I realize I mismatched a training session, AND lost my last written log for a Squat day. Oh well. Hopefully I can remember the meat and potatoes of it.
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Here’s a little-known Transformers tidbit - Shockwave loves blue Gatorade 
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Log 10
First two weeks of November I completely forgot to log everything. Nothing changed much I think I just backed off of high intensity for a while.
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Log 11
Mid November I took off about 2 weeks. Had a heavier than usual cycle, along with aches and pains that just weren’t going anywhere. Most of what I could do in the gym was just walking and a few kettlebell routines I threw together. Had to tighten the reigns on my diet because I started over eating anything and everything.
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Log 12
PPL (legs/lower)
Squat
Warm up: Bar x10, 90 x10
Work up:
135 x10
185 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 2
265 x 1
Felt very good and well paced today. Did not go for 1RM. Probably won’t.
Leg extensions:
40, 55, 70lbs x10-15
Back extensions:
100lbs, 3x12
Hip adductors:
50, 70, 100lbs 4x 20
Walking lunges:
3 rounds, and unfortunately I still can’t remember what the overall length was.
8 Likes
Log 13
PPL (Bench/pull)
Bench: Mid grip
Work up
85x10
95x 6
120x5
Straight set
135x5
DB rows
25s
interchange between single arm and both arms.
x10
x10
x12
x10
Cable bar rows:
65 4x12
Tricep pulldowns:
45 3x15
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Nice!!
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Why thank you!!!
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Log 14
PPL (glutes? Pull?)
I’d say this was more just conditioning because I intended to deadlift but I’ve been erring on the side of not pulling directly from the floor unless I absolutely 100% just want to, and I rarely ever do. I also was sweating like a mad-man.
Rack pull:
A ridiculous set of 5 by 10 (200lbs)
Note: The only reason I’m able to get away with that is my height, and the fact that the deficit I had the bar at was ALSO ridiculous.
(I really didn’t have to do this much, and I did not have to throw on another pair of 45s, because 185 felt great during the work up, and the deficit could’ve at least been well under 12inches. (But mentally I kinda derailed my workout after this)
Stair master: 5 mins
Some weird mix of v sit ups and planks. This part was where I lacked a decent amount of focus and had no clue how long I was doing any of that for.
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Log 15
Conditioning
Stair master: 15 mins
EMOM speed of 5 30 seconds
KB swings : 5 sets of 15 (35lbs)
Pressure point/deep tissue work: either side of my lower back, that meaty chunk in between the shoulder blades, the base of my neck towards the back, and either of my sciatic nerves. All of that hurts, but I feel ridiculously better the next day.
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Thoughts
I’ve kind of had it with my inability to keep up with both my written logs and my online logs here. I’ll write like a weeks worth of training and completely forget to log, or I write down things completely out of order and have to guess what it is I even did. Of If I rely solely on online logs I’ll have to recall everything I’m also not good at lol.
Once again I am having insomnia bouts and I had to throw in one more meal towards bedtime because I find myself up roaming the house, or just wide awake staring at the ceiling.
I’m tipping the scale at 190lbs, and I really cannot tell what’s going on. Recomp? Maybe. But the few progress pictures I’ve taken look the same to me, so I’ll chalk it up to needing to be more diligent with conditioning, and also just diligent with being patient.
There’s another heavier and more emotional struggle I’m dealing with as well. But since having relapsed with the eating disorder recovery, I have to tread lightly when it comes to losing weight. I’m not “bad” at it in the sense of knowing what to do and when/how to do it, but I’ve always had to walk a fine line in recovery.
5 Likes
Log 16
PPL (push)
Bench: Been needing to strengthen my left side. My right side overcompensates from my delt down to my elbow, and I could feel it this session.
