Forgot to add, as for your flat bench, you could stop at just one set, or you could use a lower load (so that you can get 2-3 sets instead of just 1). Usually you need a little more volume than just 1 working set (otherwise you may get stronger, but not much growth stimulus).
There are exceptions (especially for stronger people) but I won’t bog you down with that just now lol.
Saturday, 4/2/11 (Cardio session)
15 minutes of HIIT sprinting (outdoors) … 10 seconds on, 50 seconds off
I have to say, this is day 9 or 10 going very low carb, and I still feel great, full of energy! we’ll see what tomorrow’s measurements translate to …
Sunday, 4/3/11
Updated Stats (end of Week 8)
BW - 154.6 lbs (-1.0 from last week, -11.4 in total)
Waist - 32.00" (-0.25" from last week, -2.00" in total)
3 site BF - 10.37% (-0.86% from last week, -5.87% in total)
7 site BF - 11.34% (-1.78% from last week, -2.72% from start of calculation)
Bicep (right/relaxed) - 12.50" (no change, +0.50" in total)
Bicep (right/flexed) - 13.50" (-0.25")
Comments:
This is exciting… this is the closest to 10% BF I’ve ever been (using 3-site test results). But even my BF% using the 7-site test is starting to converge with the 3-site. Still no visual abs, but I know that every body is different, so its very possible that I have to be in the single digits for my abs to become visual (not that this is my end goal… my long term goal remains to build muscle, but I’m very curious as to what they look like… ha)
Waist continues to shrink. The decrease in bicep measurement in the flexed state may be an anomaly… I’m not too concerned with that. I still believe that I’ve been maintaining muscle while losing fat over these last 2 months.
Good results again! Going by the 3 site test, since the beginning you’ve lost roughly 11lbs of fat and lost no muscle at all (which is confirmed by your strength in the gym too)…
This averages out to just over 1lbs of fat loss per week which is ideal. If you were consistently losing 2+lbs of bodyweight every week, there’d be a higher chance that you were losing muscle too (more-so at a leaner weight).
As for abs visibility, this obviously is a genetic thing (size/shape of abs) - some people’s abs stick out/pop out more. Your abs probably have a more “flat” shape, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Also your bodyfat level is likely closer to the 7 site test (11-12%), and some people need to be closer to 10% to see the outline of their abs (depending on lighting/shadowing).
Accuracy doesn’t make a huge difference on a fat loss phase, the main thing is that the readings are taken in the same way each week and are going down.
With your arms, consider just 1/4 of an inch good going because some people can lose up to an inch on their upper arms on a diet (depending on how fat they are, and muscle glycogen/hydration levels) lol
Monday, 4/4/2011 (Shoulders/Arms/Abs)
Seated BB Press
Bar/15 (warmup)
75/10
95/10 (+1 rep)
105/8 (+2 reps)
Side Raises
15/15
20/15
25/15 (+2 reps)
BB Curl
Bar/15
60/10 (+5 lbs)
60/10 (+5 lbs)
70/10 (+5 lbs)
Standing Alternating DB Curl
25/10 (+5 lbs)
20/10
20/10
Skull Crushers
Bar/15
55/10 (+5 lbs)
65/10
70/8 (+5 lbs)
DB Overhead Extensions
40/10
45/10 (+5 lbs)
50/10 (+10 lbs)
Situps
3 sets of 25
Crunches (on Ab Crunch machine, with resistance of 20 lbs)
50 reps
Straight Leg Raises
50 reps (it took me 3 sets to get 50)
Comments:
Great session! I thought I pushed hard today, and really worked for those extra reps. Good start to the week.
Tuesday, 4/5/2011 (Legs)
Back Squat
Bar/25 (warmup)
105/15
135/12
165/7 (+10 lbs)
Leg Press
155/15 (+20 lbs)
205/12 (+20 lbs)
245/10 (+20 lbs)
SLDL
Bar/20 (warmup)
105/15 (+10 lbs)
145/12 (+10 lbs)
Seated Leg Curls
80/15 (+10 lbs)
110/7 (+10 lbs)
Standing Calf Raises
50/15
100/15
150/15
200/15
235/12 (+10 lbs)
Comments:
I skipped out on Seated Calf Raises. Legs session tends to be longer than the others, and I felt as if I hit my calves substantially with the Standing Calf Raises. Today was the first day where I felt slightly light-headed … but I was able to fight through it. No big deal. Today was a grueling workout… I really felt like I busted my ass today!!
Good going!
Looks like your body’s glycogen store are almost depleted. You’re almost 2 weeks into the very low carbs aren’t you?
Tomorrow (or Thu…depending when the 2 weeks is up), have 3 meals with carbs in them. The meals to have carbs in are breakfast and peri workout. Total carbs should be around 200g (give or take 50g).
Then on Sat or Sun, have 3 cheat meals (same principle again). Calories should increase on this day too (no need to measure, just eat slightly more as long as it’s not excessive).
Repeat this cycle until you start the gaining phase - so 2x/week (e.g. Wed + Sun) have carb refeeds.
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
Good going!
Looks like your body’s glycogen store are almost depleted. You’re almost 2 weeks into the very low carbs aren’t you?
Tomorrow (or Thu…depending when the 2 weeks is up), have 3 meals with carbs in them. The meals to have carbs in are breakfast and peri workout. Total carbs should be around 200g (give or take 50g).
Then on Sat or Sun, have 3 cheat meals (same principle again). Calories should increase on this day too (no need to measure, just eat slightly more as long as it’s not excessive).
