Atlas13 Burning the Boats

[atlas13]

Work For Today: JuggernautAI Week 9 Day 3

Pendlay row: 45x10, 135x5, 145x10, 145x10, 145x10, 155x10, 155x10

Bench: 45x10, 135x5, 160x10, 165x10, 170x10, 185x10, 195x10, 195x10

Db incline bench: 60x13, 60x13, 60x13

Db lat raise: 25x10, 25x10, 25x10

Pull-ups: 10, 5, 5 (last two sets done with a 3-4 second negative, pause at the top. Trying something new, going to really focus on control and contracting my back, less jerky/swinging motion when trying to rep out)

BB Curl: 60x12, 60x12, 60x11

DB overhead Extension: 70x13, 70x13, 70x13, 70x13

Notes:

• well, last week was the first time in 2.5 months that I benched more than 165. To hit 185x10, then 2x195x10, all after some previous sets, and with a rep or two In the tank, shows that strength is still there. Crazy to see how I was able to build rep strength without ever really pushing the weight, but when the program told me to add a decent amount of weight today, it was just solidly there. Feel like I’m probably good for 215-225 for 10 if I hit it fresh, which is pretty good for me.
• have gotten sloppy on Pullup form, strength is still there to hit some reps, but I’m just swinging back and forth like crazy, feel like it’s not really training my back as much as it’s just “jerk your elbows down really hard”. Dropping the reps, going super slow and controlled, forcing myself to failure with only a couple reps, making them exaggerated perfection. Will slowly add to that, just gotta tighten things up there.
• life is still throwing hands, pretty sure it’s gonna be a fight up through at least February, maybe a little bit of pressure release after that.

[atlas13]

Work For Today; JuggernautAI Week 9 day 4

Trap bar deadlift: 150x5, 240x3, 330x1, 350x8, 330x8, 335x8, 335x8

Low Bar Squat: 45x10, 135x5, 185x3, 210x10, 210x10, 210x10, 210x10, 210x10, 210x10

CGBP: 45x10, 135x3, 145x10, 145x10, 155x10, 160x10, 160x10

Notes:

• trap bar deads feeling strong. Not sure what I will try to hit for my 10 RPE set next week. I have hit 420x7 while ago, so part of me wants to take that for a ride and try to hit 8. Part of me thinks that 405 sounds more reasonable. We will see what kind of a mood I am in come that time.
• squats feeling good. Crisp reps, never got above RPE 7 on any of these sets. Need to make sure I don’t let my stance drift in. Been happening a bit, and it actually feels decent and I can’t hit it pretty well, but I’m definitely stronger with a little bit wider, using hips a bit more.
• CGBP feeling a little rough today, just sore from the big bench workout yesterday.
• short on time today, didn’t hit all the accessory work.

[atlas13]

Nutrition Plan Moving Forward:

