Week 11 start
Weight - 162.6
Training and nutrition was 100%, had great energy most of the week, Sunday was running on fumes but the other days felt good.
So two weeks ago Cliff bumped my food up for a bit of a diet break, but praise God I am still losing on the plan, so he added more food again! Nothing substantial but mentally is a huge boost, 20g carbs and 5g protein. Current macros:
Normal - 210p, 240c, 64f
Re-feed (once per week) - 180p, 330c, 66f
Cardio - 2x LISS 20min per week
Training wise going through the fourth round of the 10 Set Protocol, I’m really getting the hang of how to execute and pace the higher rep work. I’m excited to push through round 4 and see the training plan he’s got for me next.
Thinking about my competitive goals for the season and getting Cliff’s thoughts on it, my plan is to do all 4 shows I’ve narrowed down:
June 14 - Phil Heath Super Show - Arlington, TX
June 21 - Branch Warren Classic - Houston, TX
July 12 - Republic of Texas Championship - Austin, TX
July 25-26 - USA Championships - Anaheim, CA
It’s a lot of shows, but, I really want to maximize this competitive season, and also, I have a hard goal of competing in nationals in Anaheim and being competitive in the Lightweight division, winning a pro card would be an incredible accomplishment, which can be done at nationals by winning your class. But, to qualify for nationals, I’d need to place in the top 2 in open bodybuilding at any one of the previous qualifiers. So my thinking is with more qualifiers, we’ll have more opportunities to dial in my peaking protocol, and more opportunities to qualify. That puts us at 12.5 weeks out of the first show, which is right around the corner.
I checked in with Cliff yesterday and when he sent my new macros, he also said we’re going to play it week by week. What I expected based on previous experience was a “here’s exactly what we’re gonna do now that we’re 12 weeks out”, and what I got was a “here’s what were gonna do this week, next week send me pictures with your weight and we’ll take it week to week and flex as we need to.”
The way I’m wired, I am always thinking in the future, and always like to have a plan of attack for whatever I’m doing. I’ll flex as needed, but knowing what to expect (as much as one can as an entrepreneur!), or in this case a schedule or game plan, makes me feel in control and confident. But, in this scenario, I completely understand that there’s no way to know if the plan will work, and sometimes sticking to a plan can hinder progress if the blinders are put on. I was actually listening to a podcast Cliff was on today in the gym and you were talking about that.
The only thing that I like better than making a plan myself, is having someone who is better and more experienced than me at the thing I’m doing make the plan for me, and all I have to do is execute it. I have complete trust in Cliff’s experience and know this will bring my best results. Honestly, I’m pretty excited about it. The fact that we’re 12.5 weeks out and adding food (I get the reasoning that’s just bananas based on my previous experience!) is a huge mental boost. Getting to this point of conditioning has really been totally manageable, some rough patches of low energy but overall so much easier than my previous preps, WAY less taxing on my body. I can’t believe I’ve been doing barely any cardio and getting such great results.
Super pumped to keep the progress going!
