Yea I definitely missed all of the nuance to that post saw 10k fights and thought nahhh.
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I definitely took that with a grain of salt. Lots of fights. Hundreds if not thousands. Probably not 10,000 
“innumerable”
But for real, anyone who did “strongman” stuff back then I take everything with a grain of salt.
In addition to promoting his equipment and his training methods, Calvert also wrote a whole book on all the BS claims “The Truth about Weight Lifting”, and all the tricks of the trade of how people deceived their audiences. Pulled back the curtain a bit. Made him lots of friends, lol.
Its very easy to be the World’s Strongest Man if nobody else has ever done the obscure lift that only you can do.
With the way boxing was back then, I’d be surprised if anyone made it through a few hundred fights without brain damage…
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She and I were talking about it last night.
She wasn’t allowed to tie up the phone line in case someone needed to call in. And I had to worry about faxes coming in.
Different times.
College was cool though. Broadband all the time!
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Diet Update.
@QuadQueen , I could use some feedback/guidance. I’m starting to sound like a “dieter” and thinking irrationally.
I’m thinking of taking a break. I haven’t made a decision, but the urge is strong enough that I’m beginning to rationalize it. (It’s important to realize this I think; the illogical part came first.)
Good things:
- weight loss is continuing
- definition is increasing, in some places (notably mid/upper back)
- generally not hungry
Bad things:
- not yet seeing much progress with fat loss in a few places I want to
- I’m much sleepier now; I’m falling asleep early enough that I’m getting
10+9+ hours of sleep. That’s not necessarily bad if it were normal, but as a change from the normal 7-8, it indicates my body is making some self-preservation decisions. This is still with similar levels of stimulants. - the next week of training load is heavy, and I’m afraid that I’m going to be dragging even more if I don’t focus on food-for-recovery. I experimented with higher carbs and fats for lunch and dinner after Wednesday’s training and felt better for it.
Some minor negatives:
- I’ve had some mental slowdown. Thinking and learning isn’t quite where it used to be. It’s not had any negative practical effects, but I’ve noticed it.
- Some upcoming social outings will be trickier to navigate as protein-only
- I miss some flavors. Plenty of tasty options with where I am, but it’s still missing a chunk of the rainbow.
- for whatever reason, the urge to build muscle size has increased this past week (versus desire for strength or definition)
So my thoughts are trending toward a week or two break.
Other random things:
- I revisited a thing I did long ago: 20g peptopro + 5g leucine as a morning drink. Only drank half per morning, over two days. This sits better than MD. I still need to figure out flavoring though. Those are strong flavors to mask.
- If Mag-10 didn’t have carbs, I’d use that instead.
- I think this is theoretically a better option for maintaining that continual amino-acid drip than nearly every other option, especially as the body ramps up for the day. This in the morning and maybe post-workout, MD and food throughout the day.
I also seem to be getting a little sick. Conveniently the treatment for this (TCM) is basically thermogenics, lol.
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I know I wasn’t the ask on this, but I actually see this as a positive in a fat loss phase. Typically, when we lose fat, cortisol goes up, and the consequence is it’s much harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. At my leanest and unhealthiest, I couldn’t sleep for more than 20 minutes at a pop, and would often “give up” on sleep at around 0200, get up and go for a walk. It sounds like you’ve actually got your hormones in a solid spot here.
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Thats an interesting take. Falling asleep is definitely not a problem these days. With the exception of a geriatric cat whining overnight, staying asleep isn’t much of a problem either.
I was thinking more along the lines that I’m sleeping “too long”. (Actually, I thought it was 10+, but it’s more like 9+. Time-math is hard.)
The thought that my body is insufficiently fed so it’s trying to preserve energy by sleeping. Fat loss essentially would stall because energy output also decreased.
The other thought is that longer sleep can be a symptom of depression. Though I don’t currently have other symptoms (I have experience here), besides that slowing of thinking/learning. But that it might trend that way as something isn’t getting adequately fueled.
But both of those were leading to the idea that maybe a “break/reset” would be a good idea.
