Burien Top Team | Training Log

Training Training Logs
905

SUNDAY

BW: 151.1 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Took the day off. Watched Seahawks game. Wept.

=

MONDAY

BW: 152.3 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 259 calories / 40:27 minutes

= several hours later =

Arms of Autumn 2.1, Week 2, Day 1

Standing bicep curls
Red band 3 of 20
10 reps top / 10 reps bottom / 10 reps full range
1 set of 20

Standing alt curls
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 10

Good to move to 12R on Friday.

Pinwheel curls
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 10

All clear here to move to 12R on Friday, as well.

Hammer grip iso hang: 35 seconds

Started to feel discomfort in my left upper lat, so I bailed maybe 10-15 seconds early.

Bicep stretch: 60 seconds

DB high pull (one arm)
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 15

Heels elevated DB back squat
35s 3 sets of 18

also too, HLR sets of 12 between exercises for total of 60 reps. Total workout time: 70 minutes.

Finally decided to start taking some painkillers/anti-inflammatories for my shoulder. Will still avoid doing any work on it until February or so. I’d been relying on fat doses of turmeric/curcumin, which I’ll continue to take. But I’m bringing in the big dogs now.

Also started a modest keto style diet to try and break down beneath these low 150s in BW. That, plus a mild intermittent fast (waking at 6-7ish, first meal 4-5 hours later) and daily cardio, should do the trick.

906

I’d watched pieces but that was the first whole game I’ve watched this season. So, so ugly.

1 Like
907

TUESDAY

BW: 151.6 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Feeling bloated after another pre-sleep dose of a cortisol blocker with Emodin in it. Pretty serious stomach upset kept me from getting to sleep for awhile last night, as well. Decided to dump the rest.

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 256 calories /40:01 minutes

= several hours later =

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.3 miles / 263 calories / 41:01 minutes

Low net calorie day today (<800 cal); low carbs as well (<50g). Back to the “A” program (triceps, back, posterior chain) tomorrow with a bump up in target reps. Shoulder feeling better with the anti-inflammatories, but I’m not testing it until well after the new year.

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908

WEDNESDAY

BW: 150.4 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Still a little lingering bloat and woke up with a pretty serious lower back ache, as well. Better somewhat now, but I’ve been taking Ibuprofen all day.

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 256 calories / 40:01 minutes

= several hours later =

Arms of Autumn 2.1, Week 2, Day 2

Tricep pressdowns
Green band 3 sets of 20
10 reps top / 10 reps bottom / 10 reps full range
1 set of 20

Tate press
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 12

Tough on the sets of 12, but managed to extend the arm …

Overhead triceps extension
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 2 sets of 10; 1 set of 9

Failed one rep short of goal.

Triceps stretch: 60 seconds

DB row
25s 2 sets of 20
35s 2 sets of 10
45s 1 set of 30

DB RDLs
45s 3 sets of 18

also too, 30 reps ab crunch btw exercises for a total of 150 reps

70 minutes start to finish.

909

THURSDAY

BW: 150.0 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 353 calories / 52:17 minutes

Low calorie / low carb day today. “Anterior” session tomorrow - biceps, chest/shoulder, quads - with a bump up in reps.

910

FRIDAY

BW: 149.8 lbs
waist: 33 1/4"

Broke the 150 lbs barrier for the first time in almost a year. Also nice to finally see a sub 33 1/2" waistline. Time to focus: keep the protein up, and make sure I’m eating near maintenance every day but Tue/Thu when I take the calorie count to the cellar.

Arms of Autumn 2.1, Week 2, Day 3

Standing bicep curls
Red band 3 of 20
10 reps top / 10 reps bottom / 10 reps full range
1 set of 20

Standing alt curls
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 12

Pinwheel curls
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 12

Supinated grip iso hang chin: 35 seconds

Same issue with my left lat on these. Quit when the ache became a little too obvious.

