The Training Log of a Chronic Over Eater

Training Training Logs
121

[quote]young n wrote:
How are you holding up brother?

I see your somewhat following 531 now? I see some joker sets and first set last.
How are you liking it so far?

I see Serge is offering some good advice and encouragement, I’m sure you already know by now but the guy knows his stuff.

Stay strong brother[/quote]

Hey young n

Thanks for checking in. Yes, still working the 531 type work. It’s going well so far. I might reduce the amount of Joker sets I attempt and just keep it for 531 week since I want to focus on conditioning and not destroy myself.

Definitely, serge offered some good observations and shared a lot of positive feedback. It’s great that there’s people out there willing to offer positive feedback. You included.

122

Morning bw 213.9 (maybe I’ll lose another 3 pounds today and be back to pre-Easter levels)

Today’s training, duration 76 minutes

Limber 11 at home

General warming as usual

Ruck walk: 30m, incline set to 6, 50#back pack, moved 1.38 miles

Litinovs, 5 rounds

135# jvfs x 6, 7, 8, 8, 6 (no pause, holding air)
Sprints: 8mph x 60s, 9mph x 60s, 10mph x 60s, 11mph x 45s, 12mph x 30s
Active recovery: walk 2mph x 3 x 60s, 2 x 2m

Wanted to give upper body a break. Good workout today. Probably more conditioning tomorrow. Maybe a bit faster on Sprints. Maybe some upper body conditioning, I guess we’ll see how things feel.

123

Morning bw 213.0

Today’s training, duration 64m

Limber 11 at home

General warming, as usual, plus rear delt raises 10 x 3 x 12

Conditioning day

Super sets of jvfs (no pause, holding air) and burpee box jumps (with push ups)
Squats at 135# reps 10, 9…down to 1
Burpees reps 1, 2… up to 10

This was rough. Finished in 24:43m at hr 180bpm. I tried to keep the pace up early on but I soon realized it would be hard enough to just finish at all.

Upper body conditioning

Db rows 50#, alternating hands
Reps 10, 9… down to 1
No rest, when I wanted rest I did push ups, ended up with push ups 3 x 10

Much easier than squats and burpees. Finished in 5:10m.

Considered more work but I had enough. Good workout today. Something different for tomorrow.

124

Morning bw 213.0

Today’s training, duration 63m

Limber 11 at home

General warming, as usual, minus leg curls, plus rear delt raises 10# x 3 x 12

Super sets, in no particular rush but not very slow

Fat grip pull ups 4 x 5
40# db swings 4 x 20

Complex, in no particular rush but not very slow

One round at 45# bb x 10 reps per exercise
Four more rounds at 65# bb x 10, 5, 6, 7 reps per exercise

Sldl
Bo row
High hang cleans
Jvfs
Press (some with leg drive, some without)
Back squat (I just don’t like these)
Gm

Giant sets, 3 rounds, in no particular rush but not too slow

25#plate swings x 20
One arm burpees x 3/side (no push up, these are hard)
Push ups x 10

My allergies flared up pretty bad, I didn’t want to push the limit. It could be a cold, I don’t know.

Not a bad workout. Back to the gym Tuesday to start cycle 2. Adjusting training maxes up 5 pounds each. Working weights will change a little. Is like to add some more conditioning work. If I’m smart it won’t be anything crazy…I don’t want to burn out.

125

So I’ve never posted nutrition before. Today’s food intake is representative of a higher calorie day for training.

Breakfast
Kashi go lean crunch, two servings, about 400 calories, cooked in water like oatmeal
50 gram protein shake

Training

After training meal
Trader Joes granola cereal, two servings, about 500 calories
50 gram protein shake
2 servings prunes

Lunch
50 gram protein shake
Large handful almonds
5 eggs pan cooked with half pound chopped spinach, butter 1 to 2 tablespoons

Dinner
2 chicken sausages
1/2 pound peas and carrots
Left over slow cooker beans and chicken, cooked with pineapple salsa
4oz plain salad

Before bed
50 gram protein shake

So this is on the higher end, calorically speaking. I think I made that word up. Really hit up the veggies with dinner, feeling nice and full.

Tomorrow I’ll eat less, no training.

