Mike Thurston Interview

– Tell the readers some brief details about you before we get started.

I’m 23 years old, born and bread in Leeds, UK then moved to Newcastle Upon Tyne to study Economics & Business Management at Newcastle University. This was where the bodybuilding begun. As soon as i arrived i joined the university gym and sacked off all the sports on offer to students. Even though the university lifestyle took its toll in terms of alcohol consumption, poor nutrition and lack of sleep, after a few months of consistent training the results were already impressive. This was just a hobby during my university years. Although I was passionate about bodybuilding I never believed anything would ever come from it. When I graduated in 2011 I spent the summer abroad in Marbella promoting nightclubs and bars. Again due to the lifestyle, this was less than ideal conditions for optimum strength and conditioning results. However I still maintained his size and shape by making sure I went to the gym almost every day. I returned to Newcastle to follow on with promotions until I was recruited by Hollister (the Abercrombie & Fitch sister company) in November to work as a Manager in the city centre store.

After a year of working in retail, it’s repetitive nature, it’s less than ideal working hours, I was forced to cut back on my real hobby, bodybuilding, and felt as though I was wasting my potential. At the age of 22 I realised you truly have to do what you enjoy in life, otherwise what is this point? I knew something relating to health and fitness would be my new career path. In February 2013 I juggled working the managerial position whilst attending a personal training course. In March I completed the course, took a risk and quit my job. Shortly following this I joined forces with my old university friends to form the Newcastle based health and fitness company Aurora Athletic. By the time you read this the website should be live www.auroraathletic.com

– How and when did you get started in health and fitness

I’ve always been into my sports. I played rugby for consistently for 10 years. If I wasn’t playing rugby I was either involved in athletics, basketball, football, I even tried cricket but I was terrible. Just before I turned 18, and the rugby season had ended, I had a sudden interest in lifting weights. I have no idea where it came from. All I knew is wanted to be big. There was a small gym in my school which I would go to by myself on my lunch break or at the end of the day. This was where it began.

– What mistakes you used to do when you began?

I would go into that school gym with 0 knowledge on what the hell I was doing. I would walk in there and move from one machine to the next, lifting, pulling, pushing as heavy as I could. I would never focus on specific body parts, have a plan, or track my progress. I just walked in and did whatever machine looked appealing at the time. I also focused on the muscles I enjoyed working out. I loved working out my chest and arms, which is probably why to this day my chest and arms grow without much effort. The pump I achieve on these body parts is insane.

Another mistake was that I never trained legs. I didn’t see the point. Walking out of the gym with a leg pump just didn’t appeal to me. After neglecting them for so long I’ve had to play catch up and train them twice if not three times a week now.

I never tracked my diet, nor did I know anything about what I should be eating, how much and what I shouldn’t be eating. Luckily my genetics were and always have been generous to me. My body fat has always been low, I’ve always been lean from a young age and the majority of food that I ate seemed to turn to muscle.

Only recently have I realized the importance of engaging the right muscles. This is still a big issue with my back workouts. For years I wasn’t getting the most from my back workouts. Due to the size and strength of my arms, they took a lot of strain and effort out of the movement away from the key back muscles. I had to back to the beginning, lift lower weights closed my eyes and really concentrate on which muscles should be doing the work. This goes for all exercises!

– What is your diet like?

Today my diet on point. I’m learning everyday so I know I will end up making changes to it in the future. It’s all about trial and error. There is not one diet regime out there that works for everyone. What will work for me might not work for another person. I used to eat anything I wanted and I would still put on muscle mass and remain lean. My friends hated it! Today my diet is quite strict. It has to be to compete with the world’s best physiques. I play around with my calories, carbohydrate and fat intake. Protein intake always remains pretty damn high (you can never get enough protein). At the end of the day it all depends on what I am trying to achieve. Obviously I want to look as lean as possible, everyone likes the shredded look! Staying ultra shredded is hard work so there’s periods where I am more relaxed and enjoying life. I have a sweet tooth so every now and then I’ll treat myself. I like to have fun, go out, eat at restaurants, party and drink. I don’t believe you should stick to a diet if it prevents you from doing anything fun, you have to enjoy life.

– What is your typical workout routine?

