How’d those feel?
Pretty good. I ran the 200m then slowly walked back to give myself plenty of recovery. It also helped that I was chowing down on wine gum candies during the workout, and the running was the very last thing, so I had some good energy stores going into it.
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30/08/2020
Start time: 1345
Garage temp: 16C
Power clean & press
- worked up to 150x1
- 5x10 @ 105
Keg carry
- 5x35m @ 150
Walking lunges
- 50 reps L/R @ BW
Loaded stretches: 2x45 sec
- Quads, hams, lats
Notes:
- I can tell I’ve gotten stronger, because I can support and maintain the keg higher on my body than before. It used to slide down towards my hips on the last couple sets, but now I can keep it on my lower chest/upper stomach.
- Cut out most of the assistance today. I’d been ignoring/neglecting the loaded stretches the last few weeks which hasn’t been good. I’m going to cut assistance to just band/BW stuff for shoulders, legs and core, and only doing 2 or those 3 each session. The stretches are more important to keep me feeling healthy and maintaining longevity; all my main work helps me be more badass, but if I’m stiff as a board, what good is it all? Makes it hard to put it into practice. This’ll also keep my sessions at that 60 minute mark, which I don’t want to exceed.
- Meals below:
Morning: strawberries & 1 banana, 35g protein, 100ml whole milk, 3/4 cup yogurt, 3 eggs
Afternoon/post workout: 35g protein, 150ml whole milk, 1/3 cup each of almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, 1 orange
Evening: fuckton of sushi and beef teriyaki. Seriously, I ate a ridiculous amount. Too much.
I’ve been feeling really homesick lately, and one thing I especially miss is sushi. There’s a joke that, where I used to live, there’s a coffee shop and sushi restaurant on every street corner. The sushi here is nowhere NEAR as good (not a coastal city), but it hit the spot for a little piece of home.
3 Likes
Not possible with sushi, dude. Just not. We have a place near us with all-you-can-eat for $21 and I could probably put them outta business. haha It’s in an old Ponderosa Restaurant building and looks like a literal health code violation but the food is top notch and the only sushi I had that was fresher was right on Reykjavik harbor.
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31/08/2020
Start time: 1925
Garage temp: 17C
Clean & power jerk
- worked up to 195x1
- 1x20 @ 125 (cluster set, 10 breaths between reps)
Push-ups, 5 min AMRAP
- 83 reps
Running
- 3x400m repeats (run 400m, walk 400m), 13:30 min
Walking lunges
- 50 reps L/R @ BW
Band arm circles
- 1x25 forward
- 1x25 backward
Loaded stretches: 2x45 sec each
- quads, hams, shoulders
Notes:
- Clean & jerks make it very apparent that my upper body is so much weaker than my lower. I can clean that weight with zero issue — probably could power clean it — but it’s getting it overhead that’s the work. Hopefully the fact that the barbell movements on this program are built on getting weight overhead will help.
- 400m is definitely the struggle for me. First run felt too slow, second run I pushed it too hard, and then at about 250m on the final run my legs just went “Nope” and I could feel a sudden drop in speed.
- Meals below:
Morning: 1 banana, handful of strawberries, 3 eggs, 100ml whole milk, 35g protein, 3/4 cup greek yogurt
Afternoon: 1/3 cup each of almonds, peanuts & sunflower seeds
Evening/post workout: 200g beef tortellini, huge-ass serving of homemade nachos, 750ml whole milk
The toppings for the nachos (minus the cheese) all came from either our garden or my MIL’s; tomato, onions, peppers, etc etc, everything. So nice.
2 Likes
I am a fan of this nacho based initiative.
My wife and I once made nachos so good we promised ourselves to never make them again. The secret? Bacon as a topping. Not bacon bits or bacon crumbles: we made bacon specifically for the nachos, cut it up and threw it on top with all the other goodness of refried beans, cheese, sour cream, etc.
