Jack's 2017 prep and log

Hi all,

Sorry for the belated update, just few days; I will try run through them now.

Relaxed Friday in Leicester, loaded through the day which went well. Went to bed at 10 and it went down hill there. Couldn't sleep for the noise, dropped off around 2, woke up at 4 and that was it. As has happened before, that I've probably noted in here, bad sleep has always been a precursor for a bad stomach with me.

Weighed in at 77.2kg, looked the best I had that morning. Really happy with the look in truth. Started the show day food but after the sleep my stomach was roiling.

Come the show, turned out to be 33 of us. Not sure how I looked on stage but felt I brought better, aside from my unsettled stomach. What I wasn't happy with was the actual show. 33 competitors on stage at once is too many, it was far to cramped and my stage presence let me down. I definitely let myself get boxed in too much. I felt I was constantly under another lads arm or pushed behind him. It made transitions really difficult and I let myself down there. It's also the reason I've not picked up stage photos. It's half me half his arms.

Am I unhappy, not really. I put in a lot of work under unhelpful circumstances and came out better for it. Things could have gone better but there is no need to dwell on it.

Really enjoyed Sunday with my family, ignoring yesterdays weigh in as an anomaly. Weighed in today and 78.6kg, the off season begins today, with the only change being 20 minutes less LISS. Thanks for everyone's interest and support. If it's wanted I'll start a second thread with fewer updates and document this off season.

77.8kg this morning; Not surprised, had an awful sleep that struggled to come even with sleep aids. Between stress from that, generally being more inactive due to working from home and feeling lethargic it makes sense. I know the cause behind sleep though, too much caffeine training later in the day so I'll pull that from here on in.

Pull day today and the last proper training session of prep as a whole, tomorrow and Thursday will be the deload/ depletion sessions.

Bent over row x2

Close grip pulldown x2

Hammerstrength low row x2

Machine pull overs (Plate loaded)

Dumbbell shrug x2

Dumbbell prone reverse fly x2

EZ-Bar curl x2

Dumbbell hammer curl x2

Going to take today to plan The diet and timings for Thursday and Friday also.

Hi all,

Not to bad a push session at all today. Laura's progression lately has been crazy too which is super exciting.

We had a discussion about my intentions for Saturday. The plan has never been to place, I'm a natural in one of the popular classes of a non-drug tested federation (Arguably the primary federation in the county, for now) at the national level. That's not a lack of self-belief but just being realistic.

So what do I want? Depending on how many and who turn up; Top 15, top 10 would be incredible. I've got my future plans, aid if I qualified for BNBF or UKDFB next time compete then it would be a different story, but that is another chapter.

78kg today; Wasn't sure why until I started my LISS and realised my legs feel battered. Also looking very blurry so that's evidently some post legs intracellular water retention, wont stress over it.

Legs went down well yesterday, all time PB on SLDs, V-squat and hacks. Felt very determined but I am paying for it now though!

Push tonight, obviously going against my rule of never training more than twice in a row for recovery but not doing so would have be resting too much early in peak week. My plan for which is:

- Training; Push today, pull tomorrow, deload/ depletion Wednesday and Thursday, then off Friday-Sunday. The Wed/ Thurs training will be light circuit work incorporating everything, nothing high intensity to make sure I am not sore for Saturday. Just your typical pre-comp upper body circuits of 3x10-20.

- Diet; Nothing to change until Wednesday, everything is already low enough that I am pretty depleted. I brought the carbs back up after last weeks disaster and pulled from fats instead. So I am sat pretty comfortably at 170g protein from complete sources (190g total), 225g CHO (Split 20/20/80 pre/intra/post), 30g fat. I'm not dying with them being this low surprisingly, feels sustainable for the time being.

- Loading; Could change depending on research but the plan is to go from Thursday. Will eat normal prior, maybe pull back on fats to accommodate for later, and greens to make sure there's little residue. Job interview at 1 so will train after that. Total Thursday loading will be 400g, will err on the side of caution. This is will come from low residue foods, mix of simple and complex carbs. Friday I am off down to Leicester, will gauge my look in the AM and load another 300-500g completely depending on look. If I've not filled enough, then more; If enough, then less. Saturday will be a couple of small chicken and rice meals periodically leading up to the show, with something carby, fatty and salty about 1 hour before.

