[Sam King]

Push session in the books, er logbook, yesterday as follows:

Flat db press: 45kg x 10, 50kg x 5.
High incline smith: 72.5kg x 13 [+2.5kg, +2reps], 80kg x 7 [+2.5kg]
Close grip bb press: 90kg x 8 [+5kg], 80kg x 12 [+5kg]
Flat db flye: 26kg x 16 [+6kg, -6 reps], 26kg x 14 [+ 2kg]
Crucifix cable raise: 4plates + 0.5kg x 12 [+0.5kg], 4 plates + 0.5kg x 11 [+0.5kg], 3 plates + 0.5kg x 17 [+0.5kg and 1 rep]
One arm pressdown, overhand – RP set: 5 plates + 0.5kg x 16,9,3 [+0.5kg and 3 reps]
Single arm db standing curl: 16kg x 14 [+2kg and 2 reps], 20kg x 8 [+6kg and – 3 reps]
Machine preacher: 26.25kg x 14 [+1.25kg and 1 rep]
Standing cable crunch: 11 plates, 3 sets of 25

Great all round session and lots of progression. Pull session tomorrow. Busy day ahead today.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Kevin has made some great points. As a rule of thumb, many heavier individuals suffer from the calve pump on the stair master unfortunately as well.
It could also be execution so depending on how you do your steps, you may be placing the stress primarily on the calves so doing several hundred calve raises over the cardio session.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

You could likely get away with extra work for a short while, but in my experience I’d rather keep the extra recovery in there. It’s similar to programme hopping- why change what is already working? Best case – you may eek out a bit more growth. Worst case – recovery will suffer and niggles will likely surface. Always tempting to do a little more, however I prefer the long haul approach rather than short bursts of extra work and then being floored for a while.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Unless you’re running and injecting at the same time of course ???? Maybe look at applying the same to all off topic posts?

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Who is your coach ?

Hi @juanc . Coach is the very lovely and cold hearted ice queen Miss Corinne Ingman (not sure if you have heard of her, most haven’t ????). I have worked with her the last few years and she has been absolutely fantastic, couldn’t wish for better – both in terms of coaching and inspiration ????.

How about yourself? Doing it solo or working with someone?

_________________________________________

Comp history:


NPA South West 18th August 2019


- 1st: NPA South West 2019 Novice 1st Place, 3rd in the overall


- Best Male 1st Timers and best transformation male

NPA British Championships 27th October 2019


- 2nd place, Novice class


__________________________________________________________________________________________


Lifetime natural


Journal – Road to First Comp


Instagram: samking104

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Another week done and dusted. Time really does go quicker as you get older, which means you need to make everything count in those sessions. Each fluffed up set or missed session is another opportunity and I’ll have to wait another 10 days until I hit that session again. Luckily for me I do not miss sessions so I need to ensure each session is as perfect as possible. Yesterday however, I had one of my first situations where my pre gym ritual was thrown.

One of my friend’s kids decided to use a bit too much toilet paper and managed to block the toilet, fab. No tools to get the job done and 8:30 on a Sunday morning after my preworkout meal. Session due to kick off at 10 and shops on a Sunday open at 10, fantastic. Now to most it would be a simple case of I’ll do the gym later, no sweat. Not quite for myself though. My initial reaction was panic as my ritual is meticulous and I’m a great believer in consistency with regards to every aspect. This put me a bit on edge, however I quickly took this as an opportunity as life is not perfect in the slightest and things happen. I do everything in my power to avoid anything happening around my session which is why I train first thing before work. Nothing worse than being at work and about to clock off for a session, then a situation arises – one of the worst feelings. For many, this is a common scenario and ultimately lead to missed or lacklustre sessions. I’m used to dealing with emergency situations during work so why is this any different? With that, I changed it to more positives ‘the gym’s not going anywhere, it’s a weekend there’s no rush and so forth’. Anyway, went to Homebase and bought a cheap mop. Got back, tied a bag around the mop end and used it as a plunger. Absolute magic – a few good pushes, not even with much force and the water dispersed. Man points acquired. Seriously – a mop and a bag tied to the end, don’t knock it.

