[Kiera]

Some pretty big moves made today.. some very exciting news to come in a few of the following updates, i have a few things to do before i spill the beans on what i think is pretty exciting announcement but it will be soon that i mention it 🙂

Today was a forced rest day. I went to see a really experienced sports rehabilitation specialist for the first time out here in Dubai (way over due) but he cracked and stretched my back and just like magic my piriformis felt like new ?He did ask me not to do any explosive movements for a few days and not to train today just to give it time to set and not get pissed again. So today was a rest day other than heading to the gym after to do 20 mins of stair master.

He also had a look at my shouldern and is certain from the tests he did its a slap tear, he gave me the number of a consultant who specialises in shoulders and i have booked to see him for a consultation tomorrow morning.. at this point i am pretty ready to pay for an operation myself just to get it done and mended asap but we shall see what he says. I have the results from the first MRI which according to the second and third surgeons weren’t good enough quality to be 100% sure .. so i might end up getting another MRI tomorrow and going from there.

[Kiera]

Drinking calories is fine, but so long as it’s in moderation, the first stage of digestion starts in the mouth by the action of chewing and production of amylase.

Also ensure you’re not drinking huge amounts of water with your food, or when drinking your cream of rice, as you want to keep stomach acid optimal ph.

[Kiera]

One of my less productive days today.

Was meant to be a bench, chest and shoulder session and was looking forward to my bench feeling better than last time as its been 9/10 days since the injection and it’s meant to take full affect between 7-10. Unfortunately i loaded 60kg on the bar after warming up and it just felt like shit. Felt exactly like it did prior to the injection. I tried some more feeler sets and a few extra stretches and mobility to see if it just needed warming up but still the same pain.

The one plus side about Dubai is i can whatsapp my surgeon/doctor ?Messaged him during the rest of my training session and he fitted me in at 1.30 to go and see him. My last MRI which i paid for at a different hospital wasn’t very clear.. it didn’t seem like too much of a problem as the surgeons who viewed it the second time thought they had figured it all out but now they think they could have missed something.. ?So they have scheduled another MRI which hopefully won’t be dragged out as long as 2 weeks again.

I will keep you guys updated and will continue to train and prepare the best i can for my comps in the meantime! I did finish my session today even though bench didnt go to plan i trained the rest of shoulder because lateral and rear delt work doesn’t aggravate it, also trained some triceps, glutes and abs.

[Kiera]

I’m still working my way through the flavours of both Protein and COR.

I’m currently a big fan of the Maple COR with the Chocolate caramel protein but they are all good! Any of the chocolate based COR and Proteins will be a safe bet mixed together, others will still taste amazing but might go better with certain flavours.

As for toppings any nuts/seeds, nut butter, fruits or even dark chocolate work very well.

[Kiera]

Really good day today! spent most of it out as there is work going on on the roof of our building and we can’t hear ourselves think ? But apart from that training and the rest of the day went really well!

started cardio, diet and a new training split.

Today was legs, instead of barbell squatting i used the gymshop squat machine which is honestly one of my favourite pieces. Worked up to 7 plates a side for 8 reps, backed down to 6 plates a side for 10 and then 4 plates a side for paused squats 2 x 8.

adductor

leg extension

seated hamstring curl

lying hamstring curl

calves

grip.

Chest and shoulders tomorrow and hoping for an even better bench session. Would be nice to have even less pain than last session.

[Kiera]

Rest day for me today.

Pretty excited to start my next phase of power-lifitng and to start my cut tomorrow. I’ve got fasted HIIT cardio 6x a week in the AM on the Nordic track bike for 20 mins and my calories are going to sit just below maintenance. I still plan to gain strength during this cut so it will be a longer cut with a slower drop as i don’t want my expenditure to be too high that it affects my performance.

But i’ll keep you guys updated with it and will take my weight and check in photos tomorrow and upload them for anyone interested.

[Kiera]

Is there any particular reason why you don’t have any pulls from the floor?

Most Tbjp athletes are huge advocates of them.

Yes, I absolutely love pulling from the floor but I have torn my hamstring twice doing so?

So mentally and physically I just feel I shouldn’t programme it anymore! [/quote]
Injuries will happen at some point, but unless it’s something debilitating and long term it’s not a reason to completely remove a certain exercise. Rather work around it and find an alternative

For example – if you keep tearing your hamstrings, work in a higher rep range, or even reduce the range of motion – perhaps some block pulls, or pulling from mats might be a good idea. Or maybe even using banded stiff legs, whereby the load is reduced at the lengthened position where the hamstrings are most compromised.

I’d deffo try some alternatives before calling it quits.

[Kiera]

Depending on what model of leg press. The 45 degree, will have a uniform resistance profile, whilst a horizontal has one that changes if it’s plate loaded – usually harder in the shortened range, which is better for matching the strength curve of quads. – at the end of the day in my opinion use which ever one feels best on the knees and you can progress over a sustained period of time.

[Kiera]

Deadlift and back session today was pretty uneventful worked up to 200kg bare hand, reverse grip which i haven’t done for 5/6 weeks as my bicep/shoulder didn’t find it too fun pre cortisone injection. It still didn’t feel amazing but should do in a few more days. Working sets today were still reflecting a deload for me at 215kg 5 x 3. Moved onto some Panatta low row and some reverse hyper extension after that. It was a pretty low key session but put in the work and was good to start up some deadlifts with grip again.

[Kiera]

Is there any particular reason why you don’t have any pulls from the floor?

Most Tbjp athletes are huge advocates of them.

[Kiera]

Happy Friday guys! So today was a rest day for me! I’ve taken this week quite easy as I said it was a bit of a deload and rest before I start my cut and new phase on Monday. I have deadlifts tomorrow and I was contemplating doing one last 3 x 5 session but I think it’s wise to start my 3 x 7 block and and quit while I’m ahead. I think 240kg 3 x 5 would put me out of training for a good few days recovery and I’d like to start this phase off with a bang on Monday.

Here’s my split for the next 12 weeks at least:

[Kiera]

So firstly stop taking cluster dextrin – you might be unintentionally causing yourself osmotic diarrhea, – cluster dextrin has a really fast digestion time.

I’d also take something like a banana before training to slow down bowel transit time as well.

[Kiera]

Bench is back baby ? I won’t hold my breathe as to how long it’s back for but I decided to test it out today 3 days after my injection and it was a good 70% better. Still some pain but the injection does take upto 10 days to properly work so come my next bench session it should be pain free.
Started with 100kg x 5 reps and moved onto 3 more sets of 5 reps at 105kg which was very happy with. Rest of the session was shoulders, rear delts, triceps and glutes.

I have mentioned before but I start my diet and new training split on Monday so once I’ve finalised my training split I will post it on here 🙂

[Kiera]

Had a lighter leg session today as i’ve planned to have a bit of a deload this week. I jumped in with Max’s leg session (which wasn’t light) but i was well behaved and didn’t push it ahah.

Started off with seated hamstrings, lying hamstring, calves, adductor, some lighter eccentric banded hack squats, the gym shop kit squat machine (which was the first time i’ve used it and loved it – i think i’m going to make it a staple in my training because i connect so well with it) and finished off with some leg extension. squats will be going back in next week.

One huge thing i did notice today was that my shoulder didn’t hurt once. I haven’t benched yet but my shoulder would twinge or pain me at least 5/6 times in any session just from lifting and moving 20kg plates around the gym and today it didn’t .. so i was pretty chuffed about that and excited to see how benching goes tomorrow.

[Kiera]

I’d try and use a grip that is narrower, – keep body positioning more upright and keep elbows tucked in.