Name: James "Flex" Lewis
Hometown: Born in Llanelli, Wales, UK; Now living in Brentwood, TN, USA
Height: 5' 5 1/2" (yes, the half matters!)
Weight: 192 lbs contest, 220 lbs off-season
Physique and competitive goals set and reached for 2009
My goals for improving my physique were the same as they've been for the past couple years – more overall size but especially in my back. The top two 202 men in the world right now are Dave Henry and Kevin English, and that's the one area they really have on me. I have been playing around with different exercises and techniques, and my back has been getting thicker. It's really nothing fancy, just hitting the free weight basics hard. I also wanted a bit more chest. My back and chest have never grown quite as fast as my legs, arms, and shoulders. But I did see improvement this year. I weighed 185 at the 202 Showdown in 2008, and this year I was 196 in the same condition. I still have more growing to do to have the same level of mass as guys like Henry, English, and Correia, but I am well on my way. As far as competitions, my goal was to win my qualifying show and then the 202 Showdown. I achieved the first one in Atlantic City, but things didn't go quite as well as I had hoped in
Las Vegas. I didn't carb up enough and I was too flat, but I know that wasn't the only issue. I just need to be bigger and to have a more rugged-looking back. Considering the grueling travel schedule I had this year making appearances just about every weekend, I am satisfied with what I accomplished.
Most memorable appearance of the year
If I had to pick my favorite appearance of the year, it would have been my trip to Australia. The promoters of the show put me up in a very nice hotel suite on the top floor overlooking the Sydney harbor bridge. The fans over there are probably the most supportive and welcoming of any country I've been to. I also had friends in Sydney who showed me all around the city one day and we had a great time.
Neck and neck with that one was the UK tour I did with
Rich Gaspari himself. Rich had no idea how popular bodybuilding is in Great Britain. But honestly, any of the appearances I made this year with Rich were excellent because being on the road with him I got to train with him many times. In the gym, Rich is still very much the Dragonslayer, and keeping up with him always makes the workout fun as well as a challenge. Idolizing him as a kid getting into the sport years ago and now being able to be his occasional workout partner is cool beyond words.
Favorite new Gaspari Products of 2009
I loved the new
Cytolean V2 when I was getting ready for my shows this year. Every other fat burner with a stimulant I used in the past always gave me a terrible crash a few hours later, but Cyto doesn't. But my favorite product that came out this year was definitely
Real Mass. For a while I was mixing up
MyoFusion with
Size On so I could have carbs with the protein as a meal replacement shake. Rich saw me doing this one time when we were traveling and he was horrified. "What the hell are you doing, Flex?" he said. I admit that my little concoction tasted like crap, but I wasn't drinking it for the taste. Rich brought a ton of sample packs of Real Mass along for our UK trip for me to use instead. This was months before it was on the market. The taste was incredible, and I was really grateful I wouldn't need to mix up any more nasty brews of my own to get the quality calories I wanted. I've been using tons of it since the
Olympia weekend to take advantage of the rebound you get after a show, and I'm already up to 230 with striations still visible in my glutes! I also like the new Size On Maximum Performance a lot. I had a photo shoot the morning after I won the Atlantic City show, and I was so depleted that I worried the shots were going to come out awful. I looked and felt flat as a pancake. Joe Babick from
Gaspari Nutrition was there and mixed me up a sample packet of the new stuff, and I kid you not – in about a half hour my physique was transformed. I had filled out considerably and the veins started to pop.
Looking forward
Usually people always want to know what weight I want to get up to any time I'm into my off-season training and eating. One thing I refuse to be is ruled by the scale. Just about everybody who uses weight as their measuring stick for gains winds up getting fat! I like to eat clean all year so I maintain a very decent level of condition. It's important to me to look like a bodybuilder at all times, not some roly-poly bastard with chipmunk cheeks and love handles. But my nutritionist,
Neil Hill, recently convinced me to start having a bit of fruit every day, like pineapple, or some yogurt. I found that I am already digesting my food better, which in turn led to some very nice gains I wasn't expecting. I have never looked this lean at 230 pounds, and I am sure I can add at least a few more pounds of quality muscle in the right spots in the coming months leading up to my prep for the 2010 season. My plan is to hit the later shows. I'm not sure which ones yet, but I'm looking at possibly the Tampa or the Europa, then the 202 Showdown again. That's the show I want to win more than anything else. I know the 202 class is getting stronger every year and the lineup will be tougher too, so that's even more incentive for me to train harder and improve. One thing that really motivates me is knowing that the very top guys now are all about 10-12 years older than me, and they're already at the very top of the weight class. I'm younger and still have a way to go before I max out my weight for the 202's. So whether or not I win the 202 Showdown in 2010, I know in my heart that title will be mine one day soon.
Bodybuilding Background:
How did you get started in bodybuilding?
I first learned about the existence of bodybuilding when I read a book on Tom Platz when I was 12, or maybe even younger. It was his legs that blew me away. His legs where amazing—front to back, side to side—I remember always wanting to have huge legs from that day on. Also, as a kid Arnold's films had me glued to the TV, and wrestling, too. I was increasingly drawn to the "extra-normal," shall we say. Wanting to look like a cartoon appealed to me from as far back as I can remember.
About the same time as the book on Tom Platz, I actually found some weights in my dad's shed. I asked if I could use them, but being 12 the answer was a direct "no—when you're older." Needless to say, that didn't stop this young Jack the Lad. I remember doing 50 squats every night with this old, rusty bar before bed. As time went on I increased the reps to 100. Of course, it was only a matter of time time before my parents caught on and took the weights back off me. Still, I dabbled in weights until I was 15.
