Forgot to log yesterday, I was tired but I lifted anyway. It wasn’t bad, I just feel a bit beat up. Same weight today, weight increase by another 5 pounds tomorrow. Definitely glad I chose to use a belt and straps for this program, I get beat up pretty easily and I also don’t know what my belt-less max is. My home barbell has no knurling, but it works fine, so that’s why I need straps. It’s also probably a bad thing that I don’t particularly care about how much I can pull belt-less.
Hello all. Day 4 was good. I figured out that meat does not make my stomach erupt into spasms, and for the first time in weeks I find myself constipated. I am relieved. My stomach was alright for most of the day. Weight increases tomorrow on both deadlift and press. Everything is feeling very manageable and refreshing.
Deadlift - 280, 250 x 5
Press - 100, 90 x 5
A video of me deadlifting to give everyone a perspective about what 280 looks like for me on the fourth day of the program. To give myself even further credit, I’m fairly sure that’s 285 pounds given the overweight nature of the plates and the amount of rust and dried dirt on the bar/plates.
It was a warm day today, 75 degrees and sunny. Didn’t get much sleep last night and even had stomach issues today, but I pulled through. Now for two days of rest. Weight increases on Monday. The weight felt easy, I think this program will be good. Even on a bad day, I can still lift the programmed weights. That’s what I need in a program if I want to have any chance of improving.
I had an okay weekend, I had the opportunity to rest and eat more foods from home. Deadlifts today. List of known safe foods:
chicken
eggs
toast
fish (tuna, salmon)
peanut butter in moderation
oatmeal
applesauce
almond milk (not really a food, but it serves as a filler for something besides water)
rice
buckwheat
Notice the absence of vegetables on this list, they kill my stomach with gas and I’ve found more success with eating whole foods in moderation. So, I don’t eat vegetables, but I also don’t eat junk food or processed garbage.
Another promising pathway to take includes eating small portions on an hourly basis as I begin to take the antispasmodic less and less, I have to coax my stomach into being regular and behaving. But, I have been able to string together a functional week, so I guess whatever I’m doing is working.
As for coffee, I limit my consumption to the days I need to be productive, I have a cup a few times/week and that has seemed to help my anxiety a little.
Lifted today, it was cold and rainy and I hadn’t eaten but the weights felt easy. This program is good, I can do the written weights no matter what. I also feel as though I’m becoming more efficient at deadlifting and pressing, which was the aim of it to begin with. These are all dead-stop reps too, if the program permitted for touch and go reps I’d be working with heavier weights. In addition, the action of completing reps is becoming easier from an effort standpoint (whether there’s 185 or 405 on the bar), I used to find myself out of breath from dead-stop sets, even if they were light/not that many reps to do. Now, I feel as though I can easily do 10-15 reps, dead-stop, with the prescribed weights on a daily basis. I feel as though this is progress. Another deadlift weight increase tomorrow.
The weights felt easy today, I was just tired. I can feel the weight difference between 275 and 290, but the number of reps I can do with both is definitely the same. Working with these lighter percentages has kept me fresh and able to pull the prescribed weights every single day, even when I’m not feeling particularly well. Weights stay the same for deadlifts tomorrow, step cycle for press mandates an increase. Bodyweight sitting at 175.
Yeah, I’m definitely trying to keep the positive momentum amidst everything going on right now. Lifting is becoming less foreign and my body is feeling a little better, so I think it’s helping me feel okay. Also, I finally saw a doctor and got anxiety medications, which are helping a little. The rest is just willpower, but I feel excited about weights again (probably because my stomach isn’t as spastic). Seeing as how everything has been trending downward for me for the last three years, this is a positive change. A trend upward!
I was tired today, and I’m feeling my lats start to wake up a little. My legs are definitely tired, but the weights moved fast. This is midway through my second week of pulling 5x/week and I’ve increased the weights without an issue. I’m also getting through the workouts faster, maybe I’m adapting. In addition, I’m eating a lot of meat because it’s filling and doesn’t make my stomach erupt. It’s really one of the only things I can tolerate, and I’m quarantined in my home until Monday because a rehabilitation worker for my brother came into contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus. So, I’ll be sleeping well and eating well for the rest of the week, and then we’ll see if I get sick and die with this shit.
Deadlift - 290, 260 x 5
Press - 100, 90 x 5
I have a spreadsheet for the next six months of training because I really don’t want to think about eating for weightlifting for a while but I still want to get stronger. I think this kind of basic, minimalistic training might be my answer. I just hope it actually works, that’s why I’m going through with it for 6 cycles and seeing how it works. Weight increases on deadlift and press tomorrow, I’ll be prepared because I’ll have slept well.
