It sounds like you’re not a dad? It’s the only place I get some small amount of peace/space, even there I’m called on but at least there is a door, the bathroom is my sanctuary!
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@carlbm Kaz can definitely lay claim to the strongest man to ever live and have few detractors. Lord only knows what he woulda been like had he been born into this modern era. That trophy was for first place in Men’s lightweight.
@Koestrizer You remember correctly my dude. Sucks to hear you’re going through that. I’m hesitant to make any real recommendations because I honestly tackled the LDL issue like anything else I do: recklessly full tilt with no regard for consequences. I was already eating a very low carb diet, which some folks say is helpful for lowering LDL, so I ended up pretty much cutting out ALL the fat from my diet aside from like a spoonful of peanut butter once a day along with any trace fats that came along with the very lean meat and veggies I was eating. Went from eating beef practically every day to once a month, with the rest of my meat being fish and chicken or turkey, and of the latter I stuck with white meat vs dark. Went pure egg whites: no whole eggs at all. Zero cheeses, and the only dairy I consumed was fat free greek yogurt. And cheat meals were like once ever 6 weeks.
It got my LDL down in record time (when paired with a statin as well), but it gave me NEW issues to deal with that I finally feel I’m on the right side of. My doc’s recommendation was to “avoid saturated fats” and I don’t think he understood how good I was at dietary compliance, haha.
@alex_uk At this point, I’m getting more than enough alone time, haha. The time at work is getting annoying as well…
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Its is between him and Big Z for me. I think Magnus was great but I do not remember him being head and shoulders beyond the rest. Maybe Super Mario? He was beyond comprehension for a while. But even Shaw - great as he was (is?) falls short of the “best ever”. And there is no way you can include Eddie, or Thor. 1 title is not enough. And as great as the 500/501 dead lifts were when have you ever seen a max effort winning weight done for a double?
In the modern era I think he’d have be the world deadlift and log world record holder, with 505 and 225 being on the cards.
EDIT - well done for the trophy!
Choosing is very subjective. Big z is deff up there. He dominated for such a long time and many call him the strongest ever. Kaz was a beast in his day and would have many more titles if they let him compete or if the comp structure back then was the same as today.
Thanks mate!
I feel like this is a major over tone of this whole topic. “Eat no red meat, eat all of the read meat. No eggs ever, 12 eggs a day… and so on”.
Do you remember your LDL levels before and after?
I think a softer approach to this compared to yours is going to be the right choice for me. Less fatty meats, maybe less dairy. The doc today said to focus on whole grain foods, fruits, vegetables and fish and avoid fatty foods. All very basic.
What I’m not looking forward is eating MORE to make up for calorie rich foods tbh, haha.
@carlbm Thanks dude! For me, Kaz will always hold the record because he’s the ONLY one to be banned from competition for being too good, haha.
@Koestrizer My LDL to start with was 200 and after 3 months I got it down to 64. Offering my own perspective of how I’m doing things now, my focus is on QUALITY saturated fat sources (grassfed beef, organic eggs, grassfed butter, animal fats from animals fed their natural diets, wild caught fish, etc) and lots of plant based monounsatured fat sources. Avocados and nuts are my primary source, with some olive oil making it in as well. That way, I’m not trying to chase things down with a bunch of protein which, given the kidney thing, might also be a good call.
BUIDLING THE MONOLITH Week 4, Workout 5
AM WORKOUT (0440 wake up via dog, 0645 workout)
Buffalo Bar Squats
5xBar
5x140
5x230
5x315
5x360
5x405
Axle clean and strict press (clean each rep) 141
12x5
Weighted NG chins 87.5
5x5
Axle shrugs against light bands
65,20,15
Band pull aparts
50
Band face pulls
50
Buffalo bar squats
28x275
Dips
50
Pushdowns
25
Notes: Started with supersets of squats-press w/plate change rests, then chin-press. Then shrugs-pull-shrug-pull-shrug, then squats again, recover and dips/pressdowns. Once again, it was the need to puke that really drove the squats to complete: I’m wondering if I’m finally bypassing my muscular governor and tapping into others now. Another thing to overcome I suppose. It’s funny how when I first ran BtM this was the most dreaded day and now it’s the one I absolutely crush. The cleaning each rep remains a total money play: so glad I went for it. Cheat meal will be later today, so I’m keeping the fats low until I get there.
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LDL isn’t quite as high for me (I think 164 or something). Good call on the protein, I should maybe ease up a bit there but honestly I feel like it leaves me with only carbs to make up for it if I am also trying to watch my fat intake.
Your food choices sound very sensible but unfortunately also very expensive. Not in a “this is not worth spending the money on” kinda way but a legit “I can’t afford this” in my current situation. That might of course depend on cost of living etc. since we’re in two different parts of the world.
@Koestrizer It’s definitely pricier than the alternative here. Although I’m saving money by eating out a lot less, so it’s a bit of a wash. Nothing wrong with carbs for calories: LOTS of folks have gotten jacked and strong on high carbs and protein with lower fats. Ted Arcidi is a prime example of just that.
Forgot to log that I did 200 1-armed alternating KB swings fasted this morning and I just now got back from a 30 minute walk with the dogs while wearing my 80lb vest. Getting it in today.
Apologies for not seeing this sooner. A few months ago, there was an update to both the Biotest and T Nation forums that required all users to update their passwords. A bit of a hassle, but it was necessary for the behind the scenes stuff.
