Ned Barlow - Online Physique Coach

Had a little play around with the Arm Blaster today and honestly was very very cool. Takes and momentum out of the movement, pins the elbow and allows you to maintain accuracy on just working with the bicep. The pump that ensued was lit🔥
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To cap off the laziest of Saturdays, I’m gonna post a throwback pic to leaner days when gyms first reopened after Lockdown 1.0 and ignore my current body fat levels (might be resembling a baby seal rn). Nearly a year since all the madness started, crazy. Excited to see what progress I’ve made in that time once the mini-cut takes away a bit of the fluff I currently possess once gyms reopen. As for now, I think I’ll have a 3rd serving of lasagna. Have a great Saturday peeps ✌🏼

Maybe pushing my weight up is finally helping my calves grow🤔
Probably not but a man can dream

Don’t fake it
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Training intensity is a factor I’ve come to think about more and more as I’ve grown in bodybuilding. Looking back, it’s something I faked for a long time and I think a lot of people still fake.
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It’s easy to do this. It’s only natural. Our body doesn’t want to be put under the stress that is required in bodybuilding. Nobody who’s reasonable wants to be RDLing 200kg and the body definitely doesn’t. So naturally, when we first start out, we look for ways to get out of this. One such way is to fake our intensity, so that from the outside we look like we are training hard, and even internally we might think we are, but in reality we aren’t pushed.
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This is a skill more than anything. Learning where failure is. Learning how far you can push things whilst remaining accurate. You don’t just pick it up the first time you step foot in the gym, but it’s something I place a lot more focus on nowadays, both with myself and my clients. To have this inner drive and self-evaluation to know if you are truly pushing yourself and holding yourself accountable for reps and sets which you don’t take all the there, let intensity slip or are poor on accuracy. This is what I think it takes to progress further than a decent physique, to push to that next level.
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Sometimes, fake it ‘til you make it, but don’t with intensity. Truly work hard and push your limits.
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DBBSS (Death by Bulgarian Split Squats☠️)
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The big daddy of leg training the past year. The DOMS, the destruction of my CV system, the shear hatred; these will not be forgotten, but I dream of the day these aren’t in my programme. It will be a joyous occasion. Leg press, hack squat, pendulum squat, leg extension. Just lock in and go. I miss the days. Roll on April 12th🙏🏼
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Intra-workout nutrition
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This is something I’ve added to my workouts for the last 9 months or so. This may be something that’s going to only add 1% to my training and recovery, but it’s something that I’m willing to add to gain that extra advantage. Remember, look after your pennies
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Currently I train fasted, so I personally have 50g of a highly digestible carbohydrate source (usually dextrose) and 30g of EAAs which contain electrolytes and a rehydration formula. Generally, a 2:1 ratio of carb:protein is probably ideal, maybe minimum 15-20g of carbs to see the benefits, but judge it based on your situation.
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These carb and protein sources should come from very basic sources, which allow for extremely fast digestion and absorption, getting it into the blood as fast as possible and helps aid recovery and allows for recovery to start ASAP.
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In theory, the consumption of carbs and protein during the workout will help reduce the risk of catabolism, increase energy, reduce fatigue, activates anabolic processes and quickly replenishes glycogen. Practically, it also is an easy way to increase calorie consumption during a mass phase and can give a decent placebo effect, both when massing and dietting, to think that you’re gaining this ‘extra energy’ when you drink it, potentially improving performance from a placebo standpoint.
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Anyone can use intra-workout shakes, but I’d particularly recommend them to those who are deep into a diet to reduce the risk of catabolism and anyone training for over 60-90 minutes. As mentioned, I also just think they are beneficial during a mass phase to further improve recovery and easily increase calorie consumption.
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Do you guys use intra-workouts? If so, what do you use and why?
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Don’t waste your time whilst massing
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It’s very easy to be on the ball during a fat loss phase. It’s short and sharp, you have to be meticulous and it’s easy to be as results come very quickly, which is extremely motivating.
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Less can be said for a mass phase. It’s long and slow and comes with small wins here and there. But your mass phase is what creates the physique that is uncovered when dieting, so don’t waste it.
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Maintain the level of accuracy you apply during a diet. The intent, dietary discipline, training intensity, it all has to stay. Maybe we can be slightly less strict, but we must remain diligent to see progression in our physique year to year. Don’t waste time in a surplus if the accuracy and intent isn’t there, you’ll just stand still. You may be ‘bulking’ but without this meticulous nature of diet and training, you’re not necessarily gaining muscle.
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Stay accurate. Get stupid strong. Eat your food. Build muscle. No slacking
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Take the 1%
