These are a good place to start.
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Week 1: Day 4
Paused squat: 2x5-165lbs, 1x5-155lbs, 1second pause, beltless
front squat: 2x10-`105lbs
OVH press: 3x8-65lbs
Adductor machine: 3x10-50lbs
face pulls: 3x10-37.5lbs
Cardio: 25min eliptical
- felt good- squats were especially stable, rest of it was fine, cardio done in the PM with cohortmate
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@Brant_Drake
Do you have any favourite resources on putting together menus? or any principles/rules of thumb you follow?
Iām revising my āyellow croakerā menu:
- warm nicoise- replace tuna with yellow croaker
- a shared korean style pancake- with yelllow croaker as the protein and some chinese pickles instead of kimchi
- yellow croaker soup- with yellow croaker ānoodlesā (fish paste mixed with egg white and cornstarch then piped in a noodle shape and boiled)
- crispy yellow croaker yuba roll
- Smoked yellow croaker stuffed with rice (ham and bok choy mixed with the rice)
- coconut jelly with mango sauce
- Rice tea with sesame brittle
Concerns
- Repetition: the ānoodlesā and rice dishes are repetitive since they are both considered āstarchesā even though the ānoodlesā are part of a soup dish. I feel like egg dumplings would be too similar in category to spring roll but regular fishballs would be too boring. The pancake and spring roll might also seem too repetitive
- Dish order: abrupt transition between the heavy flavoured rice and the fruity dessert. Should there be some kind of palate cleanser between this and the dessert, possibly putting the soup after the rice?
I actually wrote an article about this, but canāt seem to find it, so here are the unwritten rules for you.
1.) Think about the total menu size. Most people eat about 40 bites per meal, so sizing courses is a factor. Obviously the eaters size, the satiety level of the food, beverages consumed will make that number fluctuate, but not much.
1.5) Having an amuse if you need it is always great to have in a clutch. Make this the weird thing you like in case you get to eat 40 of them.
2.) I usually start with cold first course and cold desserts. So an interactive food board or carpaccio or canape, as examples of hands-off things to ease your start time and the dessert to give you clean up time. Brulees are adaptable and flashy, or any baked thing with some fun components. I put lava cakes on my menu once. Fuck that unless I hired a sous.
3.) Alternate almost everything. Each course should be a palate cleanser for the previous to keep people eating, but thatās a lot of wiggle room. Sweet/savory, soft/crunchy, cold/hot, liquid/carbs.
4.) Start slow, build up, then drop off, and finally let everyone linger over the final course. There is a parallel to warmup/workout/cooldown.
5.) Make 2 extra portions. You will always burn/drop one, and have a surprise vegetarian.
6.) When youāre using an ingredient multiple times, make it as varied as possible. For instance, carrot seven ways - puree, roasted, raw, pickled, greens, carrot powder, fermented.
7.) Donāt fuck with peoples food. No matter how stupid their request seems.
I think it looks good and Iām just trying to be helpful, so none of this is gospel.
- crispy yellow croaker yuba roll - good starter.
- warm nicoise- replace tuna with yellow croaker - soft textures here for your components.
- yellow croaker soup- with yellow croaker ānoodlesā (fish paste mixed with egg white and cornstarch then piped in a noodle shape and boiled) - I actually kind of want this
- a shared korean style pancake- with yelllow croaker as the protein and some chinese pickles instead of kimch - Good point to introduce an acid.
- Rice tea with sesame brittle - I feel this needs another component, but donāt have ideas, but on the sweeter side.
- Smoked yellow croaker stuffed with rice (ham and bok choy mixed with the rice) - I want this too.
- coconut jelly with mango sauce - maybe add a crunchy element?
1.) Noodles and rice are spaced out. And the macronutrient mindset doesnāt apply with the shapes and textures. Same with rolls and pancakes. Each dish will make them forget the previous one.
2.) Fat and salty to sweet and light is perfect. Like when youāre stoned and alternate between Doritos and cosmic brownies. I dunno, SkyeZ might have told me that.
Overall, it looks great. Post pictures when you do it.
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Wow! This is really helpful!
Iām China and Japan, Itās traditional to end a meal with a ātea courseā, thatās why I put it at the end and made it incomplete
Maybe I could interrupt here with a break for some mini fruit based cocktail shot? (E.g., sake or soju with sour plum and honey)
Toasted coconut flakes and crushed almonds?
For sure! Itās going to be my yearly āblowout mealā for mum and friends
My head is like an unmarked can of spray paint. Sometimes you just have to shake it up and see what comes out.
i dunno whats in there.
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Iām going to respectfully disagree here and say leave it as is. A dish doesnāt need to have texture to tick off a box. For example, a chocolate mousse does not need a crunchy element to elevate it.
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Week 1: Day 5
Deadlift: 3x6-235lbs
RDL: 3x9-135lbs w/3sec eccentrics
leg extensions: 3x10-90lbs
btn press: 3x8-55lbs
straight arm pulldown: 3x10-35lbs
conditioning: 12x(100sec hard rope pull machine (easier setting)+20sec off)
- good workout, deadlifts were light but finger got pissed so switched to using straps after second set, rest of it was fine
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Week 1: Day 6
10min bike- easy
db halos: 5x10-25lb db, done EMOM
10min bike- medium
tricep pushdowns: 5x12-25lbs, done EMOM
10min bike- harder
lying leg raises: 5x12, done EMOM
- good recovery cardio session.
