Trained By JG

In for lower 2 on 4hrs 45 minutes of sleep and being wide awake since 2:30am.

Despite that 2 PRs on main movements

Added 10kg to my smiths RDLS failing on 1.5 plates per side 4.5 and added 5kg to belt squats matching reps.

On the note of no sleep, despite avoiding caffeine after 12pm my caffeine intake has been trending upwards habitually using a stim pre workout and buying a one with an extra 100mg caffeine per scoop.

Some days I’m having 600mg total caffeine including diet drinks and yesterday noticed an increase in difficulty getting to sleep not feeling as tired and just generally an increase in anxiety and mind racing throughout the day.

Don’t get me wrong I don’t believe this is all down to caffeine. I notice a trend whenever I try to launch online coaching my anxiety and “over analysis” tends to come out in full play.

Will probably limit my time on social media this week and see how I feel.

Anyway I’ve decided as my contract at this gym is up I’m going back to training out of one gym both to save £s and more variety in equipment.

Due to it being near work rather than home I’ll have to train on night times after work but that’ll mean no pre workout at least and likely half my caffeine intake.

Non stim pre workout recommendations? ⬇️

A1) wrist height single arm cable Delt raise 3x6-8 (RIR 2,1,0)
3.75kg x6,6,6
B1) smiths RDL ascending load 1x6 (failure)
20kg x6, 30kg x4, 40kg x2, 50kg x1, 60kg x4.5
C1) standing single leg hamstring curl 2x6-8 (RIR 1,0)
2.5kg x7,7
D1) belt squat 2x6-8 (RIR 1,0)
50kg x7,7
E1) straight leg calf press 2x6-8 (RIR 1,0)
60kg x8,8

Into upper 1 this morning after 2 back to back rest days

Typically I’ll train Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday

However due to being away over the weekend I trained Friday.

I’m unsure how I’ll roll with this in the coming weeks. Having a rest day between 2 sessions I did think has me fresher for lower 1 on a Saturday alongside lower stress/being off work.

But there’s something about 2 back to back rest days alongside no work and reduced stress

Despite being fresh I still accidentally went off program forgetting there’s no ascending load scheme in this season so ended up doing 1 all out set on smiths press rather than 2 sets at 2 and 1 RIR 🤣

Hit a wall last block on smiths press so as there’s not a lot of machines in the gym I’m at just rolled with a lower incline.

PR on single arm pull downs moving a biscuit per side which was good.

A1) 30 degree incline smiths press ascending load 1x6 (RIR 0)
Bar x6, 10kg x5, 20kg x4, 30kg x2, 40kg x1, 40kg x6
B1) single arm D-handle pull down 2x6-8 (RIR 1,0)
20kg x7,6
C1) cable row 2x6-8 (RIR 1,0)
25kg x6,6
D1) single arm cable tricep push down 3x6-8 (RIR 1,1,0)
3.75kg x8,8,8
E1) DB hammer curls 3x6-8 (RIR 1,1,0)
15kg x8,8,8

If you’re over weight dropping body fat won’t cure your disability

But more often than note it will reduce the pain caused by your disability.

I suffered from quite severe arthritis flare ups but dropped 20lbs and this has drastically improved.

Body positivists won’t tell you that……

Now let’s talk about overall quality of life.

Being leaner will often lead to greater mobility and energy.

This gives you more independence

Being able to do more with your kids

Relying less on support from others competing day to day tasks.

Again body positivists won’t tell you that.

Disability or no disability dropping body fat if you’re overweight will increase your life expectancy through improved health markers and lower risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure etc.

Now if you’re anything like me you want to live past 50.

If you want help to get started dropping body fat comment “ebook” below for a free copy of my actionable guide to fat loss

Mini cruise and 4 hours in Amsterdam

Ft the secret ingredient to get shredded glutes that nobody wants you to know about 😌

What I eat in a day to maintain a shredded physique with a disability.

This was a rest day so slightly less calories than a training day.

I’m not given a meal plan only a calorie and protein target but my diets very similar with the amounts changing if I’m in a surplus/maintenance/deficit

This full day of eating was during a diet break so eating at maintenance.

Meal 1- 85g cream of rice, 35g whey, 100g banana

Meal 2- 125g chicken breast, 5G olive oil, 200g potato, 150g mixed veg

Meal 3- 109g ready cooked smoked salmon, 110g microwave sticky rice, 150g mixed veg

Meal 4- 125g oats, 35g whey, 20g 70% dark chocolate, 2 Percy pig sweets

153g protein
285g carbs
45g fat
2117 calories

Tbh my training day isn’t too dissimilar just more of cream of rice and some carbs during my workout as well as switching salmon for chicken heck sausages to keep fat lower.

I purposely set up my rest day diet focusing on enjoyment, minimal cooking time whilst still getting quality nutrient dense food in.

Well apart from the Percy Pigs 🤣 - remember I said enjoyment above 😅

On weekends I’ll cook all my meat/potatoes/veg and freeze them meaning I only need to microwave my oats and cream of rice.

