Andy
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A new week this week!
I’ve been reading back on my blogs and I can see/read my mindset shift through the weeks. I’ve been guilty of pushing/dieting/prepping when the timing was way off, so I’m making sure that I’m only going when everything feels right, and everything feels right.
I had some nice comments from Nick today that gave me a bit of a boost. I wouldn’t say I’m someone who needs externally motivated, but it’s always nice to hear comments from someone you hold in very high regard.
This week’s focus is still sleep, I’ve let it be too poor and under-prioritised for too long!
I’ll report back after tomorrow’s leg day!
Have a great week guys!
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Thank god for that chilled weekend. I genuinely feel 10x better for it!
There was a thought that I’d have to take another deload this week, but I feel like next week is going to be a solid week of training.
I’m very much ready to get this offseason under way now. Those who follow me will know that I’ve been waiting on the green light to start my offseason, as in, knowing when I’m mentally ready to push and I think my mind is slowly shifting to the fact that I’m ready to push, and push hard!
Chest tomorrow, I’ll give you all the low down as I’m in Hamburg so I need to go and find a gym to train in.
Enjoy what is left of your Sundays!
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That’s the week done and dusted, and I feel like my body is in the gutter. I was pleased with the check-in this morning to be fair, with another 3lbs increase 📈, but I want my training to be firing again, maybe a relaxing weekend under my belt will make all of the difference
Nick and I probably won’t make any further food changes until the PEDs go back in the first week of September. The conditioning and body fat levels we’re maintaining are perfect in my opinion, and if BW is moving in the right direction then we’re happy!
Have a great weekend guys!
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Another week almost ticked off, and all that’s left is a big back session today.
I feel broken, neck is still giving me grief, shoulders are tight, hip is better but it’s still not 100%, I should’ve definitely taken last week off.
I’ve tried to improve my sleep this week which I have, as I’ve been able to get 8 hours every night having addressed some of the poor pre-bed habits I fell back into .
To not ruin myself further, I don’t feel there’s a need to alter training just now, so the back setup today is exactly the same – other than a change to my lat pulldown grip as the overhand grip was ruining my forearm.
Prime close grip lat pulldowns – 1 working set, 8-12
Conventional t-bar row – 1 working set, 8-12
Chest supported t-bar row – 1 working set, 8-12
SA DB rows – 1 working set, 8-12
Conventional deadlifts – 1 working set, 8-12
Decline crunches
Have a great end to your week’s guys!
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Shoulder day today, and another 8 hours sleep in the bag last night, so that’s 3 nights in a row I’ve managed to get 8 hours, and I feel a million times better for it. My neck and hip both feel a lot better. The improvement in sleep has definitely ramped up recovery – who would’ve thought. It’s about recognising poor habits and then getting rid of them (mine being scrolling reels aimlessly as soon as I lie down).
I’ve not changed the shoulder day setup just yet, everything remains the same;
Y raises – 2 working sets, 15-20
Read delt cable cuffed raises – 2 working sets, 15-20
HS PL shoulder press – 1 working set, 8-12
Small incline SM bench press – 1 working set, 8-12
Straight-bar tricep extensions – 1 working set, 12-15
Cable crunches – 3 sets of AMRAP
I’m genuinely excited to check-in this weekend, so fingers crossed I like what I see!
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That’s almost the end of another NTD. My physio cancelled on me today which was pretty gutting as I still have aches and pains, but it’s not the end of the world. It actually feels a bit strange to have a bit of free time tonight as usually I’m working right up until I go to bed on a Wednesday.
That’s 2 nights in a row I’ve managed to get 8 hours sleep, and the difference is wild. I’ve not felt the need to nap today – even though I definitely had more time to – and tomorrow I should see a nice increase performance. My shoulders do feel a bit beat up, but that didn’t stop me from having a superb chest session on Monday.
My training partner and I are definitely flowing into this offseason, and it won’t be long before we’re both ready to push hard, as that leg session yesterday was comparable to some of our full flight sessions you’d see peak offseason. Like I’ve said a million times, I need to be mentally ready to drop back into an offseason, and once August is out of the way, I’m sure I’ll be there.