Dogg Crapp biceps stretch: 60 seconds

One-arm (left) incline press
25s 3 sets of 20
35s 3 sets of 10

Walking DB lunges
10s 3 sets of 18

also too, HLRs sets of 15 reps between exercises for a total of 75 reps

Checking out the weigh-ins for the grappling super tournament Who’s Number One this weekend. Amazing (and somewhat depressing) to see a couple of ripped competitors at 150 lbs and realize how much more weight I’d have to lose to get that lean …

911

SATURDAY

BW: 149.6 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.5 miles / 280 calories / 44:02 minutes

A few hours later took a brisk 30-minute stroll around the neighborhood with Mrs. Burien Top Team who had to work overtime on Saturday (again). Enjoyed a nice carb-up of BBQ ribs, BBQ beans, cole slaw, and more than a few steak fries for dinner (and a pair of doughnuts for dessert) while watching The Right Stuff (RIP Chuck Yeager).

Very happy with Week One of the low carb diet and looking forward to Week Two. Shoulder feeling better every other day

912

SUNDAY

BW: 149.6 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Very happy with this morning’s weight after last night’s feasting. Makes it that much easier to pull back during the week knowing that there’s a sweet Daddy-sized food bag waiting for you at the end of it all.

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.5 miles / 280 calories / 44:02 minutes

Picked up some food containers at the local Bartells to help with meal prep - which was a big factor in last week’s success. Planned out the week’s menu through Friday. Considering adding a few post-training/glycogen-restoring/evening chill carbs (rice/gluten-free tortilla) if I can keep overall daily carbs below 50g.

1 Like
913

Dude, you’re not going to need participate in the T-ransformation if you keep this up!

2 Likes
914

Thanks!

My goal is to lean out as much as possible through January. Then leverage renewed insulin sensitivity - and better diet habits - to add a pound or two of lean muscle during the final four months of the Transformation.

Looks like things are going well with you. Latest pictures (this week?) suggest “so far so good.”

3 Likes
915

Nice, looks like you’ve got a solid plan.

I’m not sure what my plan will be at this point, I’ll probably go into the new year about the same weight as last year but with 10 or so pounds of muscle added, most of which was just rebuilt from prior years. I’m trying to hit some strength goals so I won’t cut too hard but ideally I’d like to lose at least 15-20 over the transformation, shouldn’t be too hard starting at almost 300

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916

Watched a video from CT that helped me realize why compound movements have not been doing much - if anything - for my arm hypertrophy. Helps support my current approach in Arms of Autumn. Also probably explains why I’ve historically been a better puller than a pusher, and why I’ve never had much problem getting good pec and lat activation on compound lifts.

Also watched a good recent video from John Meadows that, among other things, reminded me of how good “over and backs” are to help keep shoulders healthy. I used to do them, then stopped. Ready to restart. Shoulder is at that stage where I’m tempted to start testing it and am 100% sure that I’ll screw it up if I do.

917

MONDAY

BW: 150.8 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Arms of Autumn, Week 3, Day 1

Triceps pressdowns
Green ban 3 sets of 20
10 reps top / 10 reps bottom / 10 reps full range
1 set of 20

Tate press
10s 3 of 20
25s 3 of 12

Overhead triceps extension
10s 3 of 20
25s 10 / 9 / 10

A little weak in the middle. Same total as last week. Still working on three of ten.

Triceps stretch: 60 seconds/side

Bent over rows
Red band 3 of 20
10 reps top / 10 reps bottom / 10 reps full range
1 set of 20

Hip thrust
45 lbs 3 sets of 15

also too 30 rep ab crunches between exercises for a total of 150 reps.

918

TUESDAY

BW: 149.6 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 353 calories / 52:17 minutes

Film study was Gordon Ryan’s High Performance Mindset for Grappling video. Biggest takeaways from today’s video were the emphasis of putting yourself in bad positions in training and to use handicaps to make training with lower belts more worthwhile.

Other interesting note was Ryan’s off-the-mat training preferences: weight-training and gymnastics. The latter is fairly obvious: the strength, bodyweight control, and flexibility of a gymnast are all ideal attributes for a jiujitsu athlete.