• Time to clean up the diet. I wanted to take a break from really worrying about food at all, and also give myself a little bit of a chance to bulk for a change. Been doing that for 11 weeks now, and I hit what I wanted to hit. Stopped worrying about the scale, let my bodyweight creep up a bit, first time in over a year I wasn’t in a calorie deficit. I think it was a much needed break, but I am ready to get back to a strict routine, drop the weight down to the OG 190lbs goal. (Which, would be an easy water cut to 182 if I wanted to step into a competition…)
• Going to my hometown for for xmas this year, wife’s family is still all out there. First time I will be home for the holidays in…5 years? Maybe 4, cant really remember. Either way, its been too long. Why does this matter for a nutrition update? Because I THRIVE off of deadlines and set goals, and looking good when seeing the extended in-laws for the first time in years is definitely a good motivator lol. So, I spent the morning drafting up a diet plan
• Based (very) loosely on CT’s Best Diet Plan for Natural Lifters. 5 Meals a day, focus on protein intake, some healthy fats, and getting in good micronutrients. In a slightly different goal for me, I am trying to eat a bit broader diet, with a focus on overall health as well as gym goals. Previously, ive basically just been eating chicken and rice variations over and over in order to drop weight, which was probably the most important step I could take for my health at the time. That being said, now that im not a tub of lard, I should probably take the next step and focus on some nutritional food thats good for overall health.
• On an exciting note about that last part, I recently found a local store where I can buy Ground Venison. Actually, they have ground elk, venison, bison, wild boar. Im a fan of game meats, just havent been able to hunt nearly as much as I would like with my work schedule. (Read: I havent shot a damn thing in 4 years.) The Ground venison and ground beef mix is a blend of regular meat, with some added liver and heart. Not going to lie, I normally hate the taste of liver, but hopefully with it ground and blended, it wont affect the taste too much, but definitely a great addition to the micronutrient profile of my diet.
• Booze is temporarily out. I tend to be able to have a few drinks on the weekend without any noticeable impact. Perhaps thats because I am generally drinking bourbon on the rocks, with an occasional old fashioned. Inlaws just left town after a 10 days visit, and I was socially drinking a few beers a day. My diet certainly wasnt great, but I still added 6lbs in 10 days, and i definitely feel the booze is a significant factor. On top of that, I can feel myself slipping into some old habits of wanting to have a drink after work. Not doing it, but its just so common in my field, I would honestly say the majority of my peers are having multiple drinks on the daily after work. I know that wont end well for me, so pulling back on the reigns now so that it doesn’t develop into an actual problem I have to address. So, no booze until after Xmas.
• While I personally wouldn’t mind going a bit crazy and legit having this exact daily food plan everyday until xmas, my wife would certainly object. Being healthy and in shape in supposed to better my life, not hurt it. My compromise is to allow myself 1x a week of eating out (weekly date night), and one meal a week off menu. This meal is generally pretty healthy. Seared Salmon and garlic mashed potatoes, Steak and Asparagus, maybe some weird Vegan food that my wife has had a kick for lately. So 2 meals a week allowed off menu just for the sake of my social life, and the rest strict. I think that will have good effect.
• This is meant to be a slow cut. Im not in the red zone anymore, my weights not a crisis, so rather than aggressively cut calories, im trying a more moderated approach. Just slow fat loss over time until I find myself where I want to be. Here we go!

Diet Plan Below:

Meal 1: Quest Bar CAL: 190 F: 9G C:21g P: 21g

Meal 2: Chicken Teriyaki Bowl:
White rice: CAL: 160 F:0 C:36 P:3
Chicken: Cal: 220 F:5 C:0 P:46
Carrots: negligible
Total: Cal: 400 F: 5 C: 40 P: 49

Meal 3: Chicken rice and broccoli bowl:
Rice: CAL: 170 F:1 C:34 P:7
Chicken: Cal: 220 F; 5 C: 0 P:46
Broccoli: negligible
Total: Cal: 400 F: 6 C: 37 P: 53

Meal 4: Chili:
Venison/Beef mix: CAL:200 F:9 C:0 P:25
Kidney Beans: CAL: 120 F:0 C:21 P:7
Rice(4 servings split amongst 7): CAL: 100 F: 1 C:20 P: 4
Onions: 10 cal, C2
Cheese: CAL: 100 F:8 C:1 P:6
Diced Tomato: CAL:25 F:0 C:5 P:1
Tomato Paste: CAL: 20 F:0 C: 4 P:1
Spinach: negligible
Beef Broth: negligible
Total: CAL:575 F:18 C:53 P:44

Meal 5: Protein Oatmeal and eggs:
Oatmeal: Cal: 150 F:3 C27: P:5
Protein Powder: Cal:130 F:2.5 C:3 P:25
Blueberries: 1/2 cup Cal:42 F:0 C:11 P:0
3 hard boiled eggs: Cal: 210 F:15 C:0 P:18
Total:CAL: 322 F: 20.5 C: 41 P: 48

Daily Total:
CAL: 2092
Fats: 58.5
Carbs: 192
Protein: 215

[simo74]

@atlas13

To hit 185x10, then 2x195x10, all after some previous sets, and with a rep or two In the tank, shows that strength is still there.

