[Maddy]

Hello hello! Happy Saturday. Up for breakfast and usually would go for a walk but the rain was torrential and so I’ll make up for steps later. A little bit of meal prep (chicken cooking) and then off for another deload session. Pretty much all isolation movements still as I’m still (my Left SI joint) is still not 100%. It’s extremely frustrating as I feel a lot fresher after pulling back for two weeks now but I just know pushing on with something like this is just really dumb. SO I’ll exercise patience. One more meal to go and then I just want to do literally nothing and just chill

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[Maddy]

Hiya Kian,

Thanks for that info!

Just looking at your pictures you don’t look to have lost much muscle at all.

How has your rate of loss been so far over these past 5 weeks? Have you stuck to this cardio/food/step regimen the whole time and have been seeing your weight come down consistently or have you made any adjustments?

Also how is your training right now? Are you recovering well, enjoying training and maintaining strength or struggling?

<font face=”inherit”>As for feeling a little stringy like you’re ready to eat up and grow, is that solely based on your opinion on how you</font><font face=”inherit”> look or are you mentally feeling a little fatigued from dieting and maybe focusing on food a little more? It’s very normal to feel a flat and small as you diet for a period of time especially if you’re pushing for a little more condition. </font>

I’ve responded with a lot of questions (sorry) but these things are great to consider to help make decisions if it’s necessary to adjust anything or if you’re fine to continue on as you are with your current regimen. Let us know and we may be able to guide you a little more!

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[Maddy]

Hello hello! Short but sweet update. Yesterday was a LONG shoot day and I got back home at 1:30am slept and then up for the day to start again. I felt pretty mash up. Had to catch up with check ins this morning, adjust a grade as per feedback from a brand and then in to train a deload leg session. Not much to note as these sessions aren’t very inspiring or exciting but necessary all the same. Got back from training to pack a few orders for MAD. Short food shop and then spent a good couple hours on the phone to relatives. Very very tired and very ready for bed

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[Maddy]

Hi guys, It’s still Wednesday for me… just very very late and I’m about to hit the hay. Today was fairly busy! As I’m shooting all day tomorrow I moved a chunk of check ins to this morning and so up and out for a walk, breakfast then check ins. After this I was off to the gym for glutes hams and delts, deload style. SI joints feel tender but a lot better than last week. I’m absolutely staying on top of ibuprofen and after a couple days I’ll stop taking it to assess pain properly. I do say this a lot to clients, people that ask questions and often my powerlifting clients. Pain can provide a lot of info. Sometimes it’s not even ‘pain’ it’s just feedback. I’d say out of 10 the SI joint pain I’d feel through certain movements and while sitting was a good 7-8/10 and now it’s a 4-5/10 quite a bit better. Training felt like I did nothing but hey it is what it is right now. Still very much staying on top of food and weight is holding nicely. A little lower that pre deload but I’m happy to have it sticking around! Popped to my grandmas to have a chat and make sure she’s well and then back home to finish work for the day. Also had to pack and drive over to my parents as it’s closer to the location and so pretty late dinner/final meal and now ready for bed and a busy day tomorrow. Hopefully holding a camera wont totally ruin my back tomorrow but we’ll see!

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[Maddy]

Hello hello! A fairly productive Tuesday has been had. Up and out for a walk and then breakfast. Responded to clients and then prepped some meals and drove over to get some help from the fade team with a colour grade. Meetings and boring stuff for the rest of the day. Just finished my final meal for the day and ready for bed. SI joint you ask? It’s been less awful but still pretty awful if I sit for an extended period of time. Remaining consistent with ibuprofen to help with any inflammation and a touch with pain. Tomorrow should be better 👍🏼

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[Maddy]

Happy Monday guys! Up and out for a walk and then breakfast. My SI joint pain has ever so slightly gotten better but it’s still way off from ‘normal’ I booked in with Lauren (osteo) again as this week I have a wedding to shoot and next week I’m driving to Harrogate (from south London) for a shoot and the thought of sitting and driving to these makes me want to poke my eyes out. Sitting is fucking awful right now. Continuing the deload this week with no compounds because I just simply can’t. Felt like I did nothing for quads and glutes today but hey ho it’s likely needed. Saw Lauren after training and she basically confirmed yes my SI joint is very very tight particularly on my left and was very much in agreeance with the fact that I just need to pull back and rest my body right now because I only saw her recently and for things to get this tight this fast is mad. Felt a little better after and drove home. Caught up with work and emails and then a small shop before wrapping up the day. It’s Late but I’m about to eat my final meal and then bed!

