I don’t know, man. Doesn’t seem like going up is going to do anything? I’ve stayed pretty low considering people think I’m leaner than %30 bf…(which was not done with calipers, so I don’t trust it either)…I understand your frustration though.
DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!!!
Waking temp 97.6
Waking HR: I don’t care
NEPA walk for 48 mins around the hilly neighborhood. On of these hills got my HR up to 158, and I was trying to take it slow. Whatever, I just can’t stand doing more than 30 mins on a treadmill or I get bored.
Inaccurate bioimpedance bodyfat tester thingy says:
Weight: 207
BF%: 17.5 (no way, but I’ll take it)
Fat mass: 36.2
Lean mass: 170.8
Which means I put on about 2.5 lbs of lean mass in one day out of pure frustration! Awesome! Well goddamn if anger is this good for me, maybe I could turn into The Hulk. Or at least The Thing. You know, “flame on” and shit.
Anyone who gets that last reference is a true T-Man.
I got up this morning (waking temp: (97.5) and looked in the mirror at my naked gut. I though it looked smaller.
Since the Myotape is always handy, I measured it.
39 3/4 inches.
That’s down a half inch from yesterday. FIrst time under 40 inches. Was I retaining water? Was it yesterday’s grueling walk in the sun?
I don’t know about Chris’ “measure once a week” recommendation. Multiple data points are always better when trying to look at trends, even if they drive you batty sometimes.
Great workout again.
Deads: 230x3x8, 240x3x1
Chins: 6-pinx3x9
Dips: Worked my way down to no assistance, last set did 6 reps. Need to warm these up faster but I may have no choice but to use assistance, then weight the last few sets. Shoulders and tris need the time to warm up.
Side planks: 65 seconds each side, two sets each.
This workout is shorter than normal, but that just makes me put my all into it. I’d rather put my all into a 30 minute workout than dog it through an hour.
Just need to build work capacity I guess. If only there were a way to put deads into every workout. I’m good at them and I love them.
Today’s workout was pretty darn good. Things are progressing and I’m entering some brand new territory.
For example: Using 60 lb standing DB presses and 90 lb DB rows. I used to do seated DB presses with 65 but this is a whole new animal. Also, 90 lb rows were no joke. I am entering straps territory and I’ve never used them before.
I wonder just how much better I could lift if I had more food in me. As it is, I go into the workout with 80 calories of Surge, creatine, HOT-ROX, and BCAA’s. And yet these have been some of the best workouts of my life. Hmm.
Alt. shoulder press: 60x4x4
Lunges: 55x4x4
DB Rows: 90x4x4 w/ straps
DB tricep behind neck: 75x4x4, felt good
Hammer curl: 45x4, 45xFAIL, 40x4x2 Have to try 40’s at first then move up to 45 for last 1-2 sets. 2nd week in a row not moving up.
Front squats: 115x4x4 tiring but good. Hand position sucks! Cleaned weight first.
I wonder how I’d blast through these workouts if I wasn’t carb-depleted and lifting first thing in the morning on 80 calories. For that reason I think Surge is amazing, either that by itself or with the HOT-ROX and BCAA’s. I have to say ever since I put in the 8g of pre-workout BCAA’s I’ve had a fantastic workout every time. Thank goodness they are kind of cheap. They are a staple.
Supp list for posterity:
Protein (if not getting 1g per pound or more)
BCAA’s
Creatine
Surge
Fish oil
HOT-ROX if dropping fat
Curious in the future if I will ever need biosignature-related supplements but I still have a lot of BF to lose and I don’t want this to take another 6 months.
Well, this workout was a little different from last Friday’s. Last week was shitty, this one was one of the worst ever.
Did my training on Saturday instead of Friday morning. Since Friday was busy, I figured it might be better if I took a day and had more sleep and a meal in me before training.
So I did one 600-cal morning shake, then Surge and some BCAA’s before training. I had 8g BCAA from pills, then experimented with the powder I got in the mail yesterday. 10g in my 1/4 serving of Surge, then 5g in my crystal light knockoff drink from Safeway (fruit punch flavor).
