Thanks man, I’ll cut my hours back a bit, probably from the bouncing gigs. Taking days off from work is something I don’t like doing, as I don’t really have anything to do during my free time apart from training. You know, just lounging around feels odd to me.
Designing a plan for someone and designing software has some similarities, I’d argue, but then I’ve always been pretty steadfast in my belief that software has a more art-like quality to it than formulaic engineering than what is often attributed to it. It would be pretty interesting to try to approach both activities with the same kind of strategy and see how well it pans out.
I think one difference is that there are some cookie-cutter aspects that will apply to a significant chunk of trainees, there is just no facsimile with programming - it always demands a thorough analysis of the requirements/goals. But, as with training there are several different ways to get from point A to point B - and some are obviously superior.
Computers alone are a pretty broad subject, I know more than my fair share about them but the machine itself is of very little interest in my line of work - it’s just a means to an end.
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Do you still game anything at all?
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I’d have to say the same about programming training after a certain point as well, although the majority of training programming can, and should, be done in a more “mechanical” sense, so to speak
I’ve seen a couple of lines of code from what my girlfriend has been doing, and basing my opinion on that I’d have to say that it could work to a degree
That’s true. Individualized programming is usually better, but in reality it’s needed less than people think
Agreed
Sometimes I do, mostly single-player stuff. (Although I’ve been playing Destiny 2 for a bit lately)
She’s in tech?
Not in the mood to game a little then during your day off?
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No, she’s creating a game during her free time
That’s what I usually end up doing, it’s just the lack of productivity that makes me uncomfortable
Neat, that’s fun. Maybe try that then, i.e., creating something. I understand where you are coming from, with the productivity issue - I used to be the same way, but I’ve found that I cannot optimize every single moment of my life for productivity as that is just a sure-fire way of burning out. Not everyone will, of course. Lounging is an acquired skill, but if you don’t want it then I hope you can find something else to fill the void for when you cannot train and you cannot work.
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Training log:
Volume deload; Chest/Biceps/Calves/Abs
-
Low incline bench
4(+2 forced reps) x107.5kgs
6(+3 forced reps)x100kgs
Zigzagdropset:
3x107.5kgs
6x77.5kgs
3x97.5kgs
5(+1 forced rep) x77.5kgs -
Bench:
2x125kgs
8x112.5kgs -
Cable fly;
One set to failure with 20kgs on each one:
Low to high
In the middle
High to low
Chest stretch
4a Alternating bicep curls
20,12x17.5kgs
4b Alternating hammer curls
8,6x20kgs
- Incline bicep curl
20x12.5kgs
Bicep stretch
6a Smith machine calf raise
2x15x90kgs
6b Lat pulldown crunch
2x15x80kgs
Notes:
I didn’t intend on doing so many sets on incline bench, but the flat bench was in use and I didn’t want to waste time sitting around.
As a side note, I absolutely love zigzagdropsets.
Now you may wonder, how come a week ago I did 11x100 and this week only 4x107.5?
Last week I went before work (or was it a day off?, whatever) so I was fresh. This week I went after work.
Last week’s top set was just moving weight, this week I went with a bodybuilding style for all sets. Usually I don’t do that; I keep the technique identical from week to week, because otherwise it would be really hard to track progress. However, the volume deload is just about stimulating the muscle a lot with low volume, so in my mind it doesn’t matter so much.
On bench I don’t know what happened. 125 wasn’t heavy per se, I just kind of shut down after rep two. Odd, I have to say. It probably has to do with my back being sore as hell, as this has happened once before in a similar situation.
Bicep tendons weren’t happy about curling today, luckily they’ll get to rest for a while now.
Overall it wasn’t a bad session, even though it could’ve been better.
