Are you joining me in keeping up with Jeff’s contest prep this year? (Here’s links to discussions of one and two.) I have to say, I’m really enjoying watching the week-to-week progression of the work. And from all appearances, Jeff has a healthy relationship with bodybuilding and food, and there’s been nothing too cringy so far!
This week’s update includes some interesting discussion of:
* How to go out and have dinner with friends and family without being obnoxious (he doesn’t say it that way, but it’s the gist–basically, keep your phone put away and don’t make your food selection a big to-do). As someone who waited tables during the Atkin’s phenomenon, I appreciate his low-key style in addressing this! I’m guessing he has some go-to restaurants and meals that he knows will fit his needs, but even still, the fewer substitutions the better!
* His process for figuring out how to be consistent with exercise and movement (specifically increased steps), including giving himself a mental timeline of a month to “knock out the kinks.” I love that this confirms that even a seasoned athlete needs to troubleshoot fitting in additional activity into his life. It isn’t magic. We all have to problem-solve and learn to adapt.
* How he chooses exercises for his training, including the value of a solid mind-muscle connection, and doing movements he considers comfortable, safe, and effective for the target muscles. He also discusses the importance of fatigue management, especially in the context of dieting down. For us mere mortals who aren’t prepping for the stage, I suspect these considerations could be useful for when we are experiencing times of increased stress, reduced sleep, or have other challenges.
* Finally, he goes into his relatively low training volume and how it improves his ability to recover from training and to be able to push hard in the next session. I’ve heard many references to Jeff’s “low training volume” in other interviews, but I haven’t actually seen a write-up of what that actually means. How little is it? I’ve been really pleasantly surprised to find myself continuing to progress on much-reduced training volumes this fall, in the context of a stressful fall. So, for now, I’m a big proponent of doing as little volume as is necessary.
All that and some relaxing lifting videos. What else do you need?!
Progressive Strength 