BCAA powder SUCKS. I mean, I will finish this tub and then move to the pills forever. It absolutely kills the wonderful flavor of chocolate Surge. However, it’s not too bad in the crystal light. Maybe I’d be better off downing the Surge pre-workout and sipping BCAA’s during.
Anyway, the training itself: Sucked. I mean, I felt stong the first three rounds. 4th round of the A-section, I only got 7 reps of the DB Romanian deads, then 7 on the bench, then maybe 5 on the chins. My energy petered out FAST after that.
By the time I got to the B section-- which by the way, I don’t like at all-- I was D-U-N done. No energy and that puketastic feeling creeping up on me. I felt the BCAA’s coming back up, and that is NOT a good taste!!
Bottom line: 10 reps is just too fucking many with 30 secs rest between giant sets. I mean, that’s fucking brutal.
Weights that I can recall:
DB Romo deads: 90x10x3, 90x7
Bench: 165x10x23, 155x6
Chins: 12pinx10x2, 14pin x 10, 16pin x 10
Long ass rest…
Here I started dogging the rest periods and dropping the weights. I just could not continue without nausea. So I decided it would be better to rest longer and continue than flame out quickly going all out and ending with my head in the bucket.
lateral raise: 25x5, 15x10x3
rows: 105x6, 95x10, 90x10x2
rev. crunch: 10x5, 0x10, 8x10x2
Rev. lunges: 40, 30, 25, 30 all 10’s
The lunges just killed me. Rows sucked. Couldn’t even do rev crunches with 10’s.
On the bright side, my forearms (a major trouble spot for me) were looking as large as I’ve ever seen, getting a little bowling pin form. Vascularity is increasing as I can now see multiple veins just below the forearm surface and running up the elbow, but they disappear into the bicep.
Oh and my belly measure says 39" even as of this morning.
I got a deep tissue massage yesterday and wonder if that really took me apart. I mean she worked me over something fierce. Lots of tightness on my right side.
Waking temp: 97.9
Waking HR: 59
Well I did weigh myself this morning (208) but I’m not taking it seriously since I fucked yesterday up. Did fine all day and then started worrying about my lower gums.
For some reason it seems like there is a leison or separation of my lower gums from the back part of my front incisors. I can’t help but wonder if that’s from lack of chewing. As in “use it or lose it.”
So I freaked out and had a bunch of romaine lettuce with basalmic vinegar and EVOO. Later at a party I had about a liter of Diet Coke (makes me retain water) and a cheeseburger (no bun) with two hot dogs off the grill. So, there’s my HSM for the week!
My teeth don’t feel quite as bad as yesterday but it’s still there. I’m on week 4 and I will tough it out for one more week, but I think I’m going to munch on plain romaine lettuce just to see if the teeth fix themselves. Otherwise I have a dental appointment in two weeks anyway that will get answers.
Workout roundup:
Monday’s workout was excellent. I felt like crap in the morning and waited until the evening.
Chins: 5-pin x7; 6 pin x3
Deads: 240x3x9, 250x3
Dips: worked down from 5-pin to +15 lbsx3
So i was psyched that I’m moving into weighted dips, and also psyched that I’m right on the brink of non-assisted chins.
Today’s workout: BRUTAL in the beginning, but I just decided to ignore them and just go from one to another without much rest. Why bother if the rest periods are only 20 seconds?
I had some problems getting warmed up, and doing sets of 4 you really need to get warmed up. Could not haul the 90 lb DB’s for one arm DB rows more than once; had to go back down to 90, 75, 80.
Alt. shoulder DB press: 65’s! That was awesome, felt really strong.
DB rows: 90x4, 75x4, 80x4x2
Lunges: 50x4, 55x4x3
I swear I never know if I"m doing these right.
DB overhead tricep ext: 75x4x2, 80x4x2 I really moved that 80 lb DB with full range of motion. I had a spotter so I felt like I had to be strong.
DB Hammer curl: 40x4x3, 45x4. I think I have to warm up first instead of diving into 45’s right away.
Front squats: 95x4x2, 115x4, 125x4
Front squats finally done with Olympic bar. Felt damn good and went seriously deep. I think I can go deeper on front squats for some reason…maybe because you’re forced to learn back in order to counter the weight.
Also, this morning’s belly measurement: 39 inches. That’s the lowest to date.
And thus we begin a new chapter of dieting and a new lifting plan.
Lowest weight on the V-Diet was 206, so I’m going to say there was a 4 lb loss. Not good but not awful. About two inches lost off the all-important belly measurement.
At the conclusion of the 4 weeks, I went on a beach vacation for a week. I did not do the two week transition-- way too hard on a remote island paradise. I just watched my calorie intake.
Based on the pictures taken, I still have lots of work to do. 30 pounds of work, to be precise.
What I really want more than anything is to get down below 200 quickly. That would satisfy me for a while. And frankly, I should be there by now.
I’ve returned to a T-Dawg style eating plan. I’m surprised at how easy it is to stick to it. At this point it’s not an eating plan, it’s just the way I eat. On vacation, I had a coke because the bartender made a mistake, and fruit because I was in NY and it’s excellent there. But other than that, I’m all about meat and veggies.
So I will do 10x3 for fat loss and T-Dawg and monitor results. If no progress is made at the end of the month, I’m hiring a trainer and that’s that.
In workout news, today was the first day of 10x3 for fat loss. In testing my maxes earlier in the week, I noticed something cool: I can finally do pull-ups! I did a set of 5 palms-facing, close grip chins (yeah I use the terms interchangably…cause I can’t recall the difference).
So that was inspiring.
Today’s workout:
Deads: 225x3x10 (based on max 300 missed, max 295 on next attempt…obvious mental barrier there).
Chins: bodyweightx3x3, then 6-pin x3x7
Front squats: 95x3x10, move weight up
Dips: Bodyweight x3x10. I swear my elbow warmth is all over the place on this one.
Felt good, didn’t take too long, and I love low reps.
Gotta admit though-- this dieting is getting OLD. I wanna be on a plan to gain muscle for a while, but not before I get below 200.
Fuck. This is hard.
Last two days were nothing special as far as workouts. Just did walking for 40-50 mins today and yesterday. Outdoor walking is easier because you just go and when you reach more than the halfway point, you come back. No watching the clock needed.
I do use a HR monitor to make sure I’m in the zone, and I back off when I’m hitting the uphills so I don’t go too far above 140 bpm.
Years ago, walking was the thing to kick start my 260-180 journey. Here’s hoping we can do that again, but this time I hope to maintain all the muscle.
Also, I’m not tracking calories anymore. Or let me say this-- I’m eating intuitively. Last time I lost weight consistently, I didn’t track. I think it works because when I see the numbers, I’m compelled to eat. I say just track protein grams and I’m ok.
Weight Wednesday or Thursday was 205. Nice!
Belly measure this morning was just under 39 inches.
Wow, working out only two days a week is pretty cool. I think I’m liking resting 72 hours between workouts.
And remind me-- hey future self-- you really like Saturday workouts because you can take your time and try different things to have more fun. Like today when you tried bench pressing two DB’s pressed against each other and got a huge pec pump. Yeah, like that.
Squats: All for 3: bar, 95, 105, working my way up to 185 for the last set. Work sets kinda went 145x3, 155x3, 175x3, then 185. All of these were ass to ankles.
Seated Hammer Rows: First time using this machine. Feels great and is a nice break from pulley rows.
140x3x7; 180x3x3
Romanian deads: Worked from 135 to 205; try 175-185.
Military press: 115 felt very heavy at first but my grip was too wide. Needs to be inside the rings. Worked from 95 to 125. Try 115 next time.
DB pec press: 5x5, worked up to 55 db’s for two sets.
Pre workout: blueberries and peanut butter.
