Deadlift: 100kg/220lbs x5, 112.5kg/248lbs231lbs x5, 2x5 with 125kg/276lbs | 125kg/276lbs x10 (belted last set)
Bent over rows: 2x60kg/132lbs x10
Goblet squats: 2x15 with 32kg/71lbs
Leg extensions: 1x20
Low row pull: 1x20
Cable flyes: 1x20 +1x10
Flat DB press: 1x20 15kg/33lbs
NOTES
So today was a decent day. I kind of ‘cheated’ on the last set and used the belt to make sure I got a minimum of 10 reps.
I skipped the swings today because I wanted to be fresh for the actual main work, because I got the 10k goals already and because I FINALLY managed to go MMA yesterday and did an hour of boxing + Jiu-Jitsu so didn’t want to overload myself with work.
It now has bruising which has me worried a tad but no pain and no movement issues.
Also my left shoulder is screwed up. It felt weird yesterday at work, it started irritating me at Jiu-Jitsu and by the end of boxing it was in pain. I will try and deal with it before tomorrows incline pressing session but if this continues I may just pay to see a physio/ private DR and see if there is anything wrong with the shoulder itself
Perhaps she did!
But on a more serious note you have no idea how uncomfortable I felt reading that post where it said 13800 swings, before Mrs SvenG corrected the travesty of an odd total.
I do but not as much as I should, unfortunately I have horrible shoulder mobility (Legitimately unsure if even as a kid I managed to put my arms overhead straight with no leaning) which I am working on bit by bit.
Seal rows: 2x15 and 1x20 with 16kg/35lbs
Incline DB press: 2x10 with 15kg/33lbs
Tricep pushdown: 2x15
NOTES
Not happy, not happy at all with the 7 reps on the last set. But considering everything I see it’s not the end of the world. The Shoulder is still painful but is only in mild discomfort when pressing. I feel it but it doesn’t hurt so I guess that is positive.
3.5 days left until I up the calories and I cannot wait. The appetite that I lost while gaining had returned with a vengeance,
So the last 16 hours have been weird. I don’t know if it’s due to fatigue, due to the low calories, disappointment that I get hurt doing MMA on first day back or whatever but my ‘motivation’ has been nonexistent and my mood has been weird. By weird I mean short fused, easily irritable and just overly angry over minor things. Examples including having internal rage ( not anger but actual rage) because a woman was chewing too loudly next to me, because my cat would meow for cuddles (which I LOVE him doing usually) among other things.
Also skipped this AMs daily swings despite being up at 4am and dressed to leave. I sat down for a minute to pet the cat and say bye and just couldn’t move so had a 50 min nap next to him before going to work. I think having achieved the 10k swing goal early may have played a part.
I have also started to notice disordered eating traits/ negative habits peeping through such as overly concerned about how today’s lack of swings will affect weightloss, concern over what I know is normal weight fluctuations over the last 2 days, negative body image thoughts making me consider cutting more (NOT HAPPENING!)
Considering I doubt I will do any more swings might as well do the write up now Swing challenge write up
First of all I want to point out that I used both a 16kg/35lbs and a 20kg/44lbs kettlebell which is what Dan John prescribes for women and is significantly lighter than the 24kg/53lbs weight for men.
I also did the swings in addition to my 5/3/1 work instead of as a stand alone 4 week program. but much like @SvenG said in his write up. I too severely underestimated myself. I started doing 360 swings a day with the lighter bell in sets of 30 to using the lighter bell for sets of 150 and using the heavier bell to get 500 total swings. I could have, in hindsight hit 15-20k in the time frame I got the 11,500 in. Oh well I learn for next time.
Positives of this little swing challenge are the obvious:
Helped with weightloss/ leaning out (but the planned deficit also played a part obviosuly)
I got MUCH better at swinging from the first day till now
It got me back in the habit of 4am wake ups everyday of the week
My cardio and stamina has gotten much much better. After doing swings straight after a set and then the next set straight after for the whole workout… My ability to recover HAD NO CHOICE but to improve.
The negatives are as follows
Any imbalances I had in the lower body was exposed (hello my right foot pointing out) when fatigue and soreness became a factor
My workouts 5+ set was most likely compromised resulting in reps left on the table. Regardless of anything I am sure that after 200+ swings my ability to rep out a deadlift or squat was not as good.
Potential burnout/ under recovery due to the excessive work and low calories.
Except for that not much to say. Let’s see how the rest of the day goes. Hopefully I don’t get stupidly mad at something minor.
I’ve been similar to that. I’ve felt that my weight loss goals are completely compromised because I had a lift to the gym instead of walking. Or thinking that because I’ve had to walk around the block a few times with an ill neighbours dog that my bulking for the day is ruined. It’s silly man. Those kettlebell swings and all the weight loss stuff is accumalative, one day is fucking nothing. We know it’s irrational but it doesn’t stop the overthinking.
In terms of all the rage etc you’re putting up with, when I start getting irritable I take 3 days off because I feel that my bodies cortisol has gotten way too high. Maybe it’s as simple as needing to give yourself an extra rest day or two now that you’ve done the swings. It kind of works as a mini-deload. I do this when i’m eating a lot. In a weight-loss phase the likelihood of too much stress impacting my day to day life is going to naturally increase a ton.
Try to remember you do this to add to your life. If you think it’s starting to take away from it. Allow yourself time to regather.