It certainly is mate. That’s some great volume pressing

[atlas13]

Work For Today: JuggernautAI Week 10 Day 1:

Incline bench: 45x10, 135x3, 185x2, 200x10 (PR), 180x10, 175x10, 170x10, 170x10, 170x10, 165x10,

Neutral Pull-ups: 8, 8, 5

Db military press: 50x13, 50x12, 50x10, 50x10

Chest supported rows: 45x14, 45x14, 45x14, 45x13 (increase 10rm)

Db bench: 55x15, 55x15, 55x14, 55x13

Alt Hammer Curl: 35x12, 35x11, 35x11, 35x11

Superset;
Overhead tricep extension; 75x11, 75x11, 75x11,
Ab wheel: 12, 12, 12

Burpees: 3

Notes:

• very happy with incline bench. Program said I should be able to hit 195, but I couldn’t be that close to 200 and not go for it. Made the right move, strength was there. May have had 205 in me, definitely had just a tad more fight left after the last rep. 200x10 on incline should have me in a good spot for my flat bench. 8x10 is a crazy amount of pressing volume.
• all Pull-ups will be done neutral grip for a spell to hopefully help my resurfacing elbow issues. Really starting to hurt again, may try to have a PT take a look at it if it doesn’t go alleviate a bit after next weeks deload, just because it is now the limiting factor on pull-ups for me.
• I think I may be holding my pause slightly too long on chest supported rows. Should of taken a video, but I feel I might be limiting my weight a little too much by holding at the top as much as I am.
• was just dead by the end of this workout. So many sets lol. Worked a 13 hour day before getting into the gym, gonna sleep well tonight,
• I floss my teeth everyday. Sometimes twice a day. I used to hate flossing my teeth. Read one of those books on habit, and saw that tip about making the habit small. So I started with 1 tooth a day. Which ended up being a few teeth; because after all who just flosses one tooth? And then before I knew it, I was in a good routine of regular flossing. Why does this matter? Because I Fu$&ing hate burpees. And you know what I need more of in my life? That’s right ladies and gents, burpees. So, I am going to do burpees everyday. Until when? Idk. How many? Until I can’t do anymore, or until I hate myself. Probably the latter. Today, it took. 3 burpees for me to hate myself. Literally maybe 5 seconds work. But hey, I did some burpees. It’s 1 tooth.

[atlas13]

Work For Today: JuggernautAI Week 10 day 2

Front squat: 45x10, 135x3, 185x12 (PR), 165x10, 165x10, 165x10, 165x10, 165x10, 165x10, 165x10

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x3, 315x1, 365x8, 365x8, 375x8

Superset:
Rear foot elevated split squat: 25x10, 25x10, 25x10, 25x10
Rear delt row: 25x15, 25x15, 25x15, 25x15

Superset:
DB RDL: 55x12, 55x12, 55x12, 55x10
DB Incline Bench; 60x12, 60x12, 60x12,

Giant Set:
Back raise: 12, 12, 12,
DB Lat Raise: 25x10, 25x10, 25x10,
Z curl: 15x12, 15x12, 15x12

Superset:
Hanging leg raise: 10, 10, 10,
Band pushdown: GBx15, GBx15, GBx15

Burpees: 5

Notes:

