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We have some fascinating characters at UP with interesting and relevant stories to tell, so without further ado allow me to kick off a series of UP interviews and for our inaugural one introduce one of my most experienced personal trainers, Howard Pearson. As you will read below, Howard has a wealth of experience in all areas of physical improvement and when drawn on certain subjects that push his buttons the famously mild mannered Howard doesn’t hold back from saying it exactly how sees it. The first part of this interview was conducted by UP trainer Martyn Sklayne, and deals with Howard’s recent competitive bodybuilding success (Martyn also hopes to follow in Howard’s winning footsteps very soon), and the second section is all about me finding out Howard’s opinions on personal training and it’s varied pitfalls and positives!

A balanced approach is fundamental to all that Howard does, and although pumping iron is his first love he still teaches much more than just weight training

MS: Hi Howard, firstly congratulations on you winning the masters class at the British natural bodybuilding federation (BNBF) southern championships.

It has been 10 years since you last competed? How did it feel to step back onstage after all these years?

HP: 13 years! I was a little apprehensive as Its always had to appreciate your own physique. I’m my biggest critic. Once I was up there though I felt comfortable straight away.

MS: What made you decide to make this year the one to get back into competition?

HP: I trained a friend up for a NPA contest last year and started to think about it then. With the encouragement from some of the boys at UP I figured it would be an interesting project to do after all these years.

MS: How has your training and diet changed over the years from when you started to how you currently exercise?

HP: I eat less carbohydrate! I used to play a lot of rugby on top of all the weights and running training. My energy needs were high. Over the years other exercise replaced rugby once I retired from that. I’ve been teaching cardio training / group fitness; Body Pump, Body Combat and indoor cycling for 10 years. I found that as I’ve got older I respond to a more measured approach to carbohydrate consumption whilst keeping healthy levels of quality fats. I’ve always kept protein moderate to high which works for me.

My weight training has pretty much always stayed the same: heavy and basic, varying programme’s every 4-6 weeks.

MS: I understand you are a lifetime natural (drug free) bodybuilder. With the use of performance enhancing compounds being rife in most bodybuilding federations what made you decide to stay natural?

HP: It was difficult when I was younger with peer pressure but I was lucky enough to have some very positive and supportive people around as training partners who also chose the drug free route. As I’ve got older its got a lot easier. The muscle maturity I have really comes through on stage. My recent success motivates me more to keep doing what I do.

MS: Describe to me a typical week for you including how many hours you work, train and teach exercise classes? I hear so many people make excuses that they don’t have time to train and look after their body. I want to highlight the fact that despite you being so spread out physically and mentally with your occupation you are still able to bring a championship winning physique to the bodybuilding stage.

HP: Typically I have 25-35 contracted but this often shoots up to 50+ hours when I’m teaching trainee instructors. I average about 5 classes per week and I train maybe 8-10 hours per week.

MS: What is your thought process when getting preparing for a workout? Do you listen to or watch something motivational?

HP: I know what I’m going to do and just get on with it. I enjoy training so its not really a chore. When its time to train I train. Teaching is different, its exercise to music so I listen to the music.

MS: What makes a mindset of a champion? What makes you different?

HP: I enjoy competing with myself. Have goals and strive your best to achieve them. I’ve always enjoyed competition in any sport.

MS: How do you keep focused when preparing for a contest?

HP: I break the whole experience down into smaller goals. Mark them off one at a time. Regular bio signature readings to check my body fat levels help to keep the focus sharp.

MS: What drives a man to basically starve himself for 16 weeks while brutalizing himself in the gym many hours a week to diet off the body fat?

HP: First up I always have done this for myself. It is always my choice. When I compete I know that the people who come to support the contest appreciate what they see, so I want to be my best when I’m on stage.

MS: You believe in staying quite lean year round. Where do you think most people go wrong and fall into the vicious trap of yo-yo dieting?

HP: Unrealistic goals: I feel you need to have a maintenance level. It’s very hard to stay in top shape so be happy to ease back to maintenance level. It’s too easy to drop off the diet wagon with some much temptation around. Self discipline is crucial.

MS: Do you get cravings when dieting? If so how do you overcome them?

HP: I get the odd craving for peanut butter this time around, they generally come when I’m on low calories. So I know to add some protein or try to get more rest.

MS: List the most important attributes a person needs to possess in order to succeed in bodybuilding?

HP: Mental resolve! Love of training hard! Good nutritional knowledge and you’ve got to like standing on stage!

