Atlas13 Burning the Boats

Training Training Logs
361

Those weight loss/gain plateaus are pretty standard. As you noted: it’s not a linear process. Sometimes, we give the body enough stimulus to force it to adapt, and other times we give it all we got but it’s not enough at THAT moment. Just keep plugging away like you saw.

For the straps: once you got them locked in, ROTATE the bar such that you wind/winch them tighter into your wrist. You’ll walk away with cuts on your wrists.

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362

Work for today:

30min LISS bike ride

Notes:

  • really dig getting in 1 little bit longer LISS session a week. Just easy cardio, get my heart rate up a bit, get a good sweat going, workout some kinks in my joints, just leave it feeling good
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363

Work for today:
Giant set 1:
Barbell row: 125x10, 125x10, 125x10, 125x10, 125x10
Bench: 45x10, 135x3, 185x3, 215x5, 235x5 (Comeback PR), 225x5, 225x3 , 215x5
Band pull apart: rx18, 18, 18, 18, 18

Giant set 2:
Bench jump: 3, 3, 3
Squat beltless: 45x8, 135x5, 185x3, 230x5, 230x5, 230x5
Banded Pullup: BOx9, 5, 5
Ab wheel: 7, 7, 7

Giant set 3:
Db curl: 25x12, 25x12, 25x11+3HC
Band pushdown: BROx15, 15, 15
Lat raise: 15x15, 15x15, 15x15

Conditioning: 20 min Peloton Tabata Ride (absolutely brutal, haven’t gasped for air that much in a long time)

Notes:

  • bench went well, happy with my PR. Should of dropped weight a bit more on the 4th set, triceps were just shot by that point. Really hoping I can continue milking this linear program and squeak out a 250x5 bench before hoping into something smarter.
  • on that note, I love the program I’m doing because it allows fast progress. I’m trying to hit a PR every workout, always pushing the weight, which is pretty awesome when I’m getting back into lifting and the gains are coming quick. That being said, it’s also pretty draining, and I don’t think sustainable once I start to really hit some plateaus. Still making good progress, but I can see some stagnation on the horizon. Thinking mid December I will hop onto an actual program. Debating between 3 options: 1) Brian Alsruhe programs. Always a classic, always worked well for me, but admittedly I don’t have as many toys for variation of exercises as I used to. 2) 5-3-1. I have had some pretty hit or miss experiences with 5–3-1 before that looking back, I can definitely chalk up to me being inexperienced and not running the program the way it was meant to be, wouldn’t mind giving it a good shot. 3) private coaching. Maybe RP strength or RT systems. Not sure if I want to shell out that kind of money, think I may save that until I’m really in pretty decent shape and looking to crank it to the next level.
  • squats felt good. It is a never ending battle for me trying to figure out squat form, nothing ever feels 100% right, but I’m getting there. Took my stance just 1-2cm wider, helps me sink in between my let’s instead of squatting down on top of them. Beltless still a good move
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364

Wanted to do a quick recap just so I can see my own progress since the move:

July 1 2021:
Weight: 278lbs
Trap deadlift: 320x8
Squat: 215x8
Bench: 185x8
Press: 115x8
1.5 mile run: 17 minutes and some change

Oct 17 2021:
Weight: 252
Trap deadlift: 505x5
Squat: 295x5
Bench: 235x5
Press: 165x5
1.5 mile run: 13:10

Seeing it laid out like this, honestly I’m very happy with my progress. May not feel like it day to day just because I get caught up in how far I am from where I want to be, but the work is definitely paying off.

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365

That is phenomenal progress dude! Great work.

366

Thanks boss, appreciate it. Very excited to see where I can be with another 12 months of a consistent schedule, wanting to leave this duty station in the best shape of my life. Sick of these comeback PR’s, it’s time to start chasing some real ones. It’s coming.

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367

Awesome progress man!