- Other variables; Steps will be kept largely the same, they aren't killing my legs and whenever I have loaded it has been with the LISS. For those wondering I've been sat at 12000 steps on rest days and 15000 on training days. Water will be loaded as per my last comp, currently on 9ltrs, Thursday will be 10, Friday 11 cut out at 9pm. Water on show day will be used in conjuction with food. Vitamin C is high, dandelion root to go in Friday and overnight, I've tested that again on refeed days and liked the outcome. Sodium will be kept consistent at ~2500mg daily, with a big dose pre-stage.

Apologies for the massive post, I've tended to use this forum as a way to stay accountable and to air my thoughts so I know where I am at. Also Blade Runner 2049 was awesome!

78.8kg again! Another annoying weigh in; So it's time to take an objective look at the variables compared to last weeks rampant loss.

Caloric intake - Lower this week, I should have left well enough alone there, instead of pushing prep for the sake of. Lesson learned but I am absolutely still in a caloric deficit.

Water - 1ltr more this week, high at 8ltrs ahead of loading next week.

Sodium - Consistently being tracked, likely higher that usual but not by much; Enough time for me to get used to this.

Training - Deadlifts yesterday, have been known to cause me to hold water in the past.

Stress - Through the roof really, last day on lates and on-call so I'll be feeling fine from tomorrow thankfully!

Meal timings - Late shifts cause my post-workout meals to be condensed. So where normally I might eat at 6, 8 and 10. It is closer to 9,10,11:30.

Visually yesterday I looked better, my biceps looked particularly crazy even though they were targetted last. Looking forward to seeing how I look tomorrow am during upper. Hopefully start seeing weight get pulled again. The weight stalls are likely an amalgamation of all the little variables rolled into one causing me to hold water.

I am of the mind that I am very, very close to where I want to be. Expecting to see myself being ready and where I want to be training Sunday morning.

Hi all,

Pull was a tough one today, considered it during the session and I am of the mind that the flattening, pump issues and general increased struggle is evidently from pulling such a large degree of carbs to push this last week. In hindsight this likely wasn't wholly necessary, all it has done is deplete me and leave me tired and flat in sessions.

Either way, rest day tomorrow. Then train through to Wednesday when I will deload, deload and begin carb loading Thursday. Pushing on, could very well bring these carbs back up, but might be pointless now, likely depleted too early.

Also it turns out 1g of salt is not 1g sodium! You learn something new every day. I've likely only been on 1.5-2.5g sodium at best.

78.8kg this morning, not sure on the cause for the rise; Few variables which might explain feeling a little watery in the morning. Stress from work, which will be resolved come Saturday, general feeling of being spilled post session yesterday, potentially the change in sodium.

Not going to stress on it, will look to pull more tomorrow. Going to use the next couple of days to gauge the effect of sodium on my body, definitely don't want to go manipulating it pre-comp as that could be a recipe for disaster but I do think it is important I am aware of what I am on consistently and what kind of intake I should have. Typically I'm used to salting my meals, nothing generous. My plan today is to put 500mg on meals 1 and 2, 1000mg pre-workout to see how to impacts retaining a pump, then 500g post and post post. So 3000mg in total across the day. I can see this being more than normal but it is important data to get 1 week out.

Pull today and the final deadlift day;

Deadlift x1

Chest supported row x2

Lat pull down x2

Underhand hammerstrength pull down x2

Weighted pull up x2

Barbell shrug x2

Facepulls x2

Dumbbell curl x2

Cable hammer curl x2

really tough circumstances mate! Wish you the best to make it through

78.9kg again this morning, had a late night due to the shift and a rough sleep so i'm not going to stress over that. Will look to see what is pulled tomorrow.

Final push now; Don't feel too bad at all so I am happy for it to get tough now. Upper went really well yesterday, peak week has mostly been planned too.

Rest day today, I took a different approach to the last one and I intend on keeping it in. I'm going to do away with the higher fat lower carb days and instead run them as reduced carb days.

Current training macros:

170g protein from complete sources

200g CHO (This is as low as I will ever go, I find I can operate and recover fine this low)

40g fat

I don't see these changing at all for the last two weeks, unless I decide to bring it down in peak week but that's still getting ironed out.

