first introduced me to lifting weights, way back in 2012, so it was extremely poignant for me that he would be here to celebrate and witness my debut on stage. True friends are hard to find but I’m incredibly lucky and it’s upon reflection that it’s truly sinking in how selfless and special this act of support was.

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Ollie and I cruising in a Golf Cart in Mexico, 2016. Yes, you read that right.

So, after catching up it was time for me to check in and see how things stood before my last meal and get the rundown for my eating plan throughout the next day. Upon receiving my instructions, I again felt a surge of nerves as I settled into bed. Here’s a tip for you if you’re competing; don’t forget to bring your own bedsheets/pillowcases. The poor hotel staff must have thought I’d either had a huge accident in the night or murdered someone and launched the body out of the window. Not good. As for the sleep itself, I woke up at 3am and couldn’t get back to bed right away, so ran through my poses, which did anything but settle my nerves! I did manage to settle down a little bit however and sleep through until about 6am. The alarm blared like a siren, I bolted out of bed and sorted myself out. Careful not to wash my tan off after brushing my teeth, I took my allocation of water with meal 1 and sat, motionless for a good ten minutes. It was now time to put months of hard work, years of preparation and countless hours of lifting all into one day, a few moments and the opportunity of a lifetime.

Shameless selfie taken just before bed.

That’s a wrap for this part of Journey’s End; next time I’ll discuss what it was like actually stepping on stage, how things operated backstage and of course, the results. Stay tuned and thank you for reading!

Fitness

The Prep Diary: At Journey’s End – Part 1

Chris Kenny July 31, 2018

Welcome everyone to the final edition of The Prep Diary!

Yes, it’s true, the big day came and went and now it’s time to reflect, analyse and plan for the future. There’s so much to discuss and talk about that it’s actually difficult to pinpoint a reasonable place to begin, so I’ll recap what brought me to the stage in this, the first of three parts.

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May 2016 – The hard work was about to begin.

2016. It began as a difficult year for me personally, which is perhaps a topic for another day. As many of us do after a devastating turn of events, we delve into a new hobby, passion or whatever it may be in order to distance ourselves from the pain and reclaim our own identity. That was especially true for me and not for the first or last time, the weights were my salvation. I’d been “lifting” for roughly four years at that point and was beginning to take an interest in the competitive side of the sport, spurred on by seeing friends and others blaze their own path by winning trophies and putting their bodies on display for all to see. I didn’t realise at the time, but I’d been badly missing a competitive facet in my life, as I no longer took part in gaming seriously, football was all but given up and those were my two main competitive outlets for years.

Bodybuilding opened up a new opportunity for me. To preface, I don’t consider myself a “bodybuilder” as to me, that phrase is reserved for those in the same conversation as the Arnold Schwarzenegger’s, Franco Columbo, Frank Zane and so on.

Legends.

Back to the point, I looked at what I had at my disposal; my body, my gym, my friends, those I trained with and my mindset. Two years. That’s the deadline I gave myself to transform my physique from average to show ready. Within those two years, a lot changed and my life moved on as it does, but my goal never shifted. I had no doubt that I would step on stage in 2018. Originally, I was thinking about competing in April of 2018, but that would have been far too soon for where I was. At that point, I had put the relevant mass on, but my condition was nowhere near ready.

During the peak of my bulk where I got to around 84kg. Picture was taken in November 2017.

Witnessing several of my friends compete at Pure Elite, Margate in April 2018 gave me a real mixture of emotions. I was excited to think that in just three months, it would be me in their place, but then I was also hit with a brief moment of trepidation as I realised my goal, which was set all those years ago, was finally approaching reality and it would be my day of reckoning. Yes, that may sound wonderfully over the top, but that was honestly how I felt. I would either be proud of myself on stage or think “I could have done better.” Margate was a true turning point for me and made an already focussed prep turn up a notch into an unwavering, unfaltering grind to the finish line, where, unfortunately, sacrifices had to be made.

The focus for the last year or so has been to bring my shoulders up – here I am doing cable lateral raises.

