[Kiera]

Rule of things like this, if it starts getting more frequent or more profound/greater intensity then go and get it checked out.

[Kiera]

Leg day today. The plan was to use the SSB but the middle section of the gym is Under construction and all the equipment has been moved, must have spent about 15 minutes trying to find the SSB I’ve used in the past but couldn’t. I settled for a different one which didn’t look like it would suit me and after warming up to 120kg I called it a day with the SSB and reverted back to my normal power bar.

For some reason the handles were set way further apart which made the pads and weight rest on the furthest point of my shoulders and it was just unpleasant. Luckily my shoulder felt good with high bar and there was little stiffness while squatting.

working sets:
150kg x 8 (3 sets/paused squats)
130kg x 5 (3sets/pin squats)

Followed by leg press, abductor, hamstring curl, seating hamstring curl, calves and abs.

[Kiera]

Agree with everything above. Especially with Clare about the nutrition density and making sure you are getting all your micro nutrients so you are in the best possible position to fight these cravings.

It’s very easy to say as pro athletes that we just get on with it because quite honestly we do as for the most part this is our job and lifestyle but I do remember my first prep back in 2019 and I struggled with cravings badly , regardless of how much I wanted my pro card, the cravings didn’t just go. A few things that helps me:

If you are trying to diet or in the early stages upto 6 weeks out from a show – I don’t see the problem with any of the following:

Sugar free jelly
Sugar free drinks (can of monster or Diet Coke)
Chewing gum (careful these are a laxative so don’t get eating packs)
Cucumber and mushrooms (filling your meals out with veg is always a great way to bulk up your food and make more out of your meal.
Sugar free Icepops (probably not right now if you are U.K. based but in the summer they were a life saver).

And one that I give my clients is a gobstobber ? trust me your tongue will start hurting before you can get even 50 calories out of it and by the time you do you won’t want it anymore.

None of these are ideal obviously but they are all tricks I’ve used and my clients have used and they do work.

[Kiera]

Rest day for me today and a nice quiet one too. Usually my rest days are the busiest because I’m catching up on everything I’ve not managed to do in that week but today was really chilled and only left the apartment for a walk this morning because I wanted a cold Diet Pepsi from the shop haha.

On legs again tomorrow but back to some Squats. The wellness leg session was super fun and definitely an awesome way to grow my legs but my focus is for strength (if I gain size it’s a bonus) so I’ll be introducing the SSB tomorrow and heading back to some volume work in the 7/8 rep range.

I’m also toying with the idea to squat high bar in my comps. I’m really strong high bar, can hit depth as my chest doesn’t get pushed forward it also completely eliminates any future bicep/shoulder/ elbow issues. Although uncommon some of the best powerlifters squat high bar John Hack and Kevin Oak to name a few. So it’s definitely something I’m thinking about.

[Kiera]

So with newer trainees, quite often we will see that here is aversion to going to full mechanical failure, or knowing where true failure lies. So getting them to progress via volume escalation and intensity techniques is a good way to help make up the shortfall in the lack of stimulus they might be able to achieve in just a few straight sets.

[Kiera]

Oh Guys, I am sore today. My legs are at the point of pain where straightening them hurts, yesterday’s ‘wellness’ leg workout actually killed me off. Not so much that i didn’t deadlift today though.

Todays session was really good, lifting in straps (which i massively prefer) but only doing all my sets like this to avoid applying stress to my bicep/shoulder with the reverse grip for the time being.

4 working sets on 210kg for 5, followed by a back down set of 190kg x 10.

All moved very smoothly and was pretty happy with the session. Back movements are pretty limited but i did hit some light lat pulldowns and mid back row. Neither of which seemed to irritate my shoulder (it seems to only kick off when pushing or twisting). Followed that by some ab work and 20 minutes stair master.

[Kiera]

Hi John,

I personally like the stair master for calories burnt the quickest at a pretty steady state. Most will opt for incline walking because it interferes less with recovery and overall training but there is no harm in trying something different. I also really like the rowing machine for HIIT training or even a steady state 10/15 minute row.

All types of cardio have their pros and cons. Stairmaster may have a greater impact on and around leg day, rowing around back day.. ect. So it’s best just to find something you enjoy and do that.

[Kiera]

It’s be a while since I’ve had a leg session that’s made me feel physically sick ? Today I trained with Australias First IFBB Wellness pro and it’s safe to say I massively underestimated her and how hard she trains.

I will slightly defend myself by stating that I’ve not done much high volume bodybuilding style training in the last 6 months and a high volume leg day was probably not the best to start with.

Granted everyone has a particular style of training that they prefer but It’s still awesome to see how other elite pros train.

I can’t remember the sets and reps but the workout looked like this:

Standing Calves
Lying hamstring curl
Leg press (a stupid amount of leg press)
Leg extension
Glute Bridges
Abductor
Seated hamstring curl
Seated calves
Adductor
Sissy squats

This wouldn’t be something I’d throw in for the fun of it but while I’m still waiting for my MRI and can only train lower body I thought It would be good fun and it was.

[Kiera]

Completely agree with what Clare says above. It completely depends on if you have a time frame in which you want to achieve this by! If not then I would lean towards a less aggressive cut, which may adhere to your busy schedule better.

I wouldn’t be dropping calories too low straight away either. Even on a shorter prep food still declines over a period of time not on the first day. I’d find out where your maintenance is and go from there.

