I’m not sad at all to see 2020 come and go. In addition to the obvious world-wide challenges, I had some personal trials and tribulations involving injury, long term stomach problems, work changes and stress, and the typical family life dramas.
Starting point: I’m starting in decent shape, but a bit less lean than I have traditionally been. I’m weighing in at 178.0 lbs, about 5-8 lbs above my norm for the last ~5 years. My strength levels and conditioning are pretty good. Throughout the pandemic, I have allowed more “splurges” than usual. A splurge for me is beer (IPAs), pizza, burritos, etc… rather than fast food or sweets.
Training and objectives: So I’m going to be running Tactical Barbell. I’ve heard lots of good things about it, bought the two books (Strength and Conditioning) and will be following it for at least 17 weeks (which covers the Base Building phase and 3 cycles of Strength work) and hopefully beyond. The program is both strength and conditioning, with an emphasize to be the kind of dude that can run a half marathon, crank out 20+ pull ups, and DL 2.5X bodyweight any given day. The strength training is a barebones, with just a handful of heavy, compound lifts down 3x a week. A bit like 531, but with less changes from workout to workout, and no supplemental/assistance. You get this as part of your conditioning.
I want to lean up, feel great, and stay (or get, depending on your perspective) strong. As I’m now closer to 50 than 40, I’m hoping this will reset my training and take my results to a new level.
Nutrition: My day-in day-out eating is pretty good. I’m a whole food type of eater and don’t often have packaged foods (bars, crackers, any snacks), processed, flavored foods (fat free stuff), and avoid artificial flavors and sweeteners. I’ve tried low carb, but I would say when I’m on point I have a pretty balanced carbs/fat/protein diet. Breakfast = eggs, fruit, maybe toast with cottage cheese. Lunch = meat, rice, fruit/veggies, or a sandwich. Dinner = meat, veggies, fruit/veggies. I do have a protein shake with plain kefir and frozen blueberries each training day. Been having a bit too many beers this year, and I do like the stronger, heavier ones like IPAs and other hoppy ales. A 350 cal pint (and who are we kidding, pints) is not a great addition to a diet, but this damn pandemic has made it easier to justify.
Here’s how I look this morning: