[Kiera]

Wicked deadlift session yesterday:

Set 1. 220kg/485lbs x 2 (strapless)

Set 2. 220kg/485lbs x 2 (strapless)

Set 3. 240kg/530lbs x 1 (strapless)

Set 4. 240kg/530lbs x 3

Set 5. 240kg/530lbs x 3

Set 6. 240kg/530lbs x 3

Followed by some heavy bent over rows, some mid back work and some abs.

Really happy with how deadlifts are progressing. After a small tear to my erector a few months back i have been slowly increasing the weight of my deadlifts from 150kg to where it is now. It’s been a long and pretty boring process having to build them back up so slowly but it was necessary and i’m in a much better position 8 weeks than i could have envisioned. It’s also allowed me to focus on my grip during the recovery phase as i reverted back to a a grip weight that was manageable and have been able to work both my grip and deadlift in unison. A

I think a 260 strapless deadlift will be on the cards in the next few weeks which will be pretty exciting as the most i’ve lifted strapless has been 250kg.

[Kiera]

A pretty late session for me today. I usually like to train around mid day after Ive had 2 or 3 meals but todays session was a late one as we had to wait in for our bulk order of chicken/prawns/salmon to arrive. Protein sources are pretty expensive over here unless you can buy them in bulk then the prices are fairly similar to the U.K.

Bench moved very smoothly today. Worked up to a very nice top single of 135kg (with plenty left in the tank). Followed by 4 x 3 1.5 reps on 110k. After that I did 90kg x 10 which pretty long comp pauses.

Very happy with my starting point in bench this prep as I know (for me) it’s the main lift out of the 3 which is affected most when I come off cycle.

Excited to see where they will end up and either way will be battling for the bench press world record in my weight class which is pretty exciting.

[Kiera]

Today was a pretty exciting day. I got a message from Larry Wheels on Sunday asking if I wanted to film a squat session with him for his youtube. So today we headed to a pretty cool powerlifting/strongman gym and smashed out some pretty nice sets.
I hit 225/230kg for a single followed by 175/180kg for 12 reps (I don’t know the exact weight because it was worked out in lbs but it was between those weights. Then finished on 170kg for 2 x 4 iso sets and called it a day. My legs haven’t fully recovered from my last leg day so I didn’t want to push it any more than that as I also have a high bar leg session later on in the week.

This evening Max and I decided to head out with some friends (which we very rarely do) so it was really lovely to go and enjoy some down time and eat some nice food.

[Kiera]

Such a busy day today moving in, it the end is in sight, the last few weeks have been difficult whilst simultaneously trying to prep for my meet in feb. – but I’m ready to give it my all with no distractions.

[Kiera]

Low bar squats are starting to feel gooood!

I introduced low bar squats 3 weeks ago when I started my meet prep. Before that I still squatted twice a week but they were high bar and high volume only. High volume to avoid injury and because my body responds best to a semi heavy load at decently high volume. The other reasons being the carry over from high bar to low bar is greater so focusing on the squat variation that is essentially harder is more beneficial when it comes to prep and transitioning to low bar. Low bar brings a lot of injury risk, mainly due to the set up. It can quite easily cause problems/niggles with your elbows, shoulders, wrists and biceps and we don’t want that so we have stayed away from low bar till it’s been necessary to add back in.

Today was the first session I felt comfortable and confident in the low bar squat position and the weight flewww. It was a pretty tame session

200kg x 1 rep

170kg 4 x 4 iso reps

170kg x 10 reps

I am also doing 3 (5 second eccentric pauses) working sets on the hack squat after my squats to improve strength and some extra accessory work too.

[Kiera]

This week has been a pretty crazy one. Anyone who has said relocating to another country is easy has never tried to relocate to Dubai under their new rules haha. We have finally after, 5 weeks, managed to secure the keys to our apartment and have completed all the steps to becoming a resident here. We were so busy yesterday we didn’t actually have time to train and today’s session was pushed back 4 hours due to even more traveling and paperwork but we are finally done! We move into our new apartment Sunday and i can’t believe how excited i actually am to get back into my routine ?

Due to the last few days, i feel pretty ran down, that and the fact that i always get ‘androgen flu’ quite badly when i start a cycle. Today’s deadlifts because of that felt pretty heavy.

210kg x 2 x 2 (strapless)

230kg x 1 (strapless)

230kg x 5

230kg x 3

[Kiera]

Some key days in my training coming up:

Week dec 20-26th is deload week – at the end of that 4 weeks squat iso work.

22nd jan, 3 weeks out – “mock” meet, 3 singles on each lift to comp rules around RPE 8

Jan 31st bench opener 2×2 reps,

feb 1st deadlift opener 2×2 reps

4th feb squat opener 2×2 reps

7th 8th deload light sessions then rest till 12th

So thought I’d post this as it’s the outline of some important dates for me leading up to my meet. Similar to bodybuilding, powerlifters have to peak. Not in our condition but in our strength.
That’s why you see (with most powerlifters) a semi boring prep because our target is not to get as strong as possible in the shortest time frame. Nor is it to try and beat each weight lifted from last session. Our goal is for linear progression, injury avoidance and to peak at the correct time in conjunction with our meet.

