[Sam King]

Hey Sam!

All ticking along nicely – checked in this morning and I’ve had a 7lbs drop! before this week was a 2lb drop then 2 weeks stagnant… so I have upped intensity of hiit or the levels chosen but must be a high responder to the clen! happy days! Little flat, but not bad!

Personally wasn’t ever a fan of HIIT – but I did as I was told and I’ve really enjoyed it! yeah I warm up for the first minute on bike/stairs, then minute up as high as I can.. then a ‘cruise’ minute haha!

so far recovery has been fine, legs take a bit of a beating – but by the time I have 2 consecutive mornings off cardio I feel refreshed to start 5 days in a row again… coach is 3 weeks out of PCA and 5 from NABBA (maybe 1 less week on both of these now) and he’s a much bigger chap, still doing intervals… so if he can… I can is the mentality!

Thing is with coaches, yes id like to do well, yes its important to me – but I fully understand I won’t and don’t want to make the long term sacrifices potentially needed to get into pro ranks.. If someone can help me do pretty well within UK within next 7/8 years or by the time I’m 32/33 then great, then I fully expect to have kids, settled snd it won’t be a priority… but until then… ill give 100% to see what I can achieve I guess!

Ill jump on to my phone now to upload some photos as not saved on laptop!

Good work!! Weight fluctuation is always a mind f*ck – some weeks you think they’ll be a massive drop in weight, but you maintain and some you feel like a fat ol’ lump then weight drops. The human body is a funny old thing. Ultimately it comes down to progression over time and if your composition is changing for the better or worse.

That’s fair enough. People are too quickly to dismiss a method because it hadn’t worked previously, but as your mind and body develop it may be worth revisiting some concepts. HIIT for example – maybe your recovery set up was less than optimal before, maybe you had external stress outside of bodybuilding eating into your recovery capabilities, perhaps your training set up was less than optimal and so on. Always find the sprint itself takes a lifetime and the ‘cruise’ flies by during HIIT, typical!

Exactly mate, maintain that thought process but at the same time don’t pound yourself into the ground because someone else can. I’m sure you and your coach have a good setup so it wouldn’t get to that point anyway. He’s doing some big shows so he’s walking the walk alright!

A very mature and thought out outlook Reece. As much as it’s hard to believe, there is a life outside of the bodybuilding bubble especially in the future. Definitely take advantage of the limited responsibilities in your life at the moment and capitalise on being the best you can be.

Looking very good my man for around 7 weeks out, you must be pleased with progress so far. Haha post Five Guys – are you sure Chris Aceto isn’t prepping you!?

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Exactly the answer I expected to hear. Congrats, you passed the test!

Never understand when people give a specific weight for offseason goals or comp weight. Until you hit it, you never know and more likely than not you’ll cut yourself short and cut progress pre-maturely.

Appetite’s a good way of regulating it and the best feedback tool when pushing up. Doesn’t work so well for prep, especially near the end as you’re alllwwwaaayyss hungry.

Are you still training with the bosses?

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

No problems James, happy to help.

Haha knew it was a hack squat! I kept looking at it from a multitude of angles and re-reading the split to ensure I wasn’t being blind. Was everything I thought I knew a lie and had I been getting it wrong all this time? This led to a long soul-searching walk accompanied by the song ‘Dust in the Wind’ by Kansas. My faith was restored when I read your above post to confirm my suspicions haha.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Pinch punch, first day of the month and no returns!! Yeah I’m mature haha. Still do this with the OH every month and happy to report I won this morning. There are strict protocols in place to ensure a fair battle namely the opposition has to be conscious, you can’t intentionally wake them up to deliver the winning blow, it has to be in person with physical contact and the valid window in which to deliver has to be executed before midday. We don’t play around here!! I’m safe for now, but come October I’d best be careful as I’ll be more depleted by then.

Anyway, how is it September!? This means the Championships are next month! Granted they’re the end of October but nonetheless. Already fuelled up for today’s leg session and I’ve got a sweet date with the Watson Hack squat. Will she be an absolute bitch or will I make it mine? Who knows, but regardless of the poundage it will let me use you’d best believe I’ll probably end up in the bottom.

Plans for today will be going to the phone shop as finally got an IPhone. That’s right, I am now down with the kids. RIP Nokia 3310 – actually it was even worse than that, but served its purpose. It doesn’t look like my package has activated so I’ve gone over my original data allowance of 256mb and have been charged. Also going to catch up with friends and family as well as avoid the Bournemouth Airshow. My mum’s 60th yesterday was absolutely lovely and it was great to have everyone together, which is a rarity as grown ups with conflicting schedules.