Rest day macros:

170g protein

100g CHO

40g fat

So the difference here is no rising of the fats, and carbs being half my training days. Actually puts me in a larger deficit but I feel more satiated.

Evening all,

Legs went down a treat; 160kg x5 looks to be how I am going to wrap prep up with that lift. All time on is 165kg x7 so I'm really pleased with that.

Refeed wrapped up; 550g CHO, 170g protein and 25g fat. Water up to 8ltr s from here on in, and vitamin C at 5000mg.

Expecting to go up 0.5-1kg tomorrow. Will gauge my look in the morning.

Big congrats to AJ at the BNBF finals today, inspirational mate.

78.6kg this morning. Really not sure why my weight has dropped so much this week, no change in the usual variables. Going to refeed today, flattened out more than I would like. Last one before the comp, 550g CHO today then let myself run flat until loading.

Final quad dominant leg day today, which means the last day back squatting! So happy I have managed to retain so much strength. 2 weeks out and only squatting 5kg below my all time best!

Back squat x3

Seated leg curl x2

Front hack squat x3

Upright leg curl x2

Standing calf press (Plate loaded) x2

Seated calf press (Pin loaded) x2

78.7kg this morning; Had to check that a few times, no idea why it has dropped so rapidly. Did eat at my normal times yesterday but that is still a massive drop.

Definitely feeling lighter, posed this morning and my core is taking a good shape. Very well might refeed tomorrow depending on weight and look.

Rest today today, much needed!

Hi all,

Day wrapped up, pull wasn't too bad. Posed mid-session; Really starting to feel like I can bring my best in two weeks.

Rest day tomorrow, and on-call which sucks but oh well.

79.2kg this morning. Not expected nor had I aimed to have dropped so quickly, I was used to seeing larger drops post-rest days but that hadn't been the case lately. Will have a good look post-workout today, potentially re-feed Sunday but in truth I prefer my re-feeds on push days, preceding pull. I feel I benefit more from them on those days, my legs aren't struggling or flat. Depending on condition and tomorrows weigh in, it might be a case of running flat until Wednesday which wont necessarily be a bad thing this far out, it allows me to did a little deeper. If Laura and I feel the larger drop this week is causing me to look really flat and sucked in tonight, then it may be a case of partly refeeding across my post and bed meal tonight; But I doubt that.

Push today, also the first day I am planning on pulling back on loading. This isn't to imply that I will be going light, or changing my intensity, doing pump work etc; I'll still be at max intensity but on exercises that my reps are starting to run low, going slightly lighter to operate in my desired rep range again. For example, 4 reps on 110kg bench last time was not enough, i'll try 105kg for 6-8 at max intensity. Going on 11 weeks in a deficit and having gotten stronger for much of it, there's no point chasing weight and sacrificing reps or form now.

Push:

Flat bench press x2

Seated smith machine shoulder press x2

Machine triceps dips x2

Guillotine press x2

Dumbbell lateral raises x2

Seated overhead cable triceps extension x2

Cable fly x1

Cable front raise x1

Hi all, late on again tonight. Working from home tomorrow so it's ok. Upper went well, will gauge recovery and look to keep it in.

Had a pose post-workout with Laura to judge; She saw my last prep and knows my condition well. Asked her to give me her honest opinion 2.5 weeks out. Pretty much asked her to go in on me, nothing held back; We have been together near 8 years so I can take some harsh words from her. And the verdict is....Very much on track.

So we keep digging. I can see what needs to come off; Just got to keep on doing what I am.

79.9kg Again this morning. Quite surprised actually; Usually it goes up after legs or when I eat later after training with Laura but that hasn't been the case lately, interested to see what tomorrow brings.

First rotation of an 'Upper' day today, first time I've tried one of these but have programmed it to hit to primary upper body muscles with crossover exercises. I'll try explain why I have planned what I have:

Hammerstrength chest press x2 (Starting with chest as pressing it my more difficult motion now so I want to hit it fresh)

High incline press x2 (Transitioning to this for shoulders, but it will also stimulate the upper chest)

Dips x2 (For triceps, these will already have been prepared in the presses)

Overhand hammerstrength pulldown x2 (This intention here is to target the outer lats)

Underhand close-grip lat pulldown x2 (To target the upper back, having already stimulated the back. Another cross-over)

Suppinated dumbbell curls x2 (Isolating the biceps, cross-over on this muscle from the back work)

That's the plan as of now, might tweak it thinking and researching through the day. I think I already get enough rear delt and trap stimulation through the respective pull days. Any feedback, I would love to hear it.

