[Clare Barks]

A Rest Day filled with Christmas preparations and family time.. (and maybe a small Glass of Baileys 😉 )

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas 🙂

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[Clare Barks]

I had several shock wave therapy treatments for an ongoing tennis elbow issue I had. I think it did help to ease the severity of the pain, but didn’t cure the problem completely. This may have been coincidental, but within two weeks of beginning supplementing with CBD oil drops, I haven’t suffered anywhere near since. Whether it’s down to the CBD or an accumulation of everything I tried, I’m not sure, but after 2 years of frustration and pain I’m going to continue supplementing with CBD oil, just incase!

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[Clare Barks]

Penultimate Leg session of 2019 in the bag. Another tough one. No huge strength increases today, but intensity was high. I guess as long as you can leave a workout knowing you gave everything you could on the day, that’s all you can do.
Feeling beat up now, so my feet are well and truly up! I’m thinking Christmas movies.. any recommendations welcome!

LEGS 2

Seated hamstring curl – 2 sets of 8-10
Smith squat – 2 sets of 8-10 
Sissy squat – 1 set of 8-10 (In Smith)
Leg extension – 1 set of 8-10 reps
Single leg lying ham curl – 2 sets of 8-10 
Abductor machine – 1 quad drop, 15 on the first
Adductor –1 quad drop, 15 on the first (Frog press on Leg press instead)
Calf raise – 3 sets of 10-12 reps, 1 min rest in between, last set into a stretch
 

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[Clare Barks]

Rest day today.. Busy day filled with family stuff and a house full of teenagers preparing for a Christmas party (Not fun!).

Last Leg day before Christmas tomorrow. I plan to continue with my usual training routine over the Christmas period of Pull, Push, Off, Legs, Off, Repeat, which would see Christmas Day landing on a Pull day. This is cool with me, I’ll just get an early session in as I have a gym available I can use. It doesn’t bother me either way whether I train or not on Christmas Day, but I do like to stay in my routine, so a training day it is. I’ll have my pre workout meal as my meal one and train after that with a reduced carb intra, then a small carb/pro based meal post and the big dinner later on.

I think a lot of people over think and over stress at this time of the year. So long as you keep some form of consistency with training and only allow a day or two to go off plan with Nutrition, you won’t do any damage that can’t be rectified (Unless on prep and close to competing obvs). I think the problem usually arises during that week between Christmas and New Year (The bit where no one knows what day it is, what they should be doing or when the bins are going out). Usual routines are lost and the temptation to say ‘**ck it, I’ll get back on track after New Year’ is always high, which then slips into missing workouts and continuing to clear up the left over Christmas treats. Best advice I could give is enjoy this time, relax, have fun, but if you’re serious about long term goals, be careful not to let a couple of days become a couple of weeks 🙂

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[Clare Barks]

Checked in with Jordan this morning.. My weight was 54.6kg, so up a touch since last week, but still at a point where fat gain isn’t getting TOO out of control! We agreed that 55kg would be a good weight to sit around for a while, so I don’t want to be gaining too much more from here. With that being said, no changes will be made to diet in the coming week.. well, obviously we have that little day called Christmas where calories don’t count, but apart from that I’ll be sticking with the diet previously posted. We’ll assess the damage in 2 weeks and make a plan of action from there and I’ll let you know of any changes.

Today was a push day.. some more increases in lifts, so very happy 🙂

PUSH 2

Shoulder press machine – 2 sets for 8-10 reps
High Inc Smith press – 2 sets of 8-10
Dips – 1 set of 8-10 (Weighted)
Cable x over – 1 set of 15
Side raise machine – 3 sets of 15 reps (Not available, so lying Cuff cable raises)
Tricep bar pushdown – 3 sets of 12  
Single arm seated DB curl  – 2 sets of 8-10  reps
Dual machine curl – 1 set of 15
Abs – 4 sets of any exercise, 1 min rest in between, all sets aim for 15 reps

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[Clare Barks]

Hi everyone. Decent Pull session this morning. Strength is increasing. albeit slow. I get a little frustrated sometimes at how slow as I really want to just pick heavy weights up and throw them around! I guess I need to remember I don’t exactly weigh a lot and I’m not using any assistance, so need to be realistic.. still annoying though! Anyway all is good.. I’ll be checking in with Jordan tomorrow, so will see if he wants me to push my bodyweight up any further before holding for a while. I’m still clinging on to some kind of condition, but the abs are definitely fading! I’ll update you all on plans tomorrow.

PULL 1

Wide Lat pull down – 1 sets of 10-12 reps stay on the same weight and do another set 
T bar row – 2 sets of 8-10 reps
Assisted chin – 2 sets of 10-12 (Using bands)
Seated cable row (narrow attachment) – 2 sets of 10-12
High cable for rear delts – 3 sets of 10-12 (Using wrist cuffs)
Seated Single arm DB curl – 1 quad drop – 12 on the first
Standing calves – 3 sets of 8-10 reps – 1 min rest between sets, last set straight into a stretch

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[Clare Barks]

First time I’ve slept through an alarm.. ever I think! Amazing sleep. That Leg day must have finished me off. Quads are sore as hell today too!