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Any advice for how to come off a diet (this is for later reference - I’m still in it)? I reckon coming off a diet would be very anabolic with the influx of a surplus of calories, so it’s not the time for a deload. But would you just smack on another 1.5k calories on top of where you are at or would it be better to say, after the last day of your diet, have a full on cheat (refeed, carbs+fats) day, and then eat slightly above what you were, say 500 calories a day, and then add calories back on whenever scale weight stops moving up? Maybe aim for 250-500g weight-gain per week?
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Rather than focusing on how much muscle you can gain when coming off of a diet, I’d focus on not gaining fat. If you come out too quick and put on, say, five kilos of fat you’re not only undoing weeks worth of work but also at a risk of raising your bf setpoint
If you want to have a cheat meal/half a day/day at the end of your diet you can have it, but after that you want to get back on the deficit and lose the weight you gained from cheating.
What I’d do is to add 300 or so calories to your daily intake and eat that way for a week. If weight is not moving or it’s going down, add another 100 Calories. You want to repeat this until your weight starts slowly rising. At that point you can either stop if the pace is to your liking it you can make smaller jumps. As per weight gain rate, 200-300 grams per week is a pretty good place to be in.
I came off of my diet too quickly but luckily I got it under control. It’s far better to do it slower so you don’t have to fix the mess afterwards.
Yeah I had like a two week break that ended up being quite alright but way too aggressive which is why I ask. Thanks for the reply, wouldn’t have figured to take such moderate steps myself.
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Training log:
Volume deload;
Hams, quads, glutes
-
Seated leg curl (full reps + partials)
10+10xStack+10kgs
10s rest
8+8xStack+10kgs
10s rest
6+6xStack+10kgs
10s rest
4+4xStack+10kgs
10s rest
2+2xStack+10kgs
10 full reps w/Stack -
High bar squat (deep, beltless) zigzagdropset
3x160kgs
6x130kgs
3x145kgs
6x115kgs -
RFESS
15,10x25kgs -
Band pullthrough
1 set to failure with heaviest band around
Notes:
A great workout.
Last week was a quad-heavy session so this week I went with a bit more hamstrings.
I have not done regular back squats in 2.5 months (after I hurt my back) and I haven’t done any free squats a bit over two weeks.
Before I hurt my back I hit 155kgs for a single if I remember correctly, so hitting 160kgs for a triple today was a bit surprising really. To clarify; this wasn’t a pure quad squat. I did position myself in a way that ensures quad activation but I didn’t really put extra effort towards moving it with my quads. But yeah, this was pretty cool.
On RFESS I held the weight in one hand and held onto a bar with the other to keep my balance. This is probably the second time ever for me to do this movement, but I did manage to get a massive hamstring pump from it.
Finished with some pullthroughs
Only two sessions of volume deload remain. I’m actually looking forward to starting my mini cut, feeling quite bloated at the moment.
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I’ve been reading your log since your first post in the past days and I’m trying to catch up. You’ve written very interesting stuff and much of your work has inspired me and made me want to work harder. So first thank you for this content!
I have a question for you. What’s the best way, in your opinion, to increase work capacity and cardiovascular fitness?
I’m 18 and have been training for two and a half years (check out my log if you feel like it, I will update it with my last three training weeks later today), and I have never really done any cardio. I have been training full body for a couple of months and while I enjoy that style, I find myself smoked and trying to catch my breath mid session even with a workout consisting of 15-20 total work sets. Granted, they are all very hard sets and I’m really pushing myself, but I feel like my cardio capacity might be limiting me. Sometimes I vaguely feel like puking.
I’ll start doing some light cardio next week, but aside from that, how does one work on increasing their work capacity?
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I’m guessing the beauty of this when coming off a low carb diet lies in that by adding in calories so modestly, the weight will still move, as carbs hold water and hardly any of the initial weight gains will be fat returning?
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And thank you for being here! Nice to have you aboard
Increasing work capacity is a long term process. Part of it is genetic, part of it is gained by being active as a child, but neither of those are something we can do anything about. Luckily you can increase work capacity even in adulthood.
There are several things you could do.
