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Dan Cole, Wexford, PA (2026)

05/24/2026

“Off” Season Week 84 ✅

Average AM bodyweight: 191.6 lbs (up from 191.0 lbs 4 weeks ago). For reference: lowest prep weigh-in in 2024 was 165.1 lbs, peak ~168 lbs.

The past month has shown some potential signs that my hormonal health might finally be improving: training performance has finally been upticking regularly, visually things seem to be improving with my physique seeming to come to life a bit, & possibly other subjective signs that things might be improving hormonally. I’m not convinced yet that I’m out of the woods but I’m trying to be optimistic as I strive to restore a version of myself more similar to my 2024 self, both physically & mentally.

Over the past couple of months I’ve taken a bit of a kitchen sink approach in restoring my health; I’ve overhauled my supplement protocol, taken positive steps to reduce my stress & improve my mental health, improved my sleep including getting to bed a bit earlier, cleaned up some visible surface mold in my basement, swapped out the Ceylon cinnamon & cocoa powder I used for products lower in heavy metals, & probably a few things I’m forgetting LOL. I’m also lining up a sleep study & working on a few things to improve my overall quality of life, primarily socially.

In the coming week I intend to run a deload week, which was probably a bit overdue (I don’t think I’ve done so since November). I deferred deloading because recently I have needed the psychological outlet of training and it has actually been positively progressing. I also think this upcoming deload & its associated stress reduction might be complementary to the other positive changes I’m making to restore my health too.

Work continues. No quit.
_____
🔹Nutritional coaching by
🔹Injury management consulting by .performance.therapy
⠀
____
“NND”
“NATTYNEWSDAILY”
⠀

05/17/2026

Small dump from ⚫️🟡

Check out for a few clips I grabbed from the NPC Natural Pittsburgh today 💪🏻 I had a great time meeting with new & old friends while watching the show & walking around the expo. In hindsight I should have grabbed a few more personal photos!!

____
“NND”
“NATTYNEWSDAILY”
⠀

05/17/2026

Huge congratulations & shoutout to client .c.leonard who crushed his season opener today. He claimed both the overall bodybuilding win & his OCB pro card at the Jersey Natural Open!!

Pete & I have been working together for over a year, starting with a dedicated 9 months of growing before transitioning into prep in late December. He’s an absolute pleasure to work with through it all & I’m blessed by the trust he’s put in me throughout the process. He’s a workhorse, highly coachable, & committed to doing what it takes to succeed. He does all while balancing his responsibilities as a father, husband, and PT.

Thank you Pete for your trust & I’m looking forward to continuing to crush your season! He’s just getting warmed up 👀

____
“NND”
“NATTYNEWSDAILY”
⠀

04/29/2026

Strawberry Fruit Splash 🍓🫚

Underrated soda line 🥤

____
“NND”
“NATTYNEWSDAILY”
⠀

04/26/2026

“Off” Season Week 80 ✅

Average AM bodyweight: 191.0 lbs (up from 189.5 4 weeks ago). For reference: lowest prep weigh-in in 2024 was 165.1 lbs, peak ~168 lbs.

Weight had been sticking at ~189.5 for about a month before finally whooshing up over the last 3 weeks. In that same stretch, I’ve started to see some training performance progressions and possible visual improvements alongside the scale increase—both of which have been hard to come by over the past year.

I turned 33 this past week. This past year was challenging, frustrating, and at times felt like a step backward—especially with my health. Comparing visuals at similar bodyweights, progress hasn’t been quite what I wanted. Training stimulus quality is up, but performance hasn’t followed to the same degree. I’ve likely maintained most of my muscle, but ongoing hormonal issues have probably limited much further growth.

This year, the focus is restoring hormonal health.

Over the past month, I’ve also made some significant personal changes—ones I believe will be positive long term.

I’ve overhauled most of my supplementation as well—cutting some things, simplifying others, and prioritizing NSF/Informed Sport certified products. Whether that directly moves the needle or not, it’s a step in the right direction.

Looking ahead, the goal is to get myself back to a place closer to 2024—when things were clicking.

Work continues.
_____
🔹Nutritional coaching by
🔹Injury management consulting by .performance.therapy
⠀
____
“NND”
“NATTYNEWSDAILY”
⠀

03/30/2026

“Off” Season Week 76 ✅

Average AM bodyweight this past week was 189.5 lbs, up from 188.5 lbs four weeks ago. The lowest single weigh-in I saw during 2024 prep was 165.1 lbs while my peaked/filled bodyweight was ~168 lbs.

I adjusted my side leg positioning on my right side posing (side chest & tricep) to better smash my hamstring into my rear leg, & definitely think it looks better now.

