[Andy]

Energy is definitely on the rise, and yesterday’s leg session was evidence of that. Last week I felt like I was just going through the motions and not necessarily “in the session”, but yesterday was brilliant and I was able to push that little bit more, around 10-15%.

The setup hasn’t changed just yet as I want enjoyment to be at the top of the list of things I want to take away from the session, rather than doing a particular exercise/method because it’s the most optimal for me.

I pyramided up to the working set, with a sub-max set of 12, and then 8 for all exercises.

Pin-loaded abductor – 2 sets, 12-15 > 5s negatives, 2s in the shortened

Pause seated leg curls – 1 set, 8-12

PL leg extensions – 1 set, 8-12

Pendulum squat – 1 set, 8-12 > 4s negatives

BB squat – 1 set, 8-12 > these are in for fun just now, they will ultimately be removed

BB RDL – 1 set, 8-12 > nowhere near the poundages I’ve used in the past

EZ-bar walking lunges – 1 set, the entire length of a gym upstairs which

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[Andy]

Agreed with the team, you absolutely should not be touching anything.

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[Andy]

Great start to the week with the first push session of the week. I’m not hellbent on trying to progress numbers in the logbook, but I used a little bit more weight here, a few more reps there.

I’ve set a date with my videographer to film the new push setup, provided by Greg Taylor.

I took my first shot of GH last night. GH has been out for close to 7-8 weeks I think, and as much as I know GH contributes to sleep, I didn’t quite realise to what extent I personally benefit from it pre-bed. The sleep I had last night was incredible. I don’t put a tonne of insight into my sleep scores from my Oura ring, judging how you feel is far more important, but my sleep score did climb a little bit.

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[Andy]

More often than not, I add cardio when fat loss stalls, but I don’t want to further the deficit via my diet. There has been a few occasions where I/a client hasn’t stayed too far conditioning wise prior to a prep/fat loss phase, so instead of dropping food, I’ve added a sprinkling of cardio 3-4 times a week to get things moving.

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[Andy]

I didn’t check-in this weekend with Nick, truth be told, 1. I don’t need accountability or for someone to agree/disagree with the decisions I’m making just now, and 2. I want a break from worrying about photos and judging things. I will eventually get back to that after my 4 nights in Marbella, but for now, I’m happy coasting, enjoying being in the gym again with my new plans, and not having to constantly worry about my physique.

I know I’m not gaining body fat as I’ve been spot on adherence wise post show. My weight – which I did check – has dropped to 258.4 (I competed at 261). This will mostly just be the gear leaving my system, but I have still increased my carbs slightly.

TD P: 345 C: 580 F: 80

NTD P: 345 C: 430 F: 80

I’m going to reintroduce reta and GH tomorrow (Monday). Reta was as high as 750mcg on prep and I removed reta (which had already been lowered to 500mcg) about 2 weeks out from Cali, and I did another shot pre-France, so I’ve been off reta for 5 weeks.

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[Andy]

I’m training back today at PG Irvine, so I had to do my arm session yesterday – nothing nicer than Friday afternoon arm session, not to mention Friday being my busiest check-in day, it was nice not being right done in from training trying to tick of 15 check-ins.

Standing EZ-bar curls – 3 sets, 15

Overhead rope cable extensions – 3 sets, 15

DB curl variation – 3 sets, 15

> Seated alternating hammer curls

Triceps SS/ – 3 sets, 15

SA d-handle cable curls – 2 sets, 15

SA cuffed cable extensions – 3 sets, 15

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[Andy]

A pretty simple NTD yesterday. As I mentioned, I pushed legs a little bit harder this week, just to slowly reintroduce myself to my standard of leg training. It’s been 7 weeks since my last 100% leg session, and I know if I try to replicate those numbers, I will be in the bin for a good few weeks.

Usual massage early afternoon.

Everything is feeling great 10 days post show. I’m looking forward to checking in on Saturday, as I feel my look was impacted by being absolutely knackered after the entire 7 weeks hit me at once.

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[Andy]

The first semi-proper leg session done and dusted today. I’m not quite there yet to go up to 100% leg training output, but this was still a good one, and good to crack off a good level of intensity whereas the past 7 weeks have just been there to preserve my legs, and I’ve found that I don’t need a lot to do so.

I pyramided up to the working set, with a sub-max set of 12, and then 8 for all exercises.

Pin-loaded abductor – 2 sets, 12-15 > 5s negatives, 2s in the shortened

Pause seated leg curls – 1 set, 8-12

PL leg extensions – 1 set, 8-12

Pendulum squat – 1 set, 8-12 > 4s negatives

BB squat – 1 set, 8-12 > these are in for fun just now, they will ultimately be removed

BB RDL – 1 set, 8-12 > nowhere near the poundages I’ve used in the past

EZ-bar walking lunges – 1 set, the entire length of a gym upstairs which

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[Andy]

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 keep binging you’ll gain body fat anyway, it’s better to get up and ahead of these issues or potential issues.

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[Andy]

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 on the 2nd back-off. Bringing arms just below parallel.

Seated d-handle 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.

Wide grip SM shoulder press (pressing through pinky) – 1x 8-10, 1x 12-15, 4s negative, smooth concentric, not a powerful one, 1s pause in the lengthened.

HS iso-lateral incline PL chest press – 1x 8-10, 1x 12-15, 4s negative, smooth concentric, not a powerful one, 1s pause in the lengthened.

SA d-handle cable side raises – 1x 12-15, 1x 8-12, 1x 15-20, 4s negative for all, 2nd back-off is 3s up, 3s down. Bringing arms just below parallel.

Prime rear peck deck (torque 2) – 1x 12-15, 1x 8-12, 1x 15-20, 4s negative for all, no pause in the shortened on the 2nd back-off.

Prime iso-lateral flat PL chest press – 1x 8-10, 1x 12-15, 4s negative, smooth concentric, not a powerful one, 1s pause in the lengthened.

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[Andy]

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 plain sailing from that point.

I added 50g of carbs to my TD plan, but not my NTD.

This week is going to be a very busy one in terms of PT, but I’m very excited to get back into my PT routine. Tomorrow is an all day one in the gym, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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[Andy]

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 the T3/T4 however, I wouldn’t say it’s needed.

4. Run 250IU of HCG 3x per week, and then a full pregnancy protocol.

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[Andy]

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

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[Andy]

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 – 3 sets, 15

Overhead rope cable extensions – 3 sets, 15

DB curl variation – 3 sets, 15

> Seated alternating hammer curls

Triceps SS/ – 3 sets, 15

SA d-handle cable curls – 2 sets, 15

SA cuffed cable extensions – 3 sets, 15

It may not look like much, but rest periods were no more than 45s and I was using a 4-1-1-2 tempo throughout.

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[Andy]

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.

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