Hi all,

Another day down, fantastic leg session with Laura; Absolutely gassed now though. Personal best on SLD and hacks. Definitely think I am starting to edge towards the realm of needing a deload BUT.....I had planned for this. I timed my last deload to be at 8 weeks out on the mindset that it gave me 7 weeks hard pushing before the generally less intensive peak week and rest days then. So I'll hang in, not needed just yet.

Also welcomed a 2 year old tan staff called Diesel into the home today; So I've a reason to keep this LISS in post comp I guess!

79.9kg this morning, finally broken into the 70s! The plan currently is to monitor my physique and weight this week and gauge whether to re-feed mid-week or at the weekend. Still holding more than I would like on my lower abs so I am digging to get that shifted, if I happen to be sub-79kg come Thursday (Absolutely not the goal by the way), then I will definitely refeed.

Legs today, hamstring dominant. Lower back loading felt way better with the switch on the last rotation so I will keep that in:

- SLD x2

- V squat x2

- Seated leg curl x2

- Hack squat x2

- Lying leg curl x2

- Abductors x2

- Standing calf press (Variant) x2

- Seated calf press (Plate loaded) x2

Laura is in tonight so that means a later one, will run the typical protocol for them. Also need to plan an upper rotation to go in. Excited to meet a new addition to our family when I get in too!

As a side-note, managed to catch the myprotein sale at just the right time yesterday! Will run out of a lot of supps in the next two weeks so had to stock up on prep essentials like Peptopro, Vitamin C and daily vitamins etc. Stepped away from purchasing with myprotein lately but couldn't knock the purchases yesterday; Peptopro, BCAAs (Currently have unflavoured ones that taste awful), glutamine (Run out), vitamin C, daily vitamins, pre-workout (Would never normally buy a generic one but needs must currently) and free kg of whey for <£55.

Hi all,

Decent day, pull was so-so; Definitely going to consider pulling back loading to get more effective sets.

Also going to start experimenting with sodium to get a better idea of how that variable needs to be manipulated for me. Posed post-workout and definitely felt on track.

Feet up and Cujo to read now.

Hi all,

Push was rough, pressing is starting to die on me but the good news is that my chest is still stronger than ever 3 weeks out. I'm at a cross roads now between trying to maintain the weight I am using but having reps slip, or pulling back loading slightly to make sure I hit my desired rep range without compromising form; I am on the side of the latter.

Also made my oats differently today and cooked them bulldog, coffee mixed in. That paired with especially thick white chocolate whey as a sauce over the top tasted fantastic! Picked up a bottle of 'sweet freedom chocolate shot' to work in too, excited for breakfast tomorrow!

Hi all, brilliant leg session considered how far out I am. Must say that it was probably the hardest leg session I have ever been through, feel absolutely flattened now but thankfully it's a rest day tomorrow.

Expecting a weight rise tomorrow, legs always swell after. But at least they are looking good!

Productive day, studying done and had the interest of an online personal training client which feels great. Lit a fire under me to finish all my documentation and planning ahead of qualifying.

Agree The Hammer Strength Push and Pull Machines are legit! Have Gym 80 Variations of those in my Gym wich are also fine. The High Row Machine is my fav!

VERY jealous of you having a lot of hammer strength kit. Absolutely hate the star trec equipment at my gym

Hi all, good day today; matched or progressed most lifts. The triceps changes felt fantastic, took a photo of the bench set up if anyone is interested in the seated overhead cable extension.

Refeed has gone down nicely, will see a weight rise tomorrow, then we keep digging. Finally felt really on track training today, rare for me to say I'm happy with my physique but chest filled up really well.

Not updated where I stand after last weeks news, it will be tight but I fully intend on going through with it. Had my Dad up yesterday and we set the world to rights planning how to proceed. 4 Weeks, hard work costs nothing so I'll put my best effort in regardless.