This photo was taken the day before the 41 year old Howard won his Masters bodybuilding competition. He can be taken so seriously because he practices what he preaches every day of his life. And it shows!

MS: What advice would you give to a newcomer who wanted to compete in bodybuilding show for the first time?

HP: Go for it, be realistic and only do it if you are enjoying what you do. Try not to take yourself too seriously!

MS: What are your future competition plans and goals?

HP: Next up is the British Championships in September. From there, who knows?

A big thanks to Martyn for taking the time to ask Howard these questions, and now it’s my turn to try to see what makes the enigma tick!

NM: You have been a personal trainer for almost as long as it has been recognized as a profession. How long have you been doing it for, and what made you become one in the first place?

HP: I first started training people in the early 90s. I did some basic fat loss trainng and diet protocols (“can you get me in shape for my wedding?” type stuff) plus learned more about weight training for women when I put together an exercise and diet protocol for a figure competitor (who went on to compete at the British ANB Champs). I felt Personal Training was the way for me because I have basically always done it. Even through school, where I was a very successful athlete and sports team player, I always found myself helping and encouraging the less gifted students. I enjoy seeing people do well at something and if I can have a helping hand in their success that gives me a great sense of intrinsic reward. That still holds true to today. Although I do this as my career I still get those same intrinsic rewards when I achieve success with my clients.

NM: And how has the personal training industry changed over the years, and is it for the better or worse? Are there good / bad trends that you see?

HP: Has personal training changed? Absolutely, but not necessarily for the better.

As any product or service grows there is always the danger that it might become diluted. I think with PT this is definitely the case. In the early days, Personal Trainers were people who had extensive experience in training themselves, they had battled through hundreds or even thousands of training sessions themselves. They had that personal experience of exposure to all types (good, bad and sometimes just plain crazy) training protocols. They had done their time. Now those trainers are still out there and there are plenty of new trainers coming through who have ‘done their time’, so its not all bad. Unfortunately today, you can do a quick weekend course (with little or no gym experience) and be training some poor soul on Monday, charging good money for next to nothing in return. We see this type of bullshit trainer time and time again. The problem is that these so called trainers tarnish the industry and give us all a bad reputation.

Half the battle is for the reputable facilities and trainers to convince the market that we do have the knowledge, skills and personal experience (and quality education!) so that we can call ourselves Exercise Professionals. It seems today that anyone and their dog can be a trainer. I see so many who are completely out of shape themselves, that’s a good advert then! Or you get the ones who are skinny fat, maybe have spent a bit money on some body enhacements, put some figure hugging clothes on, the latest pair of ‘go faster’ training shoes and bam! ‘train with me because I know all there is to know about training’ CLUELESS. The big corporates push PT because its a revenue maker. There is no real reward for the PTs themselves, poor wages they can top up by making endless sales on other products. Nobody cares, just get the next one in. No wonder these PTs will jump on the next fad. They must be so bored!

There are good trends out there of course. A lot of trainers are becoming far more specialist in their knowledge and skills. There are good facilities opening up with groups of trainers who can work together, bounce ideas off each other and almost join forces in delivering results based training. We must not ignore the bigger health clubs and other places either, rather embrace all that is out there so that people can make informed decisions as to what the best way forward is for themselves. My analogy would always be the ‘hare and the tortoise’. do we go for the fast buck or do we look to the long term and help people change their lives for good?

The trouble with PT is that people are always trying to reinvent the wheel. There are some funky bits of kit out there that can help with training, but they are just tools in the tool box. The latest thing comes out and suddenly the way to change you body forever to swing like a monkey from a piece of nylon hanging over a tree branch. Don’t get me wrong, they are all tools in the toolbox, and each thing has its place, but these things are not replacement for the basics. You always have to look at the bigger picture. I’m not against different modes of training, at the end of the day if we get more people moving and doing something, we will make positive change in the world. What irritates me is how these things are ‘sold’ to us. Stand on a vibrating platform for a few minutes and you’ll burn all the fat you need to and get a workout equivalent to an hour in the gym! Of course you will. That must be why there are queues of people waiting to get on these things. Its all about money and not about the person TOOLS IN THE TOOLBOX.

Some of Howard’s results as featured in Men’s Health magazine

NM: I couldn’t agree more with what you’ve just said, as you know it is really all a part of the founding principles of UP. Moving on, how do your years of gym experience help you as a personal trainer?