Work up:
65x10
100x10
115x6
Working set: 135 5x3
(Had to cut this session short because my husband was having an extremely rough time once he got home from work, and I decided to make it home to be supportive. Sometimes he just wants a listening ear and to be sad and grieving in a safe place. Decided to do band work and body weight work later this afternoon
P.M. (mostly pull)
•Push ups assisted and strict, reps of 10 for assisted, reps of 5 for strict. 4 total sets, interchange between wide stance, and diamond push ups
•banded lat pull downs, two sets of 20
•lat raises 15lb sand weights, 3x15 each arm
•banded pull apart, at face level, 3 sets of 10
******Main focus this afternoon was to bring my left side into the movements more. No bracing on anything, no bending forward to compensate, and no shrugging my traps to take the tension off of my lower back.
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You could try using DB’s. No chance of one side helping the other.
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Thank you for saying that. Idk why I keep skipping over DB work at the gym. I think I’m just not prioritizing them or whatever else is going on in my head, but thank you for the reminder my friend.
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Log 17
AM- hubby and I went to a massage place. Was AMAZING. That lady had gentle hands, but she dug her elbows all along those tight points of the right side of my back, and sciatic nerves. Another nice lady worked on my husbands sciatic nerve and his injured left side (hubby is a calisthenics guy), and he passed out sleeping as soon as we got home.
She got that dreaded spot between my shoulder blades and I could feel the circulation getting eased into my finger tips. Oof….delicious.
PM- Conditioning
15 mins stair master
1 mile walk (40lb vest)
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Upload of myself. The baggy clothes do not serve me any justice, but I’m painfully self conscious. Still gonna keep working to contributing to thorough documentation though lol.
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2026 Transformation challenge:
It’s a bit all over the place what my overall goals are, but now that im sitting down and able to parse things out I would say these are the main goals, anything else that comes about, I think would just be a consequence of the main goals:
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Increased strength: Doesnt really matter if i put on 5 or 50lbs to any of the 4 big lifts im addicted to (OHP, Bench, Deadlift, and Squat), the goal is to make those lifts stronger. I do not have intentions on competing anymore so there’s no pressure to get there, I simply get there when I look up and realize im there. I’ve had a monstrous squat in the past, so It would nice to see how much more monster-y it can get.
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Conditioning/Work capacity: This is something I am going to go as hard and efficiently as I can with. There is no reason for me to not be able to move myself around with ease for any prolonged period of time.
Note: I am NOT focusing too much on weight loss. Due to point #4, I have to walk a fine blade, and I’d rather let weight loss be the consequence of point #2, not because I’ve begun to idolize weight loss and thereby fueling the bad stuff. I already have posts that hint at me nitpicking myself concerning my weight, and I’d rather kill two birds with one stone and focus on physical output, versus batting around the long drawn out mental steps I’ve had to accumulate from years of therapy. The latter isn’t bad, per se, but the former gives me a chance to bulldoze right through the inner noise.
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Injury/healing: I herniated my L-4/5 some years ago around 2016-2018. Right now it is mostly healed, but I have lingering aches and pains and somewhat unregulated sciatica. I also tore both the major and minor rhomboid muscles on my right side around 2020 (If im remembering correctly). What was thought as a strain turned out to be a pretty ridiculous tear. And I tore it doing the dumbest rushed stretch right before a heavy bench session. This is probably on par with point #2 in terms of priority.
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Recovery: I relasped during the beginning of 2025. I was diagnosed early early in my life with Bulimia Nervosa subtype A.N. I battled for 14-15 years with it, and beat it, and I intend to beat it again. Some really heavy and traumatic things happened the last two years, and in weakness I opened the door to it. While this should be spot #1, I intend to keep this at the forefront of a lot of what I do. A Recovered Cybertron, is a strong Cybertron.
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Engage with you all more, and be content wherever I am in my life, and with that contentment, be diligent.
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I love these goals! I started the 2024 T-ransformation looking to get myself back in shape health-wise rather than for physique, and it’s been a great two years with physique coming along nicely as a result of the things I changed to reduce inflammation and fix all the things that had fallen apart during a long fitness break.
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I was just getting ready to post some old squatting photos to pick apart and critique what I know now.
But absolutely 100% agree.
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Hold on let me figure out how to do videos on this thing