Will post the morning workout later, but documenting my current leanness at my most carb depleted state.
Need more anabolic lighting
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Do you really, though? (Haha!)
Looking ripped!
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@SvenG Appreciate it dude! Itās frustrating when the mirror can show one thing but the camera another, haha.
AM WORKOUT (0455 wake up via dog) Semi-fasted: 1 Scoop of Metabolic Drive at 0100
PLAGUE OF STRENGTHāS āFAMINEā ROUTINE Week 2, Day 6 (this would be the day 3 workout)
7 rounds of
- 43 bodyweight squats
- 43 push ups
- .28 mile run (the distance of running around the block in my neighborhood)
Time: 30:10
Notes:
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This is a day off, but I owe 2 miles of outside travel, 300 push ups and 300 bodyweight squats a day still, so I figured out a way to get all that done. Very similar to what I was doing during my āhigh speed/low dragā deload. This was a great way to start a morning: I was moving, active, had some had breathing and got to get outside. There was a big thunderstorm last night and the streets were still flooded with a little bit of hail, and the wind was carrying some rain, yet I still ended up going āberserkerā with the bare shirt by lap 2, and that felt invigorating. My running is feeling solid, which is great, because I forgot I have a fitness test coming up on 20 Apr so I still have a reason to be in ok running shape.
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Still working a 12 today. This will most likely be it for training, and itās going to be another high compliance day on the diet, whereas normally my weekends are higher calorie. Ideally, tomorrow, Iāll have a chance to Rampage still. Iām definitely feeling the low calories/carbs.
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This whole program has been a great chance for me to remember what works. I keep playing āField on Fireā during the Dealerās Choice day because the lyrics work so well. āIām going back, of course I am, as if I ever had a choice, back to what I really was, on the insideā. As much as I CAN do Deep Water 100%, I do better with a weekly cheat meal, not for the sake of keeping me sane, balanced or on point, but my body just plain does better with it. Mat pulls are what make my deadlift strong: I donāt need full ROM all the time. They also beat me up less. I am immune to caffeine and shouldnāt limit myself. Meat is amazing. These are all things I āknewā and tried to convince myself otherwise. Itās good to rediscover myself.
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Not sure how well itād work for you, but Nordic hamstring curls might be the answer here. Still a hamstring curl, just much harder haha.
I use my axle with bumper plates and the uprights of my rack for a makeshift setup. Put about 2 inches of dense foam under the knees to keep that aspect in check. Band over the pullup bar to adjust how hard they are.
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I appreciate the McGuyvering there dude! I think, if I go down that route, Iād do some weighted vest GHRs. Iām just trying to imagine Jamieās insanity in going for triples on a hamstring curl.
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No sweat dude!
I gave myself a Charlie horse in bed last night, instinct tells me to hard pass on hamstring curl triples even though Iād probably be pretty decent at them haha.
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Remember when I said I was done training for the day?
Ended up doing another 300 push ups, 150 bodyweight squats, running up a few flights of stairs and breaking out my grippers. Iām super āactivity seekingā at this point, which is helping me stay awake through the 12s. Despite the fact Iām more than a gram of caffeine a day deep, I still sleep like a baby at night.
2 weeks of āhigh complianceā on these 12s has been an interesting test. Hunger isnāt a factor: Iām too good at leaning into discomfort. It shows up and I chase it further. Itās a bit of empowerment in that regard: similar to the Myth of Sisyphus . @strongmanvinny2 if youāre still out there, I still got Sisyphus to share.
I think itās more the feeling of ennui that I struggle with here. Since the hunger isnāt really a challenge, I wonder āwhere IS the challenge?ā When Iām building, the food I eat is so critical: I NEED that if Iām going to survive the training. But now, Iām too dialed in and everything is on cruise control. I need more chaos.
But thatās for the best: it should keep me from chasing the leanness dragon too far. If nothing else, itās why Iām excited to begin the āFeastā phase of the protocol. Eating more food I can honestly take or leave, and I feel like my āFeastā is going to be more akin to āApex Predator when youāre lean as sh*tā, to quote Jamie. TWO meals a day (gasp!). But knowing the food is going to be there to support harder training will be big. And Iām excited to be able to employ something cyclical with defined beginning and end stages.
I like how I added another layer of challenge here by keeping the 1 meal carnivore. Only seasoning has been salt: no keto sauce silliness. All animal products, and even ate with my hands as much as possible ala Jamieās recommendation. Just fun to experiment and explore.
