[Sam King]

Sam King wrote:

Hey Lara

All caught up with your log and was a good read strength has been insane. How’s it looking currently?

Physique is on point and density is unreal – that shot from the back, wow! Entire posterior chain is thick.

So you haven’t mentioned protein pancakes for a while? Still in your diet with the berries?

Sounds like a nice chill day today, just some admin bits to ride you over.
____________________________

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

________________________________________________________________

Lifetime natural – first show 18th August 2019.

Journal – Road to First Comp

Hey Sam!
Strength is still very good and today’s and tomorrow’s rest day is really needed. I always recognize how tired I’m really when I rest for at least one day
I‘m still waiting for my hamstrings to get leaner but it’s just a matter of time until they‘ll show up !
How are u doing ?

That’s great to hear – absolutely smashing it so far Lara! I am in complete agreement with you here. This week I have felt lethargic as hell because I have been resting. I prefer to be on the go as I believe whatever you do with your body is how it will respond. Sounds obvious, but if I have a complete day at home then I feel far more fatigued than if I had done a leg session and 10,000 steps that day. I believe your body adjusts to what it pertains is required i.e. sitting around demands much less so your body almost goes into standby mode. Sounds completely the opposite of what it should be.

I can see those hammies wanting to burst out! Give them time, you know they’re there. Must be tripping over them daily as they’re hanging so low!

Yeah I’m well thank you. Nearly through the first week of post show and it is a weird sensation. Back to training today so looking forward to the structure again. Haven’t trained legs for two weeks s going to be interesting haha.

How’s the new wardrobe? Are you and Wotti fighting to pose in front of the mirrors haha?

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

[/quote]
Yes more food sounds good to me right now, but I’ve got a high carb day today, I’ve been given a muffin pre workout!!

Looking at going to dope burger in hull after the show for a big dirty burger and fries.
Oh and don’t forget a couple of chocolate hobnobs haha

Tbh not feeling too bad mate, have my days where my energy just disappears but in general it’s been pretty good.
Just want these 2 weeks to hurry up lol[/quote]

My god!!! What muffin have you elected for!? Details are very important here @JayNoble.

Just had a browse of Dope Burger and looks good mate. Even the ‘basic’ Dope burger looks delicious. I assume you have chosen a particular one already? Haha chocolate hobknobs. I’m not even a biscuit man, but during the last two weeks of prep I would browse the supermarket aisles and be like ‘ooo, that looks nice’ ‘oh wow, triple Belgian choc – only ever seen double’ and so on. Didn’t buy any biscuits post show haha. Closest I came was all butter shortcake, lovely stuff.

Sounds good Jay. Just keep going. Think I’ve said previously, but two weeks out was the hardest point for me and literally it is a mental game to get your steps in. I found that literally my food would just about fuel my session and for the rest of the day, I was facked! Final week flies by – I won’t spoil it too much for you, but be good to compare notes after.

Are you taking any time off work in the lead up or after the show?

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Post show week is nearly over and it is the most bizarre feeling. Started off the week going to bed at 10:30ish and waking up at 3:30, then staying up all day. This occurred for two days and by the second, I was a wreck. Think the adrenaline of Sunday had kept me going to a point, however boy did I notice when it had worn off. Feeling much better today though as routine is kicking back in and ready to hit my first session today. Legs are on the cards and I haven’t trained them for nearly two weeks <gulp>. Hack squats and leg press – let’s be avin’ ya!

Checked in with Corinne yesterday and have been given a new diet, which feels like a massive re-feed every day. Bit nervous on eating this much so soon, however I trust the process. New diet as follows:

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

As mentioned previously, I have qualified for the British Championships so will decide on whether I will pursue this route in the next couple of weeks.

Plans for today are to go to Salisbury and meet the OH’s friend’s baby. Be good to see how they’re all getting on and settling into the family life. They’re providing a lunch spread, but I’ve got my Tupperware ready to go. Then tonight it’s out for a long overdue meal, looking forward to it.

Hope everyone has a good day 🙂

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Bet you enjoyed the food this week haha.
Cheesecake is on my list to have post show, that is one thing I am craving lol

Indeed I did Jay, but happy to be back following a structure although my food has been bumped up quite a bit so still feels like I’m re-feeding haha.

No word of a lie – that first forkful of cheesecake post show is on another level. Your tastebuds seriously don’t know what has hit them. Make sure to savour every little bite, just let it melt in your mouth. Anything else on your list post show?

Not long to go now matey – how are you feeling?

