Andy
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A solid back session logged yesterday, and a very chilled out NTD today. There was a great atmosphere in the gym on Saturday with a lot of the gym’s hardest trainers all training at once, so it was a super one. My SI joint is still off and it feels like it’s pulling me to the one side, so I’ve not done heavy deadlifts in weeks, but regardless those sessions have still been excellent.
I checked in with Nick yesterday at 280lbs. We both agree that the look has come on leaps and bounds in the past few months, and there’s no point in changing anything at this moment in time.
Close grip lat pulldowns – 1 working set, 8-12, 1 back-off set, 12-15
Conventional t-bar row – 1 working set, 8-12, 1 back-off set, 12-15
Chest supported t-bar row (upper back bias) – 1 working set, 8-12
SA DB rows – 2 working sets, 8-12
SA Nautilus row – 1 working set, 8-12
Prime rear peck deck – 3 working sets, 12-15
Deadlifts – 1 working set – 12
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567 likes, 4 comments - amsmuscle on December 14, 2024: "A few shots from this morning’s check in
It’s been a great week across the board. The increase in food we put in last week has been a doddle, … Continue readingInstagram - amsmuscle
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Hi Chris,
Could you provide a bit more in terms of background? (Age, time lifting, any previous anabolic use etc).
It would help paint a better picture of what may or may not be happening in your blood work.
HDL wise, incorporating polyunsaturated fats and a good omega supplement such as Oh-Mega Pharma Pro would help point this number in the right direction.
But yeah, a touch more background would go a long way.
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Today was a NTD, as I’m training tomorrow instead. I usually keep my weekends free from training, but since Chris is away with work, I thought I’d slot the session in mid-afternoon when I’m not really doing anything anyway.
I’m sure anyone who follows my blog regularly will know I’ve had shoulder surgery – I will stop talking about it one day. So, any sort of pain or niggle I get in my shoulder makes me very paranoid and nervous.
I woke up this morning in discomfort (not pain) in my left shoulder. I performed a slap tear test on it and it “passed” so to speak, but it’s been bothering me all day. I can’t go through what I went through with my right again, no chance.
I’m hoping it’s just a tweak as the discomfort goes away when heat is applied.
It’s one thing after another!
I’ll report back tomorrow are I’ve sent my check-in to Nick.
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I’ve not posted the updated diet since my check-in, here it is. . .
M1
100g beef fillet, 3 whole eggs, 3 egg whites, 3 slices wholemeal bread, 100g white jasmine rice, 1 banana, 300ml orange juice
M2
200g 7% turkey mince, 125g white jasmine rice, 1 apple, 10g of macadamia nut oil, 100g of this polish veg thing (it just says Dinner salad on the jar)
M3
200g 7% turkey mince, 125g white jasmine rice, 1 banana, 100g dinner salad
INTRA
5g creatine mono, 15g TBJP EAAs, 50g TBJP Performance fuel, 5g taurine, 5 grinds of himalayan salt
PWO SHAKE
5g creatine mono, 3g HMB, 50g TBJP Performance fuel, 30g TBJP Performance Isolate,
PWO MEAL
30g TBJP Performance Isolate, 200g Coco Pops, 100g raspberries
M5
200g – 5% beef mince, 100g white jasmine rice, 50g pasta sauce, 50g sauerkraut
M6
260g salmon fillet, 100g white jasmine rice, 10g EVOO, 100g pasta sauce, 1 microwave bag of veg
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A very easy NTD today, with a few calls, some 1-2-1 PT in the afternoon and of course the weekly massage torture. This time of the year really is a wind down period in terms of work. I used to not take on new clients in December, both online or PT and when January started I’d start onboarding new clients. The past few years have a been a bit different where I’ve not felt the need to do that.
Training will run until I feel a deload is needed, the last one being late October. I feel really good, I’m the best I’ve ever looked in the 280s and training is excellent just now.
