Week 15: Day 3
Deadlifts: 2x6-245lbs, 2x6-255lbs
conventional deadlift: 3x7-225lbs
was supposed to do rows and lat pulldowns… NOT going to happen
15min bodyweight circuit (cycle through pushups, core work, glute bridges)
Week 15: day 4
40min low impact cardio workout video
Week 15: Day 5
42min cardio and abs workout video
PM (fuelled by cheese and yoghurt)
45min kickboxing workout video
Note: I’m finding it REALLY hard not to impulsively eat. I’ve consistently been 1-1.5lbs higher than baseline and noticeably. Not surprised, just disappointed. At least my lifts are going well
That sounds like lean tissue being built.
Bodyweight goes up, so do lifts.
I really hope so because I’m also looking softer
Yeah: you’re experiencing inflammation.
Because you’re training hard.
Which is why you’re building lean tissue.
You know all this Anna. You’ve got a coach and the system is working. You’re building muscle and getting stronger. If you ever decide the goal is to get ripped to shreds, you’ll flip the switch, let the gains peter out for a touch and get shredded. And when that gets boring and it’s time to get jacked and strong again, you know you know how to do that.
You probably have a long way to go before “softer” enters the picture.
Week 16: day 1 (yesterday)
Squats: 2x6-165lbs, 2x6-175lbs
More squats: 3x7-155lbs
Leg extensions: 1x10-100lbs, 1x8-105lbs, 1x6-110lbd
Abductor machine: 1x10-145lbs, 2x12-135lbs
Week 16: day 2
Deadlift: 2x6-255lbs, 1x6,5 (grip fail)-265lbs
Good mornings: 1x17-95lbs, 1x12-115lbs, 1x5-145lbs
Btn press: 1x14-20kg, 1x10-55lbs, 1x5-65lbs
Adductor machine: 2x12, 1x8 (machine got stuck)-60lbs
Week 16: Day 3 (Wednesday)
40min cardio kickboxing workout video
Week 16: day 4 (Yesterday)
Paused squat: 1x3-175lbs (beltless), 2x3-175lbs (with belt)
lunges: 3x16 (total)-115lbs
tricep pushdowns: 3x12-32.5lbs
cable row: 1x11,10-100lbs, 1x14-85lbs
Week 16: Day 5
Deadlifts: 2x6-245lbs
20min eliptical
Week 16: day 6 (Sunday)
30min elliptical
10min rope pull machine
7min core work
Week 17: day 1 (yesterday)
Squats: 5x5-175lbs
More squats: 3x6-155lbs belt less
Leg extensions: 1x12-90lbs, 1x10-95lbs, 1x9-100lbs
Abductor machine: 3x13-135lbs
just resetting your count since i’m already here anyway
Week 17: Day 2 (Tuesday)
Deadlifts:… lol nope… strained my neck/ trap on warmup with 225
Good Mornings: 1x20-95lbs, 1x15-115lbs, 1x8-125lbs, went slow on eccentrics
Lunges: 3x16 total-115lbs
adductor machine: 3x8-65lbs
more leg extensions: 3x5-115lbs (upper body too pissed to do upper body work)
Week 17: Day 3 (yesterday)
40 min easy eliptical
7min core work
Week 17: Day 4
Paused squat: 1x3-175lbs, 1x3-175lbs beltless, 1x3-185lbs
More squats: 4x3-175lbs
Good mornings: 3x6-145lbs
tricep extensions: 3x12-35lbs
Week 17: day 5 (friday)
Squats: 1x7-145lbs, 1x6-155lbs, 1x5-165lbs, belt less
Paused squat: 1x6-145lbs, 1x5-155lbs, 1x4-165lbs, beltless
Tricep pushdowns: 3x12-32.5lbs
Abductor machine: 1x40-105lbs, 1x25-120lbs, 1x10-135lbs
, squats felt good.Week 17: day 6 (yesterday)
Uni gym closed so decided to splurge on a day pass
90min of sled stuff. Went in intervals and took some longer breaks in between
Update: deload week this week so no weights
Week 18: days 1-3
40-45min cardio workout videos with some core work
Weight has been up a bit and looking softer. Really frustrating since I’ve only increased 200kcal/day and protein has been through the roof. Hopefully some of it is just water retention from increased dairy consumption (clearing out Greek yoghurt)
Pretty nervous about going back to Shanghai. Ive minimised the number of indulgence opportunities by volunteering to cook Christmas dinner and new years dinner, but there’s just more food around and my self control needs work
Week 18: Day 4-5 (thursday- friday)
more Cardio
Week 19: Day 1 (sunday- China time)
Squat: 1x6-70kg, 75kg, 1x3-75kg with pause, all beltless
more squats: 3x6-65kg
abductor machine: 3x8-145lbs
“leg press”: 1x12-95lbs, 1x8-110lbs, 1x6-120lbs
