Looks good my man. Just grind it and the cream will rise to the top
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What an all time classic that was.
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Need to get the T-Nation family’s advice again.
Forewarning: this will ramble and be stream-of-conscious.
The issue I’m facing is fitting diet into my work and training schedule. Weekends aren’t the issue, but during the week I’m just going to bed too late and it’s catching up to me. I’m exhausted.
Because I’m a slow eater, when all is said and done (training, showering, making/eating), it’s usually between 2300 and 0000. This is absolutely too late for me, as I’m normally up between 0700-0730. With the mental stress of work and home life, and the physical stress of training, this is absolutely not enough sleep.
I’m considering switching to no solid “meals” during the work week. Everything will be smoothies and fruits/veg/nuts, because they’re quick. I can easily make a calorie-packed smoothie after training and down it without spending close to an hour prepping and eating a meal.
Weekends are a non-issue, and will probably be where I gorge myself on bigger meals because I’ll have the time to allow it.
Thoughts? Experiences to share? Tweaks/advice?
Are smoothies actually faster? I guess if you drink them on the run. I find the smoothy prep and cleanup annoying at times.
Making a big pot of food that lasts 6+ meals could be less time per meal.
Back in grade 12 I use to make a smoothy like this every day before class. Milk, protein powder, raw egg, peanut butter, oats, banana, apple sauce, spinach, flax seeds, and whatever else I felt like adding. Tasted like shit but I could get close to 1500cals in 15 minutes and it was pretty cheap.
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They are, purely because of just how slow I am at eating. I can’t state enough just how glacial my eating is.
In terms of prep, yes. I’m a huge fan of meal prep usually. I just get so sick of eating, especially when I’m tired at night.
This is more or less what I was thinking, and almost exactly the same recipe I’ve used before.
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Why not a combination of regular meals and smoothies? The evening smoothie sounds like a good idea. It might even digest better since you’re going to need soon after.
How do you do with sandwiches? I find sandwiches, wraps, and burgers pretty easy to eat at work.
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I am assuming prepping everything in Sundays is out?
If I prep I find I can eat faster and cleaner However I am a naturally fast eater too (probably too fast).
I have also found bland foods help me eat faster. If there is no great flavor - no need to savor.
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Oh man, another case where we are reversed images: I’ve thrown up from eating too fast many times.
Sauces seem to help make things slippery on the way down. Sour cream is a universal food lubricant for me. I can practically drink scrambled eggs, especially if they have the sour cream/sauces mentioned. It’s a shame avocados are pricey, as they’re super easy to get down. Could consider adding butter to a lot of things for quick and easy calories. Instant oatmeal in the shake is a Mountain Dog approved approach, along with coconut oil.
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I dont know if this will help…but i am also a slow eater by nature. For me at lunch and supper it doesnt matter as much, the big one i gotta be fast at is breakfast. What helped me was putting myself on a timer. For many things in life if you put me on a clock i will practically kill myself to beat the time if i have to. So i set a time for myself and start shoveling…it has helped me a lot.
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Long time lurker in your log, but this seems right up my alley.
My quickest meals in terms of prep/eat time are breakfast and lunch. Some things you might want to try (if affordable), ground beef, eggs and marinated chicken.
Ground beef is essentially already partially chewed for you. Once you put a hot sauce or sour cream on it, it starts breaking down even more. Super easy and quick to make, super easy to eat.
Scrambled/fried eggs… I can cook and eat 8 scrambled eggs in like ten mins. Easy chewing, takes sauces and toppings well for extra cals
Marinated chicken breast/thigh, again part of the work is done for you, even more so if you prep a few lbs in advance and cut it into cubes after cooking and before storing. Throw it on a tortilla, add sour cream and cheese and that’s a meal.
I buy a large natural/organic peanut butter at the start of every week. I dig into it multiple times a day, just swinging out to my work van for parts or while I’m doing paperwork. It’s an easy way to add calories, and peanut butter is awesome.
