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Ian, 63, from Croxteth, came second in the National Amateur Body-Builders\u2019 Association\u2019s (NABBA) Mr Universe contest in Newcastle on Sunday \u2013 the first time it\u2019s ever held an over 60s category.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, I\u2019ll be back!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very disappointed on Sunday because you put yourself through a lot to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy what I do \u2013 and I want to be Mr Universe. That\u2019s my goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019m taking 12 months off to look after myself and then I\u2019ll be back, a million per cent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be competing for Mr Universe 2027 and I\u2019ll win it.\u00a0 Just you watch!\u201d<\/p>\n
The former gym owner who\u2019s now a personal trainer was originally a bodybuilder more than 30 years ago, taking part in just three competitions including Mr UK and NABBA North West \u2013 and winning every single one.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that was me then, I\u2019d done it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He took up the sport again in 2023 after daughters Holly and Heidi persuaded him to give it another go to raise money for Dementia UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy late mother-in-law Maureen had dementia and it\u2019s awful, frightening the way it changes you, and so I decided I wanted to do something and raise money.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I\u2019d do a sponsored walk or something, but Holly said \u2018why don\u2019t you do a bodybuilding show again?\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always looked after myself and stayed in good nick, and so I started to train.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard work. When he\u2019s competing Ian follows a strict diet of rice, potatoes, chicken, fish and whey protein \u2013 \u2018everything\u2019s clean\u2019 \u2013 and undergoes a demanding training schedule, with more than six hours a day in the gym, six days a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get up around 6am and do a two-hour cardio session, with maybe half an hour on the exercise bike, a half hour on the stepper, walking on the treadmill and then back to the exercise bike.<\/p>\n
\u201cI I train one body part in the morning, maybe chest, and then another in the afternoon, arms, triceps, shoulders etc.<\/p>\n
\u201cLater on, I\u2019ll do another hour\u2019s cardio, maybe a walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ian competed in 11 competitions last year, raising \u00a38,000 for Dementia UK.<\/p>\n
This year \u2013 raising money for the James Bulger Memorial Trust \u2013 he took part in three, NABBA North West, Mr Great Britain and Mr Universe which, if he\u2019d won, would have meant he was the first person over 60 ever to take the title.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m not stopping now,\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so close.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take some time off to rest and step up my online training work, but I\u2019ll try again and I\u2019ll still keep myself in this condition. I like being like this and I feel great mentally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got into bodybuilding when I was about 15, because I was into football and I went from playing kids my own age to playing men, the old alehouse teams who kicked lumps out of you on a Sunday after too many pints the night before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to beef myself up a bit and it started from there.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s now my lifeline too.\u00a0 I have struggled with my mental health since I was young, and feeling depressed is an awful place to be in.<\/p>\n
\u201cTraining releases all the endorphins and serotonin that keep me feeling good and positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd people say I\u2019m inspiring too, to be still competing over 60.\u00a0 Men of 40 say they thought they were finished and see me and realise that they can go on. I have recently seen someone online who\u2019s 90 and he looks about 60, he looks amazing. And he\u2019s inspiring me!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so glad the girls got me back into this. Everything happens for a reason and, 30 years on, this is the right time.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s all or nothing for me. I will have a rest, and then I will be back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a goal \u2013 and I\u2019m going to achieve it. I will be Mr Universe 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n
Find out what\u2019s good up North on our new platform, The Northern Guide.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\nFrom the best hotels, beauty spots, days out, food and more up North \u2013 visit\u00a0thenorthernguide.com<\/a>\u00a0and follow The Northern Guide on Instagram\u00a0HERE.<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n