Introduction 

Hayden Kelly take a relaxed yet insightful dive into their personal and professional lives. He starts by discussing his routine and technical preparations, highlighting their laid-back approach to podcasting. Hayden shared his journey from competitive strength training to pursuing a degree in exercise physiology, influenced by mentors who inspired him to establish his coaching business. He also delved into their current bodybuilding competition preparations, contrasting hisvstrategies and preferences in a segment called “This or That,” covering topics like training methodologies and dietary approaches. As he geared up to host upcoming guests, including Eric and a nutritionist, Hayden encouraged listeners to engage with feedback and suggestions for future episodes, emphasizing their commitment to informative and engaging content for fitness enthusiasts and professionals alike.

Personal Background and Career Pathways

Hayden shares insights into his evolution from competitive strength training to his current pursuit of a degree in exercise physiology. He discusses how influential mentors guided him towards establishing his own coaching business post-graduation.

Current Focus: Bodybuilding Competition Prep

The hosts delve into their individual approaches to preparing for bodybuilding competitions, highlighting contrasting methods and philosophies in training and diet.

Segment: “This or That”

Introduced in this episode, this segment explores various dichotomies in fitness, including preferences between free weights and machines, low versus high volume training, and strategies for bulking versus cutting.

Upcoming Guests and Future Topics

Hayden Kelly also teased future episodes featuring guests such as Eric and a nutritionist, promising in-depth discussions on training strategies and performance nutrition.

Conclusion

As they wrap up, Hayden encourages listeners to provide feedback and suggestions on his insight, underscoring his commitment to delivering valuable insights and engaging content for fitness enthusiasts and professionals alike.

This episode of the Strength Connect Podcast offers a blend of personal anecdotes, professional insights, and anticipatory teasers for upcoming content, ensuring listeners are both informed and eager for what’s next.

 

Transcript 

 

Hayden Kelly: Maybe.

 

Hayden Kelly: Ivan.

 

Hayden Kelly: what a last week could be! 

 

Hayden Kelly: Shank connect abers for Eric still, but can do that while we’re.

 

Hayden Kelly: did I send you the central woman. 

 

Hayden Kelly: it’s in the it’s in the Google drive.

 

Hayden Kelly: I just get you to pull up then. Just the one from last week. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Oh, you want that one from last week? Yeah, just I just wanna I’ll probably deleted it. Oh, no worries. We can just chat, anyway. Where? Where was it?

 

Hayden Kelly: get your phone. I just can’t use my phone. I’ll pull it up here.

 

Hayden Kelly: Oh, yeah, here it is.

 

Hayden Kelly: You want to do this. Hold that one. No.

 

Hayden Kelly: we can do that. This of that interruptions a little bit. Yeah. Okay. Just send it to send it to my email. So I got it here. 

 

Hayden Kelly: It’s good. We spend 30, 40 min, then 20 min prep for

 

Hayden Kelly: have a drink break, and all around to the to the side of this thing.

 

Hayden Kelly: It’s a bit more facing each other. Now that we have.

 

Hayden Kelly: Just so we kind of center that are all.

 

Hayden Kelly: I can come around a bit more to more face than me. No, that way like rotate. Yeah, yeah, that’s better.

 

Hayden Kelly: I don’t know if you saw episodes face each other’s better rather than just fucking looking at camera like weed. 

 

Hayden Kelly: What’s going on?

 

Hayden Kelly: Just yeah, just open it. Yeah, whatever. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Just

 

Hayden Kelly: Google, are. They

 

Hayden Kelly: ask me to log in again. My phone’s up there. There. It is. Okay.

 

Hayden Kelly: Okay, I’m not interested.

 

Hayden Kelly: Is that recording? Yeah. Arson. 

 

Hayden Kelly: how do we make it bigger?

 

Hayden Kelly: You go?

 

Hayden Kelly: Oh, yeah, 100%.

 

Hayden Kelly: What we should do before the Eric episode as well is, go to your settings at the top and sleep on. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Alright. Let’s just do it now. Alright. 

 

Hayden Kelly: it will be in battery, I think. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Better day.

 

Hayden Kelly: No, maybe no, actually, no, no, no, no.

 

Hayden Kelly: General.

 

Hayden Kelly: Oh, yeah.

 

Hayden Kelly: yeah. But you need

 

Hayden Kelly: go to the cloud. 

 

Hayden Kelly: We don’t need to. We don’t need to. For now. Yeah, cause it’s we’re just gonna be using zoom. 

 

Hayden Kelly: In fact, we don’t even we wouldn’t need to record that awesome.

 

Hayden Kelly: Alright. So start with, we’ll start with the intro, and I’ll just announce Vpa. And do your code. Yeah. Always say that we don’t go. Do that, I’ll put the

 

Hayden Kelly: we giving away again. It was $180 worth supplements

 

Hayden Kelly: and chance to win. 

 

Hayden Kelly: What was it to 500, 

 

Hayden Kelly: 300 

 

Hayden Kelly: 100. I don’t know what the money values were. I’ll just say monetary. But anyway, cash giveaway. So Jackson 

 

Hayden Kelly: was it.

 

Hayden Kelly: problem. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Oh, you already got the winners. Yeah. He came and picked it up.

 

Hayden Kelly: I asked him to do a video to say like, thanks, and he just fucking ghosted. 

 

Hayden Kelly: so I can’t expect that everyone does it. So

 

Hayden Kelly: alright. Yep. 

 

Hayden Kelly: welcome to episode 3 of the strengthening at podcast. And reconnect. I was, gonna say, episode 3, and then episode, one of the okay. Okay, I could say, alright. 

 

Hayden Kelly: welcome back to the strength, connect podcast in episode one of our segment or our series. Reconnect where Hayden and I sit down. We chat a little bit about ourselves how a train is going, our our works going, and just, you know, a bit more of a cruisey series. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, a bit more laid back. We we don’t have a guest on this episode, but we’re looking forward to having Eric

 

Hayden Kelly: in our next episode, and then Mackenzie Baker, which will be. 

