Do Meatheads Dream of Iron Sheep?

Training Over 35 Lifter
321

[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
That’s one way of making sure temptation is not staring you in the face all week. Remove the temptation by giving in to it. Solid reasoning.[/quote]

I have fallen victim to this awful-bass-ackwards approach before.

Well, if I just FINISH the jar of peanut butter now, then it’s gone and I can’t eat it for the rest of the week…[/quote]

Thought processes like this are where many of my feel-good bad ideas get dreamt up. For example, I had this notion that going to place my uninformed vote somehow entitles me to a fois gras grilled cheese sandwich with tomato bisque and a draft pint of Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.

We had a great evening and an outstanding meal, which really makes this day a fat loss disaster. I seem to be missing these vital feelings of guilt and self-loathing, so I am just left with positive reinforcement for behavior that doesn’t get me closer to my goals.

This workout is hereby dedicated to having the good fortune to be struggling with first-world problems.

Tuesday, 11/4/14

BW 292

Deload week

Bench press, TM 270

135x5 set 1
135x5 set 2
160x5 set 3

All reps paused.

I refused to do a set at 110, which the percentages commanded me to do. I do a bar warm-up and then nothing less or more than 135 for my first lift. That is how I bench. Forgive me once again, Mr. Wendler.

DB bench

3 sets of 60x10

Slow negatives.

DB Row

3 sets of 90x10

322

Intake for Tuesday, 11/5/2014

Calories: Who knows, probably somewhere around 3,500
Protein: At least 200
Carbs: Many
Fat: Probably around 90
Sodium: Who knows?
Sugar: Somewhere near 140
Junk: >1,000

I was doing great yesterday when going out to eat at the French restaurant was floated after we voted. It was great, but totally downhill from that point onward.

323

Intake for Wednesday, 11/5/14

Calories: 2,913
Protein: 179
Carbs: 374
Fat: 51
Sodium: 2,234
Sugar: 77
Junk: 768

My arm was twisted to go out and watch some basketball over a few drinks. My steel will gave way after about 3 seconds of consideration.

Looking at the final numbers, it could have been worse!

324

Thursday 11/6/14

BW 290

Deload week

Deadlift - TM 510

135x5
225x5
275x5
315x5

Front squats

135x10
135x10

Hanging leg raise

3 sets of BW x10

10 min sauna
5 min hot tub

I am going to try swapping out high bar squats for front squats as assistance on DL day. Front squats just seem to tear up my knees. I am thinking like a 5x10 at 185 for week 1, see how I feel and go from there.

325

Intake for Thursday, 11/6/14

Calories: 3,637
Protein: 279
Carbs: 429
Fat: 96
Sodium: 3,635
Sugar: 164
Junk: 480

Chowed down last night.

326

Just catching up in here. Hang in there. Sounds like a lot of stress going on. And young kids involved. Sorry to hear it. Just to remind you what you already know. Food and beer will temporarily numb things, or take the edge off but they won’t fix anything. Be tough and embrace the damn stress. You can bear up under it.

About underestimating your weight at the beginning of this process? Let me tell you how this works. You NEVER report the weight you would be IF you carb depleted, took some laxatives and sat in a sauna for a couple of hours.

At the beginning of a diet, you always eat a bag of Doritos, chase that with a couple of 2 liter bottles of Coke (or in your case beer), then take a picture looking as pasty and furry as possible and sticking your gut way out so you can rightfully OWN the 300 lbs. That’s the before picture. Everything that comes after will look WAY impressive in comparison. Dammit. How can you have been on a BBing site for this long and not know this?

327

[quote]Powerpuff wrote:
At the beginning of a diet, you always eat a bag of Doritos, chase that with a couple of 2 liter bottles of Coke (or in your case beer), then take a picture looking as pasty and furry as possible and sticking your gut way out so you can rightfully OWN the 300 lbs. That’s the before picture. Everything that comes after will look WAY impressive in comparison.[/quote]

The Puff speaks wisdom here. Men can lose 20 pounds just by shaving their chests and getting a tan.

Glad to see you continue to sling iron despite your stressors.

328

Thanks ladies. We’re hanging in okay now. The stress level is down, but it is still looming over us in the background.