126

Cycle one training highlights

Jvfs (with deep breathing in hole, exhale prior to concentric, pause between 3 and 5s)

Week 1: 130 x 5, 115 x 5, 100 x 5
Week 2: 140 x 5, 125 x 5, 110 x 5
Week 3: 145 x 5, 155, 165, 175, 185, 195 x 1 (current pr with this technique)

Rgbp (short pause)

Week 1: 180 x 7, 190 x 3, 205 x 1, 225 x 1, 135 x 12
Week 2: 190 x 3, 205 x 3, 225 x 1, 245 x 1, 145 x 16
Week 3: 200 x 4, 225 x 1, 180 x 4, 155 x 10

Sldl

Week 1: 210 x 5, 185 x 5, 155 x 5
Week 2: 220 x 5, 245 x 3, 195 x 5, 170 x 8
Week 3: 230 x 6, 255 x 1, 185 x 8

Pendlay rows

Week 1: 180 x 10, 155 x 10, 135 x 10
Week 2: 190 x 8, 205 x 3, 225 x 1, 245 x 1, 170 x 8, 145 x 8
Week 3: 200 x 5, 220 x 1, 245 x 1, 155 x 17

Nothing impressive, but numbers on the books to beat in cycle 2.

127

Morning bw 215.1 (dinner weighed a lot last night)

Morning hr: 72bpm, waited a minute then got 68bpm…

But both of them are suspect because I had gotten out of bed then laid down before taking the measurements. …

I’m going to take morning hr daily to get a baseline for the measurement. When I get unusually high readings I’ll take it easy on the training (no Joker sets, no additional volume from pyramid sets, no rush on conditioning). When I get unusually low readings I’ll push the work.

No training today. Active recovery later: limber 11 plus lots of pvc rolling.

128

Morning bw 212.1

Morning hr 65bpm

Feeling better today. I felt sick the past two days, not sure if it was allergies or a cold. I’m taking zyrtec in case it’s allergies. Also slept much better than the previous several nights.

Looks like I’ll be off from training until Wednesday, got some extra work.

So two entries ago was a high calorie day (high calorie for dieting). Yesterday was a low calorie day. So now I’ve posted both types of days.

Breakfast: 50 gram protein shake
Lunch: 25 gram protein shake, 2 chicken sausages, 1/2 pound peas and carrots, 2 servings prunes
Snack: 50 gram protein shake, 2 handfuls almonds
Dinner: 50 gram protein shake

Extra light for a light day. Today will be somewhere between the two.

Today’s training: active recovery, pvc and baseball rolling.

129

Morning bw 212.1

Morning hr 65bpm

Feeling better today. I felt sick the past two days, not sure if it was allergies or a cold. I’m taking zyrtec in case it’s allergies. Also slept much better than the previous several nights.

Looks like I’ll be off from training until Wednesday, got some extra work.

So two entries ago was a high calorie day (high calorie for dieting). Yesterday was a low calorie day. So now I’ve posted both types of days.

Breakfast: 50 gram protein shake
Lunch: 25 gram protein shake, 2 chicken sausages, 1/2 pound peas and carrots, 2 servings prunes
Snack: 50 gram protein shake, 2 handfuls almonds
Dinner: 50 gram protein shake

Extra light for a light day. Today will be somewhere between the two.

Today’s training: active recovery, pvc and baseball rolling.

130

Morning bw 214.0

Morning hr 65bpm

Still not completely better, but almost back to normal. I was exhausted last night and went to bed by 8pm, this is highly unusual for me and somewhat surprising since it was an otherwise average day. It’s been about a week of this allergy and/or cold problem.

No training today. Only recovery in the form of pvc and baseball rolling. Perhaps the limber 11 drills.

Training resumes Wednesday. I’m probably going to have to back off on total volume and heaviest work sets to help with sickness recovery. I’ll have to adjust food intake accordingly.

131

Whats up with all the liquid calories?

I like that your doing the Heart Rate variable thing. I’m sure your liking so far.

Stay Strong brother

132

Morning bw 212.7

Morning hr 66bpm with no attention to breathing, 58bpm with attention to breathing

Pvc and baseball rolling today.

Back to the gym tomorrow as long as the baby is well enough to go out. I will not push for heavy weights this week. I’ll take extra reps if they feel easy enough, but I have no interest in unnecessarily difficult reps. This is mostly a reminder to myself to take it a little bit easy. I can be stubborn and force the issue sometimes.

Moderate caloric intake today.

Granola cereal with water cooked like oatmeal, approx 500 calories
50 gram protein shake, 200 calories

50 gram protein shake, 200 calories
5 eggs, 1/2 to 3/4 pound spinach, 1.5 tablespoons butter, 5 tablespoons corn and bean salsa, approx 600 calories (I don’t count spinach)

Dinner will be slow cooker chicken with black beans and mango pineapple salsa, probably 1/2 to 1 pound chicken, up to a can of beans, and many servings of salsa, estimated calories 1000

Before bed, another 200 calorie protein shake

133

[quote]young n wrote:
Whats up with all the liquid calories?

