fri 8/14
reverse hyper
sumo dl
385x5, 435x3, 485x0, 485x2 (all-time PR!)
walking lunge - weight and reps per side
105x12,10+3
i went climbing at the rock gym for a couple hours before lifting. i was pretty spent, but still managed to hit the numbers on my second try. gonna try to put swings back into my routine, as they always seem to help the sumo dl.
food was supposed to be Hcarb, but again i don’t think in got a full 4k cals. next week is deload!
mon 8/18
squat deload
bodyweight pistol box squats - 50 per leg
KB swing
60x3x10+, 60x15 - tried with a cheap exercise band. i’ll remember my jumpstretch band next time
single-leg rev hyper
120x15, 140x15, 190x15, 210x15
diet was Hcarb, 4k cals, same ratios as before. i didn’t eat the last 4oz of beef and potatoes last night due to it being 90 fucking degrees and 110% humidity. well maybe not but it was damn hot and sticky. i fell asleep with a wet towel covering my body and the fan blowing hot air over the towel. water evaporated and i was cooled.
also i swapped out oats for buckwheat, just in case i have an allergy to oats (i don’t tolerate wheat very well at all, and my aunt has the celiac. apparently wheat and oat allergies go hand-in-hand). i’m using the buckwheat as a direct replacement for oats in my shakes, but damn that stuff is tasty enough to eat by the handful, raw!
i discovered a delicious sauce that makes solid meat a joy to eat: bragg liquid aminos! goes great with beef, chicken breast, and mashed potatoes.
tues 8/19
i went for a bike ride today! it was hot, but i talked myself into it using words like “pussy” and “faggot”. mountain biking at leominster state forest for about 1hr. rigid '04 GF tassajara with kona project 2 fork, middleburn cranks, egg beaters, and arrow bite lt tires. the tires are pretty amazing. decently fast but with gobs of traction from loose gravel to soft pine needles to sticky mud.
i intentionally tried to take it easy so i spent lots of time in the granny gear on climbs just spinning away. there were some nice short technical climbs that i aced as well. all that trials riding paid off i think. too bad my trials frame is cracked!!!
food was Hcarb, 4k cals, same ratios. buckwheat instead of oats, and i re-introduced whole milk into the diet, instead of just having it as extra. i noticed almost no bloating today, which is nice! fuckin’ food sensitivities…
mon 8/24
squat (to a box to gauge depth)
135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 305x5, 325x5, 345x4,3*, 275x12
KB swing
40x10+,10+, 80x10+,10+
one leg reverse hyper - weight and reps per leg
140x10, 210x15, 260x10
back from deload!
*i think the bar was a little to high. i slipped out of the groove. bummer, i was hoping for a big PR. re racked the weight and took 3 more reps, then hit 275x12 to redeem myself a little. maybe i should have squatted with a bar during deload so i don’t forget how to set up.
KB swings seem light, but they really worked my hammies, specifically right up where they tie in to the glute. unilateral reverse hypers to try and get me straightened out. i will probably do goodmornings next week, then rev hyper again on the 531 week.
4k cals today, the usual ratios. bodyweight was 185. i’m getting more fat than i’d like… gonna try the 2 high, 2 med and one low split again. i may add another high day later if i feel like it.
wow, 184lbs today. [sarcasm] this is great! [/sarcasm]
my weight seems to peak and dip, then peak a little higher and dip, repeat. makes it difficult to see progress.
tues 8/25
bench
135x5, 185x6, 225x5, 245x5, 255x5
row
135x10, 185x6, 225x5, 235x5, 255x5, 265x10 (PR)
bench (for the pecs)
135x10, 185x2x10
OAR - weight and reps per hand, no straps
110x10, 150x10, 150x8
i was wrecked from squatting yesterday. quads, hammies, back, everything important. also i was hoping for more reps at 255 but i dumped the 5th rep a bit and it took some manhandling to recover it. i really should squat bench dead and mil press during deload, because i forget how to do those movements.
