Like most things, time solves most problems.
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Delay in posting rendered this moot.
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Just an update for myself. I occasionally refer to my log to remind me of where I have been.
Lost my father on 5/11. He was two weeks shy of 88 and was not in great health. Lucid and sharp, but in physical decline. His passing was a blessing as my mother has been his caregiver for years and she is relieved of that burden, but dealing with the loss of her husband of 67 years.
We had been working on preparing them for a move to Independent Living, dealing with deferred maintenance on the house and estate planning. My brother was spearheading that as he was an estate and tax lawyer by training.
And then my brother passed Monday morning four days ago, four weeks after my father. Heart attack at 65.
My mother looked at me the other day with a wry smile and said, āItās just you and me kid.ā
We are both in shock at the sudden loss of half of our family, but keeping our spirits up with dark humor.
I have found comfort in my routine - wake at 4, coffee and a walk, journal, AA meeting, gym, breakfast, nap. Itās almost mindless at this point but allows me to escape reality for a bit.
204@16.8 today.
I am never quite sure how respond to such events in peopleās lives. I am awkward socially. However, may I offer my condolences to you. Somehow that seems inadequate, and a cliche. But I do mean it.
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Me too - must be an NU thing.
Thanks!
I am sending you and your mom both big hugs and lots of prayers. 
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That is very gracious.
Thank you.
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I have been reading @Juicewrld 's log and it has me wondering about de-loads as well so I figured I would puke on the page for my own benefit.
I have run 531 off and on for several years now, most recently BBB for the last seven months or so. I always start low and race through the cycles, finishing them in less than three weeks and skipping the de-load. Eventually, I get to the point where it gets difficult and then I change programs or end up taking time off and restarting. But this time I have been consistent (except for a five week road trip where I reset one back) and I am not hitting ten reps on my AMRAPS and I did de-load last cycle. I am in the 531 week of this cycle and am planning to de-load because, frankly, I need the break. Where I truly notice it is my joints and tendons. But, I am 61 years old, so there is that.
I think the concept of intuitive training is valid - I have that voice in the back of my head telling me that itās time to de-load, Iām not excited about going to the gym, and my gains have stalled. Due to the math, several of my top sets this cycle are the same as last cycle (or I didnāt save the changes in the spread sheet) and I am hitting the same number of reps as last time - no improvement as far as reps.
However, part of me has this idea that a de-load week is losing momentum, that I am going to lose my gainz with a de-load week. I know that the opposite is true - recovery is when you grow and make gains. Not just a week of recovery, but every day. Getting rest is important.
In order to maintain interest in a de-load week, I cut during it. I slightly reduce calories, bump my walking, and lower my fat intake. I measure BF with a hand held and I do notice these changes in my BF%.
I also switch to the opposite template during de-load - I do OHP assistance on BP day, etc . . . I kind of consider it more hypertrophy than normal hitting each main lift twice a week.
I am probably guilty of YNDTP but donāt worry about it - not going to major in the minors.
204@16.3% this morning.
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The best cognitive reframe I ever heard for this was āsometimes we take a few steps back to get a running start for a giant leap forwardā
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Thank you for following and for weighing in. I just saw your posts on the loss of your father and brother also, my deepest sympathies to you and your mom.
I think those are good points. Iāve always been saying I was going to listen to my body and some things are starting to catch my attention. For instance, some super mild soreness around the bicep areas from the Krocs. Also today, while I did my 5/5/5 on bench (post imminent) my 205 set pushed out 11 reps, even though I hit 10 on 220 last week. Yet, my assistance work put up better numbers. On a volume basis I keep gaining. Maybe thatās a function of doing higher volume leading in to the amrap set today but, the body has been giving me small hints to take a week. Some of the punch power is missing also.
Is this a nice way of telling me I am running a bastardized BBB? 
No sir, not at all. I was referencing my relative ignorance of Jimās program in terms of assistance. I am doing 5x10@50% of TM and could not figure out what you are doing until I looked at the book again. Realized that Jim does not recommend the opposition template that I do in de-load, and recommends different options for de-load, so actually, I think youāre good.
I have found that Jim places the emphasis on the main lift, doesnāt really care what you do in assistance (check out the I Aināt Doing Jack Shit template).
So no, I donāt think you bastardized it at all.
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Iāll bet. Man, really sorry to hear this.
Iām glad you have a good repertoire in place. Stuff like that can leave people feeling untethered.
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Notes/Thoughts for the future
I have run 531 for the last eight months, seven cycles with five weeks off for my baseball trip. I have been happy with the results so far but would like to add more lean body mass and some size for aesthetics. To accomplish this, I am going to shift my focus to hypertrophy for a while.
I have considered full body, PPL, Upper Lower, and a bro split, but have settled on my own creation that borrows heavily from some basics. I am sure that I am missing something, but I figured that when I do BBB Opposite, I am essentially doing an upper lower split, so I am going to run that with modifications. I am aware that Wendler would not approve, and have no illusions that what I am about to do is 531 ā it isnāt. It is my own bastardization.