Sacrifices come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Whether it’s your diet and all of the “fun” things you like to eat, your relationships, both personal with friends or a partner and with your work. Being in a calorific deficit, yet expending more energy than you ever have before, with intense training, cardio exercise and a day job, things have to take priority and this is where the aforementioned pieces of your life can suffer, and did for me. You have to turn down social invitations, family dinners, time spent with loved ones and in general, just completely immerse yourself. It’s not for everyone, and not everybody will understand or support you. It’s a selfish sport and lifestyle, there’s simply no getting away from that. There’s no team, nobody else to hold accountable, just you.

The truth.

That being said, motivation and encouragement can be found in abundance from the right people and those who are also on the same journey as you. I’m very fortunate to train in two gyms (GoGym and Kings Gym) that offer an environment filled with like-minded individuals who spur me on with kind words, impressive physiques and just general camaraderie. It’s a handshake and a genuine, positive comment from someone that helps push me through a workout and keeps me focused on the goal. Suddenly, I didn’t feel isolated and I was able to shift all of the focus from myself outward; I didn’t want to let anybody down who had supported and encouraged me. That may seem like I’m putting myself upon a pedestal, but that’s not what I mean; I allowed myself to get out of my own head and become part of a team, where I had a part to play. Yes, of course, the reality is, that it’s my show, my body and after a few weeks when the dust has settled, the hysteria will die down and all results, good or bad, will likely be forgotten. But for the run-up to the show, every advantage, particularly mentally, was snatched with both hands.

Kings Gym – A perfect environment for training.

That concludes Part 1 of Journey’s End, hopefully, this helps put things a little more in perspective for you all. Part 2 will explore the events leading up to the day, the Friday before the show and of course the show itself. See you all next time!

Fitness

The Prep Diary: Peak Week

Chris Kenny July 14, 2018

It’s felt like an eternity, yet at the same time, it’s come around all of a sudden, out of nowhere. The final week before my show which is termed “peak week” has arrived. The goal during this week isn’t to drastically wipe out all of my food or go the opposite way and carb load so I end up on the stage as a watery, overblown mess, the key is striking the balance and getting my body into a position where it’s the best it has ever been; the peak.

To clarify my opening statement; I feel like I’ve been in prep for a long time, which, is true. I’ve had some form of restricted diet since around January, however, as you’ll recall I didn’t get truly going until around about the end of April, where I enlisted the aid of the Chase Perfection team. Since then, my physique has transformed in a huge way, check out the picture below;

My calories were actually increased from what I was previously doing, yet it was more nutritionally dense and overall just far better for my body, which responded accordingly.

Yet all this time in prep and the last seven weeks have truly flown by for me. I feel like I’ve cruised into the show, helped by the fact that I’ve been ludicrously busy in my personal life, which has actually made prep become a sideline in many ways, I’ve simply stuck to the plan and got my head down.

That will be the key for this final week as well. I know what I’m like; if I start thinking too deeply about the intricacies of every single meal, or making sure every rep is executed with perfect form, I’ll lose it. For me, I have to just keep the grind going and make sure I don’t derail in any way and stay focused on the task at hand.

Focus. But also make time for a selfie when appropriate 😉

I can’t wait for the day to arrive now, partly because I’m excited to see how I fare on the day, but also because I can’t wait to gorge myself on a post-competition cheat meal (and likely stay on that binge for a day or two!) I can’t go too crazy though; I have a photoshoot on the 10th of August, so I need to keep myself in somewhat decent shape for that! For me, it’s important to have a target to strive for, otherwise, I am prone to boredom and therefore, not maximising my time in the gym, or otherwise.

A likely post-show meal!

Before I had the desire to compete, I wasn’t really doing much in the gym apart from spinning my wheels. I had the occasional holiday to “get in shape” for and I enjoyed the activity on the whole, but it wasn’t goal orientated and therefore, nothing to truly measure my progress against, or put pressure on myself for. I thrive under a deadline and need some competitive edge to what I do. This accompanied me in my football playing days, my time as a semi-professional gamer and in my work life. I relish the chance to prove myself and get better, so this is why I was so attracted to competing in the first place.

