[Marc]

Last session of the week today and it was legs. I had a really good session. Two new exercises added into my training session, Pendulum squats and hip leg press.

Both movements felt really good, no pain in knees and looking forward to really progressing these lifts.

Today felt somewhat like my old self pushing for those extra few reps. I know there’s still much more to give, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Friday leg sessions now will be at a different gym to my usual one, it will be at premier gym Coalville, so a 15 mins drive from my house and I’m happy about this mainly for the equipment needed for this leg session it’s perfect.

[Marc]

Hit a pull workout today. Really good session, went in a little earlier today to train and it was great the gym was sooo quiet! Focus still is working on improving exercise technique as I do think there’s room for improvement.

So exercises today were;

Single arm d handle pulldown x2
Single arm cable row lat bias x2
Chest supported t-bar row x2
Gym pin wide latpulldown x2
Reverse pec deck x3
Single arm cable curl (facing in) superset single arm cable curl (facing out) x2
Rope face pull x1
D handle triceps push down x3

I also had a sports massage today. Much needed and came right on time after me training pull.

[Marc]

Great work mate, really impressive rear lat spread the width of your back and nice taper. You aren’t holding a great deal of bodyfat, so I’d still continue pushing up and creeping calories up slowly. Pay attention to training performance, that this continues to progress. Keep in some level of expenditure with cardio and steps as this will be good for cardiovascular health, digestion and keeping you in a nice spot to keep pushing up too. Keep us posted

[Marc]

Rest day today! Cardio, abs and mobility ticked off this morning. Midweek check in today and some updates with training. I had been training mon-weds Thurs off then train Fri to complete my 4 day training split. But today was a reminder from coach take the weds as a rest to allow for some more recovery, so that’s what why I rested today.

[Marc]

How long have you been in a push up phase for? Are you taking your weight daily and then checking it at the end of the week to compare it with the week before? What has been your average rate of gain week by week?

[Marc]

Not the best session today for me unfortunately. A few external factors going on so heading into todays session I was feeling drained mentally and it showed in my energy when training. Got through, but now how I would have liked it to be. Plan to get an early night and dust myself off ready for tomorrow!

[Marc]

Sas advice here is good. I would 100% be inclined to back off and listen to what you are feeling because your body (chest) is telling you something is quite right. Always worth while getting a second opinion also from a specialist such as a physio too. All the best with this man, definitely don’t over do it

[Marc]

First session of the week ticked off today. In for legs today with some updates to my training plan.

The main change with my session today was going from static dumbbell on the spot holding one dumbbell to now, rear foot elevated lunge with my front heel elevated and holding a dumbbell in both hands.

This felt pretty good to be fair, no knee pain and with the set up it’s quad bias. It will likely still take some time to get used to the set up and get this bang on, but looking forward to progressing these over the coming weeks.

[Marc]

With training it is very simple

Pain= something is off with execution

No pain = your good to go.

The only pain we should mostly experience is muscular not the connective tissue

I agree with Kuba here. I’ve had pain for a while in one of my shoulders for a while on pressing / lat pulldown movements. Speaking with Kuba and tweaks to my training plan / execution has made a bit difference. It would be beneficial IMO to get that looked at as this could be the difference. Shockwave therapy has helped me in the past with elbow pain, but again load / execution will play a part here too

[Marc]

Last rest day before I’m back it tomorrow. Today I did cardio, then did a posing session with two of my clients who will be competing later this year. I then went to church (literally not been in forever) but felt like it’s something I needed to do today. Chilled evening with Kerry, took her out to miller and Carter for a nice steak, now back home ready to get a good sleep ahead of leg’s tomorrow

[Marc]

Rest day today. Cardio ticked off early doors followed by some stretching / abs. Did a big food shop with Kerry today, we generally try build bulk and freeze what isn’t needed immediately so we aren’t going food shopping so much during the week.

Been a pretty chilled day to be fair. It’s been a solid training week after last weeks illness. Looking forward to stepping things up next week with training, so the main thing the weekend is to be rested and raring to go come Monday!

[Marc]

Hi Stephen

This isn’t something that I have done before. For me the off season is an opportunity to instill a set routine so when prep comes around it’s an easy transition, with the only change coming reduced food.

I understand what you are saying as to why this new approach whilst cutting works for you and is more enjoyable.

I find that it’s inevitable at some point during prep hunger will be high and that part and parcel of the process. Is it enjoyable being hungry, definitely not. But being goal driven on the end result for me on a personal level is what I care about the most.

For yourself, if you find this works better for you then go for it. When it comes to getting in shape, it’s different for us all. Key is find what works for you and what will keep you on track to hit your target!

[Marc]

Hi guys, hope everyone is good. Hit a leg session today at a different gym – 15mins drive from me. Wanted to see what leg kit they had, as next week training split for legs will be changing slightly to get a squat movement pattern in to target / challenge quads a little more now my knee is feeling good.

Had a really good session, majority of the kit is the same as the gym I normally train at which is Cybex so pretty much match for match with numbers.

Different leg press though. I didn’t really get on with this, it was sticking at the bottom of the exercise so it didn’t feel good. It’s a shame because the footplate was bigger so I was able to place my feet lower to challenge my quads a little more.

If I do end up training here for one of my leg sessions I’ll make sure I don’t have leg press in this rotation because of this machine. I’ll likely use the pendulum squat instead which I tried at the end of my session with no weight purely to see how that felt and it was good.

[Marc]

Rest day today. Got my cardio in early doors along with vacuums and Abs. Had an upper body sports massage, much needed after getting back to training this week.

Had admin jobs to do today that I’ve put off for a while lol so I’ve just about got on top of those bits today alongside client check ins.

[Marc]

I agree with Louis comment here. Some other body strengthening exercises that would be useful are standing/prone superman and also bird dog. This is using your bodyweight here so you will get a good idea of how your erectors feel doing this before moving onto specific weighted exercises