SATURDAY
BW: 153.0 lbs
waist: 34 1/4"
Friday steps: 11.0k
AM cardio
33:54 minutes
AvHR (Max): 110 (141)
Starting to wonder about the impact of the late summer heat on my morning cardio walks. AvHR is almost 10 bpm lower in September/October, at least on first glances. May be a good time to add 10 lbs to the vest.
SUNDAY
BW: 149.4 lbs
waist: 34"
Saturday steps: 11.5k
Neighborhood Ruck
1:08:06 minutes
AvHR (Max): 131 (168)
Can’t help but notice first time below 150 in awhile. Is this the goal?
Yes. The key goal is a 33" waist. I don’t think I can get there without dropping below 148 lbs. Truth told, I think I’d have to get to about 145 lbs for that waistline. My body fights like the devil when I drop below 150 lbs–and every bad habit in the book shows up to start trouble. But that’s where I’ve got to go.
This is how I feel about 225. Feels like I can somewhat easily get below 230, but the second I start returning to any level of maintenance, I shoot up to 235-240. Our bodies are funny. I suspect I’d have to maintain sub-225 for a long time before my body got comfortable there.
MONDAY
BW: 152.4 lbs
waist: 34 1/4"
Sunday steps: 12.0k
AM cardio
34:11 minutes
AvHR (MaxHR): 110 (141)
(((==+==)))
TUESDAY
BW: 151.6 lbs
waist: 34 1/4"
Monday steps: 7.9k
AM cardio
33:49 minutes
AvHR (MaxHR): 124 (157)
Cycle 4, Week 6, Session 3
Operation Mastodon
SSB squat
190 lbs x 1, 1, 1
Superset
24" box jumps 5 x 3
+25 lbs hyperextensions 8 x 3
Yellow band straight arm pulldowns 9 x 4
Black band internal / external rotations 9 x 4
Biceps: DB preacher hammer curl
30 lbs x 9, 9
Triceps: Seated overhead pressdown
67 1/2 lbs x 9, 9
Chest/pecs: Seated cable incline flye
45 lbs x 9, 9
Back: Chest-supported high pronated row
160 lbs x 9 (!), 6 (!)
WEDNESDAY
BW: 151.0 lbs
waist: 34"
Tuesday steps: 10.6k
AM cardio
34:11 minutes
AvHR (MaxHR): 115 (143)
(((==+==)))
THURSDAY
BW: 152.2 lbs
waist: 34 1/2"
Wednesday steps: 8.1k
AM cardio
34:15 minutes
AvHR (MaxHR): 112 (145)
FRIDAY
BW: 153.4 lbs
waist: 34 1/2"
Thursday steps: 6.9k
AM cardio
33:55 minutes
AvHR (Max): 115 (145)
Cycle 5, Week 1, Session 1: Operation Mastodon
SSB squat
175 lbs x 5, 5, 5
Superset
24" box jumps 5 x 3
+35 lbs hyperextensions 6 x 3
Yellow band straight arm pulldowns 9 x 4
Black band internal / external rotations 9 x 4
Triceps: Seated dip
160 lbs x 6, 6 (!)
Biceps/Brachialis: EZ bar reverse curl
+30 lbs x 9, 9
Chest/Pecs: Seated pec deck
170 lbs x 6, 6
Back/Lats: Seated vertical pulldown
90 lbs x 6, 6
The three sets of five on the main lift are my least favorite weeks in TB. Woke up with some lower back soreness and was worried the squats would be an adventure. Didn’t seem to impact performance.
Fixed my grip on the EZ bar reverse curls and the pressure on my thumbs is almost gone. Was able to crank out three extra reps in each set without too much trouble.
Feeling a little stalled at 90 lbs for sixes on the vertical pulldowns.
Update: watching some videos on Paul Carter’s Instagram has given me the idea to switch to a neutral/parallel grip vertical pulldown to mix things up and maybe get over this 90lb hump. I’m doing fine on the chest-supported rows. But as soon as I start to stall there, I’ll likely switch to the lower of the two bars. PR is 180 lbs for 6, 6.
SATURDAY
BW: 151.0 lbs
waist: 34 1/4"
Friday steps: 12.2k
Neighborhood Ruck
70:08 minutes
AvHR (Max): 119 (163)
SATURDAY
BW: 152.4 lbs
waist: 34 1/2"
Friday steps: 7.0k
Average Sun - Thu steps: 9.1k
Neighborhood Ruck
57:51 minutes
AvHR (Max): 114 (155)
That lower back soreness turned out to be at least a little more serious than I thought. Pressing on with squats last week probably made things marginally worse. Feels like sacroiliac pain. Slept awkwardly last Thursday, which is what precipitated it, I think. Will avoid squats for the next several days and see if the discomfort subsides.
Between the back and a handful of work deadlines, I didn’t make it to the gym at all this week.
SUNDAY
BW: 149.4 lbs
waist: 34 1/2"
Saturday steps: 11.1k
AM cardio
33:36 minutes
AvHR (Max): 118 (147)
Special Sessions: The Deftones Dossier
Upper 1
Chest/Pecs
Seated Machine Press 160 lbs x 6 (!), 6 (!)