Andy
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Yesterday’s chest/bicep was great, despite my neck/trap killing me during my DB press. The tension has travelled up the base of my skull now, but I have my weekly massage tomorrow so hopefully he irons it out.
Legs today, and my hip still isn’t right – all I do is moan just now haha – so I’m going to run the pendulum today, instead of the BB squat as it forces my head forward.
The hip is getting better, and I’ve ditched any kind of squatting shoes forever now, as it’s them that’s causing the hip tension/issues.
I think it maybe almost be time to add in a leg extension pre-squat, but not right now.
1 working set for all, 12-15 reps.
Pendulum squats
Horizontal leg press
SM hip thrusts
Prime PL lying leg curls
EZ-bar walking lunges
Standing calve raises
Decline crunches
Have a great day guys!
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That’s the deload over now, and I do very somewhat refreshed, however, I should’ve just taken the week off. I think going forward, I just need to schedule weeks off from training. That deload was needed after a 7 week run, so perhaps every 7 weeks is what need to be scheduled into the training timeline. One thing to remember too is that I’m inly running the following;
Test E – 300mg/week (2x 150mg shots per week)
Telmisartan – 40mg/day
Metformin – 500mg/day.
So the recovery capability I’m used to isn’t there.
Back to chest today, and despite the tweak I have in my neck, I think it will be a good one, with some subtle tweaks to volume.
Seated cuffed cable flys – 1 working set, 12-15, 1 back-off set, 15-20
Incline DB press – 1 working set, 8-12
Prime flat PL chest press – 1 working set, 8-12
SA standing side cable raises – 3 working sets, 15-20
SA stadning rear cable raises – 2 working sets, 15-20
Standing EZ-bar cable curls – 1 working set, 12-15
Iso-lateral cable curls – 1 working set, 12-15
Decline crunches
Have a great week guys!
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This weekend has been the first time since my prep that I’ve been truly excited to offseason. I trust my gut 100% and I said I’d look to push when the time is right, and that time is starting to show itself.
Nick and I agreed to start pushing the 2nd week of September, as that’s 12 weeks post show, but there’s no harm in bringing it forward a week. I think my OCD would actually like to start the first Monday of September, and get the ball rolling!
My blood work needs done in the next few weeks, and I’ll be sure to post them in here when all is said and done. I’ll be visiting my cardiologist soon too, just to make sure the old ticker is in a good spot.
I’m also excited for tomorrow as my training partner is back, so I’ll be able to push a bit harder, especially now since the deload is over. My neck is still quite sore, but I think I can push through it.
Have a great week guys!
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The last deload session in the bag today at Warehouse in Aberdeen. Well, it might be the last deload session, my neck is still killing me, and both of my shoulders feel worn down and bit beaten up. However, I’ll make the call come Monday.
I’m still feeling good though, and it’s been nice to step back slightly and give my body a bit of break. I think it’s good to take a step back – I think like that now, I didn’t when I was younger – but I think the past 3 years have been my best years for growth and that’s after changing my mindset towards rest – the old delight of hindsight.
However, I know that when I start the offseason in September I’m going to be ready for it both mentally and physically.
I worked almost non-stop for 12 years to win my card, it’s fine to take some down time.
Today’s deloaded back day went like;
Shoulder width grip lat pulldowns – 2 working sets, 12 reps
Overhand BB rows – 2 working sets, 12 reps
Panatta chest supported t-bar rows – 2 working sets, 12 reps
SA DB rows – 2 working sets, 12 reps
Conventional deadlifts – 1 working set, 8 reps
Have a great Sunday!
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So today is a NTD when it’s usually back day. I’ve taken the day off to travel up to Aberdeen to visit my parents, which only happens maybe 2-3 times a year. There will be a bit of off plan eating as well.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I want to get all of my social occasions out of the way before I drop into my offseason. As I’m sure everyone on this site does, I treat my offseason exactly like prep. Just as regimented, not out of necessity, but because I just like to do it that way, I always have.
