Weight down to 196. Diet still excellent (even with the pumpkin cake “splurge”), averaging roughly 1600 to 1800 calories per day (with 200 calories in my unsweetened chocolate almond milk, whey protein isolate PWO shake). Once I finish all the pumpkin cake, I envision a homemade, low-carb Black Forest cake as my next “indulgence.”
Tonight’s final set of bench on 5/3/1 was 270 x 6, which roughly equates to a 1RM of 318. Nice. Did weighted dips as well and got 6 reps of +90 on my last set. On my back/bi “off” days (i.e. non-5/3/1 focused lifting days), I started adding weighted pullups to help get my pullup reps up if I am competing in the TSC in May. Will also help with the monkey bars, rings and rope climb at the Tough Mudder later this year. Also considering a raw powerlifting competition in early June, late July, and/or mid-November. Getting down to 181 would be a goal for any PL comp.
Cardio still lacking in volume and intensity, but I am making the modest effort to at least walk on the treadmill after each workout. Obviously this will need to be ramped up in advance of the annual sprint triathlon I do in July and the Tough Mudder in October.
Given that I will be insanely busy at work for the next month, I hope that I can at least stay the course of my training and diet.
Tonight’s final set of squat: 300x5. Final set of deadlift: 325x5. The NSCA 1RM calculator puts my estimated maxes at 345 on squat and 373.75 on deadlift. Combined with my 1RM max on bench above (318), my estimated PL total is 1036.75. That’s 1.75 pounds more than my best PL comp total.
On to my deload week, which coincides nicely with getting crushed at work.
Somehow I managed to mess up my shoulder doing pullups last night. Very frustrating. Hoping I simply pulled/sprained something as there are no popping sounds and there is no visible swelling or bruising. The wise thing to do will be to rest the shoulder and throw a cardio week in before my deload. And no pullups for a while.
Diet on track. Weight down to 193.5 (from 230). Injured shoulder feels weak, but no pain. Able to do my deload chest and leg work without much concern. I will be skipping my “pull” day and give my shoulder a few days rest before I start up my latest 5/3/1 cycle. Try to use my gym time to increase my cardio.
Clearly not getting enough sleep, but something must be sacrificed and I am trying to keep up the gym while my work schedule is so crazy. 2 hours Thursday into Friday, 4 hours last night. Hope to et a full night’s sleep tonight.
Well, no workout yesterday due to family committments in the morning and working from noon to midnight. Hoping to get a run in this morning. Had I been able to do the Arnold 5K Pump and Run this morning, my rep weight would be 190 and I would hopefully get ~25 reps. Probably run the 5K in about 29 minutes.
Passed on the run yesterday in lieu of cleaning the house.
Not one to heed my own advice, I passed on a straight cardio week and instead jumped right into my 4th cycle of 5/3/1. Last set on bench I got 250x10. Not bad at 193. Left arm still hurting from last week but my strength was not compromised. Now, rather than going to bed, I am headed back to work (sadly, the 9 hours earlier today was insufficient).
Also while waiting for the wife to run errands, I made a low carb chocolate cake that I modeled on the Shugart Velocity Diet recipe (with almond flour, coconut flour, Splenda, eggs, butter. other cake stuff). Smells fantastic. Can’t wait to eat it in carefully measures, early morning portions.
Last night weighed in at 190.5 (down from 193.5 last week). Diet has been consistent and I actually ate more food yesterday than normal. Go figure. Last 5/3/1 on bench last night was 265x7. My guess is that I could hit 315 now with a strict pause, but I am hestitant to go for max effort due to the nagging pain in my left shoulder.
Cardio still on the back burner, although I am trying to get at least 20 minutes with each workout (however low intensity).
Chocolate almond coconut cake came out a bit dry, but still an awesome “indulgence.”
So busy at work, I have not had time to get to the gym since last Saturday and won’t get there until this upcoming Thursday at the earliest. Which is fine, since my shoulder seems a lot better with rest. Diet still great and weight down to 189.5. That’s a 40 pound weight loss since just after Thanksgiving. People are already saying that I look great, but I am not satisfied yet. My wife said I should be happy with my progress but that I should not expect to get back into the shape I was in when I was 28 (and last had abs). I plan on proving her wrong.
Good news: since my last update, I managed to take off enough time from lifting to allow my shoulder to fully recover. Huzzah!
Bad news: during that span, my diet went to heck and I blew up to about 205. Ouch.
Good news: since April 15, I have been back on track, resumed my 5/3/1 at or near the levels at which I left off and find myself back in the groove diet-wise with my weight back down to 191 or so.
Bad news: I am still very busy at work and at home such that my average sleep time is approximately 5.5 hours a night. Thank heavens for my nighttime,pre-workout caffeine, otherwise I would fall asleep while reading bedtime stories to the kids each night.
Good news: I have increased my caloric intake from approximately 1500-1600 to 2100-2200 per day, which has allowed me to really step up my cardio while still seeing downward movement on the scale. Tonight for example, in ramping up my training for the annual summer cavalcade of competitions, I was able to do 30 minutes on a upright stationary bike, 25 minutes walking on a treadmill plus 20 minutes jogging.
Bad news: I have yet to get to the pool to start training for the swim portion of my sprint triathlon and the pool hours have been reduced to to budget constraints, which will only complicate my efforts on that front.
Good news: blood work and all other tests from my routine annual physical came back normal on all accounts.
Until next time…
Current cycle of 5/3/1 maxes set at 325 on bench, 175 on military press, 340 on squat and 400 on deads. Diet has been excellent and weight is down to 190.5. Ran untimed three miles post-5/3/1 leg work out tonight. Next competition is a pump and run on July 1. As I am within the 30-39 demographic, this race reduces my rep weight to 90% of bodyweight. Hence, if I weigh 186 at the weigh-in, I will only have to rep 165. If I cannot get 30 reps at 50% of my estimated bench max, I will be chagrined.
Weight down to 188.5. Diet still great. Hoping to get to the gym at least twice over the holiday weekend to stave off any temptation to break training. Starting to do some bricks for the Triathlon in July. Cardio training has progressed nicely. Consistency in diet and training = results. Possibly getting an open water swim in this weekend as well.