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Right then, post show week debrief. Monday’s orders were to eat what you like, but not gorge yourself. So without further adieu, below is what I had:

Meal 1: 2 x homemade Mcmuffins + bowl of extra special Granola mixed with a small handful of Cocopops. Each Mcmuffin was comprised of the following: English muffin, one sausage pattie, one slice of turkey bacon, a slice of plastic cheese and one golden yolk egg. Three hash browns on the side as well.

Ventured into town to pick up a few goodies. Stopped by Wilkinsons and went to the CandyKing station, filled up a large cup. Next stop was Muffin Break where I got a slab of chocolate brownie to take away. Really hard to choose, as the Red Velvet looked amazing but I couldn’t say no to a brownie.

Meal 2: Protein bar – yawn.

Meal 3: sandwich of a place called Deli on the Quay. Went for the Italian Grinder which had the following: Roast Turkey, Honey Glazed Ham, Parma Ham, Salami, Cheese, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Hot Peppers with Balsamic Vinaigrette on Ciabatta Bread. The OH chose the Turkey Reuben: Smoked Turkey, Coleslaw, Cheese, House Dressing on Rye Wheat Bread. Had half of each sandwich, absolutely amazing!

Stopped by the sweet shop on Poole Quay and browsed their wares. Noticed they had several fudges so had to grab a little bit. Sampled a Marmite one – nice, but one little sample was enough. Settled on 25g Eton Mess, 25g Lemon Meringue, 25g Rocky Road and 25g Banoffee. Next stop was Asda to pick up some bits for dinner and a couple of other treats. Picked up some Extra Special all butter shortbread with Belgian chocolate pieces.

Meal 4: Brownie time, served with some Oppo Ice cream (Chocolate & Hazelnut) – beautiful. Also, had some protein powder mixed into a paste after – Chocolate & Honeycomb flavour.

Meal 5: Italian feast – starter was a sharer board with prosciutto ham, olives, a small bit of bread and mozzarella with a balsamic/EVOO dip. Main was a mozzarella and sun ripened tomato pizza with a pesto drizzle with the addition of left over rib meat from Bare Grillz. Also, had a small serving of spag bol as couldn’t choose.

Meal 6: Movie snacks – popcorn, sweets, mini Crunchie bar, a few dark chocolate Flipz, four Matchmakers (two Salted Caramel and two Gingerbread), half a piece of all butter shortbread, a slither of each piece of fudge, a couple of handfuls of crisps. As you can see, I went a bit crazy… actually it was quite a pathetic effort haha, but I enjoyed the little bites I had.

Meal 7: Greek yogurt, 50g whey, one shot of coconut chocolate macaron and some pink salt

With that, the day of post show eating was over and it was lovely to spend some proper time with the OH.

With the rest of the week, my macros consisted of 40g protein, 50g carbs, 10g fat per meal. It has been nice making my own meals and picking and choosing. Some of the meals I’ve had include:
– 50g oats, 5 egg white, 1 whole egg, 20g whey, 10g peanut butter, 80g apple (or some variation – substitute dark chocolate)
– 1 red onion & chive bagel, 200g chicken, 30g low fat cheese, slice of turkey bacon, big side salad
– 1 Morrisons fishcake (only 8g of fat, amazing!!), sweet potato fries, veggies
– Frittata: 2 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, 60g low fat cheese, 1 turkey sausage, slice of prosciutto, red onion, peppers, spinach, mushroom (no carbs but upped fat to meet macros)
– Cheese toastie: rib meat from Bare Grillz, low fat cheese, chicken, red onion (reduced down into a chutney state), spinach, red onion.
– Grilled breakfast: turkey bacon, chicken sausage, veg medley, egg whites, 1 whole egg + 50g serving of granola

Also included were the old staples of chicken, rice, steak, rice cakes and so on.

Checked in with the boss this morning and thinking of what to do next. I have qualified for the British Championships end of October, but going to take the next couple of weeks to physically and mentally recover before committing. Weight is currently sitting at 74.7kg, it was 71.3kg on show day so mainly just water weight and glycogen replenishment. Let’s see what is next =)

Attached a few foodie pics too – that Mint Aero cheesecake was subline, hands down one of the best ever!

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

I’m not bringing anything new to the table here, but I have worked out in some of the best and worst equipped facilities. Atmosphere is numero uno by a mile – if you don’t feel comfortable or the people are unmotivated and uninspiring, this can affect your training.