I like that your doing the Heart Rate variable thing. I’m sure your liking so far.

Stay Strong brother[/quote]

Hey young n

I know, lots of protein shakes. … it’s a cheap and easy way to get all the protein, what else can I say. Some days have more time for food prep, like today, where I get more solid foods.

Watching hr seems like a good idea for me. I can be overly stubborn, so getting a clear warning sign to take a day off or go easy is probably smart for me. I want to be in it long term so I need to be smart when my body just isn’t ready.

I’m still establishing a baseline. The past 3 days have been almost identical and coincide with recovering from sickness or allergy problems. Now I wonder if I should measure hr while using a standardized breathing technique. I’d like to eliminate variables so my measurements are more accurate.

Do you have any experience monitoring daily hr and hrv?

134

[quote]pabergin wrote:
I know, lots of protein shakes. … it’s a cheap and easy way to get all the protein, what else can I say. Some days have more time for food prep, like today, where I get more solid foods. [/quote]

Got it, and I see that.

[quote]pabergin wrote:
Do you have any experience monitoring daily hr and hrv?
[/quote]

Yes and no, I haven’t done it on myself, because I have no cycle/rhythm of any sort; no fixed sleep time, no fixed eating time, no fixed shower, brushing etc.
You get the picture, and I’m not talking being off by a few hours on a daily basis, e.i. work for 30 straight, crash (if I can manage to close eyes), travel work 6 hours, try to relax catch up on stuff, eat, gym if I’m feeling up to it
Sometimes I go 30+ hours with no sleep, sometimes I go 16+ hours no food. Sleep during the day sometimes at night, eat whenever.

But I have used it on others and it works wonders on them.
I know it is a very useful tool. It should be very helpful to you and to anyone.

But please don’t let me talk you out of it.

But I have found other “tricks” that kind of give the green light, yellow light, red light signal thing that HRV is so coveted for.

Stay strong brother

135

Hey buddy,

I am considering doing the heart rate thing.
What apparatus do you use to measure your heart rate? What guidelines are you using to monitor your heart rate and adjust training accordingly?

tweet

136

Morning bw 213.1

Waking hr 68bpm, I’m not feeling 100%, my grip strength is definitely not all there either, not entirely over illness/allergies

Cycle 2 began today

Today’s training, duration 80m (a bit too long)

General warming will look like this

Limber 11 at home

Reverse lunge x 10 each leg
Seated leg curl 75 x 30 (skipped today)
Goblets 45 x 5, 65 x 5, 80 x 5, 95 x 5 (all performed with stretching and hip opening in hole)
Hindu push ups 2 x 5
Tgu 40 x 4 each side
L sit heels down 50s x 1
Rear delt raise 10# x 3 x 12

Insert of the day

Fat grip pull ups 4 x 5
45# db swings 4 x 20

Performed as super sets. I did not push for time today because I knew I wasn’t at my best. I worked moderately hard with the intention of completing the work. Total time: 6:02m at 168bpm. I think my hr is rather high relative to my perceived effort. I should probably not push tomorrow, or for longer.

Light work

Sldl 45 x 10, 100 x 5, 125 x 5, 150 x 5 (these felt awesome today, I was like a sling shot)
Pendlay row 45 x 10, 85 x 10, 105 x 10, 130 x 5
Rgbp 45 x 5, 85 x 5, 105 x 5, 130 x 5

Squat day

Jvfs 105 x 6, 120 x 5, 135 x 5, 120 x 5, 105 x 5 (all with breathing technique, 3 - 5s pause)

I’m weak minded, could have gotten more reps, just wasn’t enjoying the choking sensation. My right knee joint started acting strangely so maybe it was smart to keep it manageable.

Extra work will look like this, carries will vary day to day

Machine laterals 60 x 10
Back extension 20 x 10
Suitcase, lighter 80# x 70s each side (left grip struggled, first time this has happened. Left grip has been way off all week)

Extract

40 burpee pull ups

3 x 12, 1 x 4

Did not go for fastest time. I wanted to do the work but not kill myself in the process.

7:58m at 180bpm. Again, my hr did not reflect my perceived effort. So something is off. I’m taking it as a sign that I’m not fully recovered from illness/allergies. Maybe some of you more experienced people have input?