With a disability cooking can be a longer chore so definitely have found this helps.

How do you set up your diet?

First session of my new training mesocycle

Lower 1

Very similar to last meso apart from running an ascending load rep scheme on leg press- in effect 1 top set rather than 2 straight sets.

Managed to add 10kg on leg press with a lifetime PR on a pivot leg press moving 3 plates

Straight back into matching performance from last block and even seeing the odd progression.

Performance on hip thrust down but due to changing feet stance targeting the glutes more

A1) DB side Delt Raise 3x6-8 (RIR 2,1,0)
10kg x6,6,6
B1) leg press- ascending load 1x6 (1RIR)
120kg x6
C1) leg press plate loaded calf raise 3x6-8 (RIR 1,1,0)
87.5kg x8,8,8
D1) leg extension 2x6-8 (RIR 1,0)
40kg x8,8
E1) seated hamstring curl 2x6-8 (RIR 1,0)
27.5kg x6,6
F1) Machine Hip Thrust 2x6-8 (RIR 1,0)
15kg x6,6

Check in shots at 10 weeks out from getting on the bodybuilding stage with a disability from Scotland

Body weight: 53.4kg
Weekly average body weight change: +0.18kg
Steps: 11-12k
Cardio: none
Nutrition- 140g+ protein/ 2.1-2.3k cals
Sleep average: 7:22
Training: 4x p/w half body A+B incomplete rest deload
Coached by

3 more days left of this diet break then straight back into a deficit (1.6-1.8k cals) which I’m looking forward to getting back to work.

Diet break had some success although at this body fat level it’s not going to totally freshen you up.

Back into lower/upper training from today with an ascending load theme on one lift per session.

Physique wise feeling pretty full and I certainly haven’t got any softer in this phase.

Ready to chase a set of shredded glutes. Arguably 50kg will be a good target to slowly pull down to maybe less.

10 more weeks to make this look dog 💩

Walking the walk

I’ve been there and got the T-shirt when it comes to getting in shape more than once with a physical disability.

If you have a physical disability and are potentially interested in getting in bodybuilding/photoshoot shape at some point in the future comment below “💪” if you’d like to know more about online coaching

I spy some glute lines

Not ring light lighting though so doesn’t count 🤔

All jokes aside

It’s 2025, you don’t need me to tell you what a calorie deficit is.

You might know what a calorie deficit is but you still aren’t achieving results.

You don’t have any one to keep you accountable.

Motivating you to keep going when you’re smashing it

Giving you a nudge when you could apply more effort

Knowing what a calorie deficit doesn’t mean you know how to work around social events and still achieve your fat loss goals

Having me in your corner as your coach solve all of the above as well as providing support to cruise through days where your disability symptoms worsen meaning you can’t be as active.

Your pain score increases meaning you can’t hit your steps.

Should you eat less? Or should you just stick to your usual calories?

I’m there to take the stress away.

Having a disability throw all sorts of hurdles on the fat loss journey.

Knowing what a calorie deficit is won’t be enough to jump the hurdles.

How many times have you spun your wheels losing and gaining the same 5lbs?

Don’t let 2025 be another year you don’t improve your quality of life, self confidence and get that ripped physique you’ve dreamt of

Comment below “fat loss” for more information on how my coaching services can help

The best study or research paper for getting jacked with a physical disability?

It’s you

Truth is there’s limitations to most hypertrophy studies.

They’re often done with newbies to the gym, short in length etc

But if you go on google scholar and search for hypertrophy studies specific to your disability I bet they are few and far between.

If I google it specifically to cerebral palsy all I find is studies on children.

I used to get bogged down over thinking everything.

Having cerebral palsy do I need more protein? More/less training volume? More/less frequency? Should I deload more often? Should I generally throw out the general guidelines for hypertrophy?

Truth is I don’t know and probably will never know

But what I can do instead is use my own body as a study.

Not changing things weekly but change a variable for 3-6 months and assess how you progress.

But if you’re seeing progress in your training, your strengths going up, you’re recovering well and you’re growing then why fix something that’s not broken?

If you aren’t progressing and struggling where to go next send me a DM with “coaching” to enquire about my 1-2-1 online coaching service that will help you build that physique you’ve always believed wasn’t achievable 👊

A recent study found that longer eccentrics do not increase muscle growth.

For more info on the study check out .henselmans recent post

Does this mean training tempo isn’t important?

If we don’t control tempo

Standardising range of motion across every rep will be increasingly difficult

Stability will be more difficult to maintain

Momentum will be moving load rather than your target muscle

The chance of injury is higher

Having a disability means

Typically being more injury prone

Limitations in ability to keep tension on a muscle

Limitations on the length of range of motion that can be performed

Reduced stability

To conclude

Although slower tempo may not directly increase muscle growth, when training with a disability at least being conscious of tempo will reduce chance of injury and likely improve the ex*****on of an exercise.
Both outcome will likely lead to more long term mustle growth.

How much attention do you pay to your training tempo?

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