[Marc]

Hi guys, in person check in with Kuba today. After a few meals, but all the same it was good to see him in person get his thoughts / direction going into the final few weeks of competing in Spain December 1st big man weekend. Very happy with how things are going, Kuba knows my body so well especially having worked with him for a few years so I have full confidence that I will bring my very best and I’m excited for it!!

[Marc]

One reading means nothing (For all of the reasons that have already been stated). Hold tight and see how your body responds over the coming days and weeks before making any more changes. Keep an eye on your body composition, performance, as well as scale weight; and use those as feedback.

Agree with Clare here. Take bodyweight daily and see what your average bodyweight is over the course of the week. Better body composition/ strength up is a win here. Aside from weight focus on your visuals and the biofeedback from your body to gauge your progress / next steps

[Marc]

Morning leg session went down, training after 1 meal seems to be working well for me on prep so I’m rolling with it. Trained at the gym closest to my house today, all the usual exercises just different kit;

Single arm bicep curl x3
Seated leg x2
Leg ext x2
Leg press x2
Hack squat x1
Lying leg curl x2
Rdl x2
Toe press x3

Another productive session ticked off, happy with my lifts. Step target today back to 12k, after yesterday Kuba said to pull back on my steps. Posing rounds to be done later today

[Marc]

Hi mate

It looks like you have covered all basis here in terms of exercise selection across you sessions. Ensure you spread your sessions out over the week to allow for progression and also recovery. You will soon know after a few rotations of doing this how this feels for you, but set up wise it looks good

[Marc]

Early upper session. Pull dominant in the bag after 1 meal today as I had a physio appointment late morning 1.5hrs drive away.

Decent session today, has a good drop off in bodyweight this week which is taking me closer to where I need to be stage condition wise. Plan of action from Kuba today was to keep steps low, so as little movement as possible for me today

[Marc]

For future reference, in my opinion I don’t think there’s usually a need to drop calories weekly. You want to do a “big” enough drop initially to get the ball rolling, and carry that out a few weeks until you see the progress stall and the need for further reduction is there, and continue that process.

I lost around 7,5 kg in 8 weeks and reduced the calories by 200 every 2 weeks.

Only the last 2 weeks were combined with weekly reduction down to 1500 cal.

Now I reduced the morning cardio down to 10 mins from Monday – Friday and feel good so far.

Workouts stay the same, 3/week full body (upper body focused).

I’m now in push week #2 and eat 1700 cal daily.

I chose the approach high carb on training days and low carb on rest days and will see how it works for me.

[/quote]
It’s pretty normal to have higher carbs for training day and lower carbs for rest day so this approach is fine bud

[Marc]

Soooo… the news is out. My return to the open bodybuilding stage will be 1st Dec, big man weekend in Spain, Alicante. If you haven’t seen my YouTube video that I posted yesterday it explains all that’s going on with my shoulder, my mindset and my reason for doing this show.

I am very much locked into the process and I have full confidence that Kuba will bring me in at my all time best, my current condition smokes how I looked in 2022 and still have 2.5 weeks to go so it is very exciting! Follow along my log as I will keep you all updated

[Marc]

Hi bud

Without a doubt the man you need to message on instagram about this is

@darraghmac_coach

He will be able to help you with all that you need

[Marc]

Big leg session went down this morning with my training partner Karlton. Got after it early, trained again after 1 meal which at the moment suits me well. I have a YouTube video dropping today at 6pm uk time on my channel. Definitely not to be missed with an update on what’s happening with my shoulder and also my next steps as a bodybuilder… stay tuned!!

[Marc]

I really agree with what Louis has said above. When you say very rarely does this mean you do sometimes suffer with digestion issues. If so can you pinpoint why this occurs?

What type of veg do you eat? Do you eat eggs?

[Marc]

What a 24hours it’s been! Kerry won the bikini pro show in Romania and has now qualified for her very first mr Olympia next year. What a year it’s been for her, I’m so proud of her and also the amazing job her coach Meg has done. She’s really deserved this after two second place finishes this year she finally got it!! What a day. I have my own update with my shoulder coming tomorrow so look out for that on YouTube likely gone live tomorrow

[Marc]

A base level of cardio with help overall health, fitness within training session and day to day, help appetite, keep body composition in a good spot and more. How much cardio will depend on your needs. Post workout can work or even cardio on a rest day so it doesn’t affect training performance. But post workout is equally fine, just be consistent

[Marc]

Hi guys

Deffo feeling tired after a big training week last week and also travel to different appointments. Kuba has said an extra 50g carbs today, and keep stay as low as possible and not my usual 12k steps,

I’ve got my youngest daughter so been doing some arts and crafts with her and also watched kerry compete on the livestream. She’s in the mix of top two in the bikini pro division at the Romania muscle fest show. Meg her coach is out there with her, I really hope they get the win today. This is her 7th show of the season and nothing would make me happier seeing her get that 2025 Olympia qualification

[Marc]

Completely agree with Clare’s advice, it’s honestly a great book! A lot of learning also comes through experience, what works well and doesn’t work well for yourself and what adjustments can be made. No prep / process is ever the same so it’s a case of collecting data and taking parts for future reference.

Big advice is don’t try to wing it. If you are unsure, ask someone who can guide you. Even if it means paying to getting the knowledge it will benefit you in the long run

[Marc]

Rest day for me. Up early again, so a good chunk of steps boxes of this morning before client work / 2 in person checks in and posing clients for 2 guys competing next weekend and both looking really good ahead of their final show the season. I now have my youngest daughter for the rest of the weekend so it will a fun filled time / being kept occupied by her 🙂