Day One will be OHP, eight reps at 60% of training max for sets across of three. I will do BP for assistance, five sets of ten at 50% of TM. Shoulders will be the focus for the other exercises ā rear delts, side delts, and triceps.
Day Two will be DL with squats for assistance, same rep schemes as day one, with focus on legs ā quads, hams, calves.
Day Three will be BP with OHP assistance ā chest will be the focus on other exercises ā dips, flyes, triceps.
Day Four, SQ with DL assistance, legs focus.
Week Two will be 70% of TM and Week Three 80% of TM. De-load if needed and add 5/10 lbs for the next cycle.
My BF% is coming down (16 this morning). I have prioritized protein by eating only protein until I get 100 grams, then eating whatever I want after that. I am using whey, chicken, and red meat to get my first 100 grams of the day.
I have added BCAAs and EAs intra-workout.
I am maintaining body weight at 203-206. I would like to stay there and drop below 15% BF and then start lean bulking a bit.
I will likely need to tweak this as I go.
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I like the look of that. The protein fasting is a solid approach as well.
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Bodacious Bastard 8ās BodyBuilding Brogram Notes
Started the new program today and it is clear that I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to programming. I figured 60% of TM for sets of 8 across would be easy.
I was wrong.
I am considering adjusting Week 1 to pyramid sets up to 60% - so 50/55/60 for a top set that is amrap.
The last set today of OHP was supposed to be AMRAP but eight was it.
If I do that, Week 2 would be 60/65/70 and Week 3 70/75/80.
I am not sure why 3x8@60% was so difficult for me today. It could be because I am used to sets of 5, because I am just coming off of a de-load, because I was not well rested or well fed, because I am coming off of creatine, or if I am just not mentally tough.
I took off on Friday and went to the beach for a few days to clear my head and to give my mom some space. We are dealing with quite a bit of estate and financial stuff and are still in shock from our losses. We talk about it a lot and that helps, but we both needed a break. I did not take creatine with me and decided to take some time off of it as I think it elevates my BP a bit. When I weighed and measured this morning, I was steady with weight at 204 but my BF had dropped to 15.5%. Iām not sure if thatās just a water thing or a creatine thing or both, but will be keeping an eye on it.
I did not take my weighted blanket with me so I did not sleep great. I did have a relaxing time nonetheless - view of the ocean from my room. I opened the windows and listened to the waves crashing and smelled the salty sea air. It was a nice break.
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Nah. That aint it.
I always felt like I had lead in my limbs when going from lower reps to higher even when adjusting load for the increase in volume per set.
I have made too many changes to know what is going on - not efficient.
I redid my percentages so things feel more manageable.
Week 1 - 60/65/70
Week 2 - 65/70/75
Week 3 - 70/75/80
Headed to California tomorrow morning, will be back in a big boy gym, barbells versus Smith, so will have to adjust again. Also back on my bike so I will likely lean out a bit which is good because I will be on the beach a lot.
200@16.3 this morning.
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Just a few notes. I woke up at 192.8 and 14.5% BF this morning. I quit taking creatine on 6-22 and I was 203 and 16.2% then.
I have also made protein a priority and went meat and eggs on 7/1. I did eat a carby meal yesterday.
I shifted my training to lower weights and higher reps eight days ago.
I think there are several things going on. First, most of the weight loss is likely due to stopping creatine. I was taking about 8 grams a day.
Second, cutting carbs also likely contributed due to less glycogen, etcā¦
I suspect less inflammation due to the meat and eggs diet is also contributing.
Aesthetically, the change has been minimal, but noticeable. I tend to lose weight at my extremities first - arms, legs, shoulders, even chest. This makes the belly fat more noticeable. I donāt look as good as I thought I would at this body fat percentage, and will continue to lean out. I thought 15% would give me the desired beach body that I wanted, but it didnāt. Eventually, I need to add lbm but I am going to continue getting lean before reverse diet and clean bulking again.
It seems most of the advice is to get very lean once and then clean bulk, so I am going to give it a try.
I am thinking maybe 8% but am not going to set any goals other than leaner than I am now and to decide when to stop and maintain.
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My mom and I were in the mood for ribs - I usually get Lloyds smoked baby back ribs, precooked because I donāt have a smoker and my mom likes them. Unfortunately, the only ribs pre-cooked available were St. Louis style, no sauce.
I googled how to air fry them and threw them in my new Cosori for eight minutes on 380, per instructions.
They were barely edible. I am not sure if it was the product or the prep as this is the first time I have done ribs (fresh or pre-cooked) in an air fryer.
I have four ribs left and definitely wonāt do them that way again. Figure I might be best just wrapping in foil with a little moisture and throwing them in the oven at 300 for forty five minutes.
These (air fried) turned out very tough/chewy.
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Truly sorry to hear this. i watched my mom die in hospice. In my prayers, amigo
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