[Damian Zhang]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EXq4H912Fc69SIg31-hdHshXC6C3Hs1C/view?usp=drivesdk

drive.google.com

20250610_184223.mp4

20250610_184223.mp4

[Damian Zhang]

Thanks all 🙂

@ajbishop89 Your right, in 2 months, lifted 177.5kg twice from memory. The rest of the time it’s generally:

– 70kg x 8, 100kg x 6, 120kg x 3, 140kg x 3, 150kg x 3, 160kg x 2 – then I see how I feel generally, it’s 165 then 170 limit, all dependant on how the body feels, agreed the programming is shite. It’s got me to 177.5kg somehow but yes, it’s dumb and can fry the CNS.

Would it be more suitable:

8 weeks – conv DL once a week 5 x 5, 60% 1rpm, and increase by 5% each week for 8 weeks?

I actually want to go into strongman though I don’t look like one/fit the bill, but I really enjoy strongman events when I have the facility to train it – the new gym I am going to has a strongman section; atlas stones; yoke; log etc, so I am hoping to incorporate events once a week if possible. I also really enjoy lifting heavy – Powerlifting seems way too strict, which I don’t like.

Goal after thinking is strength, I just don’t want to get fluffy, simply because I have worked hard to go from 120kg to 79kg, and I felt awful at 120kg.

I think I have a vid of 175kg, I’ll try to upload 🙂

[Damian Zhang]

Can you not just extend your session time if you’re needing more rest between sets?

You’ve rested your body and have come out of a dieting phase into gaining, therefore I would expect your strength to start increasing again

Will need to keep on top of bodyweight and fat gain, with really monitoring calorie intake, i worry if I start gaining despite clean eating, I will lose the definition I have worked hard to get.

Can I ask how do those who gain seem to keep definition & 6 packs? Might be a dumb question.[/quote]

You don’t need to consistently see the scale going up and keep adding more food during a gaining phase. You need to also monitor your body composition and performance.

While you’re still progressing your lifts you can hold for a while until things begin to stall.

People who are able to hold some decent shape during an off season don’t put on excessive amounts of unnecessary body fat. They are also probably holding a lot of muscle.[/quote]

Thanks for this Clare!

[Damian Zhang]

Can you not just extend your session time if you’re needing more rest between sets?

You’ve rested your body and have come out of a dieting phase into gaining, therefore I would expect your strength to start increasing again

Will need to keep on top of bodyweight and fat gain, with really monitoring calorie intake, i worry if I start gaining despite clean eating, I will lose the definition I have worked hard to get.

Can I ask how do those who gain seem to keep definition & 6 packs? Might be a dumb question.

[Damian Zhang]

Totally with Clare here.

It’s not by accident you see people’s sessions going over the 2hr mark, it’s because ample rest is taken to get the performance outcomes.

Does life mean you can’t stretch your session?

Hi Rich, I did around 2hr last night after work, I can’t really stretch more than 2 hours for 5 days a week, but I would be able to get through more exercises if I lowered rest (which i did previously), I do think rest between sets is important for my body though, having limited rest times before, I can see such a positive difference.

[Damian Zhang]

@phoebegoodwin @BigNath Thanks for the responses.

I think for consistency I’ll train on my own, feel like I get more out of it, I don’t like depending on someone else.

[Damian Zhang]

Thank you for all your inputs and detailed responses too 🙂

[Damian Zhang]

79.3kg

I gave into have some sweets last night, found a good tip via ‘Clean Health’ – set an alarm and do breathing, this should re-regulate thought process to then re-think – do I really need chocos/sweets, the answer is clearly no.

Mental health isn’t super but I am really working hard to tweak it, BPD is very similar but not the same as Bipolar – I have c. 50 – 100+ different creative thoughts on how to improve bits and bobs, this is really tiring and when I explain to some people – I get quite a negative response. I get it.

At work, I am doing AI with my job, really excited but I have millions of ideas, want to impulsively share etc, and this is not generally accepted, so I need to tone it down, at least I have insight I am doing this.

Terms of nutrition – food was brill apart from the 11pm handful of Haribo, really stupid, I gave in.

Terms of training – shoulders, very much enjoyed it, ignored everyone and cracked on and felt great, strength has increased.

[Damian Zhang]

Treat it like any other time of day and don’t think your performance or nutrition needs to be any different just because of the time.

Get to bed at a sensible hour, wake up and eat and go to the gym and have intra training supplementation.
If you absolutely cannot eat then do powders

Thank you 🙂

[Damian Zhang]

@MarcHector Hi Marc – How do you find training / short, med and long term plans with and without a coach, I know Kuba works with you very closely, naturally you feel a benefit, just wanted to know what aspects do you feel you have really taken off compared to not having a coach? Really interested in your input. Take it easy and keep smashing it!

Hi bud, I’ve never coached myself since I started bodybuilding so I can’t answer what it would be like without a coach. The benefit is having a knowledgeable coach who can set the plan / whist explaining the reasoning and making it specific to my needs, which then takes away any thinking from myself. As an athlete all I want to do is execute the plan that’s set out in front of me 100% and lock in / do the work.[/quote]

@MarcHector appreciate your response mate! Understood.

[Damian Zhang]

If you don’t think good lifting performance is plausible at 6am, is there a reason you can’t shift your working day the other way (8-4) and train after work?

It’s a fair point Rich, generally traffic is hideous in the mid/late afternoon a 30 min journey can take 1 hour, which is abit mad. I think once I can get into a good routine of early morning workouts, the body will have to adapt!

[Damian Zhang]

Body comp looks good – you look in a solid place –

Not sure much else to say really – if it were me I would be looking to get a touch leaner and then move to a lean growth phase in terms of how I would progress

Thanks for responding, do appreciate it. I’ll take your advice, good to know in a solid place, little by little, we’ll get there.

[Damian Zhang]

Thank you all for your input.

[Damian Zhang]

Mps max and performance fuel immediately on wake and you will be good to go

Cheers Jordan!

[Damian Zhang]

@MarcHector Hi Marc – How do you find training / short, med and long term plans with and without a coach, I know Kuba works with you very closely, naturally you feel a benefit, just wanted to know what aspects do you feel you have really taken off compared to not having a coach? Really interested in your input. Take it easy and keep smashing it!