Taking a bite out of it was like Adam and Eve eating from the tree of forbidden fruit: we both looked at each other and realized we unlocked a secret we were never meant to know. We enjoyed the meal and swore to never make it agian.
So, with you chasing some weight gain…might I offer a suggestion? Haha.
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This, sir, is a brilliant idea. I will 100% be using it in the future.
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Please detail the experience so I can live vicariously through you, haha.
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01/09/2020
Start time: 1040
Garage temp: 15C
Bench
- worked up to 210x1
- 5x10 @ 135
Keg carry
- 5x35m @ 150
Pull-ups, 5 min AMRAP
- 29 reps
Hanging knee crunches
- 50 total reps (rest/pause)
Band dislocations
- 50 total reps (rest/pause)
Loaded stretches: 2x45 sec each
- Lats, biceps, chest
Notes:
- Bench is seeing the most improvement out of all the barbell lifts. It feel like every week the weight seems lighter and lighter. It’s nice, because I’ve never pushed the bench this frequently before.
- Knees were feeling really cranky later in the day, so I had a hot epsom salt bath in the evening to soak my lower body/back. I know the research into whether they actually do anything is sketchy at best, but I’ve never not felt better after a soak.
- Once again, I’m tinkering with rearranging the latter half of my sessions. The main work (barbell, AMRAPs, running/carries) all feel great, but I push them hard and by the time I finish I feel like I put all my mental energy into that and I don’t want to do the assistance/stretches.
- SO, I think what I’m gonna do is the main work, walking lunges (weighted on non-running days), then do a 10-15 minute yoga session. I need more mobility work, and I just can’t find the time to fit it in elsewhere during my days. I’ll skip the loaded stretches, or maybe do 1 set after each main exercise, and 2 days/week I’ll do band dislocations and abs right after work; my pull-up bar is right beside the bathroom, and I shower immediately upon getting home, so I’ll hang a band from the bar and do some dislocations and leg raises before I shower.
- Meals below:
Morning: banana, berries, 3 eggs, 35g protein, 100ml whole milk, 3/4 cup greek yogurt
Afternoon/post workout: 35g protein, 150ml whole milk, 1 slice grain bread w/ PB, 1/3 cup each almonds, peanuts & sunflower seeds
Evening: lentil & veggie stew, 3/4lb pork loin, 2 slices grain bread w/ PB, 1 cup (dry) oats w/ honey, 750ml whole milk
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06/09/2020
Start time: 1040
Garage temp: 15C
Snatch
- worked up to 135x1
- 5x5 @ 85; SS w/ band dislocations, 5x10
- Quad stretch, 1x60 sec
Push-ups, 5 min AMRAP
- 90 reps
- Chest stretch, 1x60 sec
Running
- 2x750m repeats (run 750m, walk 750m), 16:30 min
- Hamstring stretch, 1x60 sec
Walking lunges
- 50 reps L/R @ BW
Notes:
- Forcing myself to keep logging. Life is just piling up right now and even something as simple as checking and internet forum is draining. Need to keep logging for consistency’s sake, though.
- Gonna start supersetting some assistance in so that I’m still doing it while cutting down on total workout time. Only simple movements like isolation stuff though, because I get really thrown off if I superset compound movements. Also, doing a set of loaded stretching after main movements instead of after the workout was great, and again sped things up.
- Took my kid in the stroller when I did the running. Definitely doing that again, simply because it was an easy way to spend some time with him, and he was laughing and chatting the whole time; he’s almost a year old and it’s so fun watching him experience the world.
- Didn’t get to do yoga post workout though. Ran out of time. I’ll be able to today, however.
- Meals below. Had a movie night with the wife so there was way more junk food than normal. I regret it.