For sure, they’ll be easy by the time I get to them. I’m just looking for a barebones, conservative approach to training because it seems as though I’m extremely inefficient at managing extra calories. It’s all my body can handle because of my limited ability to just fucking eat some food and get stronger. Also, managing my condition is easier on some days than it is on others, so having short, frequent workouts with numbers that aren’t too intimidating is a big help to me sticking to the plan and being consistent with everything so I can actually get stronger instead of setting PRs once in a blue moon.
Good workout today, it was easy. Keeping myself sane by keeping myself active is the way to go. Weight stays the same for my final workout on Week 2, then for all of Week 3 I’m pulling 300+ x 5 every workout. This kind of daily heavy deadlift march obviously won’t be sustainable three or four cycles into the future so I’m implementing a step cycle approach to deadlifts for my continued time with the program.
I may have ran into a slight hiccup, I kicked a wall without shoes on by mistake and the big toe on my right foot is suffering. Fortunately, I only have another week of this cycle left, and I have this weekend to assess the damage and see how much pain I’m willing to endure in the foot in order to deadlift. I’m hoping I just jammed it really badly and I’m anticipating a problem about nothing, but goddamn did it hurt.
Anyway, deadlifts were easy today, my stomach has been feeling okay for the last two weeks and I haven’t been taking my anti-spasmodic (which is good, because they can be mildly habit-forming). Reps were easy, I really hadn’t slept much and was feeling nauseous prior to the workout, but 295 is pretty easy. I could have done 15, again, I’ve been using a bit of an RPE Scale in my own head to assess how hard I can push it. The last two weeks have been good, I feel healthier and the anxiolytic is kicking in. I like being functional and I can’t wait to document (in pictures) how I look when I hit the 3-months quit from smoking mark in a few weeks. I have very visible bicep veins, I’m on one medication, I feel stronger/more conditioned, and I look a lot less ashy. I look more healthy and virile than I have in years, no exaggeration. I was fucking around squatting 260 x 10 when I was 15, and two years later I haven’t made a whole bunch of progress because I haven’t been doing the required work / I smoked and vaped nicotine for years because I didn’t care about myself enough to kick the habit for good / the work I did in the weight room for years didn’t count because I was really sick. I’m just glad I can’t get kicked around anymore, now I have to make my head stop kicking itself around and I think I’ll be moving in the right direction. I have a lot of bad days but I always pull through them, things are always getting worse here and I’m really detached from it. I’m more lonely than ever, people here in NYC aren’t bothering to practice social distancing measures while out in public, and I’m fully expecting to end up in the hospital from this thing. But, I really have absolutely no control over that barring what I do to protect myself. I’ll stop rambling now.
Deadlift - 295, 265 x 5
Press - 110, 100 x 5
Two important things about press:
I like the high frequency approach, I am making all of my reps with confidence. I have fewer in the tank than I do for deadlifts, but that’s expected. I started the cycle with 85 pounds, now I’m pressing some moderate weights on a daily basis without excessive body English. I believe my press will benefit from this approach.
I invested in a micro band so I can do band pull-aparts because my shoulders won’t be able to handle daily pressing for another cycle if I don’t do some corrective work at home. They’re the only corrective exercise I bother doing because they’re easy and they work to keep the shoulders pumped full of blood.
Alright, entering the third week of program and feeling okay. My toe is fine and the deadlifts were easy. I’m going to have a harder time moving my tired body fast than I will lifting the weights because the reps are always there with more in the tank, my body just feels tired. Anyway, I’m glad these pulls were so easy, I trained fasted and right after waking up, no coffee. I could have done an easy 10 reps with 300 and I could have squeezed out 15. I’m definitely getting re-accustomed to conventional deadlifting after doing a lot of trap bar stuff and then nothing at all for a while.
Today was nothing short of exhausting, keeping myself calm was a chore. I was tired and hadn’t slept much but luckily the weights moved easily. Lack of sleep kills everything for me.
Today was a better day. I was productive and I got in touch with my doctor. I also lifted weights. One more weight increase the day after tomorrow and then I’m done with this cycle.
Deadlift - 305, 275 x 5
Press - 105, 95 x 5
Note - I like the wave cycles much more than the step cycles I’ve been using for deadlifting. My body is tired, but the weight doesn’t feel heavy.
Again, I have a tired body but the weights are moving with ease. All the reps are the same, which should improve the efficacy of my technique over the next few months.
Deadlift - 305, 275 x 5
Press - 110, 100 x 5
One more weight increase for deadlift and press and that ends the cycle. Progress picture uploaded here tomorrow, I really feel like shit a lot of the time but I look good. It’s really ironic
I’m gonna get in the ring when I move out in a month or so. I’ll have enough money saved to get myself some MMA classes. I’ll also have to sell my weight set or donate it somewhere when I move out, I won’t be able to have it with me wherever I go. But, I plan to continue doing PTTP for a few months and take up fighting during the summer, since that’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ll be 18 in exactly one month. Can’t be prepared for a fight if you’ve never been in a real one, right?