[Marc]

Push session today! I’m really happy with how things are moving since the rest days a few weeks ago. Feel fresh and hitting good numbers in the gym. Today I hit a new prep low with weight 126.1kg. Weight dropping isn’t always linear so I still like to go by my moving average at the end of the week. Mid week Check in tomorrow, I’ll keep you all updated on feedback

[Marc]

I completely agree with Megs reply above. Going into a maintenance phase will help aid digestion and take stress of your GI. With pulling back on training volume too will help you to drop some fatigue and reduce inflammation. Going with this maintenance phase for the next 4-5 weeks will put you in a stronger position for the weeks to follow. Good work with your push up, eating 5500 calories a day is not easy, but this is where growth takes place eating in a calorie surplus

[Marc]

I’m not sure what flavour COR you have but I’ll tell you what the tbJP performance protein chocolate caramel is something else to add in with COR! Aside from that, dark chocolate, frozen berries, peanut butter are all good to add in too

[Marc]

I had the same question, I’m at about 1870 cal on low days 250p/105c/50f 9 weeks left on prep. I usually find myself really craving carbs still and in general having to try to force fats in (adding whole eggs etc).

My coach is flexible as long as I hit my calorie/protein goal within reason, I feel fine on the days when I hit 35-40g fat, do you think that makes more sense given that my body seems to prefer carbs over fats? I’m assisted btw if that matters. Sorry to hijack, felt it’s better to ask in here than open a whole new thread for the same question

You mentioned low day here. Do you have a high day macro split too? If so what is that?[/quote]

Hi Marc,

My high day is 2330 calories

250p/220c/50f every 5th day (4 low/1 high) so on that day I basically just have more carbs post workout and meal 4. My protein/fat choices are the same basically regardless of the day, just the carb source/volume will vary. I basically was going to swap my beef from 93/7 to 96/4 which I have twice a day, that will free up 10-12g of fat that I can convert to carbs (20-25g or whatever that comes out to)[/quote]

Going back to your first message in here, when you said you body prefer carbs over fats on your low day that will be because your carbs are pretty low and the carbs is what will give you energy. Instead of forcing fats from whole eggs have you thought about using different fat sources such as olive oil or nuts/seeds?

It’s person dependant on whether slightly higher carbs and lowering fats for your lower food day would benefit you more. Ultimately, your coach is flexible and if you continue to hit your protein target, making that shift to slightly higher carbs and lowering your fats could be the way forward for you. Give it a try and see how you get on. Remember to keep your overall calories the same when changing macros around [/quote]

Hi Marc,

Thanks for all the info! Regarding choices of fats, I’ll do 10g almond butter in my oats. I’ll add whole eggs/eggs whites to my chicken breast for my last meal, which does two fold of add fats/overall volume while also making it so I can get by on 1 big batch of chicken per week

My coach gave me the green light to try out slightly higher carbs/lower fats on my low days to see how I respond. I’ll probably keep fats at 50 for the high day so it’ll give me the flexibility to do a higher fat protein at dinner (I’m big on steak). I also think the 93/7 beef I’ve been using this whole prep was closer to a 94/6 or 95/5 even, I bought good quality 96/4 and it’s only a little leaner than what I had before. Maybe that’s another reason why I’ve been struggling haha over-estimating my fat intake. Thanks again for the help![/quote]
That all sounds good. It’s good that you were able to feedback this back to your coach also for his input as it’s important to approach this with your coach.

I’m a big fan of steak too lol red meat works well. I’d deffo stick to the beef that you know is accurate, although it might only be marginal differences it’s best to be accurate with this.

You’re welcome mate, all the best for your prep!

[Marc]

Full leg session today, this one was filmed for this members site. Solo session today no Cal as he only landed back in the U.K. this morning from being in Spain for the show at the weekend. Secretly I think he’s liking the extra rest from leg day haha…

session was really good, the momentum from last week has carried over in to this week and I hit good numbers in the quad dominant session. Watch out for the full workout when it drops here likely next week.

Day 2 of Food changes that I mentioned yesterday, hunger is absolutely fine and anyway if I was hungry the goal is condition and that’s what I’m focusing on!

[Marc]

I had the same question, I’m at about 1870 cal on low days 250p/105c/50f 9 weeks left on prep. I usually find myself really craving carbs still and in general having to try to force fats in (adding whole eggs etc).

My coach is flexible as long as I hit my calorie/protein goal within reason, I feel fine on the days when I hit 35-40g fat, do you think that makes more sense given that my body seems to prefer carbs over fats? I’m assisted btw if that matters. Sorry to hijack, felt it’s better to ask in here than open a whole new thread for the same question

You mentioned low day here. Do you have a high day macro split too? If so what is that?[/quote]

Hi Marc,

My high day is 2330 calories

250p/220c/50f every 5th day (4 low/1 high) so on that day I basically just have more carbs post workout and meal 4. My protein/fat choices are the same basically regardless of the day, just the carb source/volume will vary. I basically was going to swap my beef from 93/7 to 96/4 which I have twice a day, that will free up 10-12g of fat that I can convert to carbs (20-25g or whatever that comes out to)[/quote]
Going back to your first message in here, when you said you body prefer carbs over fats on your low day that will be because your carbs are pretty low and the carbs is what will give you energy. Instead of forcing fats from whole eggs have you thought about using different fat sources such as olive oil or nuts/seeds?