First of all, you can start decreasing your rest periods. You don’t necessarily have to time them; just make a conscious effort to begin the next set a but earlier than you usually would. (But not so early that you lose performance)
Second thing you can do is to pair exercises. I’ve done this for as long as I can remember. If you have two exercises that work the antagonistic muscle groups (think OHP and pull up) do their sets in an alternating fashion. No supersets, but alternating sets. This way you’re getting in a lot more volume in practically the same amount of time.
Third thing would be adding volume. If you’re doing 15-20 sets now, try bumping it up to 17-22 and when you start to feel comfortable repeat the process.
You see a trend here; more work, less rest. Increased training density will eventually lead to improved work capacity.
Now you can do more work on a weekly level as well instead of on a daily level. (And I think you should shift your attention to weekly volume as you begin to reach the point where adding volume to sessions is just plain counterproductive) So when you reach a point where you can’t do more volume in a single session just add a session to your week. By doing this you’ll also improve your recovery ability from session to session.
With all this you must remember the importance of deload weeks, you cannot just add sets and sessions week after week without ever taking a break and dialing back. If you get to a point where you’re doing 30 sets 3 times a week before your deload, don’t jump straight back into it. Instead, have a week with, say 25 sets, then a week with 30 sets and then go on with adding volume.
Now apart from straight lifting, conditioning work can benefit you. I’ve never been a huge fan of steady state cardio excluding walking, so what I’ve done to improve my work capacity has been metabolic work and HIIT sessions. For metabolic work you may want to check out Scott Abel’s stuff (especially quad blasts, those things will kill you). For HIIT, sprints are always good, be it uphill, regular, with a sandbag or even with a rowing ergometer. With sprints, start low (think 15s hard and 45s light) and work your way up by increasing the amount of hard work and decreasing the amount of light work. Also different types of carries are pretty good.
With HIIT and metabolic work you must keep in mind that they are pretty intense on your nervous system, so don’t overdo it.
That’s the stuff from the top of my head, probably missed something.
But in short; thing you can do to increase work capacity
- Reducing rest periods
- Alternating sets
- Increasing in-session volume from week to week
- Adding sessions
- Metabolic work, HIIT and carries
I’ll check your log out tomorrow, it’s already past midnight here so I’ll be sleeping soon
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Yeah, you’ll gain some water weight back initially. The amount depends on how much muscle mass you have, as more muscle can hold more glycogen and in turn bind more water. So don’t panic if your weight rises 2-3 kilos as you come off of the diet. Your weight should stabilize as you fill out
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Yeah I was thinking that it would be hard to only gain 200-300g a week on the first week. Hope you are well mate!
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Athlete Lean, Athlete Strong improved my work capacity incredibly. Totally gassed the first week, able to recover my breathing from an all out set in 30 seconds by the last week. 4 week program.
Training log:
Volume deload;
Delts/Triceps:
1 Seated DB Press dropset+rp
7x35kgs
7+4+4x25kgs (10 breaths)
2a Mechanical dropset; back supported laterals, regular side laterals, side delta burns
2x50 total reps with 12kgs
2b Cable front raise
2xFx15kgs
3a Cable tricep extensions
20+5+5x60kgs (10 breaths)
Stripset from 50-20kgs
3b Lying skullcrusher
12,10x30kgs
4 CG Board press
10x115kgs
Delt&tricep stretches
Notes:
Second to last deload session. Forgot to take my salt before lifting, definitely felt the effect. (Usualti take about 10 grams before I lift and have 8-10g more in my intra, today I only had the intra-workout salt).
Decided to start off with seated DB press, inspired by @anon96032531. For anyone wondering, with DB movements I always write down the weight of a single DB, not the total weight. I haven’t clarified that really ever so I felt it would be necessary.
After that I moved to some lateral movements, which felt pretty good.
Then a tricep superset and after that I finished off with board press.
Overall, a decent session, although the performance and pump could’ve been better with salt.
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Which type of salt are you taking if you don’t mind me asking?
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