@danteism Congratulations on making it through hopefully with more life experience and a positive outlook on your future!!! I’m looking forward to see what your getting into and how the adjustment goes for you.
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Thanks, much appreciated
I’ll be sure to keep the log up to date on anything significant that’s going on in my life
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I’m gonna diet
Yeah, that’s right. I’m the lightest I’ve been in like 3 years (around 93kg/205lbs) and I’m gonna go even lower. During military I lost a lot of muscle mass and gained some fat, so what I’m going to do is I’m gonna diet down to lose the fat (and maybe even gain some muscle back at the same time via muscle memory) and then go on and see just how drastic of a change can I make when beginning a bulk from a very low bodyfat combined with muscle memory.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but in the world of fat loss I’m not a marathon runner, I’m a sprinter. So, this diet is not going to last half a year or anything. I’m thinking a 10-week or so diet will do just fine with me. That means 10 weeks with really low calories (for me) and most likely no refeeds at all/ 1-2 refeeds at the most.
Starting macros for this diet are:
270p/180c/75f + vegetables and fish oil total of all of these comes to around 2800 (2450 with vegetables and fish oil excluded)
on off days I do not consume any of my peri-workout things but instead I drink a simple protein shake. That removes around 40g of protein and 50 grams of carbs from the day.
I’ll adjust the diet as my fat loss stalls as follows:
First adjustment:
Remove 100 calories worth of carbs
Calories: 2350/2700 (conted/total)
Second adjustment:
Switch to a leaner meat on meal 2
To clarify, meal 2 at the moment is just 200g of 90% lean ground beef and vegetables
That will be changed to 250g of 95% lean beef, and the macros will go from 40g protein/20g fat to 50g protein/10g fat for the meat. (the ground beef comes in 400g packets while the beef comes in 500g packets, and I just want two easy portions from a packet, thus the amount of meat increases)
Calories: 2300/2650
Third adjustment:
Remove another 100 calories of carbs
Calories: 2200/2550
Fourth adjustment:
Add semi-fasted morning cardio
With this, calories will actually increase by around 50, but the amount of calories burned will increase even more
Calories: 2250/2600
At this point the macros will be:
280p/130c/65f
I’m pretty sure I’ll be decently lean by then
If not, I’ll just continue chopping off 100 calories worth of carbs until I am
I’ll cut out caffeine for now, just to get my tolerance down and to save it for the darker times of no energy. Green tea will come with the semi-fasted cardio and coffee will come to play at some point.
Regarding training, the next month or so I’ll be doing the phase two of my program with a bit more hypertrophy work than planned, and then the next 5-6 weeks will be phase 3 with a bit more hypertrophy work as well. Then I may do that 1-2 week block of rows and behind the back deads (this is starting to look a bit unnecessary and counterproductive so I may skip it). The next thing will be to begin with bodybuilding stuff. (I’ll probably start when I have 2-3 weeks of diet left, that’ll serve as a metabolic boost as well) Now yes, dieting will absolutely affect my strenght gains to some degree, but I don’t really care. A good program should work even when the circumstances are not optimal, and at least until now my program has proven to work with really bad circumstances. So I’m confident I wont crash and fall.
So that’s that, my plans for the next 10-ish weeks. I’ll probably look like a holocaust survivor by the end, but I’m kinda curious to see if I can push my waist to 28 inches or so. If I remember correctly, my previous record was 29, so it may be possible. From there, I’ll begin building back up at a moderate pace (say, 3-5 pounds/month), I’m not gonna become fat as hell, but I don’t see the point of gaining 3 pounds a year either. The bulk will last for as long as possible, 1.5 years would be a pretty good estimate. (Remember, I do mini-cuts of 2 weeks every two or so months, so I’m not gonna get fat even on longer periods of bulking)
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Awesome man! That was a strenous time but you muscled through it all! Good that your home and can start making some serious gains and study as well.
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Thanks man, yeah, time to make some gains (and money), in autumn it’s time to start studying, hopefully.
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Welcome home Danteism!
You, my friend, are a madman.
I would die on this low amount of carbs! And than you wanna reduce them more later on. Madman! Haha good luck with the cut mate.
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I’ll join the chorus, welcome home. Well done.
Good luck with the cut, any before the cut pics?