265x10 for the bb rows is not that great, but it’s a PR because i haven’t gone for a RM at that weight before.
weight was 184. food was Mcarb, 3.8k cals, 127/380/285g. well it’s supposed to be, but there’s no way i’m going to eat 12oz of beef tonite. fuck that, and fuck my body for being so difficult. and while we’re at it, FUCK the weather. if there was a person responsible for this miserable shit they would be dead 100 times over already.
school starts again soon, and i’m TA’ing 2 classes so i expect to be very busy. i’m gonna cut down the routine to save time. something like:
mon - squat, KB swing
tues - bench, row
wed - off, or rev hyper and abs
thurs - dead, lunge
fri - mil press, pullup
and i’m gonna get my thyroid levels checked next week. maybe they’ll give me something to douse the fires. otherwise i’m throwing in the towel for a while. i’m in a bad mood. fuck everything. wheres my beer?
wed 8/26
did YTWL shoulder work, 100 rep press-downs and curls, and most of defranco’s agile 8. then went to the rock climbing gym for about 1.5 hours. one of the benefits of being light is that the longest routes are doable before my forearms give up.
food was Lcarb, 3500 cals, 218/175/210g, fat/carb/prot. this may not be enough food. i’m thinking the sweet spot for me is 3800 to 4200 cals/day. really looking forward to draining some delicious carb-filled shakes tomorrow. bodyweight was 184 again.
i’m trying out capping protein at 210g/day. that’s an easy goal to hit… i may slowly crank it up later (i’m thinking 10g/week).
thurs 8/27
sumo deadlift
225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 365x3 (all DOH), 405x5, 425x5, 445x6
walking lunge - weight and steps per side
110x10, 110x10,3
425x5 was wayyy harder than it should have been. 445x6 took everything i had… 6th rep was a grinder. it did just occur to me that i forgot to think about driving my hips forward hard. take a week off and you forget everything!!! fuck!!!
walking lunges were brutal, as always. that’s 220x20 steps, using dumbbells and straps. i’m thinking the heavy walking lunges are the reason my traps seem to be growing, because i haven’t done shrugs in a while. and oh boy do they ever work my traps.
stretched and the foam roller when i got home. it seems my quads are getting slightly less agonizing to roll. rolling my IT band is no big deal, but my rolling my quads is excruciating.
came up with a slightly different routine that i like better:
week 1
squat/swing
dead/rdl
week 2
squat/gm
dead/w. lunge
week 3
squat/swing
dead/rdl
week 4 - deload
squat/gm
dead/w. lunge
reason being is my deadlift always seems to do well when i have RDL’s and swings in there. i still want lunges, and i should be doing gm’s, so there’s the plan.
food was 4200 cals, 98/630/200g, fat/carb/prot. bodyweight was 186. i got some Metabolic Drive, but on reading the label i noticed it contained wheat. dammit, i should have been more careful. i think i’ll go for some pure whey isolate and give the Metabolic Drive to one of the guys at the gym.
fri 8/28
mil press
95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 145x5, 145x6, push press: 145x10,10
pull up
+25x5, +45x5, +60x5, +75x8
this took all of 20mins, so i did a bunch of neutral grip, bodyweight pull ups. also did some wide grip dips and cable curls. then did some open-hand plate walks. also stretched my shoulders out a bunch. i’m gonna try to go a lot heavier on the push presses to see how well they carry over to the mil press.
the NG pullups and cable curls were lifts i saw on an arm wrestling training video, so they involved quite a bit of forearm. good stuff. open-hand plate walks were for open-hand strength (who knew!), which should help when climbing at the rock gym.
mon 8/31
squat
135x10, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 325x3, 345x3, 365x5 (PR!), 315x10, 225x12 (box squat)
KB swing
40x10, 60x10, (60+ purple band)x10,10,10
stretching, calf work.
squats felt good. all were touching a box except the last set, which were legit box squats. so here’s my thought process: do the 531 sets as prescribed. because i’m only doing 2 lifts in the interest of time and i want a little more volume, do two drop sets following the work sets. push hard for AMRAP.
banded KB swings were good, much more comfortable than DB swings. we’ll see if there’s a difference launching weight off the floor on thursday.
i would have been in-and-out if i didn’t stop to bullshit after all the work was done 
food was Hcarb, 4200 cal, 98/630/200g, fat/carb/prot. bodyweight was 184 - i seem to have stabilized around 185. i may add another high carb day next week if everything else goes ok diet-wise. by the way, i was ravenous today. i inhaled my food, which is a nice change from forcing it down. i’m taking that as a good sign.