Approaching the shape of my life

It’s crazy that as I’m writing this, a moment of reflection and self-praise has arrived. I’ve taken something that was a pipe dream in 2016 and converted it into a reality. I said back then “I will compete in 2018.” That was the goal and here I am, a week away from taking my first steps into the competing world. It shows the power of keeping a goal and a dream going, no matter what. If you work hard enough to achieve something, you really can and I firmly believe that. So if you’re reading this and wondering if you could compete, or change your body, or make any goal work; you can. Just set the bar, don’t deviate from the path and you’ll do it. Be determined, be fearless and don’t worry if you stumble or slip on the way, it’s inevitable. Keep going forward, keep staying positive and relish the challenges as they come, it’s what makes us grow and become better.

Fitness

The Prep Diary: 2 Weeks Out

Chris Kenny July 9, 2018

Well, it’s been a minute, hasn’t it? Suffice to say, I’ve been completely swamped lately with work, personal life engagements and of course, prep life.

But it’s high time I gave you guys another entry to sink your teeth into and now we’ve traveled forwards to a mere two weeks out from my competition, so let’s dissect what’s been happening in the run-up to the present day.

I’ll begin with this photo;

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This depicts me in the best shape of my life (at that point) and in a condition that I dreamt about for years.

Fast forward a few weeks to the current week and we have this;

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Again, further improvement. The simple fact is this; I’ve pushed my body further than it’s ever gone before and the results are incredible. Transformation has been steady, slow and at times, rough. Diet, training and sleep are all variables that get affected by prep and it’s been a roller coaster at times, with temptation at every turn.

There have been times, especially recently, where I’ve faltered and almost completely caved in. Eyeing up packets of biscuits, knowing full well I could demolish them in a second. Being one click away from an enormous order from a Chinese takeaway, or simply buying a few “share” packets of Doritos and ploughing through them. It’s taken huge amounts of willpower to pull myself away. There have been times where I’ve been in the kitchen staring at my oats and thinking “I don’t want this.”

But then reality kicks in and I realise, I do want this. I do want to present myself in the best possible way on stage, with a body and presence that I can look back on in years to come and feel proud of my achievements. It’s a constant battle to keep myself on the right track however and there have been more difficult days than not. But it’s dawned on me, particularly recently, that it’s not you against the world.

For those competing, we are all in the same position. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by competitors who have been there and done this before and friends that are also joining me on stage in a few short weeks. It’s here where you can lean on people and simply get things off your chest. The carrot dangling is not simply the day and the possibility of placing, but the aftermath; celebrating the hard work with a glorious cheat meal and a bit of a blow out! That’s what keeps me going for now.

There are plenty of people who don’t fully grasp what it’s like to push yourself in this way and can become irritated at your lack of responses, or mood, or simply not being yourself. So to put things simply, what is happening right now is that I am expending the maximum amount of energy with a minimum amount of intake. My calories are as low as they’ve been and yet my work (inside and out of the gym) is beyond anything I’ve done before.

I’m training 5 or 6 times a week, with cardio. I’m working full time and trying to juggle other priorities in my life and stay current with friends and the like. Put simply, it’s hard. I’m constantly fatigued, yet there’s no giving up. There’s no chance of taking a breather for more than a day or two, because otherwise, for me, it’s easy to step off the gas and throw the towel in. Not everyone will be like this, but I personally need to stay in the right frame of mind in order to maximise my results. If I take my eye off the ball for a moment, I’ll be in trouble. It’ll be all too easy for me to stay in bed and miss the 5:30am training session, skip the cardio and stick on some trash TV.

It’s my dream to place in at least one of my categories, but lately, I’ve taken stock and realised that no matter what happens, I’ll be damn proud of myself and it’s been one hell of a journey. More importantly for me, I can say that I achieved what I set out to; from a declaration in 2016 that competing in 2018 was my goal, to actually following through with it and making it happen with a plan of action. It proves that if you set your mind to a task, you can and you will, make a stride forward.

Now it’s time to knuckle down and make these last few days count. Work isn’t over.