Anyway, after that delightful start to the day it was time for legs. Went down as follows:

Hack Squat: 92.5kg x 17 [+2.5kg, + 4 reps], 102.5kg x 10 [+2.5kg, + 4 reps]
Paused hammer strength leg press: 200kg x 20 reps [+20kg], 220kg x 10 [+20kg]
Lying ham db curl: 36kg x 21, 40kg x 15
Lunge barbell: 70kg x 20 [+20kg]
Single seated leg curl, RP set: 25kg x 14,8,6 [+4reps] each side
Banded hyper: Red band x 18 [+2reps]
Adductor, frog leg press: 240kg x 22 [+40kg, +2 reps], 260kg x 16 [+40kg, + 1 rep], 280kg x 10 [+10kg, + 2reps]
Back supported leg raise: 4kg x 20 [+4kg], 4kg x 17 [+4kg, + 2 reps]
Seated calve raise, DC set: 30kg x 11 [+2.5kg]

Fantastic session and the logbook smashed. Not naïve in thinking this progression will continue like this and a lot of it is my body beginning to re-fire on all cylinders again. Should be smashing all time pbs by year end at this rate. Big ol’ push session today so will see what that brings.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

The comment you made on j’s log about james… you nailed that buddy. Just thought I’d let you know because most on here also care about james as a person… you put it in the right words. Thanks man

_________________________________________

IG: danbastick

@d-bastick cheers mate. Absolutely adore what JP has created and to see people essentially slate not just one of his athletes, not just one of his closest friends but a human being. Very insulting to waltz into his personal log and not really contribute anything of any substance, even more so when the subject had been responded to and the matter not dropped.
We are lucky these people are sharing their lives with us, which includes the highs and lows. Never understand this mentality that they owe us because they’re in the limelight.
I cannot and would not want to experience what James has been through. He has been upfront in expressing his grief and I have the utmost respect for him.
The majority of people would understand and respect this as fellow human beings, no matter how hardcore they see themselves.
When he’s ready, the pro world had best be prepared. Until that time, I want to see him happy no matter how long that takes.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Another Saturday, another week closer to Christmas and it’s a rest day. Knock on wood it’s looking like a nice crisp day out there so perfect for mooching around the shops. Another productive week in the bag and although my body is nowhere near 100% yet, movements are progressing and I’m starting to establish some rhythm. Pull session yesterday and it was my second session revisiting the trap bar. Session as follows and progression documented in brackets:

– Lat activation: light cable row x 15
– Trap bar deadlift: 205kg x 10 [+5kg], 220kg x 5 [+5kg], 170kg x 20 [+ 5 reps]
– Leg extension: 65kg x 18 [+5kg, – 2 reps]
– Barbell shrug: 135kg x 15 [+5kg, – 2reps]
– Single arm underhand Hammer pulldown: 41.25kg x 14 [+1.25kg, + 2 reps], 46.25kg x 10 [+ 1.25kg, + 2 reps]
– T-bar row: 70kg x 13 [+ 5 reps], 75kg x 8 [+5kg]
– Wide grip lat pulldown: 10plates x 23 [+1plate]
– Reverse pec dec: 4 plates x 14 [+3reps], 4plates x 12 [+3reps], 3plates x 20 [+1plate, – 2 reps]
– Single arm cable curl: 4 plates x 14 [+ 1 plate, + 3 reps], 5 plates x 9 [+ 2 plates, – 2reps], 5 plates x 8 [+ 2 plates, – 3 reps]
– Standing calve raise: 90kg x 14 [+ 2 reps], 90kg x 12 [+ 2 reps], 80kg x 17 [+ 2 reps]

Logbook smashed and after a second session, finding my way with the movements. Much, much more to come believe me.

Check in on Thur and bodyweight held. Well, I say held – I put on 0.05kg, oink oink. Weight currently sitting at 77.65kg and fod has been increased as follows:

Training Day:
Meal 1 – 50g Whey Isolate, 100g ground rice, 100g pineapple, 10g coconut oil and sweet cinnamon
Intra workout – 10g Peptopro, 10g EAA, 5 creatine and 60g HBCD
Meal 2 – 200g chicken, 95g rice and 120g cereal. Currently a mixture of honey puffs, crunchy nut, chocolate shreddies and chocolate hoops – all Supermarket own brands of course.
Meal 3 – 200g chicken, two bagels with cream cheese, a banana and mixed salad of tomato, cucumber, spring onions, beetroot and celery.
Meal 4 – 200g 5% mince, 95g rice and mixed green veggies – green beans, Brussel sprouts and broccoli
Meal 5 – 50g Whey Isolate, 85g oats, 65 blueberries and 20g cashews
Meal 6 – 130g chicken, 2 golden yolk eggs, 40g pesto and mixed veggies consisting of aubergine, courgette, onion, mushrooms, kale and peppers.
Meal 7 – 200g Greek yogurt, 25g Whey Isolate, 25g dark chocolate and 25g nut butter

