Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

When one door closed, another one opened for bodybuilder Arron

Post Thumbnail

When a serious knee injury brought Arron Simpson’s successful judo career to an abrupt halt, the 19 year old was left without a hobby and a goal in life.

“Judo was a big part of my life,” Arron, now 24, recalls. “I’d won the British championships three times and trained in Japan where judo is a national sport.”

He continued going to the gym – the Body Academy in Perth – where owner Vicky McCann suggested he tried competitive bodybuilding. The discipline he’d developed with judo transferred well to his new sport and he was hooked.

“Becoming a bodybuilder involves a lot of hard work, time in the gym and time preparing meals for the next day,” Arron explains.

“It’s vital to do it in a healthy way and make sure you’re enjoying what you’re doing, and of course rest and sleep are important too.”

Arron’s day job – he’s a grounds worker at a local building site, laying roads and sewers.

– helps keep him in tip top condition but that’s no reason for complacency.

“Dedication is important and I train on a different part every night – body, chest, legs, back, shoulders,” he says. “I concentrate on weightlifting. I’m 5ft 2” and weigh 65 kilos but can bench press 140 kilos – twice my body weight – which is quite unusual.”

A clean diet of porridge, sweet potato, chicken, spinach and broccoli helps keep him lean.

His favourite bodybuilder is Franco Columbu, an Italian actor who, at 5ft 4”, won the title of Mr Olympia in 1976 and 1981. And Arron himself is no stranger to fame. “A couple years ago I came second in the British National Bodybuilding Federation (BNBF) championships in the junior category and this year I placed first in the lightweight men’s category. My mum was so proud she was crying,” he recalls. Although he spends much of his spare time at the gym, he doesn’t feel he’s missing out.

“It’s more than just a gym. It’s a good laugh and there’s always a bit of banter – everybody’s really friendly and knows each other.

The staff are brilliant there and would help anybody – they’re always happy to give advice,” he says.

Arron, who is aiming to compete and place in this year’s BNBF finials in Birmingham on October 1, reckons bodybuilding has changed his life as well as his physique.

“I’ve always enjoyed keeping in shape and when one door closed, another opened. Bodybuilding pushes me physically to be the best version of myself and has really helped give structure to my life, as well as keeping me on the straight and narrow,” he says.

And he may not be the only member of the Simpson family to give the sport a try – his youngest sister, 10-year-old Molly, has been to a couple of shows.

“Molly is fascinated by the women in their bikinis and high heels,” he says. “You never know, she might go into female bodybuilding when she’s older.”

www.thebodyacademy.co.uk