 

Hayden Kelly: and getting a nutritionist on to talk more about

 

Hayden Kelly: training and and eating for performance, which will be exciting. So yeah, but yeah, today, we’re gonna talk a bit about ourselves background. So you can get to know us a little bit better. Yeah, before we start as well. Just wanted to give a quick shout out to Vpa supplements. If you guys would like a discount on sups, Hayden, what’s the the code paid, and 10 that’ll give you 10% discount across the across the store. We have

 

Hayden Kelly: fortunately got one winner from the recent giveaway 

 

Hayden Kelly: dralum official, or Jackson has won the $190 giveaway box of supplements that we did and there’s also a chance for a number of you who went in the drawer to win a cash prize. So stay tuned, and as more details present themselves, we’ll announce 

 

Hayden Kelly: some of those winners, or share share the results from Vpa, Australia. But they’ve been a sponsor of mine and sponsor of the podcast, and we’re, we’re proud to to partner with those guys. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Cool. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Well, for those you that don’t know. Hayden and I are both in prep. For what are you doing? Competition at the moment? So we’ll chat a little bit about that, and I guess a little bit about how we got into to lifting, and because it’s both for both of us, it’s a big part of our how bang! Yeah, being our careers, our, you know, enjoyment in life. So Hayden, tell us a little bit about your your you know, experience competing and and training.

 

Hayden Kelly: Yeah. Well, when you say you know, it’s about our being. 

 

Hayden Kelly: I was having a chat this morning to gentlemen at the gym, and we’re talking about how similar to what we’re talking about with Brandon, how I know it sounds very cliche, but you know you talk about like pushing at that last rep or that that extra effort. 

 

Hayden Kelly: and the way it translates to other areas of your life. And I think. 

 

Hayden Kelly: as cliche as it sounds, but those values of discipline. And you know, never, never quitting, never saying die. That’s kind of what’s translated from strength training into other areas of my life, and I really picked up strength training. When I was in year.

 

Hayden Kelly: I’d say you, you 10 went up to freshwater health and fitness in those early years with my dad, and at that stage, I guess. 

 

Hayden Kelly: a little bit earlier than that year I I was still in learning support. The literacy. English 

 

Hayden Kelly: talked a little bit about that on the normal list. Podcast but one of my good friends, Jack, his father, taught me there and really helped me with my reading and writing, and one of those things that really helped me later on in the Hsc. Was just getting involved in resistance, training. 

 

Hayden Kelly: and so I was doing a lot of kayaking. My lady is a school cricket football. but also strength training. And so I was in the gym in my Hsc. In the morning with Dad, fresh water, health, and fitness, and then going to school gym in the afternoon. 

 

Hayden Kelly: and I think I just got into a really good routine with my study and and training, and I really liked that. not the monotony of it, but the the consistent efforts, and how that equated to results over time, and that translated to to sport performance, and but also just general well-being and self-confidence. And so in my lady, is a schooling. I did quite well in biology. Pd, Hpa, but ultimately I think all of that training really helped me get a really good atar or end result with my Hsc. Which helped me get into studying exercise physiology, which was my big passion, which is what I really wanted to do. But I give a lot of credit to the the benefits of physical activity and resistance training as to why I was able to to do so. And so in my lady, is a schooling. I did quite well in biology. Pd, Hpa, but ultimately I think all of that training really helped me get a really good atar or end result with my Hsc. Which helped me get into studying exercise physiology, which was my big passion, which is what I really wanted to do. But I give a lot of credit to the the benefits of physical activity and resistance training as to why I was able to to do so. And yeah, that’s I guess that’s now manifested into the research I’m doing, but also what I do with my my clients, and also my own training and body building. 

 

Hayden Kelly: So I guess my study. I went into a bachelor degree at unsw exercise physiology, and that’s all. That’s where it all started for me. And here we are today. I understand. You’ve also done bachelor exercise science. So how’d you? How’d you get into it?

 

Hayden Kelly: I was always like, just naturally pretty good at school, you know, academic type stuff. But towards the last few years of school I stopped Karen. To be honest, I started chasing girls a little bit more. That’s partly why I got into the gym, because I was quite a skinny kid. And I was like putting a bit of muscle, you know. yeah, like similar to you. I did find saw us in that that discipline. And I love that feeling to this day of you know, like before, a big game like a grand final day like you, where you’re nervous. But you also hyped, yeah. that feeling, and like really just letting loose and gone crazy. I’ll but the gym does that for you, and if you lock and you can, you can have that experience like every day. Yeah. And I think that’s part of the reason why I like it. That discipline, but also the impassion, the intensity. I’ve I’ve always loved, you know, maths and science as subjects, and bringing that into lifting as well as you know, the the passion, intensity side of things. I believe that’s where you can get a really good result. And yeah, I finished year 12, and then had to go into something. And you know, i i i wanted to go to Uni, I thought I should go to Uni. My parents want me to go to Uni. I like science. I like working out a lot of Php, it was similar to you. So it was just a natural progression, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. You know, a lot of guys most guys in my undergrad were going into as you say, exercise physiology, physiotherapy as a Master’s degree, but and that’s that was my plan as well, initially. But then I kind of finished and did some work under some mentors who had their own coaching businesses, and they kind of got into my head about. You know you should be your own boss. You know, you have potential. You know, you can, you know build your own kind of empire, almost. And I was like, Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I’m gonna give that a crack. And yeah. So I started my coaching business shortly after. Uni, yeah, I admire you for the fact that you didn’t go the route that a lot of other people pursued. I think in this day there’s a lot of pressure on young. you know, teens or adults to have their career plans kind of locked down at an early age. And I think that. you know, going back to studies an easy. an easy out for a lot of people that don’t know if they don’t have their heads switched on, and they don’t have a direct plan, a plan or approach actually what they want to get out of their study, and where they want to go. It’s quite easy just to be go on to the next, you know, Master’s Degree, or whatever it may be. So I do respect you, for you know, knowing who you are, what you want, and taking that route you have, you’ve sort of created your own brand and and businesses really done a really good job, man, and I’m excited to see where it goes in the next year with this prep. And you know, continuing to build, yeah, Chisbrough, 