80.9kg this morning, 1kg drop according to the weekly average. Assessment this morning and where I have managed to pull in my core to a point where I feel it is on track, doing so has caused me to flatten out up top. This means refeed today, last prep I followed a coaches plan and in hindsight ran flat for a good 6 weeks; This showed on stage and I don't want to see that again.

Refeed will be a test of foods that I plan on peaking with, they should never be used as a binge. Macros set at 180g protein, 500g CHO and 25g fat.

Push today:

Flat barbell bench press x2

Smith machine shoulder press x2

Machine dips x2

Guillotine press x2

Dumbbell lateral raises x2

Seated triceps overhead cable extension x2

Cable fly x1

Cable front raise x1

A change in triceps programming, the dumbbell press has gotten too strong to safely perform, need to retain an overhead movement so I'll try this today.

Hi all, legs went down a treat; One of the best sessions I've probably ever had in terms of intensity. Absolutely flattened now though so I should shut off like a light. Progressed near all my lifts so I'm pleased with that.

Rest day tomorrow, likely see a rise in weight as I typically do with cellular water retention post leg days but we will see. Right now it's stretch, book and bed.

81.2kg today, much better. Slept like a log too, avoided caffeine throughout yesterday so perhaps that's the cause. Going to cut down coffee intake on training days too, so today pre-workout I will have 100mg as opposed to 200mg, and cut out two coffees; Down to a single cold brew with my BCAAs on the morning cardio.

I do want to add off the back of yesterdays post, my intentions aren't to be sub 80kg by Sunday, and I highly doubt that will be the case; If by some mad chance that happens then I will have dropped too much too quickly and will definitely need to refeed.

Legs today and a hamstring dominant day, looking to swap the placement of front hack squats and hack squats from their current days; I'm finding that even though SLD are fine, the front hacks follow deadlifts too closely and overloading my lower back.

- SLD x2

- V Squat x2

- Seated leg curl x2

- Hack squats x2

- Lying leg curl x2

- Abductors x2

- Standing calf press (Variant) x2

- Seated calf press (Plate loaded) x2

My hamstring progression is on fire currently so i'm looking forward to today. Also going to pen down my plans for a refeed sunday ahead of time, core is catching up but up top is flattening out and if I feel too flat come Sunday then I'll go ahead with it.

not being able to sleep sucks..really hope it gets better!

Hope You make good progress with sticking to that plan but I'm sure there will something happen mate ;)

Sucks, as Jevarne said, hope it'll turn out only being a temporary thing. How far are carbs spaced from bed? Only fats in last meal or a decent carb hit? I can't sleep carbless ahah, really helps with keeping awake (not necessarily falling asleep, if that makes sense).

3mg melatonin, blue lights blocked off 6 pm and on, 2 warm cups of tea and a few minutes off all screens, reflecting on my day and the following help me get the best sleep. Hope it helps

Really rough night last night, another hit of very random insomnia. Got no explanation for these, normally sleep like a log but again wide awake all night. Feeling not great at all, literally managed 1 hour after going to do my cardio. That being taken into account 82kg this morning, obvious rise due to the stress of the night etc. Going to look to take a sick/ half day from work, frustrating because I've not had one since 2014, it's not like me at all.

Pull later:

Deadlift x1

Chest supported row x2

Lateral pulldown x2

Underhand hammerstrength pull x2

Weighted pull up x2

Barbell shrug x2

Facepulls x2

Dumbbell curl x2

Dumbbell hammer curl x2

Going to need some rest before this one definitely, but will aim to get the same fire I had yesterday. Nervous for deadlifts but excited for facepulls. I've found lately that I can't go to my capacity because what I can pull with good form is too much to balance...that was until I saw someone stabilise themselves with one food on the machine. Gave it a try and it felt great so looking forward to being able to do it again.

Will also go back to covering different meals in the day, e.g my meal 2 today (Lunch) is protein and fat based;

100g chicken

100g green beans

100g brocolli

40g avocado

Push was a rough one today, went in full of fire; But everything felt so heavy. Lost a rep on most sets but I am going on 4.5 weeks out, so I won't stress, it happens.