Fitness

The Prep Diary: 6 Weeks Out

Chris Kenny June 3, 2018

Welcome back to my journey to the stage! It’s now the third of June and it’s a critical time in my path to July; under six weeks out.

Typically, most people begin their competition prep from twelve weeks out so this would be considered the halfway point. However, as you know, I’ve been prepping for a while; alone and with the help of the team at Chase Perfection, so for me, six weeks feels ridiculously close!

So let’s start with a visual update on my current physique;

The biggest change for me is vascularity; the obvious difference being the left shoulder coming through from out of nowhere. However, there’s also the beginnings of veins appearing down near my lower abs, which is pleasing to see. All this can be attributed to the usual suspects; training, nutrition and rest. My waist size has also decreased as has my weight, so everything is certainly getting tighter and leaner. Let’s get a breakdown of the core facets and

Training

Remember when I said, “training was the easy part”? It turns out, that this has suddenly not been the case so much. Strength has, predictably, started to tail off somewhat and the training sessions themselves are taking it out of me more than before. Rather than having the energy to push through the last set and finish with aplomb, occasionally I’ll drift out rather meekly and find I’m unable to get that extra rep I was claiming just a few short weeks ago. This is to be expected though and it doesn’t worry me, it just means the weight will be dropped to allow for crisper repetitions and full completion of the set. I’ve always maintained that the number written on the weight doesn’t matter, as long as it’s a challenge for you.

In addition to the usual weight sessions, my step count per day has been upped to fifteen thousand. This suits me as my jobs are desk-based for the majority of my time and with the weather being as great as it is, it’s helping me get the steps in with relative ease. Cardio is, of course, an important aspect of my regime, with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) now playing a vital role in my prep, not only getting me fitter but providing another outlet for calories to be burned.

Nutrition

My diet hasn’t changed a bit since working with Chase Perfection, which for me is a good thing. I much prefer having a standardised routine that I can stick to without deviation, as I’ll likely end up forgetting what I should be having and when! My diet has a lot of variety, so my macronutrients (macros) come from all different sources. For protein, I’m employing fish, chicken, beef and protein powder (added to my oats). Carbs come in the form of basmati rice, white pitta bread and the aforementioned oats. Green vegetables are, of course, also throw in the mix, so I tend to make sure most meals have this excellent source of nutrition. When I was prepping myself, my fats were far too low, which has also been addressed with the addition of olive oil, pesto and sauces for particular meals.

I’d certainly advise maintaining a healthy mix of different food sources, as it can soon become monotonous eating chicken and broccoli every other meal; trust me I know, I’ve been there.

Rest

With a busy work life (I know it may seem hard to believe, but it’s true I swear) that involves a regular day job as a head of a department that is supplemented by my freelance work online, rest is something I crave in abundance yet hardly achieve. Why is that? For me, it comes down to distraction. I love consuming media in all forms; books, television, online forums, whatever it may be, I simply love soaking up more knowledge and interesting ideas from others and of course, kicking back and watching some entertaining stuff – you’ll be familiar with my love of wrestling if you move around this website! Back to the point though; rest is something I desperately need to address. Some days I’ll be running on about four hours sleep which is just not good enough and long-term impacts my muscle repair.

What’s Next?

I’m entering Phase 2 of my plan with Chase Perfection, which has updated training regimes. Posing is now becoming a bigger area of importance for me and I try and get in a solid fifteen minutes per night in some capacity.

I’m relatively happy with how I’m progressing – at the end of the day I’ve never looked better in my life. That’s obviously something to be proud of, but I simply want more; I want to achieve and excel.

Watch this space.

Marvel

Avengers: What’s Next?

Chris Kenny May 20, 2018

By now, I’m fairly confident everyone has seen the blockbuster hit Avengers: Infinity War and some of you might be on multiple viewings (I’m on three and counting). It’s an incredibly enjoyable film that serves as the first act in a two-part conclusion to over a decade of world building and movies from Marvel Studios, and for me, it hit the nail firmly on the head when it comes to entertainment, amazing action sequences and sheer fun. It also did very well at raising the stakes to hitherto unseen proportions (yes I did really just say hitherto unseen) as well as bracing the audience for the inevitable; the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is set to change, and drastically. These films have essentially been a big budget TV series strung out across ten years. The so far untitled Avengers 4 will be the end of “Season 3” and this is where the bell of change will be rung.