 

I remember one of my professors at Uni shout at Paul Marshall. he said in in a lecture like, I know, a lot of you guys are gonna be going and doing your masters. And you may guys may look down on the you know, the simple personal trainer. But if you guys do decide to go down to that route because of your foundational knowledge, you can really be one of the best trainers out there, and that that kind of stuck to me as well as one of the big things I was like, yeah, that’s true. Yeah, I think it’s important, though. Remember what we talked about with Luke, where we can’t look down on the Pt, because everyone serves a role. Yeah. But that’s the that’s the attitude and translating the research is really important. But yeah, people who do that in layman’s terms at the the patient level is. you know your clinicians or your your personal trainers as well. So yeah, everyone serves a really important role. Yeah, but that was, that’s kind of the attitude, though, in a lot of academic spaces like, you know, sport and exercise exercise physiology. It’s like. and partly it’s because you know, the barrier to entry for Pts is pretty low, I think my my grips when people overstep there the boundaries of you know their roles or responsibilities, as like, say, help professionals like. If a Pt starts giving someone with diabetes information on, you know what’s appropriate like exercise. Say, if they have different contraindications, so like retinopathy or other complications which may potentially impact their health. I think it’s really important that circumstance that Pts are more educated on who to refer to in that sense. So I don’t. I think everyone’s got a role. And it’s really important. But I think we just need to be aware of scope of practice. Yeah, scope of practice, and where where people’s expertise lie and being able to refer on. And that kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, that is a big thing, you know, referring on But coming back to bodybuilding you’re now jumping into, is it? Your 3rd prep. 

 

Hayden Kelly: This would be my 4th season. So I did. 2,017, 2,018, 2,019 back to back years. Yeah, that, to be honest, before Covid, I was in this ever I love it. It’s just locking in. It’s everything. just funnels into your work and and life, and that kind of thing. But 2,017 was kind of like what you’re experiencing now for me it was the unknown. and I really had that. Not fear. It was like it was a good fear. It’s like, I fear that you’re not gonna live up to your own expectations of yourself. But now I know what I’m capable of. I think I’m a lot more relaxed throughout this prep. And I know that you know when you second guess yourself with your rate of fat loss and that kind of thing. Now I understand that it’s all the process and all the little steps that lead to that end result. So. But I’m excited because definitely I had that Marathon last year the Newcastle Marathon. which I did a hell of a lot of endurance training, and I really changed my training periodization for that. I was doing a lot more kind of muscular endurance training in my lower limbs. I was still doing a lot of strength training, but tried to get a lot more volume through the legs, running and and cycling, and and a bit of off feet conditioning in the pool, and that kind of thing. So for me. my training had shifted a lot in the last year. But I think one thing we’ve spoken about is, hey? Am I insulin sensitivity improved with all that training? And how I have this massive rebound with my strength just went up really quickly after that run, and pulling some really big numbers again in the gym. massive like Pbys in the last year or so, and I think about being able to add a vibr size to my my frame. So it’d be interesting to see. Once I lean right down, you know what my stage weights gonna be. So that’s that’s what I’m excited about at the moment, but just enjoying getting back into the process. You’re ahead of the game. Bro, with all the you know the hype around hybrid training. you know. Yeah, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t consider myself like. and Nick Bear, or anything like that. But I think for me nothing’s unachievable. You can do anything you want in this life. You just got to believe in yourself. And I’ve definitely like my confidence. That I can do more is is definitely there. It’s just you gotta know. I think specificity of training is really important. If you’re gonna do a body building, prep, you got to train for bodybuilding. Yeah. Can’t be doing both. You can’t be doing like as much as we’ll talk about the literature on concurrent training. I think if you want to get the best out yourself. you’ve got to lock in for that period of time. And and you’re trying for that event you can’t be doing, you know, but in in saying that you know the whole, like Cardio kills, kills you, gains, is thankfully dive it off. There’s a limit to. Obviously you don’t do so much, cardio that you’re fatiguing yourself for your body building training, but, as you experienced, I think people long term would get better gains if they had. You know, a decent level of cardiovascular. You know, somebody build is they can’t even do a set of leg press over 10 reps. Yeah, I think I should probably change what I just said there, but it is possible to do. you know both simultaneously, but I think to get the best out of yourself in each form of competition. I think you kind of need to stick to those principles of specificity. And what you say, there’s really important for me. Aerobic fitness is really important for extending the set when you’re under when you’re under a really heavy bar. I guess it’s the difference between you know, emptying the tank. Is that a little bit of aerobic fitness, muscle, endurance to push through those final few reps. And that’s probably what I found, as well as well as the ability to utilize carbohydrates during training, but also just the ability to extend the set with improved aerobic fitness. But yeah, and I think in the future I probably want to do. An ultra marathon. But that’s probably a little bit off at the moment. I just wanna focus on bodybuilding for a couple of years. Yeah, it’s fair body building is unique, though, because in every other competition like I don’t think about. But Palatine, for example, you’re focusing on leading up to the comp fueling as much as possible. Yes, you may have to do away cut, but if you’re smart, you’re not cutting a lot or aggressively close to the Comp. Yeah, so for us, it’s like, you’re depleting so much that you need to be very strict about where you’re putting your energy. Yeah, you know what I mean. So you know, if I was doing power, I think, like fuck, just do, Cardio, 2, 3 times a week. Get food up higher still. Focus, you know, obviously, on getting stronger. But bodybuilding is quite unique in that sense. Yeah, and we were just talking about how things during the week, you know external pressures and influences. You really have to. The thing I like about body building. Prep that you don’t get with team sports is, it’s all comes down to you, you know, emotional management of yourself, but also just controlling everything you can control. And then that’s was like in a game of football. You can’t control what your teammates do. And I think that for me is, what’s I think Brandon mentioned this. That’s such a drawcide for me. yeah, I mean? That’s just it’s like that. If you do like a solo sport as well, I suppose, like tennis or whatever else golf. But yeah, I kind of do, Miss team sport sometimes, though. No, I play, I think more recreationally for me, like it’s enjoyable. It’s fun. But I think from a performance standpoint. I think the drawcard for me is just that ability to control you. Can. You’re in the driver’s seat, really, the whole way. There’s also what makes like I played soccer growing up because you aren’t in control. It makes it that much more fulfilling when, like you lock in the whole team locks in, and you all become like once one unit, engine or system that’s working like that is so satisfying. But the shit thing is you don’t have control of that. Yeah.