Only lets hope next week I can string in more than one day of MMA. How’s the back?
I am VERY intrigued on the results of doing it, with the right weight, while in a surplus and eating to recover. Perhaps a forum wide January challenge in the making
Good luck on that front. A lot of work lifting and MMA training …
Back is getter better quickly, thanks. Hopefully ease back into jiu-jitsu training next week. May try a little lifting tomorrow since I’ve got the day off.
Leg press: 1x20
Lex extensions: 2x20
Hip thrusts: 2x20 with 60kg/132lbs
Low cable row: 1x20 + 2x15
Flat db press: 10kg/22lbs x50
2.5 miles weighted vest walk (25kg/55lbs) done in 42 minutes (shortest time yet)
NOTES
So the 4 week cut and my time with Rhodes 5/3/1 is officially over ( well in a few hours) and I must say the last 4 weeks have been fun. I really enjoyed the programming as opposed to the normal 5/3/1 templates done so far.
I am not too happy with today’s 8 reps but not too fussed. I will try TM test next week and will aim for 10. Funny thing happened. My weight belt was too loose so useless during the squat PR set, despite being tight on Tuesday’s deadlift session. Good sign for the fatloss of the week.
No idea how much I have lost this week and will wait until tomorrow to calculate the average. Moving forward I think I am going to have to have ‘Baseline calories’ for this gaining phase and add in more calories when I go MMA. This will allow me not overeat if I continue the trend of missing MMA training and not to undereat if I do end up going.
Anyways tomorrow we test the bench… With the not so great shoulder
Seal rows: 1x25 with 12kg/26lbs
Bent over DB row: 25kg/55lbs x15,10
Incline DB press: 2x10 with 17.5kg/38lbs
Tricep pushdown: 2x15
Weighted Crunches: 2x25
NOTES
So I didn’t get the 10 reps with the training max I ideally wanted. But considering the shoulder issue and the fact that I’ve only added in more food today it was to be expected.
Taking the accessory work kinda easy this week and looking forward to the future of BBB (Malcom X on the supplemental) with extra food.
Currently around 138lbs and the goal is to push the weight up to MINIMUM 165lbs before considering cutting down again.
NOTES
So today was a poor performance and the PR set didn’t get to 10 like I wanted and not 100% due to strength reasons. The weightbelt was looser than last week ( like Saturday but I forgot to adjust) so I put it higher up nearer to my rib cage, the tightness and pressure made me throw up in my mouth so I called the set at 8. I do confess though that the bar felt heavy after 6-7 reps.
Humbled by the pull ups which are TERRIBLE now. I took a long time away from vertical pulling while I work on my shoulder issues and it really showed. Dips did not cause pain so moving forward these will be the main push/pull work on lower days. I will work with bodyweight until I get 50 reps in few sets and then add weight slowly.
Seal rows: 5x10 with 20kg/44lbs
Incline DB press: 2x10 and 2x15 with 15kg/33lbs
NOTES
So today was ‘meh’. Not happy with the 6 on incline press but it is what it is, at least training max is accurate and also let’s me build things up.
Weirdly I am SORE AS HELL in the chest and back area due to the bodyweight dips and pull ups. Really think these will pay dividends when I get decent at them with weight.
I have two things I am thinking about moving forward:
Seeing as I don’t have time for lower body accessory work on Wednesdays| currently do the 50 reps missed on Saturdays but I’m thinking of just splitting the extra 3 reps over the 3 days instead.
I am not yet able to OHP but I think I can manage seated military press/ OHP with a barbell. I may look to use that instead of incline pressing as a small transitionary lift pending gaining the mobility/ ability to press overhead standing.
Squats: 82.5kg/182lbs x5, 95kg/209lbs x5, 105kg/231lbs x5 and 117.5kg/259lbs x8
Hip thrusts: 2x10 with 80kg/176lbs and 1x20 with 60kg/132lbs
Walking lunges (30kg/66lbs Barbell): 3x20 steps (10 each leg)
DB RDL: 1x20 with 20kg/44lbs dumbbells
Dips (bodyweight): 5x10
Pull ups (bodyweight): 50 pull ups done in 8 sets
NOTES
Well this is the last deload/ PR week session in the books. I am annoyed I didn’t manage 10 reps on any of the lifts but at least now I have confidence that the TM is right.
I’ve had a rough few days since Wednesday health wise which is most likely due to the cat. Either it was due to the cat touching my food (he does it often) or this one deep scratch he gave me but I think I picked something up from him (considering he goes to the litter and then walks around) because I’ve had a fever, chills and weird type of vomit (cloudy white and thick).
I feel better now and ready to attack the plan next week, well tomorrow!
I will most likely most a brief summary of what training will look like going forward some point later today
Bent over DB Row: 2x15 with 22.5kg/50lbs + 1x20 with 20kg/44lbs
Seated DB shoulder press: 5x10 with 12.5kg/27lbs
Weighted Crunches: 50 total reps over 3 sets
Facepulls: 3x15
NOTES
So today was a decent day with nothing being too challenging. I managed the main work in about 5 minutes (only rest was the changing weights) and the supplemental work in under 6 minutes.
The accessory work today was done ‘like a body builder’ with me focusing on really feeling the muscle work for the whole range of motion which felt very good but the soreness has already crept in
