Sunday - 16 May 2021 Metrics: 173.4/34.75/15.9% at 0500
Good news: Managed to drop some weight without measuring food, workouts were good (even if average), added some extra conditioning work on Tuesday, and got half-hour walks in after dinner 5 nights this week.
Bad news: most of what I dropped was really just bloat from not eating properly last weekend.
Upcoming week will be telling. Goals: continue eating right without obsessing, drop another 2-3 lbs, add another set of extra conditioning work on Thursday, and continue post-dinner walks.
Got the work in early today, learned my lesson from last week. Found two more Thruster reps in my tank—legs felt heavy again, but not like last few weeks. Hit 17 reps in last three rounds; guess the first two were warm-ups. (Or did I just cheat the timer? Don’t think so. And did the work in any case.)
It’s funny, but as I’ve gained more experience over the last few years, I’ve come to believe I’m just a bit lopsided in general: (very) slightly longer left arm, (very) slightly longer left leg, etc. Or maybe it’s just slight strength imbalances, or MMC issues, or something like that. Whatever it is, I’m guessing that’s pretty typical if any person were to really pay attention, but most people probably doing most activities just don’t even notice…
Thanks, man! It’s been really nice to have this space (especially so over the past year). And thanks for the props re: physique goals! It means a lot, particularly from you—those quads of yours are beastly!
Going to need a plan for handling family events through the summer—ate more garbage yesterday. But let’s face it: I wanted to eat it, and so I did. Acknowledged and moving on…
Workout today was good, nothing particular to note, except maybe that I struggled far less with the RDLs this week. We’ll call that progress.
Warning: This post is me thinking out loud. I welcome thoughts and comments from anyone who bothers to read it, but you’ve been warned.
Linking this CT article and posting my thoughts, just to have a record of them.
I’ve seen all most all of it before—much of the content was recycled from some of his earlier articles—but something new stood out to me in this one: I’m probably guilty of trying to use lifting as the main tool for fat loss.
Since early April, just after I got down to my leanest in 2021, I’ve been running BDWP with six lifting sessions and only one day of some conditioning. BDWP appealed to me because much of his approach there makes sense, it fits my schedule, and let’s face it: I hate conditioning. But over that time I’ve not only struggled to make the fat come off, I think I’ve actually gained some of it back.
To be fair, that could be down to bad eating—dieting got rough mentally about five months in, it began to negatively impact family life again, blah, blah, blah. All of that is undeniable and certainly contributed—maybe it even accounts for all of the recent struggles, but…
If I’m being honest, the reduction in conditioning over what I had been doing under other programming since re-engaging fat loss back in November 2020 has likely played a role, too: for the past six weeks, I’ve been relying on a dietary regime that’s not compatible with my family life, six low volume/high intensity lifting workouts, and one day of conditioning to continue dropping fat.
Seeing it written down here like this actually makes me feel kinda silly.
Anyway, I’m going to say diet fatigue has definitely played a huge role in my fat loss struggles the past six weeks, but I’m beginning to think BDWP just isn’t working for that goal as well as I had hoped, despite some success last summer (June-September 2020) with programming based on another CT article:
Also for the record, I think I had made just about every single one of those mistakes (and many others) in the months—or was it years?—before encountering that article. Certainly the first 22 weeks of 2020 were spent riding the eat-less/work-more train in a roller-coaster of frustration and idiocy.
Anyway, I’m going to stick with BDWP until vacation (begins 19 June) because, well, that’s what I said I was going to do. And that’s a good reason, right? Commitment and all that.
That’s probably another dumb decision… sigh
Luckily I had already decided to increase my conditioning over the next several weeks, so perhaps I’ll find a bit more success before moving on from BDWP and getting into the 5/3/1 advanced prep and fat loss training stuff in Forever.
Yeah I read it, it’s a good article, and I have been guilty of several if not all these flaws at some point in my life.
I think the Best Damn is a very good workout to do while cutting, but it will be not enough indeed. You’ll have to move more throughout the day, eat less calories, or both!