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Whilst the bulk of hypertrophy training can be boiled down to the basics of eat the calories/macros to match your goals, train with enough volume and relative intensity, makes sure that training gets harder over time and ensure you recover/sleep well. In the grand scheme of things, this will get you 80-90% of your results. But the world of hypertrophy is full of these 1%s
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Supplementation, meal timings, food composition, activity level, sleep hygiene, blue-light blocker glasses, bio-mechanics, favourable machines, training with RIR, intra-workout supplementation. All of these things aren’t ‘necessary’ for hypertrophy. But are they worth adding that 1%? Maybe.
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If considering and adding these variables are 1️⃣Cheap/affordable 2️⃣Easily accessible and 3️⃣ Applicable, it is probably a good idea to throw these in and gain that extra 1%. Chuck a couple of these in, you have an extra 5-10% of gains. Add 5-10 years and you’ve got a shedload of added benefits just from those tiny things to improve your environment for hypertrophy.
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Ensure the basics are in place and nailed. If they’re not, as my friend Ice Cube said, chickity check yo’self before your wreck yo’self. However, once nailed, add the 1%s and watch how it adds up over time.
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You’ve gotta work for it
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No one has ever developed a half decent rig without putting the work in. It doesn’t just fall in your lap one day and boom, you now have abs. Obviously genetics will play there role, but for the vast majority of us, a great deal goes into making a sick physique.
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That means making the effort. The effort to track your food, hitting macros day in and day out. It means staying on top of sleep, ensuring recovery is nailed, managing fatigue and taking deloads when necessary. It means taking every set there, no p*ssy-footing around, but it also means ensuring accuracy and ex*****on is on point. Hitting every session. Nailing meal timings. EVERYTHING. All of it makes a difference and it will show in your physique.
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It is hard work. If it wasn’t, you’d see everyone walking around with 20” arms and diced to the bone. But because it takes hard work and consistency, it’s left to the few who truly want it most.
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Put the work in and your results will show.
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Online coaching spots available👨🏼‍💻
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Gym Anxiety
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And no, this is not me referring to the fear of stepping foot in the gym. That’s a whole other topic. By this I’m referring to that feeling of knowing your about to take a huge step towards progress.
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Getting anxious about making progress is just part and parcel of the whole process. The thought of hitting a big PR, touching new weights or progressing beyond your highest ever bodyweight can be scary. Mentally this can be tough, but nothing that’s worth doing comes without this kind of anxiety. It’s appropriate to feel like this when it comes to making progress, making steps you’ve never actually made before to become someone you have never previously been.
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Training at home has maybe taken away from the ‘scary’ nature of training. Making a PR of 23 reps over 22 is maybe not the same as hitting a new weight PR, but it’s definitely something we should still be looking to do. Either way, it’s the feeling I’m looking forward to most come April 12th, the sense of slight fear going into a set. That’s when the fun starts.
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Another week down, 6 to go⏰
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After the announcement last week, I was very excited. Knowing I only had to wait until the 12th April until I can back to the gym had me very happy.
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However, the last week has felt like time has slowed. A week since the announcement and that date feels no closer to reality. But, we are still turning the cogs. Getting meals in, nailing sessions and ensuring progression is made every day.
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This warping of time may mess with you, it definitely has with me. However, if we can keep things ticking over, a lot of good things can happen in the next 6 weeks. Then the fun really starts
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Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves
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Have you ever heard the saying? In this instance, the macro plan is saving money, but managing the micro of saving pennies helps reach the macro goal.
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Bodybuilding is very much like this. However, this in this scenario, nailing variables are the pennies and muscle growth/fat loss are the pounds. Every time you hit a session, progress a movement, hit your macros, hit your step goal, sleep 8+ hours, you are putting a penny in the piggy bank of gains🐷
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At the time, this doesn’t seem like a lot. You’re not gonna get a lot from a penny in 2021. But over the day, weeks, months, years of doing this, adding pennies day after day, eventually, you’ll have a lot of cash. Aka loads of gains
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Certainly make a macro plan. Absolutely. For example, decide you are committing to a 12+ month mass phase because that is what you need to grow a lot of tissue. After you’ve made this plan however, manage the micro. Ensure macros, meal timings, supplementation, training, steps etc are all hit every single day. Take it one step at a time, even if you just focus on your next meal or your next rep. Make sure what you are doing is nailed. One day might not seem like a lot, but add those days up consistently crushing the plan and you’ll be a different person in 12 months that’s for sure.
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Save your pennies🪙
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Online coaching spots available👨🏼‍💻
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