Today’s been a welcome rest day filled with Clients, Coffees and Amazon deliveries 🙂

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[Clare Barks]

Calorie output is not that accurate on things like Fitbit. Your step count is pretty high too, so it could just be a case of needing to add more food. So long as you are hitting your protein and getting in micronutrients, with the majority of foods from quality sources, I wouldn’t be afraid to add some ‘Free’ meals in your situation.

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[Clare Barks]

Are you tracking your food accurately and how do you know how many calories you are burning on average a day? It usually simply comes down to not eating enough/expending too much, even though you think this may not be the case. Do you keep on top of getting your health checked to rule out any underlying issues?

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[Clare Barks]

Tough Leg workout this morning. Struggled to get my head in the game, which frustrated me as I find it difficult to block things out that are on my mind during training. Not all bad though as I think the frustration may have fuelled my strength.
Completely wiped out now though!

LEGS 1

Lying hamstring curl – 2 sets of 8-10
Banded Hack squat – 2 sets of 8-10 
Leg press – 1 set of 8-10
Leg extension – 1 set of 8-10 reps
Single leg seated ham curl – 2 sets of 8-10 
Abductor machine – 1 quad drop, 15 on the first
Adductor –1 quad drop, 15 on the first (Did a Rest/pause Frog Press on the 45 degree leg press)
Seated calf raise – 3 sets of 10-12 reps, 1 min rest in between, last set into a stretch

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[Clare Barks]

Hi @jacktozer

During my years of training prior to competing I always stayed pretty lean year round. Weight training was something I loved and stayed consistent with, but I was also playing in a netball league and running alongside this. I began competing in 2013 and only really pushed my weight up in the off season for the first time in 2015 and 2016, although I wasn’t working with a coach during this time and always second guessed myself, so still probably held back a little. It never bothered me in terms of the way I looked as I’m very practical and know it’s a means to progress, but none the less scary when you’re not accountable to anyone. I began working with Jordan for my first prep at the beginning of 2017 and I continued to work with him throughout my 2017/2018 off season and that was the most I had gained during an off season up until that point and also the most progression I have seen in one year. I think if I was younger it may have concerned me more, but I can see the bigger picture now and the necessity to add weight in order to make improvements. I just wear baggier clothes!.

To answer your second question about when to take a deload.. I’m not a fan of structured and planned deloads, unless you are factoring in holidays or events etc. I think the best gauge of knowing when to take time off is listening to your body and looking out for signs of regression. For example, a decrease in strength, lack of motivation, no pump during workouts, increased soreness, poor sleep, constant fatigue, poor digestion. These are all indicators that you may need to back off. Some people like to still go to the gym during these phases and reduce their training volume and load, but I prefer complete time off as I’d always be tempted to push a little harder than I should. The amount of time you take off will just be down to when you feel recovered enough or when you feel motivation come back again.. 

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[Clare Barks]

Almond Butter is my absolute fave, but this Cashew Butter will definitely test my will power for sure @hilly!

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[Clare Barks]

Rest Day and a busy work day for me today. I have a lot of clients away for Christmas, so seeing as many as I can for sessions this week. Completely unrelated, but I’ve just tried the Meridian Cashew Nut Butter as my fat source in meal 3 today.. and Wow! I’m disappointed I haven’t tried this before. I highly recommend to fellow Nut Butter fans out there 😉

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[Clare Barks]

Thanks for that @DrDeanStMart ..I find the Sleep Stack already extremely effective. I have no issues sleeping, but sometimes don’t wake fully rested. I’m finding a pattern emerging though that my best sleeps are after a rest day where I’m having oats as my last meal as opposed to my yoghurt and nut butter meal on a training day, so could be that. From what I could gather, adding melatonin could add some additional benefits other than just sleep. Sounds like the sleep stack already has everything covered there ????

Appreciate you getting back to me. Hope you and Morgan are well.

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[Clare Barks]

In for Push today. My pushing movements are always the slowest to progress for me and always the ones more likely to drop off at the tail end of a prep. I’m back up to previous pbs now and even managed to kick up and press the 25kgs on Shoulder Press for a couple of reps today (I know, I know, calm down Clare.. you’ll be making the guys on here look weak soon, haha! Well it’s good for me) I train by myself the majority of the time, so have always had to kick up dumbbells on my own. I’ve only managed the 22.5kgs by myself before and very slowly increased reps on these, so pretty chuffed.
Not a lot planned for the rest of the day, some chill time with the family, bit of shopping as I’ve run out of my essential Brussel sprouts! maybe some coursework and the usual house jobs.. Have a lovely Sunday.
PUSH 1
DB shoulder press – 2 sets for 8-10
High Inc DB Press – 2 sets of 8-10
Narrow smith Tricep press – 1 set of 8-10
Pec dec – 1 sets of 15
Seated DB side raise – 3 sets of 15
Tricep rope pushdown – 3 sets of 12
Single arm preacher DB curl – 2 sets of 8-10 
Dual cable curl – 1 set of 15
Abs – 4 sets of any exercise, 1 min rest in between, all sets aim for 15 reps (Did Ab roll outs)

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