Alex_uk: 40 years in the making

Training Training Logs
4273

09/03/25 - morning weight - 199

Not surprised about the weight at all, yesterday was a family day and we spent the day playing games whilst eating snacks, did homemade pizzas, watched inside out 2 together. Awesome day and I’m more than happy to not have had the perfect diet for the day.

Pizzas went really well (I showed zero restraint with the cheese in the end, worth it):

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Chorizo and Chicken tikka, weird but good combo (I’m still British!).

Very good point, I’m making really good progress whilst keeping the form tight and Brian’s recommendation for the next wave seems insane:

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That means if I do 160kg for 8 next week, the week after my 5’s should start at 160kg with 4 more sets increasing in weight, then beat those sets each week for 2 more weeks and then take the same recommendation into the next wave and repeat! I’d be repping way into 1rm PR territory, fairly early on, the jumps will have to be small.

All that to say yes, I agree flats; my jumps will probably be decreasing from here on out, and I’ll still make excellent progress!

Thanks QQ!

8 Likes
4274

10/03/25 - morning weight: 198.75

Did some more family games and finished off the snacks last night, after a roast dinner, so if I had done any sort of tracking cals, fats and carbs would have been pretty high (Friday right through to Sunday in all honesty). Great weekend and the joy of having a really long window to get into the shape I want to is that these weekends (first one I’ve had since I started in the first week of Jan) aren’t derailing.

Ideally looking for another 9lbs, just over 10 weeks to go. This should be fairly straightforward, thinking I should be done about 6 weeks time. That will give me time to maintenance and slightly increase, so that I’m building my metabolism back up a little bit before the cruise. That’s dependent on me being in the right shape.

If I’ve still got further to go, then I’ll have another 4 weeks and I can add some finishing touch type stuff (add LISS and maybe 1 HIIT session, whatever fat burners are legal in the UK…not many, and not particularly effective but might just help at that point, increase the caffeine if BP is still solid - I suspect nicotine was the biggest culprit) and maybe start tracking and decrease cals slightly if needed.

Really hoping that’s not needed, I ideally want to see me approaching roughly 10-12% bf (fully defined all 6 abs showing, in normal everyday lighting) without any sort of tracking.

LP W1 W2 D7

Main GS
A1) Squat jumps: 4 x 5 sets
A2) SSB squat: 60, 100, 110, 120, 135kg x 8
A3) Cable woodcutters: 10kg x 8 e/s x 5 sets
A4) face pulls: red band x 10 x 5 sets

̶S̶e̶c̶o̶n̶d̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶G̶S̶ ̶ ̶
B̶1̶)̶ ̶P̶a̶u̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶S̶S̶B̶ ̶s̶q̶u̶a̶t̶s̶:̶ ̶8̶0̶,̶ ̶9̶0̶,̶ ̶1̶0̶0̶,̶ ̶1̶1̶0̶k̶g̶ ̶x̶ ̶8̶ ̶B̶2̶)̶ ̶G̶H̶R̶:̶ ̶8̶ ̶x̶ ̶4̶ ̶s̶e̶t̶s̶
B3̶)̶ ̶C̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶w̶o̶o̶d̶c̶u̶t̶t̶e̶r̶s̶:̶ ̶1̶0̶k̶g̶ ̶x̶ ̶8̶ ̶e̶/̶s̶ ̶x̶ ̶4̶ ̶s̶e̶t̶s̶ ̶B̶4̶)̶ ̶f̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶p̶u̶l̶l̶s̶:̶ ̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶x̶ ̶1̶0̶ ̶x̶ ̶4̶ ̶s̶e̶t̶s̶ ̶ ̶ ̶

A̶s̶s̶i̶s̶t̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶
C̶1̶)̶ ̶B̶u̶l̶g̶a̶r̶i̶a̶n̶ ̶S̶p̶l̶i̶t̶ ̶S̶q̶u̶a̶t̶s̶:̶ ̶1̶0̶k̶g̶ ̶D̶B̶s̶ ̶x̶ ̶3̶ ̶e̶/̶s̶ ̶x̶ ̶1̶0̶ ̶E̶M̶O̶M̶

Procrastinated this so hard, but had to get it done today - very time limited this week. Threw my caffeine limit out just to try and stop myself dragging and getting into this session, energy drinks and a pre-workout. A little bit of physical/tiredness but mostly mental, not sure caffeine can help with that. Had typed the session out after I knew what I was going to get for the day…

Mistake:

One of the very rare times you’ll hear me swear.

Two things, 1 my head wasn’t in that I knew that but didn’t necessarily think that would lead to me on the floor in pain, 2 my belt is significantly looser and probably needed adjusting, but honestly probably wouldn’t have saved me here.

I was having a really crappy day mentally already, this just took a massive steaming dump on that. Today can just do one.

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4275

You can’t catch a break lately man. Hopefully this doesn’t turn out to be anything serious and you’re back on the saddle soon.

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4276

Thanks Brandon, yea back to back injuries (well shoulder to back…) very much got me angry yesterday and feeling frustrated today.

Sleep wasn’t great as moving hurt, so tired today. Looking on the flip side - there’s always something to analyse and learn from. I get back issues semi regularly, I don’t do anything to prevent them.

I’m no expert here but there are generally a couple of likely causes, core strength and hip tightness, I think given the amount of core work I do that’s unlikely, but given the amount of sitting I do, hip tightness is the more probable culprit, but it won’t hurt to do more for work as well.