So, you will need to reset your password if you’d like to be able to login from other places. The forum is sensitive, though, so you’ll need to ensure that your username is typed correctly.
If somehow you do get locked out, feel free to email us at mods@biotest.net or service@biotest.net for assistance.
Hope this helps!
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Much appreciated. Unfortunately, even with my new password, I don’t seem able to log on. The e-mail verification thing works, but I keep getting the same error message with the password route.
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Ok @T3hPwnisher matey
To grow is to throw 2 sheets to the wind and go pure silverback rage on the workout front.
2/3 workouts a day
Minimal selection but laser focus
Instead of one long drawn out workout where intensity starts to flag.
Mini workouts where you go apeshit and push the exercises hard
Fuel up to the gunnels with food, recover then crack on
FOOD IS RECOVERY.
The aches you feel are signals from the iron gods telling you that the magic is working
Keep pushing on. Keep the fucking stone ball rolling.
The weight is only a reference point yet the effort is the instigator of gains
Who cares if you only have a 16kg KB
Turn it into a conditioning session and increase reps and make the muscles earn their nutrients
This is the direction we row our iron cast longboats towards
Saddle up people
Let’s get to work
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@ChongLordUno Summed up beautifully. You remain a poet.
AM WORKOUT (0440 wake up via dog) FASTED
Started off with this
Legit made it through 4 rounds before the timer beat me. I’m such a slow lifter that I’m just hemorrhaging time on those thrusters. I really like the skeleton of this dude, and might scale it to 5s to make it a bit more sustainable for me.
Since I already had the EMOM timer going, I just split it up from there. I would either do the thrusters OR the burpees and I’d slot in the pull ups on either side until I got my 50 for the day. Then I started working on dips and reverse hypers in place of the pull ups. Eventually took it to 19 rounds before I called it a day. This technically wasn’t even supposed to be THE workout for the day: just something I was doing in the morning to get my heart rate up. Once again, I have to fight my self-destructive instincts to just absolutely bury myself with this stuff.
Cheat meal at our favorite local Mexican place last night. Got a shrimp quesadilla. It was the richest thing I’d had in a LONG time: it was effectively smothered in a cheesesauce, and I even allowed myself some “real” sour cream with it. Had some chips and salsa too. Got a huge pump after this workout from all the carbs and sodium. The cheat meal really is magic: it’s a lesson I forgot a while back. However, I’m doing much better now with just enjoying the food and company. In the past, these were just epic binges where I was putting away as much food as possible in a short timespan. Now these are little dips back to humanity.
COMPLETELY unrelated to training, but I saw the Mortal Kombat movie yesterday IN a movie theater. I legit had the whole place to myself. It was nuts. I really dug the movie too. You know what you’re in for watching a Mortal Kombat movie, and it absolutely delivered. Also got me amped to be back in martial arts.
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Cheers mate.
You bring the words out of me
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Are 40 minute workouts really Optimal? Is training a muscle 2-3 per week more effective than once? Do rep ranges truly not matter?
Are all these science bros right?
@FlatsFarmer mate all I know is the harder I work, the better I feel and look 
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I was so happy they didn’t try to make it something it wasn’t supposed to be.
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@ChongLordUno More than happy to be your muse so long as I continue to hear your honeyed words.
@FlatsFarmer The bros ALWAYS turn out to be right.
@mr.v3lv3t 100%. It was totally on the nose and exactly what I wanted. One of the few movies I’d probably watch again.
BUILDING THE MONOLITH Week 4, Workout 6
PM WORKOUT (1430)
High handle prowler pushes w/90lbs loaded
14x40 yards w/45 seconds rest between sets
Notes: Was the hottest day we’d had in a while and I was talking myself through the whole workout, but I got it done and I’m glad I did. The prowler is just awesome that way. So glad I brought it back into the rotation. The short rests are nuts and, of course, I’m operating well outside of Jim’s recommendations on this, but I won’t tell if you don’t.
Working a 12 tomorrow with an early shift start. Plan is to start the day with a psycho crossfit WOD and all of my daily work and spend the 12 hours eating. I made turkey breast and ham fajitas for 3 meals, because I’m an affront to my own heritage. Got lots more packed away as well. This week is done, the light week is next, and the week after that is my final report card. If I’ve been doing things right, it’ll show. And if not, that’ll show too.
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You are no longer allowed to claim San Diego after this abomination
In fairness, anytime I didn’t put french fries in it was already me denying my heritage, haha.
AM WORKOUT (0305 natural wake up)
Started off with this
Got through 6 rounds and was about 14 thrusters into the 7th round when time ran out.
I don’t have the space to do over-the-bar burpees, so instead I would jump over the bar, then jump BACK of the bar and do a burpee. That REALLY sucked. Definitely an extra element of challenge compared to a traditional burpee. Also, I kept the chins strict until I finished the 5th round. At that point, I’d hit my 50 for the day, so I allowed myself some kipping to make it more WOD-y.
Transitioned immediately to EMOM daily work with 5 1 handed alternate KB swings buy in at the top of the minute. Took about 11 rounds.
From there, went to Tabata 1 handed alternate KB swings, with 2 handed swings during the 10 second rest.
In all, a very solid day of conditioning to start my 12. I pretty much had to cram a full day’s worth of training into this one instead of getting to do my mini workout through the day, so I made it count. Broke a solid sweat.
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Based on what I just read, this has to be an understatement.
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