Hope everyone has a smashing day.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Sam King wrote:

Hey Sam nice to hear you doing the british championships!

Thanks Lara. It just made sense in the end and the pros far outweighed the cons. Let’s see what package I bring this time.
____________________________

Comp history:

NPA South West 18th August 2019

– 1st: NPA South West 2019 Novice 1st Place

– NPA South West 2019 Best Male 1st Timers

– NPA South West 2019 Best Transformation Male

– NPA South West 2019 3rd place overall

________________________________________________________________

Lifetime natural – first show 18th August 2019.

Next show – 27th October 2019: British Championships

Journal – Road to First Comp

Hey Sam
So hows the plan ? Any changes in training or nutrition ?[/quote]

Morning Lara

Thanks for dropping by. So, in terms of the plan nothing has changed – training routine has been the same for the last 11 weeks, save for the odd substitution and exercise rotation namely deadlifts. Volume regulation as well is another variable that changes as the weeks tick on. Really taking advantage of the additional food at the mo and am being really honest about exercise selection.

Current diet is set up as:

Training Day
Meal 1: 50g whey, 70g ground rice, 100g apple, 20 peanut butter
Intra: 10g EAA, 15 Peptopro, 5g creatine, 50g cyclic dextrin
Meal 2: 200g chicken, 90g rice, 100g cereal
Meal 3: 200g chicken, 250g sweet potato, 1 banana (veg medley – courgette, mushrooms, peppers, onion, kale)
Meal 4: 200g chicken, 2 bagel thins with butter (salad – tomato, cucumber, beetroot, spring onions, spinach, celery)
Meal 5: 200g 5% beef, 20g cashews (veg – green beans, broccoli)
Meal 6: 25g whey, 200g fat free Greek yogurt, 40g peanut butter

Rest Day
Meal 1: 4 whole eggs, 4 egg whites (veg medley – courgette, mushrooms, peppers, onion, kale)
Meal 2: 200g chicken, 65g rice, 10g Extra Virgin Olive Oil (salad – tomato, cucumber, beetroot, spring onions, spinach, celery)
Meal 3: 50g whey, 65g oats, 100g apple, 20g cashews
Meal 4: 200g 5% beef, 250g sweet potato (veg medley – courgette, mushrooms, peppers, onion, kale)
Meal 5: 200g chicken, 65g rice, 30g Cheddar cheese (veg – green beans, broccoli)
eal 6: 25g whey, 200g Greek yogurt, 40g peanut butter

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

All ticking along nicely Reece and sounds like you’re really enjoying the prep.

So you’re a fan of HIIT I see? Do you keep this in nearer the end of prep or use it as an early tool to aggressively burn fat early on? So you do the stairs for 10 (stepmill I’m guessing) and 10 mins on the bike. Assume this means 5 sprints on each for a total of 10?

Personally I’ve found it quickly eats into my recovery capabilities and this can detract from my training sessions.

Good choice on the coach. People always think they have to approach the likes of Chad Nicholls, Hany Rambod or Chris Aceto if they want a coach. Admiral that they want to work with the best of the best, however this works both ways and because of their phenomenal demand they are selective about who they select to work with – usually the best of the best. There are many good coaches out there if you’re willing to put in the time and effort to find them, usually right under your nose in your own gym.

Still waiting on some photos – what’s the hold up!?

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Sounds like your daughter had a fab time mate – cherish these moments even in the depths of prep. If anything it is a welcome distraction between meals.

I literally don’t care about eating in establishments from Tupperware anymore. I’ll buy a tea or something, not just perch in a café to eat haha – I’m not a monster!! All you should be caring about is dialling it in for this weekend champ.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Standing cable pullovers are great as has already been mentioned, but I’m also a fan of doing a banded db pullover. There’s constant tension throughout similar to a cable and the machine version. Bit of initial faff feeling it out to begin with and requiring a band, but once you’ve mastered it there’s another variation to add to the toolbelt.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Nice paella gains brah, holding some respectable condition still. In terms of bodyweight, what’s the goal of weekly gain and perhaps the top ceiling you’re willing to push before a mini cut? Generally for most, it’s around 20-30lbs over stage weight but you never know.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Nothing new, but as long as it’s a constant variable and not introduced too far into a prep you’ll be fine. Just double check some diet drinks as ideally you want 1-3 cals per can. Some 330ml cans can have 9-15 cals which doesn’t sound like much, but if it is 15 times the amount of your standard Pepsi Max it can mount up especially if you’re having two a day.