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Week 2: Day 1
gym was really packed today for some reasonā¦ ig all the people who usually run in the mornings crowded in to lift with the rainā¦ had to wait 15min for a squat rack and wasnāt going to wait for anything elseā¦
Squat: 1x5-165, 3x5-175lbs
overhead press: 1x7,2x6-75lbs
seated leg curl: 3x10-55lbs
adductor machine: 3x11-50lbs
- switching some things around based on availability, squats felt solid, rest of it was fine
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Week 2: Day 2
Paused deadlift: 2x4-225, 2x4-215
bench: 4x4-105lbs
seated row: 3x10-70lbs
lat pulldown: 2x8, 1x9-65lbs
abductor machine: 1x10,11,12-105lbs
some extra work
DB flyes: 4x15-17.5lb dbs, superset w/100 jumping jacks
Seal rows: 3x30-17.5lb dbs, superset w/100 jumping jacks
lying reverse flyes: 3x30-5lb dbs (theseā¦areā¦ hardā¦), superset w/100 jumping jacks
- felt solid but pretty tired, deadlifts went better than expected, rest of it was just annoying upper body work. Figured Iād do some cardio but really didnāt want to do stead state or push intervals ā more accessories to spice things up, got HR up and did the job
School Update: @SvenG
Summary: very stressful
- classes are fineā¦ I amā¦ hanging on. Itās very scary because I donāt have the robust support system I had in undergrad. In econ, Iām an outsider so donāt get much support. In my other class, I seem to be one of the more competent ones because I am one of the few who pay attention AND have english as a first language. that isnāt great for me because this is the FIRST rigorous stats class Iāve ever takenā¦ blind leading the blind lol
- Research is at a complete standstillā¦ my job is literally āthinkā. I love how much freedom my advisor gives me. I just feel like sheās throwing me into the deep end. I have had research experience in undergrad, but there was so much handholding. Advisor emailed me two days ago and basically said āI have access to data but no ideas at the moment. Have funā
Iām really having to readjust what āworkā is
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This was my experience when I first got to your old school for my MS, and then again when I landed in my PhD program two years laterā¦
But I managed.
And besides: Youāre smarter than Iāll ever be and you work harder than I ever didāyouāve got this!
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Work is: hard. 
I donāt know whats allowed for you in that environment, but I do well working with certain types of people.
Like left uncharged, I sit idle. Just a bunch of skills in a box labeled SkyzykS in a vaccum of possibility.
My buddy though- heās pretty creative. He comes up with ideas for stuff and conveys them to me, then we discuss it a little bit and he stands back to let me do my thing. Now Iām charged and have a direction to apply those skills in.
So the trick for me has been to identify my skills that can be brought to bear and find people that enable me to use them to their full extent.
I dunno if that applies to you or what youāre doing, but thats how I work best.
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This, x2.
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I can so relate to this. To all of what you said, really. Iām a leader in that once I get charged up over an idea, people will follow. Iām passionate and good at selling my vision. But Iām not a boss. I donāt set the pace until/unless I get excited, then I start running and the rest of the team has to speed up.
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Im really glad for that. For years (all of adulthood) Iāve been thinking that there was something wrong with me. Its only in the last couple that Iāve begun to accept this and use it more.
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I donāt think Iāve ever struggled with it, because all of my jobs since age 21 have been about helping people find the will or the means to pursue the changes they want or need. First in gyms, then a weight loss center, and finally doing therapy. So Iāve known Iām able to influence.
But I have a strong streak of follower in me. Like you said, until something grabs me, I just wander along sort of empty of will. The clients/patients grab me, though. Always. āSad? OH NO!ā And I kick right in. The entire machine - heart, mind - powers up.
Editing to add that I see this exact thing in you as well. Youād make a good counselor.
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Oh my! I know this is Annas log, and I donāt mean to derail, but that is an extraordinary compliment! Thank you! 
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Week 2: Day 3
Eliptical: 10min
Bike: 10min
incline treadmill: 10min
DB snatch: 4x4/side-40lbs, done EMOM
DB bench: 4x6/side-40lbs, done EMOM
Bosu Ball planks: 7x(30sec+30sec rest)
- felt absolute shite- terrible sleep, sore etcā¦ felt much better after doing something but was hungry soā¦ cheat meal lol
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To illustrate what I meant, my work is to produce 2-3 ideas for what to do with data
It was all that was on my schedule- āthinkā
āTangibleā work from classes was finished by Thursday
I looked through the data, read some papers, browsed onlineā¦ā¦. Watched a movie, some YouTubeā¦ā¦
I came up with 2 passable ideas 10 minutes ago. You know what made things finally click?
Talking to my friend about cooking + watching a YouTube video about the catty culture in MLMs reminded me of long range strong ties and a paper modelling networks as simplical complexes
Both those things are generally considered ādistractionsā and my advisor doesnāt care whether the ideas clicked from 10 hours of reading papers or 10 hours of dicking around. Actually, she would care. She told me to stop reading so many papers 
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