Rest Day
Meal 1 – 100g salmon, three golden yolk eggs with mixed veggies consisting of aubergine, courgette, onion, mushrooms, kale and peppers.
Meal 2 – 50g Whey Isolate, 85g oats and 100g pineapple
Meal 3 – 200g 5% mince, 65g pasta and mixed green veggies – green beans, Brussel sprouts and broccoli
Meal 4 – 200g chicken, one bagel, 40g pesto, one apple and mixed salad of tomato, cucumber, spring onions, beetroot and celery.
Meal 5 – 200g chicken, 130g rice, 10g EVOO and mixed veggies consisting of aubergine, courgette, onion, mushrooms, kale and peppers.
Meal 6 – 200g Greek yogurt, 25g Whey Isolate, 25g dark chocolate and 25g nut butter

As it’s a rest day today and has fallen on a weekend day, the OH and I are cooking a meal together within my baseline macros. Last week we had Mexican. This time around it’s cowboy stew with sweet potato buffalo skins. Currently stewing away in the slow cooker so looking forward to that. Leg session tomorrow so should fuel that session quite nicely.

Hope everyone has a splendid weekend.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

I can’t believe I’m reading this Chris Aceto bashing again. We get it – you love Chad Nicholls and despise Aceto. The overall underlying message is James a bloody human being that has had a tough year and is still grieving – this massively important point still appears to not be acknowledged. Bodybuilding is not and should not be the be all and end all of one’s existence. We all know the mental aspects of the sport translate to our sessions, output and ultimately what is presented on stage. James worked his ass off this year, I have no doubts and has had a very good year as a pro.

I can understand the frustration of wanting your favourite pro to do their best, but to me this seems very selfish. It doesn’t seem that you care about James as a person, just his performance on stage. I would much prefer James to be happy and find peace within himself. Ae you really prioritising someone’s mental health over where you think they should be on a stage? It’s very clear that James is a sensitive fellow so can you imagine how he would feel reading all of this? It appears to me to be a direct criticism to both Aceto and James.

I’m a massive fan of James, both as an athlete and a human being, and I would rather he walked away from bodybuilding but was completely healthy and happy. He wouldn’t, but to me that is far more important. I wish him a speedy recovery back to himself and think he has absolutely made the right decisions all round.

Finally, to me this seems to be an off topic post so if you want a discussion maybe post this elsewhere as it is clogging up the log and finding it frustrating to follow Jordan’s journey. I look to be inspired from the athlete’s logs, not read a full on bitch fest.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Nout wrong with extra rest, likely to be beneficial if anything. If it becomes a common occurrence, then you’d need to question why and rectify it going forwards. Every now and then is good during the offseason. More so if you’re a casual lifter as you have mentioned.
Couldn’t imagine hauling my ass up rock climbing and I’m fairly light haha.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

As above, you’ll need more rest for the big compounds in comparison to an isolation movement like side raises or curls. Rest, like increasing weight, change tempo, rep range etc. can be a utilised tool for some and the backbone of popular programmes like GVT.

Personally I’d rather ensure my body is ready to go than be dictated by a timer. As long as you don’t let your body go cold and procrastinate, you’re fine.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Very productive push day today. Progression over last session in brackets. Session below:

