I agree with Allison, I think you need to drop any idea of continuing your deficit and focus on replenishing calories. I ended up in a binge cycle in 2014 4 weeks out from my show, it wasn’t until 4 weeks post show that I got things under control, 1 of the reasons was I pushed my carbs up quite a bit to remove food noise. If you were to…

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Push 1 ticked off for the week. Another productive one, I’m still adjusting movements, and tweaking tempos here and there, but the push sessions are coming together now. I am tracking everything, but I’m not obsessed with making numbers move.

PUSH 1

Lying cuffed Y raises – 1x 12-15, 1x 8-12, 1x 15-20, 4s negative for all, no pause in the shortened…

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I didn’t check-in with Nick yesterday, I wanted to give myself – and Nick – a break from looking at my physique in that way. I did check my weight however, and I was 261. The same weight I was last Sunday the morning of Empro so a successful week navigating food post show. I have found that when I tick off the first week, it’s relatively…

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1. I personally would use 1 compound assuming you’re controlling E2. 250mg is relatively well tolerated though.

2. To look good for your wedding, this is plenty.

3. I always ask clients to get a thyroid panel done to determine if thyroid supplementation is needed, assuming your timeframe, and less of a “peaking” consideration, I’d consider…

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Everyone has nailed the nail on the head here. Don’t overthink, a textbook “optimal” is not always a real life optimal.

Arm day Saturdays are back! They’re back – for now – for a few reasons;

1. They’re fun, and I just want to have a bit of fun when I come into the gym, I’m always like this post show.

2. I thought I had good arms until I saw some of the monsters from this season, I’d like to see a lot more separation and thickness in them.

Standing EZ-bar curls -…

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BB’ing and fitness will always be impacted by trends, it only takes 1 or 2 people to do a certain exercise, use a certain drug, eat a certain food for many to sit and copy it. See if a trend is up to scratch and research these “trends” for yourself.

A decent back session today. Not much has changed with it compared to the one I was doing prior. The volume is still low, I’m not ready to put it up just yet.

Back

Vulcan grip cable pullovers – 2 sets, 12-15

HS iso SA pulldowns – 1 set, 8-12

High-to-low cable pulldowns – 2 sets, 8-12

– Leaning into the working side a lot, in order to pinch the…

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Agreed with everyone here mate, I hope you get it sorted!

Push 2 squared away today, and it was really good one at that. It’s not that much different from push 1, other than a few exercise tweaks.

PUSH 2

Seated cuffed cable flys – 1x 12-15, 1x 8-12, 1x 15-20, 4s negative for all, 1s pause in the lengthened, no pause in the shortened on the 2nd back-off.

Standing iso-lateral cuffed Y raises – 1x 12-15,…

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Agree with the guys above. If a doctor said the joint is pristine, it’s not drugs you need, it’s physio/massage work, mobility work and stretching. Shoulders are a minefield due to the amount of directions/planes you can work them in.

What specific pain do you feel in presses? Is it a pinching sensation in the lock out? Is it pain through…

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Well that’s the season over, and what a season it’s been!

When I started my offseason in September 2024 I set the goal of competing in 3 shows and making the top 10 in 1 of them. Luckily for me, I made top 10 in all 3. The 10th at the Empro is the one I’m most proud of as I turned pro on that stage in 2024, so it meant a lot to be up there…

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1 day out Empro Classic

We’re expecting to load 1000g of carbs today. We put 1/4 diazide in post M3, and depending on the look, another 1/4 with M6 pre-bed.

50mg of superdrol went in pre-workout today, slightly earlier to give it more time to do it’s thing (4 hours)

Carbs have been kept to;

White jasmine rice – I used a lot more rice for Cali, but…

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2 days out yesterday and registration ticked off too! The Empro registration experience is probably the coolest one I’ve been to.

The look continues to get better and better, and today (Saturday) I’ve woken up even drier and fuller than 2 days out.

I’m going to train today, I don’t usually at 1 day out, however registration is done, and tan is…

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3 days out signed off. A great arm session at Titan today, I’m very happy with the look, I just need to bump fullness up a notch and I’ll be in a great spot I’d say.

CHO = 750g

FAT – This has varied depending on the meals/times/bodyweight. 20g M1/4/6, and just trace for the other 3.

SALT = 2g per meal

SUPPS = Wins/var pulled, trialled 50mg…

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On top of the above, avoid all pinning of your glutes. Rotate as many sites as humanly possible.