Those mini cuts you’re normally doing every couple of months, is it some 500 or more calories down from maintenance for 2 weeks?
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Thanks guys!
Madness is my method 
I’m a person of extremes, I like them and they have proven to work for me (also I like to put myself trough absolute misery, which I’m pretty sure this diet will offer at some point)
I like to keep my privacy, and besides, at least at the moment my physique isn’t exactly marvelous
I like yo keep them a bit more agressive, as they last only about two weeks. I may go 750-1000 calories in deficit. If you want to try them I’d suggest not jumping right to the deep end. Start with 500-600 calorie deficit with your first mini-cut, then go for 700-800. If that doesn’t feel too bad/when you get used to it you could try 900-1000 calorie deficits, but those are not for everyone.
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I started working with my mother again
Some of you may remember that I mentioned training my mother like, a year ago. Well, as I went off to the army she stopped training and hasn’t been into the gym in 9 months. (I trained her for like, 4-5 months last year before military, apart from that she hasn’t really trained at all)
But we started again today with some testing
I wanted to get a good overall view of the situation at hand without using too much time to do so, so we did just five movements: (in the parentheses are her scores)
- Dumbbell overhead press (8x7kg/15.4lbs)
- Close grip bench (6x25kg/56lbs)
- Deadlift (5x60kg/132lbs)
- Bodyweight squat (50 reps - not all were prefect)
- Two handed kettlebell swing for time (28 seconds with 16kgs/35lbs)
Her morning weight was 88.5kg/195lbs at 5’5", 47 years old.
We’ll test all that of these again in one month (and she’ll weight herself again in one month) and then we’ll see if we are moving in the right direction.
Now before you scream that one month is not optimal and it’s too short of a time and she should weight herself every morning - there’s a reason for everything. She’s a beginner. She need motivation and testing every month instead of every three months will give her that and assure that she won’t drop out in between. Also, it’s a long enough time to see significant progress in bodyweight - if she weighted herself every day she wouldn’t necessarily feel that she was making fast enough progress and she’d start tinkering with her nutrition and training. That’s why we do both of those once a month.
Regarding training, it’s not gonna be optimal, really. She travels a lot so one week we may train five times and the other we’ll be lucky to get one session in. But such is life.
What we’ll focus on in training is the posterior chain. Because, let’s face it - in today’s society everyone has too weak and tight hamstrings, glutes and back muscles ) especially people who (like her) spend a lot of time sitting down. And for longevity and health the posterior chain is hand down the most important thing to train.
Posterior chain and work capacity. Those are the two thing we’ll focus on the most. After that will come getting her to be able to actually squat, and lastly will come pressing strength (with pressing we’ll prioritize overhead work)
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m really big on increasing work capacity, conditioning and recovery ability in addition to building muscle and strength. And I bring it with me when I train other people - my girlfriend is mad at me for coming back home because now her comfortable 2 - hour squat sessions that consiststed of maybe 8 sets have turned into 60 minutes in hell with 20 working sets. But for me it’s a huge factor. Being able to hit three AMRAPS and a total of eleven on Deadlift and Squat in half an hour without getting winded is just so cool. Being able to Sprint with a hundred pound sandbag for numerous times instead of dying after the first one is great.
Recovering not only from session to session but from set to set quickly is great too.
Back to subject, I’ll keep you updated on how my mother’s doing every time we test out, so expect a stronger and leaner mother with a shitload if more work capacity in a month or so.
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Today, after my squat/dead/squat session I felt like doing something a bit different for assistance.
What u did was basically high volume leg training with very limited rest periods.
I started off with leg curls doing sets of 15 with 30 seconds of rest between sets, going up 10kgs every set.
As I reached my top weight (well, actually the machine just ran out of plates) I started doing sets of 15 with 45 second rest between sets.
Got a total of 10 sets of 15 reps.
Then I moved onto beltless, narrow, deep back squats (did these with constant tension too, Jesus that hits the quads hard)
I did sets of 10 with 45 second rest between sets, going up 10kgs every set. When I reached the point of RPE 9 with one pause during the set (kinda vague, yeah) I stopped increasing weight. Then I used that weight for 5 sets of 10 with one minute between sets.
After that I dropped 25% of the weight and did another 5 sets of 10 with a minute between reps.
I finished thighs up with 75 walking lunges per side.