Morning: banana, mango, 3 eggs, 35g protein, 100ml whole milk, 3/4 cup plain yogurt, black coffee
Post workout/afternoon: 35g protein, 150ml whole milk, handful of peanuts and sunflower seeds
Evening: bowl of beef and lentil stew w/ veggies, medium thin crust 4 meat pizza, bunch of salt and vinegar chips, 750ml whole milk
—
Rant/vent below. Disregard, as I just need a place to let out steam:
I’m getting frustrated with myself regarding nutrition. I would love to eat a primarily animal product and veggie diet, but it’s just so damn expensive here and we’re broke as fuck. I could, potentially, just eat less, eat primarily meat and veggies, and go on a forced weight loss, but training is going really well right now and I’m concerned that a change in diet will destroy it.
Side note: I’m really loving training right now. This whole program concept I’ve creates is absolutely perfect for me. It’s just so enjoyable.
Diet is actually becoming a point of contention between my wife and I. I would love to exist primarily on meat, eggs, milk, lentils/beans, maybe some nuts, protein powder and veggies/fruit, but my wife just sees it as an extravagance and suggests I eat more carbs because they’re cheaper.
Carb backloading has been alright, but I still think I could cut back. I think I’m probably consuming more carbs than I need, especially on non-training days, just because I’m worried about making sure I get all my calories in due to my current eating schedule; I generally have a moderate breakfast, small snacks/meal in the afternoon, then load up in the evening.
I don’t even know if I’m training hard enough to warrant huge eating. Everyone likes being big and strong, and I definitely do to, but my current training program isn’t centred on that, it’s centred on performance and health. That’s what I care about. Obviously I’d like to be huge and cut, but it takes second place to maximizing my ability as a dangerous human being, who can run, jump, fight, endure, etc etc.
I think the rest of life in general is getting in the way and causing me to overcomplicate things.
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What are your goals in terms of your weight and performance? People get stronger without gaining a ton of weight all the time.
Based on your posts, it doesn’t look like you’re eating much expensive food. If money is tight then you need a budget and that includes meat. Set your budget and get to work. Buy what’s on sale. Buy cheaper cuts of meat. Buy canned tuna.
Don’t avoid carbs unless you have a good reason. Oatmeal, rice, and potatoes are cheap sources of fuel.
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Weight: don’t really have one. It used to be to hit 200lbs just because, which I achieved this early this year, but I was a little too chunky.
Performance: it’s all in the log title; increase 1rm on barbell lifts, do more reps on BW exercises, run faster, carry farther.
This is solid. One thing I’m struggling with is not letting hunger dictate how much I eat. I’ve roughly counter calories/protein on some days, and I appear to be hitting good numbers, but because what I’m eating is fairly calorie dense for the size (meat, lentils, nuts, milk), it doesn’t fill me up as much so I think, “I’m still hungry, I should eat more”, even though I may not necessarily need to.
I know, I need to get out of my head on this one. I know I’ve always performed well on carbs, but I also used to train martial arts 3-5 times a week on top of teaching it for hours a day, and do my usual training routine. Martial arts has been dropped for now because my schedule simply hasn’t allowed it, which is a huge drop in energy expenditure. Trying to find the correct balance of carbs to fuel my current training is the struggle now.
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Calories are calories and carbs satisfy me better than fat - probably because I get to eat more actual food.
Drop fat to accommodate more carbs. It’s that simple.
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07/09/2020
Start time: 1235
Garage temp: 14C
Power clean & strict press
- worked up to 150x1
- 5x10 @ 95 SS w/ 5x10 band dislocations
Keg carry
- 5x35m @ 150
- Hamstring stretch, 1x60 sec
DB walking lunges
- 5x10 L/R @ 50s
- Quad stretch, 1x60 sec
Pull-ups, 5 min AMRAP
- 35 reps
- Bicep stretch, 1x60 sec
Notes:
- The push-up and pull-up AMRAPs are definitely showing me that I’m built for endurance work; every week it’s getting easier and easier to add reps to the previous session.
