Final week of off season before we drop into the pre-prep phase…
We’ve made some slight adjustments to training this week in an attempt to manage recovery better. For me, recovery is something I have always found challenging – juggling a demanding job and a bodybuilding career. We tweaked training back to 4 days a week only a few months ago which has helped.
Training has been adapted specifically now to allow me to manage fatigue better. I’m the kind of person who needs to be told exactly what to do and I’ll do it – rather than being able to regulate this myself. Knowing when to pull back, for me, is hard – as I struggle to manage when to pulling back vs me being lazy.
The training block has been adapted so training volume and intensity is increased across the block. This is the first time ever I’ve been programmed to train with RIR which will be something totally new to me! But I’m excited to see how this helps with everything.
So I’m now 2 weeks into my health phase where we are focusing on repairing my gut health. And I’m already noticing a fantastic difference – not just with my GI function but things such as my skin, sleep, energy levels. It’s crazy how much improving your gut health can improve your overall health and well-being. Just another couple of weeks in this maintenance phase before we can push on forward again (bloodwork depending!)
I’ve also seen the return of my cycle recently – again another sign health is improving and in a much better place.
Previously there were thyroid markers which were still out of whack too – so I’ve recently added in supplement needs thyroid stack to assist with improving that.
Bloodwork will be run again in the next few weeks to check for improvements before we push on again
So after recent bloodwork, there are some health markers which weren’t as optimal as we would like, and across previous bloodwork’s too I’m showing signs of gut permeability/leaky gut syndrome.
There have subsequently been some slight tweaks to my diet moving forward – we will be running a 4-8 week maintenance phase, and continuing to review improvements with my bloodwork to check health is returning. My diet has been adapted – removing gluten and dairy, slightly reducing protein and changing some other food sources. Also I will be sticking to solely low fodmap fruits and veggies to aid the repair process. This is to give my GI a break, help it repair and hopefully come back functioning optimally.
Remember – there’s no point eating in a huge surplus if our bodies can’t use the calories due to a malfunctioning GI. So it’s important I take a step back here, regain my health, before I try to take leaps forward.
Supplements wise, we’ve been using a significant stack to repair my GI including – LVLUP health Ultimate GI repair, lactoferrin, collostrum, bone broth, b vitamin complex, vitamin c, high strength glutamine to name a few.
This was hard for me, feeling like I was taking a huge step back in my progress, but it’s a necessity to eventually make leaps forward
I’ve recently made plans for 2024 for my competitive season, this year we will be traveling to the US to compete in the Sasquatch pro and Reno pro. Both of which I’m super excited for! I’ve also only been to America once as a child, so I’m super excited just to visit there!
Fully immersed in off season now – 8 weeks post show. Training is flying, I’m feeling great. I am not making any immediate plans to compete/picking any shows just yet. I went to spend some time without pressure, enjoying the process.
Pressure can be crippling in this game and can take the fun out of bodybuilding all together. And for me retaining that is super important.
I’ll be enjoying Christmas, doing as many ‘normal’ people things as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still 100% in bodybuilding – I’m just prioritizing normal life too now which is super important ❤️
Final week of off season before we drop into the pre-prep phase…
We’ve made some slight adjustments to training this week in an attempt to manage recovery better. For me, recovery is something I have always found challenging – juggling a demanding job and a bodybuilding career. We tweaked training back to 4 days a week only a few months ago which has helped.
Training has been adapted specifically now to allow me to manage fatigue better. I’m the kind of person who needs to be told exactly what to do and I’ll do it – rather than being able to regulate this myself. Knowing when to pull back, for me, is hard – as I struggle to manage when to pulling back vs me being lazy.
The training block has been adapted so training volume and intensity is increased across the block. This is the first time ever I’ve been programmed to train with RIR which will be something totally new to me! But I’m excited to see how this helps with everything.
Just an update from me.
So I’m now 2 weeks into my health phase where we are focusing on repairing my gut health. And I’m already noticing a fantastic difference – not just with my GI function but things such as my skin, sleep, energy levels. It’s crazy how much improving your gut health can improve your overall health and well-being. Just another couple of weeks in this maintenance phase before we can push on forward again (bloodwork depending!)
I’ve also seen the return of my cycle recently – again another sign health is improving and in a much better place.
Previously there were thyroid markers which were still out of whack too – so I’ve recently added in supplement needs thyroid stack to assist with improving that.
Bloodwork will be run again in the next few weeks to check for improvements before we push on again
Little life update.
So after recent bloodwork, there are some health markers which weren’t as optimal as we would like, and across previous bloodwork’s too I’m showing signs of gut permeability/leaky gut syndrome.
There have subsequently been some slight tweaks to my diet moving forward – we will be running a 4-8 week maintenance phase, and continuing to review improvements with my bloodwork to check health is returning. My diet has been adapted – removing gluten and dairy, slightly reducing protein and changing some other food sources. Also I will be sticking to solely low fodmap fruits and veggies to aid the repair process. This is to give my GI a break, help it repair and hopefully come back functioning optimally.
Remember – there’s no point eating in a huge surplus if our bodies can’t use the calories due to a malfunctioning GI. So it’s important I take a step back here, regain my health, before I try to take leaps forward.
Supplements wise, we’ve been using a significant stack to repair my GI including – LVLUP health Ultimate GI repair, lactoferrin, collostrum, bone broth, b vitamin complex, vitamin c, high strength glutamine to name a few.
This was hard for me, feeling like I was taking a huge step back in my progress, but it’s a necessity to eventually make leaps forward
Happy new year guys!
2024 is upon us and I’m excited.
I’ve recently made plans for 2024 for my competitive season, this year we will be traveling to the US to compete in the Sasquatch pro and Reno pro. Both of which I’m super excited for! I’ve also only been to America once as a child, so I’m super excited just to visit there!
Hey guys!
Short update from me.
Fully immersed in off season now – 8 weeks post show. Training is flying, I’m feeling great. I am not making any immediate plans to compete/picking any shows just yet. I went to spend some time without pressure, enjoying the process.
Pressure can be crippling in this game and can take the fun out of bodybuilding all together. And for me retaining that is super important.
I’ll be enjoying Christmas, doing as many ‘normal’ people things as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still 100% in bodybuilding – I’m just prioritizing normal life too now which is super important ❤️