Our athlete Rory Golden is going to compete this year and we have decided to follow his journey. A diary from start to finish, 18 weeks out until stepping on stage.
Rory Golden - The Prep files
Blog – 16 weeks out.
The third week into training, really enjoying the process so far. My body is remembering the previous process of last year’s cut and dropping weight nicely. Weight has gone down to 83.6kg this week. The only change this week was an extra 10 minutes post workout cardio thrown in which meant a total of 30 minutes. This week I knew there wasn’t much change in the plan which meant I really had to push hard and exert myself in every session to see changes. This can be in any aspect of training such as shorter rest breaks, more added supersets, faster pace on the treadmill ect…
Many bodybuilders I follow talk about ‘emptying the tank’ or ‘leaving nothing’ during every session and mostly during the prep phrase. Even those who won’t actually use these terms show this in their approach to training/diet which a key reflector in their physiques and where they stand in the industry.
The only scare this week was Thursday morning I suffered from terrible lower back pain which was due from the back session Wednesday. This may have been down to the weighted back extensions which caused severe tightness and shooting pains down my legs. After a lot of stretching it thankfully eased allowing me to continue with the week. This was a key reminder to make sure I’m looking after myself in terms of stretching and treatment.
I’ll await the changes for next week from my coach. At the moment things are running smoothly so the hammer is yet to be dropped. This time last year I was doing around 60 minutes cardio a day due to my poor off season and body composition. This goes to show there is no short cut or easy way. Even from the offseason trying to get big quick and stuffing my face with bad calories made prep last year a lot longer and harder than it needed to be this far out.
Do things correctly and execute with the best quality possible.