It’s person dependant on whether slightly higher carbs and lowering fats for your lower food day would benefit you more. Ultimately, your coach is flexible and if you continue to hit your protein target, making that shift to slightly higher carbs and lowering your fats could be the way forward for you. Give it a try and see how you get on. Remember to keep your overall calories the same when changing macros around

[Marc]

Check in today, bodyweight on waking was 127.5kg. Visually I am looking leaner from last week, so although the scales weight hasn’t been moving that much my overall look is improving. That’s one of the benefits me competing in open bodybuilding that I don’t have to be a set weight, whatever my best look is that’s how I will step on stage regardless of what the scales say.

Cal is happy with how things are moving. There’s been some slight changes to my plan today. Steps are still at 10k a day, but cardio has increased on the recumbent bike from 20mins fasted every morning and is now 25mins every morning.

Food has slightly decreased too, shown below:

TD: 325P 500C 50F / 3750
(Previous – 325P 500C 60F / 3840kcals)

NTD: 325P 350C 60F / 3240kcals
(Previous – 325P 400C 60F / 3440kcals)

My next check in day will be Wednesday. I’m 12 weeks out this weekend and those weeks will soon fly by. Goal has always been to be ready early, so the regular check ins will help keep a closer eye on things.

[Marc]

I had the same question, I’m at about 1870 cal on low days 250p/105c/50f 9 weeks left on prep. I usually find myself really craving carbs still and in general having to try to force fats in (adding whole eggs etc).

My coach is flexible as long as I hit my calorie/protein goal within reason, I feel fine on the days when I hit 35-40g fat, do you think that makes more sense given that my body seems to prefer carbs over fats? I’m assisted btw if that matters. Sorry to hijack, felt it’s better to ask in here than open a whole new thread for the same question

You mentioned low day here. Do you have a high day macro split too? If so what is that?

[Marc]

Arms and medial/rear delts close to home today. Good session to end the week, not too taxing on the body and the session is wrapped up pretty quickly. I’d say this week overall has been one of my best week training weeks on prep so far.

Tomorrow is check in day, although weight hasn’t really shifted much at all on prep visually seeing good changes each week. Not caught up with numbers, as my body is responding and that’s the main thing. I’ll update you guys tomorrow with what Cal says with feedback.

[Marc]

Hi mate

I agree with Oscar here, I don’t think pre-planning deloads is really feasible with the philosophy you are approaching this with.

With regard to the split itself, really hard to give any valuable feedback without understanding the session content

Thanks for your reply! Do you think I should go with some premade program set up by a proffessional or is making my own program still a reasonable option? Regarding the last sentence, do you want me to write the full program as I would do it and then come back for better feedback?[/quote]
Making your own plan is still a reasonable option and of course we are here to help look over your program to offer help and advice. A point to remember is try not to over complicate things. For example, It’s good to have an idea in your programming when you intend to de-load, but ultimately this will come down to different factors such as bio-feedback on how your body is feeling. Get an outline down on how you plan to move forwards and come back to us with the outline.

[Marc]

Solo full leg session today at Shredz. Weight and numbers were really good today, this is up there as one of my best leg sessions so far this prep. I felt in a good groove working through my feeder sets, so with my top sets I pushed a little harder today as I felt it was there for the taking.

Still not using a log book because of the few niggles I have, so instead I train by how I feel on the day. Sometimes heavier weight less reps or lighter weight more reps. The rest days last week has done me a world of good and it’s showing in the gym.

Exercises today were;

Seated leg curl x2
Lying prime leg curl x2
Pendulum squats x1
Prime leg extension x3
Gym shop adductor x2
Tru squat standing calf raise x3

[Marc]

Rest day today, tried to do as little as possible outside of my steps and cardio today. I had shockwave therapy treatment today on my hip and also shoulder, which I really rate. Also deep tissue message on my upper body. Not too much else to add today

[Marc]

As the guys have said above increasing carbs and lowering fats is person dependant. But another thought, do you have a food plan for training day and non training day? It could be on training days you increase your carb intake with lower fats, then on rest days decrease your carbs and increase your fats. Protein wise, this can stay close to consistent over both days

[Marc]

Agree with Oscar here. Having two different session formats for push will allow for greater volume and focus for your programming. With biceps being a smaller muscle group it’s easier to tag this into workouts and it won’t affect your recovery but it will give you more total volume which will allow for more growth. Mix up rep ranges with biceps too, heavier sets aith less reps 8-12 and also higher rep ranges 15+ so you can get stronger across various rep ranges. Some tempo work will add to the intensity also

[Marc]

Really good pull session today. I trained slightly earlier today because I was filming today for my YouTube so I trained after 2 meals instead of my usual 3. This didn’t affect my session, I was really happy with my numbers and how the session went overall.

The exercises were pretty similar to what I filmed for my last video for this pull members site (if you haven’t checked it out you can) tweak to one of my exercise selection. I went with low cable shrugs instead of flat hammer press machine shrugs as I think this will be more effective for targeting my traps.

Just a few thousand more steps to hit to reach my 10k steps target for today and that will be my expenditure ticked off.