Week 19: Day 2 (yesterday)
Deadlift: 1x6-105kg, 110kg, 1x5-115kg, 1x4-120kg
good mornings: 1x18-40kg slow eccentrics, 1x10-50kg
adductor machine: 1x8-60lbs, 2x10-55lbs
tricep extensions: 2x20, 1x18-27.5lbs
Happy holidays! also just breaking your streak lol
Week 19: day 3 (tuesday)
9x(25 battle ropes + 20 glute bridges+rest until start of remainder of min)
1min rest
18x(20sec battle rope +10sec rest)
1min rest
10x(45sec jumping jack+15sec rest+45sec core exercise+15sec rest)
Week19: Day 4 (wednesday)
Paused squats: 3x3-80kg, 2 sets beltless
good mornings: 4x6-60kg
btn press: 3x12-20kg
straight arm pulldown: 3x10-27.5lbs
Week 19: Day 5 (yesterday)
Deadlift: 3x6-110kg
pendlay rows: 3x5-60kg
cable rows: 1x6,5-45kg, 1x8-40kg
lat pulldown: 3x10-30kg
Week 19: day 6
50min cardio kickboxing and abs workout
I figure it’s high time to do my annual Year in Review post. Nothing that will happen in the next 4 days that can out crazy what’s already happened anyways.
I’ll address the elephant in the room. I quit the PhD programme back in September. I realised too late that I didn’t want to study what the programme intends and need more skills to do what I (think) I actually want. The good news is that my advisor connected me with another prof literally 2 days after the meeting where we decided I would quit and I will be employed as his research assistant in Philly starting probably mid july. I’ve already started working for him on an informal basis. He’s also been giving me time to learn skills (mostly coding), which I’ve never had the chance to because of never ending deadlines. Overall, I got out of this unscathed for the most part. Reapplication will be more difficult because of my poor grades during my “masters”, but PI said that can be overcome.
In other academic news, I quit econ for good. The difference in QOL from that has been shocking. I didn’t take classes this past quarter, so nothing to report there. It has been a good break from always worrying about being graded. Highly underrated. I think I’m just a bit burnt out with school overall.
Moving on…
The biggest highlight of the year has been my accounting friend. To start, he spent well over 40 hours over the summer helping me with my code and teaching me coding basics I’d been too lazy to learn on my own… while working on his own project and having to TA for the definition of an unreasonable boss. But that’s not all. He’s the only friend I’ve had who’s been willing to hang out with me outside of academics with no strings attached (unlike former contractual counterparty), even watched war movies with me! He ended up getting kicked out of his programme so we started an LA bucket list… and discovered just how disappointing LA is. There are not many people who are willing to spend that much time with me, much less walk for the better part of 8 hours.
The other big highlight has been by improvement in the kitchen. I’ve been using baking and recipe/menu design as a way to cope and it’s really paid off
The goal for the new year is to get better at presentation.
I’ve been waiting for this post - I’ve been worried, but it sounds like things are okay. Are they giving you the masters degree? I can’t recall if you were in a straight-to-PhD program. I think I’ve mentioned in here that my eldest had to separate from his PhD program - econ - and went into the Peace Corps, which was life screwup #2 for him. He really floundered in every possible way. Lately, though, he’s been messing with AI as a data analyst for a big medical, robotic, research equipment company, and finally sounds like he did when he was a kid and excited about something.
Great news about the friend, but that leaves you with a gap when you move east, I guess. Where does he plan to go?
Thanks for popping in!
Things usually end up okay for me…
yep
no way! Was this at a Pittsburgh school?
That’s awesome!
he applied to some research assistance positions. Hopefully he lands one of them