• Pretty satisfied with my front squats. Program called me a 10RM, suggested I try 180. Wanted to beat that, so went with 185. Was about rep 7 when I realized I had more than 10 in me. Hit a clean 12, may have had another rep or two in me if I let the form get a little Grindy. Definitely feeling a lot stronger on this movement than I have in the past, and finally actually doing it in such a way that I feel my quads working. 8x10 is a bit nutty though, and my knee is beginning to protest a bit. Nothing bad, but stairs cause a little stabbing pain.
• deadlifts are feeling in a good place. 365x8 is by no means a PR, but it’s also not a set that I’ve ever replicated multiple times in the same workout, especially not after 8x10 front squats. Hit 375x8 on the last set just because I wanted to feel a bit of strain on my last set. Every Bday needs a couple burst blood vessels lol
• honestly, after squats and deads, was just not feeling any of the accessory work. Very much a “take you vitamins” approach to the rest of the workout. Was very liberal with giant/super sets to make it go a bit faster, think I can get away with that when it’s just small accessory work. The program actually says that’s allowed to, so I’m not (technically) straying.

Birthday today, and actually had the day off work for Election Day. Slept in, then made Protein cinnamon chocolate chip pancakes with bacon for with wife and I. Found some awesome calorie free blueberry syrup, pancakes were delicious and macro friendly, great way to start the day. Other than that, just meal prepped (made by venison chili), took care of a few errands, and hit my workout. Not a bad way to start another year.

On a completely unrelated note, I was told to come up with a “fun alcohol free day” at work. We have had a crazy run of sailors getting DUI’s since I showed up to this ship, already had more in the last month than I had in 2 years on my last bought. Idk what the culture was like for these guys before I got here, but the numbers are a bit too high for it to just be coincidence, at least one every weekend for our department alone. We had a meeting amongst all the officers to figure out what to about it. Being new, I didn’t have a lot to offer, other than to suggest that individuals are getting into legal trouble after using alcohol to cope with both work and personal stresses, and we as leadership need to look at what we can do to help alleviate the stresses we place upon our people to allow for a more solid work life balance, especially given that these sailors are just getting of a 10 month deployment.

Well that was promptly ignored, and instead they decided we need to have a “fun day for the department” without alcohol involved to show that we can still entertain ourselves without booze. (Note: not a single DUI we have had involved social drinking, all of it solitary or at home with spouses). And because I seems like a “fun guy”, I am in charge. Great.

However, if I have to do this, I am going to make it epic. While I think that mandatory fun is a sub par way of addressing the issue, that doesn’t mean I don’t think I can make it fun, and I have been given pretty much free reign for whatever I want to come up with.

Which to me can only mean one thing: Boxing Smoker.

It’s a damn Navy tradition, and the sailors would DEFINITELY get into it. Come on, who doesn’t want to punch their boss in the face? Even a good boss, you still have a couple scores to settle. If you don’t want to box, great. Who wouldn’t want to watch? “Oh shit, Chiefs throwing down with Divo today, we gotta see that.” I’ve read about how these used to happen on ships, and it sounded awesome. So, I’m going to try my hand it doing another one. Set up a ring, make a tournament bracket, get gloves and head guards, find someone to judge, and make this happen. Maybe get someone to cater it? I think it will only work if a lot of the leadership is willing to step in the ring, which means I will 100% be throwing hands with someone, and trying to guilt trip the rest of the officers/chiefs to do the same.

So basically, I got dumb tasking, but hopefully I can actually make it into something cool, so I need everyone to cross your fingers for me that I am able to get this event approved without any upper command shooting down the idea.

[throwawayfitness]

Happy birthday

[SvenG]

@atlas13

Birthday today

Happy birthday, my dude! Hope it was a good one—those breakfast photos suggest it was a GREAT one!

@atlas13

Come on, whose doesn’t want to punch their boss in the face?

That’s just crazy. I love it.

[Spock81]

what a fun idea!!
and happy birthday, sounds like it was a fantastic day with fantastic food!

[zeptrey]

Damn good idea.

[jdm135]

So stoked to hear how this goes. The whole ship or just your department?

[atlas13]

@throwawayfitness thanks!

@SvenG the food was great, but honestly the chance to sleep in was better! This was a surprise day off work, didn’t know until like 6pm last night, which was honestly the best bday gift I could of asked for lol.

@Spock81 i mean, I took a boxing class in college and fooled around with mma for a couple years, so the idea of a bunch of dudes cheering as I get punched in the face sounds fun to me!

@zeptrey glad you think it’s good, let’s hope it gets a chance

@jdm135 oh definitely just our dept, I don’t have nearly enough free time to organize something among the whole crew lol. It’s our dept that’s been messing up the most anyway. Well, with booze anyway. Couple guys getting into trouble for just straight felonies, but not our guys, which is somewhat of a relief

[atlas13]

Burpees: 5. 4 more than I had to do lol.

Tried out my venison/bison chili today, and it was delicious. Idk why I have never meal prepped chili before, but I think I have just opened a new chapter in my life, because I love it .

[mr.v3lv3t]

It always blows my mind when people say they’ve never meal prepped chili.

Hope you don’t get matched up with that one guy on the boat who grew up in the boxing gym haha.

[atlas13]

Work For Today: JuggernautAI Week 10 day 3

Burpees: 5

Pendlay row: 135x5, 145x10, 155x10, 155x10, 155x10, 160x10 (PR)

Bench: 45x10, 135x5, 170x10, 180x10, 190x10, 200x10, 185x10, 185x10, 185x8

Db incline bench: 60x14 (PR), 60x12, 60x10

Db lat raise: 25x12, 25x12, 25x12, 25x12

Neutral grip chins: 8, 8, 8, 6

Barbell curl: 60x8, elbow screaming like hell, ended the workout there.

Notes:

• pretty happy with bench. 200x10 after the previous sets feels pretty decent to me. Not a true 10RM, prolly had another rep in me, all reps were solid. Pecs were shot after that, last 3 sets were grinders.
• focusing on getting a deep ROM on the db presses, trying to use it as a tool to build my pressing rather than just get good at db presses, If that makes sense. Happy with the 60x14, especially after all the bench sets prior
• searing pain in my right elbow on those chins. Did one and actually dropped from the bar just out of surprise over how much it hurt, kinda caught me off guard. I really don’t know what I should do about this, been at least a minor nuisance for 9 months now. If I have my palm facing up, the pains on the inner side of my elbow, I can feel it shooting if I curl my wrist like I was doing forearm curls. Thinking about buying one of those elastic elbow cuffs from slingshot, see if that helps? Very frustrating, especially as I really place a priority of my pull-ups.

[jdm135]

I used to prioritize pullups. Was very proud of doing 20 unbroken, any grip. Im back to that now, but had a long setback period due to epicondylitis. Definitely work on it!

[atlas13]

I admit, I had to break out the google to figure out what epicondylitis meant lol.

My long term goal is to hit 20 pull-ups. I was able to do that in high school as a 182 wrestler, but haven’t come near since.

[Spock81]

i stopped doing all types of pull ups due to elbow pain. Didn’t matter the grip I used, it hurt all the same. I miss them muchly. Hopefully you find some relief and then share it so i can too lol

[jdm135]

Not all elbow pain is the same.
Depending on where/how it hurts there may be intelligent things to try.
I tried so many things.
I tried: physical therapy/chiro type stuff
Stretches, band stuff til i wanted to puke
Every supplement i could find that claimed to help (ex. Collagen, bromelain, fish oil, on and on)
Constant self massage
Elbow strap
I have no idea how much, or if, any of that actually helped.
But at some point in this process, I gave up pretty much every lift except two that didn’t seem to hurt the elbow at all: Strict pressing, and Front squats. Turns out those two can get you pretty far!
I think the front rack position of the front squats actually was a helpful stretch, but the extended break from pullups or rows (or god forbid, curls) was needed. Eventually I was able to go back to a full range of movements, and as stated above I just did a set of 20 pullups today with zero elbow pain.

[simo74]

@jdm135

Not all elbow pain is the same.

Yer but they are all as annoying as hell