[ajmorris]

De-load done.

More than ready to attack the sessions coming up.

I’ll return with trying to avoid using TOO much internal drive/anger/aggression in my sets, just to ease my nervous system back into full blown sessions.

New low this AM 183.6lbs.

[ajmorris]

As Adam above suggested it’s about time for a diet update in terms of food selection.

Current Training Day

M1 – 250G Berries 40G Whey Iso

M2 – 100G (Raw Weight) Rice 150G Chicken 150G Veg 3G Salt

M3 – 100G (Raw Weight) Rice 150G Chicken 150G Veg 3G Salt 20G 90% Dark Choc

Intra – 20g HBCD 20G EAA 5G CREATINE 10G GLUTAMINE 5G ELECTROLYTES 2G TAURINE

M4 – 120G Rice based cereal – 45G Whey Iso

M5 – 250G Berries 250G 0% Greek Yoghurt 20G Whey Iso 20G 90% Dark Choc

Rest Day

M1 – 250G Berries 40G Whey Iso

M2 – 250G Berries 250G 0% Greek Yoghurt 20G Whey Iso 20G 90% Dark Choc

M3 – 100G (Raw Weight) Rice 150G Chicken 150G Veg 3G Salt 20G 90% Dark Choc

M4 – 100G (Raw Weight) Rice 150G Chicken 150G Veg 3G Salt

M5 – 250G Berries 250G 0% Greek Yoghurt 20G Whey Iso 20G 90% Dark Choc 1 Bagel

[ajmorris]

Good call on the dipping belt calf raises mate.. I added them into my session a couple of days ago. Better than faffing around with bands and doing a million reps.. haha!

Glad you like them Clare!

[ajmorris]

DELOAD Started Yesterday 29/05/2020

4 Days Off.

I would potentially favour the lower volume sessions during this phase but I know in this circumstance, my body needs a full rest as the low back / joint loading is so high with basically only a barbell as my main jigsaw piece in the programming.

I’ll be back in the gym Tuesday for Push.

Bodyweight down 1.7 lbs on average and 1.2 lbs off my lowest weight of last week. Successful week, starting to notice a flatter look consistently, so getting close to back to back refeed territory to hold fullness as much as possible. A lot of people are scared to admit they are flat (because most people are AWFUL at calling it) but stay flat for too long and performance drops, if performance drops, muscle drops. Muscle fullness and glycogen replenishment is NOT JUST for aesthetic purposes in an extended fat loss phase, it’s for performance benefits too.

[ajmorris]

Mini cut update :

2 weeks in and as predicted massive drop off. So 4lbs ish down this week. Feel less bloated and more mobile.

Mostly water I imagine but good start. Hoping the July 4th date that has been thrown around is gonna come into fruition so that I can get in the gym. If so that’s perfect timing I’ll be at the back end of the cut around 7 weeks in and can rebound out nicely I hope !

Push today not sure whether to try 28s for 8 or give the 30s another shot !!

Have a good one

Stage ready yeah.

30s is go

[ajmorris]

ARMS Yesterday – 28/05/2020 – 184.6 lbs

Cable Curl Super Set With Pushdown x4
Hammer Curl Super Set With Rope Overhead Extension x4
D Handle Curl ’21s’ Super Set with Pushdown ’21s’ x2

35 Mins. Perfect Session. Crazy Pump.

[ajmorris]

Legs Yesterday 27/05/2020 – 184.8 lbs

Seated Leg Curl – Stack x 16+1 / Stack x15+1
Safety Bar Squat – 170×11 / 180×8 (will start with 180 next session)
Leg Press – Fully loaded x 25 / Paused Full Load x 12
Hip Extension – 180×15.5
Leg Extension Cuffed – 20×16/20×15
Dipping Belt Calves – 45×16 – 10 – 5 (Rest Pause)
Hanging Leg Raise – BW x 21 / 20 / 18

Great session, good energy and focus throughout, keep pushing to beat these numbers.

[ajmorris]

Last few sessions have been very good – I’m closing in on a de-load, I will run a lower volume week when this comes around as when dieting I’m a fan of staying in the gym from a psychological perspective but also allows me to stay in a deficit and protect muscle with the low volume sessions rather than complete rest ( like I do in off seasons )

Oura data is still good tho ( RHR , HRV , Body Temp , Sleep ) so will see what this week brings in terms of my own readiness & performance.

Pull today – 185.2 lbs this morn – gonna pull some good numbers on my stiff legs.

[ajmorris]

Great look buddy

Thank you Dan

[ajmorris]

Aj Morris wrote:

Great leg session yesterday – tried out doing a belt squat variation on the low cable pulley of my cable stack, it was OK… the whole cable stack moves when you do it (lol) but it works & gave a decent stimulus.

On the look out for a hack everyday at the mo as I just believe it’s one of THE best quad movements out there, if I can find a half decent one I’ll have it.

Diet changes have taken place also.

TD – 350C 50F 230P (Dropping 50c)
NTD – 300C 60F 200P (No change)

10,000 Steps still daily
600 kcal Cardio a week.

Not a fan of the hack that came with Body Solid Leg press combo then? Was thinking of picking one of those up for my gym.

Hey buddy – the hack is not functional, the leg press foot pad has been re-welded and widened (which makes it a LOT stronger and in general, better) but removes the ability to turn it into a hack. The hack is a little shitty ROM anyway

[ajmorris]

Great leg session yesterday – tried out doing a belt squat variation on the low cable pulley of my cable stack, it was OK… the whole cable stack moves when you do it (lol) but it works & gave a decent stimulus.

On the look out for a hack everyday at the mo as I just believe it’s one of THE best quad movements out there, if I can find a half decent one I’ll have it.

Diet changes have taken place also.

TD – 350C 50F 230P (Dropping 50c)
NTD – 300C 60F 200P (No change)

10,000 Steps still daily
600 kcal Cardio a week.

[ajmorris]

Had a superb Pull session yesterday, got a bit in a tantrum after my stiff leg as I wanted 185×9 but hit 7 as my grip was shit. So besides that, which I will rectify, everything else was great.

Happier with how I’m looking now 10lbs has been chipped off 🙂

[ajmorris]

Hi AJ, happy to see you’ve got a log on here!
Quick question in regards to your equipment and recovery. How are you finding your recovery now relying on more barbell movements (increased lower back loading) ?
Thanks ????
Harvey

Hey Harvey! Thanks for reading.

I’ve been pretty smart with my undulations in rep ranges to ensure I’m not visiting low rep ranges too frequently, as that in combination with the high frequency axial loading will kill me off.

Usually have a higher rep rotation and a lower rep rotation and autoregulate based on how I feel 🙂

[ajmorris]

Today is rest, yesterday was a very productive leg session, felt smashed in the evening, haven’t felt that kind of ‘CNS Crash’ feeling in a good few weeks, a sign of a hard session, and the productiveness of that ‘hard’ is always shown in your log book in the following days. Hard is something we need to always try and remain objective about, it can FEEL good to smash yourself up with more exercises, higher volume, or too many intensity methods, but when you bring it back down to earth and remind yourself, it’s good to do EFFECTIVE work, not just beating yourself up endlessly.

Hope that helps a few of you!

[ajmorris]

Totally agree @danbastick – it’s one of my all time faves!