[Clare]

A good upper session this morning. Now that I’m doing 2x uppers per week and reduced my leg work, I’ve decided to incorporate an RDL into this session. It will be 2 sleeps away from my next leg day, and I haven’t got a hip hinge in my plan atm, so this should work out pretty well with the rest of my sessions and my cardio days in between.

Close grip Lat pulldown x2
Back row row x2
Shoulder press machine x3
RDL x2
Tricep press down x3
Lateral raises x3
Ab roll outs x3

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[Clare]

Are there any leg movements you can do without pain?

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[Clare]

No. I log into the website.

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[Clare]

This is for you to decide and to figure out what your priorities are now at this point in your life. You can absolutely build more muscle at your age. If you’re able to make time for the gym, be serious about your diet and recovery and stick to a plan, you could make some incredible progress. However, with your life, family and job, if your not that serious about building as much tissue as possible, you can still stay in shape and have a decent physique with sensible food choices and regular exercise. It really comes down to what you want, how much work you’re willing to put in and what fits around your life.

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[Clare]

I’ve had a lovely day with my husband today. I got some work and housework done this morning, after a nice early run, then we went out for some lunch and a long walk along the quay. The weather has been beautiful, so making the most of the sunshine while it’s still warm.

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[Clare]

At that amount you should be ok to just come off. Thyroid usually bounces back pretty quick. Having said that though, I would still keep an eye on blood work and re-test a month or so after ceasing.

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[Clare]

Sleep is extremely important for general health, cognitive function and physical repair, so the main key here is to make sleep quality and duration a priority.

Maintain the same diet, training and sleep schedule on both your usual days and your shift days, and stick to the same sleep and wake times.

You want to aim for 7-9 hours sleep per 24 hours, so if you can’t achieve this at night in one go, you may find that a shorter nap during the day can help to increase that total time of sleep.

Do all the correct sleep hygiene things like having a cool room, blackout blinds, minimising screens pre-bed, ear plugs/mask, reduce fluids, and cut out any stimulants 6 hours prior to bed.

Whatever time you choose to wake and get up on both days, get outside and get some sunlight in your eyes within an hour of waking for 20-30 mins. This can help with your circadian rhythm.

I would also definitely invest in Dream Sleep. Take the full 4 cap dose 30 mins pre bed.

This has been designed to complement the biochemistry of natural sleep, enabling you to fall into a deep sleep, and more importantly stay asleep.

Thank you for the reply and time, I was already more or less sticking to this, would invest into dream sleep. But I am from south eastern Europe, and tbjp does not ship to my country unfortunately. I just have problems consistently waking up at 6 am even if I fall asleep at 2am. My body just doesn’t fall asleep anymore.[/quote]

If there is no way of getting hold of Dream Sleep, look into supplementing melatonin with magnesium pre bed.

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[Clare]

Sleep is extremely important for general health, cognitive function and physical repair, so the main key here is to make sleep quality and duration a priority.

Maintain the same diet, training and sleep schedule on both your usual days and your shift days, and stick to the same sleep and wake times.

You want to aim for 7-9 hours sleep per 24 hours, so if you can’t achieve this at night in one go, you may find that a shorter nap during the day can help to increase that total time of sleep.

Do all the correct sleep hygiene things like having a cool room, blackout blinds, minimising screens pre-bed, ear plugs/mask, reduce fluids, and cut out any stimulants 6 hours prior to bed.

Whatever time you choose to wake and get up on both days, get outside and get some sunlight in your eyes within an hour of waking for 20-30 mins. This can help with your circadian rhythm.

I would also definitely invest in Dream Sleep. Take the full 4 cap dose 30 mins pre bed.

This has been designed to complement the biochemistry of natural sleep, enabling you to fall into a deep sleep, and more importantly stay asleep.

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[Clare]

Legs today and another good session.

I think reducing my leg training to just 2 sessions a week is benefitting me recovery wise. I feel fresher going into sessions and my running days feel less ‘heavy’.

My strength is back up to where it was pre-holiday, so the rest hasn’t been detrimental at all, and has probably actually benefitted me both mentally and physically.

Seated ham curl x3
Belt squat x2
Leg press x2
Glute drive x2
Leg ext x3
Hanging leg raises x3

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[Clare]

I have deep tissue massage, chiropractic adjustment, and occasionally dry needling and find all to be beneficial.

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[Clare]

Today’s a rest day from training. I did a nice run this morning, then I went to get some chiropractic and soft tissue treatment done, which was well overdue!

This afternoon I’ve just been getting on with some work and will shortly be going out for a walk before my husband gets back home from work for the weekend.

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[Clare]

The best way to find out what foods are triggers for you would be to follow an elimination diet.

For 2-3 weeks eliminate all common trigger foods, such as dairy, gluten, soy, eggs, nuts, shellfish, artificial sweeteners and processed foods, and focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and gluten-free grains.

After this elimination phase, you can reintroduce foods one at a time, every 2-3 days. Monitor your symptoms and document everything in a food diary.

If you experience any symptoms such as bloating, pain, constipation/diarrhoea etc, then that food is likely a trigger, so remove it again and wait until your symptoms subside before reintroducing a different food.

You should be able to identify what foods are causing you problems at the end of this process.

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[Clare]

When I trained for a marathon several years ago, I did just that. I did 2 full body weight sessions a week, and then fitted my running training around that.

For example:

Mon – Rest

Tues – Full Body

Weds – Short distance run

Thurs – Mid distance run

Fri – Full Body

Sat – Short distance run

Sun – Long run (increasing distance each week)

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[Clare]

I went in and did another upper this morning, which was good. I also did a short run first thing, so didn’t feel I needed to add any cardio elements to the session today. Just a basic bodybuilding kinda workout!

I initially wanted to lose a bit of upper body size after stepping away from the stage. I still wanted to keep my legs, which is why I kept my leg training frequency high, but with the additional cardio I do now, I have dropped back down to 2x lowers per wk and have added back in an upper. My body shape has changed, but I feel comfortable with where I’m at right now, so it’s really a case of maintaining, but continuing to build my cardio fitness and aiming to be as healthy as possible!

Wide grip Lat pulldown x2
Cable row x2
Close grip smith press x2
Dips x3
Triceps cable ext x3
Cable bicep curl x3
Ab roll outs x3

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[Clare]

I’m not sure what you’re asking. If you’re in a gaining phase, eating in a surplus and progressing your lifts, then yes, you should be expecting the scale weight to increase. If you’re following a consistent routine with your training, rest days, sleep patterns and diet, then you will probably notice a pattern in what days the scale fluctuates.

Sorry Claire,

What I meant is I don’t know whether the gain is water, muscle or fat or all three, as this is my first controlled bulking phase ever.[/quote]

You will be gaining some muscle, some fat and holding some inflammation/water throughout your whole gaining phase, but you don’t need to over analyse each jump in scale weight. Assess your gaining phase as a whole. Make decisions on whether to make any more changes based on your training performance and body composition at the end of each week.

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