The Grind...

Training Over 35 Lifter
301

My training log for last week:

Blah, blah, deload, blah.

I needed it. I did it. I am also transitioning from my big eating diet to the crazy cutting diet, enjoying a week where I just eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full. What a concept! Of course this past weekend at my parents was a sugar-soaked orgy slathered in chocolate.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!?!?!?

I cannot control candy once i get started. It’s ridiculous. And my body feels like total shit afterwards. Sugar poisoning I tell you, it messes with your GI tract, it makes you sluggish, it coats your teeth, I just feel like warm poo. I’m actually looking forward to starting the diet on Weds to get this crap out of my system.

Ah well. Reboot.

eco - My priorities for the iron game are (in order); lean, big, strong, healthy. I just don’t like jiggling when I walk. I tolerate it in the short term as a necessary detour to get where I want. I know it means I will likely never get HYOOOOOGE because of it, but it’s the choice I’ve made.

Dude - Wow, thanks for that. Yeah, PRs geek me out big time. I used to tell myself I didn’t care about being strong, just big. Then I did 531 and pulled some lifetime bests and I was hooked.

Bickle - Truly, the journey. See above. I’m forcibly enduring this fatness nonsense just so as I can gain some more muscles (feeble as they may be) then get all ripped up and stay that way. The problem is, every time I go and get lean again, I still feel like I need more mass. ARGH!

Brett - You’re aboslutely right. The hard part on the family is the last 4-6 weeks of the diet when you are so bone crushingly tired that you just fon’t have the energy to play with your kids any more. And then you get SO caught up in all the intricacies of peaking and final prep that it becomes the only thing you think about. A buddy of mine who competes called it “present but uninvolved”. It makes perfect sense at the time, but then afterwards just seems incredibly selfish.

Elai, Matty, and Cav - Thanks. On some level this will be one of my few regrets, that I pursued something for so long but never tested myself. Ah well. I can think of much worse things to regret.

302

[quote]MattyXL wrote:
Dude, you are waaaay too hard on yourself.[/quote]

x4.

you are damn well built.
if you don’t believe us, ask the misses…
I’m sure she can convince you.

303

[quote]Null wrote:

[quote]MattyXL wrote:
Dude, you are waaaay too hard on yourself.[/quote]

x4.

you are damn well built.
if you don’t believe us, ask the misses…
I’m sure she can convince you.[/quote]

This…

304

[quote]Canada_K wrote:

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!?!?!?
…

Dude - Wow, thanks for that. Yeah, PRs geek me out big time. I used to tell myself I didn’t care about being strong, just big. Then I did 531 and pulled some lifetime bests and I was hooked.

…

Bickle - Truly, the journey. See above. I’m forcibly enduring this fatness nonsense just so as I can gain some more muscles (feeble as they may be) then get all ripped up and stay that way. The problem is, every time I go and get lean again, I still feel like I need more mass. ARGH!
…

Elai, Matty, and Cav - Thanks. On some level this will be one of my few regrets, that I pursued something for so long but never tested myself. Ah well. I can think of much worse things to regret.[/quote]

Nothing, carbs do the same thing to me, both the cravings and the aftermath…

If you want more mass, you’ll build it. There are other ways then bulk/cut cycles. If those don’t suit you.

You have tested yourself, maybe not up on a stage, but everyday, against yourself… Done damn fine too. I admire your discipline.

305

Dude, you know whats wrong with you? you are looking forward to dieting on Wednesday…thats fucking crazy!

306

This was a buddy’s FB status yesterday. I think it’s applicable.

“It is not how you compare to others that is important, but rather how you compare to who you were yesterday. If you’ve advanced even one step, then you’ve achieved something great.”

Good luck tomorrow. :slight_smile:

307

At the end of the day, your diet isn’t a sprint it’s a marathon. If you eat bad, you eat bad. Doesn’t mean its a habit, just a lapse.

308

I thought I’d find you over here…

I’m moderately disappointed you’re not competing next May. While you can whine about how hard it is on the family, you and I both know it’s still on the bucket list. Nice work on the bench a couple of weeks ago. Maybe not a PR, but very solid. That said, I’m not too surprised you’re done bulking. It’s been, what, 6 months since you last dieted? Now that we’re talking about this in public, want to put a little side wager on this diet for July 9? I’m sure you’ll get some support for a little bet around here…

309

[quote]Canada_K wrote:
I’m actually looking forward to starting the diet on Weds to get this crap out of my system.
[/quote]

What odds do I have that Kent goes on a chocolate binge at 11:30 tonight?

310

Make that 11:30 this morning. Done.

311

I don’t give you enough credit. You’re such an overachiever.