Touchdown Alicante, and my god have I missed this place! My girlfriend and I have had serious conversations about moving out here, I’m hoping this trip will sway here once we get a bit of downtime in Alicante itself after the show.

I dropped 3lbs again from today’s travels, this is a typical, value for me. The plan today was to have 500g of…

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Last session on home soil today. We fly to Alicante tomorrow at 9am. I booked extra leg room seats without even realising so that was a nice surprise.

Nick and I agreed that I’m a wee bit spilled today, nothing outrageous, just an extra lbs of fluid sitting around my glutes, lower abs and upper quad, sitting at 262.4. I told Nick straight up…

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2nd last session on home soil before Empro, and I thought I’d lay it out considering a few folk have asked. All credit to Greg Taylor (Scottish Titan) for providing me with this one.

PUSH 1

Lying cuffed Y raises – 1x 12-15, 1x 8-12, 1x 15-20, 4s negative for all, no pause in the shortened on the 2nd back-off. Bringing arms just below parallel.…

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I combine the 2, 500mg + 1 serving of Dream Sleep. I’ve also take 500mg upon wake too. I like having my magnesium a touch higher pre-bed, I’ve noticed deeper sleeps – backed up by my sleep scores from my Oura ring.

Nothing to report from today really, other than my weight staying the same, almost to the decimal point (262.6).

Nick and I agree that this is another personal best look – for a week out anyway – and we’re holding it at this point by sliding carbs up and down a scale between 750g – 900g of carbs – dependant on morning weight.

Other than the…

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Before bed, easy to remember, no need to take with you anywhere

Another week of training almost complete with back today. I’ll be doing arms tomorrow due to my new push sessions – which I will outline next week – being longer than my old push sessions. I haven’t done an arm day in a long time, so it will be nice, especially now that I’m just cruising into Empro.

Rope cable pullovers – 3 sets, 12-15

HS SA PL…

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Not a lot scheduled today other than the first massage since the 13th of May, so I am very much looking forward to that.

I checked in today at 259.9 and without a doubt this is the driest I’ve been all of prep. My physique is definitely doing what it has in previous years and that is get better and tighter as shows go on.

I know I’m going…

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Agreed with everything the team has said here. Hopefully you have access to a gym that has a good array of machine alternatives. I think most of us who have had severe injuries or surgery that there are things we can no longer do, and need to explicitly avoid in order to avoid flare ups. I can’t do any BB pressing work, and quite a…

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I had to pull out COR in quantities above 75g because the volume took ages to be processed when my reta dose was at 750mcg. Red meat is has significantly slowed, but not to the point where I need to pull it out. Every other source is fine.

Just finished up with the last leg session of the prep – if you want to call it that. I’ve not done anything bar “touch up” sessions for my legs for about 6 weeks now. They do continue to look better and better, but that doesn’t mean it’s fun training them the way I am just now. There’s plenty of time to do that in the offseason.

I’m…

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I hate both, but I only hate yohimbine enough to not use it. Clen I’ll start at 20 and then maybe move it up to 40. Yohimbine doesn’t give me anxiety, I just don’t feel right on it. Clen does give me anxiety, but dies off as the day goes on, or once my session is done.

There are many who can tolerate much more clen.

And just like that, we’re under 2 weeks out. I didn’t send photos to Nick this morning, I didn’t see the need. Although, I was down by 1.5lbs.

When I got home I had about a 1/10th of a pot of 320cal ice cream – there should be a law that ice cream companies just shouldn’t even bother with low calorie alternatives, it was terrible – and a…

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Post show day reflection coming in. . .

I managed a 10th place at the Tsunami Showdown Pro, and again it was another PB look of my career which I’m delighted with, and to stand next to such massive names was incredible. I have taken so much away from the finals days prior to this show.

I came in a pound heavier, but the fullness translated a…

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Yesterday was far less stressful than day 1 in Marseille. That’s always the case, once I’m settled I’m good. My head definitely wobbled last night where I went into the typical competitor overthinking rabbit hole. I semi coach myself, and most of the time I am VERY rational. I think I’m very good at not allowing my mind to wonder and go down…

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Always keep tissue work in. If you’re holding water from it, the massage therapist is doing something VEYR wrong!

A super stressful first day here in Marseille for the Tsunami Showdown Pro. Nothing really happened, it was more so wee things like, getting trapped in a car park, taking numerous wrong turns and paying the same toll. . . twice.

We went and trained at On Air. it is NOT the kind of place I could train every day, I think that would be…

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A pretty simple yet busy weekend, with a push session on Saturday, and just resting today.