What ISNāT carnivore is how much goddamn gum and sugar free riccolas Iām going through. Mouth is constantly dry and metallic/salty. Part of me is thinking about getting some keto sticks just to see if Iām officially in ketosis. If I am: these training sessions are even more absurd, to say nothing of all these 12s stacked against each other.
And in that THAT regard, Iām curious how to feel about my āRampagesā. I look forward to them, and I plan them, and I get a LITTLE worried about that, but I also enjoy them, and enjoying food is awesome. Since my wife will be out of town, Iām specifically looking for places my kid and I can go to that serve food that my wife doesnāt care for that my kid likes and using this as an opportunity to share with them. I think thatās good. And I look forward to loading up on carbs less so from a ācarbs are yummyā perspective and more from a āthis is going to set me up for another great week of training and eatingā. The weekly carb up has definitely seemed beneficial, and I have zero anxiety or guilt around it knowing that the rest of my nutrition is so dialed in. But f**k, food relationships are SO trickyā¦
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Iām sorry if I missed this, but is this a part of the program/diet protocol youāre on or a personal choice?
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Protocol. High caffeine use. Jamie actually advocates for other stimulants as well, but outside of green tea Iām not playing that game, haha. But I also seem to respond reverse to caffeine. I imagine I most likely have an undiagnosed hyperactive disorder in all honesty.
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AM WORKOUT (0505 natural wake up) Semi-fasted: 1 scoop of metabolic drive at 0115
65 rounds in 20 minutes of:
- 2 prisoner squats
- 2 push ups
- 2 chins
50 band pull aparts
Notes:
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Wanted to get in some push ups and squats with a conditioning twist this morning. Plan is to walk the dog with the kiddo later, so I can actually get some sunlight. Iām on my 7th and hopefully final 12 hour shift, so I should have a little more time to do that. I picked doubles because I felt like theyād keep my form honest: something Iāve once again stolen from Dan John. This is like a deconstructed burpee chin in that regard: you canāt just scream through it, but have to give each rep some diligence.
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300 air squats a day has really gotten me feeling loose and mobile again. Just a touch of brilliance from Jamie.
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My shoulders were screaming on this: most likely a byproduct of the 600 push ups from yesterday. Band pull aparts helped.
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This felt pretty tonic. Solid Sunday morning workout. I wanna get in something more of a barn burner later if I can, but that will also be contingent on if I can get in my rampage meal. Iām going to find A way to get in some carbs today, but the degree of nutritional debauchery is up in the air.
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Complete aside, but I want to pat myself on the back AND slap myself on the forehead at the same time for coming to the realization yesterday that, instead of packing protein bars to work, I could have just been bringing eggs this whole time. I kept looking for high protein/low carb snacks, and they were right there. This week of 12s, Iāve been packing 2 of them with my microwave egg cooker as part of my Healthy Solid Meal and itās been so simple, so now Iām planning on making them my mid-afternoon snack during this āFeastā period. But again: itās why I experiment. I learn so much.
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Got in my remaining 170 push ups and sit ups while bringing in groceries.
Got in āBow Your Head for Graceā
Then immediately put on the 40lb vest and went on a 2 mile walk with the kiddo and dog.
I got in all 2 mile walks and 300 push ups and 300 bodyweight squats a day on the Famine program for 2 weeks, and all walks were outside per instruction. I am pleased to say that.
Before grocery shopping and this workout and walk, I managed to get in my Rampage meal. Went to our favorite BBQ places and I tore it up vs my typical keto/carnivore approach.
Got their pulled pork nachos
Alongside an order of the most fantastic onion rings in the world.
The wife and I āsharedā the appetizers, which is to say I have about 3/4 of both and she had a reasonable amount. I also housed 3 chicken wings that looked like they came off a dinosaur
And finished off the wifeās baked beans too.
Sufficient carb loaded. Fasted for remainder of day. Will get in some metabolic drive before bed just to have some protein in the system. Cooked up chicken drumsticks and mahi mahi for meal prep, and also grabbed some lamb on the bone at Costco. Excited to give that a whirl.
I am exhausted. 6 12s in a row and 1 4 have done me in. My gym is set up for tomorrow, the Feast is on, I am ready to destroy.