 

Hayden Kelly: alright. Well, it’s it’s interesting to hear a little bit about your background. What are you aiming to actually achieve in the say the next year, with this bodybuilding competition, and I guess for some people watching it. bodybuilding can seem like quite a vain sport. But there really is. There’s a higher vision or aim for you in doing things like this. So what are you just mentally trying to tune your mind? Or do you have plans to kind of. you know, develop more of a a brand around your your presence within the natural body building space and online coaching realm. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, well, that’s definitely something I’m thinking about, you know, working on my brand and moving into bodybuilding, coaching. that’s definitely the back of my mind, or it’s not the the primary focus. I don’t think that, you know. Competing just to get clients is is a good idea, like you gotta want to do it, you know. And I think the main thing is just. Yeah, I wanted to put myself under more pressure to, so something to push me to see what I’m capable of. Really, you know, I think that’s that’s the biggest thing I do love bodybuilding. I love training, but the thought of competing was like, I didn’t think my life reflected that of a body builder, and I was like, I want to make that change. And I want to just push the boundaries of what I I can do. And yeah, and because of that that, added to stress that end goal has forced me to be a lot more disciplined, and not only in in training but in life. Just the lower traction. Right? Whatever you put energy into, it doesn’t even matter. If it’s physical, it’s just mental like. The more the more you think about something, the more likely you are to manifest that in your life. So I think you know you spend so much time thinking about it makes sense to put your a lot of your eggs in that basket? Right? Because that’s ultimately where energy go, where? What is it? Where time and attention goes? Energy flows, or whatever. Something like that, something like that. I fucked it off.

 

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, no. Oh, you can keep it if you want, just get rid of the just get rid of the swearing in that. And the way I kept stuffing up. You can keep the branding part if you want. 

 

Hayden Kelly: As I’ve just referenced, I’ve referenced Brandon so much. I started like, yeah. because he’s his like insights into his background was pretty relevant.

 

Hayden Kelly: Alright, so this, or hit what’s your go to, and what

 

Hayden Kelly: just have to take a quick break? Because, when when in piston. That’s a another door, mate. Another side of the effect of a dog’s audience. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Have you noticed that you pissing all the time? Well, that’s the water intake, but that’s what I was saying like when your glycogen stores are low. you know, limiting your carbohydrate intake. You got to keep full. That’s what I mean like for me. Always throughout Preps. Since 2,017 I’ve had one of these like 2.5 later jugs of water couple. Scoops of amino is just smack like sipped on these all day throughout throughout the prep. And like it’s helped me maintain my fullness and my pumps and that kind of thing. So I think I haven’t actually increased my water that much. So I think, isn’t it? Isn’t this something to the the fact that less glycogen means less like what uptake muscle and that see pissing out more. But I think for me it’s more just like a a mental thing, too, and I’ll find in winter especially. That’s when I’ve been prepping the in the winter months. You tend to not drink as much. Yeah, sweating. Senior always said, you think you perceive you’re not sweating as much. But yeah, it’s really important, I guess, in that sense. Yeah. So what I want to do, what we’re going to do in this this episode as we get to know Aiden and myself was a bit better. gonna do a little bit of a segment on this and that. So this all that this all that really fucking my words up today? That prep brain. But yeah, so we’re, gonna I guess. put forward 2 opposite ends or like 2 opposing. Yeah. So this all that, this is this, all that segment. And we have a number of different topics. And we’re just gonna find out between myself and Brandon Brandon. That’s great. Let me stop this again. I just fucking. No, but I’ll keep that and keep that, and give it as funny as alright. So the 1st topic for this or that segment is free weights, verse machines. I’ll let you start. Yeah, no, I’m controversial answer. But I say, I’ll just say a mixture of both. I like that, have some balls, but I say free weights, but I like starting with heavy free weight compound, and then going into more accessory movements with machine. So I’ll generally start with like a incline or flat dumbbell bench, barbell bench move into, I’ll say, like a dead lift or a squat, then move into, say, like extensions. hamstring, curl, or whatever it may be. You know, chess, machine, chess, fly, or using like the lever rows and things. So I’ll start with like a heavy compound moving to machine based weights. But if I had to pick one. I’d probably pick, I’d probably pick free weights. Yeah, Shane’s. Yeah. I think you are a bit more of free weight kind of purest from what I can tell from your training like you keep you keep deadlives in like for me, it’s more of just as physical. It’s also really mental thing. it yeah. Like, if I can get through prep and hold my numbers the whole way through, it’s like this. Mental challenge is probably not the safest thing, but I should try to pull like my favorite Max deadlift all the way through till the end of prep. I think it’s I think it’s good man like having that like mental and physical benchmark that you’re trying to maintain. And, as I say, as I go through prep, like the the music in my ears, gets loud, or the you know, more caffeine is going in. It’s just anything you have to do to it. Hopefully get through it. Fucking get the weight off the floor right all the way through, and then, when you rebound you, such your numbers are so much better. Those next couple of months after prep, once you start to Jack tubs up again and a little bit more body weight. So yeah, it’s it’s that’s the competition for me. That’s the challenge. Right? Calories go down white goes down. You got to keep that intensity. Keep that weight on the bar. That’s for me. That’s what it’s all about, really. Yeah, yeah, I do. I do feel that, like I am, I prefer probably machines more just because I like to be able to push myself really far in a set with a little bit more accessibility, but with the free weight stuff that I do still do. I do notice that, like each week, I’m desperate to maintain a progress on it like one of the big ones for me, is on my 1st law of day of the week. I’m like I’m always pushing to try and do more, and I think last week week before last had a really good week. Slept really well the night before rocked up. I felt really good and hit a really good set. I think it hit like 3 plates. I got 10 reps or something. and which is, Oh, this is yeah. It was good like. That was a that was a good Pb. I think. 5 kilo Pb. For me in this prep. So far, and I felt great. And then the next week, you know, the stars didn’t all align. Yeah, I didn’t hit that again, and I was just like so got it. But I think we can all learn from each other, though right like I could probably do with more external stability on that a 1 exercise, and would my effort into that, and it would be better for high purchase fee and that kind of thing. I think it’s just. you know, attacking your workouts with intensity is the main thing right throughout. Prep. And if you’re holding that intent like, if your trainings falling off, that’s a major indicator that either there’s something going wrong with your nutrition or your recovery, or just I guess your efforts not there. So for me, it’s all about effort, recovery, sleep. getting the getting your meals in at the right times and staying well hydrated. That’s the only thing for me is not getting enough water in. Like as you get lean. I want to make sure my muscle bellies are as full as possible. you know, if the if you’re removing carbs, obviously, you know, less glycogen stores. So next best thing is just keeping those water, those hydration status up alright. Just pause for a second. Sorry writing a piss. Sorry? Yeah. Yeah. Talking about water. Make you want to piss kind of hold on the line. That’s what are we gonna do next? This or hit?

