Press: 70kg x 10 this is down a lot on my best. And I’m feeling weak this week. But a look back at training log shows that 17 days back I set 3 PR’s in a week. So I think this is just rut I’m in.
BTNP - 3 sets of 10 with maybe 40kg
Kroc rows - 50kg - 10 with not straps then come back and did 25 with straps.
Poundstone curls - 10kg bar - 60 reps.
Finished today with 90mins of touch rugby. I have a feeling I’ll be 102kg tomorrow. Which is in goal.
I think I have refound my weight loss mojo. Which is good. I’m tired of Getting smaller
This is a real problem with losing weight especially if you are used to being a bigger guy. Maybe need to try and think about this from a different perspective. I would try not to think of is as losing something as this will make you think you are giving something up or away. Think of a positive goal that achieving your weight will give for you in terms of life quality and aim for that.
Yeah I’m still big. But I’m not noticeable as I used to be.
But I’m hoping sub 100kg there will be more noticeable showy off muscle. So this will change. It’s almost like with the ammount of muscle I have I either have to be sub 15%(ish) body fat or over 40% body fat to look like a tank. In-between those metrics you are neither big enough or lean enough to warrant a second look.
Good news - 102.9kg today. Sub 103kg aweek early. If I focus really hard I can get to 101 something for next Thursday. As I’m off to a music festival next Thursday. Months back the goal was sub 100kg for that. But if I can get sub 102 I’ll take that as a fair return for this last 5 months.
Long term. Just to be an impressive MF. So this is why I did things like Grace and Fran. It’s a feat of strength and conditioning. I can say - “I can do that in X time”. That’s impressive.
A side from that the only “unimpressive” this about me if my body fat. I’m 6ft tall and 102kg. I have good strength (not great but solid), good muscle mass and good conditioning. I just want to show off a bit.
To get there/ this year:
I want to run deepwater. But to do this I need to be leaner. I want to make sure when I start to gain weight I start at a lower body fat. Now I think that means I need to get to sub 95kg. But we will see.
I’m taking the approach of - eating enough protein and going hungry. Am I counting calories - no. Am I keeping a track of g or protein? Yes (6g per egg and 1g per 3g of lean meat).
Other than that yes very much winging it. I fail to believe that people with as much weigh as I have need to be too scientific with all this. I have a lot of fat to get rid of. And it should be fairly easy to get it gone.
I eat pretty much the same thing every weekday. Since I know roughly how much calories those foods are, weight gain and weight loss is “easy”, in that there’s nothing that I have to think about.
Progress may not be particularly fast, but I get to eat what I want pretty much whenever on the weekend (IE I ate like 3-4k calories each day last weekend) and still see gradual fat loss.
OK Carl, I am going to try something here, which may come across a bit wanky but I think you will get where I am going. (just humor me)
OK so this is the long term goal. if I was being super picky I would say you should define this further, like what is impressive. But I am sure you have an image in your head in terms of look and performance.
we have a medium goal, which is really clear.
And bam you have an excellent short term goal.
These three together lay the foundation for the decisions you make going forward. So look at the short term goal, lose fat and you called it as be sub 95kg. If this is the first check point that gets you to your medium and long term goals. Then every step you make towards this is a massive positive. But you aren’t going to get there without a dogged determination to succeed and that success means losing weight. You already know how to do it, you have all the tools to get it done, you now just need the mindset to drive the intensity to achieve it. You need to really want it more than anything.
Every time you get on that scale and you see it drop you are one step close to achieving your goal, to wining the game. Now the reward for wining the game is you get to embark on chasing your net goal…lucky you.
100% agree. Impressive is spit into 3 parts (for me):
Strength, conditioning and aesthetic. Strength is 200kg front squat, 130kg log. Conditioning is keep my grace time sub 3 min. Aesthetically I just need to keep an ab or two showing.
This is where I’m lacking right now. I know this. But this chat has helped.
Ha - yeah right. It never ends. I read a book called the infinite game and it totally changed my mind set about exercise and fitness. Its never ending. Once you get somewhere you have to move on. And as tiring as it is - I love it really.
So glad you wrote this Carl, because for me this is where the magic happens. Tick off little performance goals one at a time over a long time and as long as you don’t eat like an unsupervised child (stole that from @T3hPwnisher ) you are going to probably achieve all of those goals. And if you only hit 98% of what you wanted you will still be an animal.