You could also look at adding in cardio, personally I prefer to do a little extra cardio and keep my food higher than the other way round.

[Kiera]

I deadlifted today ? seems like a long time since I last deadlifted (it was last week but that’s long for me haha).

Nothing crazy as I’ve not been on top form, even with 2 negative lateral flow tests I’m pretty certain both Max and I had Omnicron last week. We had every sign posible for it so we just distanced ourselves a bit and tried to stay away from busy areas but still trained because neither of us actually got positive tests.

200kg 3 x 6 and a final set of 8. Just getting the weight moving and it felt amazing to be back at it again. Double over hand doesn’t hurt my shoulder/bicep at all so that’s good news.

Update on the MRI. I Rang my insurance today as it’s been 4 days since I was meant to recieve it. They informed me that the MRI had been declined by accident and that the hospital needed to simply re request it and it would go through immediately. So that’s a bit of a ball ache, if I hadn’t of rang who knows how long I would have been waiting for but fingers crossed it will now be sorted in the next 2 days.

[Kiera]

A pop is never a good thing. The knee has various ligaments which are all put under strain with the leg extension – I’d go and see a professional, get their opinion on the matter and then potentially get an MRI if they feel it’s necessary, as that’s the only way you can get a clear picture of the situation.

[Kiera]

Only i could live in Dubai and give myself sunstroke using a sun bed. I still haven’t sun bathed, been to the beach or down to the pool once in over 2 months of being here. I think i have sat out by the pool once in the first air b&b we stayed in, sat there for about 30 minutes, couldn’t see my screen and went back inside. Living in Dubai and paler then i was living in the UK haha.

I think sun beds and melanotan are up there with the most overpriced things here in Dubai. £115 for 100 minutes on the sun beds and £60 a vile of melanotan but it has to be done as my lightest foundation shade is now too dark for me and i can’t have that haha.

Still no sign of my MRI, i phoned my insurance and they just gave me the heads up that it will go through but just a matter of time. I’ve gone ahead and signed up for the American Pro which is in US in July (so i’m still a junior) and then i’m going to sign up for the Kern which is the most prestigious US powerlifitng meet which requires you to do an event like The American pro to qualify. I’m REALLY excited about those 🙂

I get a lot of questions asking if i was going to return the pro bodybuilding stage this year and until recently i didn’t know for sure but now i do. I have so much to give to powerlifting that I am going to spend the whole of 2022 working towards those goals and going after what i have been training the last 12 months for. I have been pretty unlucky with timings..

lock down, then my grandma passed away the weekend of my first meet, then seriously pissed off my lower back, then tore my erector and now have a lovely shoulder situation going on ? So it’s not been from lack of effort but i can tell you every ‘setback’ i’ve had has pushed me to give more and grind harder. I could walk into a powerlifting comp right now, injured, and reclaim all the British records, the junior world record and put myself up there with the top 10 in the world.. but my goal isn’t to do that. My goal is to put Britain back on the map and be up there with the top 3 female powerlifters of all time and it WILL happen. It’s just a matter of time.

[Kiera]

Tried the maple syrup COR today for post workout and the strawberry and cream protein today with meal 1 and loved them both. Still working my way through all the flavours which is going to take a while haha but i’m definitely enjoying it.

Still on lower body training until i get this MRI done, which is better than nothing but itching to deadlift. Double over hand never hurt my shoulder or bicep so i might give some deadlifts a go tomorrow/Tuesday depending on what happens these next few days.

[Kiera]

Hi Liam,

I’m a big fan of doing cardio all year round. For me it puts me in a good mental state and aside from the odd moan about it I actually quite enjoy it ?.

Depending on your daily routine it might be hard to do fasted cardio in the morning especially if you have commitments like work ect. As you mentioned that you aren’t doing it for weight loss purposes I don’t see the issue with doing a bit of HIIT after your workouts. That way you can get it all done during the time you are at the gym and HIIT will be the most beneficial way to increase your cardio vascular endurance

Only thing I may avoid is cardio after a leg day. Again if it’s not for the sake of weight loss then it doesn’t need to be done everyday so I would plan your HIIT sessions around your training split so that your recovery isn’t compromised.

[Kiera]

Still no MRI today, hoping to be contacted tomorrow about it. Seems to be the insurance that are being slow with sending their approval for the go ahead. I looked on some Reddit forums and found out that it can sometimes take 3 days for them to get back to the Hospitals with their approval.

Trying to keep a positive mind set during this short period of uncertainty. I know that whatever the outcome it can be sorted in a matter of months. However, i do feel stuck between a rock and a hard place right now as i’ve been advised to avoid train upper body or deadlifting incase it is a SLAP tear and with that I can’t train 2/3 key lifts for the meet that is approaching in February.

Being realistic, even if i can get the MRI and results back this coming week and if they happen to NOT be something that results in surgery, i’m not sure i’d be able to make up for the time lost over the last 1/2 weeks along with the strength lost that comes from not training a lift for that long with the time frame i have left.

This sport is about having fun, but i don’t lose, i don’t do second place, i can’t face the idea of not being able to give my best and i don’t intend to show up to a meet at 70% . I’d much rather grit my teeth and head back to the drawing board, recover, get stronger and go for something when i am (near enough) 100% again.

I already have 2 more meets lined up both in the US, both insanely competitive so will see what the outcome of this is and go from there.