Nick and I decided to load 1200g of carbs today, which is what we done pre-Cali, and then held most of the week around 1000g bar Wednesday as I lost 5lbs from traveling. The slight caveat this time around is that I won’t be on an 11 hour flight,…

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Agreed, there will be a cal/carb amount where you just keep getting better and better without spilling, hold it there for a 2-4 weeks, pull expenditure as much as possible and then come back down if you need to for the show. Although, if you’re getting better and you’re happy with the look, do your best to hold it.

A great back session with Chris and Kieran yesterday. Much like every session these past 2 weeks, the volume is at a baseline, all I’m doing is just giving the muscle a reason to stay there, and that’s about it.

I checked in with Nick yesterday, and we agreed to push the food up a touch more – having sat at 750g for most of the week. The goal…

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A pretty busy NTD yesterday. I still do 1-2-1 PT, but over the course of this season with everything being abroad I’ve had to curtail sessions, but to save face – more or less – I done 5 sessions yesterday, it was good to move and get in the gym again as I still love training people 1-2-1.

Checked in with Nick today, and the plan is to bump…

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Yeah smaller gauge needle, ensure you’re putting the needle all the way in – baffles me that some people don’t – massage the area with an alcohol swab very lightly, don’t inject and then go to bed and lie down.

Legs yesterday was nothing special, it was pretty much the exact same session I’ve been running for the past 3-4 weeks. The aim just now is just to keep the legs there in terms of fullness. If they spend too long untrained I find that the separation doesn’t quite come through the same on show day. I’m not training to the point where I’m…

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I had an excellent push session yesterday, with the pump being absolutely blinding due to the 3lbs of fluid I’ve held from the flight. I didn’t do anything crazy, just pumped up the disco muscle (chest/shoulders/biceps).

I had a look this morning during posing practice and I’d say the majority of the water retention is confined to my…

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Reverse into your holiday, slowly raising calories/CHO and tapering expenditure down slowly. You’ll most likely still be in a deficit as you raise your baseline of calories anyway, but the reverse will mitigate rebounding to heavily while you’re away.

Once you’re back simply continue from where you left off.

That is us back in Glasgow after what felt like 5 minutes in LA/Cali. That was the trip of a lifetime, and one that also allowed me to present probably my best look to the stage in my career. We always try to bring the best to every show, but to bring my best to my pro debut made that experience something else.

The peak wasn’t over the top by…

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I don’t see any issues with those numbers.

All over the place with my timing, and being run ragged on Tuesday with travelling.

We made it to LA safe and sound, no issues with travel, diet, or any other issue that might occur when you’re travelling this far.

I woke up 4lbs down from the week’s average, a combination of both dehydration, some flatness/pop and being up for 36 hours. We…

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First leg of the journey complete (Edinburgh to Heathrow). This is usually the portion of long hauls that cause the problems due to connections being missed, however this time, I’ve booked 2 separate flights to LA, so we fly to LAX tomorrow at 10:30am, and I’ve just had my last meal (260g salmon, 150g white rice, 100g pineapple).

Weight has…

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A pretty chilled one today, in fact, the day is almost dragging. I’ve got energy, but there’s not really much I can do with that energy. . .

I did train though. I pulled some of the poundage back though, just so I’m stimulating the muscle, but also giving my joints a break. No matter how I train my chest, I always get DOMs anyway.

Standing…

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A great back session yesterday, nothing out of the ordinary, I kept the volume low, despite being tempted to do 5 sets on the new Megamass chest supported t-bar row – that thing is fantastic!

I weighed in at 255.4, and the look that I saw at my photoshoot today was one I want to replicate on show +/- a little bit of water. I think we know…

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Agreed, 90 minutes. If I’m in a prep situation, then I can go as low as 30 minutes, but most of the time it’s 90.

A decent enough push day yesterday. Nick and I agreed to push the carbs up to 500g, it did nothing. . . So today we’re putting 750g in with back.

Tomorrow I’ll be running my 1200g NTD high day as we know exactly how I react to that, and then we’ll take it from there. As I’ve mentioned, I don’t want to be eating a tonne of food on an 11…

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Probably the last low day of the prep yesterday. Now it’s a case of slowly pushing food up in the opposite direction and filling out the rig.

The lowest my training day dropped to was 385g carbs, which isn’t too shabby it all, so a 100g increase today and then take it from there. Going off records from this prep, it’s likely and probably wise…

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