Week 2: Day 3
40min cardio workout video
- felt great
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Just an observation of mine- human bodies donāt look their best when theyāre still. They look much better in motion.
Even when a person is staying still (posing) and having pictures taken, it may take hundreds of shots to get a couple that are actually āgoodā.
Still I look like a pierogi with hair. In motion though- wow. Like a moving pierogi with hair! 
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Week 2: day 4 (Thursday)
45min cardio workout video
- fun as always
Week 2: day 5 (yesterday)
Deadlift: 2x3-255lbs, 1x3-265lbs
Pendlay row: 3x5-135lbs
Lunges: 1x18 (total)-115lbs, 1x16-125lbs, 1x12-135lbs
Cable rows: 1x12, 2x10-85lbs
- didnāt sleep well so was tired going in, deadlifts heavier than expected but moved well enough, rest of it easier than expected
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Week 2: Day 6
40min kickboxing workout video
- fun as always
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Week 2: day 7 (yesterday)
20min easy rope pull machine
20min elliptical
5min incline treadmill walk
- got HR up and felt good
PM (fueled by splurge on chicken)
Paused squat: 3x5-165lbs, beltless
Front squat: 3x8-125lbs, 1x8-115lbs
Good mornings: 3x10-115lbs
Leg extensions: 3x8-105lbs
- felt smooth, surprised by how easy the front squats were
Funny story about the chicken. So thereās a roast chicken place Iāve been eying but never had the chance to go. I ordered thighs, but misread the serving size and assumed that Iād get 1 thigh/order. The order size is 2 thighs. The chicken was really really good so I ate both and ended up 400kcal over allotment. Correcting today
Week 3: day 1
Squat: 1x1-195lbs, 2x4-185lbs, 2x4-175lbs (1 set paused)
Cable row: 3x6-100lbs
Adductor machine: 3x20-55lbs
- legs sore but squats were very smooth, cramming work bc I fly back to Shanghai Thursday and āloseā a day
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Week 3: day 2
30min incline treadmill walk
10min eliptical
- got HR up and felt really nice
I have a bit of a dilemma. I fly out to shanghai Thursday morning (arrive pretty late Friday evening China time). Iām wondering if it would be a good idea to do my deadlift workout tomorrow.
I donāt want to be sore on the flight. BUT, I wonāt be able to workout again until Saturday
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Commercial flights are uncomfortable anyway, I say send it on the deadlifts.
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This is undoubtedly the most logical thing Iāve heard all week, and Iām here in Denver attending back-to-back technical conferences.
I love the way you think!
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āSend it?ā
What does that mean?
I decided to just do them and cut out the accessory work.
Really depressing how much Iāve slipped
The sets were 2x3-265lbs, 1x2-275lbs, 1x1-285lbs. The 285 felt like a 1rm when two months ago, I was able to do275 for 2x5 at 2lbs lighter
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Itās a term used in mountain biking and climbing primarily. I still use way too many bike slang terms despite not having touched a bike in a couple years.
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Iām really frustrated with everything right now.
Iām fatter, weaker, behind on my research (not my fault), and I failed the comp exam
Iām going back on Thursday for 3 weeks, which is nice, but itās hard to get work done and being back home isnāt generally good for body comp.
The new phase is squat focused, but I still feel so far from my goal of 250+ and I feel weaker than I was back in May.
I should probably do cardio this afternoon so I donāt have to wake up super early tomorrow
I hate travel. Messes everything up
I donāt understand how people are able to take time off and come back stronger or bounce back quickly. Every time I back off, I get worse and it takes forever to recover. I hate this
Week 3: Day 3
Deadlift: 2x3-265lbs, 1x2-275lbs, 1x1-285lbs
btn press: 1x13,12-20kg, 1x9-55lbs
OHP: 1x8-65lbs, 1x5-75lbs
tricep pushdown: 3x15-32.5lbs
PM cardio (so I donāt have to workout tomorrow)
45min cardio and abs workout video
- deadlifts sucked- 265lbs moved well but 285 felt like a 1rm super disappointed, didnāt do any more lower body bc I donāt want to be more uncomfortable than I need to be on the plane
Life is kind of shite rn. Shoutout to my friend whoās been keeping me sane and teaching me how to code.
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All things considered, those sound really good.
To me, anyways.
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Itās not about the objective number, itās the decline in strength.
Youāve got a lot of stressors going on right now. Thatās a LOT of cortisol. Work, school, dietary (been in a deficit/attempted deficit for years), AND training. At this point, a small decline in strength is honestly a sign of improved strength, as most people would just completely fall off at this point.
When you put yourself in a state where you arenāt in fight-or-flight, youāll flourish.
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I am only going to beat a dead horse here, and agree with @T3hPwnisher
Itās so hard mentally, especially with someone as driven as you, to focus on one thing. I am the same way. I feel the need to excel, or at least be way above adverage, at every thing I do. But you canāt serve that many masters.
You are focused on school, other learning, life, lifting, cooking, family, and whatever I have missed. All of these have been slowly digging you into a recovery hole, for years. As Pwn said, you have been in a deficit for some time, and that is only getting you two steps back per one step forward.
When I injured my back, I had to step away from the barbell and switch to bodybuilding. I can no longer compare weight on the bar. Exercises and machines change every four weeks, so there is no long-term unit of measure. Itās just, was it hard today? Yes. Good. Move on.
I have made more body comp improvements since I broke up with the bar and switched to BB training and I only lift two days a week. I feel fully recovered between gym sessions and I add weight or reps everytime because of it.
This would be drastic, but lose the bar and anyway to āmeasureā yourself. Scale, calorie counting. Throw it right out the window. Not just for a vacation, for a while. At least six months.
2-3 Bodybuilding sessions a week. Minimal cardio. Lower your steps. Enjoy school. Serve plan A anyway you can. Let your body and mind heal.
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I love this solution. Iām a big fan of it in my own implementation as well. When nothing is going right: stop doing what Iām doing and do something else.
A consistent lack of progress in one direction is going to be worse than progress in a new direction.
100%. Iām speaking from experience as well. When I was sick, I was putting in SO much effort for so little return, and I just kept cranking the effort dial because it was the only variable I THOUGHT I could control. Once I got my cotirsol down and my recovery up, it was ridiculous how little work I had to put in for how much results Iād get.
Driven people like to think you can overcome anything with effort, but sometimes the effort goes towards NOT doing that. Just like you noted in my own log: itās still a struggle to skip training when Iām sick, but I know now the benefit of doing it.
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Its ok, I wasnāt trying to make you feel better. Just sharing my observation.
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Iām back home now.
@unicornsandrainbows thanks for the suggestion. Iām still working with coach and weāre shifting to squats and the volume is down. Iām hoping it helps
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