 

Hayden Kelly: Yeah. 12 days 

 

Hayden Kelly: yet.

 

Hayden Kelly: Bro, I’m going to get you to chop out the bit where I was like introducing either this or that. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, but I just sound like a fucking idiot. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, no. Oh, you can keep it if you want, just get rid of the just get rid of the swearing in that. And the way I kept stuffing up. You can keep the branding part if you want.

 

Hayden Kelly: As I’ve just referenced, I’ve referenced Brandon so much. I started like, yeah. because he’s his like insights into his background was pretty relevant. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Alright, so this, or hit what’s your go to, and what just have to take a quick break? Because, when when in piston. That’s a another door, mate. Another side of the effect of of a dog’s audience. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Have you noticed that you pissing all the time? Well, that’s the water intake, but that’s what I was saying like when your glycogen stores are low. you know, limiting your carbohydrate intake. You got to keep full. That’s what I mean like for me. Always throughout Preps. Since 2,017 I’ve had one of these like 2.5 later jugs of water couple. Scoops of amino is just smack like sipped on these all day throughout throughout the prep. And like it’s helped me maintain my fullness and my pumps and that kind of thing. So I think I haven’t actually increased my water that much. So I think, isn’t it? Isn’t this something to the the fact that less glycogen means less like what uptake muscle and that see pissing out more. But I think for me it’s more just like a a mental thing, too, and I’ll find in winter especially. That’s when I’ve been prepping the in the winter months. You tend to not drink as much. Yeah, sweating. Senior always said, you think you perceive you’re not sweating as much. But yeah, it’s really important, I guess, in that sense. Yeah. So what I want to do, what we’re going to do in this this episode as we get to know Aiden and myself was a bit better. gonna do a little bit of a segment on this and that. So this all that this all that really fucking my words up today? That prep brain. But yeah, so we’re, gonna I guess. put forward 2 opposite ends or like 2 opposing. Yeah. So this all that, this is this, all that segment. And we have a number of different topics. And we’re just gonna find out between myself and Brandon Brandon. That’s great. Let me stop this again. I just fucking. No, but I’ll keep that and keep that, and give it as funny as alright. So the 1st topic for this or that segment is free weights, verse machines. 

 

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, no, I’m controversial answer. But I say, I’ll just say a mixture of both. I like that, have some balls, but I say free weights, but I like starting with heavy free weight compound, and then going into more accessory movements with machine. So I’ll generally start with like a incline or flat dumbbell bench, barbell bench move into, I’ll say, like a dead lift or a squat, then move into, say, like extensions. hamstring, curl, or whatever it may be. You know, chess, machine, chess, fly, or using like the lever rows and things. So I’ll start with like a heavy compound moving to machine based weights. But if I had to pick one. I’d probably pick, I’d probably pick free weights. Yeah, Shane’s. Yeah. I think you are a bit more of free weight kind of purest from what I can tell from your training like you keep you keep deadlives in like for me, it’s more of just as physical. It’s also really mental thing. it yeah. Like, if I can get through prep and hold my numbers the whole way through, it’s like this. Mental challenge is probably not the safest thing, but I should try to pull like my favorite Max deadlift all the way through till the end of prep. I think it’s I think it’s good man like having that like mental and physical benchmark that you’re trying to maintain. And, as I say, as I go through prep, like the the music in my ears, gets loud, or the you know, more caffeine is going in. It’s just anything you have to do to it. Hopefully get through it. Fucking get the weight off the floor right all the way through, and then, when you rebound you, such your numbers are so much better. Those next couple of months after prep, once you start to Jack tubs up again and a little bit more body weight. So yeah, it’s it’s that’s the competition for me. That’s the challenge. Right? Calories go down white goes down. You got to keep that intensity. Keep that weight on the bar. That’s for me. That’s what it’s all about, really. Yeah, yeah, I do. I do feel that, like I am, I prefer probably machines more just because I like to be able to push myself really far in a set with a little bit more accessibility, but with the free weight stuff that I do still do. I do notice that, like each week, I’m desperate to maintain a progress on it like one of the big ones for me, is on my 1st law of day of the week. I’m like I’m always pushing to try and do more, and I think last week week before last had a really good week. Slept really well the night before rocked up. I felt really good and hit a really good set. I think it hit like 3 plates. I got 10 reps or something. and which is, Oh, this is yeah. It was good like. That was a that was a good Pb. I think. 5 kilo Pb. For me in this prep. So far, and I felt great. And then the next week, you know, the stars didn’t all align. Yeah, I didn’t hit that again, and I was just like so got it. But I think we can all learn from each other, though right like