– Flat machine Hammer Strength press: 130kg x 8 [+1 rep], 120kg x 10 [+ 2 reps]. Felt much better this time around and extra reps gained with a far better connection.
– High incline db press: 36kg x 12 [+ 4 reps], 40kg x 6 [+ 4kg, – half a rep]. Waaaay better this time around and solid progression. Execution on point and dbs being lowered much further than before.
– Dip: 45kg x 8 [+ 1 rep], 30kg x 14 [+ 1 rep]. With added BW, roughly using the same weight as during prep. Dips are quite a funky one to progress due to bw fluctuations so I just focus on what’s hanging from the belt.
– Standing cable flye: 6 plates + 0.5kg x 17 [+0.5kg, + 2 reps], 6 plates + 0.5kg [+0.5kg, + 2 reps]. Working up slowly with this movement as never really been a fan of the movement in general. Always reminds me of beginners – bench and cable crossovers. Still, I’ll persevere with it for the foreseeable and giv it a fair chance.
– Incline cuff raise: 6 plates x 11 [+ 1 rep], 6 plates x 9 [+1 rep], 4 plates x 17 [+ 2 reps]. Feeling good but really maxing out the weight before adding micro increments as don’t want to lose this connection with the delts.
– Single arm underhand pressdown: 4 plates x 14,8,5 RP set [+ 2 reps total]. As above, nailing the contraction and maxing the rep range out.
– Single arm db preacher: 14kg x 13, 14kg x 12. Dropped the weight since last time and will slowly work it back up, ensuring it is just the bicep. They’re naturally quite strong and can lift the weight, but deliberately slowing the movement down along with pausing at the fully lengthened position. Another reason for reduced weight is to allow my muscles and tendons to adapt to this new range of motion as technically they’re quite weak at this point. Not for long.
– Dual cable curl: 8 plates x 18 [+ 2 reps]. As above, lovely burn.
– Kneeling cable crunch: 3 sets with 10 plates – 32, 32 32. Abs have always been strong so really working on the contractions and really nailing it. Any body part can always be better.

DC stretches to finish everything off. So, push has always been a weakness and I was hindered last year during the summer when I had a shoulder impingement. Luckily this only affected certain movements, primarily db movements like flat press and incline. I managed to focus on the incline hammer press and made some very good progress, but did miss the other movements and in terms of progression as well as rotating stalled movements, I was very limited. Really focusing on taking my time to progress the lifts this time and just listening to my body, within reason of course. Previously when I had a rep range I would hit the minimum and then up the weight, however this time I will max a range out and maybe add an extra for good measure. For example, if the rep range is 6-8 I would stay with the same weight until 8 is met and depending on that 8th rep, I may give it an additional week and go for a 9th then up the weight. Much slower approach than slamming plates on, but if you’re injured within a month or two what’s the point?

Looking forward to progressing. Rest day on the cards tomorrow and check in as well. Wonder if Corinne will recognise me with my chunky cheeks? We’ll see what the verdict is.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Big ol leg session went down today. Happy with how the workouts are going and finding my way with the movements relatively quickly which is good. Although logbook progression is always the goal, this is not going to be at the detriment of form and execution. Sounds really basic and it is, however when you’re in the heat of a set it’s knowing whether that next rep will be worth the exertion. Before each set, I am rattling through a mental/ritual checklist – what do I want to achieve from this set, what’s the bodypart focus, logbook check for confirmation, get into position and then execute the set. Take the frog stance leg press for example. I was getting stronger quite rapidly, however I noticed that my foot position was shifting throughout the set as my body was trying to recruit my quads. With this in mind, I decided to scale back and re-establish that connection. Now, there’s no doubt that my adductors are taking the brunt of the movement evidenced by the stretch and burn by the end of the set.

Anywho, session as follows:

– Leg press: 405kg x 14, 430kg x 8. 5kg and 2 reps extra on the first set, 2 additional reps on the second set. Looking forward to this movement blowing up.
– Paused barbell squat: 120kg x 12, 110kg x 15. Starting off nice and light as haven’t squatted in a long while. Previously I seem to add weight a tad too quick and it does not end well so will take the softly softly approach. ROM is not a problem, if anything I probably go down too far so working on going just below parallel rather than bottoming out.
– Seated ham curl – 52.5kg x 10, 50kg x 11. Will progress this one nice and slow as well keeping that connection.
– DB walking lunge – 24kg x 40 steps. Felt pretty darn good and definitely heavier dbs next time.
– Standing leg curl: 10plates x 18,10,8 = 36 reps <RP set>
– Back extension: 10kg x 18. Another movement that I haven’t done in a while. Recruiting the hams and glutes by consciously squeezing them throughout as well as initiating the movement with them.
– Frog leg press, adductor focus – 250kg x 15, 270kg x 10, 270 x 8. Three great sets.
– Hanging leg raise – 4kg x 10, BW x 15.
– Standing calf raise: 70kg x 9 – DC set

Fab session and looking forward to progressing these movements next time. Big push session on the cards tomorrow. As both rotations have now been done, time to start progressing that logbook with perfect execution of course.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Not too bad in terms of exercise selection. Main critique would be 3 days on with two days of lower back loading in a row – bb stiff legged for back and safety bar squat. Aside from that, try it out for 3-4 rotations and see how you get on in terms of progression and recovery.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Rest day today and one full rotation of training has been completed so now looking forward to smashing those numbers out of the park.