- Decided I’m going to commit to doing yoga after work every day for 10-15 minutes. I’m supersetting some assistance between main work, so I don’t need to do it on work days now.
- Meals below. Lost track of time in the afternoon because it was sunny and I got caught up in lots of yard work.
Morning: banana, mango, 35g protein, 3 eggs, 100ml whole milk, 3/4 cup plain yogurt
Post workout/afternoon: 35g protein, 150ml whole milk, handful of peanuts
Evening: beef and lentil stew w/ mixed veggies, 10 pirogies, 2 slices grain toast w/ PB, 750ml whole milk
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I’ve been thinking about your situation and I think you’re stressing yourself out for no reason. Your goals are performance driven. Some of them will suffer if you gain weight. You also don’t want to gain weight so the nutrition side of things is easy - just eat intuitively. Eat a variety of foods and eat healthy, but don’t stress about it.
If you lose weight then it’ll be fat. My fancy text books for my personal training and strength and conditioning certs said that athletes need 1.2 to 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. I know you’re under 200 lbs, but I’ll use that as a guide. At 200 lbs (or 91) kgs, you’d only need 109 to 164 grams of protein per day.
I say eliminate unnecessary stress right now - and eating a certain way definitely seems unnecessary given your goals. Most of us stress about food when we’re trying to shed some fat, but you’re in a different boat.
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Thanks, man. This was a good gut check. I get really fixated on stuff and obsess over it. Usually it’s my training but that’s been going so well over the last few months I haven’t needed to worry, so diet became the mission. I appreciate the input immensely.
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12/09/2020
Clean & power jerk
- worked up to 195x1
- 5x5 @ 145, SS w/ 5x10 band dislocations
Push-ups, 5 min AMRAP
- 93 reps
- Chest stretch, 1x60 sec
Running
- 10x100m repeats (run 100m, walk 100m), 16:45
- Hamstring stretch, 1x60 sec
Walking lunges
- 50 reps L/R @ BW
- Quad stretch, 1x60 sec
Notes:
- Good session overall. Loving the loaded stretch immediately after certain exercises.
- I’m really finding that the should dislocations are the only assistance exercise I need. Every session has single leg work, the push and pull-up AMRAPs are covering upper body, and the dislocations have my shoulders feeling so good lately. I love them.
- Meals below. Finding I’m not getting enough on training days because they coincide with my days off, and I end up getting caught up in errands and household work.
Morning: banana, mango, 3 eggs, 35g protein, 100ml whole milk, 3/4 cup plain yogurt
Post workout/afternoon: 35g protein, 150ml whole milk, handful of various nuts and raisins
Evening: beef and lentil/mung bean stew, mixed veggies, 200g beef tortellini, 4 tbsp plain yogurt, 750ml whole milk
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13/09/202
Start time: 1045
Garage temp: 14C
Bench
- worked up to 210x1
- 5x10 @ 155, SS w/ 5x10 band dislocations
Keg carry
- 5x35m @ 150
- Hamstring stretch, 1x60 sec
DB split squat
- 5x10/side @ 50s
- Quad stretch, 1x60 sec
Pull-ups, 5 min AMRAP
- 37 reps
- Lat stretch, 1x60 sec
Notes:
- Meals below.
Morning: banana, mango, 3 eggs, 100ml whole milk, 35g protein, no yogurt 
Post workout/afternoon: 35g protein, 150ml whole milk, a shitload of apples (went apple picking and I got carries away. They were unbelievably good)
Evening: frozen pizza, bunch of chips, 750ml whole milk (movie night with the fam)
1 Like
Really liking the discussion on food a few posts up. Every time I tell myself “I need to buckle down and be really good about it” I burn out in a week or two and end up eating like a total shitferbrains. Eating intuitively but eating healthy is probably good for a majority of people, and I know that keeping stress down is always a good thing.
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So true. The other issue I still, still, have is the trap of looking at what others are doing and trying to imitate, even if I know it won’t work for me.
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