Leaving a couple of videos here for me to work on:

Hips:

Back:

Focus for me will be working on these things, then picking up the walking (need back to come out of spasm first, currently moving like a shuffling old man) and chin ups and dips if my shoulders are up to them press ups if not, until I’m able to get back to full training.

Morning weight 198.25.

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4277

Sorry to see you go down like that. I hope you rebound quickly.

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4278

Oh shit I am very sorry, man! That was painful to watch. I hope you will rebound quickly! I don’t have the time capacity for detailled coaching right now but if you want, I can offer a bit of consultation to assess the sitatuation and send some infos your way about how to treat the acute phase of the injury (preferably through email or messenger). I specialize in shoulder, back and knee rehab in my professional life.

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4279

While it will not hurt to stretch them (why should it), I can almost guarantee it is not the culprit. As long as you stand up straight as often as once per day, sitting will not change your hips (it is bad for your back through other mechanisms though but that’s not the topic here). Core strength is not an issue either (in your case).

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4280

Dude that would be so awesome, I’d really appreciate that - email wise (excuse the dodgy looking email - an old throwaway account) alexslovefilm@gmail.com

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4281

I’ll get back to you asap but not before evening unfortunately bc of work.

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4282

No worries, appreciate it whenever you can!

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4283

That sucked to watch. Sorry to see you injured again.

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4284

15/03/25 - morning weight 197.5

I’m off the NSAIDs and painkillers, still stiff with some minor pain, but got some rehab going massive thanks to @Koestrizer for his time and effort in this, he’ll have me pulling PRs before we know it!

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4285

Glad to hear it, mate! You will indeed be back in no time! :slight_smile:

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4286

17/03/25 - morning weight 196.75

Back to 2 meals and 250g FF greek yogurt and 25g whey twice per day (usually with blueberries) until I’m back lifting this is easier.

Legs are getting leaner but abdominal region still not there yet, I’m less convinced 190lb will give me what I’m looking for, will re-assess when I’m there as to quite how low I’m willing to go, a little over 9 weeks left till the cruise so plenty of time to adjust. Will aim for 190 within 6 weeks.

Adding an ecgc supplement and a caffeine supplement to go along with fasted morning walking, they’re cheap, proven ingredients, might not make any tangible difference, but for the sake of £15 and a minimal risk I’m game. (Will monitor BP).

Eating eggs for my first meal and listening to the Gaston song whilst I do, decided to check the macros on his egg consumption, daily macros just from eggs:

  • Calories: ~4,200 kcal
  • Protein: ~360g
  • Fat: ~300g
  • Carbs: ~30g

No wonder he’s so jacked, could this be my next bulking diet?!

8 Likes
4287

I have absolutely engaged in this exact same exercise, haha. I also contemplated the state of eggs he had access to vs our own. I assume this is the 5 dozen he currently eats vs the 4 dozen he ate as a lad. But also keep in mind: this is just his MORNING meal. Lord knows what else he’s putting away.

There IS a historical precedent here though: Vince Gironda had a “36 eggs a day” diet he pitched. For him, they were raw eggs, and with a bunch of supplements, but his premise was that eggs contained all the stuff to get your hormones right for gaining. It was the “hormone precursor diet”. And in the carnivore space, there are people that engage in “egg fasts” for something of a similar reason: just get the body in a metabolic reset.

From a keto perspective, eggs are about the perfect food. Many of them are 1:1 as far as fat to protein ratio goes, which is about ideal for getting into ketosis.

So much “food for thought” there, haha.

2 Likes
4288

Not sure if this is an abuse of the phrase given the context - but great minds!

That’s a little more reasonable! I’m between 6-12 large eggs per day, could definitely do more I need to do another BtM run with an honest run at the food and conditioning.

Eggs only keto diet, super simple!

1 Like
4289

17/03/25 - afternoon & early evening

PM:
Dips: 5 x 10 sets
S/s
Face pulls: red band x 10 x 10 sets

Evening:
Deadlifts - did bar, 30, 40, 60, 60kg x 5

Trying to get something done in the recovery phase, deadlifts were @Koestrizer recommend (although he recommended a slightly more conservative approach).

Felt good on all counts, then tweaked my back slightly playing football (soccer) with my son, seems no worse now than before though.

8 Likes
4290

18/03/25 - 195.75

Walked - 2.5 miles in 45 mins.

The weight is dropping, probably a little too fast, but I had a bit of a sparse food day yesterday so there’s that. Also I’m not sure at this point I can be bothered to correct, even if it does continue a little faster then intended. I very much doubt there is any meaningful muscle loss, and even if there is, it will come back. I have one goal in this phase fat loss; it’s happening and it’s easy, why change what’s working.

9 Likes
4291

Always fascinating to see the people that actually buy-in to fat loss run into the issue of losing “too fast” while those that just pay lip service to it will hang out at 114kg for months at a time, especially when those in the latter camp are PRIMED to rapidly drop weight once they actually pull the trigger. Good to see you “keep the goal the goal”

2 Likes
4292

Yup, it is something that is genuinely frustrating to me and saddens me somewhat, as I deal with it much closer to home as well. Words are cheap, actions speak infinitely louder.

I feel like throwing in a bible quote at this point, I’m clearly taking it wildly out of context, but still it’s applicable to every aspect of life:

Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

I know I’ve been guilty of paying lip service to myself in the past, but it’s emptiness and it’s a trait I want to stamp out in myself, wherever I can, I am actually happy with how this looks in almost every area of my life, always more to do but it’s satisfying being someone who takes action, rather than someone who speaks empty words.

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