tues 9/1
bench
135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 245x3, 255x3, 275x3, 225x9, 185x14
bb row
185x7, 225x3, 255x3, 265x3, 285x5, (row from the hang, ~60deg from horizontal) 225x10,10
my bench sucks. it doesn’t seem to progress like the squat or dead. argh! i thought i did 275x4, but the guy who gave me a lift off said it was only three. too bad i don’t remember the set very wel. i wish i could count. either way it doesn’t matter because my best is 275x4. also, if i had looked at my book and seen a 285x5 row PR, i definitely would have done 6 reps. curses!!!
food is 4000 cals, Mcarb, 196/350/210g, fat/prot/carb. bodyweight was 184 (again!). i ordered some whey isolate, so maybe i can bump up the protein intake a little next week. i’m gonna add another high carb day as well, because i’ve been around 185 for the last week and a half.
wed 9/2
gonna use the reverse hyper tonight, as well as YTWL’s, and maybe some curls/extensions. the hang rows really worked my mid back… i’m gonna mix reverse grip hang rows into the last two high-rep sets and see what happens.
food today is Lcarb, 3800 cals, 266/143/210g, fat/carb/prot. bodyweight is… 184! i am consistent at least. definitely gonna add another high carb day next week. it’s actually kind of nice that my weight doesn’t fluctuate much. this should make it easy to tell if an extra high cab day has an effect. also, by the informal belly/love handle/low back pinch test, i’ve leaned out slightly.
tomorrow i have to deadlift at the school gym due to a dr’s appointment in the evening. i am not really looking forward to that… the bars are smooth and most of them are bent. i have no love for most of the gym-goers at school, either.
thurs 9/3
sumo deadlift
225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3 (all DOH), 425x3, 445x3, 475x3 (PR!)
RDL
225x10, 275x10, 315x10, 365x8, 365x7
i was hoping for a better deadlift, but you can’t argue with a PR. hopefully the combination of RDL’s and swings will bring it back next cycle. next week is a big week… 495x1. 5 plates. i must do it. i will double 495, at minimum.
oh, and no gym yesterday. my friends (yes i have friends) convinced me to go climbing at the rock gym again. good for biceps and forearms, not so good for the skin of my hands. they will heal though.
food is Hcarb, 4200 cals, 98/630/200g, fat/carb/prot. bodyweight is 183. next week i’m gonna add a high carb day, and switch the low carb to a medium carb.
fri 9/4
mil press
95x5, 115x3, 145x3, 145x3, 155x4
pull up
+25x5, +45x3, +60x3, +75x3, +90x6 (PR, sorta)
push press
185x3,1 (too heavy), 155x5,6,8
special pull up
bwx15,10,10
tied my mil press PR. i know i’ve done more than +90x6 on the pull ups, but i don’t have a record of it in my 531 spreadsheet, so i’ll count it as a PR.
i got a little ambitious with the push press by starting with 185, but at least i can get my bodyweight over my head a couple times. my form got better on the 155 sets as i figured things out.
also a small milestone today: 17" arms, cold. actually, they’ve gained .5" in like two months. i think this is due to climbing at the rock gym… nothing else has really changed. cool!
food was Mcarb, 4000 cals, 196/350/210g, fat/carb/prot. bodyweight was 185. i added some whey isolate to my shakes, and now i don’t have to eat as much chicken! awesome 
1000 views and no comments! i think that’s the best ratio on tmuscle.
POP!
was it good for you?
Keep up the progress man. You have good lift for too, I just hit 180lbs and not liftin nearly as heavy as you are.
Give us some progress pics.
[quote]Papa Nick wrote:
POP!
was it good for you?
Keep up the progress man. You have good lift for too, I just hit 180lbs and not liftin nearly as heavy as you are.
Give us some progress pics.
[/quote]
thanks for the comment!! haha i’m no longer a comment virgin.
i will put up some pics this week, cause i know ya gotta back up these internet claims.
I’ve just discovered this log, man. Detailed and full of good info. Strong lifts BTW.
[quote]whup wrote:
I’ve just discovered this log, man. Detailed and full of good info. Strong lifts BTW.[/quote]
thanks! i hope some of you can get some good ideas from what i’m doing.
mon 9/7
neither gym is open today 
gonna do tues, wed, fri, sat for lifting days.
food was Hcarb, 4200 cals, 98/630/200g, fat/carb/prot.
this week will be 3 Hcarb days at 4200 cals each and 2 Mcarb days at 4000 cals each, plus an Mcarb day on saturday. the ratios will be the same as last week. shelby on elite has said he adds Hcarb days before upping cals for gaining, so i’m going to try that.
i’ll try to put up some pics tomorrow.