Just under 3 weeks out….. Mr Bastick has cut my calories even lower to get the last bits on condition to come through. 1400 cals on a Training Day, 1200 cals on a Non Training day. Not going to lie, slightly anxious with how this will feel over my 3 days of work next week. My latest little trick to manage cognition during this deficit is to split each meal into 2 meals, allowing a slow drip feed of energy during my working day.
As always, I will make it work.
Woke up today with some indications of under recovery, shitty nights sleep, weak hands, swollen forearms, feeling run down. All the signs were there this morning that I am at risk of digging an inflammation hole. When this happened a few weeks ago I had to have 2 complete rest days to allow that to wash off. We don’t want to get to that point again with such little time before the Olympia. A day on the sofa was in order. Hoping that tomorrow I will be all good to hit Legs and 90 mins of cardio. As important as pushing for condition is, it’s a balance between allowing the body to recover from the fatigue promptly.
Flights are booked. Air BnB is 50% paid, hair and make up to go. If you want to support me…. the GOFUNDME link is still live…
Can’t wait to get over there. 6 shifts left at work. 17 days of prep left. Last bit of digging/ Pushing.
Anxiety wise, it’s still there. Not as bad as prepping earlier in the year but start CBT tomorrow so hoping that will help me cope with some of my less healthy mental habits and manage my symptoms. It’s hard going from out going and cheery to being someone who avoids replying to messages and can’t relax in the evenings. Prep doesn’t help with this but I know that I have made progress. It is just as important to work on our mental health as it is our physical. I have been waiting for this referral since April and have made significant positive steps since but know there is still work to be done.
If you are struggling with mental health along side bodybuilding, remember this sport can feed into those feelings. Most NHS trust in the UK have self referral pathways to mental health services. Just google “mental health support (insert your area)” and something should come up. I urge anyone struggling to seek help. This is hard enough, don’t go through it alone and unsupported. Reach out to your GP, to local services, take time to stop and reflect on how you are feeling. Is it manageable? If not, get some help.
Another busy week…….
Changes to diet implemented from the 26th Sept. Reduction to carbs and fats across both training day and non training day. Poverty rations of 30g of rice in 3 of my meals.
Meal 1 – oats – remains high at 60g to make sure I have the cognition to work in the mornings. Same for my pre workout meal that I actually tend to eat towards the afternoon as I’m still training fasted before work. Again, this is to make sure I have the brain function to work.
Didn’t expect to be on Prep still while being on the training course for my new job as never expected to qualify for The Olympia. But, as always, I’m finding a way to make it work.
This week I’ve had the added issue of developing a cold. Nothing bad but add in Prep, training course and general life and I’m left feeling utterly ball bagged by the end of the day.
Sleep has started to be an problem too, I seem to sleep quite well until about 3am and then just keep waking up or just doze until I eventually get out of bed between 5 and 5.30am. Roll on the weekend when I’m not tied to a laptop.
I only have this week left working full time before dropping to a 4 day week next week. From the 9th, I’ll only be working 3 days a week and I can’t wait.
It may mean we have to really push hard for the last 3 weeks before we fly out to florida. Luckily, I know my body can change very quickly when I really start pushing things.
That’s not to say I’m not pushing right now, just that time is tight with working 8.30- 5pm. I now only have 30 mins for lunch so no more lunch time cardio annoyingly.
Anyway. That’s about it for this week. Just doing the do, making the things happen.
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Just under 3 weeks out….. Mr Bastick has cut my calories even lower to get the last bits on condition to come through. 1400 cals on a Training Day, 1200 cals on a Non Training day. Not going to lie, slightly anxious with how this will feel over my 3 days of work next week. My latest little trick to manage cognition during this deficit is to split each meal into 2 meals, allowing a slow drip feed of energy during my working day.
As always, I will make it work.
Woke up today with some indications of under recovery, shitty nights sleep, weak hands, swollen forearms, feeling run down. All the signs were there this morning that I am at risk of digging an inflammation hole. When this happened a few weeks ago I had to have 2 complete rest days to allow that to wash off. We don’t want to get to that point again with such little time before the Olympia. A day on the sofa was in order. Hoping that tomorrow I will be all good to hit Legs and 90 mins of cardio. As important as pushing for condition is, it’s a balance between allowing the body to recover from the fatigue promptly.
Flights are booked. Air BnB is 50% paid, hair and make up to go. If you want to support me…. the GOFUNDME link is still live…
https://www.gofundme.com/f/olympia-trip-to-florida
Can’t wait to get over there. 6 shifts left at work. 17 days of prep left. Last bit of digging/ Pushing.
Anxiety wise, it’s still there. Not as bad as prepping earlier in the year but start CBT tomorrow so hoping that will help me cope with some of my less healthy mental habits and manage my symptoms. It’s hard going from out going and cheery to being someone who avoids replying to messages and can’t relax in the evenings. Prep doesn’t help with this but I know that I have made progress. It is just as important to work on our mental health as it is our physical. I have been waiting for this referral since April and have made significant positive steps since but know there is still work to be done.
If you are struggling with mental health along side bodybuilding, remember this sport can feed into those feelings. Most NHS trust in the UK have self referral pathways to mental health services. Just google “mental health support (insert your area)” and something should come up. I urge anyone struggling to seek help. This is hard enough, don’t go through it alone and unsupported. Reach out to your GP, to local services, take time to stop and reflect on how you are feeling. Is it manageable? If not, get some help.
Another busy week…….
Changes to diet implemented from the 26th Sept. Reduction to carbs and fats across both training day and non training day. Poverty rations of 30g of rice in 3 of my meals.
Meal 1 – oats – remains high at 60g to make sure I have the cognition to work in the mornings. Same for my pre workout meal that I actually tend to eat towards the afternoon as I’m still training fasted before work. Again, this is to make sure I have the brain function to work.
Didn’t expect to be on Prep still while being on the training course for my new job as never expected to qualify for The Olympia. But, as always, I’m finding a way to make it work.
This week I’ve had the added issue of developing a cold. Nothing bad but add in Prep, training course and general life and I’m left feeling utterly ball bagged by the end of the day.
Sleep has started to be an problem too, I seem to sleep quite well until about 3am and then just keep waking up or just doze until I eventually get out of bed between 5 and 5.30am. Roll on the weekend when I’m not tied to a laptop.
I only have this week left working full time before dropping to a 4 day week next week. From the 9th, I’ll only be working 3 days a week and I can’t wait.
It may mean we have to really push hard for the last 3 weeks before we fly out to florida. Luckily, I know my body can change very quickly when I really start pushing things.
That’s not to say I’m not pushing right now, just that time is tight with working 8.30- 5pm. I now only have 30 mins for lunch so no more lunch time cardio annoyingly.
Anyway. That’s about it for this week. Just doing the do, making the things happen.