[Marc]

Rest day today so no training. Cardio today was 45mins instead of 75mins. Steps tapered again to 10k instead of 12k and the plan moving forwards is for steps now not to exceed 10k with the final two weeks of prep.

Today’s conditioning set point is the best so far on prep. Speaking in depth with Cal, we very much expect this next week for me to be legit peeled (which I haven’t been so far this season) which then leaves me 1 week prior to Spain to drop fatigue, increase food and really fill out. I won’t sugar coat it, this has been a very tough few weeks. This is the longest I have ever prepped for and also the most amount of shows in one season. However, I can see the light and the end of the tunnel and I’m glad I have continued to prep as I know in Spain I will deliver my best look to date, judging on how I currently look.

Food today has been increased; 350P 175C 40F. Previous food set up this week has been;
350P 75C 30F. The increase in food albeit still overall low, is definitely welcomed today.

Chilled day today with Kerry, which is much needed.

[Marc]

Save this tool for further into prep. Let your diet changes and expenditure/NEAT get you going first before adding in lipolytics

[Marc]

Depending on your weight your protein could be increased. Fats for sure can increase and that will give you a nice bump up in calories. Do you follow the same macros daily or have a non training day food set up too. If you don’t, that’s something I’d consider too

[Marc]

Last session of the week completed today and it was a pull session. No legs trained this week due to my strain, so only work done with my legs was through cardio and steps. I’m hoping next week I can resume some leg training but I’m playing things sensible here.

Steps today were tapered to 10k instead of 12k. Condition this morning was very good. Myself and Cal have really learnt more about my body these last few weeks and each day is bringing more detail and more valuable data.

I made some adjustments to food today, weetabix and rice cakes were pulled (I wrote me food plan up yesterday on a question i answered on my log) and replaced both sets of carbs pre and post workout with white potato as it’s more volume and it makes more sense here to have what I would class as a real meal being in such a deficit.

1 more meal to go in and then I’m off to bed.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend 🙌🏿

[Marc]

I agree with all the comments above. Keep it simple and don’t over do it trying to buy expensive food. I’m Halls, often people share the food / cooking load so see if that’s a possibility too

[Marc]

Another day ticked off! Today I got fasted cardio in at 5:30am, back home 1 meal followed by some client work then back to the gym to train at 10am.

My daughter had a gymnastics competition I took her too from midday until early evening so it’s been a very busy day for me.

It’s been challenging I won’t lie, hunger is through the roof on only 75g of carbs and the driving today out of town for my daughter’s competition was definitely tough.

All boxes ticked, last meal to go and I’m then going to bed for some much needed sleep.

Leg still isn’t great, but I am hopeful it will get better. Tbjp join in and cure-coming is being used regularly through the day to help reduce the inflammation.

[Marc]

Hi Marc, can u show us how is one day of your diet? an example like a menu of the day, example, meal 2 250g fish veggies.

Hi Andriel

This is my food;

Meal 1 – 80g pineapple, 220g egg whites, 4 lean bacon medallions , veggies

Meal 2 (pre-workout) – *230g chicken , 3 weetabix

Meal 3 (post workout) – *2.5 caramel rice cakes, 210g chicken breast, 35g tbjp whey isolate

Meal 4 – lettuce, 210g chicken

Meal 5 – 220g king prawns, 220g egg whites, 13g peanut butter, veggies

*tbjp whey isolate sometimes used instead of chicken – depending on hunger

[Marc]

Hi guys thanks for the reply. I’ve been dieting for14 weeks now. I haven’t done a deload or devolume as I have been progressing well in training(actually hitting a couple of pbs). Fatigue I would put at like a 3 maybe 4. Visually there has definitely been some changes/ improvements.

So based on your reply I’m in agreement with Peter and Phoebe. Ultimately Your body needs a little reset before pushing on again!

[Marc]

Rest day today, so that meant my usual sports massage treatment. I mentioned yesterday that my left leg locked up, so I also had this looked at and I’ve been told it’s due to tight hamstring so a slight strain. I won’t train legs for now until it’s improves but the process continues.