Okay, so I have quite a few questions and would love to just get on the phone with you, if you’re open to that. Sometimes it’s easier to talk things out than it is to go back and forth typing until we land where we need to be. If you’re game for a call, shoot me an email at amyk.rd at gmail dot com. I’ve got some time tomorrow and or Sunday if you do!
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Considering I’ve already done 568 presses since March 1, it might take more than 10,000…
W8D3 - Medium Volume
Press (73%): 95# x 5 x 5
17" Axle Rack Pulls (79%): 350# x 4 x 5
Roman Column: 7x sit-to-straight-to-sit
H2H KB Swings: 85# x 26 (13 each hand)
Upper-back Meadows Rows: 50# x 12 (each side)
High Cable Overhead Extensions: 20# x 3 x 6 (right then left)
Pushdowns: 20# x 3 x 6 (right then left)
– supersetted with –
HB Wide-grip Upright Rows: 80# x 5 x 8
Workout Notes:
- Went back to the right wrist wrap.
- Things were fine. Hard work, and nothing felt light.
- I superset the tricep and delt work; that was different
Programming Notes:
- Well, now I’ve had my 3rd sign that I should change my accessory programming… How to Turn Up Your Gains
Though certain lifters call anything over 3 reps per set “cardio,” doing a total of 40-70 reps per session (or 7-10 reps for 5-10 sets) of each muscle group, may be a good starting point.
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If China’s jacked olympic lifters are doing 6x12, and Sheiko’s powerlifters are doing 5x10, and that article says the data supports 5-10 x 7-10, then I should probably be doing something similar if I want similar results.
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I think there’s 3 categories within my current training. Main lifts, “supplemental” lifts (abs + swings), and “size” lifts. I think the programming for the main lifts is fine, and the single-set double-progression is fine for the supplemental work (where the goal is also to get stronger), but for the “size” lifts I should probably change things up.
The Ivanko Super Gripper arrived! I knew it was big, but it’s still bigger than I thought. (that’s what she said)
I’m going to start at the lowest settings and use – surprise – single-set double-progression. 5-10 range. But do it daily, since I think forearm recovery is very quick. Can slow that down when I need to.
Yesterday did 5 reps at the 1-3 setting, after playing around with it for a bit. And a few more singles later, because “new toy”. Today did 6 reps.
Ivanko claims the 1-3 setting is 45 pounds to close. The Cannon PowerWorks rating is 26 pounds. This is roughly equivalent to the Captains of Crush “Guide” which is 27 CPW pounds.
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Had a good chat with @QuadQueen this weekend, and got some answers, clarity, advice and wit. Thanks again.
Some highlights:
- the tiredness is perfectly normal and expected with such a deficit
- recovery on heavier/harder days can use a bolus of carbs. Preferably post-workout due to higher insulin sensitivity, but also fine later in the day if that works better.
- my timeline is reasonable, and I can slow things down if I want
- re-affirmed lower abdominal fat is usually the last to go
- on the other side, reverse dieting with weekly changes is a good idea; better to understand exactly how much/little is required to maintain/gain rather than make large changes with a lot of unknowns
- strategic regular use of carbs is preferable to cheat days/meals/refeeds; better to suffer consistently than deal with large swings of energy and motivation
- waiting until hungry to eat is an ok strategy; if a breakfast shake isn’t working for whatever reason, it’s not the end of the world
- that said, constant and sufficient protein is a good thing
- I should probably add in a multivitamin, at least while dieting down; covers some bases that would otherwise be handled with my normal eating
I don’t think I misrepresented anything, but let me know!
The rest of the weekend was busy. Went to an Agriculture festival thing with the kids on Saturday and got to see and pet lots of animals along with farm equipment, yarn spinning, a cooking demonstration, and a free tomato plant. Went to a retirement party that evening.
Sunday was a kids birthday party by the river. Lots of credit to the parents, because they served a giant pot of white rice, and chargrilled enough marinated chicken thighs to feed a dozen kids and their families. Also had tons of fruit (I’m pretty sure my daughter ate half a watermelon on her own.) They did have chips, dip, salsa, and cake, too. For a kids birthday party, it was definitely the “healthiest” I’ve ever seen.
