Hi all,
Currently in prep for the UKBFF British finals in 6 weeks, I will look to start documenting this process if anyone is interested.
I won an early qualifier in April for my class, junior mens physique, so put in a short offseason over summer. I have been back in prep 7 weeks but taken this one much slower.
The plan moving ahead is to start stepping on the gas to prepare for October. I am taking a different approach this time around, looking to preserve more tissue and look more to create a good platform to begin a lean off-season on the back of the comp, less focused on placing as I am aware of the standard in my class the last few years and that being natural may put me at a disadvantage in this federation. This time around I am more interested in emjoying prep and bringing something better than April.
Apologies for the long introduction, rest day today so I will commence with my scale weight, training program and diet as of tomorrow if people are interested 👍.
Hi all,
Been all quiet on the log front, but going on 4 weeks post show I thought it might be worth sharing what I have done since, where I am at currently and what I plan to do moving on.
Following the comp, I started to slowly reverse diet out of prep. I opted for a reverse as opposed to a recovery diet because I just don't see myself having to mental willpower to be able to take food so high, and then pull back once the necessary fat is on; I would really struggle with that as opposed to smaller food increments.
So the first week following the show, I actually ended up dropping more weight, and a lot more than expected. I started with pulling cardio, then bumping carbs and protein, then carbs. One week post I was down from 77.2kg peak week average to 75.8kg. The first three weeks it genuinely felt like the more food I put in, the more weight flew off me. Energy levels lifted, gym performance was ok, hormones bounced back. My initial bumps were arond 20g carbs every couple of days.
So going on 4 weeks post, to compare. Pre show - 170g protein from complete sources, ~ 190-200g total, 225g CHO, 35g fat. 2x 30 mins LISS daily; 77.2kg. 4 weeks post show - 170g protein from complete sources, ~190-200g total, 320g CHO, 40g fat. 2x 10 minutes LISS daily (Just two slow dog walks if that can even be counted as LISS)....77.2kg average. Food focus is nearly gone, hormones are in full swing, mood and gym performance are good and oddly enough, my condition surpasses stage. It's a bit frustrating, but I am in a good position going on.
As far as life in general, I can count on one hand the amount of 'cheat' or 'free meals' I've had, alot of the time i've managed to account for these in my macros. It's nice to be able to order in, or eat out with friends once or twice a week. I also passed my gym instructor qualification, and got a new job which near doubles my salary, absolutely blown away by that.
Moving on, definitely natural bodybuilding. Next year? Perhaps not, I wont try and force it. I know what I need to do to improve, and I know what I need to improve. Training at the minute is PPL rest and repeat with two variations, taking queues from the likes of Joe Bennett and Jordan Peters. Sessions are going pretty smooth, progressing everything most sessions, matching reps on occasion, even set a few PBs yesterday. My plan is to gain no more than 0.5kg weekly for as long as I can whilst my body is in a prime state to put on quality tissue. Taking a lot of steps to look after my general health, joints, gut and digestion.
To summarise, it's all pretty positive at the minute. Food bump tomorrow to get that progression to where it should be. Looking forward to bringing in a really Hygge winter season with Laura. If anyone is interested to more regular updates, I'm very active on instagram currently; Jackburton95. Thanks for reading!