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I don’t know what the rest of your day looks like but I’ve lived off largely protein shakes, fruits and nuts for all but one meal a day for about half a year now, while doing shift work.
My one meal is usually meal prepped in advance and is a microwave and go deal. I usually only cook one or two meals a week.
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Appreciate everyone’s input. I’m gonna be a dick and seemingly ignore most of it and go with smoothies during the work week at least for dinner. I tested it out last night and made a calorie-packed smoothie that didn’t taste half-bad, didn’t make me feel stuffed, and was quick to make and clean up. Food is just causing me stress these days, and right now if something causing me stress, and I find a path of least resistance around it, I’ll take it.
Onto training. Couple days to catch up on here.
28/05/2021
Start time: 2120
Outside temp: 7C
Band leg curls
- 50 reps
Running
- 2km run to the park
- 12 hill sprints
- 2km run back
Superset
- Single leg calf raises, 2x15 @ BW
- Tibialis raises, 2x15 @ 15
Notes:
- The hill isn’t massive, but it’s decent; it takes me about 5 full seconds going as hard as I can to run up. I thought it was going to be way harder, because my previous memories of max effort running were of gasping for air and feeling like I wanted to die, but I guess all the running I’ve been doing has paid off. By the time I walked back down the hill, I was ready to go again. Feels good to see improvement.
29/05/2021
Start time: 1330
Garage temp: didn’t check
Power snatch
- Worked up to 155x1 (sloppy)
Bench
- Worked up to 215x1
Cyclist squat
- 50 reps @ BW
Seated band rows
- 50 reps
Band OHP
- 50 reps
Notes:
- That 155 on power snatch was supposed to be my TM for the anchor. I’m going to keep it, but I took 5 attempts and only made 2 of them, and they were sloppy. Power snatch is just that one lift I can NEVER seem to get better on. Pisses me off. I’m going to hammer upright rows from now on and see if it helps, because I know that, aside from getting under the bar faster, my issue is weak shoulders.
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And just like that we are alike again, haha.
Always excited to see where this training takes you.
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I’ve come to realize that it’s less about me needing the wisdom of others, and more about needing a place to organize and analyze my thoughts. It still helps to throw stuff out there and see if anyone does drop useful nuggets though, which is why I’ll continue to do it.
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How is your issue weak shoulders? Do you have any vid? I can only see shoulders being an issue if you can’t stabilize the weight or it hurts.
Snatch high pull will help you here, not upright rows. Also, snatch jumps, front squats
Shoulders/upper back. My issue is not being able to pull the bar high enough to get under it for a proper power snatch.
The upright rows I usually do are a little cheaty, so they become sort of an upright row/high pull hybrid.
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Alright then.
If this is your issue then no amount of upright rows will help you since the main movers here are hips and legs by far, then traps. Improve your deadlift/squat or your technique
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I agree. I would look at my triple extension and see if something is lagging during the pull phase.
I’ve always enjoyed clean pulls to overload the pulling movement.
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Looking at my numbers though, my leg strength outweighs my snatch by such a huge margin.
When I was initially looking at ways to fix my snatch, I came to the conclusion that my issue was pulling under the bar. Greg Everett suggest one of the issues for this can be upper back/shoulder weakness, and two exercises he suggests are tall muscle snatches and tall snatch high pulls (basically a snatch upright row).
If I use my legs on a high pull (either from the floor or hang), I can easily get the bar to sternum or even collarbone height, ever time. But trying to pull the bar with little to no leg drive results in so little movement.
I do believe some of it is technical issues; one thing I notice is that I have a bad habit of not pulling my elbows UP, I pull them BACK. I think part of this is trying to initiate the 3rd pull too early.
I’ll upload a video later, though. I could be completely misreading the issues.
The other issue is that I just really, REALLY don’t want to add in a bunch of specialty exercises. I know it sounds stupid to say, and very obstinate, but I finally found a group of “core” exercises I enjoy doing and fit into my schedule. I’m so loathe to change that up.
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