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[Maddy]

Hiya Alf,

I agree with both the options that Clare and Jordan has mentioned! I suppose it depends on your time available and what suits your lifestyle best. PPL Off repeat and adjust volume on your leg sessions so you recover a little better before hitting them again or consider another rest day pre legs. Let us know how it goes!

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[Maddy]

Heya Scott! That’s no problem at all. I’d personally keep the volume as normal for now and if you recover well and feel you may benefit from a little more volume after trialling it for a month or two you can absolutely dip into it and see how things go. Good to have a baseline first and then increase from there if need be 👍🏼

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[Maddy]

Hi guys

A restful Sunday has been had. Weight is still down at 63.4. Sad times because I really thought I was becoming a big boi. Had breakfast before my morning walk (shock horror) and then got stuck in to a little client work. I usually get clients ready for the upcoming week, answer any questions and make adjustments if needed. SI joint on my right side has calmed down SO much however my left is still pretty bad. I will likely continue to deload next week and avoid compounds and then ease them back in. Went and watched twister and now I want to go to Oklahoma and get a cowboy hat. Then had a lovely Chinese hand pulled noodle soup for dinner at a local Chinese spot. It was banging. Ready for bed!

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[Maddy]

Hiya Scott,

I agree with Phoebe, I see no wrong in having two days off back to back. I think you’re smart to think about the quality of your sessions in the long run. While we all want to be as optimal as possible it’s important to structure your split so you can actually do it to the best of your abilities! As Phoebe said, trial it and see how it goes!

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[Maddy]

Hiya Ararat,

If you can, let us know what your training and diet consists of right now! That’ll be really helpful so we can help you adjust things towards your goal of a diet phase. Seeing some pictures of your current physique would be pretty helpful too if you’re able to upload them 👍🏼

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[Maddy]

Hi guys happy Saturday.

Today was pretty uneventful. I woke up and opted not to go to the gym as my back/si joints are still very very tight and tender. Instead I caught up with some work (standing) lots of rolling on a ball and making an effort to stretch tight glutes and housework. I do tend to find if I don’t train I end up doing something like housework to the extreme! washing, hoovering, mopping, random odd tasks and likely a little overboard but hey ho. Another rest day tomorrow and will try and make it more restful.

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[Maddy]

Hello hello happy Friday!

Today has been a DAY. Weighed in very very light at 63.3. Perhaps a deload WAS needed? Up and out for a walk and then breakfast. Again, sitting at breakfast fucked my back up so a lie down to respond to clients and do a little work and then in to the gym. Today is usually a full leg day however I’m backing off from my usual hack squat because I simply should NOT right now. The session felt like I did near nothing but I suppose that’s fine for now. it was as follows

Rehab, Seated leg curl, Leg extension, single leg hip thrust, Bulgarian ss, abductions, cable adductors (adductor machine is still broken) lateral raises and calf raises. I walked out like… is that it?

After that I got back and have been editing and responding to clients in between. I had a Long list of amendments to catch up with and it feels good to be on top of it.

Contemplating NOT going in for my usual final session tomorrow purely because I’m wrecked from sitting and editing. I shall see!

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[Maddy]

Hiya Karol here’s some basics to help you have a little more structure!

– Plan your day of food; this will make it so much easier to make sure you do eat your meals and are prepared for the day ahead. Missing meals is a no go for recovery and growth.

– Try and space your meals (and protein) evenly through the day to help with digestion. It’ll mean you don’t feel super full or super hungry that way.

– Eat protein in each meal! That’ll help you hit your protein goal.

– Base some easily digestible carbs and protein post workout – Cream of rice is fantastic and TBJP has many flavours as well as my fav choc pistachio whey iso

– Know your macros and try stick to them! This will make it a lot easier to make adjustments over time.

– Pick foods you ENJOY and put effort into your meals. It makes the whole process so much more enjoyable and you’re more likely to stick to your meals if you enjoy them!

If you’re unsure of where to start with your macros, send over some pictures via the app or we transfer and we can give you some guidance but keep in mind it may need to be amended over time AND it’s down to your preference and how your body responds.

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[Maddy]

Hello hello

Full laptop day today and I pretty much did it all standing up for the sake of my SI joints. Feeling like I am well and truly slowly on the mend! Check ins, editing and short walks today not much else to note! In tomorrow for legs and I’ll be adjusting the session as not to aggravate my SI joints further. I’ll note tomorrow what I get through and hopefully wake up feeling a little fresher.

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