Cliff Wilson Prep Log Weeks 28-39

BODY WEIGHT AND CURRENT CONDITION

Well…. it certainly has been a while since my last prep log entry. I have been getting a lot of people asking why I had not been making any new entries into my log. The short answer is that there wasn’t a whole lot worth reporting that would make for an interesting read. Haha! In fact, the lack of anything to report is in and of itself pretty strange as I will cover here.

As you may remember, the last time I left off was 12 weeks ago and my weight was 180.8 lbs. Well in week 28 I actually lost a full pound down to 179.8. This loss of a full pound was good but to be honest, it was more than I am really aiming to lose at this stage so I had the option to aim to slow things down a bit. For the longest time I have played around with the idea of trying a completely cardio-less prep if it were possible. So I figured this may be a good time to implement. At this point I had only added cardio in for 2 weeks so I actually pulled out all cardio in Week 28. The extremely low cardio up to this stage has allowed me to stay energetic and strong in the gym and I am curious as to whether or not it can continue. Even if I have to take my food very low, I am prepared to do it. Over the past few years I have been programming lower and lower cardio for my clients when possible so I figured I would treat myself as a guinea pig and try and finish this prep without it.

Now in Weeks 29-39, I HAVE NOT CHANGED MY MACROS OR CARDIO AT ALL! I have literally gone 12 weeks without a single macronutrient or caloric manipulation. This is the longest and most steady weight loss and I have ever experienced in my life and honestly maybe the longest I have ever witnessed with my clients as well with no change. My weight loss by weeks have been as follows:

Week 28 - 179.9
Week 29 - 179.2
Week 30 - 178.6
Week 31 - 177.8
Week 32 - 177.0
Week 33 - 176.6
Week 34 - 175.8
Week 35 - 175.0
Week 36 - 174.4
Week 37 - 173.8
Week 38 - 173.0
Week 39 - 172.3

As you can see, this has been EXTREMELY consistent loss from week to week. The changes have been coming so I am not messing with it. I am just continuing to ride it out. As you can see from the progress pictures, things are getting closer. I forgot to flex my hamstrings in the rear standing relaxed pose…don’t judge me. There is still fat that needs to come off of the low back, hamstrings, glutes, and quads though. I am remaining patient and just planning to keep pace.

NUTRITION + CARDIO

As I covered above, I did have to make any changes to these macros. I am currently eating the following.

Week 23

Protein - 275g
Carbs -110g
Fat - 52g

I also have a high calorie day once every 7th day with these macros:

Protein - 250g
Carbs - 360g
Fat - 52g

CARDIO

I’m proud to say that I am still doing zero cardio. If possible, I am going to try and ride this out until stage. I may do some cardio during peak week, however my goal is to see if I can get stage ready without it. Even if I have to take my food much lower to do so, I am willing to go for it. I really believe that eliminating as much cardio as possible preserves muscle mass and maintains performance with weight training.

TRAINING

I am continuing with my weight training as I had set in Week 20. This is the cross progression template.

The split is as follows:

Monday - Chest, Delts, Triceps
Tuesday - Back, Biceps, Traps
Wednesday - Legs, Abs
Thursday - OFF
Friday - Upper Body
Saturday - Lower Body
Sunday Off

Here is how the reps progress from week to week.

Week 1

Monday - Wednesday: 2-4 rep range
Friday & Saturday - 15-25 rep range

Week 2

Monday- Wednesday: 4-6 rep range
Friday & Saturday - 10-15 rep range

Week 3

Monday- Wednesday: 6-8 rep range
Friday & Saturday - 8-10 rep range

Week 4

Monday- Wednesday: 8-10 rep range
Friday & Saturday - 6-8 rep range

Week 5

Monday - Wednesday: 10-15 rep range
Friday & Saturday - 4-6 rep range

Week 6

Monday - Wednesday: 15-25 rep range
Friday & Saturday - 2-4 rep range

My volume is extremely high right now. On average, I perform about 18-20 set for larger body parts and 14-16 sets for smaller body parts in each training session.

SUPPLEMENTATION

Not too much has changed with my supplements either. I am currently off of Core Alpha and Core Hard at the moment. Everything else has remained the same.

Core ABC (7 scoops per day)
Core ISO (as needed)
Core PRO (as needed)
Multivitamin (once daily)
Core Commodities Beta Alanine (1 scoop daily)
Core Commodities Taurine (2 scoops daily)
Core FURY Extreme (as needed but typically 1 full scoop)
Core PUMP (one scoop before training)
Core HMB (4 grams daily)
Fish Oil (2 capsules daily)
Core Commodities Creatine Monohydrate (5 grams daily)
Core Commodities Glutamine (15 grams daily, primarily taken for immune health)
Core ZZZ (3/4-1 scoop taken about 3-4 days per week)

I generally only take the Core ZZZ on the nights where I can tell I will need it. It is extremely common to have issues with sleep as body fat levels and food intake get low. This has helped a lot with keeping my sleep on track, which is becoming increasingly important.

ADDITIONAL UPDATES AND THOUGHTS

So the big question you may be asking is “how have I been able to keep losing so consistently without needing changes?” To be honest, I can’t say for certain but I have a few ideas as to what may be contributing to me extremely consistent loss with no stalls.

The first thing I think can be a factor is my lack of stress. As people prep, it is not uncommon for them to start stressing about….well…damn near everything. They stress when they see their weight up for a day or two, they stress when they feel like they aren’t progressing fast enough, they stress when they feel bloated or are holding water for the day, they stress because they are hungry, they stress because they are tired, they stress because they are so stressed. You name it and most competitors are stressed about it. I’ve been there before in past preps so I know where they are coming from. However one big goal coming into this prep was to take a serious chill pill and make sure I sleep as much as possible. I have not gotten less than 6.5 hours of sleep in the last 12 weeks and my average night of sleep is 8 hours. I am adamant about this. And overall, I am just as relaxed and calm as you can possibly imagine. I think this has led to more steady hormones, no fluctuations in water retention, keeping cortisol at bay, and keeping my GI tract moving as it should.
Having prepped so many people over the years, I know where a lot of the pitfalls are in prep. One of the big pitfalls is extra calories sneaking their way into the diet. What do I mean by this? It is incredibly common to have a single bite of your significant others food, or maybe you were supposed to have 100 grams of sweet potatoes and you have 110 grams instead. Do you measure your peanut butter on the scale and then lick the spoon clean? Those calories weren’t counted. Did you count the few carbs that are in all the gum you chew or the mints you have? I didn’t think so.
I mean it when I say that I literally count every single thing to a T and I have not been off on my macros by more than a few grams in the past 3 months. This means no estimating macros as restaurants either. I know I am a big advocate of being able to go out and live your life while being a bodybuilder, however there comes a time in prep where precision MUST take precedence if you really want to be your best. That time came for me and I have been reaping the rewards for my precision and diligence.
Anyway, that is all for this log. I am excited about the changes and extremely excited about seeing more. However, I am not allowing myself to get too up, or too down. I am keeping it even keel at the moment. As always, thanks for following my journey!