Yes, unfortunately, lifting weight doesn’t burn that many calories. My recent workouts are really not about spending calories or not losing fat, just gaining/keeping muscle and strength. This program should not be done ona cut lol but I did it because I only work 2 days right now (I don’t count the work on my computer at home) and I have no family to take care of.
I think 6 days a week for a family man might be brutal. I would probably skim down to around 4 workouts per week, and 2 cardio sessions. I don’t know about you, but for instance, my last runa week ago burnt 960 calories… that’s a lot!
Anyway, 4 days, that’s more time for recovery, or to squeeze in some cardio, some walks, or just spending quality time with your family and de-stressing!
Yes, bad eating. But why? Because I think 5+ months of straight dieting is too long, especially hard dieting. You could use a break! Replenish your hormones and your mental fortitude
For clarity, the main fat loss tool since November 2020 has actually been caloric restriction. But I think I’ve been relying on lifting six days/week to do the rest, at least recently.
But your point here is well taken: I can tell you my level of movement outside of the hour or so in the gym each day is way, way down, as is my general mental/physical energy—if I’m not in the gym, I don’t want to move: don’t want to cut the grass, don’t want to clean out the garage, don’t want to walk the dog, don’t want to play sports with my kids. Heck, I don’t even want to interact with other people—people I love and actually enjoy! And that latter bit is definitely a problem for a family man.
Still hoping to hit my goals (or at least be much closer to them than I am now), but I’m definitely looking forward to the change following vacation.
This is super important because it’s actually all these things (“NEAT”) that burn the most calories throughout the day. So yeah you probably need a break or a change of pace, not only to keep losing weight, but to keep enjoying life!
Warm-up
a) CS DB row - hdrp - 35x8, 40x8 | 45x(8+4+3)
b) Preacher curl - mtor - 70x6, 80x6 | 95x6 + isofail: 25s
c) CC - mtor - 50x6, 55x6 | 65x6 + isofail: 36s
d) Leg curl - dset - 75x6, 90x6 | 100x6 + 75x8 + 60x10
e) EZ pullover - mtor - 60x6, 70x6 | 75x6 + isofail: 17s
f) SPU - 3x10 - purple
DB rows continue to break down late in the work set, but the 40s are just too light anymore. I suppose I’ll adapt soon enough…
Walked after breakfast and before workout again. Noticing my appetite is on the rise, so maybe the extra movement and extra conditioning work is starting to take hold. Trying not to indulge it in any case, though I’ve added a cup of Oikos Triple Zero to my post-workout snack and some extra granola before bed.
Got the OK to bring one pair of DBs and one KB while on vacation, so now I just need to figure out something useful to do with them in about 20 minutes each day—thrusters and swings, yes, but maybe there are other interesting moves to keep things fresh? Squats, burpees, and push-ups will likely feature in these mini-workouts too; these moves alone should be a nice change of pace before diving into 5/3/1 Forever programming upon my return.
Popping in to say hello and welcome. As another older lifter with 3 young kids (11, 10, and 8) I know how difficult it can be to balance life and training. My misses kinda understands and tolerates my training but I know at times she wishes I would dial it down a bit, especially if I am training for a comp. Based on your pic at the start of this thread you already look damn good and @ChongLordUno hit the nail on the head when he said earlier to stop worrying about the weight stuff and just train hard and consistently.
What program are you following ? I have no idea what you string off letters and numbers means?
Thanks for checking out my log! And thanks, too, for the vote of confidence—I was fat for so long I think I developed a distorted view of what “not fat” is. I’m still hoping to get a bit leaner, but I’ve begun to change my outlook… Folks here have been very supportive, and that’s part of why I finally decided to get involved on the forums.
I’m currently running CT’s Best Damn Workout Plan (for Natural Lifters, Part I); the rest is just my notation for tracking where I am in the overall progression scheme I’m using (cycle, week, day).
Anyway, thanks again for dropping by to say hello! And I really do love those red boots.
40-minute walk after breakfast, straight into workout, then into 2nd extra set of conditioning work for the week: legs were toast, especially my quads. HR in 160s after first thruster round, in mid-170s by fourth round, but found one more rep in last round.
Lifts were good today, but I’m glad to be done. Except that now I have to trim the hedges… Bleh.