Equipment comes next. You don’t want a hotel spa gym, but you don’t require a facility with five different leg presses say. If you like that, great but it’s not necessary. Many a physique has been built with a handful of equipment – the secret was what they did with it. Hard, brutal sets and a focus on progressive overload. You could argue that with less equipment, you would better apply yourself to a handful of movements and give them your all instead of applying yourself thin to every piece of equipment in the gym.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

As the guys have said, I wouldn’t worry if you’re not ravenous in the morning. Just eat when you’re ready. It may help if you go for a 15-20 min stroll first thing to get the previous day’s meal moving and wake your system up.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

As above, looks pretty good. As Rich has asked, what was the rep range used? Also, any intensity techniques or just straight sets? Working to failure? As Michael has noted, no direct shoulder work. I’d look at adding a set or two of a side delt isolation movement. Maybe a rest pause or cluster set which should hit them nicely

Main question you should be asking is how did the workout feel to you? This setup could be the best in the world on paper, but the movements may be a poor choice for you.

Try it out a few more times to accurately record feedback and find your ideal working weights. Then you can establish how effective it is.

Once you have a handle, may be worth creating another split or two that you can rotate between through the week. Assume you’re looking at doing fbw 3 times a week or was it just a one off?

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Damn Oscar, can’t believe it’s 2 and a half weeks to go! looking on point my man. Always good when cardio is dropped – no excuses for your density/leg day now!

In terms of your treatments, are there any that you will omit one week out from the show or will there be some that are more frequent maybe?

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

I bloody hate deload weeks. I’d rather just have a week away from the gym. Find it very difficult to back off and besides, gives your body a chance to properly recover. Absence also makes the heart grow fonder.

How did the deads go yesterday? Like you, I prefer conventional over stuff legged. Well, I like Yates style which I guess is a hybrid between the movements.

When’s the getaway matey? Definitely have to indulge in the authentic local cuisine. Get stuck in to the tapas too!I

Have you put on that 5kg of muscle yet!?

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Hey Lara

All caught up with your log and was a good read ☺ strength has been insane. How’s it looking currently?

Physique is on point and density is unreal – that shot from the back, wow! Entire posterior chain is thick.

So you haven’t mentioned protein pancakes for a while? Still in your diet with the berries?

Sounds like a nice chill day today, just some admin bits to ride you over.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

thank you for the very very kind words sam

@Corinne Ingman – more than deserved and proud to have worked with you during the entire process, absolute inspiration. Dare I say we made a good team!? Just thinking about the next steps now…

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

.

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Sam King wrote:

Hey Sam

All the best for today, enjoy your time on stage!

Thanks Lara – every single moment of the day was phenomenal, I loved it! Appreciate it
____________________________

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

________________________________________________________________

Lifetime natural – first show 18th August 2019.

Journal – Road to First Comp

Congrats! I saw the Instagram post of @corinne yesterday ! Well done and I’m glad you enjoyed it [/quote]

Haha she was very excited – she had shared it on Insta and I was barely halfway through my post comp meal.

Thanks Lara. Won’t be long and you’ll be smashing the stage yourself!

Instagram: samking104

[Sam King]

Right then, I’m back!! I have been so busy over the last couple of days and generally just coming down from it all, but time to recap on show day.
Decided to get up at 6 and decided to treat myself by taking my dandelion root + vit c in bed, what a treat! Once ‘re-fueled’, awoke the OH and quickly hit some shots for Corinne. Meal 1 had been updated the previous night to 100g oats, 25g whey, 100g banana and 20g nut butter. Left it overnight and was absolute heaven when cooked up. No salt though, but a minor sacrifice!

Spent the morning pottering and just sitting around, doing as little as possible. The OH was going around ensuring everything was packed up and everything was in the right backpack. Suddenly, Corinne’s mail came through and next meal was updated. Meal 2 was originally to be 50g chicken, 40g peanut butter however 85g oats had now been added. Due to my ingenious thinking, I combined them all together. Ummm, let’s just say I got it down the hatch…

Other orders were to add 5 rice cakes to each meal going forwards. Jeez, I was mentally prepared just to be having little snacks throughout the day but was ordered to eat more. Checked my supplies and didn’t anticipate such a large increase in rice cakes. Had to pop to Morrisons for supplies, but as Sunday it wouldn’t be open until 10 – no worries. To cut down on steps, the OH offered to venture in and grab said supplies – wife to be for a reason!