Funny little side trip while there. My daughter and I went down by the water to look for a stick to hit the piñata with. While down there, the kids’ soccer ball rolled down the hill and into the river and started floating away. The weather was 50s and off and on raining; not a summer day.
There were basically three options: let the ball float away, actually get in the freezing water, or find something to bring the ball to shore. The only thing long enough to reach it were some of the driftwood logs. So… that’s what happened.
First time in my life where “just use a log” was both a reasonable solution and doable.
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You knocked it out of the park! I’m so flattered that you “took notes”. Lol. It was great talking with you and I’m always here if ya need me - just hit me up and we can chat again! As you now know, I LOVE to talk and if someone will listen it’s a double bonus! Lol
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W9D1 - High Volume - Press
Press (77%): 100# x 4 x 5
17" Axle Rack Pulls (82%): 365# x 4 x 5
Press: 100# x 4 x 5
Roman Column: 8x sit-to-straight-to-sit
H2H KB Swings: 85# x 28 (14 each hand)
Upper-back Meadows Rows: 55# x 6 (each side)
(tris-delt pairs supersetted)
High Cable Overhead Extensions: 20# x 7, 7, 5 (right then left)
HB Wide-grip Upright Rows: 80# x 9, 9, 6
Pushdowns: 20# x 6, 10, 8 (right then left)
HB Wide-grip Upright Rows: 80# x 6, 10, 9
Workout Notes:
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Presses continued to feel heavier. Just ground them out.
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Low back was sore over the weekend and coming into this. Didn’t put effort into bracing for the pulls last time. Fixed that this time, and everything feels all right. Pulls went up ok. Felt quite a bit lighter, relatively, than the presses.
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All that pressing actually seemed to hurt the delt and tricep isolation work, believe it or not.
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First set of tricep and delt stuff was continuing double progression; subsequent sets were to failure. I’ve never really done double progression with multiple sets, but I kind of remember how to do it. Either way: total number of sets, a rep range, and “to failure” seem like the right idea for hypertrophy accessories.
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Took a long-ish break during accessory work (typing this up), hence the 6 → 10 rep jump.
I did some gripper stuff too. Just a set a day. Starting with springs at [1,3] I’ve made it to 9 reps so far.
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I’ll get to training later, but a few things:
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Resting heart rate on EC stack is pretty good. 52 to 62 BPM.
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Bodyweight was 154.6 this morning. Continuing down.
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Definition is improving. With perfect lighting, I’ve actually started to see separation between my quad muscles and hamstrings. That was cool and unexpected. Less fat pinched at the stomach too.
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Turns out I can actually have a decent hip-belt squat setup with my suspended-landmine. Not sure I’ll ever do it. I like leaving it set up for rows right now. But it is a nice motion and feels good (at least with 50 pounds).
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20g Peptopro + 5g Leucine + MiO Energy water flavoring is a good morning-energy-drink replacement. Goes down well as the first thing in the morning, unlike MD. And the Acai Berry flavor does a good job masking.
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Still trying to sort out “optimal” accessory programming, but I’ve got a thing that seems to work.
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Well, that was a disaster. Was out of the house over lunch, and stopped by a barbecue place. Ordered 1/2 pound each of pulled pork and brisket. Didn’t expect them to come drenched in sauce.
But my esophagus rejected the food badly, and despite eating a handful of bites of each, everything came back up. For a moment I couldn’t even get water down due to it swelling up. Stupid esophagus.
After a few minutes break, I was able to get a few bites down. The rest I took to go. So annoying. Would totally have eaten 1 pound of meat right then.
Training.
W9D2 - Medium Volume
Press (81%): 105# x 5 x 5
17" Axle Rack Pulls (86%): 380# x 4 x 5
Roman Column: 9x sit-to-straight-to-sit
H2H KB Swings: 85# x 30 (15 each hand)
Notes:
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The day was also a mess, so I was eating dinner and doing sets of presses. Trying to get enough done before the kids bedtime, so that I can do the pulls before they actually fell asleep.
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No surprise, presses still feeling heavy. But they all went up and no weird twisty form breakdown. So I think stronger than last time I did 105.
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Swings seriously spiked my breathing tonight.
