Kerry Kayes from CNP Professional helps Steve Bell train for his next fight
Most often when an actor’s character meets an untimely demise they take the opportunity for a bit of a rest, but not so with Steve Bell. When he discovered Quinny, the squaddie he plays in Coronation Street, was destined to be killed in Afghanistan he decided to dust off his boxing career for one final blaze of glory.
He has thrown himself into a gruelling training programme to get match fit for the upcoming super featherweight Prizefighter Series in London on 20th November, 2010 and live on Sky Sports. The new Prizefighter Series pits eight professional boxers against each other in a one evening tournament to find the ultimate champion.
“It’s a brilliant spectator sport,” says Steve. “There’s so much action over the evening, even more than in a soap! And as a competitor you have to be super fit for the intense three-round fights. Then recover quickly, ready to go on to the next opponent.”
At 35, this is going to be Steve’s last boxing appearance and he wants to make sure he makes it an evening to remember, so he has turned to his old friend Kerry Kayes at CNP Professional to guide him through.
“I trust Kerry with my life,” he says. “Not only is he giving me nutritional advice and putting me through my paces with weight training to but he is also helping me out on the night. Making sure I last the course, and, more importantly – win.”
Combining an acting career and boxing has worked well for Steve. But there have been times when the two conflict. Sometimes a role has required him to bulk up and then when he returned to boxing he would have to diet to get down to his fighting weight. In these situations Kerry’s advice has been invaluable.
“Kerry is great,” says Steve. “He sits down with me and works out the best diet for training and the pre-match run up. He explains the importance of food, what it does to the body and how protein supplements improve performance and recovery. He’s always developing new supplements and coming up with new ideas.”
Recently Steve has started using CNP’s new energy gels, Pro Energy Gel (caffeine free) and Pro Energy Max developed specifically for the British cycling team. These are proving good for boxers as well as they give an instant, but sustained burst of energy in preparation for a period of intense action.
Other CNP supplements used by Steve are Pro MR – a high protein meal replacement shake, Pro Recover – to help repair muscles after exercise, Pro Omega – packed full of essential fatty acids and Pro Vital – a blend of essential vitamins for optimum health.
After the tournament and whatever the result, Steve intends to pursue his acting career with the same resolve and determination that he is putting into his boxing training.
“Boxing is a young man’s game,” he explains. “It takes every ounce of your energy. But acting can be pretty strenuous too and hopefully Kerry can carry on giving me some tips to keep up my energy levels and motivation.”
CNP Professional is one of the UK’s leading sports nutrition specialist companies. For more information visit www.cnpprofessional.co.uk, or call +44 (0) 161 368 0942 for sports nutrition advice and +44 (0) 161 368 3850 for sales.