[Adam Bishop]

I would go with the market leaders and get SBD knee sleeves.

They are available in 7mm (powerlifting) and 5mm (weightlifting ones). They are neoprene so will give support and warmth to the joint. Check the size chart on the website for exact measurements.

All made in the UK and they will last a long long time. Cost a bit more money but it’s worth it – remember buy nice or buy twice!

Will these have enough flexibility to be able and preform hamstring curls in? That’s the issue I’ve been having with the thicker knee sleeves. [/quote]
Yes the weightlifting ones will for sure as they are designed for lifters to pretty much kiss the floor with their arse hole in a clean and snatch haha.

They are also a little shorter. I think these will offer the best balance between support, warmth and flexibility

[Adam Bishop]

HEAVY UPPER

Axle Clean and Press – up to 170kg

Strict log Press – up to 163kg

Incline DB Press – top set with the worlds most awkward 80kg DBs for 4 reps then the 60s for a set of 13

Seated Press – 60×7 45×9 (triceps dying big time by this point)

Skullcrushers – 62.5×10 52.5×14

[Adam Bishop]

I would go with the market leaders and get SBD knee sleeves.

They are available in 7mm (powerlifting) and 5mm (weightlifting ones). They are neoprene so will give support and warmth to the joint. Check the size chart on the website for exact measurements.

All made in the UK and they will last a long long time. Cost a bit more money but it’s worth it – remember buy nice or buy twice!

[Adam Bishop]

Yep I agree with the above. As long as the intensity of the sessions remain and form is standardised you should not see a backwards step and in fact you’ll see great progress from a new stimulus.

One hurdle to overcome with a high volume trainer when reducing their total volume is the mental aspect. Ensure you educate them on the plan you have in place as in my experience some athletes reliant on high volume panic when it drops and report “they feel they’re not doing enough”.

For my personal experience, i also thought that way, but when i dropped volume and was able improve my form while increasing intensity/effort i saw much better results, but already had some training experience, which is not this case. What if he can´t put the enough effort in training to compensate the reduced volume? I firmly believe in low volume in order to increase the intensity/effort, but also can´t forget that not everyone has this bodybuilder mentality…

[/quote]
In this situation I would dictate the load and repetitions to get the desired intensity. This would be my approach if I was not present with the athlete every session and/or you are not confident in their ability to select the correct loads and push themselves

[Adam Bishop]

Yep I agree with the above. As long as the intensity of the sessions remain and form is standardised you should not see a backwards step and in fact you’ll see great progress from a new stimulus.

One hurdle to overcome with a high volume trainer when reducing their total volume is the mental aspect. Ensure you educate them on the plan you have in place as in my experience some athletes reliant on high volume panic when it drops and report “they feel they’re not doing enough”.

[Adam Bishop]

HEAVY LOWER

Deadlift – worked up to a nice easy triple at 380kg (or 9 plates if we’re using bodybuilding maths)

Squat- reintroduced the knee wraps to get used to them again – it’s been a while and the felt terrible haha. Top set 305×1 then 245×6

SLDL – 7, 12

Leg press – 10 (paused) then 19 rep out

Calf series – two sets

[Adam Bishop]

Had a weekend on the road travelling up north to test out the kit for an upcoming competition so I moved my training days around a bit.

On Friday I did my light UB session that would usually be on Sunday then I completed my events session on the Saturday. As I had access to some different kit I had to change some movements about like for like.

FRIDAY UB SESSION

Hammer Strength Incline Press
Pec Dec
Seated Machine Press
DB lateral Raise
Reverse fly on Pec Dec
Rope Pressdowns
Dip machine

All with two work sets (on top set of 6-10 and one back off set of 10-15).

SATURDAY EVENTS

Hercules Hold – two sets with 150kg each hand
Frame work up to 400 for 20m
Atlas stones 100-180kg in a run

Goal here was to reacquaint myself with the kit before the Strongman Classic at the Royal Albert hall in two weeks. Training on the competition kit is a massive advantage so I always make sure I travel to get a familiarisation session in.

That all means it’s a rest day today before a heavy deadlift and squat session tomorrow.

[Adam Bishop]

Hey Adam, out of interest do you use a coach of some kind? Do you chose your own meal plan etc?

No my background is a strength coach so I’ve always coached myself. Programming is what I really enjoy about the iron game so I’m not willing to give that up to someone haha

I have worked with nutritionists previously but I know do my own meal planning. It’s simple maths really haha

[Adam Bishop]

Current Diet
Ok so I’m in a push at the moment to gain some weight for a couple of upcoming competitions where is going to beneficial to be heavy.