312

Tomorrow I start the diet. In a lot of ways it’s a relief. I look forward to fitting back into my regular pants, to not jiggling when I go over bumps with the car, to not having my gut hang over my pants when I sit down, and women having spontaneous orgasms when I walk into the room. Okay maybe that last one was just wishful thinking.

JUST THE FACTS MA’AM

Monday
1-arm db snatch - 5x50, 5x65, 3x75, 3x75 (I f##kin’ LOVE these)
Overhead rear lunge - 6x95, 6x95
Rom deadlift - 10x135, 5x225, 10x185, 5x245, 10x185, 5x245
Glute-ham raises - 3, 3, 3
A) Side deadlift - 10x80 per side
B) Side plank - 60s per side

It’s been a loooooong time since I’ve done romanian deadlifts, so I’m easing back into these. And my GHRs continue to suck ba##s.

Tuesday

A1) Reverse pushup - 12, 13
B1) Pushup - 30, 26
A2) Bent over BB row - 13x135, 5x205, 10x155, 5x205, 10x155, 5x205, 10x155, 5x205
B2) Bench - 15x135, 5x205, 10x155, 5x205, 10x155, 5x205
A3) Renegade rows - 8x50, 8x50, 8x50
B3) T pushup - 5, 5, 5
C3) Rollouts - 5, 6, 6

That final complex is totally BRUTAL after doing a bunch of max effort bench presses and rows… witness the pathetic number of pushups and rollouts. UGH!

Today I watched the entire “so you think you can bench” series while sitting in the airport between flights. I’m still struggling with leg drive and set-up. Anyone got any wise words for a bodybuilder-formerly-only-concerned-about-how-bench-affects-pec-development- who-now-cares-very-deeply-about-not-having-a-weak-wussy-bench-press?

313

I appreciate all your support. In a lot of ways I feel hopelessly outclassed here… like the weak little wannabe in the room. But part of the reason I started this log was precisely for that reason. They say a person tends to become like the crowd that surrounds them. So I picked a crowd I wanted to be like.

Cav - You Correctly predicted my candy binge. DAMN YOU!

geispoage - Is there nowhere I’m safe from you?!?!? I’ll have to dig out the restraining order to see if it includes “virtual” contact.

Todd - I do appreciate the thought. But tell me that you don’t feel the need to test yourself against your peers. Why else do weirdos like us consider strapping on a thong, and stepping on stage?!?!?! But since you actually DID it, I bow down to your awesomeness.

Username - That’s a very mature line of thought. One I endorse completely. My carb frenzy was ridiculous, but it’s done and it’s in the past. It was kinda like a one night stand…

Matty - OK, it’s not the diet. It’s how much BETTER my body feels when its cleansed of all the crap. It’s a really weird space, but once the diet is in full swing my BODY feels superhuman, and everythign feels like its humming at peak efficiency. But my BRAIN is sometimes pretty depressed. I could go on and on about that, but I won’t go into a full fledged lecture right now.

Null - I appreciate your confidence in me. But I agree that eave to be other ways to add muscle. I just don’t know of any. DO ya’ have any suggestions? Truly, I’m all ears.

Joe - Thanks!

314

LOL Kent Im right there with you! I am tortured with the flat BP because I still want it to be a Pec developing exercise yet is the reason why my shoulders are wrecked. With me I try to remember so many damn cues about benching correctly blades back, back tight, leg drive and then you have to lift the damn weight!

That is a sick sick complex!

315

No worries Kent.

I know how rough the last few weeks can be on (all) relationships.

I know of a guy who took off work for the last two weeks before the show and booked himself into a hotel as to not disturb any of his relationships. A wee bit extreme, but goes to show you how much it can affect your life.

316

Me:
I’ve messed up my hormones and such, so I have constraints. I’m just hoping patience will continue to pay off.

If I cut calories, I just end up sleeping, no energy, can’t get stuff done and oddly I stop loosing weight. I’m really good at gaining weight, but it way too much fat and all around the belt line.

Docts are getting better at keeping my levels in less suboptimal ranges, so above might change.

There’s couple articles on here that describe strategies that aren’t bulk and cut.

317

Kent, your’re stronger than me. DL might be about comparable, but you’re benching way more. My only hope is that a hard diet might slow your strength gains and give me a chance to catch up. Oh, and your waist is trimmer, too. Sort of liposuction, I don’t think anything can lose these love handles (my dad had them, probably heriditary.)

Give yourself some credit.

318

So this is what my supper looks like on my calorie restricted, cutting diet. I shoulda had the sauteed mushrooms.

319

Why won’t this work… and does anyone know of a way to keep this site from logging me out every 6 hours?

320

I dunno bro, I know I have had issues with loading videos but not pics…