I stepped into my first gym at 15 and saw my first real bodybuilder in the flesh. I was playing rugby at the time and needed to put some size so I started doing some power movements. The gym was made up of mainly power lifters, so that was the start of my power lifting. I was a strong kid, and maybe all those squats gave me an early advantage.
But there was something lacking in my heart. I loved to lift, but just not like that. Then one day, when I was alone at the gym, the local bodybuilder came up to me and said I had potential to compete. I started training with him and a year later, at age 19, I entered my first show. I won the teens Wales, and from there I went on to win the British also.
Who are some of the bodybuilders who have influenced your bodybuilding career?
I always looked up to Tom Platz, as I mentioned. Then the more I learned about the sport, the more I liked Lee Priest due his age and freakness. And my first pro and now dear friend Neil Hill, who is not only my nationalist but also a great family man.
And of course there's Rich Gaspari. Rich was a pioneer in conditioning. All of my diets revolve around CONDITIONING. He was the first guy to ever have striated glutes! I have always admired his work ethic and how he used conditioning and muscle density to beat taller, heavier competitors. Mass monsters be as you may!
Now it's come full circle, and I am actually friends with the man I've long adminred. Now he's in my corner, helping me with my career. How the world works!
What do you love the most about bodybuilding?
I love the ability to control my own fortune. Arnold once said that like a sculptor if you need more delts, then instead of clay you train that body part. I love being in a sport where your physique does the talking. When you're up on that stage there's nowhere to hide. Bodybuilding is unlike other sports I have played, where sometimes players can be made to look good by others. In this sport, once you're up on stage you better be in shape, as no one else can make you look good.
I also enjoy learning more and more about my body and about nutrition. Every competition is fascintating because of the things I learn about myself.
And I really love meeting people from all the different parts of the world, friendships that have been made, and having emails sent to me from all over. The well wishes and compliments make me push harder to create the perfect physique, and it humbles me to know that I have some great fans out there.
What are your short-term and/or long-term goals?
I am realistic. I set realistic goals, one at a time. One thing that remains constant is that I always train for first place. After I won the British Championships the 202 class came along, and I've always trained for first. You know how I came out there in the Europa, and I'm hoping that's the start for many more to come.
My short-term goal is to stay in that 202 class until I outgrow it. I wanna win the 202 Mr Olympia. And five years from now I want to be one of the top men in the sport, not just in the 202 class. My long-term goals are simply to be in the IFBB Hall of Fame one day like Rich, and to be healthy and happy with my wife and our children—when they come!
What does the phrase "Push Harder" mean to you?
It means so many things to me…in bodybuilding and in life in general. We all face adversities every single day, and always there are two options—A or B, easy or hard. As a pro I deal with this in every workout: do I go balls to the wall, or go heavy and half-hearted? I NEVER take the easy option. PUSH HARDER! When you can't do another rep, PUSH HARDER. When you feel you can't give more, PUSH HARDER!
These two words are very powerful. Read them over and over again, and let them sink into the lowest depth of your brain. When in fact you are faced with a tough situation, guess what? PUSH HARDER will come to you.
What advice would you give to someone who is just getting started as a serious bodybuilder?
Seek the guidance of a well-known competitor or, if you have one in your gym, a professional. Ask him to spare 10 minutes of his time. Read and all you can on nutrition—that is the key! There is no quick way of getting BIG, no magic drink or pill to make you look like Mr Olymia overnight, or even in a year, contrary to what some think. It all stems from having a well-balanced diet, good supplement intake, along with hard training and plenty of rest. Eat + sleep + train = start growing!
Supplementation:
I use the full range of Gaspari products. I love the science behind supplements, and Gaspari's range of hardcore supplements is a perfect marrage of science and experience.
Pre-contest: The base is SuperPump250, Cytolean, and PlasmaJet. I use all these products up to day of show. I use SizeOn daily up to 6 weeks out from a contest, then only add this in once a week on my high carb day.
Off-season: Other than the Cytolean and PlasmaJet, I use all of the same products every single workout day. I also include IntraPRO as a big part of my diet.
Professional Competition History:
| Date |
|
Event |
|
Division |
|
Results |
|
|
| 2009 |
|
IFBB Atlantic City Pro |
|
202 |
|
1st |
| |
|
IFBB 202 Challenge (Mr. Olympia) |
|
202 |
|
5th |
| 2008 |
|
Europa Pro |
|
Overall |
|
7th |
| 2008 |
|
Europa Pro |
|
202 |
|
1st |
| 2008 |
|
Tampa Pro |
|
Open |
|
7th |
| 2008 |
|
Olympia |
|
202 |
|
3rd |
| 2008 |
|
Tampa Pro |
|
202 |
|
2nd |
Amateur Competition History (undefeated):
| Year |
|
Event |
|
Division |
|
Results |
|
| 2007 |
|
British Nationals |
|
Overall |
|
1st* |
| *Earned IFBB Pro Card |
| 2006 |
|
Mr. Wales |
|
U90, Overall |
|
1st |
| 2006 |
|
Mr. Britain |
|
U90 |
|
1st |
| 2004 |
|
Nabba Mr. Universe |
|
|
|
1st |
| 2004 |
|
EFBB Junior Mr. Britain |
|
|
|
1st |
| 2004 |
|
EFBB Junior Mr. Wales |
|
|
|
1st |
| 2004 |
|
Nabba Mr. Europe |
|
|
|
1st |
| 2004 |
|
Nabba Junior Mr. Britain |
|
|
|
1st |
| 2004 |
|
Nabba Mr. Wales |
|
|
|
1st |
| 2003 |
|
EFBB Junior Mr. Britain |
|
|
|
1st |