 

Here is the transcript with character names assigned:

 

Hayden: I could probably do with more external stability on that a 1 exercise, and would put more effort into that, and it would be better for high purchase fee and that kind of thing. I think it’s just attacking your workouts with intensity is the main thing right throughout prep. And if you’re holding that intent like, if your trainings falling off, that’s a major indicator that either there’s something going wrong with your nutrition or your recovery, or just I guess your efforts not there. So for me, it’s all about effort, recovery, sleep.

 

Hayden: getting the getting your meals in at the right times and staying well hydrated. That’s the only thing for me is not getting enough water in. Like as you get lean. I want to make sure my muscle bellies are as full as possible. 

 

Hayden: you know, if the if you’re removing carbs, obviously, you know, less glycogen stores. So next best thing is just keeping those water, those hydration status up

 

Hayden: alright. Just pause for a second. Sorry writing a piss. Sorry? Yeah. Yeah. Talking about water. Make you want to piss kind of hold on the line. That’s what are we gonna do next? This or hit? 

 

Hayden: Yeah. 12 days

 

Hayden: yet.

 

Hayden: Bro, I’m going to get you to chop out the bit where I was like introducing either this or that. 

 

Hayden: Yeah, but I just sound like a fucking idiot.

 

Hayden: Yeah, no. Oh, you can keep it if you want, just get rid of the just get rid of the swearing in that. And the way I kept stuffing up. You can keep the branding part if you want.

 

Hayden: Yeah, yeah. 

 

Hayden: As I’ve just referenced, I’ve referenced Brandon so much. I started like, yeah. because he’s his like insights into his background was pretty relevant.

 

Hayden: Alright, so this, or hit what’s your go to, and what just have to take a quick break? Because, when when in piston. That’s a another door, mate. 

 

Hayden: Another side of the effect of Of a dog audience. 

 

Hayden: Have you noticed that you pissing all the time? Well, that’s the water intake, but that’s what I was saying like when your glycogen stores are low. 

 

Hayden: you know, limiting your carbohydrate intake. 

 

Hayden: You got to keep full. That’s what I mean like for me. Always throughout Preps. Since 2,017 I’ve had one of these like 2.5 later jugs of water couple. Scoops of amino is just smack like sipped on these all day throughout throughout the prep. And like it’s helped me maintain my fullness and my pumps and that kind of thing. So I think 

 

Hayden: I haven’t actually increased my water that much. So I think, isn’t it? Isn’t this something to the the fact that less glycogen means less like what uptake muscle and that see pissing out more. But I think for me it’s more just like a a mental thing, too, and I’ll find in winter especially. That’s when I’ve been prepping the 

 

Hayden: in the winter months. You tend to not drink as much. Yeah, sweating. Senior always said, you think you perceive you’re not sweating as much. 

 

Hayden: But yeah, it’s really important, I guess, in that sense. Yeah. So 

 

Hayden: lists or hit low intensity, steady state versus high intensity, interval training, high intensity, interval training is quite popular. It’s been a fad for quite a few years now. but for me.

 

Hayden: I’ll always opt for low intensity, steady state throughout all my fellow spaces. The main reason I choose that is because it’s generally going to be less fatiguing and take away less from my bodybuilding training as we were talking about before specificity. Obviously it’s important. 

 

Hayden: But I think last time we we spoke about this you mentioned. You have a little bit of a different approach for App probe. Is that right? I used to do a lot of hit

 

Hayden: 2017 to 2019. As I got close to prep, I’d incorporate more hit unless low intensity, steady state.

 

Hayden: yeah, I’ve just been doing low intensity, steady state at the moment. As I said, I’m bit a lot busier now with this prep like when I last did like that Prepper didn’t 2017, I didn’t have as like as much on my plate back then. So at the moment I’m just doing step, count my steps up to like 10 to 12 k.

 

Hayden: and then I just break up periods of sitting as much as possible to get my steps up as long as I hit those steps by the end of the day. I’m content. 

 

Hayden: Yeah, as as we get into the deeper end of prep, there might be points where you know I have to dig in a little bit more, maybe throw in some some ropes at the end of some sessions or wrong machine. Do some intervals. But yeah, I’m I’m similar to you. It’s more low intensity, steady state, just really getting my incidental activity up. 

 

Hayden: Yeah, I mean in terms of energy expenditure. If that’s the goal from our cardio. Then steps are, and just walking is so helpful because it doesn’t have a recovery cost. It’s easy to do. You can do it when you’re depleted, and you know it adds up a lot, because. 

 

Hayden: you know, doing 30 min of cardio is one thing, but you’ll step can across the whole day adds up a lot when you’re going from like 8 K to 12 K. You know, increasing 50%, it does play a big part and 

 

Hayden: something else I’ve been doing lately to try and help with that is trying to make the most of the time and spending at the gym. So walk around in between sets. 

 

Hayden: for the 1st half I was walking around between my sets and actually helped me feel a bit more recovered. You know, when you’re sitting down after a set of like heavy, low body exercise, lightheaded, nauseous. Actually walking around helps to get me ready again if I do a set to file your squats, though, like, I can barely yeah, yeah, that’s fair Barbara Palifene. 

