[Sam King]

Great job mate – first time as a super heavy and placing fifth is a fantastic. Unfortunately conditioning can win smaller shows and is still important in the super heavy class, but mass is key as there’s no upper cut off. Bit more size whilst retaining that condition – can you imagine!?

Is that the competitive season wrapped up or are you eyeing up some other shows? Hope you’re enjoying a bit of downtime and congrats to the other half, what result!

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[Sam King]

Holy glutes, congratulations on your placing. #showthem #shesuredid

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[Sam King]

That smile says it all – enjoy your pro debut mate, all the best!

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[Sam King]

All the best for tomorrow. Whatever the result, know that you’re doing everyone proud. Oh, and a big happy bday to mumma Ingman – mum’s are the real life superheroes of the world. I’m sure a pro win from her beloved daughter would make a lovely present ???? Now, get out there and do what you do best. Look forward to seeing the insane package you have brought.

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[Sam King]

Sam King wrote:

Dude, I’ve been dipping in and out of your log for a long old while now but you are looking insane. Completely different to your days with AD Designs and peeled is an understatement.

Shame about missing the flight, however testament to you for not freaking out. Body’s under enough stress as it is, what’s the point in adding to it? Besides, get some quality time in the airport with Ashlee.

It was a while back, but really liked the day in life vid where you visited your old school. Such an interesting insight into your background and wish I had that kind of support/environment at that age. Had a shitey leisure centre gym, however was free and developed the foundations.
Rooting for you big man and just relax, you know you’ve done everything you can do. Regardless of the result, everyone’s proud of you bud.

____________________________

Lifetime natural – first show 18th August 2019.

Journal – Road to First Comp

Thank you man that’s such a nice comment so very much appreciated.

Yeah missing the flight was shit. Deffo not ideal having 12 hours stuck in an airport on peak week rations lol probs wouldn’t describe it as ‘quality’ time but time together none the less

Glad you liked the vid man. Sounds like we both started out training the same way in crappy old gyms but gotta give them some love I suppose haha

Thanks again bud means a lot man

Credit where’s it due my man.

Yeah I’m sure quality time would’ve been better spent in the Portugal sunshine rather than an airport terminal.

Indeed, but literally had the crappy leisure centre equipment and no free weights. Remember joining my first real gym and doing the three powerlifts, absolute heaven. Sure, it was small and could get busy but it was a little family in there. That’s why I love Primitive now – everyone training to be their best whether that’s going for their pro card, stepping on stage for the first time or simply wanting to better themselves, everyone is super supportive of one another.

Watched the leg session vid with yourself, JP and Corinne the other day. Sensational stuff all round, especially that close to a show. That intensity is still less than most people’s perceived maximum exertion. Like yourself I find it very difficult to stop short of failure, that’s why I physically can’t do deload weeks very well. Prefer just to keep away – all or nothing.

Enjoy the final carb up bud – might be the last day you have as an amateur!!

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[Sam King]

Happy weekend everyone – July is absolutely whizzing by!

Weighed myself first thing this morning and expected an increase after yesterday’s refeed. Weighed 75.45kg on check in, 75.6kg this morning so barely anything haha. Was absolutely ravenous all day and was really nice to get the food in. Soooo many rice cakes, but delicious. Had a mixture of caramel, cheese, paprika and salt & vinegar, so so good. Also the two oats meals added in some skinny syrup – one with cookies& cream, the other salted caramel waffle cone, simply divine! Look forward to eating like that again, but for now back to the grind!

Today’s pull session went down as follows:

Lat activation: banded db pullover superset with straight arm pulldown – 1 x 12-15
Wide lat pulldown: 1 x 7-9, 1 x 10-12
Trap bar deadlift: 2 x 12
Pullup: 1 x RP
Seated neutral row: 1 x 7-9, 1 x 10-12
One arm machine row: 1 x 20
High cable reverse flye: 1 x RP
Standing calve raise: 3 x 15-20