After a little lie down, we packed the last few things together and looked at my tan stained sheets for the last time. We said goodbye to our host who had been absolutely amazing. When we arrived previous day, she wasn’t there so we let ourselves in. Originally I looked like I was breaking in because I didn’t follow the instructions carefully. Instead of walking through the picket gate, I was reaching over the garden gate struggling to unlock it and getting a mad calf pump before putting 2 and 2 together. When we did meet our host, the general questions came out ‘where are you from, how was your journey etc.’ Then the question ‘so what are you here for then?’ I explained that we’re here for a show, but that wasn’t enough and she probed further so I explained that I was competing in a bodybuilding show. According to my OH, she immediately changed and became much more flirty resting her head in her hands. ‘Oooo yeah, he is chiselled isn’t he? Look at those cheekbones.’ She asked what our plans were for the evening and I decided the honest route ‘well, I’m going for a spray tan’. She immediately took a step back and could see her eyeing her pristine white sheets, but I quickly assured her that we had our own bedding and would reimburse her if any damages were to occur. Crisis averted!

Anyway, back to the morning – our host waved us off, wished me luck and asked for the results in the Airbnb review. The OH maintains our host wasn’t dressed when leaning out of the window haha. Arrived at Morrisons and it was heaving, but I just stayed put and listened to some music with my eyes closed. As I was alone with headphones in and eyes closed, I locked the car doors. Time must’ve eluded me as awoke to the OH frantically banging on the window to let her in, whoops!

On route to the venue and parking was free all day on a Sunday + a one minute stroll to the venue, absolutely amazing! Keeping NEAT to a minimum. Eventually found the entrance to the venue after circling what seemed to be an impenetrable fortress. Found a lovely little corner and plonked myself down. After a couple of minutes, decided to scope the place out – toilets, tanning touch up, registration, stage, locker rooms etc. As it so happens, I bumped into one of the NPA secretary and introduced myself. From there he gave me a personal tour of everything even though he was doing 100s of jobs, felt very honoured. After my tour and several introductions to various people, I was asked to register and weigh in. As I began to strip down, I could see renowned photographer Fivos Averkiou looking over. Immediately he told me to hit various shots and just kept muttering ‘incredible’. From a man who has seen thousands upon thousands of physiques ranging from amateur to pro, that was a real compliment. I stepped on the scales and weighed in at 70.1kg.

I went to go rejoin my OH as I had realised in the hustle and bustle I had left her by herself. Throughout the morning I made a conscious effort to get to know everyone as I still wasn’t 100% aware who was who and which category they were in. Now and then, that question would come out ‘which category are you in’ and when they said ‘novice’ you get that funny moment where this person is now technically one of your rivals. However, nobody was up their own arse and we all just talking through our stories, sharing little tips or just shooting the breeze. Every single person had been through their own variation of the same journey. Sure, we all have different starting points and requirements but everybody had put in what they perceived as their maximum effort.
The first glance that I got of my competition was in the tanning room. Now, I never played sports growing up so the whole locker room scenario eluded me. However, I embraced it and whipped my gear off, then put my <ahem> sock on (hint: it wasn’t a hand or foot) and compared socks (I’d chosen the shark if you were wondering.. probably not).

Once I had my touch up tan done, I went back to join the OH and my family. I hadn’t sat down for long when I was summoned to the registration table as the NPA secretary wanted to speak to me. I assumed he was going to ask me to choose a different category due my class being the biggest, however he told me they wanted to polygraph me. Straight away he assured me that this was a massive compliment, but they had to be sure if I was going to compete.

I won’t go into the entire process, but it was quite an intense process and even though I had nothing to worry about there is always the ‘what if’ factor. If I failed, I would be banned as well as named and shamed and I would’ve failed everyone because I couldn’t pass a test. The process itself is strange and even when not depleted/fatigued/emotional it would’ve been a gruelling process. I passed which was obviously important and I’ll openly admit I actually cried. First time during prep, with everything I have gone through, this was what set me off.

After composing myself I returned to the cafe area where I had left everyone and it was empty as everyone was watching the show. Now, before the polygraph I had checked in with Corinne but I don’t own a smart phone so I couldn’t see a response. I started to panic as I had no idea what this next meal was supposed to be – had carbs been increased, taken away, advised to drink more water – the list was endless. The time was 14:00 and I needed to eat as stage time was approx 4-4:30ish. I tried contacting everyone so the OH could relay Corinne’s response, but nobody picked up and I felt cut off. I couldn’t just walk in during the show and disturb proceedings so I decided to take the middle ground and have my chicken/nut butter combo + half the amount of rice cakes. Eventually the OH came out (around 15:00) and the instructions were to pull carbs so had judged it right.