Most of the craziness has happened, and now it is just crap situation that we can do very little about. We aren’t about to call DHHS to have them take her children away (although they probably have their own investigation going on right now), nor are we in a position to raise these kids to adulthood.

What I have done is speak with the school so they are aware of the trouble at home and they are keeping a close eye on the kids. Living in a house that was on the front page of the paper with “METH LAB” written on it is a social disaster for these kids, who already had to deal with being the poor kids with old clothing, bad haircuts, stuff like that.

So we’ve made it known to the mother that we are willing to take care of these kids on a short or medium-term basis while the mother gets her life straightened out. So far she has not accepted our offer and contends that she had nothing to do with what was going on in the house she lived in. Technically the house was two residences with an upstairs and downstairs building, but it defies logic to believe that she had no knowledge of a freaking meth lab downstairs where her son slept and mother lived. Maybe that’s true, although I highly doubt it, but it still boggles the mind why she wants her kids in that house when they do not need to be.

At this point we are basically a safety net for these kids, should the situation at home deteriorate further. Grandma is out on bail, none of these people have jobs and I have no idea how money is being acquired to support themselves or the kids. I believe that whatever was holding that little world in that house together is not quite done unraveling, so we are just standing at the ready to make sure those kids have a place to go if/when it does.

Rant over. On to diet breakdown.

This past 10 days have basically been a wash for me. No real gain or loss. I’ve got a long weekend with a fair bit of regional travel in front of me, so my focus is on keeping things reigned in until I get back to my regular schedule next Wednesday. That will be the time to really dig the heels in again and work on consistency.

And don’t you guys worry. I took a well-lit front and side picture the day I decided to make a change in March of 2013. I was about 330, maybe even more in that picture. I promise to post at least one progress pic in the next year. My man boobs are almost gone. Once they are unambiguously pectoral muscles I’ll be ready to post a pic.

For now you guys have to settle for shaky, grainy cellphone camera footage to see what I look like.

329

Friday 11/7/14

BW 290

Deload week

Press - TM 180

70x5 set 1
90x5 set 2
110x5 set 3

DB Incline

3 sets of 55x10

Lat PD, wide pronated grip

3 sets of 200x10

Busy 4 day weekend ahead of me.

330

Long weekend recap.

I let shit slide quite a bit and my weigh-in yesterday showed one pound gained. I got the mental break I needed and enjoyed myself without going TOO overboard. Back to my normal routine today. I have a much easier time with both logging and execution on days where I work. The routine of it all definitely lends itself to better discipline.

It is now officially too crappy outside for kettlebell work on the lawn, so I will be keeping my 50 pounder in my truck and using it at the gym. I need to get more swings in!

331

Monday, 11/10/14

BW 291

5’s week

Squat - TM 429

135x5
225x5
280x5 set 1
320x5 set 2
365x6 set 3

I was hoping for 8, but I stayed conservative after some form breakdown on rep 6.

Leg Press

3 sets of 380x10

Supersetted with…

Romanian Deadlift

205x10
185x10
185x10

I think 185 is a better weight for me right now. I’m working on finding this mind-muscle connection people are raving about.

332

Tuesday, 11/11/14

BW 291

5’s Week

Bench Press - TM 275

135x5
185x5 set 1
205x5 set 2
235x8 set 3
185x10 FSL set

One-arm DB row

110x10
110x10
95x10

DB Bench

85x10
70x10
70x10

I am going to spend some time working on MMC instead of pushing/pulling the heaviest weight I can on assistance. Feel the squeeze, get pumped, come at me bro and shit like that.

15 min sauna
10 min hot tub

I also shaved my beard, which was at stage 2 biker length. I still have a beard, it is just short. Forgive me, Mr. Wendler.

333

Intake for Wednesday, 11/12/14

Calories: 2,692
Protein: 173
Carbs: 346
Fat: 70
Sodium: 2,076
Sugar: 103
Junk: 480

334

Thursday, 11/13/14

BW 291

5`s week

Deadlift - TM 530

135x5
225x5
325x5 set 1 - Should have been 335
390x5 set 2
440x8 set 3
515xfail

Trying 515 was a bad idea. I was gassed from the previous set, which I was very pleased with. This is not the Wendler Way to go heavy.