Last few sessions as below:

Legs:
– Hack squat: 90kg x 13, 100kg x 6 – constant tension, no reset between reps or pauses. Going to take some time getting used to it.
– Paused horizontal leg press: 180kg x 20, 210kg x 10. A good start and a movement I have avoided previously which means plenty of progression to come.
– Lying ham curl: 30kg x 14, 30kg x 14. First set was being conscious to drive my hips down. Will progress this movement slowly to ensure form is maintained.
– Barbell lunge: 50kg x 40 <20 reps each side>, A good start, but aiming for 10 per side so bigger numbers to come.
– Single leg curl: 25kg x 12,7,5 = 24 reps. One RP set for each leg, felt good.
– Banded hyper: red band, 15 reps. Haven’t done a back extension in a long ol’ while, so looking forward to this.
– Adductor: 200kg x 20, 220kg x 15, 240kg x 12. Dropped the weight on this movement to really hammer the adductors. Noticed previously that as the set progressed and got harder, the quads would try to be he primary movers. Feeling much better now.
– Vertical leg raise: BW x 20, x 15. Really focusing on the movement, including the negative.
– Seated calve raise: 27.5kg x 11 reps. One all out DC set with a 5 sec eccentric and 10 sec stretch on each set. Love them.

Push:
– Flat db press: 40kg x 15, 45kg x 6. Will progress slowly and watch my left shoulder as this movement previously flared it up. Will progress slowly, but surely.
– High incline smith press: 70kg x 11, 77.5kg x 7. The heaviest smith in the world finds its way back into my split. Trialling bringing the bar down to chest level to see if this yields any further benefits.
– CG bench: 85kg x 8, 75kg x 12.
– Flat db flye: 20kg x 22, 24kg x 15.
– Crucifix cable raise: 4 plates x 12, 4 plates x 11, 3 plates x 16. Good to have these back in. Really picturing on leading with my delts and keeping my shoulder blades down so minimal trap involvement.
– One arm pressdown, overhand: 5 plates x 14, 8, 5 = 27 reps each side.
– Single arm standing db curl: 14kg x 12, 14kg x 11. Stripped the weight back as want to really connect with the bicep movements. Biceps are strong however I find it really hard to get in the muscle. Big focus.
– Dual machine curl: 25kg x 13.
– Standing cable crunch: 3 sets with 10 plates.

Pull:
– Lat activation: 1 set of 15
– Romanian deadlift: 160kg x 9, 170kg x 5, 130kg x 17. A movement I have not done in a long time. Lots of room for progression to come over the next few months.
– Leg extension: 60kg x 20. Same weight as my last pull session, but 4 extra reps.
– Barbell shrug: 130kg x 17. Same weight as my last pull session, but 3 extra reps.
– Single arm pulldown: 6 plates x 12, 7 plates x 7. New movement so will be feeling it out for a while to find the right groove.
– Barbell row: 90kg x 14, 95kg x 11. Anther movement I haven’t done for a while so looking forward to progressing.
– Prone lat pulldown, incline bench – 11 plates x 30. Brand new movement, loved the strictness of the movement and the unique angle on the lats.
– Rear delt raises: 10kg x 14, 10kg x 12, 10kg x 11.
– Single arm machine curl: 15kg x 11, 15kg x 9, 15kg x 7.
– Calve press, horizontal leg press: 110kg x 15, 120kg x 11, 120kg x 10. Looking forward to progressing this movement, but ensuring the execution is nailed and there is a full stretch at the top and bottom.

Legs on the cards tomorrow and though technically I haven’t done the session yet, due to not receiving the plan until after, handily enough some of the movements were similar to the session I did. Leg press and paused barbell squats on the cards so looking forward to it.

Had a half day at work today due to it being a US Bank holiday so provided service to my European clients and then called it a day. Just resting up for the rest of the day, aside from some walking.. and eating of course. Appetite is through the roof still so happy with that.

Instagram: samking104