Those are some hairless hammies.
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Form looked awesome and smooth which is what you want so nailed it IMO.
From experience I can tell you this takes more work than the deadlifting itself. 
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We could trade legs. Then you wouldnāt have that problem.
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@kleinhound - Thanks brother. Reps felt smooth, but Iāll be the first to admit form is a byproduct of success for me. If it works and doesnāt hurt, keep it.
Yeah, clearly all that coconut curry is getting to youā¦
@oldbeancam - I appreciate the reassurance! Haha, ya sun doesnāt touch these bad boys too often. I try and rock that jeans/shirtless look, so far, unsuccessfully.
@MarkKO - Thanks Mark, if it looks good to you I know I much be on the right track!
@kckfl349 - Everyone knows that anything over 8 reps is cardio, eh?
@Despade - Iāve been meaning to at least get a picture in my NEVERsate shirt and maybe change up my little profile picture, but my wife wonāt let me use it as a workout shirt since it is āone of my nicest shirtsā. The shirt is typically worn when going out for dinner or something. You know, a little change from the usual plaid.
@brady888 - I did actually try this form (toes pointed out) on my 65% set but it did make it feel more like full sumo and seemed to put more emphasis on the hip drive more than the leg drive (if that makes sense at all??). It didnāt feel like I had the same sort of power off of the ground as when I literally set up as if Iām going to squat. My toes might be pointed out like 15 degrees or more, but not 45+ as many seem to be with sumo. Good comment though!
@FlatsFarmer - Sitting back and locking in the lats/upper back was a game changer for me. I think I spent a lot of time thinking about the bracing when first pushing the deadlift. While bracing is OBVIOUSLY important, now it is natural. Bracing hard happens almost instinctively for any big movements which allows me to focus on additional cues.
I used to overarch and really drive the back past the hips at the top of the lift but @MarkKO called me out on it, so Iāve tried to be cognizant of that.
I havenāt given sumo a full effort to be honest. Iāve tried it and it didnāt feel amazing, and seemed to piss of my irritable hips more than conventional/semi-sumo. Definitely some things I can experiment with, but Iām glad that for the most part Iām not doing anything too blatantly wrong/stupid!
@hugh_gilly - 
I wish my ass was this hairlessā¦TMI?
@BOTSLAYER - 
Thanks dude, the reps did feel good (almost surprisingly). I went in thinking I would try for 6reps and then mid-set realized that was going to come much easier than anticipated.
Hairless hammies = Chick magnet
@Chris_Colucci - Uhm, I think Iāll stick with mine for now haha But I appreciate the offer 
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LOL, my wifeās opinion is that there is no such thing as a nice T-shirt, but I actually am very careful to reserve a handful of what I consider my āniceā T-shirts for wearing in casual situations (backyard BBQ, things like that). Once something has been worn for workouts, itās pretty much permanently a workout-only shirt because I sweat buckets no matter the time of year, temperature, humidity, etcā¦if Iām putting out any physical exertion, Iām sweating.
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Two things worth mentioning here:
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āWhat The Healthā is a catastrophically misleading piece of vegan propaganda. If you have questions about specific claims in it, I am happy to discuss them (I am a cardiovascular disease epidemiologist and biostatstician).
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On the broader subject of changing from a āstandardā diet (or even a āstandard bodybuildingā diet) to a fully plant-based diet, Jason Ferruggia wrote a piece about this called āMy Three Years as a Vegetarianā or something like that which had this particularly illuminating qote
"Within the first two weeks of eliminating meat and dairy I felt significantly better. Less inflammation and faster recovery from workouts were the two biggest positive changes. Looking back, I automatically assumed that this was from eating less meat and dairy but it could also be due to the fact that I instantly doubled or even tripled my consumption of fresh organic produce. [emphasis mine]
A lot of people make the same mistake when first switching to a vegetarian diet. They think itās the lack of meat when in reality it might be the inclusion of all the extra greens and fruits.
I also cleaned up everything across the board and eliminated any food that wasnāt 100% organic. That right there makes a huge difference as well."
I think lots of people who āgo vegetarianā make a lot of other changes in their diet besides just the elimination of meat, and then mistakenly attribute the sudden positive changes they experience to a lack of meat. I surmise that they would see those same benefits, or even greater benefits, if they
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changed any meat consumption to higher-quality meat (ex. replace all beef with 100% grass-fed and grass-finished; replace all chicken with 100% cage-free and free-range; ditto for eggs; and so on). Yes, if budget is a major issue, this might necessitate a modest reduction in total meat consumption - i.e. eating a 6-ounce steak instead of a 10-ounce steak, or sharing a 12-ounce steak with your wife instead of both having an 8-ouncer, something like that.
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added a daily pile of fresh greens to their diet.
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added at least one āweird fruit or vegetableā per week. Something my wife and I try to do every week when we go to the store is buy a vegetable that we donāt use often (beets, celery root, spaghetti squash, plantainsā¦things that fall outside the usual staples of broccoli, asparagus, onions, rice, potatoes, etc).
Just my two cents. I am frequently annoyed by vegan/vegetarian propaganda that cites the same series of terribly misleading studies and equates the consumption of any meat with the consumption of shitty factory-farmed meat. Iām very against the latter; but I think there is absolutely a good place for meat from well-raised animals in a healthy diet.