During: 15g’s BCAA’s in lemonade crystal light.
Post: 1/2 serving Surge + 10g creatine.
after 30 min 2 scoops Grow! Whey
then another hour i had Tilapia and mixed veggies
I like this workout.
Pre: Watermelon
During: 1 Crystal lite tub plus 20g BCAA powder and 10g creatine
After: 1 scoop Surge plus 10g creatine
Normally I don’t think this much creatine is necessary, but only lifting 2x week limits my opportunities to absorb all that I should. And hey, it’ cheap.
Deads: 235x3x10. I don’t want to shorten the rest periods, I want to lift heavy ass weights. So I upped it 10 lbs from last week and it felt great, almost light. I guess it’s easier when you don’t max out a few days prior.
Chins: Got to 4 sets of three non-assisted. Then used assistance next 6 sets, plus wider grip.
Front squats: 105 felt light. Of course, 105 is nothing. But doing these light front squats is really teaching me the proper groove. I’m only 80% on form I think. 10 sets of 3.
Dips: Did first 6 no weight, then chained on 10 lbs.
One thing about this program: Really, no benching? So chest and tris once a week? I think that a little 5x5 session once a week is in order.
Been doing morning walks no problem. Really want to get down 4-5 lbs this month or else it’s doctor and trainer time.
I did bad things today, but that’s because I know I have to be good soon.
Today I took down an entire box of coco puffs. It’s been sitting in my pantry for 3 months and I wanted to get it out of here on a training day. So I made it my breafast and lunch and BOOM that’s 1200 calories of sugar. Fantastic.
On the other hand, I did have a great workout.
Squats: 155x3x10 Move to 165
Rows: 180x3x10 move to 190
Decline Bench: 135x3x5, 135x15, 155x3x2 Had to add bench since I don’t feel chest gets any work in this program (except dips). Move to 155
Romanian deads: 185x3x10 Move to 195
Military press: 105x3x5, 115x3x5 Move to 115 all sets
Went back, had second to last scoop of Surge, then 2 scoops Grow! Whey, then some cheese and coco puffs dry.
Great workout, was really strong and no back issues. Don’t know why my squat sucks compared to my deadlifts so much. Weak legs? Has to be.
One of the best workouts I"ve ever had. I was strong as hell on all lifts, wasn’t getting fatigued.
Deads: 245x3x10. Up 30 lbs since I began.
Chins: Unassistedx3x4, wide grip assisted x3x7. Thought I would be stronger on these but I guess not. I’m just trying to get one more unassisted rep per session.
Front Squat 115x3x10: I FINALLY got the form on this, just nailed it. You know when everything is in the groove and you don’t have to think about it? Got that today.
Dips: Went up to +10 lbs; for a bonus set I did 10 unassisted reps. These just feel so hard on my joints I think they are fooling into thinking it’s my muscles that are straining.
Well this is probably the last week of these workouts, I’m totally switching up my routine and diet because I need to kick start my progress again. I’ll do a smaller 5x5 version Thursday and then Saturday it’s a whole new world.
It was time to make a change, so I did.
I had to completely throw away everything I was doing, so I did.
And most of all, I had to forget what I “knew” worked and move to what others had told me doesn’t work.
One thing is for sure: EVERYTHING works, and nothing works for long. That is the sole truism in bodybuilding.
I have been lifting 6 days a week, high reps with low weight. Doing exercises that, in some cases, I’ve always been told to avoid. And I’ve been losing weight again while seeing rapid changes in body composition.
I’m down to 203 and I’m between pant sizes. 36 waist is just starting to get loose. I predict that by October I will need to look at size 34 jeans. I am happy.
But I have a long way to go. My interim goal is 198; after that I will get another BF% test and re-evaluate.
The goal for the workouts is to keep doing the same work in shorter time (for fat loss of course). So I will log my workouts for the week, but an abbreviated version after I log all the exercises and weights once. After that I’ll just report in with the training I did (Chest/Arms Day 1) and the time it took.
Can’t wait to be under 200!