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368

Work for today:
Giant set 1:
Banded Pullup: BOx10 (Comeback PR), 7, 6, 6, 5
Press: 45x10, 95x3, 125x3, 140x5, 160x5, 165x5, 165x5, 150x5
Rear delt raise: 15x10, 15x10, 15x10, 15x10, 15x10

Giant set 2:
Bench jump: 3, 3, 3
Trap deadlift: 150x5, 240x3, 330x2, 420x1, 440x5, 440x5, 440x5
Ab wheel: 7, 7, 7
Band pull apart: rx18, 18, 18

Giant set 3:
Axle curl: 55x12, 55x12, 55x12
Band pushdown: GROx10, 10, 10
Lat raise: 15x15, 15x15, 15x15

Conditioning: 20 min peloton class

Notes:

  • press went well. Didn’t try for a PR on weight, but definitely upped the weight for my working sets, matched my PR for two sets, and form was much crisper than last time. Maybe not a PR in total weight, but definitely my best performance yet on press
  • hit 10 reps on banded pull-ups with a blue and orange band. Going to drop down to just the blue band now, when I hit that for 10 I’ll drop to just red, when I hit that for 10 I’ll start body weight. Progression has worked well so far, hoping it keeps up
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369

Work for today:

30 min Peloton HIIT ride, 517 calories burned
10 minutes mobility work (I need to do more of this).

Notes:
-249.8 this morning. Probably a bit of a fluke, felt pretty dehydrated, but still the first time in a very, very long time my scale has said less than 250. Good.

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370

Work for today:

Run:
1.94 miles
Time: 17:19
Pace: 8:54 mile

Notes:

  • runs are really starting to took off. A month ago, I’d be absolutely killing myself on a 1.5 mile run trying to break 13:45, and most of the time didn’t hit it. Today I got 13:24 at the 1.5 mile mark, and that was while part of a longer run, without really trying to push for speed. Not an easy run, but I definitely wasn’t trying to go all out on this. Hell, even last week, I pushed hard to get an 8:50 pace for 1.5 mile. Did almost 2 miles at 8:54 with considerable less effort.
  • I think this is really a result of two things: 1) Bike workouts are doing a great job at working my lungs and general cardio systems 2) i think I’ve lost enough weight that running just feels a bit more natural now. Still a fat bastard, but not feeling like my gut is pulling me into the earth with every step during the run.

I like this little 1.94 mile loop in my neighborhood, definitely going to keep it in rotation

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371

That is some really solid progress mate. Keep working hard and you will be changing the log title again.

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372

I may be hitting you up for inspirational names again haha!

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373

Work for today:
Giant set 1:
Bench jump: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3,
Squat: 45x10, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 245x1, 260x5, 280x5, 300x5 (Comeback PR), 290x5, 280x5
Banded Pullup: Bx8 (PR by default), 6, 5, 5, 5
Ab wheel: 7, 7, 7, 7, 7

Giant set 2:
Barbell row: 125x10, 125x10, 125x10
Bench: 45x10, 135x5, 185x3, 215x5, 215x5, 215x5
Band pull apart: rx18, 18, 18

Giant set 3:
Alt Db curl: 25x12, 25x12, 25x9+5 HC
Band pushdown: GROx10, 10, 10
Lat raise: 15x15, 15x15, 15x16 (one rep was a weak ass rep so I made myself tack one on)

Conditioning: 20 min peloton class

Notes:

  • squats went phenomenal today. Was gifted a pair of 3mm rogue knee sleeves by my mother in law for my bday (which is awesome, wife definitely gave her ideas haha). Knees felt a lot more solid, wasn’t really getting any spring out of them, more just felt like I didn’t have to fight as much to keep my knees from caving in. 300 moved better than 290 ever did, even my back off set at 290 was probably my best set at that weight since the move.
  • just using a blue band for pull-ups is a game changer. Really not giving my a whole ton of assistance, which in turn is making my stabilize the movement throughout my core a lot more. Thinking I may just hop straight to body weight once I can get 10 with a blue band, not sure if doing a rotation with the red band would be worth it.
  • belt loop 12 today, not fasted. Down 8 belt loops and 30lbs…. Which I realize means I may need to get a new belt here soon. Have 8 belt loops left and at least another 40lbs to drop so…. Damn.
  • weight: 249.3
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374

Nice progress, man!