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As the boys have said above, if you’re not experiencing estro sides then I wouldn’t be too hell bent on trying to bring it down. How do your estro numbers compare to previous blood work? Have a look at those trends and see what perhaps changed in your cycle setup between blood work.
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A great leg day today, and one that thoroughly put me in the bin.
Chris and I pulled the rest periods back just a touch today, for no reason really. The session we’re doing just now is pretty brutal, so it’s more so the case of wanting to just get it done and dusted. It always makes me laugh when the last exercise is done, all of the adrenaline just leaves your body.
A great start to the week with 2 sessions boxed off.
Now that some of the pro calendar has been released, it’s definitely flicked a switch to make as much ground until April as possible. I’ve said numerous times that if I’ve not gained enough tissue by late April I’ll compete spring 2026, but hopefully I can get the tissue added that I need.
Leg extension (rest pause set) – Pick a weight you can get a comfortable 15 reps, pause for 45s rep to failure, pause for 30s, rep to failure, pause for 15s, rep to failure, pause for 5s lean forward and perform 15 partials (I let my training partner decide how many to do here).
BB squats – 15 – 12 – 8 – 8
Pendulum squat – 12 – 8 – 10
Prime PL lying leg curls – 15, 12, 10 + dropset
Cybex seated leg curls – 15, 15, 15
Seated PL calve raises – 3 working sets, 20
Decline bench crunches
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Hi Josh,
The use of insulin should be dictated by your blood glucose readings, there’s no “set point” at which you should start using. The use of GH further skews BG readings in a lot of people, I’m not sure if you’re also using this.
I like to keep my BG in the 4-5mmol/L range. If I see continual elevation for say 2-3 weeks, testing my BG 3x per week, then I’ll consider an increase to lantus, novorapid or both.
To decide how much to put in over the workout window, you’d do a test pre and/or post.
I hope that helps.
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A great session today, even if I do feel a bit ropey after the 2 nights in Amsterdam.
As much as I love BB, I do love a blow out 2-3 times a year, so that’s the 3rd one. I’ve decided not to go to my school lads reunion at the end of the year, primarily because it’s Go Karting this year, and that last thing I need is an injury from that.
Anyway, today’s session was great and now that there’s no interruptions to my week I ran the previous chest session Chris and I were doing. There wasn’t much to report in terms of progression, but having only drank about 5% of what I usually take in over the weekend, I’d say that sounds about right.
Seated cuffed cable flys – 1 working sets, 12-15, 1 back-off set, 15-20
Incline DB press – 1 working set, 8-12, 1 back-off set, 12-15
Prime PL small incline chest press – 1 working set, 8-12, 1 cluster set 4 sets of 5 w/ 10s rest
Standing cable chest fly – 2 working sets, 20
SA standing cable side raises – 3 working sets, 20
SA standing cable rear raises – 3 workings sets, 20
Seated alternating DB curls – 3 working sets, 15-20
Standing EZ-bar curls – 3 workings sets, 15-20
Shallow decline cable crunches – 3 working sets, AMRAP
I already feel a million times better so this week should be a good one!
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A great day wrapped up in Amsterdam with the lads. It’s been great to spend some time with the boys before the end of the year, before the inevitable surge in PT and lifestyle clients starting in January.
I’m very much looking forward to getting back into the Gym on Monday!
Nick and I have agreed to add a little bit more food into the mix on both my TD and NTD. So we’re now sitting at;
TD: 6100cals
NTD: 59000cals
I’ve held back on adding food and now it’s a tool I can continue use for the next 5 months.
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A superb back session yesterday and the last session of the week, so I wanted to make sure it was a perfect one – that’s always my intention obviously.
I had Ricky slot my SI joint back in place on Wednesday, but he had to snap me in half in order to get it to go back in place, so it was a bit raw, so I decided to pull deadlifts out of the session. I’m getting better at listening to my gut, and if something doesn’t feel right I’ll put it to one side. I still managed to pull 8 plates on the bar row for 6 reps, slightly cleaner than last week.
It’s now off to Amsterdam for the weekend for a bit of down time with some of the boys from the gym.