What Do We Know?

Speculation is, of course, nothing without some facts to fuel the fire and in typical Marvel fashion, we don’t really know anything about how Avengers 4 will unravel. We do know however that we’re getting two films beforehand; Ant-Man & The Wasp and Captain Marvel, the latter of the two will become significantly important to the plot and outcome of the Avengers film. Before that though, the latest Ant-Man instalment should be the lighthearted relief we all need after the gut punch that was the ending of Infinity War, the trailers so far have leaned on the comedy aspect of the movie, which will surely be delivered in spades. As for Captain Marvel, not much is known at present other than it will be set in the 90’s, which likely explains the modified beeper Nick Fury whipped out at the end of Infinity War’s post-credits scene to contact Captain Marvel.

90s tech with some “alterations”

What I think

So with those limited facts in place, let’s start with the next film set to come out; Ant-Man & The Wasp. As already established, this will be the comedic relief we require post finger snap. It’s also fairly obvious that the majority of this movie will take place before or during the events of Infinity War, however, I have a feeling that the end of the film could line up exactly with Thanos’ snap and we see one or more of the characters fade away. My feeling is Wasp gets turned to dust and this is what sparks Scott Lang to join up with the remainder of the Avengers in the fourth film and figure out a way to un-do what Thanos achieved. (More on this later).

Now for Captain Marvel. I’ve got a basic knowledge of her power set from the comic lore, but essentially she could stop the Hulk with her little finger. The point is, she should be a match for Thanos. Delving a bit further into the comic book backstory, in the original run of “The Infinity Gauntlet” a character called Adam Warlock gets hold of the Infinity Gauntlet that we saw Thanos equipped with, and manages to put a stop to all of the conflict. While this character has been teased and confirmed by Guardians director James Gunn, his absence from Infinity War makes it unlikely that he will feature in Avengers 4. Instead, I think this role will be given to Carol Danvers; Captain Marvel. Similar to Warlock, Danvers has been missing in action and I think it’s a fair assumption to think she’s locked in a cosmic conflict far from Earth (hence the strange appendices on the beeper Nick Fury used). But why haven’t we seen her yet? Surely if she’s so powerful, she could have quelled the events that took place in New York and Sokovia with relative ease? This is my lingering question heading into her solo movie and one that I’m sure will be answered, but my instinct is to assume her adventures take utmost priority over Earthly matters and Fury was quite content to let his Avengers deal with the threats to Earth, until now.

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Captain Marvel – The one to save the day?

Avengers 4 Predictions – Ant Man’s Involvement

Circling back to Ant-Man and how he can be a catalyst for change for Avengers 4; there have been leaked set photos showing Ant-Man, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner and Captain America in what looks to be New York and more specifically, set during the crisis of the first Avengers film. So what on Earth is going on there? Well, diving further, the team appear to be using a device affixed to their arms, and I have two theories on this. The first and perhaps more boring is that they are using Tony’s BARF contraption to re-visit the event and see if there are any clues as to how to take down Thanos, which is plausible but not as exciting as my second idea; they’ve gone back in time using the Quantum Realm. If you recall from the first Ant-Man, the Quantum Realm is a dimension accessed by the original Wasp who shrunk herself to sub-atomic levels in order to disable a Soviet missile; the price paid was heavy, however, as she continued to shrink for all eternity in a realm where space and time are irrelevant. Let’s stop there and focus on that part; if space and time are meaningless than it’s not a stretch to imagine this strange dimension can be used as a tool to travel back in time if manipulated correctly. I believe there will be a plot within Ant-Man & The Wasp whereby Hank Pymm (the original Ant-Man) will again embark on a journey to find his long-lost wife and thus open the door for exploration within this fascinating realm. Leaping further still, the attachments on the arms of the Avengers seen in the set photos could be the tools that they have used to enter the Quantum Realm and thus go backwards in time, again to learn about Thanos or even re-write history, perhaps destroying the mind and space stones that were present on the battlefield that day?