Fast forward and it was pump up time. As we gathered backstage, it was a different atmosphere – we exchanged pleasantries but there was something in the air. Everyone in my category was a first timely so the magnitude of what we were all about to do felt very much real. I went through my pump movements and got a good look at what I was against. Immediately noticed some that I may have to watch for, but no matter – showtime!

Firstly, we held the front relaxed for a good five minutes as the commentator was talking through the various competitors and some backstories. Felt like an absolute eternity, but suddenly he called us all forward and started to hit the shots. However, it was cramped so he split the 7 of us up – 3 stayed up front and four went sent to the back. Jeeeeeeezzz, back to front relaxed while the first 3 went through their mandatories. After hitting all of the shots, the MC told them to take a break and motioned us forward. Right, let’s do this! Went through all of the mandatories – chest high, quads pushing through the ground, glutes tight, waist in and of course smile.

Once that was done, he sent us to the back and bought the others back out. Eh what, no break!? I was called forward to centre stage and compared to some of the others. First callout, middle stage – was I in the top 4? After several comparisons we were all sent off as individual routines were next. I caught a look of myself in the mirror and literally could not believe my eyes – there was a ripped to shreds, full and vascular physique staring back at me. All of that posing had hardened and tightened me up – result! It was definitely on!

Individual posing routines flew by and before I knew it, I was being called out. As I stood on the ‘X’, the first notes of Muse’s ‘Psycho’ blared out and it was on – I pivoted on the spot, hitting a Frank Zane ‘most muscular’. Right up slowly up and bang, bicep flexed on the first drumbeat. This was by far the smoothest my routine had ever gone and everything just flowed. Now, I had a rough routine from working with Ryan Petford however I only chose my song one week out as I literally could not do it. It literally came to me when I was out walking and ran (well, power walked) home and played it to the OH. She just said ‘meh’ , but I insisted she played it and she jumped out of her seat, demanding I pose again to it. Back to the closing of my routine and I crunched out a most muscular as Matt Belamy sang ‘come to me now’. Chose to end on that as that line was directed towards the trophy 😉

We were called back to the stage for results and we all held our front relaxed as the MC talked through the fantastic standard of the class. Results time! Now, in my head and judging by how I was being compared I anticipated top 5. When he got to 4th, it wasn’t me. I could hear the OH squeal ‘oh my god, he’s at least got Bronze.’ The MC announced at this point that the top 4 had all received an invite to the British championships. 3rd place was announced… not me. Hmmm, 2nd place in my first show would not have been a bad shout. The MC teased the crowd and us, drawing it out ‘2nd place goes to….’ and he didn’t announce me ‘so that means your Southwest Champion 2019 is Sam King’. All of my crew screamed and the OH broke down into tears. Literally did not know what to feel. At the request of the judging panel, we posed for Fivos and all of the shots that were going to be in UK Beef magazine. It was asked that just the winner stay on stage and the NPA secretary noticed my OH crying, so suggested she join me on stage. In that moment, the entire prep came flooding back and everything we had accomplished together – one of my proudest moments.

Backstage – debriefed with everyone and shook hands, had some amazing feedback and dished out the compliments as well. I was hastily informed that the heavies were on and then it was for the overall. When the heavyweight winner came off, he was an absolute unit – thick all round and a pleasing shape. However, my conditioning was sharper so battle on!

Back on stage and straight away the heavyweight winner and I were put side by side for initial comparisons. Final results came and he was announced the overall champion. Even with my cuts, he had a good 12kg of muscle over me but I definitely gave him everything I had. The MC then announced there were more awards – I ended up receiving the best male transformation and best first timer award so three trophies is not a bad result for a day in the office.

After talking to several people and well wishers/competitors we ventured out for the post show meal. Now, I had done my research previously and had settled on a American grillhouse called Bare Grillz. A 7 minute walk from the venue and we were there. The order was as follows:
Full rack of ribs, wings, brisket, pulled pork, 2 different burgers, fries, bbq beans, bread rolls, coleslaw, corn on the cob and I added a side of mac & cheese. I shared the meal with the OH and took some of the ribs home, but my god was it good. Pudding was Mint Aero cheesecake and hands down, the best cheesecake I have ever had! I felt full, but not at bursting point. Good company, good food – nothing else required. Noticed several of my fellow competitors in the restaurant as well – great minds haha.

It was a fantastic day overall and one that will live with me forever. Yar, I realise I could’ve condensed this and omitted some details but it’s to be expected for anyone who’s dipped into this log – I love to talk haha.

Next, will post some updates about how I have been dealing with being post show.

Instagram: samking104