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Yeah what the health was so bad I even considered that all meat diet that madman was posting about in another thread
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@ActivitiesGuy - Thank you. A few months ago I purchased 40lbs of grass-fed local beef and 40lbs of Ontario chicken (best the butcher could do for me in terms of organic/free-range chicken, still figured it would be better than the factory farmed US chicken that I can get for $1.99/lb at my local grocery store). This is the only meat Iāve been preparing (still getting the occasional burger or montreal smoked meat sandwich when eating out). I canāt say I noticed a significant change in how I felt or looked from JUST this change.
I think you are 100% correct in saying that the positive effects come from the increased amount of fruit veggies rather than the decreased amount of meat. @kleinhound has repeatedly referred to this in his log as well.
Recently (~2weeks weeks) Iāve definitely reduced my meat consumption and replaced 4-5 meals per week with strictly vegetarian meals and have felt great and have been waking up less bloated and feeling/looking better.
Until recently Iāve tried to monitor my fruit intake and keep it to 1-2 servings per day. Now Iām having meals of just fruit, veggies (and sometimes a scoop of protein - still havenāt convinced myself to go lower in protein yetā¦).
While Iām on the topic of protein powder, I did purchase some vegan protein (brown rice/pea/hemp protein blend) and that shit is NASTY.
I do appreciate the comments though. Iām very open-minded when it comes to diet and am willing to try just about anything in the pursuit of health. Itās one of my biggest interests, and Iām constantly trying to help others (who ask for help), so I feel like I owe it to them to know what works and what doesnāt.
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Basically what I do as well. Eating out, sometimes I still just want a steak or burger and have to accept that they probably donāt have organic grass-fed meat (although some of the local burger joints around here do claim to source local grass-fed beef). But when Iām at home and itās under my control, Iāll stick to the best stuff I can buy.
This is absolutely the key. Many people switching to a āvegetarianā diet are not just eliminating meat (at first) - they eliminate a ton of other crap as well. If they eliminated that other crap, started eating more fruits and vegetables, and kept some meat, now weāre onto something.
Iām not saying that itās a bad idea to eat more of a āplant-basedā approach. I always joke that I probably eat more fruits and vegetables than most āvegetariansā do. I just donāt like the misinformation that puts all the blame on meat.
I usually have a big green smoothie in the morning (coconut milk, spinach, frozen fruit, protein powder, creatine), a salad or sandwich for lunch, and a terrific dinner thatās always protein & vegetables (steak, sweet potato and broccoli; salmon, red potatoes, and asparagus; shrimp tossed with zucchini noodes and pesto; things like that). So even as a passionate meat ādefenderā - Iām only eating 8-12 ounces of meat per day, really. I donāt think 3 pounds of beef are needed daily for gains for the majority of normal people.
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Waitā¦ Are you guys telling me this all meat diet wonāt workā¦
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I eat one meal with a huge amount of veggies, and thatās it. Mostly meat to be honest. I like it
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@ActivitiesGuy - Thanks for the great information man. I definitely consume more fruit/veggies than the average person, but I could definitely work on including more of them in my regular diet.
What are your thoughts on protein requirement? Iāve always tried to hit that 1g/lb BW, but never really felt the effects of consuming more or less than that so Iām not sure how necessary that baseline amount isā¦
Yes but we all know you only work in extremes so this āhuge amount of veggiesā is likely enough to feed a family of 4 for a few days.
EDIT:
Also while I have you here, thoughts on milk/dairy? Iāve cut 90% of dairy from my diet (mainly for the humane aspect of it) and donāt really miss it that much, but just curious about your thoughts on that as well.
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Sustain a family? No. Help parents feel like theyāre feeding themselves and their children in a more healthful manner? Maybe.
I get a ton of calories daily from dairy. My weight drops very quickly when I remove dairy. Some of its bloating; my pants all fit differently after 3 or so days without milk. Also, dairy is so convenient that I often donāt eat an equivalent amount of calories when I remove dairy.
Joint pain/recovery/inflammation wise, I notice no real difference with or without. I am a pretty big proponent of cucumin and fish oil though.
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Iām with you here. I take fish oil daily and also grate fresh turmeric root into my omelette every morning.
Alchemy increased
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I also grind black pepper into it for the piperine.
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Monday, August 28, 2017
At the cottage all week!
Women took the boat into town and I stuck around the cottage (on an island) and was keeper of the dogs (4 of them here). Got in a bit of physical activity for fun.
6 Rounds of:
30s stationary bike sprints
20 pushups
5 handstand pushups
Cute little pump. Not concerned with working out this week. That could very well be the most activity I do all week other than some kayaking.
Post workout nutrition is key though:
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Have fun out there buddy. While we are all in the daily grind, you are chillin on a little Island sinking piss!
Man Iām jealous! Haha
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Well this is the last full day of our vacation. We wonāt be home until Sunday but I figured Iād do a physique update since Iāll be starting an 8 week cut once we are back. There are a couple events during that 8 weeks where Iāll be over indulging but Iāll be adopting a much more plant-based dieting approach during this time (similar to @ActivitiesGuyās recommendations). Focusing less on the reduction of meat and putting more emphasis on the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. Iāll try and track my calories, macros, weight, strength and physique more closely during this time to really see how this nutritional strategy effects my physique and performance.
Not sure what Iām weighing in at right now, but I would assume in the 208+lb area.
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