Also, some people find the drink either scratches that sugar itch without sugar intake, whereas for others it may lead to cravings. If digestion is not impacted and it keeps you going through prep, then go for it matey.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

thank you sam
I aim to entertain

yeh its borderline rude in my view…when it is literally so black and white…I just think that people should take the time to actually recognise a name…not just mine, anyones…I do make mistakes of course, but I do try to respect other people with the simple things

anyway – name rant over….for now haha

rest day today – bloody busy! but im getting there

Please do – as you know I’m a lover of Ice Queen sarcasm, but sometimes love the bluntness as well haha.

Agreed, very rude. I always make the effort to overuse someone’s name upon first meeting them to ensure it sinks in. We all make mistakes granted, but as long as we acknowledge and develop from there. At uni I had a housemate who knew my name, but I didn’t know hers. Every day she greeted me by name and I was just like ‘heeeyy.. um, you’ haha. Just take it on the chin, apologise and ask if necessary. I work with India within my role and quite often they’ll address me by my surname – ‘King, we would like your expertise on this… King, can you develop an action plan for…’ haha.

I look forward to future rants!! Please keep the name misspellings coming people.

Rest today – such an oxymoron, if anything you find yourself busier!

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Hi Tim

Just wanted to drop by and say great video on adjusting to morning training. Nice to see that there are others who thrive on the morning routine and have successfully adjusted their life to incorporate this, especially one who is striving for their pro card.

Will have a good thorough read through your log and get myself up to speed.

6 weeks to go – think I’ve jumped in at the right time!!

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Happy Saturday

Rest day today, well I say rest but it’s going to be an action packed one. It’s my dear old mum’s 60th birthday so rushing around to sort out some last minute bits this morning before the meal. Had a quick browse of the menu and can easily stick to my diet so no biggie. This weekend is the Bournemouth Air Show so will be going in the opposite direction towards Corfe.

Training yesterday went very well and as follows:

Hammer strength pulldown: 2 x 10-12
Incline supported barbell row: 2 x 12
Neutral lat pulldown: 1 x 12-15
Low row, hammer strength: 1 x 7-9, 1 x 10-12
One arm db row: 1 x 20
Bent over lateral raise: 2 x 10-12
Seated calve raise: 3 x 15-20

Hammer pulldown was great! For the first set, decided to stick to 100.5 as used last time as want to max out the rep range before increasing the weight. Managed 11 today, it was 10 last time so perfect. Will stick to that again for next time to hit 12. Second set with 93.5 and I managed 12 so 1kg increase, one rep lost. Been guilty in the past of upping weight when I hit the bottom of the rep range so am focusing on maxing each range out before earning the right to progress. Basic, but another technique to ensure I don’t stall movements prematurely if I hadn’t taken my time.
Incline supported bb row is getting hard and really have to dig in. Managed 86kg for 13 reps and 78kg for 16 – 0.5kg increase, same reps. Perfect.
Neutral pulldown – same weight as last time, but an extra rep. Will stick to this weight for next week to max out the rep range.
Low row is still progressing very well. 151kg for 10 – 1kg extra than last time, same reps and 143kg for 13 which is a 0.5kg increase and an extra rep. How delightful!
One arm db row and revisited the 50kg db. Managed 17 reps a side so an extra rep since last time. Softly softly. Next jump is to 55kg so will probably look at getting 22-23 reps before jumping up.
Bent over laterals still feeling good. With all of the reverse pec decs and cable flyes, this isn’t a movement I see very much. Love the old school feel of it and finally have that connection where the delts are working, not just simply making it a mid trap lateral row.
Finished off with seated calve raises, shoes off of course. 40kg for 20, 17, 15 and a minute’s rest between each set finishing with a loooonnnnggg stretch.

That’s all for now – have a fabulous day.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Hey Sam nice to hear you doing the british championships!

Thanks Lara. It just made sense in the end and the pros far outweighed the cons. Let’s see what package I bring this time.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Good to hear you doing the finals mate, looking forward to seeing how you get on and follow your journey

Thanks Jay – you and me both, I’m sure these eight weeks will fly by but looking forward to the end product.

Instagram: samking104