Close grip lat pulldowns – 1 working set, 8-12, 1 back-off set, 12-15
Conventional t-bar row – 1 working set, 8-12, 1 back-off set, 12-15
Chest supported t-bar row (upper back bias) – 1 working set, 8-12
SA DB rows – 2 working sets, 8-12
SA Nautilus row – 1 working set, 8-12
Prime rear peck deck – 3 working sets, 12-15
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDNOdeOiZU3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
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330 likes, 3 comments - amsmuscle on December 5, 2024: "Back in the 8 plate club on t-bar rows
It’s mad how different 7.75 feels to 8, 1 more second in that position and my head was going to … Continue readingInstagram - amsmuscle
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Completely agree with Sas and Jordan, if you’ve made that level of progression before, you’ll get a good deal of progression again off of the same dose. Not to mention the changes to your nutrition. Always find room for improvement in your nutrition and training before looking to push PEDs.
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A fairly stress free NTD today, and a visit to my physio who went so hard through my triceps I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. I’ve been getting a slight niggle through the inside of my elbow, just some light tendonitis, which I usually get every couple of months. One thing to remember is that tendonitis usually comes from the muscles surrounding the tendon being too tight. Thus, your first call to action is to get those muscles released. Anti-inflammatories, Cure Coming, hot/cold therapy all work too but address the tightness issue first.
1 more training session this week and then I’m away to Amsterdam for a few nights with the boys.
This will be a chilled one, as after this I’ve got nothing on until mid-April. I’m delighted with how the offseason has went and how it’s going, but I also love a good bit of downtime too.
I just got my blood work kit through the post, so I’ll get those done next week to see where I am and then from there Nick and I will put our heads together.
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Excellent session today, I just went with the session I done last week, as the pump off the back of it was insane. A few numbers went up today, but nothing outrageous. Training with significantly more sets means that weight progression is minimal.
Prime PL lying leg curls – 15, 12, 10 + dropset
Leg extension (rest pause set) – Pick a weight you can get a comfortable 15 reps, pause for 45s rep to failure, pause for 30s, rep to failure, pause for 15s, rep to failure, pause for 5s lean forward and perform 15 partials (I let my training partner decide how many to do here).
BB squats – 15 – 12 – 8 – 8
Pendulum squat – 12 – 8 – 10
Cybex seated leg curls – 15, 15, 15
Seated PL calve raises – 3 working sets, 20
Decline bench crunches
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A smashing start to the week with push in the bag. I knocked up a few numbers early in the session which ultimately caused a few of the numbers later in the session, but that’s the common theme for me when I PB in a pushing session.
Again, I’m only doing push due to the trip to Amsterdam on Friday, but it’s been a nice change from it just being a chest session.
Seated cuffed cable flys – 1 working sets, 12-15, 1 back-off set, 15-20
Incline DB press – 1 working set, 8-12, 1 back-off set, 12-15
High incline SM shoulder press – 1 working set, 8-12, 1 back-off set, 12-15
Standing cable chest fly – 2 working sets, 20
SA standing cable side raises – 3 working sets, 20
SA standing cable rear raises – 3 workings sets, 20
Seated alternating DB curls – 3 working sets, 15-20
Standing EZ-bar curls – 3 workings sets, 15-20
Shallow decline cable crunches – 3 working sets, AMRAP
Now that’s the last pro BB show out of the way, I’m hoping the IFBB release their schedule so I can plan my 2025. Nick and I will still be reevaluating things mid-April to decide if 2025 is on the cards though, but a rough idea of shows in my head would be great.
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on Instagram: "A few shots from this morning’s check in 
280lbs on the button here, I’ve been floating around this spot for a while, but it’s fine if we consider the visuals still moving in the right direction 
BW: 280
TD: 6100cals
NTD: 5900cals
@tbjpnutrition ANDY10 for 10% off
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Show me someone who does a traditional t-bar rows clean with 5+ plates who doesn’t have a good back 
reason they’re avoided. . . they’re hard as fuck 