Alrighty, Iām halfway through my hypertrophy training block. It is going much better than I could have anticipated, and Iām learning a lot through the process. Thing Iām the biggest fan of is how much my eating has returned to ānormalā for me, while the QUALITY of what Iām eating has improved. Mrs has frequently commented on how much better Iām looking, and my head is in a much better place. Iām not having craving meltdowns, my aggression has returned, far less robotic, etc etc. My appetite has turned to full on voracious and my metabolism is like a blast furnace.
The next step is Deep Water, and the past time I ran this all of the above happened and then some. However, I was eating quite a bit dirtier then. I did not read the book as closely as I thought, as Jon (well, Jasha, but still) talked about the importance of QUALITY nutrition (organic, free range, etc) and meanwhile I was putting away 2 double quarter pounders at McDonalds with no bun going āmeat and no carbs=Deep Waterā. Iām going to do what I can to make sure Iām sticking with the plan here and eating quality.
Iām making conscious efforts to eliminate junk/treats when better choices are available. I went from a 4 a day quest bar habit to now only ever having 1 when Iām on shift. Iāve taken to replacing it with Ahi Tuna packets from Costco. Itās a similar premise: if I have a chance to eat some unprocessed meat, nuts or veggies, itās what Iām going to go for. The idea is that I CAN have those treats, but they should be āmoments of weaknessā as Jon calls them, rather than something scheduled.
I intend to keep my weekly cheat meal, as that has been good for me in all regards. Learning how to make it a cheat meal and not a BINGE meal has been a big part of growing.
As far as the training goes, I canāt do the same thing twice. Iām going to keep the majority of the core Deep Water, but Iām going to keep up the daily work and ideally keep up the daily conditioning. I think it should have a tonic/restorative effect, which will help recover from the insane workouts. I MAY keep Jonās prescribed ab work, but I honestly found it less effective than the ab wheel, so I will definitely keep that. Ideally, I want to keep taking all the overhead work from the floor. I most likely wonāt clean each rep, but Iād still like to take the first rep that way. Barbell lunges may become dumbbell due to space constraints.
I also want to keep those Juarez Valley workouts in. Iāve become a squatting machine: itās so weird for me, and I attribute that workout and the belt squats as primary contributors. I know Iām going to lose some top-end strength while I spend so much time at low percentages, but I think itās just what the doctor ordered after BtM, because the latter beat the hell out of me.
Iām not going to test 1rms to get percentage for those. Iām going to steal from how BBB Beefcake ended, as I was hitting those 5x10s with 2 minutes rest between sets, which leads me to believe I can get something near them for 10x10 with 4 minutes rest between sets to start with.
I have to pick a new t-shirt to wear on squat days under the understanding that, when this is all done, Iāll have to burn it because it will smell horrible from all the fear sweat. Iām excited to obsess about my training and nutrition again like this.
ALL THAT SAID, my schedule is going to be insane these next few months, and Iām gonna have to make it work. Biggest x-factor in my travel is that Iāll be traveling to locations with higher elevations (to include Denver at one point), which is going to make things SUUUCK. I feel like I actually just get more sore at higher elevation: not sure if there is any science to that.
Iām gonna need to get creative with my food as well. My appetite is nuts: as Iāve mentioned before, I eat breakfast with my kid at around 0610, and by the time I get in the truck to drop them off at school at around 0640 Iām commenting on how hungry I am. Thatās after eating 2 whole eggs, 1 egg white, 2.25oz of beef, half an avocado, grassfed butter, fat free cheese all as part of an egg wrap breakfast burrito with some grassfed sour cream, 2 celery stalks with nuts n more and a slice of toast with some sort of nut butter. At the moment, Iām thinking of adding another slice of toast, or just tossing some nut butters onto that breakfast burrito Iāve whipped up. There are more avenues for greater food intake, sure, but Iām tired of being hungry WHILE I train.
I tried drinking something while I trained the other day. It still sucks and I hate it, so as much as thatās an avenue to get in some nutrition, I just donāt see it happening.
Deep Water: weāre getting after it.