Yeah this is my issue. When I get a shitty head space this is the first thing I do. However - even this is coming down in severity. It used to be weeks of apple and cream turnovers. Now its a peanut butter sandwich before bed.
I guess even this is progress.
Talking of progress:
I call this “The Paul Whitehouse”. I started with the name “100 rep monster” but this is about as imaginative as a 9 year old child. So I worked on a new name.
In the 90’s there was a TV show called “The fast show”. It was odd. As was lots of the 90’s. The point of the fact show was “people only want to hear the catchphrase”. So the sketches were REALLY short. Some only 10 seconds long. It was much loved and it left a permanent mark on Britain. There are lots of characters I loved. But there was one clip that stuck with me. From a character never seen before or since. This one:
Monster, monster, monster - the vampire is played by Paul Whitehouse. Hence the name. This is a monster, monster monster:
100kg front squat 20 reps
(I had to do 3 sets to get to 20 reps I was going too fast and the bar was on my wind pipe)
5 pull ups
100kg back squats 20 reps
(I made up for the front squat issues with an (almost) unbroken non stop set)
5 pull ups
100kg dead lifts 20 reps - no straps
5 pull ups
40kg keg floor to over head 20 reps
5 pull ups
this was 100% effort. Nothing in the tank. I could not have gone ANY faster. I was done. It took me 1/4h to put the weights back (8 plates, 2 bars and the keg).
this might be my new bench mark for strength and fitness. If ever I can not do this (or something like this) in 10 mins I know I’m too weak / unfit. I need to work harder.
Touch rugby this morning. Coaching has fallen through I think. I’m not sure I can commit to it right now. I have a suspicion I’ll be paying for and then ignoring him or at least not going it its full worth. But I have found my new diet answer. The gym does meal prep for you.
£3 a meal. 390-450 calories a meal. I can eat 2 a day and then a big breakfast. Boom. 2000 calories and I’m done.
Touch done then an hour later I did Tabata front squats. I was gonna expecting 6-8s on these as I’ve not done them for weeks. But I managed 8 fairly confidently. I could do 9. So I might add a touch of weight.
Struggled through 100 burpee dead lifts today. Took ok a touch under 10mins.
In other news my tooth is cracking - great timing. I’m away at a music festival on Thursday. I’ll have to call a dentist to extract it asap. No way do I want that going whilst I’m away and ruining my weekend.
So - weight is high 103. Maybe 104. This is a disappointment. But this is “fair”. I’m not eating right. So I can’t complain.
I have a big event this weekend. So any ideas of “weight loss” are out of the window. I will just have to get to Monday and get a pay day - I’ve not been paid in weeks (I’m a contractor and these things happen).
Exercise:
I was going to do the “Paul Whitehouse”. But I’m a touch tired. So I changed things up a bit.
5 reps:
100kg front squat
100kg back squat
pull ups
100kg dead lift
50kg Log clean and press
5 reps. Took about 15mins. I was fast at the start. 2:30 for a round. The last round was 3-4mins.
The idea was that this is more volume than the Paul Whitehouse but was “easier” as 5x5 is easier than 1x20. And in some ways it was. But in someways it was also harder. It was rightly fully longer. The experience was not less taxing over all. I was still fried at the end. But I think for strength the drop off in set size was not yet off set buy the increase in volume. IE after the last set of squats I’d done 5 more this way squats. BUT because they had been done 5x5 style it was not as taxing. Even thought I was breathing as hard. I think there is scope to add more rounds. 6x5 - or just rounds for time (non stop for 20 mins seems like a nice time). Adding 50% more volume would return the focus back the strength. As for muscle size I got as much MMC which is key. Maybe more in the back. I think this way I will also add some weight to the DL - this was far too easy. I could / should add 20kg here. Maybe more.
Over all I like this work out. Hits every major muscle group and will make me fitter and stronger. I’m going to make this my new “challenge” month when I return. This - 5 times a week. Or similar. I will think on it.
FYI
I’ve called this the Tobin Bell - after the man from Saw. This is in respect to the fact it is a different kind on evil. The longer sets of the Paul are harder: you only need to start 4 sets of 20 for the paul. This you need to start 25 sets of 5. And that kind of self determination is key to his motivation. Well - do you want it or not. I think I could get a sub 13min time for this. If I stop resting. It is there to be claimed.
Personally I’m taking a scientific approach with weight loss. I feel it’s necessary counting calories since I don’t eat the same thing every day.