With regard to weight-training, Ryan prefers very high rep work, probably entering what would be considered muscle endurance training. He off-handedly referenced doing four sets of 20 on the leg press, and said that both the mental and physical challenge of high rep work better complemented his grappling game compared to other weight lifting approaches.

He also doesn’t bother with off-the-mat cardio, which he doesn’t think transfers well to on-the-mat conditioning. Ryan insists, as I’ve heard from others like Joel “8 Weeks Out” Jamieson, the issue in grappling is less pure “cardio” and more movement efficiency.

919

WEDNESDAY

BW: 149.3
waist: 33 1/2"

Warmup
Incline treadmill walk
0.75 miles / 83 calories / 13:28 minutes

Arms of Autumn, Week 3, Day 2

Standing bicep curls
Red band 3 of 20
10 reps top / 10 reps bottom / 10 reps full range
1 set of 20

Standing alt curls
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 12

Onward to sets of 15 on Monday.

Pinwheel curls
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 12

Onward to sets of 15 on Monday

Hammer grip bodyweight hang: 3 sets 20 seconds / 30 / 30

Dogg Crapp bicep stretch: 60 seconds

DB high pull (left only)
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 15

Onward to sets of 18 on Monday

Heels elevated back squat
35s 3 sets of 18

Onward to sets of 21 on Monday

also too, 15 reps of HLRs between exercises for a total of 75 reps

Cooldown
Incline treadmill walk
1.0 miles / 127 calories / 17:01 minutes

920

Two walks sessions in a day, you really are motivated, great!

Congrats on the weight loss by the way.

I’ll add my cents if you allow.

Seemed super long for that session no? How long are you resting between arms work?

Here I completely agree with. Though I would disagree about doing so much arm work during a cut, and CT would say the same (“training economy”). I personally think it’s not a great idea, especially if you end up doing loooon sessions. I would focus more on big coumpounds, lower volume, then add a bit if any arms work at the end of sessions. Or ONE arms day, not this much. Getting results while on a deficit is super hard, and even more on a tiny bodypart like this. But if it works for you and motivates you, well then keep going on.

I’m like you, long arms (+7 cms), long legs, and I will definitely do more arms work when my elbow is healed.

1 Like
921

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Much of what I’m doing is a mix of necessity and preference. I injured my right rotator cuff awhile back and have had to strip back a lot of what I’d otherwise do on that side. I was focusing on arms at the time anyway, so I made a few adjustments to allow me to keep on the path.

One minute between non-work sets. Two minutes between work sets and exercises (abs done in this time). I’ve deliberately taken the intensity down a bit after doing so much rest pause training this year. I was starting to feel a little burned out and was developing “powerlifting” habits instead of “bodybuilding” ones.

Definitely not conventional wisdom (maybe not ANY wisdom!) - and not what I’d recommend to anyone else. But I feel like I’m controlling for the variables (injury, intensity, arm hypertrophy emphasis) fairly well. I’m actually leveraging CT’s concept of training economy to put all the chips (or most of them) from my relatively modest stack on just a few hands (i.e., biceps and triceps) rather than spread my meager wealth more broadly.

I’m seeing some good results in arm size - especially triceps - but I don’t want to actually measure them until the end of this program in late January.

1 Like
922

Alright then like if I said, if it’s working… I would have suggested to superset tris and bis but if you’re doing abs… You must have abs of steel :stuck_out_tongue:

This will be my main thing: to do abs. I have neglected them for years.

Most likely end up disappointing because you’re on a deficit ahahah (at least that’s my experience, my arms shrink)

1 Like
923

I should open up a betting line. Started at 14" flexed no pump in September. The bookies would probably put the over/under at about 14.5" by end of January? :wink: But they’d probably have to offer a teaser on the BW at the same time!

924

THURSDAY

BW: 148.5 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 352 calories / 52:!7 minutes