[Marc]

My bodyweight this morning upon wake was 124.5kg. It seems to be holding around 124.5-125kg with the fluctuations happening mainly around weight taken after a rest day or training day. Checked in with Patrick this morning, I thought we might have had a food bump with the plan stays the same for now. Food, I’m not bothered with Increasing / zero food focus as I am enjoying my meals and I am satisfied. Patrick is happy with my look and so I am. I realistic in the sense I don’t want bodyweight going up at the expense of getting sloppy, quality over quantity always which is something I’ve learned over the years of going through this process

[Marc]

Upper lower training split is already going to give you a lot of room for growing as you will be training muscles groups at a faster rate than if you were doing say a push, pull, legs split. Personally I think 6x a week on UL split is over kill. If you are wanting some direction here, I would first of all take a look at Jordan’s YouTube channel where he breakdowns how to approach this training split

[Marc]

So today is a rest day for me. Client work, calls and plan updates this morning. Off to get my haircut shortly then later this afternoon planning with kerry ahead of speaking at the npc uk seminar on Saturday around overcoming injuries and also our clothing brand hecxtn will be there with our new clothing drop taking place there. Lots of planning and organising but the majority has been done so looking forward to this Saturdays event.

[Marc]

Well done for having the mindset you have with working hard to achieve your goal, even with doubters around that deserves a lot of credit.
This isn’t an area I’m familiar with and Sas has answered this well. I would imagine you would need to work on core strength and functional training to improve your overall performance, but as a start point I’d lean into the advice Sas has suggested. Keep us posted how this goes please

[Marc]

Leg session early doors this morning. Session progressed on last week with either more reps and or increased weight. Very happy with today’s session, the link up back with Karlton to train legs has added another level of intensity for us both. It’s a case of rinse and repeat to get the most of out each session.

Full session today was;

Seated leg curl x2
Leg ext x3
45 degree leg press x2
Lying leg curl x3
Adductor x1
Seated calf raise x2

[Marc]

I agree with what both Allison and Clare have said. I’m unsure what split you have run previously and how many days a week you normally train but 6 days a week is a lot, especially if training close to failure each session. You will need to pay close attention to your rest / recovery and nutrition if you are to go ahead with this

[Marc]

Upper session ticked off today and it was a really good session. I made some adjustments to this session based on how I felt with my shoulder / where I would feel most comfortable having an effective training session. This is where I have to be in tune with my body and do what feels right for me on the day even if that mean make adjustments like what I did today.

Full session was;

Meadow row x 2 plus 2 extra sets right side
T bar row x3
Seated rear delt row x2
Single arm cuffed lateral raise x2 + 1 extra set right side
Low incline smith chest press x2
Triceps rope pushdown x3
Over the shoulder triceps ext x3

[Marc]

I emailed PF on Thursday and order was delivered on Saturday first class service from them 🫡

This is the way to go, if unsure / can’t see what you would like to order do not fear drop them an email and speak to them directly

[Marc]

Rest day for me today, after 2 back to days training which is normal for my 3rd day to be a rest day. Slower morning today as me and kerry were away for the evening, she booked a surprise overnight stay not too far from home at a nice pod. As always on plan with food, but we didn’t have to pack up the whole house with the 1 night but nice to have a little downtime celebrating being together for 6 years.

Back home just after midday today and full
Focus has been on client work and prepping my meals fresh in between also

[Marc]

Upper session today back and biceps dominant plus rear delts

Exercises today were;

Chest supported upper back row x2
SA row x2
*Meadow row x2
SA pulldown x2
Rear delt row x3
Preacher curl x3
*Concentration curl x3

* added in these two exercises today and they both felt very good

[Marc]

Preps and the timeline is set up on the basis of your start point and how long needed to get in true contest shape, factoring in some diet breaks, de-loads, and backing off into the show 7-10 days out. For first timer i would also allow some extra time especially if never dieted down to true stage condition as more often than not you will need to pull off my bodyfat than you would have first imagined

[Marc]

Your trait and how you describe prep is unique to you. For some maybe it might be a red flag, but yourself if that’s what is keeping you focused on the end goal then lean into it. Everyone has a different perspective the people you know who fell out of love for it that’s personal to them. To me that’s noise and I’d shut off from it. Enjoy your prep and the process as it unfolds and keep that tunnel vision for what you want to present on stage, all the best bud

[Marc]

Kerry has explained how we cook our chicken. I think the main thing to make sure it’s not dry is not to over cook it. I personally find when the chicken is diced pre cooking it cooks better and thoroughly so there’s no need for it to be dry when cooked

[Marc]

Link up with Karlton again today for lower. I’m adjusting training days where needed to get that extra push with legs and this is the only sessions we will really be running together due to my upper body training sessions being more specific to working with / helping my shoulders. Great session and I really feel like training is flying at the moment so long may that continue

Exercises today were:

Standing calf raise x2
Seated ham curl x3
Leg ext x3
Pendulum squat x2
45 degree leg press single leg x1
RDL x1

The rest of my day I went for a coffee with kerry and had my post workout meal, did some food shopping and kerry also picked up one of those digital cameras that rotate when you use it etc. I’ll see how she gets on with it, it might be an investment I make to get more content out there which I know I need to do. I get so caught up and focused on doing the do, but I think it would be good share more of what I do so that’s something I need to action

[Marc]

I agree with what Hilly has said. I think there’s a big focus on managing fatigue these days, which is fine but you can’t get away from the doing the work to actually progress your physique. Don’t pick easier or lifts more optimal, pick exercises needed to develop your physique, train hard and recover well.