Ran into one of my favorite jiu-jitsu teammates at the West Seattle Street Fair today. Great to see him - and good karma for my impending return to the mats in about two weeks.
SUNDAY
BW: 154.6 lbs
waist: 34"
OFF
MONDAY
BW: 153.8 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3/04 miles / 435 calories / 49:02 minutes
Moving things around to accommodate a BF/body scan I’ve got scheduled at my gym on Wednesday afternoon. Six more sessions of Alsruhe RPM Full Body left. Still trying to decide on my next program. Taking a long look at the John Meadows/Dave Tate powerbuilding program, The Unity. Also toying around with a Wendler/Thibaudeau-inspired program I’m calling “Beyond 8/6/4”, but may want to save that until the fall.
2 Likes
TUESDAY
BW: 154.2 lbs
waist: 34"
1437 calories = P120 F65 C52
Alsruhe RPM Full Body W8 D3
Skipped warmup
Deadlift (H)
bar x 10
95 lbs x 8
135 lbs x 5
175 lbs x 3
10 minutes EMOM 205 lbs x 3
Pullups (L)
10 minutes EMOM BW x 5
OHP (M)
bar x 10
60 lbs x 8
70 lbs x 5
80 lbs x 3
10 minutes EMOM 90 lbs x 4
Celebrating my 55th birthday tomorrow with a bodyscan at my gym to determine my bodyfat levels, etc. Would like to have been going into it at or under 150 lbs, but I get a free test every other month, so this will give me something to work from for my next test in August.
3 Likes
Happy birthday man
1 Like
Thanks! 55 years young(ish)!
2 Likes
I’ve always winced at the idea of being “a fat guy who lifts weights,” but that’s just because the truth stings.
Everything I’m doing in the gym is working. And that’s something to be proud of. But what’s happening outside the gym is not. Diet and sleep/recovery/stress management have driven my fat levels through the roof.
I’ll take my Transformation 2022 photo tomorrow morning for the record. Right now, I’m focused on the August Check-in, and seeing what changes I can make between now and then.
The biggest will be to make a better effort to lower cortisol. I tried a cortisol blocker last year and unfortunately the only thing I got out of it were some of the most severe gas pains I’ve ever had. So I’ll go the old fashioned way and just force myself to go to sleep earlier. I’ve read that between 10pm and 11pm is ideal for a 6am riser. So be it.
I’m also going to opt for a balanced diet and focus exclusively on lower calories. I’ve flirted with low carb approaches for too long and I think the absence of carbs on a regular controlled basis only encouraged cheating and binging. Also, my carbs of abuse were hardly good carbs; most were likely bigger sources of fat.
Flip recently reminded me of the virtues of the vertical diet. I bought the book awhile ago, but never seriously tried it. Time to.
4 Likes
Hours asleep before midnight are worth double apparently…
(fwiw 930-10pm sleep then up at 5.30am typically here)
Time to attack that visceral fat? Lower the lifting volume, a little more cardio hitting fat burn zones for your HR? Appreciate the update, some similar numbers to me given we’re similar-ish height/weight.
Carbs and snacks taste good though… dang.
1 Like
Getting to sleep earlier will kill two pterodactyl-sized birds with one stone. I can do an amazing amount of damage to my diet between 10:30pm and midnight.
I live with a little bit of ambient stress/high cortisol that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon (though I suspect getting back on the mats will help). And I think that’s playing a small part. But I’m optimistic about what a decent “light’s out” over the next 6-8 weeks might help me accomplish.
1 Like
THURSDAY
BW: 153.4 lbs
waist: 34"
1514 calories = P138 F69 C61
Alsruhe RPM Full Body W8 D4
Warmup
2-minute row sprints + 5 box jumps superset x 3*
2:06 minutes / 504m / 31 calories
2:06 minutes / 498m / 30 calories
2:05 minutes / 510m / 32 calories
*Missed the middle set of jumps. Busy gym. Trainer bogarted the box.
Squats (L)
bar x 10
95 lbs x 8
110 lbs x 5
10 minutes EMOM 120 lbs x 5
HLRs
5 minutes EMOM BW x 5
Swiss bar bent over row (M)
bar x 10
60 lbs x 8
70 lbs x 5
10 minutes EMOM 80 lbs x 4
HLRs
5 minutes EMOM BW x 5
Swiss bar bench (H)
bar x 10
65 lbs x 8
80 lbs x 5
95 lbs x 3
110 lbs x 3
10 minutes EMOM 125 lbs x 3
2 Likes
FRIDAY
BW: 152.4 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.04 miles / 439 calories / 49:02 minutes
SATURDAY
BW: 151.4 lbs
waist: 34"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.03 miles / 434 calories / 49:02 minutes
Went to a matinee of Top Gun Maverick today as part of my extended birthday celebration. I may be a biased, GenX, middle-aged American guy, but I loved every single minute of it.
