Netherton champ takes us through the places where they’re happy to whip up an egg white omelette and steam some veg
Bodybuilding. It’s a noble art.
It requires discipline, hard work and more often than not, denying yourself the finer things in life.
If you want to see the results of such a tough-on-yourself lifestyle, get to the ECHO Arena in October.
There, competitors from across the world who follow that very ethos will gather for the IFBB Diamond Cup.
It’s two days of contests across a number of categories where men and women who have pushed their bodies to the extremes of muscularity, symmetry and the aesthetics their judges scrutinise for marks will compete for some of the highest prizes in the sport.
Someone who knows all about what they’re going through is Netherton teacher Stephen Burke.
The 28-year-old leads business studies classes at Litherland High (with, understandably, a spot of PE on the side) and as his position as a positive influence on young minds suggest, steers well clear of any protein powders, supplements or performance enhancing drugs.
It is Stephen’s diet, pure and simple, which keeps his physique in peak contest condition alongside his gym sessions.
He’s competed at the event in the past and has already won the northern title in the middleweight class for the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation.
Stephen told the ECHO: “I’ve been training for about 10 years, since the end of sixth form and when I was going into uni.
“I was always training in the gym but I’ve always been the type of person who needed a goal. What can I get? What’s the end product?
“I started doing my research, entered competitions and since then, I haven’t looked back.”
He added: “You can do all the training in the world but if you’re not taking care of what’s going on your plate every day, that nutrition, then you’re not going to nail that stage condition.”
READ MORE: How seven meals and three hours in the gym every day created this champion body
Documentaries about the bodybuilding life often portray people who switch between the gym, the kitchen, the workplace and pretty much nowhere else.
When they’re not preparing the high-calorie, high-protein meals (usually involving plenty of chicken breasts and fish fillets) they’re working individual body parts with some impossibly heavy loads.
But Stephen is of the firm belief that your social life doesn’t have to suffer in the quest for success.
Around Liverpool, he’s found plenty of cafes and restaurants where the staff are happy to adapt the dishes on the menu to suit his training regime.
He said: “Bodybuilding can be a very lonely journey anyway so if you’re just making your meals in the mornings, just going through your everyday prep all the time, you’re not seeing the outside world.
“I’m not saying I’ll go out every single day to different restaurants and eat but it’s just nice, maybe in the morning, to go to a little cafe and have your breakfast made for you and then you can concentrate on your training.
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“If it’s a family meal or a special occasion or you just fancy something different, it’s finding certain places where they can be accommodating.
“I’ve been fortunate that the restaurants around Liverpool have been accommodating, the staff have been great, they’ve been really friendly.
“It could just be that you want grilled chicken breast with fresh steamed vegetables. It’s where you can go and the chef knows you can’t have any butter on your vegetables, or something like that, so it’s locating these places.”
The trainee stuntman generally consumes around 3,000 calories of good food each day. For good food, read the right combination of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fibre.
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But for when you want to stay in contest shape while not going stir crazy at the same time, these are Stephen’s tips for the best places in town where you can eat clean – and still look ripped.
Breakfast
The Old Hardware Shop, Woolton Village
Stephen says: “This is a very friendly family run business, providing a good vegetarian selection and can also cater for vegan dietary requirements.
“My choice when I’m there is an egg white omelette with kale and a filter coffee.”
City Cafe, Stanley Street
Stephen says: “When I’m in here I have egg white omelette and porridge oats made with water.”
Kemps Bistro, The Isla Gladstone, Stanley Park
Stephen says: “It’s a big park so I usually get my cardio routines done in there.
“I’ve been into the bistro and said, ‘Can I have six or seven scrambled egg whites and 50 grams of porridge oats made with water?’ and the girls or lads in there have said, ‘yeh, fair enough, we can do that for you’.
“At first they wanted to know what to do with the yolks so I told them to throw them together and make themselves an omelette!
“I’ll sometimes have a poached egg on wholemeal toast with black coffee in here too.”
Lunch
L’Olivetto, Rose Lane, Mossley Hill
Stephen says: “The staff in here are superb and very accommodating to my dietary requirements.
“Everything is made fresh and it played a huge part in my nutrition plan when training for a competition because of their healthy choices.
“I would have plain grilled breast of chicken with fresh steamed vegetables.”
Cafe Rouge, Liverpool One
Stephen says: “Here, it’s a Steak Frites 7oz fillet with new potatoes and green beans.”
PIMA Bar, Hilton, Liverpool One
Stephen says: “When I’m in here, it’s classic chargrilled chicken Caesar salad without any dressing or sauce.”
Gusto, Albert Dock
Stephen says: “The staff in here have really catered for my dietary requirements.
“I’ll have a chargrilled fillet steak or plain roast chicken, both with new potatoes.”
Dinner
Fazenda, Exchange Flags
Stephen says: “There’s a vast selection of meat choices from around the world with help-yourself buffet style fresh steamed vegetables, new potatoes, steamed rice and a salad bar.”
Carluccios, MetQuarter
Stephen says: “I’ll have a steak here, served on a bed of rocket leaf salad.”
Rum Warehouse, Titanic Hotel
Stephen says: “Usually, post competition, when I can eat a little more and celebrate a little bit, I’ll have a Chateaubriand fillet steak which serves two people or a ribeye steak served with new potatoes, mushrooms and peppers.”
But after all that training and sensible eating, doesn’t Stephen just want to sit back in front of the telly and eat lots of cake?
“All the time,” he laughed. “But once you have that first taste you remember how great it is – and how addictive it can be!”