I’m always learning so I’m always changing them up. One very important thing I have leant is that you always have to shock your body, prevent it from reaching homeostasis. Do the same routine every week for every week of the year and your body is bound to get comfortable. Every workout counts, you have to give 100% of you effort when you are in the gym. If I don’t walk out of there feeling well and truly worked, I’m annoyed. At the moment I perform reps around 8-10, usually 3 sets of each exercise. I’ve thrown in loads of supersets and drop sets to really exhaust my muscles and get the most out of them. When I’m with a partner I’ll do Dorian style training, where you warm up on 1-2 sets then on the final set go all out and lift as heavy as you can for as many reps as you can, with your partner assisting you on the final positive reps (you still have it in the tank to get those negatives out). At the moment my routine is Chest/Back, Quads/Calfs, Shoulders, Hams/Back, Arms, Abs, so I’m training 6 days of the week. I’ll change my routine up every 4-6 weeks.

– Which are your top 3 exercises and why?

Deadlifts, squats and bench press. These exercises focus on so many muscles within your body. These exercises are so vital for putting on mass and increasing your strength. If you are not incorporating any of these exercises in you workouts, sort it out!

– How do you keep motivated?

This has never really been an issue for me, I’m very self motivated, disciplined and self critical. I will always look in the mirror and pick out imperfections, or look for parts of my body which need to either tone up or grow. A good way of keeping motivated is surrounding yourself with like-minded people who will push you and support you as much as possible. I always follow a number of athletes who have a physique which either impresses me, or I aspire to have. It helps to remove temptation. I usually go shopping (on a full stomach) once a week and buy everything I’ll need. Having to visit the supermarket on a regular basis is only going to tempt you more to buy crappy food you don’t need.

– What is your favourite body part?

My chest. I love working it out and I love getting a chest pump.

– What is your favorite healthy meal?

Either chicken and sweet potatoes, or salmon and rice. Both with loads of vegetables.

– What is your favorite cheat meal?

Everything! A colossal burger with chips, finished off with lots of dessert (cheesecake, chocolate, brownie, muffin, sticky toffee pudding, ice cream etc).

– Do you do cardio? If so, what type of cardio?

Rarely, I hate it. I believe life is too short for cardio. You can get to the desired levels of body fat purely by watching what you eat and lifting heavy weights. I only see cardio as a means to improve your overall level of fitness and conditioning. I incorporate HIIT training once or twice a week to burn off excess fat or to further tone my legs.

– What supplements do you use?

Omega 3 fish oil tablets, vitamin D3 tablets, BCAAs and whey protein shakes.

– What is the best advice you have ever been given?

Dorian Yates video – Best 15 minutes of bodybuilding advice you can get. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hggkrZF-Bpw

– Other hobbies a part from fitness?

I like to travel, spend time with my friends and keep up to date with the latest rap and hip-hop music. If I lived in a warm country next to the ocean I’m sure I’d spend most of my time surfing.

– Favorite fitness models, athletes or bodybuilders? Inspirations?

Jaco de Bruyn – He is one of the best role models out there, a genuine nice guy who I’d like to meet one day. He’s also doing a lot out in South Africa to help the fitness industry. We have spoken before and he really gave me the confidence to pursue my career.

Lazar Angelov – He has the physique I would aspire to have one day. His symmetry and proportions are perfect. Every time I see a picture of him I’m motivated to get to his level.

Simeon Panda – The first time I saw his pictures I was blown away. Monstrous features, plus he’s a fellow English athlete so, I need to support the English!

Ulisses Jr – This guy is just a cool dude and he’s got a sick body. He also doesn’t try too hard like a lot of these athletes do these days in terms of social media. He’s just a laid back guy doing his thing.

– What are the most important tips you would give to our readers to achieve a Top Physique?

Results will show if you consistently train effectively over a long period of time. THERE IS NO QUICK FIX OR QUICK SOLUTION! Be patient. If you’re in it for the short run you’ll only ever achieve mediocre results. Instead you want to be looking in the long term, into the years ahead, what are the goals do you need to set yourself now in order to achieve the big goal in the future.

Attack and focus on your weaknesses as they will prevent you from goals in the future. For example, you can’t avoid doing deadlifts or squats just because you don’t like them or can’t be bothered.

You should have a relaxed approach to health and fitness. Enjoy it, embrace it and don’t let it take control over you. Those that truely love working out and lifting weights are the ones who end up with the best physiques.

The time you spend in the gym is so crucially important. You literally have to work your ass off and push yourself to the limits. Don’t spend the time sitting around waiting or having a social with your mates. Get in the zone, focus always keep moving, throw in supersets and dropsets if you spend too much time doing nothing. If you walk out the gym thinking i could have trained harder, you’ve just wasted your time.

– Any quotes that describes your way of thinking?

“A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” – Walter Gagehot

“The man who cannot believe in himself cannot believe in anything else.”

“The worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else. I’d hate that.”

“The successful person has the habit of doing the things that normal people don’t like to do”