[Marc]

Rest day today… usual sports massage treatment, client check ins and 3 in person posing clients today, which I really enjoyed with each of the 3 bodybuilders competing this year and at different stages of prep.

3rd day into my cut, a few times I noticed I was starting to feel ready which for my next meal which makes a nice change. Feedback from my check in today we will spend 8-10 weeks in this cut. A little more of an aggressive approach with the food drop just for this tidy up phase, not something that would be done in prep but I’m absolutely fine with it.

[Marc]

First leg session of the week today. Again still working in higher rep ranges (12-20)mainly for quads, just to give me knee some relief from loading heavy. Adductors / hamstrings still able to hit them harder with my usual rep ranges (8-12/12-15) so getting the work in still! Sleep last night was the greatest, so hoping for a better sleep tonight ahead of tomorrows rest day and midweek check in

[Marc]

40c again after that , then 40c after that etc etc / 40c , slow adjustments across a 20 week period

Oh wonderful! I thought protein and fat but reflecting on it I guess not really, Thank you very much!

[/quote]
Keep protein total consistent this doesn’t need to change. Protein will go up from trace but direct protein sources remain the same. But go with adjusting carbs only slow and steady like the guys have said and see how your body responds

[Marc]

Would be great an informative when you can post your meals, if it is possible.

Hi Tobias, yeah sure bud. Below is my first meal plan of this dieting phase;

All food is raw uncooked

*Training day nutrition*

Meal 1
100g cor
100g blueberry
70g Whey iso pro
20g nut butter

Meal 2
100g Jasmine rice
50g mixed veg
250g low fat mince
100g pineapple

Meal 3 pre meal
125g Jasmine Rice
225g chicken
100g banana

Intra
30g performance fuel
30g sustain
20g mps max
5g creatine
5g glutamine

Meal 4 post meal
60g whey iso pro
150g rice based cereal 100g berries

Meal 5
100g Jasmine rice
50g mixed veg
5g olive oil
250g chicken

*rest day*

Meal 1
100g cream of rice
100g blueberry
70g Whey isolate

Meal 2
100g Jasmine rice
50g mixed veg
250g low fat steak mince
100g pineapple

Meal 3
100g Jasmine Rice
100g pineapple
50g veg
250g wild Salmon

Meal 4
100g Jasmine rice
50g mixed veg
100g banana
250g low fat steak mince
100g pineapple

Meal 5
125g cream or rice
20g Nut butter
100g Strawberries
70g Whey isolate

[Marc]

Nice work Joe! Based on your pics you definitely can keep this growing phase going. You said your rate of gain is between 0.4-0.5kg and this is a good amount each week.

As long as appetite/digestion is holding up, you are able to still progress lifts I would keep going growing. Be patient still, rinse this phase for as long as you need to and factor in de-loads as and when needed to aid recovery and progress

[Marc]

Day 1 of my cut, I’m not shredded yet lol. Nothing really to report on it, similar to what I said in yesterdays log it’s business as usual but with slightly higher steps and food being reduced a little (by how much I don’t know, I’m just following the plan).

Bank holiday Monday, my gym closed earlier today 2pm. I wasn’t prepared to rush my meals and train earlier today, so me and Kerry decided to head over to stoke to train at destination gym. Heard people raving about how good gym this gym is. It’s definitely got some nice bits of kit, prime, nautilus and some Cybex… but for as good as the kit was it lacked some atmosphere. They did have an infrared sauna in the changing rooms which was pretty cool (not that I used it)….

But anyway, workout today was decent swapped a few piece around today because didn’t have like for like bits of kit I normally use, but the session was what I would normally do.

[Marc]

Hi Liam

Just saw your log in my feed. Welcome to the site, you are looking really good great work with previous cut.

Noticed you said feel battered from first two sessions. Cardio 5x35mins looks pretty high considering your steps are 10k or more. I’d drop cardio down to say 3 days 20mins and perhaps you might need to drop training volume down slightly until your recovery improves

[Marc]

Diet starts tomorrow. Although I will be cutting the approach day to day remains the same. Morning walk fasted outside to start my day, cardio 3 days a week at 20mins, steps are now 10k a day instead of the previous 7k and food / intra workout powders have also been lowered.

I’ve not asked what my calories are, I know that food is lower as it should be when cutting. No exact date for when the cut ends, but the aim is to get down to a lean bodyweight over the next few months before the last push up before prep for comps next year.

Looking forward to seeing what improvements have been made and also what areas need to come up to make me more competitive on stage and ultimately get my first pro win

[Marc]

Check in sent over to Kuba this morning. Feedback will be in tomorrow morning… last session of the week today ticked off it was legs , still working in higher rep ranges

[Marc]

Fully agree with what Clare and Peter. Take their points into account, then get your blood tests done as planned and assess from there. Make a note of what process you follow so you have this info for the future if needed again

[Marc]

Sounds like you have exhausted this training split and now it’s time to look towards upper / lower to allow you to not only get productive sessions in but to have better recovery too

[Marc]

Pull session ticked off today. Worked today in higher rep ranges 12-20 just to drop some load with weight and to give my joints a little rest from lifting heavy as they have been feeling a little sore. One thing I’ve noticed this off season being over 290lbs for a long period of time it has a knock on effect with performance and feeling sluggish at times. Kuba has tapered training volume and now also adjusted training rep ranges to help get some more productive training sessions in

[Marc]

Chilled full day at the spa. Got a little bit of work done Early doors then tried to switched off for the day. Today was another rest day, so I’ve moved training to tomorrow and Saturday (Saturday is normally a rest day). Was nice to be away, but wow it’s feels good to be out of the dressing gown and back into oversized clothes now that I’m back home lol

[Marc]

Well done for Getting back to it after some time off, it’s good that you have a goal to work towards to help keep your focus.

The key here now is to set some achievable targets that you can tick off daily to create the habits you need for progress. So start off with your set nutrition plan (training day and rest day) get a set workout plan, daily steps and a cardio on rest days to begin. Start at a sensible amount and taper up when needed

[Marc]

If you haven’t had this conversation with your coach, I think it’s really important that you do. Being open and honest with your coach is a must. Your coach has relayed his views to you and yes he is there to guide and help your own progress, it equally it’s key that you express how you are feeling. Usually from there you can find a common ground with what the next steps should be.