Really clicking with the banded pullover and straight arm pulldown superset. After watching some John Meadows videos, it made perfect sense. Throughout I’m ensuring that literally my lats are moving everything and are locked into place as well as staying well away from failure. Simply just switch the lats on and get the blood flowing.
Lat pulldown next and have been really working on ensuring the movement is kept on the lats. Literally just picture hitting a double bi shot and ensuring the biceps don’t jump in too much.
Trap bar deadlifts were on point. Managed 210kg for 13 reps, followed by 190kg for 17 somehow. Extra 5kg on the bar from two weeks back and an extra rep on both sets. Was reaaallllyyy tempted with 220kg, but I’m at 4 weeks out so will keep the gradual progression going and not drive myself into the ground too much.
RP for pullup was good, but really hard. It’s weird as the first part of the set is hard, the second harder still and the third feels slightly easier. No idea, but felt good.
Seated cable row was supposed to be next, however I don’t have the setup for this in the gym and the cable stack requires stacking dumbbells on it. Was getting to the point I was overloading the cable so switched to the hammer strength row. Such a difficult motion to get short, especially this far through but got the job done nicely.
Final lat exercise was one arm row on the low row. Could feel my lat pulling on each rep and the contraction was unreal. Horrible way to end it – completely cooked after.
High cable rear delts felt great. Have really connected with this movement now and can literally feel just the rear delt filling with blood on each rep. Took a long time to build that connection and starting to show.
Standing calve raises to finish and limped over to the corner to practise posing. Bumped into a few people I haven’t seen for a while and they say my face resembles a crack addict. Perfect – means I’m nearly ready!

Rest of today will be spent doing little jobs and spending time with the OH. Back to work after two weeks off on Monday so mentally beginning to prepare myself for that. Hope everyone has a good day.

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[Sam King]

As above, got it sorted sooner rather than later. The shoulder is such a complex and overused joint so simply Googling is not the best option. I’m sure you’re aware but just let it heal and don’t push it – what should take a week or two to heal may be strung out for months otherwise, so just bite the bullet.

Find a good physiotherapist and let them diagnose. In my experience, your GP isn’t the best route. Around ten years ago I hurt my tricep and paid my GP a visit. Within a minute it was diagnosed as a tear except there was no bruising. Was advised to just rest it for 6 months. Went to a sports physio who instantly said it was a trapped nerve. After that one session and a week later, was back to training.

Worst thing you can do is train through it and magically hope it clears up. Hint: it won’t. It may suddenly feel better one week, but then it will flare up again and will get worse. Hope it gets sorted quickly matey.

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[Sam King]

Sam King wrote:

Hello mate

Physique is coming on nicely and you seem to be progressing really well, wouldn’t know you had surgery a few months back. Are there any movements that you still don’t perform or are extra cautious with?

Woah, your boy’s growing up quick. Can imagine it’s crazy how quick they grow up. He’s getting to that age where the personality really begins to take shape and interests come out. Sounds like boxing is already on the radar.

Did you ever get down to the bottom of what made you sick for a day a week back? Seems it was literally just a day and then you were back to it.

Tut tut, leading with your ego on the last session haha. Was talking to Clare today and especially in the depths of prep, you want to beat the logbook to really keep hold of the muscle. Unfortunately form can slip a tiny bit so looking forward to after comp starting the rebound right and having a mini reset to assess.

____________________________

Lifetime natural – first show 18th August 2019.

Journal – Road to First Comp

Hey Sam. How you doing bud?

Thanks man. Means a lot. Absolutely none mate. I’m more cautious about my belly button now hence why I wear neoprene belt on pretty much exercise.

Haha i know mate. Crazy ! Been to legoland today ! Yeah he’s a cool little dude tbh. Loves all sport and just being a boy which is awesome.

No idea bud tbh. Just a strange one. Happens every now and again!

Haha yeah mate. Every once in a while it takes over !!! We all do it ! Yeah mate tbh I cannot wait for prep and have the days where I’m challenging myself even more so in the gym. Seems to bring something out of me and always makes me excel and become a little stronger. A little more nutty and zoned in to my sessions.

How long you got left now ?

That’s great news considering how worried you were before the surgery. I would’ve been exactly the same in your position. Good that you’re still being conscious of it – so easy to get carried away.

Bet Legoland was packed being the week before the Summer hols – usually school trips and the like. Went last year as a group of adults and you soon realise this is primarily for families haha, but nonetheless enjoyed it. Much more interesting way of getting the NEAT in. Any favourite attractions when you were there?