Seated Pec Deck 170 lbs x 6 (!), 6 (!)
Shoulders
Seated machine OHP 80 lbs x 6 (!), 5 (!)
DB laterals 10 lbs x 9 x 3
Triceps
Seated dip machine 160 lbs x 5 (!), 5 (!)
Back thickness
Seated CS horizontal row (lower grip) 140 lbs x 6 (!), 6 (!)
Back width
Seated NG vertical pulldown 90 lbs x 6 (!), 6 (!)
Doing some bodybuilding programming this week. Will be out of the gym again all week next week due to travel and, since I need to avoid squatting for a little while, I thought this might be a good way to give myself a chance to heal up. Upper/Lower/Upper/Lower is the plan.
MONDAY
BW: 149.4 lbs
waist: 34"
Sunday steps: 14.0k
AM cardio
34:04 minutes
AvHR (Max): 121 (151)
TUESDAY
BW: 149.4 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"
Monday steps: 9.5k
AM cardio
31:31 minutes
AvHR (Max): 144 (169)
Special Sessions: The Deftones Dossier
Lower 1
Quads
Seated leg extension 150 lbs x 6, 6
Hams
Seated leg curl 170 lbs x 6 (!), 5 (!)
Glutes
Booty Builder/Hip thrust machine 140 lbs x 6 (!), 6 (!)
Quads
Seated adductor machine 90 lbs x 9, 9 (!)
Posterior chain
Hyperextensions/45s +35 lbs x 9 x 3
Workout ran a little long as I was finding my weights with a lot of these exercises and ended up doing a lot of ramping up sets. At least I found my levels.
Will likely add a leg press (or pendulum squat) on the first Lower day and a RDL on the second.
Schedule change will push my week out of town forward by about a month. A little relieved to not be traveling next week for all the reasons. Will continue this bodybuilding upper/lower programming until then, I think, and maybe through the end of the year.
WEDNESDAY
BW: 150.4 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"
Tuesday steps: 8.7k
AM cardio
32:46 minutes
AvHR (Max): 130 (162)
Pecs and inner thighs a little sore from recent training. More volume in the first instance and a new movement (adductor machine) in the second. All good. Back to upper body tomorrow.
Overall steps are below average these days. Need to work on that, especially as I get back to a “base camp” weight around 150 lbs. One of my biggest dieting nemesis–late night snacking–has not been an issue at all over the past few days. I’d been on a virtual bender in the days leading in to Halloween, but pretty darn saintly since then.
Lower back feels much better. Still going to stick with the bodybuilding programming for a little while longer, probably wrapping up at the end of the first week of December for a solid five weeks of hypertrophy focus.
Non-gym aside: I’ve got a friend (husband of my wife’s best friend) coming over to play a little music on Sunday. Given that he’s a professional jazz musician and I’ve got less than a year of playing under my belt after 40 years of not even looking at a guitar, I’m both thrilled and terrified.
THURSDAY
BW: 150.4 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"
Wednesday steps: 7.2k
AM cardio
33:38 minutes
AvHR (Max): 123 (153)
Special Sessions: The Deftones Dossier
Upper 2
Back width
Seated wide grip pulldown 90 lbs x 9, 9
Back thickness
Seated CS NG row 140 lbs x 6, 6
Chest/pecs
Seated cable incline press 105 lbs (total weight) x 6 (!), 5 (!)
Seated low to high cable flye 45 lbs (total weight) x 6 (!), 5 (!)
Shoulders/delts
Seated cable CG handle OHP 32 1/2 lbs x 4 (!), 4 (!)
Standing cable lateral raises 7 1/2 lbs x 9, 6, 6, 6
Triceps
Seated overhead cable pressdown 67 1/2 lbs x 9 (!), 7 (!)
The overhead cable press was especially tough. Will give it another shot next week, but I’m not convinced that it’s a keeper. Had to do the workout backwards because both cable stations and the seated machine chest press were occupied.
TUESDAY
BW: 154.2 lbs
waist: 34 1/2"
Thursday-Sunday steps: 29.4k (daily average 7.35k)
Monday steps: 4.1k
AM cardio
33:55 minutes
AvHR (Max): 110 (138)
Special Sessions: The Deftones Dossier
** Week 1: Lower 4**
Quads
Hammer Strength V-squat (incl. machine weight) 304lbs x 6 (!), 6 (!)
Seated leg extension machine 150 lbs x 9, 9 (!)
Seated adductor machine 90 lbs x 9, 6
Hamstrings
Seated leg curl machine 170 lbs x 6 (!), 6 (!)
Glutes
Booty Builder hip thrust machine 130 lbs x 6, 6, 6
Abs
Hanging leg raise BW x 9, 9, 9
Glad to be back in the gym. Busy weekend with family and friends. Hooked up the in-laws with a new PC etc. on Saturday and spent some time playing a little music with a friend who’s a local jazz musician. Tons of fun on both days. Too many calories consumed, unfortunately. I’ll be working on that all week.