Checking out the IBJJF World Championships on Flograppling this afternoon (and tomorrow). Some really great jiujitsu on display. The desire to return to the mats grows strong every day.
2 Likes
SUNDAY
BW: 151.8 lbs
waist: 34"
Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.00 miles / 436 calories / 48:03 minutes
2 Likes
This morning’s 155.0 lb weigh-in was the clearest evidence to date that all I’ve been doing this year is losing and gaining back water. The fact that my waistline was 34" with a BW of 151.8 lbs yesterday was a tell; I’ve really made no progress, at all, after six months. I took a Transformation photo but while I look a little better in the mirror than I did in January, the camera doesn’t seem to share the same opinion, so I’m not going to bother posting it.
Here’s the BW part of the picture - which looks good even if the waistline change has been virtually non-existent.
2 Likes
MONDAY
BW: 154.6 lbs
waist: 34"
1334 calories = P158 F47 C78
Alsruhe RPM Full Body W9 D1
Deadlift (M)
bar x 10
95 lbs x 8
135 lbs x 5
155 lbs x 3
10 minutes EMOM 175 lbs x 4
Abs crunch
5 minutes +25 lbs x 10
Pullups (H)
BW x 5
10 minutes EMOM +25 lbs x 3
Abs crunch
5 minutes EMOM +25 lbs x 10
OHP (L)
bar x 10
10 minutes EMOM 60 lbs x 5
5-count hold at the top of the final rep of the final set
Final week of the program. It’s been a little extra long since my last weight training session (Thursday) and it showed. Deadlifts felt especially good early.
Moving the row sprints to cardio day. Will also probably reduce the time on the treadmill to 30 minutes (from 48-49 minutes).
Strongly considering CT’s Best Damn Workout Plan for Natural Lifters as my next program. That will allow me to lower the volume while I make another run on losing body fat between now and the “August Check-in” RIP.
1 Like
Share away, no judgement here.
Time to totally change things up… join me on the 10k kb swing challenge!
Can feel the frustration in your posts, keep changing things up till you find something that works…
1 Like
Thanks. I’m actually going to take your advice (and @RampantBadger’s) and switch to a very different program for a few mesocycles. Lower volume/higher intensity.
Also going to take a page from Layne Norton’s book and try to up the carbs and pull back on the fat. That’s definitely a different approach!
1 Like
Was a little uncertain about whether Best Damn Workout for Natural Lifters was a good fit for Type 3s like me. I’ve done the high volume version of BDW4NL and liked it. That one seemed tailor made for Type 3s.
But now that I’m trying (again) to lose body fat, I need to reduce the volume and up the intensity. So does the original, 6x/week BDW4NLs work for Type 3? The answer, fortunately, is “Sí.”
Neurotype 3 - General Training Recommendations
Best training methods: Slower tempo, the inclusion of pauses and holds during the reps, drop sets, and rest/pauses with a higher starting rep number are all good methods. While they physically can do supersets, neurologically it’s not the best method. They can do antagonist pairings though.
1 Like
It happens man.
Sometimes you spend 5 minutes in front headlock position fighting for a darce and squeezing like your life depends on it only for it to be a no go and you to transition into something else.
No doubts you will still find a way to finish the goal with another method.
Also out of curiosity how tall are you sir?
1 Like
Great metaphor! You can have most of the details on the choke correct, but if you’re missing a critical one or two, that may make all the difference between getting the tap and having to go for Plan B. Or Plan C …
I’m pretty short, 5’ 5". I’ve been as light as 145 lbs as recently as last August. That’s my goal: to make a roundtrip back to where I was then within a year.
1 Like
So less lifting (bare minimum to maintain strength), more low impact cardio, more walking, less food (bah!).
Throw in some ‘hard cut’ fortnights, then maintenance for 2-4 weeks, then repeat?
I’m feeling hungry typing this…
1 Like
Pretty much. Really going to school on CT’s work right now:
Lesson: Best Damn Workout for Natural Lifters
Homework: Shorter, more intense sessions of weight training (rest pauses, drop sets, etc.)
Lesson: Primer 52: The Program (for diet)
Homework: Eat based on training day; 1500-1600 cal/day; low fat/moderate carb
AMPK extra low calorie days 2x/week
Lesson: Best Cardio for Naturals
Homework: Row sprints: shorten and intensify
Incline treadmill walk: shorten duration
1 Like