After all that I had the brilliant idea of doing calf raises DC style. After 4 reps I got stuck in the bottom (I may have overestimated myself there), oh well, dropped 25% of the weight and continued the set for another four reps and got stuck again. Did another drop and the final four reps. I’m telling you, nothing has ever made my calves cramp up and burn like that accidental drop set did. Holy christ it was horrible.
As a whole the session went like this:
Sets x reps (rest period)
- Leg curl
warm up with 15 rep sets, 30s rests, when you reach RPE 9 move onto working sets with that weight
10x15 (45s)
- Beltless squat (narrow and deep, constant tension)
warm up with sets of 10, 45s rests. constant tension. When you reach RPE 9 with one pause during the set move onto working sets with that weight.
5x10 (60s)
Drop 25%
5x10 (60s)
-
Walking lunges
75 reps per side -
Seated calf raise DC style
A) Be smart and choose a weight you can do for 12 reps with 15 second pause at stretch
B) Be like me and take a weight you can do for 4 reps, drop and do another 4, drop and do 4 once more
If you wanna increase your work capacity, something like this could be right up your alley. (Now you may not have to do squats and deads for 11 sets before this, I’m pretty sure this alone will challenge most of you)
When squatting, make sure your form is on point. If it starts to slip, drop the weight down by 25%. I don’t what to be responsible for crippling anybody.
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General life update (and how to improve mind - muscle connection… apparently)
It’s day 4 of the diet and I’m already 6lbs down - that’s mostly water weight though. I did start taking creatine again as I begun the diet so I probably would be a tad lighter without it, but again, it’s water weight, it doesn’t matter.
Getting back to work has gone pretty well; I’m working as a bouncer and I have a couple of paying clients on the side. I also have two job interviews coming, hopefully I nail them. I like working - or maybe I like the money - either way. Working two jobs and training people on the side wouldn’t be unrealistic for me, the only limiting thing would be wether or not my trainees could come at the hours that I’m not working another job.
I really do think that you should start working and making money as soon as possible. Even if it’s just a little bit. If you start at 14 and net 200 euros per month (that’s pretty much just mowing some lawns) you’ll get 2400€ per year. Just by doing that, you’ll be almost ten thousand euros ahead of someone who has never worked by the time you’re both 18. And that’s without accounting for the fact that your income will most likely increase and by the time you’re 18 someone probably has already hired you because of the work experience you have. (And because you probably applied for work with a mindset like that)
So yeah, if I can make any extra money, hell yes I’m doing it. I have about five months before schools begin (assuming I get in) making 10-15k in that time is nothing out of the world of reality with three jobs and little expenses.
Enough about money and work, let’s get back to the update;
I had forgotten how sore I get with proper deep squats. Jesus. My quads, glutes and calves (well that may not be from squatting) are killing me. Hamstrings, not so much. Luckily this feels like the kind of soreness that dissipates fast, it’s not that “deep” soreness to say.
I’ve always gotten really good development from the big 3 (didn’t bench too much but even it was pretty good in terms of feel) it’s just that I feel a lot more comfortable with the variations - front squat instead of back squat, close grip bench and virtually any other Deadlift variation. But I’ve been thinking of implementing the big 3 in my training again in some way.
It’s funny how there was a time that I would not drop traditional squats or Deadlifts from my program for any price. I tried to stop deadlifting once and in a matter of weeks I saw my traps shrinking and got right back to it - same with squats and quad development.
But back then I believe it was more a matter of not being able to target those muscles effectively with other movements. (I was like 16 at the time) later I’ve gotten a hell if a lot better with it, now I don’t really have muscles that I can’t get to fire no matter what. Yeah, some are harder that others, but I’m in a very good place compared to someone who, say, can’t get his biceps working. One thing that really helps is doing exercises that allow for peak contraction - say spider curls- and really squeezing the he’ll out if that muscle, doing enough reps and sets with light weight to actually feel it working and following those up with an exercise that allows for a good stretch, incline dumbbell curls would be an example here. After doing both of those, flex the biceps, do some curls with no weight (so basically just straighten your arm and flex the bicep as you bring it up again)
Another thing that helps is posing. Every time you see a mirror, hit a pose or just flex a muscle you want to improve on.