Measurement day tomorrow, interested to see where my waistline is at in comparison to last week. Pull session in the evening, and it is deadlift day; Going to aim for 215kg again, need to start gauging when to step off the heavy loading as I get lighter. I can keep form but 215kg at 80kg could be asking for trouble.

One meal left, foam rolling then feet up and read Cujo.

haha I am definetly the same kind of guy who would go to the movies all alone.. same with concerts.. love to zone out by myself ;)

Hi all,

Leg was a rough one, lost a single rep on each back squat but it wasn't worth it to sacrifice form. Made up for it in earnest on the hacks and beat each one. I find with hacks that because I can climb out the bottom, I have no reason not to go to my absolute limit.

Foam rolling done, stretching to follow pre-bed. Rest tomorrow so LISS first thing.

Took a dive out of my comfort zone today, my partner and I have 'cinema Sundays', finding a free few hours on prep Sundays and shutting off between meals. I'm also an avid Stephen King fan meaning I've been dying to see IT (All time favourite book). Couldn't get any mates to join so went on my own, odd experience!

ABSOLUTELY superb log btw. Loved reading through this.

Ah my man.

This sucks.

What are the general costs you have to cover for your prep??? Is there anyway to short cut a few of them?

So some rubbish news this evening, had my car insurance renewal come through today and I've been hit bad. Over double what I had put aside to deal with this; Apparently it's due to a law change earlier in the year (22 year old male so I'm already in a fix).

The problem is this puts me in a really bad position going ahead with prep. To cover my insurance it is either pay monthly (This is a step back for me so I'm not considering this) or run really low on funds to cover the whole thing, that being said contest prep isn't cheap.

If I continue with prep, financially I'm not sure if I even could, I could use my house savings but quite frankly the future of me and my partner comes first. I could have her support me the remaining costs that are going to come, but she might have to do that regardless of prep costs with my quotes. That doesn't sit right with me either, having her pay out and me not doing well would be soul crushing. So it's limbo for a next few days, it's frustrating and a lot to think about.

Anyhow, pull went fairly well. Row form held and I managed to push some new weight. Regardless of what the next few weeks hold, I'm going to continue dieting. I went into this prep wanting to be better than last time, I've started so I'll finish. Regardless of whether that is on a stage or not. Sorry for the vent!

82.7kg today as expected, should pull tomorrow with training at my proper time, it's a pain having to wait on for an evening session because I generally have to either juggle meals or put all my post meals in with a shorter frame of time. Have tried moving them but it either puts me on too many carbs for my liking pre, no fats between post and bed, or putting a casein meal first thing instead of pre-bed. Does help with satiety though so that's a plus.

Pull today:

Bent over barbell row x2

Close grip pull-down x2

Seated close grip row x2

Machine pull-over x2 (We have a great plate loaded machine for this)

Seated dumbbell shrug x2

Prone reverse dumbbell fly x2

EZ-Bar curl x2

Cable hammer curl x2

Interested to see how the bent over row gets on, as prep digs I am finding this harder to keep strict form with, it seems to depend on the week really. I've taken to doing more single rep feeder sets building up to my max to really make sure everything is firing and I ready to stay strict at weight.

Working again later this evening which isn't ideal so needs to be a get it, get on session today to make sure I am back in time.

Push went down a storm; PB on bench press of 4 @ 110kg. Not happy with just 4 but I can work on that. Visibly come in at the core so it's head down and plod on. Pull tomorrow, not a deadlift day though.

Not expecting too see a scale shift tomorrow. Trained late so my post meals have been later. Training straight from work tomorrow so we will see how the scales come on properly on Saturday.

82.5kg this morning, typically post rest day drop. Great sleep, training push this evening:

- Flat barbell bench press x2

- Seated smith machine shoulder press x2

- Behind the head dumbbell triceps extension x2

- Guillotine press x2

- Dumbbell lateral raises x2

- Cable triceps pushdown x2

- Cable fly x1

- Cable front raise x1

Push has been a difficult one as prep advances, still pushing hard on it though. Will aim for 110kg on flat bench for a pb, pushing power will start to die but not today hopefully. Plan ahead diet-wise is to start pulling some more calories, mainly because i'm not happy not getting the weight drops on training days too. Intentions are to keep protein and fat the same on training days (180g and 40g respectively) and pull from carbs post workout primarily; Down to 250g from 300g across the day is the intention. Rest day will be the next to take a hit, that will be overall caloric intake, so pulling carbs and fats. After that it will be increased cardio from there on in. Right now it's gauging how I look tonight and planning changes accordingly.