I got my MRI results back; it did show a very small (4 mm) pituitary adenoma or Cleft’s cyst. My endocrinologist wasn’t particularly concerned about it & a cursory search indicated that adenomas of this size can frequently be found in asymptomatic people (sort of similar to asymptomatic spines showing disc bulges on scans). Is it possible this is the cause of my symptoms & issues? Maybe, but possibly/probably not. Back to the drawing board I go. I’m working now on revising my supplement protocol, as it’s not impossible I’ve taken something contaminated. This past year has basically been throwing darts without even knowing where the dartboard is. Frustrating, but I can only control or understand so much.

Training has been pretty decent lately, back in the groove after my deload last month. Movements have been feeling progressively more accurate, which is good. I’m still ticking my boxes daily & working to improve what I can, with the tools at hand.

Work continues.
_____
🔹Nutritional coaching by
🔹Injury management consulting by .performance.therapy
⠀
____
“NND”
“NATTYNEWSDAILY”
⠀

03/07/2026

“Off” Season Week 72 ✅

Almost a week late on the update as other priorities took precedence in the past week.

Average AM bodyweight this past week was 188.5 lbs, up from 187.4 lbs four weeks ago. The lowest single weigh-in I saw during 2024 prep was 165.1 lbs while my peaked/filled bodyweight was ~168 lbs.

It’s been a busy & hectic month, but productive. I had a pituitary MRI done a couple weeks ago & I’m still waiting on the results & doctor feedback.

I took a somewhat preemptive deload last weekend during a trip out to ND, which was an awesome trip. I hadn’t deloaded since November so a travel weekend with limited time made sense to deliberately back off for a few day.

Not a ton to update on the bodybuilding side lately, but I’m still ticking my boxes & working to improve both generally & in similar specific areas as previous updates via deliberate tensioning in my sets: quad sweep, adductors, hamstrings, TFL, lats, etc.

Work continues.
_____
🔹Nutritional coaching by
🔹Injury management consulting by .performance.therapy
⠀
____
“NND”
“NATTYNEWSDAILY”
⠀

02/01/2026

“Off” Season Week 68 ✅

Average AM bodyweight this past week was 187.4 lbs, up from 187.0 lbs four weeks ago. The lowest single weigh-in I saw during 2024 prep was 165.1 lbs while my peaked/filled bodyweight was ~168 lbs.

I survived snowmageddon last weekend (foot of snow in a single day) but I dropped a full lb of bodyweight from all the shoveling, even despite adding a little bit of extra food 🤣.

I’ve recently started shifting a few of my sets into higher rep ranges (10+). I found myself relying a bit too heavily on 4-6 rep sets, & do believe some allocation of higher rep work is probably valuable from a hypertrophy or at least a visual (fullness) standpoint. Overall training has been quite productive & increasingly more accurate. I’m seeing my quad sweep & adductors rounding out a bit more, which are areas I need a bit more.

Hormonal issues do still remain as I wait on a pituitary MRI this month; part of me hopes it reveals something & part of me hopes it doesn’t.

Work continues.
_____
🔹Nutritional coaching by
🔹Injury management consulting by .performance.therapy
⠀
____
“NND”
“NATTYNEWSDAILY”
⠀

01/17/2026

.foods Coconut Cream Pie Creamy Rice 🥥🥧

Even better than expected. didn’t miss.

____
“NND”
“NATTYNEWSDAILY”
⠀

01/06/2026

“Off” Season Week 64 ✅

Happy 2026 🎉

Average AM bodyweight this past week was 187.0 lbs, up from 186.8 lbs four weeks ago. The lowest single weigh-in I saw during 2024 prep was 165.1 lbs while my peaked/filled bodyweight was ~168 lbs.

I recently consulted with to help me troubleshoot my hormonal issues. We developed a plan to address a few deficiencies in my bloodwork, further tests to get done, & more items to troubleshoot.

Lately in training I’ve been making some ex*****on adjustments to improve & more deliberately direct tension & contract. This is still a work in progress to refine this skillset, & certain muscles or muscle segments are definitely more challenging for me to deliberately leverage & tension into. It’s been a bit of a shift from simply moving weight A to B (even with good ranges of motion on paper), but it seems to come with a higher ROI (stimulus to fatigue ratio) & incurring better pumps & soreness where I want it. Deliberate effort does tend to result in deliberate results after all.

Still holding onto glute lines & body composition does appear to be improved at this scale weight, particularly in my lower body where I tend to hold most of my body fat. Despite the challenges of 2025, I do think I made forward strides in development.

Here’s to a productive & healthy 2026.

New year, (mostly) same me. Let’s continue to work.

_____
🔹Nutritional coaching by
🔹Injury management consulting by .performance.therapy
⠀
____
“NND”
“NATTYNEWSDAILY”
⠀

Dan Cole

05/24/2026

05/17/2026

05/17/2026

04/29/2026

04/26/2026

03/30/2026

03/07/2026

02/01/2026

01/17/2026

01/06/2026

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