*Additional notes

I see no need to groove rgbp and rows daily. I will work them both twice a week, once on the dedicated row work day and once on the dedicated rgbp day. Since I’m roughly approximating the bbb volume from 531, I will probably add a warm up set at 50% to each exercise.

I love grooving the squat daily and it will remain part of general warming. My hips are at their happiest.

I will probably continue to groove the sldl daily because I like the stretch and practice.

These changes will cause the removal of the “light work” portion of my workouts, except for main upper days. This change will help free up time for insert work, which is important because I’d like to work conditioning harder.

137

[quote]young n wrote:

Yes and no, I haven’t done it on myself, because I have no cycle/rhythm of any sort; no fixed sleep time, no fixed eating time, no fixed shower, brushing etc.
You get the picture, and I’m not talking being off by a few hours on a daily basis, e.i. work for 30 straight, crash (if I can manage to close eyes), travel work 6 hours, try to relax catch up on stuff, eat, gym if I’m feeling up to it
Sometimes I go 30+ hours with no sleep, sometimes I go 16+ hours no food. Sleep during the day sometimes at night, eat whenever.

But I have used it on others and it works wonders on them.
I know it is a very useful tool. It should be very helpful to you and to anyone.

But please don’t let me talk you out of it.

But I have found other “tricks” that kind of give the green light, yellow light, red light signal thing that HRV is so coveted for.

Stay strong brother[/quote]

Hey young n

Thanks for writing back so quickly.

Understandable why the hr measurement might not be accurate for you based on your work circumstances. Sounds chaotic and difficult.

I plan to continue taking hr each morning to establish some baseline numbers and get to know myself a little better. I’m hopeful that it’ll become a useful tool to me.

I’m interested to know what your “tricks” are, if you’re willing to share of course.

Thanks

138

[quote]theBird wrote:
Hey buddy,

I am considering doing the heart rate thing.
What apparatus do you use to measure your heart rate? What guidelines are you using to monitor your heart rate and adjust training accordingly?

tweet[/quote]

Hey theBird

I’m very unscientific right now. I use my cell phone alarm clock. So after wake up, without getting out of bed, I turn off the alarm, wait a few moments, turn on the stop watch and just count hr for a minute.

However, I’m considering purchasing something like the emWave 2 which measures heart rate variability. The product will show hrv on your computer so you could determine what sort of shape you are in. That particular product isn’t marketed to the fitness crowd though. I’m also interested in it’s other features, like using it to practice meditation and work on brain fitness type stuff, along the lines of lumosity.com. I should do more reading about it though since I’m not entirely sure if what is be getting into.

Let me know if you do stay looking into an hrv product. I’d like to see what you’re considering.

139

Morning bw 211.3

Lying hr upon waking 66bpm
Hr upon standing 72bpm

I’m going to track both of these over time to see if the difference between the two indicates my state of recovery.

Today’s training, 74m duration

Limber 11 at home

General warming, as stated for cycle 2, considering a reduction in volume to save a couple minutes

Insert

Row 250m
45#db swing x 20
Run 8mph x 60s

I did 3 rounds, decided it was long enough, my legs were displeased with running (just feeling slightly raw) but my lungs would have tolerated more.

Light warming, cycle 2 numbers

Rgbp, alternated with band pull aparts

140 x 5, 160 x 5, 180 x 10 (forgot to pause first 6 reps), 160 x 8 (paused), 140 x 5 (paused)

180 x 10 is a Rep pr in rgbp

Extra work, cycle 2 numbers

Waiter carry, lighter 65# x 50s each

11 burpee pull ups, decided I was at the gym long enough. …

Felt slightly light headed following warm ups. Finished protein shake and it went away. This happened yesterday at the same time. It hasn’t happened since I added calories before training so I thought it was a little unusual. We’ll see if it continues.

140

Measurements taken this morning, posted for the sake of accountability

There isn’t much going on this time around. Last measurements were taken about two weeks ago. Half the time between then and now included Easter eating and then sickness or allergies. I’m leaning toward allergies.

Neck 15 7/8, measured over Adams Apple, +1/8
Biceps 16 1/4… this is the notable change, -3/8
Forearm 13 3/8, -1/8
Waist at navel 38, no change
Waist at widest point 38 7/8, -1/8, I thought it might be strange to see a reduction at one part of my waist and not another
Chest 48 1/4, no change
Thigh 26 3/8, no change

I want the next two weeks to be more productive measurement wise. I may take a closer look at my diet. To this point, there has been no need to count calories in any specific way, I focused on food choices and moderate quantities. It may be time to get more serious.