I did feel it during cardio but I still got this done. I have been doing 60mins fasted cardio and then 15mins cardio post workout but today I did 75mins in one go. This is because it’s a rest day and I had my treatments mid-morning so for the sake of another 15mins it made sense to do it all at once. I’ve spoken with Cal and there’s no plans for this to increase. If a deficit needs to be opened up this will be done via food. Steps today are still at 12k, these are pretty much completed for the day.

Food set up is the same as yesterday. I dropped 0.9kg overnight and I’m considerably tighter and dryer. Myself and Cal are very happy with how things are going and we will keep this momentum going.

[Marc]

Hi mate

Firstly well done on the progress you have made so far.

In the 4 weeks that your weight weight has not moved have you changed visually at all? Do you take any weekly measurements, if so has any changes occurred in the last 4 weeks?

How long have you been dieting for? Have you ran any of the following from training; a de-load, de-volume training or consecutive rest days?

What is your current fatigue levels like, on a scale of 0-10 (0 being fine and 10 being high).

4 weeks is a long time to be holding at the same bodyweight without any direct changes to cardio or diet. It would be interesting to know the answers to the above questions.

[Marc]

So I’ve somehow managed to have picked up a little knee injury. My left leg is locking up pretty much every time I get up from sitting down. I’m getting it looked at tomorrow but this is not stopping me. Steps at 12k is still getting ticked off as is my total cardio time at 75mins. Training has been altered, today I trained arms.

Me and cal have been talking in depth today on how we see the next 2.5weeks going in the lead up to the europa Spain show. It’s really exciting in all honesty, by far already I’m in the best position leading into this show. I’ve given input on methods that worked well for me in 2018 when I won my pro card and also 2020 my pro debut year and arguably my best condition to date on any stage.

Tweaks are being made and the results are showing. But there’s still work to be done. I know once we land the look we have mapped out I will be far more competitive. No full body updates (for now) I’m focusing solely on being better one day at a time.

Food set up has changed today in the quest to get peeled. Protein is up and fats and carbs are down. Todays set up 350P 75C 30F. Again this is based on feedback that I have given from previous preps. Hunger is irrelevant, I have a job to do which is bring condition and I’m locked in. Naps are even more important now lol.

Anyway, this is my log for today guys.

[Marc]

Hey Marc – awesome season mate and absolutely loved the looks you’ve brought to stage.

Just a question on the recent pull back from training this week – why was that decision made and why do you think it’s had such a good effect on the condition. Dropping of stress and inflammation?

In a similar situation myself where weight totally stalled very deep in prep between shows. Cheers!

Hi mate,

Thanks for the kind comment.

I had done 3 shows in 3 weeks – back to back weekends. With travel and pushing my body week on week I needed a re-set and rest.

Drop fatigue and also inflammation was very important to give me any chance to compete again this year and it’s certainly helped. Also it’s helped my mindset get clearer, re-assess and see where improvements can/will be made into my next show.

I hope this helps. Remember rest is very important. A de-load, or periods of a few rest day works wonders.

[Marc]

Agree with all the comments above! No need to change anything here, optimise recovery and drop fatigue. Keep the intra in. Remember the key here is to drop fatigue, give your GI a rest and reduce inflammation. Ensure you are making full use of rest outside of the gym too!

[Marc]

Pull session today with Kerry. I went to a different gym not too far from my house today for a change as I knew the gym would be quiet.

I had a really good session, spoilt for choice today with prime kit – I’ve posted some of my workout up today on my IG story.

Exercises today were;

Prime pulldown x2 sets
Single arm pulley row x2sets
Prime chest supported row x2sets
Rear delt seated row x3 sets
Prime single arm preacher curl x 1set

Usual training format today, top set then followed up with back off sets.

Food set up today was;
325P 150C 40F

Cardio – 1hour fasted and 15mins post workout
Steps – 12k for the day

[Marc]

My personal favourite is king prawns with mixed veg, red pepper and mushrooms.

Egg whites with some peanut butter is really nice too