[Adam Bishop]

Lowerbody session

Leg Press – 5 sets
GHR – 5 sets
SSB Squat – 3 sets
Good mornings – 3 sets
SL calf Raise – 5 sets

Good to get back to some lowerbody today. Easing back into it so the reps were high as the intensity lowered a bit.

All went well so looking forward to pushing these movements over the next few weeks

[Adam Bishop]

Thanks for the info Craig.

I would look at increasing your carbs around your training time for sure. With you pre workout meal sometimes a long time before your session and then no carbs directly post either, you’re setting yourself up for a sub-par gym session.

I would recommend an intraworkout carb based drink. I personally use JP’s Sustain and think it’s brilliant. Two scoops gives me 50g of carbs that I consume during my session.

Secondly I would add in some simple carbs post session especially if your next meal is 1-2hours away. Fruit would be a good option. I would start off by consuming a banana with your whey or even adding some honey to your whey post session. Aim for another 50g of carbs IMO.

[Adam Bishop]

Hi Craig. Couple of questions for some insight into this:

1. Generally how long are your sessions in the gym?

2. When do you have your preworkout meal and what does this consist of?

[Adam Bishop]

Thanks guys. Back in the gym tomorrow to do some light training. Time to get ready for Brits in 7 weeks!

[Adam Bishop]

Straight away I’m initial thought is there is a lot of weight gainer in there and not too much traditional food.

Weight gainers are sometimes a necessary evil to get calories in but they can also ruin your digestion and leave you bloated and full especially if they are full of thickening agents.

I’d personally start with seeing how you appetite goes with dropping them out and replacing the calorie equivalent with another of your rice and beef meals. Salting your food will also help you to feel hungry later.

Not saying that would be the finished article with your diet as there are other areas to change but I would personally start there and build more food in from there over time. The first step is getting your appetite to a place where you want to eat regularly.

[Adam Bishop]

Could you post your daily diet for us to see what you’re currently eating please?

[Adam Bishop]

Unfortunately things didn’t go my way tonight.

I blacked out on the log press and the shield carry. Clearly I’m not recovered from the Shaw Classic last weekend. This was my 4th competition in 5 weeks and clearly it was a step too far.

Need to work out if my blacking out issues are down to blood sugars or blood pressure or maybe something else but I do know I need a rest if I want to retain my Britain’s Strongest Man title in 7 week.

Plan is to rest up until then and get myself sorted out.

Disappointed is an understatement but I’ll bounce back.

[Adam Bishop]

I’ll throw in a strength guy answer here…

For my main strength lifts I regularly use an autoregulatory programme I devised that progresses next week’s loads depending on the current week’s performance. If I have a good week and lift several reps over my “goal” then the programme adds more weight to my working weight next week. If I only just hit my goal reps the programme will increase the minimum amount next week (in this case 2.5kg total)

The load for my accessory movements is based off a percentage of my main lift load for that week and any other volume work is just beat the previous week’s load, reps or both.

[Adam Bishop]

Made it to the Athletes hotel in Leeds ready for Europe’s strongest Man tomorrow.

Athlete/rules meeting done and had a big feed.

Now to get an early night and hope for a full nights sleep!

[Adam Bishop]

I’m a fan of heavy row movements for lats. SA DB rows or bent over rows with different grips work well for me. Seated rows and Pulldowns also do the job and I try to vary my grips until I find one that hits the target muscle

[Adam Bishop]

Recovery work done today.

Morning walk with the dogs before getting a cryotherapy session in and some soft tissue work done. Finished with some rounds in the hot tub this evening. Doing everything I can to feel good for Saturday.

Back still feeling the effects of a heavy competition and the travel but it’s moving. In the right direction. I’ll be good for Saturday.

[Adam Bishop]

Yep I agree with JP. Really lock in those lats before you lift and also at the top before you execute the eccentric portion of the lift.

As an addition I would actually elevate the bar by 1-2inches (on blocks or plates) while you work on keeping your lumbar spine neutral through all the reps. Obviously this will detract from the hamstring stretch but once you have your spine locked in on the high rep sets you can return to the floor.

[Adam Bishop]

Thanks mate

No I have not tbh. Only found out it was one of the events last week and obviously I’ve had the shaw Classic and Europe’s to train for. I’ll get a little bit of work in on the handles after Europe’s

[Adam Bishop]

Is there a certain muscle group you feel you are missing more? Eg hamstrings over quads etc?

I wouldn’t be a fan of doing legs prior to back without a rest day personally as they are both big muscle groups.

Could you add in some hamstring work to your pull day while sticking to your current split? Eg including a stiff leg deadlift on pull day. A small addition to give a second lower stimulus without adding a huge amount of volume?

Unfortunately both my hamstrings and quads are lacking and I don’t know if a few hamstring movements on a pull day or quad movements on a push day would do much, when compared to another leg day.

Probably Pull/Legs/Push /Rest/ Legs Split would be better than the one I mentioned above?

[/quote]

But if I stick to my current split how many hamstring movements would you add on a pull day? [/quote]
I would say two would be a sensible start. One hip dominant like an RDL or SLDL and one knee dominant exercise like a leg curl.

[Adam Bishop]

Is there a certain muscle group you feel you are missing more? Eg hamstrings over quads etc?

I wouldn’t be a fan of doing legs prior to back without a rest day personally as they are both big muscle groups.

Could you add in some hamstring work to your pull day while sticking to your current split? Eg including a stiff leg deadlift on pull day. A small addition to give a second lower stimulus without adding a huge amount of volume?