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Skipped accessories. Too late tonight. Might do them tomorrow. Might just skip altogether.
Dan dan noodles. Noodles, ground pork, pickled cabbage, spinach. Seasonings.
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Work is very strange right now.
Our team is being dissolved to be mobilized for some other higher priority stuff. We haven’t had any hires for 18-24 months, so they have to prioritize initiatives and use the people they have.
At the beginning of the year, we knew that the future of our team and our work was uncertain. So we threw a hail Mary, and built a thing that would hopefully be enough to keep us around. It was cool, but not enough/not quite the right thing.
This past week, we learned our team will be split up. But we still don’t know what’s happening with our products. We don’t know what will be handed over and what will be shut down. That leaves our hands tied. We don’t know what needs to be tied off with a bow.
Outside of that, no idea what the future holds for our people. Nobody’s getting let go, but they’re still trying to figure out who gets us.
The only date we’ve gotten is “we’ll probably have it figured out by July 1”.
I imagine this is far closer to the experience of being in the military, awaiting orders. That must be really uncomfortable, and I sympathize a lot more with anyone in that position.
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Time is the secret.
99% of the people who lift more than me have been doing it longer than me.
A paraphrased quote in an interview I watched yesterday, from a celebrity trainer: “You wouldn’t expect me to be a top actor if I’ve only been doing it for a year, right? So why would you expect more if you’ve only been lifting for a year?”
I actually thought it was a good interview, but had nothing to do with the title. Apparently the comments are full of vitriol (because of the title).
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Fantastically framed. I frequently use education in a similar manner. It took us 13 years of Monday-Friday, 6-8 hour day education for 9 months a year just to become functioning adults. Going to the gym 3x a week for an hour is going to take a while to get results.
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W9D3 - High Volume - DL
17" Axle Rack Pulls (89%): 395# x 5, 5, 3
Press (85%): 110# x 4, 4, 4, 3, 4 (5 sets)
17" Axle Rack Pulls: 395# x 4, 5, 5
Roman Column: 10x sit-to-straight-to-sit
H2H KB Swings: 85# x 32 (16 each hand)
Upper-back Meadows Rows: 55# x 7 (each side)
(tri-delt pairs supersetted)
High Cable OH Extensions: 20# x 10, 8, 7 (right then left)
HB Wide-grip Upright Rows: 80# x 9, 8, 8
Pushdowns: 20# x 8, 7, 9 (right then left)
HB Wide-grip Upright Rows: 80# x 7, 8, 7
Notes:
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Long session. Took 10+ min breaks between sets. Everything is both subjectively and objectively heavy so just gave myself the extra time.
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This was my heaviest training day, ever. 12,755 lbs in the main sets.
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I guess the rack pulls are still a PR, since I was only able to do 395x5 for one set last time. I held back whenever I started to lose my bracing. They were definitely an exercise in maintaining low-back positioning.
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Presses were a step up. Not PR territory but significantly better than last time I saw this weight. (110x5 is my former PR, 110x3 was last time).
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I’m pretty happy with both of those, considering I’m 26 days into dieting down, and running a fairly hard deficit for most of it.
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I’m also really looking forward to next week’s drop in volume and intensity. Maybe even get some super-compensation out of the deal.
Programming Notes:
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This is the end of 9 weeks of this programming. I feel pretty good about it, and want to keep it up. I haven’t had massive strength gains or anything – my press went from 105x5 to 110x5, and pull from 310x15/360x1 to 395x5.
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Actually, ok, 35+ actual pounds on my deadlift in 9 weeks isn’t bad at all. If we play the silly “estimated 1RM” game, that’s closer to a 90 pound improvement, lol.
(Most of that is just getting used to the movement.)
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Anyway, I like the continual changes in volume, I like how the deloads happen naturally, and I like how I’m actually chipping away at my goals. I didn’t really feel like that when doing more general-strength stuff. I feel pretty dialed in all around.
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And probably even more important: there’s a lot less pain/injury stuff. Knees and shoulders are feeling pretty good. Things get a little crunchy toward the end of these mini-cycles, but then it goes straight into the reset and recovery.
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