On that note, before I forget
6 links per side. Need to remember for Anderson squats
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AM WORKOUT (0355 natural wake up): Semi-Fasted: 1 scoop of metabolic drive at 0040
PLAGUE OF STRENGTHāS āFEASTā ROUTINE Week 1, Day 1
Buffalo Bar Chain Suspended Anderson Squats (10 second hold at top of each rep)
2x432
11x2x465
Wide stance buffalo bar good mornings to straps
6x162
6x195
6x245
5 round circuit of: Max chins, 10-15 leg curls (first set 180, remaining sets 270lbs), hanging leg raises and 4x50 bodyweight calf raises
Time: 1hr 9min
200 push ups
300 bodyweight squats
BREAKFAST/DRIVE TO WORK
2 mile walk
Notes:
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Took full video but having a helluva time with the upload: will post when able.
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Definitely a departure and very interesting approach. Chain suspended was the right call on the squats, as they let me get into position better, but I have to watch myself for cheating on it. Itās too easy to ārollā into the set rather than break the weight dead off the chains, with the latter being MUCH more challenging. My right knee still aches: I imagine itās some sort of patellar tendonitis from Super Squats. A few of these sets would set off my right hip, but the squat frequency is dialed in right that I recover well enough. The heavy work didnāt tax my forearm/elbow at all, which was the biggest win, and these sets were exhausting. Holding at the top of the rep is a good challenge. Very first set I went soft belt under the power belt, and remaining sets after that was straight power belt. 465 was dialed in right. Breaking the weight off was TOUGH. I AM thinking about using bands next time to really make this just absolutely bonkers. It would take off a fair bit of bar weight, and breaking a dead weight against bands is always insane.
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I got the wide stance GMs at the right weight there at the end. Might have room to go a little heavier next time.
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The movements I did for the circuit were all RX movements, but the circuit itself was my own doing, to save time. Jamie has them laid out sequentially in his program. I did the leg curls to say I did them, but next time through Iām either doing GHRs or reverse hypers. My leg curl set up is too ghetto to really be super effective. Pausing and focusing on max cramp helped, but I feel like Iād get more doing a good GHR or reverse hyper vs a bad leg curl. Calf raises were challenging, but I have room to add some weight.
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Happy to have gotten so much of the daily requirements already knocked out. Those 300 squats after this workout were something else. In general, this workout really beat me down compared to the Famine ones, so I can see the difference. Iām also not full tilt Feast eating yet: still recovering from the Rampage, and wanting to ease myself in for this first week while I figure out poundage and loading. Making small changes, like an extra half scoop of Metabolic Drive with my traditional shakes, swapping a shake with actual solid food for some cases, etc. Dipped into my jar of Sunflower seed butter for a few nibbles. Iād like to keep up this Carnivore challenge Iāve set up for myself, but with my whole ā2 dietā approach, I like the idea of, if not carnivore, then keto, and then, above all: paleo. No fake foods.
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But on that āfake foodsā discussion, post Rampage and I am a roadmap of veins. The glycogen definitely topped off. Iām going to keep up the Apex Predator aspect through this feast, keeping carbs low and then blowing them out one day a week, because it seems to really be having some awesome effects. Go Indigo 3-G as well: I keep coming back from these meals jacked. My kid has already picked out a pizza buffet for Sunday, which will be after my wife runs a half marathon, so itās time to gear up for some big eating.
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Aw hell yeah Pwnion rings.
The nachos look good too.
The nachos were a treat for sure. Great delivery mechanism for pulled pork.
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Random Question To Pwn:
Do you think 99% of peoples problems regarding progression in the gym could be solved if they had more patience?
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I honestly donāt concern myself with 99% of people in the first place, and I spend so little time in gyms I have no idea whatās going on in them to be able to say.
Lack of patience and longview is absolutely a human issue in general though. People are poor planners and unable to appreciate the value of short term pain for long term gain. There are plenty of predators out there that will take advantage of that too.
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Video finally uploaded
Also got in a 30 minute weighted vest walk with the dog (40lb vest) and the rest of my push ups for the day.
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Taken me a while to catch up on things. Just saying hi, well done on the run with the misses and good to see that chaos still reigns supreme in here.
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Appreciate it Simo! Itās been absolutely nuts lately so I totally get it. Iām currently on my 8th work day in a row, scheduled for another 4, haha. But we get it done!
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Get it done is really all we can do. I find I am very good at getting things done but for me the danger is making sure those things donāt consume me. As I get older I am only just starting to understand the importance of balance and sharing my time with those that matter the most. You seem to have a good handle on this already which outs you years ahead of me. Then again, I never was that smart.
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