Natural Bodybuilder Nigel St Lewis Talks With TheGymLifestyle.com

Written by James C., M.S.(C), PT

| Published on May 29, 2013

| Last updated on October 7, 2023

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Nigel ‘The Symmetry’ St Lewis Talks With TheGymLifestyle.com

Nigel St Lewis is a natural bodybuilder. and two times British champion, aiming to be a world champion in 2013.

Quick stats

Age: 33
Location: London
Height: 6ft
Weight: 105kg

How did you get started with bodybuilding and training?

For as long as I can remember I’ve always been an avid sports fan, its a family trait, in fact my entire family were sports crazy, I played every sport going, You name it I played it I simply loved sports. As a kid I remember being in awe of my cousin, now my cousin was no bodybuilder but he trained, I remember looking up to him like he was some kind of god simply because he had huge arms and chest I wanted to be just like him.

I began weight training from the age of 19, back then the fear of looking like the average man drove me to the gym.

However I was only interested in training my chest and biceps, and this is what I did, in fact thinking about it my training back then was purely to develop big arms and chest to impress the females lol, in a word it was ridiculous, however despite my ridiculous training I did develop impressive arms and biceps, of which I was extremely proud.

I suppose the man upstairs blessed me with some half decent genetics.

It did not take me very long to see results, unlike some of my friends, and this kept me motivated, as the months and years went by I made some impressive gains, however back then I had no legs or back development, I simply neglected training them, those muscles to me won’t visible, I could hide my legs by wearing trousers, I couldn’t see my back so I really didn’t care, and the females were complimenting my physique, so I couldn’t see a problem, long story short I learnt the hard way, I still have moments in my head now where I laugh at how I once did things. Fast forward to 2010, where after some internet research I found out about natural bodybuilding

I recall saying to myself well I’ve spent all these years training, and looking at some of these guys I’m pretty confident I could do quite well.

I continued my research into natural bodybuilding until one day I came across a natural bodybuilder called Rob Hope, to cut a long story short that was the day I decided to become a bodybuilder, I had never seen a physique like it and to this day IMO he’s still one of the if not the greatest natural bodybuilder to have ever grace the stage.

Where does your motivation come from?

My motivation comes from simply wanting to be the best I can be. I cannot imagine living a life where I simply exist on a daily basis believe we’ve all been put on this planet to serve a purpose, the difficulty sometimes can be finding our purpose, I believe I’ve found mines or it’s found me, regardless I intend to make the most of it for as long as I can.

What’s your current training philosophy?

Consistency is key, you must stay consistent. This year I decided to change things up a little, I’ve prioritised what I consider not necessarily weak points, but body parts I feel I need to work on if or when I do eventually compete on a world stage. So as you can probably work out from my current split quads and hamstrings are a priority.

Always aim to work harder on what you consider your weaker areas.

What does your diet consist of?

I’m a bodybuilder so i eat like one, or like I believe a bodybuilder should do, if you’ve made that commitment and your serious about what you do, whether you’ve decided to compete put on some size or get lean for that holiday you’ve been planning, diet plays a huge role.

You are wasting your time if you’re putting all that effort in at the gym, and not putting an equal amount of effort in the kitchen.

I eat on average 5 to 6 meals a day, and I always try to get a balance between protein and carbohydrates with every meal, porridge eggs brown rice potatoes chicken steak lamb lean mince beef/turkey vegetables and a lot of water not to mention supplements provided by my sponsors Maxiraw.

Do you stay lean all year round or do you bulk and cut?

It depends on what your definition of lean is, it will be almost impossible for me to stay in show condition year round. that said, I stay as lean as i can in the off season, however the off season is a time most bodybuilders use to make gains, some use it as a time to eat crap all in the name of bulking, when really it’s just and excuse to eat crap.

You must remember that you are what you eat, eat crap make crap gains.

I try to stay as close to show condition as I possibly can so when I begin to prepare, it’s not as difficult as it would be had I not done so, plus I like being in shape.

If you had to pick only 3 exercises, what would they be and why?

1. Bench Press

2. Deadlift

3. Squats

Basic compound exercise is needed to build a base, my personal favourite of the three would have to be bench press, as its the exercise I’m best at, however if I had to choose one exercise from the three it would have to be squats, I often say I wish most gyms would get rid of there upper body equipments for six months to a year, to allow everyone’s legs to catch up. You wouldn’t put 13 inch wheels on your Ferrari for good reasons.

How many guys at your gym do you know that are huge up top with next to nothing at the bottom, I call them the chest and bicep men.

believe me it isn’t a good look, some common excuses “I run for my leg” “it hurts my knees” “mines are already massive” lol man up is usually my thought when I hear these excuses.

Three tips you’d give to someone who’s trying to grow stronger and trying to reach their goal physique?

Stay consistent, there are to many start and stop people out there, nothing annoys me more than someone moaning about there lack of gains, as a direct result of inconsistent training.
Your workout doesn’t stop when you leave the gym, again i see to many people after having trained eat crap, you do not grow in the gym, how you recover determines the gains you make in size and strength, you’re session does not end the minute you exit the gym door, eat right rest right. and btw ladies doing some resistance training is NOT going to make you look like a bloke.
This ones for the guys mainly yes lift heavy I always have, however please remember we’re training our muscles not our egos, leave the ego at home, there is no place for it at the gym.

Favourite Quote?

I’ve got several, however one that stands out to me is a quote by Vince Lombardi.

I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.