Ant-Man delving into the Quantum Realm

What About the Dead Heroes?

“Mr Stark… I don’t feel so good.” We all got a lump in our throats when Peter Parker croaked out these words as he was about to fade away into nothing, followed by an emotional breakdown and desperation to cling on to life before Spider-Man was wiped out before our eyes. Once he and Black Panther were “gone” I knew this would be reversible. There’s simply no way Marvel axe two of their biggest stars right now, plus Spider-Man 2 has already been announced and while yes, plans can change, it’s unlikely that particular one will. So this is where things get somewhat tricky. To my mind, it’s difficult to undo all of what Thanos achieved without completely undermining him and his efforts and the struggle of the first act of this two-part conclusion. There needs to be a satisfying way to bring back the newer Avengers, but before that, let’s remind ourselves of what happened. Thanos snapped his fingers and our heroes turned to dust. But briefly, before the dusting happened, Thanos was transported into the Soul Stone and came face to face with Gamora. What does this mean? Is Gamora still alive? How did she end up in the Soul Stone? Let’s take a pause here and rewind slightly. Again I’m going to lean on the comic lore here for some explanation. Within the pages of the story, the Soul Stone actually houses the Soul World, which is where many of the heroes get trapped, and where the aforementioned Adam Warlock actually resides and eventually joins up with those locked in this dimension. So if we take that information and apply it to the current MCU, I think it’s entirely possible that our “New Avengers” will be locked in here, along with the rest of everyone else who died and will figure out a way to get out, thus giving them their first chance to bond and gel as a team. One such hero, Doctor Strange could well be the link tying in all of the teams; he can astral project his form to Tony Stark et all and they can concoct a plan together to get free and finally all be united against Thanos instead of fractured divisions attempting to attack the Mad Titan in isolated pockets. I think this is where we’ll get the ultimate money shot of the entire ensemble of heroes standing together against Thanos with the Avengers theme blaring in the background.

Avengers Forever

How Does it End?

While we’re having this epic faceoff, I think this will be the introduction of Captain Marvel and she’ll rip the gauntlet straight off of Thanos and wield it herself, banishing the Titan away using the power of the Infinity Stones to reverse the damage caused, before herself removing the gauntlet and taking it away for safe keeping. I think the team deserves a heroic send-off like this and the film could end on an overwhelmingly positive note, with all of the team gathered at Tony and Pepper’s wedding before the old guard such as Captain America, Tony Stark, Black Widow, Thor and Hulk bow out gracefully to usher in the new era of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Conversely, however, it could go the other way in the form sacrifice. Perhaps the Soul World requires a trade of sorts and thus the heroes must sacrifice themselves to save the new crop, i.e. Tony Stark for Peter Parker, Steve Rogers for Bucky etc. It’s a darker variation of the above, in that the old guard still get to bow out, but I don’t think this will be happening, as it could cause a certain amount of resentment for the new team as they would only be there because one of our favourites had to go.

The death of Steve Rogers might be coming..

Quick Fire Minor Predictions

Alright, those are my big thoughts, but here are some other quick things I think could be happening;

Tony Stark is the new Director of Shield (set photos has him in Shield attire)
Hulk will finally come out, perhaps due to an unrivalled amount of rage such as Black Widow dying?
Captain Marvel will fight Hulk to control his rage
Tony and Steve will finally reconcile and it’ll be wonderful
Vision will be “reborn” with his all-white attire
Hawkeye will be back in action following the death of his family, post “snapping”
Thanos won’t be killed, but will instead retire to life as a farmer (as happened in the comics)
Steve Rogers will be relinquishing the title of Captain America, one way or another

That about wraps it up. I adored Infinity War and I can’t wait to see the conclusion to this thrilling saga, I truly have faith that the writers and creative team will do it complete justice and we’ll be able to look back on this past decade in years to come as a truly amazing period of cinema history which took the comic book genre out of obscurity and into the mainstream.