Sometimes improving mobility is a necessity for improving a muscle. If you have tight hamstrings, they sure as hell won’t be growing. Stretch them out with exercises such as RDLs (after real good warmup), stretch them with weights, stretch them with no weights - at the gym, at home, in the grocery store. Just get them loose.
So, that’s the accidental ramble of the day.
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hey man!
I’m currently writing up your program and the two current phases. I have some questions.
in phase 1 are you basing your estimated max for the next workout from the higher percentage Pr sets? so like only using one day of the weeks pr set? I’m confused lol.
1 Upper body push
4x3x75%, PR set with 75% (so 5 sets total)
2 Upper body pull
2x5x70%, PR set with 70% (3 sets total)
and phase 2 is just the 85%, not the other lift that’s 75%?
"
Using squat/dead as an example again:
(Sets x reps x %of estimated max)
Squat 2x3x80%, 2x2x85%, 2+x85% (PR set)
Dead 2x5x75%, 5+plus setx75%
Squat hard variation 2x5x70%,5+plus setstrong text****x70%
1-2 assistance exercises for 2x8 and 2x6 (increase weight when moving to the heavier sets)
On day 2 just reverse squats and deads"
the 5+ is a plus set and the 2+ is a pr set right? and theres one Pr set with two plus sets.
Sets x reps x % estimated max for exercises (in numerical order)
2x3x80, 2x2x85%, 2+x85%
2x5x75%, 5+x75%
2x5x70%, 5+x70%
2x8, 2x6 with an appropriate weight
This applies to all of the days
so you’re using the 85% set to base your estimated max for the next session?
front squat
2+x85% 13 reps with 315 =
315 + 0.03 ×13 × 315? then the next workout focusing on the deadlift the front squat 70 and 75% will be estimated of off the 85% workout? Then the next weeks session with 85% on the front squat, you base it off of last weeks estimated max from the 85% pr set?
btw I should be able to start the program soon, can’t wait! i’l be doing snatch grip deads, front squat, pullups and close grip bench. I wanted to do ohp but I’ve found I don’t respond well to heavier OHP work but sets of higher reps works better. i’ll do it for assistance.
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In phase one I calculated a new max off of both 75% and 70% PR sets, so it changed every time I trained. This yielded a very varying estimated max, which, for me, felt good
In phase 2 you calculate only off of 85%, yes
That’s correct
Yes, when you move from phase one to phase two you’ll most likely see a drop in your estimated max as you are using heavier weights and lower reps - the calculations become more accurate. Don’t be discouraged, you aren’t losing any strength.
Yes to both, but you are not doing front squats with both 75 and 70%, the 75% is for you second movement and 70% is for third. Remember dead/squat/dead or squat/dead/squat
Nice to hear that man! Your exercise selection looks good, remember to sleep and eat a lot as deadlifts if any kind require that when done frequently. Good thinking with the OHP, remember to do some rowing as an accessory as well.
At the moment I’m drooling over how good phase 3 is looking, but it’s not time for that just yet.
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i’m thinking chest supported rows for lots of reps, my lower back is going to be hammered from deadlifts twice a week. i still havent decided upon all my assitance but i’ll work that out soon. depends on what the gym i’ll be going to soon has. Of course i’ll be prioritising shoulder and back health.
yep, i’ll be able to sleep really well i think, not lifting weights has worsened my insomnia, on days i train mma i get a good nights sleep. training helps. i’ll also be eating a shittonne.
also i’m not looking forward to lower body days lol. phase 1& 2 look hard, 3 is going to be pretty tough!
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i’ve written out a question and answer sheet, using your tips and questions i’ve asked + stuff you’ve written, it’s like a guide. i’ve got it i think. also- i’ll be working with kg.
to workout a new estimated max, instead of pounds i just use kg, does that work?
100kg + 0.03 ×20 × 100kg? = 160 kg
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oh, and by the way i’ve figured out that it’s very good for someone whos had some time off lifting. (i’ll be doing a few weeks of practising form and whatever else to get accustomed back to lifting) and since my strength will come back relatively fast, basing the estimated max of the pr set (i’ll probably be getting lots of reps in the first few weeks) is good because it allows for the fast strength progression until it slows down a little.
.
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Chest supported rows would be perfect for this program
That’s good. I’d throw in a set or two of light hammer curls for elbow health as well, that can be done as an extra, so no need to waste an assistance movement slot on it
Believe me, you’ll be sleeping like a log. Eating a lot is vital here too.