 

Hayden: Everyone who does powerlifting is resting at least 5 min. 20 min, 20 min fucking rest. Sorry. Get on your fate. Get some steps in. You could probably pretty good get 20 min of walking in between bags of South

 

Hayden: alright. Next one. Can you talk about that with Andrew? Had like a Youtube, video, are you guys with, Oh, yeah. 

 

Hayden: yeah, our lift is, yeah. I remember that. Actually, before, I mean those kids,

 

Hayden: Alright, low volume versus high volume training. What’s your reference?

 

Hayden: Yeah, I think I told I told you about my history with leg training has been higher volume. our body a bit less.

 

Hayden: I’ve kind of just increased the frequency of my leg training dropped the volume off. Yeah, everything’s pretty 

 

Hayden: Yeah, I’ve just been doing low volume, training quality over quantity. When when you say you’ve increased your frequency with all body training, reduce the volume. So I I assume you’re meeting reducing the volume in a session. But what about you? Volume across the week? Is it so? Volume across the weeks? Pretty much the same. Okay, actually, probably a little bit less.

 

Hayden: Is there about 20 set to 16 to 20 sets of roll in is that like dispersed into, say, sessions? Would would you say that that 16 to 20 quads and hamstrings and glutes. So like 1620 quads, 16 to 20 hamstrings. Yeah. So what I would do would be so I have like back day, where I do dead leaves, and at the end of back I’ll probably have maybe 8 sets. maybe 2 hamstring exercises. So like a seated, lying, hamstring curl, and then on leg day I’ll have the additional say. i. 8 to 10 sets hamstring, so it might be Barbell audio. This time as a 1, and then I’ll have more quadriceps volume in around the if that makes sense. So a little bit of hamstring volume with back, and then a little bit of hamstring volume with quads, but a lot more quadricep volume when I train legs and then the same thing with say, like chest and shoulders. And I’m training. So if I do say, chest work, yeah, a little bit of triceps. and then when I do arms, I’ll have less triceps, more biceps, and then when I do back, there’ll be a little bit of little bit of biceps. I do shoulders. There’ll be less front deal toy, which I’ll put in my chest session a little bit. Anyway, you get the gist. Yeah. So what jigsaw puzzle? Yeah, that’s still like using a decent amount of volume. To be honest, I I do like across the week, but I guess per session. 

 

Hayden: yeah, it’s probably like 2 exercises for muscle group 2 to 3. Yeah, yeah, I do like to load a volume approach, because you kind of if you’re going into an exercise. And you know, they only have 2 sets. You give it everything. You really send it, even if you like you, you go into the thing being like, yeah, I’ve got 3 sets. I’m still gonna go to failure. You still won’t go as hard as if you have 2 sets. 

 

Hayden: Yeah, cause that that scarcity may means that you know, you really have to nail those sets. Yeah, you got to empty the tank. You got limited opportunities, you know. If you’re doing a like a massive volume workout, and you’ve got what? 1520 sets on a muscle group, but like just a slog. Yes, getting through it right. And you don’t put your full effort into every set you can’t like. 

 

Hayden: yeah, I mean, I’ve had a situation with plenty of clients where they come to me. And I’m like, All right. you 1st block, we’re gonna pull that all your volume back. Why, it’s significantly like what I don’t know think is enough training. I think it’s not volume. Sometimes it might even pull back their frequency training from like 5, 6 days to 4 days. 

 

Hayden: and at 1st a bit tentative. but then they experience that where they’re like, oh, shit! Only have this many sets. I need to make these sets count, and they see that they can make the same progress. They’re training less, they probably feel better. And if we need to increase volume from there, they now know where their new baseline for intensity is 

 

Hayden: so they’re gonna have better quality training. I think you kind of need to reset this standard in terms of the intensity of the sets, because I think a lot of people who have that issue like we’re talking about with Luke, where they want more volume in their sessions. They’re just not putting enough effort into each set. I think once I develop that standard that’s when they kind of click the switch, right? And yeah, understand? Like no distractions. 

 

Hayden: Yeah. A lot of loud music ramp up your sympathetic nervous system. Really attack every set like you’re once you’ve empty the tank, you’re exhausted. You need the rest. That’s when you like, really switch into gear, and you sort of learn. You know how to drain yourself on a limited number of sets. That’s 1 of the another great thing about bodybuilding that I love is. There’s always a little bit more you can. 

 

Hayden: Your ceiling is always a little bit higher than you think it is, and it’s trying to unlock that next gear. And I love helping clients achieve that as well. I brought in one of my online clients for the day. Shout out Debbie to do legs on Tuesday morning, and we I pushed him pretty hard. I think he spewed to be fairly. That was an ideal part. We found that that next gear, and you know he messed me a couple of days later. Me like Bro. like the dogs are crazy. And I’m like, Yeah, look, it’s very uncomfortable now. But now you know that you’re capable of more. And then that’s what bodybuilding is about. Yeah, really, in my opinion, just unlocking that new gear each time. 

 

Hayden: Yeah, no. Oh, you can keep it if you want, just get rid of the just get rid of the swearing in that. And the way I kept stuffing up. You can keep the branding part if you want.

 

Hayden: Yeah, yeah. 

 

Hayden: As I’ve just referenced, I’ve referenced Brandon so much. I started like, yeah. because he’s his like insights into his background was pretty relevant.

 

Hayden: Alking verse cutting. What’s your preference for me?

 

Hayden: I think the best thing about cutting is you look good and your how should I say this? Your digestive system is working a bit cleaner. but besides that I love the performance in bulking or hey feeling bulking or the sleeping bulking. It’s just everything’s better, provided you’re not getting fat like staying within like. Say, if I can bulk and stay within 12, to say 16% body fat. then that’s my ideal, like just staying there and just milking that as much as possible. 