I’ve held pretty good conditioning post show – the best I’ve ever done in fact – and I can’t wait to get the offseason up and running.
I’ll be training at Warehouse in Aberdeen tomorrow, and they’ve got some really nice Panatta pieces, so it will be good to get a change of environment even for the 1 session.
Stay tuned to my Instagram for the session highlights!
Have a great weekend guys!
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Session 3/4 of the deload going down today. Other than my pressing, I doubt I’ll actually need to drop any of my isolation work as I work up to high rep ranges. After pressing the 70s last week my rotator cuffs were screaming, but Ricky has thankfully loosened them off.
So same old today,
Iso-lateral cuffed cable side raises – 2 working sets, 15-20 reps
Iso-lateral cuffed cable raises – 2 working sets, 15-20 reps
HS PL shoulder press – 1 working set, 8-12
Close grip BB press – 1 working set, 8-12
Straight-bar triceps extension – 1 working set, 12-15
Decline crunches
Make sure you keep an eye out for my full day of eating on Instagram
Have a great day guys!
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Wednesday, and a much needed NTD is done. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m feeling quite beat up, and I’ve decided to take a deload this week. I had thought at the start of the week the week that it would be foolish to take the entire week off, but I’m regretting that decision now haha. I mean it’s still not too late to do so, but I’ve committed now so. . .
Tuesday’s leg session was okay, my hip was still playing up during BB squats, so I pulled out the leg press variation and just ran with the PL leg ex (as you might have saw from my Instagram).
With a little massage treatment today, I’m hoping that I’ve ironed out the issues and can heal for the rest of this week before getting back after it next week.
Shoulders tomorrow won’t be far off my usual as I’ll simply avoid failure, and maybe only pull my presses back a little bit, but nothing too drastic.
Have a good one guys!
Hey Andy, have you ever noticed a big difference in msucle gains in terms of higher training frequencies for a bodypart with yourself or clients? I see you are big fan of the brosplit so am I haha[/quote]
Hi mate! I saw decent progress adding in a few shoulder isolation exercises with my chest session and peak off season I had a chest fly (sometimes press) after my shoulder press on my shoulder day, however, that got removed pretty early in my prep as my chest was always sore.
Other than that, every other body part gets trained every 7 days.
I hope that helps!
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Wednesday, and a much needed NTD is done. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m feeling quite beat up, and I’ve decided to take a deload this week. I had thought at the start of the week the week that it would be foolish to take the entire week off, but I’m regretting that decision now haha. I mean it’s still not too late to do so, but I’ve committed now so. . .
Tuesday’s leg session was okay, my hip was still playing up during BB squats, so I pulled out the leg press variation and just ran with the PL leg ex (as you might have saw from my Instagram).
With a little massage treatment today, I’m hoping that I’ve ironed out the issues and can heal for the rest of this week before getting back after it next week.
Shoulders tomorrow won’t be far off my usual as I’ll simply avoid failure, and maybe only pull my presses back a little bit, but nothing too drastic.
Have a good one guys!
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Another week!
Nick and I have decided to take a deload this week. That’s been around 6-7 weeks since coming off the back of that prep, and it would make sense that I feel like this. My training partner Chris takes a week off every 6-7 weeks without question because we have found he’s needing that.
I thought about doing the same thing myself, however, I’m 13 years younger than Chris, so I don’t think a full week off is needed just now, but it will be something I incorporate once we’re in scale offseason.
Chest/shoulders/biceps today, and there’s zero changes to it other than dropping the weight down a touch as a part of the deload;
Seated cuffed cable flys – 1 working set, 15-20
Incline DB press – 1 working set, 8-12
Prime flat PL press – 1 working set, 8-12
SA cable side raises – 3 working sets, 15-20
SA cable rear raises – 2 working sets, 15-20
Iso-lateral cable curls – 1 working set, 12-15
Decline crunches
Have a great week guys!
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