HP: My experience in the gym environment has been invaluable. I have been lifting for 30 years! I’ve seen and done a lot of training and have been fortunate enough to have gained this experience all over the world. I have been tutored by several highly experienced former lifters and athletes along the way. Experience is everything. Being able to pass that knowledge on to others and see them grow as a trainer or just as a client motivates me to keep doing what I do. The experience I have means I often see things that others simply don’t. Whether that is aspects of training, non verbal communication or just general things in the gym environment, the more exerience you have the more you can see. By acting on these things I think I become a more rounded person, which in turn, makes me a more genuine PT in the clients’ eyes.

NM: And do you feel that the specific bodybuilding experience, including the highly focused and specific nature of competition preparation, helps give you a competitive advantage as a personal trainer?

HP: My background in Bodybuilding is of great advantage to me as a Personal Trainer. If you can get into shape to the point of presenting your physique successfully on stage, in front of 500 people, then clients are going to buy in to the idea that you might know what you are talking about. Also, it gives me the confidence in my own abilities to go through the training and diet necessary to achieve the desired result. Again, it comes back to experience. If you know what it takes you are far better placed to encourage and push people through to achieve their own goals.

NM: You were very well established and successful at your previous gym, what made you move across to London to join UP? I assume my charm alone didn’t make you switch?!

HP: I was very well established, 10 years! It was a big move for me in many ways to come over to UP in many ways, but I guess the main reason for joining the team here is because I believe there is a huge future in quality, results orientated private training. I believe that the philosophy of UP matches that future, indeed, leads the charge. I think your vision of where you would like UP to go motivates me to commit and pledge my future to the business and help realize those dreams. Its an exciting time to be in the industry, a time where competition is intense, but I feel the strong will prevail and by that, I mean UP will become an industry leader, a brand and something to really be part of.

NM: Thank you, I don’t mind admitting how delighted I was at the end of 2009 when you told me you were coming on board. What do you feel that UP brings to the table that hasn’t been replicated anywhere else?

HP: UP has a back to basic, no nonsense approach to strength and conditioning. No stone is left unturned. We do truly help people realize their goals. We are innovative with such things as our Viking Group Training and use of equipment that a lot of places simply do not have, Fat Bars, Chains, Sleds, bands and Farmers Walk Bars to name a few. All this is provided with elite, highly experienced, highly trained and highly knowledgeable trainers. Name a place that provides this kind of service?

The business demands, you, Nick, demand, quality in all areas. With key personal trainers to support this vision UP is second to none.

Howard proving that he doesn’t just drink protein shakes!

NM: We all push each other on at UP, it is one of the many factors I feel that makes us unique!

As one of the most experienced Personal Trainers in the business, do you think that personal training is something that benefits most clients? And what sort of clients do you enjoy working with / enjoying working with you?

HP: Personal Training benefits everyone. Whatever a clients’ goal maybe, a good trainer can help the client achieve them. We do the thinking, they do the training. I have trained many, many clients and can truly say I have enjoyed the experience with everyone of them. Is there some that I find harder to work with? Of course, but I have always tried to find a way to get the most from them. The real key is to really find out what their true goal is. Once you have that as your focus then some real inroads can be made. Personally, it has never bothered me whether a client is male or female, younger, older, fit,unfit, big, small, it really doesn’t matter. I have been stumped from time to time, but with their goals in mind I would seek out a trainer who would be better placed to deal with the client. Another benefit of UP would be that we work as a team, use each others knowledge, pool it together to achieve maximum results.

NM: You are a man who has been physically active all his life. Can you relate to the more sedentary people who are likely to come to you as clients?

HP: Yes, I’ve been active all my life and I feel fortunate to have had such an upbringing. Can I relate to sedentary people? Yes I can. I think it goes back to school and helping my classmates who weren’t in the sports teams or competing on sports day. It just wasn’t a chore to help them. It wasn’t an ego trip for me either, just seeing someone trying and giving them a helping hand, seeing a result and how happy they were made it worth it. I’d like to think what goes around comes around. Some of the guys helped me get ready for my last competition and they were as happy as me when I won the show. That’s what I’m talking about, that’s the intrinsic reward, that’s why we do what we do. Tall, short, big, small, genetically gifted or not, it doesn’t matter. I relate to being human and we are all human.

NM: Fantastic, and what a great note to end this interview on. Thanks for your time Howard, I know that you put a crazy amount of commitment and dedication into not just your own training, but also the work you do in helping others achieve their goals, and this speaks volumes for you as far more than just a personal trainer, but as a man.

We are very privileged to have a man of Howard’s calibre at UP, it is people like this who lift us all up to aspire to improve ourselves.