That is strange. Just sounds like your body becomes overwhelmed and enforces rest by actually making you ill. How frequently does it happen?

Absolutely loving prep at the moment! Sure, the weights aren’t as heavy and some days are harder but when you take a look at your hard work it’s all worthwhile. Currently four and a half weeks out so not long now. Thought I’d be a zombie by now, but overall not feeling too bad to be honest. Might change by tomorrow though haha. The most credit though has to go to the OH – she has been so supportive and I literally do not know anyone that would tolerate a bodybuilder, let alone one going through prep as a hobby.

When does your prep officially begin?

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[Sam King]

Right then – yesterday had a great push session, albeit a bit annoying as pressing has dropped off a tad. Part and parcel of prep so not too phased as the muscle is still hanging around. Session went as follows:

Lying cuff raise: 2 x 12-15
High incline machine press: 1 x 7-9, 1 x 10-12
Low incline db press: 1 x 12-15
Narrow smith bench press: 1 x 7-19, 1 x 10-12
Cable crossover: 1 x RP
One arm rope extension: 1 x RP
Single arm db preacher: 2 x 8-10
Abs x 3

Love, love, love lying cuff raises and putting them at the start doesn’t really detract from the rest of the workout. Really love the feeling of pushing the blood in there, dbs don’t come close.
Don’t have a high incline shoulder press so to compensate, I use the incline hammer press but move the bottom the seat out so the bio-mechanics of the movement change. Then it’s just a case of consciously pressing through the delts, rather than keeping the scapulae retracting as when doing chest. Felt really good and managed to beat the logbook, despite not doing this for a couple of weeks due to travelling.
Low incline db press felt good and shoulder played ball. Really made sure to push my back right into the bench to ensure my chest was taking the majority of the stress and boy, did I feel it.
Narrow smith press – not adverse to the exercise per se’ but on the smith I have it isn’t 100% so will be looking to substitute. The free weight version feels better so may look at giving that a whirl.
Used to hate cable crossovers, but now with some lean tissue it’s fun watching the blood gorge the chest and veins + striations popping out. What more motivation do you need!?
Single arm rope pressdowns felt good as did the preacher curls. Finished up with three sets of cable rope crunches. Abs are a strong point, but want to make them even stronger as in my view they can drastically alter a physique. They are the centre and aside from striated glutes, they let everyone know you’ve come in shape.

Rest of the day was spent doing odd little jobs including a session of deep tissue with Harry Harris where we worked on the lower back. I also suggested some work on the quads as wanted to ease them up a bit and see if we can eke out a tad more detail, plus had some work on my calves as have never done that. I had read and heard some horror stories about deep tissue on quads and calves, but I didn’t mind it at all. Soooo satisfying to be honest. Later that evening had some posing practise with Ryan which went really well. Routine has been created and am currently in the midst of sorting the posing music out. Trunks ordered and tan with Liquid Sun Rayz has been booked so another couple of things off the list.

Yesterday saw my check in and both Corinne and I are very happy where we’re at. Weight is currently 75.45kg and waist is 69.5cm so very pleased with 4.5 weeks to go. No formal cardio again this week, just power walks first thing and NEAT remains the same. However, the biggest thing was I got my first refeed today and my word it has been good. I haven’t really craved many cheat foods to be honest, just wanted some more stuff. Refeed was as follows:

Meal 1: whey protein, 50g oats, 6g coconut oil, 65 berries
Meal 2: 55g rice, 200g chicken
Meal 3: 150g chicken, 100g smoked salmon, 55g rice, 10g cashews (was prawns but hate prawns)
Meal 4: whey protein, 7 rice cakes
Meal 5: 200g chicken, 8 rice cakes
Meal 6: whey protein, 65g berries, 50g oats

Absolutely amazing day of eating and my appetite has completely ramped up + looking/feeling fuller already. One thing I have noticed today is I’m urinating more than usual. Would rather all that additional water go with the carbs and fill me out. Will be weighing myself first thing tomorrow as interested to see how the refeed has affected me. Looking forward to tomorrow’s pull session with trap bar deadlifts on the cards. Be time to put the extra fuel to use!

If you haven’t fallen asleep by now, have a great Friday evening All.