 

Hayden: Yeah, a bit of a side tangent. But Mike is retells. Recently I guess, gave a bit of a review of Donna White’s Ufc. Well, Dana. What, Dana Watt? 

 

Hayden: He’s a transformation. Oh, yeah, just roasted him. Really, he was like talking. He was hyping up this, you know. Cold water immersion. It was not a while ago. No, I thought it was something a while ago. Yeah, it popped anyway. Popped up on on Youtube. Yeah, so I watched that the other night I was doing Cardio but he was basically just saying, like he’s on. He started Trt and he’s got one of the big trainers in the life baby. I can’t remember who he mentioned. It was one of the guys. I think he’s does the life baby mma with Lee priest, and that, anyway. 

 

Hayden: yeah, put it all down at TRT. But he was laughing because it’s likely due to the Trt. But also just the fact that he’s lost like 20 kilos from cleaning up his diet and eating well, and all these markers are improved. He’s saying he’s got no disease anymore. All these problems are going away. Oh, didn’t he? Didn’t he got a big thing about how’s all down to his fasting? 

 

Hayden: Yeah, like. But but basically. what Mike, is your tell saying when you lose weight from tidying up the foods you’re eating, reducing your calorie consumption, starting to incorporate more physical activity just being on your feet more. 

 

Hayden: Yeah, the the balancing his his hormones it’s not that. It’s not the last bath. It’s not the the infrared Sauna. So all that bullshit. It’s just the fact that you improved your body composition. You lost a bit of white all these blood markers and everything. So I think that’s like kind of what you’re saying there, like you just feel better. It digestive health improves cholesterol blood, blood, glucose, blood pressure markers. They all they all improve. So I know what you’re saying. It’s a bit of like a a bit of a health kick period. You can really bring. Bring everything back to a, you know, really healthy level. Not not if it’s but just yeah, you know, you just feel generally better. For for me, though, like even when I’m cutting. 

 

Hayden: It’s different story, I think, in prep as yet to the back end of prep. But the first, st the 1st stage for me in a fatal space when I’m getting Lena. And I’m kind of in a healthy, lean kind of range. I’d like. My brain works better as well. 

 

Hayden: for me that’s the hardest part. A starting prep for me is always the hardest part. And the reason it is is because you go from this period where, like. like, you’re going to the gym full of cobs. and then 1st say, month, you drop your carbs. You’re really flat, like your glycogen stores. Once you depleted yourself, you start like you’d like you almost like. just a little bit. 

 

Hayden: soft. Yeah. You don’t have the same fullness. Yeah, not getting the same pumps. That’s that’s for me. But once you fight through that, and you know, everything starts to come to life. The vascularity you start to see the lines. That’s when it all like, I love that once you get through that little patch at the start I love. Every week your body starts to change. And it’s so exciting to see like the adaptations. 

 

Hayden: Yeah. Well, for those that I guess aren’t into bodybuilding much. What Hayden is kind of referring to is when you drop your carbohydrates quite a bit. your when you are full of carbohydrates, your muscle is very full of both glycogen and water. and then when you’re taking away those carbs and you’re moving that glycogen, your muscles hold a lot less water. But you actually haven’t lost a lot of body fat away. Yeah. So your yeah, the same amount of body fat. But your muscles are appearing smaller. You kind of just feel soul. Yeah. Yeah. 

 

Hayden: But the glycogen thing is a you can load glycogen across the week right, and feel a massive difference in your fullness, like when you, when I know people don’t like using the term. I know I spoke to a Pre. CC. Doesn’t like the term. But Peak week. Let’s just say the preparatory preparatory phase before a competition, right? Massive difference between full and full, and, you know, flat, flat, and fullness. But then the fat loss. It’s a very gradual process over a number of months and weeks. So I guess in that what I’m saying in that earlier phase where you’re a bit flat on Carbs. you still got holding a lot of your body fat. So you get this soft kind of feeling, and that’s where that’s where you just gotta fight through and trust the process right? And that’s where it’s important, for you know people like yourself doing your 1st comp just to have an extra set of eyes and ears to guide you in that sense keep you on track. Not second. Guess yourself. I think once you’ve been through that you learn a lot about trusting the process, and I think that’s why it’s exciting for me this time around, because of an opportunity to work myself through that and make adjustments when necessary. But yeah, I think for me. 

 

Hayden: I would say. bulking is my preference only because I really love the intensity with training and carbs, and just being full. And yeah, lifting heavy. That’s for me the exciting part. But they both, as you say, they both serve their purpose and have parts of the process which I love. So every every phase has function, as Brandon would say, yeah, that’s it, Brandon

 

Hayden: guys, we do have to begin wrapping up because we’re actually recording our episode with Eric pretty soon in in 10 min. I believe so by the time you guys listening to this, Eric’s episode will be out in a week or so, so make sure you look around for that. And if you guys have any suggestions or what you’d like to hear us talk about on these reconnect episodes, let us know, because it is a bit more of a chill, relaxed, kickback kind of kind of vibe. So it’s a good opportunity just to have some open discussion. 

 

Hayden: Yeah, we might even be able to call some guests in. If you guys got any questions you’re interested in us answering some more personal stories or providing our own personal insights. Yeah, send send through your questions. If you want to suggest a guest or be a guest yourself. Send those through beautiful and guys. If you enjoy this episode, please feel free to give it a rating on spotify. and we’ll see you guys soon. 

 

Hayden: I can just chop that bit a minute at the end. I just don’t know why I threw that in which one we can call in guests or whatever, and calling guests for how are we gonna call in guests? Jump on the zoom link, I mean, okay, maybe alright. Don’t ask 

 

Hayden: alright. Let’s get this shit ready, Ferrick.

 

Hayden: hopefully. 

 

Hayden: Are you recording that zoom? I mean, yeah, just end it and let it record just end the 

 

Hayden: but it yeah, just end it.