1) Who is The Food Grinder? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
The Food Grinder is just a normal working bloke with as little time as the next person! I’m Alex and I have a full time job in the NHS as well as a 7month old baby and another little company on the side. I come from a small town in Essex called Saffron Walden. Having all these things going on in life I try my best to squeeze it all in from working, family, cooking, gym, social life! The Food Grinder was actually born out of this frustration of trying to fit everything in. When you’re working long hours and trying to get to the gym etc, eating freshly cooked, healthy food sometimes seems just out of reach for people. That’s why I tried to create my style of cooking videos to be short, sharp and to the point but still using fresh and colourful ingredients.
I always played sports at school but never really started going to the gym properly until I was around 23/24. I always found them really intimidating places and for the first year or so of training in them I never felt confident and always opted for the quiet areas in the gym. I began to start enjoying it when I was around 25 and after reading and researching training myself began to be a lot more confident in the gym!
3) Whats been the hardest part of your journey so far? and how have you overcome them (set backs, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
The hardest part of my journey, and still is, is my weight yo-yo. I gain weight really easily. When im focused and consistent in my training I get to a good place where im happy and feeling fit and confident. But if theres a busy schedule ahead and lots of social occasions, events, holidays etc I easily get broken out of my routine and can come back from holiday 6lb+ heavier in weight easily! Getting back into a routine is then a struggle and it takes me a few weeks to build myself back in to it.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like?
At the moment as its summer I’m enjoying relaxing a little bit and getting out in the open, just upping my cardio, going for walks and jogs etc. I’m weight training between 2/3 times a week but nothing hardcore at the minute. I usually find myself just enjoying training and all of a sudden ill get an urge to really focus and that’s when I’ll do like a 6 week plan or something like that. I’d say the majority of the year though I just try to enjoy training and no take it too seriously.
5) What have you learned over the past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition?
That calories are king, especially the older you get. Whenever im trying to drop some weight I have to monitor my calories
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
BBQ pulled pork burger and sweet potato fries and finish it off with crunchy biscoff straight from the spoon
7) one supplement that you could not live without?
LDNM Maple Syrup Flavour whey protein!
8) If you had to start out from scratch with your physique what would you do differently and why?
Probably not a lot different, I’ve never really wanted to be as big as possibly but maybe in my early training days tried to gain a bit more muscle mass. But theres still time!
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
There’s a lot of people I look up to and admire, for me it’s a lot more about the way they are and their ethos though. LDNM are a prime example for this as they are very realistic in their approach to training and lifestyle and that directly appeals to myself as I have a very busy lifestyle. There are a lot of other people/companies out there with similar beliefs which I really like and respect. I don't have time for anyone that have an unrealistic approach and doesn't take peoples lifestyles and mental barriers into consideration.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Just concentrate on yourself, especially in the gym. Just focus on your own personal goals and don’t get intimidated by anyone else and what they are doing!
11) What new goals are on the horizon? (new goals, aims, etc)
Just to stay active and enjoy getting out in the open and carry on training for enjoyment.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
@thefoodgrinder on Instagram, Facebook
@the_foodgrinder on Twitter
www.thefoodgrinder.com
alex@thefoodgrinder.com
