A quickkie (60 second interview) with personal trainer Ben Alderton

Leonard Foster

10 years ago

Monday Motivation and a bit of eye candy for the ladies. We’ve been doing it to the girls and now we are doing it to the boys. A quickkie (60 second interview) 19-year-old Ben Alderton has a body to die for. Looks and body asides, he is a qualified personal trainer that offers online training, however we are sure we would like to be trained in person.

We questioned Ben below, on health and fitness, training and the kind of attention he get’s from his lean and trim body.

Name: Ben Alderton
Age: 19
Measurements?

6ft 2”
190lbs
16.5” arms
43.5” chest
29-30” waist

What’s your key to looking good?
Taking pride in myself and making sure you have the finer details down. I always dress like I am about to meet the love of my life – you never know what opportunities you will lose by not making the effort.

Give us your top training tip?
Retract your scapula! That’s a huge thing that still people fail to do. It keeps you strong in the exercise you are doing, helps your contraction and focus on the body part you are trying to hit – shrug, roll back and drop!

Do you ever feel under pressure in a gym full of men?
No way! I am competitive but I’ll never size myself up or try and lift stupid weight with no time under tension for “lad points” – leave your ego at the door, put your headphones on and focus on what YOU are doing.

What are your training goals for 2015?
My training goals are to make my debut in the WBFF and just develop my body to bring a better package then my previous competition. I’m focused on adding mass to my 6ft 2” frame and having wow’ing the judges with my improved posing. Along with the training goals I’m definitely wanting to help inspire and motivate more people of all ages get stuck into the fitness lifestyle because trust me, it’s worth it!

On health…

What does your diet consist of?
My diet consists of high protein as I weigh a lot being tall and having a fair amount of muscle, plenty of carbs to aid my workouts and energy and moderate fats. I feel I respond better to carbs right now.
I love chicken, ground beef, rice, pasta, sweet potato, oats, peanut/almond butter, avocados and plenty of fruit and veg to name a few of my usual meal ingredients. Be creative though! Enjoy your food, this is a lifestyle and don’t be scared of a cheat meal!

Is it expensive to keep a healthy diet?
It can be if you are not careful but know your supermarkets, pick the deals and the best places to buy. I try to pick out the deals, buy from the counter if I can or buy in bulk from places like MuscleFood.

If I can’t cook, what tips can you give to prepare a simple yet healthy meal?
Chicken and rice? As boring as that sounds.. I love it. Buy some jasmine rice and fresh chicken breast. Fry off the chicken in a non-stick pan or with a tiny bit of oil and I like to season with a tiny bit of Nando’s salt or similar. Boil the jasmine rice – it’s got a much nicer taste then normal rice and has a lovely fluffy texture – highly recommended and tastes awesome!

On men and women…

Do you get a lot of attention with a body like yours?
In truth, yes. When I go clubbing (which is rare but I am still a teen) I always get the “show me your abs” – don’t get me wrong though, some girls couldn’t care less but in most cases, girls like somebody who looks after themselves I feel.

Is the attention mostly from men or women?
Women but I do get a lot of blokes asking me about training or the odd bit of banter which is great because some people think everyone who goes to the gym is self obsessed, which often is not the case.

When did you first get into fitness?
All through school I was a skinny tall dude and around the end of secondary school I had enough of it. and came across a video of my idol Kai Greene. I think it was his Day In The Life series. It really intrigued me about what the body is capable of and I decided I was going to start training and the rest in history – I was hooked and couldn’t imagine my life without it now. I love the lifestyle, photo shoots, competitions and the everyday challenge!

What motivates you?
Seeing these world class athletes and guys making their dreams happen which is exactly what I plan to do! Most of all the motivation comes from the people who support me, friends, family. my coach and people in my gym and friends I’ve met through the industry. I couldn’t be more thankful and that’s what drives me everyday to better myself in and out of the gym.

What sort of training do you do?
I vary my training a lot. I did a lot of FST-7 training recently and mostly hypertrophy work. It isn’t about the weight for me. Obviously I always aim to add more weight as that makes for a stronger muscle and in turn a bigger one but for me it’s important to keep strict form and time under tension and making sure the reps are there. The optimal rep ranges for me are 8-12 reps. Usually I’m always going for 10.

What would be your top training tip?
Be consistent, I’m sure you see it all the time but it’s true! Rome wasn’t built in a day and you can’t expect results over night. You have to eat, train and rest and enjoy the grind. It will repay you in the end and you’ll be happy you stuck with it! Another top tip would be to train smart. Being out with injury will affect your gains a lot more than lowering the weight and doing the exercise correctly.

What sort of diet do you follow?
I follow a flexible dieting programme i.e my macros which are high protein/high carb/moderate fat – I respond best to carbohydrates and being a tall guy and weighing more my protein intake is a little higher. I just aim to keep things clean and make small increases in weight for quality muscle. All my diet is based around quality protein/complex carbs and EFAs(essential fatty acids)

What would be your top diet tip?
Keep it fun, chuck a little seasoning in – unless you are a week out from a show, don’t worry about sodium! Your water intake should be high enough to flush it out. At least with me I have found sodium doesn’t play a huge roll with me and it’s best to enjoy your food, keep your energy and happiness levels up and kill your work out then eat plain chicken and hate life. Small changes in your diet can make a huge difference to your result.

What are you future goals?
I aim to turn a pro in the WBFF, probably in the fitness model class. I’d also love to do a magazine cover and feature on a few other articles!

I would like to work with amazing athletes round the world and train and prep them for various different competitions but most of all remain healthy and happy doing what I love which is fitness and any other opportunities that come my way are a bonus!