83kg This morning. Not surprising considering I had more food pre-bed, that's often the case training evenings. Surprised it was only 0.1kg more actually, had a very random bout of insomnia, not had that before, and so I'm running on about 3 hours sleep. Pushed back the LISS to pre-bed in order to maximize sleep this morning, more important for recovery and the walk can easily be done later.

Going to look for a drop tomorrow, likely down to 82.6 - 82.8kg. Measurements taken and i'm 1.2kg lighter than last wednesday, and my waist has come in 0.75", which puts me at the same waist as 2 weeks out last time, and 1 inch more than the start of peaking. Wont update tonight with resting, push tomorrow. Also going to look at pulling from my diet as 5 weeks out approaches and the hammer hsa to come down some more.

Weight 82.9kg. 0.2 drop from yesterday, normally see more than that from rest days but I am bearing in mind that I was working from home yesterday, so more sedentary than usual. Did put in an extra 20 minutes LISS in the afternoon as I needed to give my partner a lift to the gym to try mitigate this. Quiet day, fit in a lot of studying and finished the Shining, onto Cujo now.

Legs today, and my hamstring dominant day. Legs as a whole is 14 sets for me, I just split my main focus over hams and quads on alternate leg days. I also find that I really struggle with back squat when it follows deadlifts, even a few days after, so this set-up helps mitigate that by pulling off the lower back loading. Doesn't reduce it much but it does to the point that I can comfortably do this session without any issues. So today:

- Stiff leg deadlift x2

- V - Squat x2

- Seated hamstring curl x2

- Front hack squat x2

- Lying leg curl x2

- Standing calf press (Variant) x2

- Seated calf press (Plate loaded) x2

- Hamstrings are a strong point currently so looking for a fair bit of progression today.

Evening training after work with my partner today, so meal 1 is protein and fats; A spinach omelette:

- 100g liquid egg whites

- 2 eggs

- 100g spinach (Frozen 2.5kg bags in ASDA for £1.50, one of my favourite foods)

Hi all,

Nightmare day, 3 call outs for work; One right before leaving to train. Aside from that pull session done, meals prepped and two episodes of defenders watched.

Pull went well, didn't break 6 reps but did match 5 looking much better, video linked below comparing both rotations. I stopped at 5 after losing all force on the stop, not worth risking injury from poor form. Progressed half the lifts so I'm quite content. Rest day tomorrow but I will detail that protocol in the morning.

All that's left is to finish the final meal and finish reading the shining. Prep bed is the same as rest days, but I swap cashew butter out for almond.

Also, great show on the socials from AJ today, fantastic to see his hard work pay off.

Deadlifts progression - https://www.instagram.com/p/BYlYYMNDDzf/

strong deadlift numbers😮 and thanks for clarifying :)

@ The Kid - Thanks for following, interesting seeing someone else with the same approach.

I will try do these updates twice daily, once with the morning covering the day ahead and training, then once in the evening updating the general day of prep and how training went.

Push today was a tough one, pressing hasn't died yet but flat bench was difficult. Managed to progress my weight on OHP and get some good reps on my top set; 7 @ 67.5kg strict. Incline barbell progressed too which I'm pleased about. Overall progressed 7 sets, matched 3 and lost a rep on 2. One move was a replacement so nothing to track there.

Other than that it was quiet, on-call so no stress there thankfully, shopping and studying done. Feet up now reading The Shining. Pull day tomorrow and deadlifts this rotation 👍

Following! Love that you listed macros from complete sources, what Ive been doing too mate.

what do the Curcumin and Primrose oil do? Better sleep?

Rest day today, absolutely flattened after yesterdays quad dominant leg day (I'll cover programming and diet as it comes). I'll cover my nightly protocol now though. Last meal today will be around 9:30, protein and fat based:

- 20g casein (Reflex)

- 100g plain skyr

- 20g cashew butter

This is consistent across training and rest days. Then just before bed (likely 10:30) I take:

- ZMA

- Curcumin

- Evening primrose oil

following

definitely following!!