One of the issues I have is my high metabolism. I had my BMR measured last year in the lab and basically if I stay perfectly still all day I will still burn 2803kcal – this makes for a big good bill.

Current Macros:
Kcal 6735
P 393 C862 F194

I’ll be keeping an eye on the scale each week and adding food when needed:

M1 – 6 whole eggs, 125g Cheerios W/ 300ml whole milk

M2 – 300ml egg whites,300ml whole milk, 2 cups oats, 1 scoop of whey isolate

M3 – 300g chicken thighs, 280g of rice, greens and 50g of cream of rice

Intraworkout – two scoops of Sustain

PWO – 1 scoop of whey isolate, 1litre of coconut water, 125g Cheerios w/300ml semi skimmed milk, 300g banana

M5 – 350g rib eye, 280g rice, greens and 50g cream of rice

M6 – same as meal 2

As you see I’m not overly scared of animal fats (the joys of being a strongman) hence why I can choose rib eye steak and chicken thighs over fillet and breast. The eating has always been the hardest part for me so I try and make things as simple as possible.

Additional supplements:
Vital support
Halcyon
Oh-Mega V
K2

Target bodyweight 350lbs

[Adam Bishop]

HEAVY PRESS

Log Press up to a single with 183kg

Axle clean and strict press up to 160kg

Incline DB Press (two work sets)

Seated DB Press (two work sets)

Skullcrushers (two work sets)

Two hours in total for the session including warm up. Might not look like much work but strongman movements require a bit of setting up and clearing away. All in all a solid session made enjoyable with a double serving of Sustain ??

[Adam Bishop]

So I’ve had blood and urine tests from the GP, only creatinine came back as high. However I didn’t actually have EGFR written on the GP blood test. Do they not do the same tests as medichecks? Or they just don’t use EGFR? Anyone know?

GP will only test the minimal unless looking for specifics [/quote]

So does that mean my kidneys are probably all right or should I go back and specifically ask my GP for EGFR? In your opinion obvs.[/quote]
If you have you creatinine measurement I’m pretty sure you can work out your egfr as this is what it is calculated with. (Someone please correct me if I am wrong here)

There is a formula to work it out or you can use this calculator:

http://pathlabs.rlbuht.nhs.uk/eGFRcalculator.htm

Found this with a quick google search.

[Adam Bishop]

HEAVY LOWER

Speed Deadlifts – 270 6×2

Squat – worked up to a top set of 285×3

Stiff Leg Deadlift – x8 x11

Paused Leg Press – x7 x18

Bodyweight Calf series – 2 sets

An ok session. Felt a bit flat at the start but it definitely picked up as the session went on.

Rest day tomorrow before heavy press on Wednesday.

[Adam Bishop]

It’s tough to say if it’s excessive without knowing/seeing the size of the heel on your lifting shoes and the size of the wedge and looking at your squat form etc.

Ultimately I think you should go on feel. Try using the wedge with and without your heeled lifting shoes and see which one feels more comfortable. Also film your self from the side if possible to get a better idea of how far your knees are tracking forward in the squat.

My gut instinct is that you won’t need the shoes if you are using a good sized wedge but ultimately go on what feels best for you and your build.

[Adam Bishop]

In main lifts – press, dl, sQ you are doing too 2 sets 6-10, 10-15? Or how you program that?

No in my squat and deadlift I have different rep schemes. My deadlift programme is currently a peaking one where I’m working to up to the World Deadlift Champs. It’s tough to explain so probably easier to follow this log for the next 6 weeks and you’ll get a good idea of what I’m doing.

With the squat I’m currently working to a top set of 1-5 reps and and just going on feel as I’m reintroducing the squat after a short break (due to WSM).

If I was in off season mode I would be using a linear progressive overload model with autoregulation that I designed – basically dropping the volume from 5-8 reps to 2-4 reps as the load increases over a period of 12 weeks. However due to the nature of my competitive calendar, I need to get prepared for heavy squats faster that I would like which is why I’m going off feel with the heavy 1-5 reps.

Hope all that makes some kind of sense!

[Adam Bishop]

So glad to have you on here Ad

Corinne and I have known Adam a very long time , and he is such a brilliant guy , a ridiculous wealth of knowledge

Up until very recently he was a strength and conditioning coach at Harlequins also, so he really knows this game inside out and backwards to getting incredibly strong

A pleasure to be on here mate. Very happy to post my training here and hopefully help some others with theirs!

We’re all in the iron game and all trying to get strong as possible ??