On lower body days you’ll have those moments when you just don’t want to do another three sets of squats after squatting and deadlifting already. You’ll have those moments when you can only get one rep after subconsciously telling yourself that you’re too tired. Those are the moments that really test you. There you’ll see just how tough you are.
Also, for the hard variation work, don’t get too caught up on percentages - you can run it with linear progression as well. I tried it for a while and it worked really well.
(So if you did 2x5 and 8 with 60kgs last time, this time you’ll do 2x5 and an amrap with 62.5kg)
That’s a good idea; my log is not exactly organized so finding answers may be tricky
Yeah, it works, you get the exact same weights working with kgs. I work with kgs myself as well, I just prefer to speak of pounds for some reason.
Indeed it is. The program is self regulating, so it’ll always adapt to what you are capable of. But that also means that if you get lazy, you won’t progress - you’ve got to push it.
If any more questions come to your mind feel free to ask, I’ll be glad to help. And of course I’ll closely be following your training log to see what’s happening in there.
Edit: one more thing I probably forgot. There are no fixed rest periods in phases 1 and 2, but realize that you don’t need a lot of time between sets of 3 with 75% (most of the time) so you can do them in bit of a faster succession. Now I don’t want you to miss reps, so rest as long as you need. But as soon as you feel like you’re ready to go, attack the weight. Before PR/Plus sets I’d take a bit longer break so I’m properly replenished, but not too long to avoid losing the feeling for the movement.
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Sweet!
Thx I’ll pop those in.
Sounds like 2 of my favourite hobbies besides girls and lifting lol.
Yep. Its gonna be hell
Go in, pick a weight and hanmer it with the hard variation and linear progress it. Sounds good to me!
I bookmark alot of posts on T-Nation for later. Every time i see something informational or inspiring i bookmark it for future reference.
Thanks man! I’m sure I’ll have a few questions down the track. I do have a question regarding Snatch grip deadlifts though.
Can you help me out with some form tips/cues and how to snatch grip deadlift? i’ve been watching some videos but deadlift variations are alot harder for meto get downpact than a front squat or something.
Didn’t think there was a set time. Thanks for the tips! I won’t be resting that long but long enough. I’ll have about 1:30hrs at the gym so that should be plenty.
Oh and another question, I have MMA twice a week. I should be fine as long as I’m eating enough i think?
I have it on tuesdays and Thursdays. I"ll be lifting from 3:30ish to 5 and then MMA at 6. Dinner is at 5:30.
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I can give you the unorthodox way of SGDL that I use (@Destrength) would probably kill me, and be a lot better at this)
But here we go
-
Grab the bar with a grip so wide that on the top position the bar is just above your junk
-
Have your feet a bit wider than you do on conventional deads - I like to have my shins at the point where the smooth transitions into knurling (now bars vary a bit so don’t get too caught up on this)
-
Point your toes outwards a tad more than on conventional deads and make your knees follow. Pushing your knees out will make it easier to keep the bar close to yourself and the bar won’t go forward at your knees
-
Take a deep breath, get you spine right and brace
-
Get yoyr hips low and get tight - I like to pull so that my knees are actually touching my arms in the bottom position. If you can’t do that, try a slightly narrower grip, a wider stance, pointing your toes and knees out more or a combination of those.
-
Simultaneously push your upper back up and back (think of someone having his hands on your upper back and trying to push you down and forward - overcome that) and push away from the floor with your feet.
-
Congrats, now you are at the top, now just lower the bar back to the floor.
Don’t go crazy with the point out your toes and get your hips low clues, remember that this is a deadlift, not a haunted house or a deep squat.
But that’s how I do my snatch grip pulls and they feel great for me. If something was unclear (I’m pretty sure something in there is, given my exercise-explanation skill) ask away
Should be enough, I’m usually done in 45-60 minutes, or even 30 if I’m really in a hurry
I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine - I did this while running and fighting in full gear for hours every day with great success, so a couple of hours of MMA is not gonna break you
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So i should be aiming for knees touching arms in bottom position, and if not just widen up stance and narrow grip?
Do your shins have contact with the bar like in a conventional deadlift?
Thanks man! I’ll also probably take a few videos so you and others can take a look.
Why did i even ask haha