Very much like body building if you don’t do it right you don’t do your best. If you peak too early it’s very hard to maintain that level of strength without an increased risk of fatigue and injury.

So we have pre scheduled a deload week because although I may not feel I need it. I have a big 6 week push after it. Without it I would be lifting for 10 weeks straight and needing to take one any later would mess with a smooth 6 week prep.

Another week and a half left of double iso work and then the fun lifting begins ??

[Kiera]

There is a huge genetic component, naturally some people are going to be able to add size and strength more quickly than others, there is also a genetic component to how well individuals respond to PED’s. Regardless of genetics though there is also a massive components like diet and training and of how hard you are willing to push yourself to gain muscle mass. You also have to take into account peoples goals. For a long time JP wanted to be the biggest and most heavily muscled man on the planet whilst with Haider his goals were/are a lot different. For that reason although on the surface they look like they are doing pretty much the same thing, their practices to where they both got to now were definitely not the same.

[Kiera]

Good Morning Guys,

Yesterday marks 10 weeks out from my Meet and so today I am starting my PED cycle. Usually I go on cycle for 6 weeks with long breaks in-between. My last cycle ended 16 weeks ago now and that cycle was actually cut short due to an erector injury.

One thing i stand by is that i will never use PED’s for the sake of it. For me i value my femininity and will make sure everything else is at 100% before bringing in any assistance. 10 weeks is a VERY long cycle for me but with what’s at stake i am willing to push those extra 4 weeks and will be monitoring sides very closely.

For those of you interested i am cycling 20mg of Ostarine and 15mg of Primo daily. i used these compounds for the first time last cycle and got on really well with them. I will keep you updated with how it all goes 🙂

[Kiera]

I agree with Darren, if you are at 1600cals now your metabolism is going to be pretty down regulated so i would make an initial 300/400 calorie jump and then increase by 100 /150 calories per week after that.

[Kiera]

Today was lighter training session for me. I am currently training 4 times a week. 2 x bench, 2 x squat and 1 x deadlift with a lot of accessories to assist the lifts/muscle groups. I am pretty sure my training will increase to 5 x week soon as a second deadlift session will be added. Todays session was technique focused with an emphasis on squat mobility and leg drive for bench press. Two elements in squat and bench that i struggle with, the rest of the session consisted of some light SLDLs, chest accessory work and abs.

It is hard to post a specific training plan on here as my training week goes by feel and changes every week to accommodate the outcome of the previous week. However i will run through the break down of some of my more exciting training days later in the week 🙂

[Kiera]

Hi Guys,

I’d like to introduce myself, I’m Kiera and i’m new athlete here on the JP site. I’m extremely excited to be able to document my journey on here and delve into the in’s and out’s of what it’s takes to become World NO.1.

A little bit of background on me:

I started working out when i was 18 (currently 23) after i decided to give up competitive gymnastics. I was a Gymnast since the age of 4 and competed at a high level until i fell out of love with the competitive side of it. I decided to join a gym to fill the void, while looking for another sport, little did i know that the gym would become that sport and without sounding too dramatic my entire life.

I started with a passion for bodybuilding. I entered my first BB comp at the age of 18 in the bikini class and won my MP PRO status. I then took 2 years out to build muscle and hit the IFBB stage as a figure competitor. I competed firstly in the Ammeter Olympia in London where i took joint first on points and then again a month later in Iceland where I gained my IFBB Figure Pro card. Since then i have competed in Romania at the end of 2020 for my Pro debut and yet to step back on the stage.. (maybe the end of next year , who knows).

Between all of this, i found a passion for lifting heavy. I was approached by a member of pure gym while i was at University who told me i should enter a powerlifting competition after seeing me bench 100kg. Me being the VERY competitive person i am, decided to enter a powerlifting comp with 8 weeks powerlifting training. I contacted a very experienced powerlifter, Tom Martin, and together we managed to break all the British records and take the title of strongest U75kg Junior in the world and that is where it all begun.

Now i am officially 10 weeks out from The Ghost Clash. An international powerlifting competition in Miami. The meet is invite only and will be the battle of the world record holders and the wild cards (me being a wild card as i have not competed since my first competition back in 2019 at the age of 20). My ultimate goal is to take that world NO.1 spot as a junior. Is it optimistic? yes! Is it doable? YES! The way my training and lifts have been going really highlight that i have a real chance of breaking these records.

anyway that is a long enough introduction i think haha. I will be logging my training, diet, drug protocol leading up to the meet and any bits i think are worth mentioning in-between. I hope you enjoy following my journey and any questions you have feel free to fire them my way 🙂