About the author
Born in , in Stockton-on-Tees, England, I have had
an almost lifelong appreciation of muscle and might.
I started resistance training at age , when I got a
set of chest expanders as a Christmas present. us
started an infatuation with resistance training. In ,
at age , I started weight training, in a small “dungeon”
gym at a local community center. at wonderful den
became the focal point of my life until I left home to
go to college in Liverpool, in . Muscles were more
important than everything else in my life. School work, social activities and
sport all played second fiddle to the quest to build big muscles. If anything
did not help in the quest, it was ditched.Despite the commitment, my initial gains were only very modest.
After getting more “serious” about my training—i.e., increasing its volume,
frequency and intensity—progress came to a total halt. en started the
fullsome appreciation of “hard gaining.” Despite years of unrelenting total
commitment to my training and the full bodybuilding lifestyle, the great
physique that was promised did not develop. I was learning through great
frustration that there was a lot more accounting for bodybuilding success
than effort and dedication. As an archetypical hard gainer I was driven to
utter despair over such paltry results relative to the effort and dedication I
invested.I gradually learned about the critical role of genetic factors, the need to use
training routines appropriate to the individual, and the necessity of not imi-
tating the training methods used by people who have tremendous genetic
advantages.Learning important truths about bodybuilding and strength training moti-
vated me to share them with others. I wrote my first magazine article while
at college in Liverpool, and had it published by Peary Rader in
(in the June-July issue). In addition to writing further articles for
, I started writing for a number of - and -published bodybuilding
magazines.I graduated in , but was unable to find a teaching post in England. I
sought employment overseas, and in January I was appointed as a
teacher at an international school in Nicosia, Cyprus. I stayed until summer