Pikey's progress

Pikey

Anyone who’s been reading this will have probably noticed I was working toward the NABBA NE qualifier next year. Sunday night after too much JD H asked me how I was going to keep motivated aiming for a show 40 plus weeks away to which I hadn’t a good answer; competing in one way or another has always focused my mind. So we decided it would be a good idea to go for the UK open in October currently 12 ½ weeks away. I say we because I truly believe competing is probably worse on H than me, she has to put up with me while I’m in contest prep. if I can qualify there it would make prep easier as there is only one week between the NE and British and I’ve never carb depleted and loaded two consecutive weeks.
We have a bit of a family party this weekend; H’s sister is off to Miami for a couple of years so we’re going down south to wish her and her other half well. Which means contest prep will start Monday morning with an hour’s cardio.
Wish me luck guys…

Tall

Is the UK Open the one in Leicester (Leh-stah) that LeeB is competing at in the U75s?

All the best for the prep mate, your log makes good reading

Pikey

Hi mate, no it's a NABBA qualifier. It's Paul Jefferies show up at Pudsey although I did hear it might be in Bradford this year. I think I read somewhere on here Lee might have a go at class 3...

Lee are you going for it mate?

Paul always puts a good show on with great guests

Pikey

Must be something about me and trains, I was down London again on Thursday and the train service cancelled at Derby then after everyone had got off the thing they told everyone to get back on – and the government wonders why people don’t use public transport!

Had some good workouts, my calf didn’t bother me training quads last night which was pleasing. Thursday night I flat benched for the first time in months I was chuffed stronger for 12 reps than when I left it alone. One of my favourite chest warm up exercises is max reps with 100K, I normally fade somewhere between 21 and 27 reps and find that gets plenty of blood in. I very rarely push heavy for low reps since the pec tare (that would be the last 14 years  ) Recently I’ve not been free bar benching at all preferring to use an isolation movement to pre exhaust and then when I have used a compound exercise benched using a Smith machine and taking the weight down to my throat for the extra stretch.
Thursday I just flat benched, incline flyes for 12’s and then Pec Dec which is something else I don’t do much of. Probably because I hit two exercises I don’t do but I’ve a good ache.

As I’m dieting now I’m going to try and keep off the scales – will be hard I’m almost addicted – and try and just go on the mirror.

Verne

Best of luck for the contests Pikey.....planning and prep look to be on track and focussed....hats off to you mate.
Verne

Pikey

Cheers Verne much appreciated.

I’ve been following my pre contest schedule for 3 days now, no issues with diet or cardio, then there shouldn’t be I’m hardly depleted or anything, at the minute the main issue is remembering to eat – that’ll change though as I get closer! Getting up 40 minutes earlier is a pain but as we finally seem to have some sun I’m enjoying walking with the dogs over the fields.

Had 3 good workouts this week, shoulder and traps Monday, back and arms last night – now try not to laugh guys but I hit biceps that hard I couldn’t soap myself down in the bath as my arms kept cramping, so had to ask H to help (my excuse anyway !!!)Tonight I had a solid quad workout with AJ he’s shaping up for class 2 at Pudsey the man is a machine and the main reason my arms where in a mess last night!

As I’m fed up with chicken to the point where I could gag just smelling it cooking, I’m going to change over to Turkey this weekend, I’ve previously done so at about 8 weeks out but figure it won’t hurt anything changing earlier.

Tall

If you are able to chew on hot food at work all day...

Mince beef mate

Boil it to get rid of the fat (sacrelidge I know...) refry, and then slow cook with some homemade gravy and the vedge of your choice.

I love it - but I dont bother to boil to get rid of the fat.

Keep up the good work.

Pikey

Hi mate sounds like you had a good workout there yesterday congrats on the bench and squat PB.
The mince sounds tasty but there would still be way to much fat for me pre contest, once I’m close and lean I will have a piece of fillet very occasionally, I tend to think I could do with more red meat which is why I was trying the water buffalo the other week. I have to watch fat intake for two reasons, the obvious one and the less obvious one is that my stomach is very sensitive to fat especially when I’m eating very clean it’s easy for me to end up with an upset stomach and really bad squiters ( see my question to Paul ) which then means much less of what nutrients are going into my body are absorbed. As my coach says “it isn’t so much about what you eat as much as what nutrients your body absorbs”.

My legs are very stiff today following quads, they seem to be coming through quickly, I’ll have to take the hair off so I can get a good idea on condition but I never have much of a worry with quads. And shaving my whole body every week is about the biggest downer of contest prep for me – perhaps electrolysis, then again perhaps not…

Tall

Cheers mate. I'll feeling it today with hitting those PBs.

Body hair - why not try veet? Lasts longer than shaving.

Boiling (then scooping off the fat) and dry re-frying should get rid of most of the fat, but don't risk it if you feel it may be a risk.

Pikey

I’ve tried veet and it tends to make me really spotty. I’ve also tried waxing several times and that is far too painful! When women say waxing isn’t painful they tend to forget men’s body hair is a lot thicker . Waxing makes me spotty too when the hair start growing back.

It’s more the chore of doing it, although once it’s off in the first place it only takes about half an hour to go over everywhere.

If any of you guys would find it interesting I’ll post my diet up at the weekend and I’ve been having a root around and found some photo’s showing progress over the past 30 months which I’ll also get round to posting.