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[Sam King]

Few more

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[Sam King]

Couple of shots from yesterday’s posing practice. Paler than Casper, flatter than a crepe’, water logged legs as trained them the previous day + had deep tissue earlier before posing and awful lighting. Excuses out of the way!!

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[Sam King]

26 reps on hack? not sure that’s the rep range haha

@corinne Why hello – think you have too much time on your hands if you’re dropping by haha. I know, was only 20kg less than my working set so not sure how that works. Find with the Watson Hack Squat that it feels quite funky when you go too heavy, but then if you go slightly lighter the set ends up being a widowmaker. For the life of me, don’t get it. Definitely an ongoing battle with this model. Tell Ry Ry to get a new hack, smith machine and lying leg curl or you’ll drop him as a sponsored athlete =P

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[Sam King]

Good to hear my Glute bridge set up worked well for you.

@clarebarks Yup it sure did and my glutes are/aren’t thanking you today. Doesn’t sound as brutal as the Arseblaster 5000 mind!

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[Sam King]

Afternoon

Absolutely mashed after today’s leg session – legitimately one of the hardest sessions of prep so far, had to really dig deep. Session as follows:

Lying leg curl – 1 x 7-9, 1 x 10-12
Hack squat – 1 x 6-8, 1 x 10-12
Leg press, paused – 1 x 20
Glute bridge – 1 x 8-12
Adductor (Frog leg press) – 1 x RP
Vertical knee raise – 2 x max reps
Dual machine curl – 2 x 8-12
Seated calve raise – 3 x 8-12

The model of lying leg curl I have is absolutely horrendous and Corinne has made me aware of that on numerous occasions, however lying db curl isn’t always practical in flipping the db up especially as I train early. Dropped the weight a smidge as noticed I felt in my lower back a bit, so scaled back and the connection was back. Also, propped myself on my forearms in a prone position as feel the movement better.
Haven’t used the hack in a couple of weeks so body got a shock. Again, weight was slightly scaled back to really re-connect with the movement and this was needed as both sets were horrible. Second set went for 26 reps, hmmmm.
Paused leg press is another level of intensity as to begin with it seems easy, but then you reach the 8th rep and suddenly that first shred of doubt seeps in. Then you get to the 12th and realise you’re 60% of the way, but then you realise you are only 60% of the way through. The last rep was legitimately one of the hardest I have ever done. Time slowed down and the weight actually stopped a third of the way up, but somehow pushed it up. By the time the set is over, you’re physically and mentally spent. I could literally see my quads rippling like there were little parasites swarming beneath the skin.
Recently asked people their opinion on how to best perform the glute bridge and tried @clarebarks method of putting a box against a wall. Absolutely spot on – no bench movement/sliding and the box was soft, but firm so didn’t dig into my upper back. Glutes were toast after.
Performed the frog leg press for my adductors and the rippling parasites were back, but this time in my adductors. Always find this movement trickier after doing the leg press in this session, but again got it done.
Limped over to the vertical leg raise and pumped out two sets of max reps. Next up was the dual machine curl and felt really good. Biceps have always been a pain to connect with, but definitely on point today. Final exercise of the day was seated calve raises. Decided to slightly decrease the load as noted the ROM and connection were not 100% there as well as a tad of momentum at the bottom. These sets were smoother than Barry White’s voice and my calves were a wreck afterwards.

Although this session tested everything I had, still managed to have a great session and work to my absolute maximum even if the weights weren’t 100% there. It’s knowing how to still have a good session when the logbook isn’t playing ball. Luckily I’m off work this week as today will be very unproductive as I’ll be spending it recovering. Good opportunity to get some gaming in as it’s been an age.

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[Sam King]

Dude, I’ve been dipping in and out of your log for a long old while now but you are looking insane. Completely different to your days with AD Designs and peeled is an understatement.

Shame about missing the flight, however testament to you for not freaking out. Body’s under enough stress as it is, what’s the point in adding to it? Besides, get some quality time in the airport with Ashlee.

It was a while back, but really liked the day in life vid where you visited your old school. Such an interesting insight into your background and wish I had that kind of support/environment at that age. Had a shitey leisure centre gym, however was free and developed the foundations.

Rooting for you big man and just relax, you know you’ve done everything you can do. Regardless of the result, everyone’s proud of you bud.

Instagram: samking104