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375

Work for today:

20 min peloton ride

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376

Work for today:
Giant set 1:
Bench jump: 3, 3, 3, 3
Trap bar deadlift: 150x5, 240x3, 330x2, 4420x1, 440x5, 475x5, 510x5 (Comeback PR), 490x1
Ab wheel: 7, 7, 7, 7

Giant set 2:
Banded Pullup: Bx7, 5, 5
Press: 150x5, 150x5, 150x5
Goblet squat: 56x8, 56x8, 56x8
Rear delt raise: 15x10, 15x10, 15x10

Conditioning: 15 min Peloton ride

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Notes:

  • did this workout fasted in the am, strength difference wasn’t too noticeable on top end strength, but fatigue definitely hit faster
  • pretty stoked with my deadlift PR. This is officially as much weight as I can fit on my bar. Need to pick up some thin iron plates, think I will snag some one Black Friday. For now, just going to focus on increasing weight on the rest of the working sets. If I can go from a top set of 510 to 5 sets of 510, definitely still getting stronger overall
  • called it on deads after my PR. Back felt a little funny, no injury of anything, just didn’t keep as tight as I should have on that last rep, felt dumb to push it.

In-laws in town for the next 9 days. Lots of eating out in my future, doing what I can to keep healthy while still being social, think focus is more on maintenance than weight loss for the next week.

7 Likes
377

Work for today:

12 minute peloton ride:

Little pit mix walked into my garage in the middle of my workout. Hopped off the bike, went over to pet the pup, grabbed a spare leash then walked him about half a mile down the road to his owners place. Little old lady in a walker, I guess she left the fence gate open. Nice pup.

Started my ride over;

30 min peloton ride: 457 calories

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378

That trap bar looks amazing loading to the ends like that. You’re just crushing it dude.

If you wanna be SUPER hardcore while going out, just about anywhere will serve you a chicken breast…but life is also worth living.

In the interim while waiting for more plates, there’s always increasing the ROM by standing on something.

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379

Hey brother, appreciate the kind words. Agreed, the trap bar looks awesome lol.

Trying to find that nice balance between strictness and living life. Going pretty well, I’ve been cooking dinner for all the in-laws every night, so lots of healthy foods. Salmon, taco bowl, etc. plan for eating out is to focus on steakhouses and seafood places, so I should be able to keep something protein heavy without loading up the carbs. Think it’s going well so far, cutting out the alcohol has definitely helped just about every aspect of my fitness.

Honestly, before standing on something, I’d probably just flip the bar upside down and use the low handles. I would like to rotate that in eventually, started off with the high handles just because it was hard to get into a good position with my fat gut. Guts going away, may be time to drop to the lower handles. But the high handles are so good for my ego……

380

Work for today:
Giant set 1:
Barbell row: 125x10, 125x10, 125x10, 125x10, 125x12
Bench: 45x10, 135x5, 185x3, 205x1, 215x1, 235x5, 235x5, 225x5, 215x5
Band pull apart: rx20, 20, 20, 20, 20

Giant set 2:
Bench jump: 3, 3, 3
Squat: 45x10, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 255x5, 255x5, 255x5
Banded Pullup: Bx8, 7, 5
Ab wheel: 7, 7, 7

Giant set 3:
Alt Db curl: 25x12, 25x12, 25x12
Band pushdown: GROx10, 10, 10
Lat raise: 15x15, 15x15, 15x15

Conditioning: 20 min peloton ride, 348 calories

Notes:

  • bench felt great today. Hit my PR for two sets, weights were higher throughout most my working sets, definitely stronger than last heavy bench day. I feel like these are the days when I really grow. I get good progress from trying to hit a new PR set, but progressively adding heavier working sets is where I think I really get my money’s worth.
  • squats moved super easy, nice form work, happy there
  • in-laws commented on how much better I looked since I saw them 6 months ago, and wife pointed out that I was starting to get (very slight) shoulder definition again, so it’s been a great 24 hours for my ego haha
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