Kneeling Ab wheel rollout

5 sets of BW x10

Leg extension

3 sets of 10

Did 2 falling ab wheel rollouts, which is a humbling exercise for a man of my size. I also did 3 dead hang, full ROM pullups, which is better than the one pullup I did when I started that pullup thread.

I need to figure out assistance on DL day. All of the shit I have been doing as DL assistance lately has been hurting my knees. Light-ish high bar squats were intended as assistance, but I do not think any kind of squats are happening after deads.

Good mornings should be given an honest effort.

I also forgot to pack my kettlebell.

335

You are a good inspiration. I wasn’t packing on as much body weight as you but trying to transform myself a bit too. Love the strength gains you have made. Slowly and steadily going to get there myself. I am doing a 5x5 as well and enjoy the strength gains. Good to hear guys lifting heavy. My gym has all these guys that look like Adonis but can’t squat more than a plate and a half a side.
Keep lifting.

Rock

336

Thanks for stopping in rocklockjaw.

Intake for Thursday, 11/13/14

Calories: 3,582
Protein: 261
Carbs: 417
Fat: 105
Sodium: 2,850
Sugar: 155
Junk: 480

I was really hungry after deads last night, so I ate over my target.

337

Friday 11/14/14

BW 291

5`s week

Press -TM 185

115x5 set 1
140x5 set 2
155x10 set 3
115x10 FSL set

Very happy to see this lift going up.

DB Incline bench

65x10
50x10
50x10

I may need to rethink incline. Benching causes mild pain in my left shoulder and has for a while. Pressing overhead is pain-free. Incline, however, gives me considerably more pain than barbell benching, especially considering the relative light weight in play. I am still new at incline, so I will give it some more time. I may try it with a barbell.

Lat PD, Wide pronated grip

200x10
200x8
200x8

KB swings, fifty pounder

5 sets of 20
Did some one-arm swings and a few snatches too.

The gym owner is nice enough to let me keep my kettlebell stashed behind the desk, which is where it will stay until warmth and light return to my corner of the world. I plan on many more swings in the coming weeks.

I also got some new goodies for the home gym, on loan indefinitely from my brother. I now have a very, very nice adjustable bench that is much nicer than anything at my gym. I also have a pair of Powerblock adjustable 50 pound dumbbells. My brother said that the DBs and bench were over a grand together.

Uhh yeah, I will take it!

338

Intake recap for 11/14/14 to 11/17/14

Uh…

I didn’t log.

Friday I was good. B+ day under 3,000 calories.

Saturday I went to a birthday party, ate a few slices of Little Cesar’s pizza and then I felt shame. D+ day over 3,500 calories.

Sunday I bummed around the house and did some slow cooking that did not turn out well. C+ day under 3,500 calories.

Monday I took off from work and bummed around the house. C+ day under 3,500 calories.

Digging the heels in for the rest of the week.

339

Monday 11/17/14

3’s week, home gym edition

Bench Press - TM 275

135x5
190x3 set 1
220x3 set 2
250x5 set 3

Had no spotter in my basement, so kept it very conservative on the PR set, which was not a PR at all. My bench press at home is also a bit higher than it should be, a bit wider than it should be and too squishy for my preferences. It works fine in a pinch though.

DB Bench Press

5 sets of 50x10

I tried for slower negatives and a squeeze at the top. This was also the christening of my new, free-of-charge PowerBlock adjustable dumbbells and my new, free-of-charge adjustable bench, which is VERY nice. I am very pleased to have both sitting in my basement.

DB Row

5 sets of 80x10

I need to keep an eye out for some matching 10 pound plates for my spinlock dumbbells so I can have a pair that goes up to 80-85 pounds, which would compliment my 10-50 pound adjustables very nicely. For now, being able to load one of them up to 80 is nice for rows.

340

Tuesday 11/18/14

BW 293

3`s week

Squat -TM 429

135x5
225x5
255x3
300x3 set 1
345x3 set 2
385x5 set 3

Leg press

5 sets of 380x10

Supersetted with…

Romanian deadlift

5 sets of 185x10

Kettlebell work, fifty pounder

100 swings
10 clean and press per arm
5 snatches per arm

20 min sauna
10 min hot tub

3 laps in the pool, breast stroke. Had to end it due to cramps.