Repeat this cycle until you start the gaining phase - so 2x/week (e.g. Wed + Sun) have carb refeeds.[/quote]
Thursday will be 2 weeks going < 50g carbs a day.
So on carb refeed days, my total calories can increase by the additional 100-150g of carbs? or should I dial down on the fats to offset the calorie increase?
This actually is perfect timing. I have a party to go to on Sunday, so I’ll treat that as a cheat meal… but no worries, I won’t be excessive!!
Wednesday, 4/6/2011 (Chest & Back)
BB Incline Bench
80/12
110/10 (+5 lbs)
130/7 (+5 lbs)
125/6
BB Flat Bench
80/12
115/10
135/5 (-1 rep)
125/6 (-10 lbs, lowered the load so I can still get in the 6-8 rep range)
Pull-Ups
BW/3 (warmup)
BW/8
BW/8
BW/7 (+1 rep)
BB Row
100/12
125/7 (+1 rep)
Cable Rows
110/15 (+10 lbs)
120/15 (+10 lbs)
Comments:
Average session. I didn’t feel light-headed today, but the bar definitely felt heavy. I tried to focus on the pecs while benching, because everytime I bring a set to failure, I feel its my arms that just can’t push anymore, while my chest still has more left in the tank.
[quote]Tonino wrote:
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
Good going!
Looks like your body’s glycogen store are almost depleted. You’re almost 2 weeks into the very low carbs aren’t you?
Tomorrow (or Thu…depending when the 2 weeks is up), have 3 meals with carbs in them. The meals to have carbs in are breakfast and peri workout. Total carbs should be around 200g (give or take 50g).
Then on Sat or Sun, have 3 cheat meals (same principle again). Calories should increase on this day too (no need to measure, just eat slightly more as long as it’s not excessive).
Repeat this cycle until you start the gaining phase - so 2x/week (e.g. Wed + Sun) have carb refeeds.[/quote]
Thursday will be 2 weeks going < 50g carbs a day.
So on carb refeed days, my total calories can increase by the additional 100-150g of carbs? or should I dial down on the fats to offset the calorie increase?
This actually is perfect timing. I have a party to go to on Sunday, so I’ll treat that as a cheat meal… but no worries, I won’t be excessive!!
[/quote]
Well for this Thu, increase the calories as well (just to give yourself a boost). So don’t drop fats this Thu, but every Thu after that you can. Only exception is every Sunday, increase calories on that day (with the extra carbs and don’t drop fat).
Lol, no need to feel guilty if you do over-do it slightly - I’ll let you off since it’s a party 
[quote]Tonino wrote:
Wednesday, 4/6/2011 (Chest & Back)
BB Incline Bench
80/12
110/10 (+5 lbs)
130/7 (+5 lbs)
125/6
BB Flat Bench
80/12
115/10
135/5 (-1 rep)
125/6 (-10 lbs, lowered the load so I can still get in the 6-8 rep range)
Pull-Ups
BW/3 (warmup)
BW/8
BW/8
BW/7 (+1 rep)
BB Row
100/12
125/7 (+1 rep)
Cable Rows
110/15 (+10 lbs)
120/15 (+10 lbs)
Comments:
Average session. I didn’t feel light-headed today, but the bar definitely felt heavy. I tried to focus on the pecs while benching, because everytime I bring a set to failure, I feel its my arms that just can’t push anymore, while my chest still has more left in the tank.[/quote]
Hmmm, looks like we may have to look at your chest training if arms are taking over/tiring too much.
Some people pre-fatigue the target muscle with an isolation exercise when they have a lagging muscle group. For example, they’ll do loads of pump sets on the pec deck first, then move onto the bench press.
Another thing that comes to mind is maybe training triceps on the same day as chest (so that they are fresher/stronger and don’t fatigue too quickly causing a major weak link in the bench press). So it may take a little change in your split (nothing to worry about).
Something to think about, but carry on for now.
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
[quote]Tonino wrote:
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
Good going!
Looks like your body’s glycogen store are almost depleted. You’re almost 2 weeks into the very low carbs aren’t you?
Tomorrow (or Thu…depending when the 2 weeks is up), have 3 meals with carbs in them. The meals to have carbs in are breakfast and peri workout. Total carbs should be around 200g (give or take 50g).
Then on Sat or Sun, have 3 cheat meals (same principle again). Calories should increase on this day too (no need to measure, just eat slightly more as long as it’s not excessive).
Repeat this cycle until you start the gaining phase - so 2x/week (e.g. Wed + Sun) have carb refeeds.[/quote]
Thursday will be 2 weeks going < 50g carbs a day.
So on carb refeed days, my total calories can increase by the additional 100-150g of carbs? or should I dial down on the fats to offset the calorie increase?
This actually is perfect timing. I have a party to go to on Sunday, so I’ll treat that as a cheat meal… but no worries, I won’t be excessive!!
[/quote]
Well for this Thu, increase the calories as well (just to give yourself a boost). So don’t drop fats this Thu, but every Thu after that you can. Only exception is every Sunday, increase calories on that day (with the extra carbs and don’t drop fat).
Lol, no need to feel guilty if you do over-do it slightly - I’ll let you off since it’s a party :)[/quote]
Now does it matter that Thursday happens to be an off day? Should re-feed days typically align with training sessions? If so, I’ll simply move it to Wednesdays. I was just curious as to what the body does with the extra carbs when there’s no physical activity until 24 hours later.
[quote]Tonino wrote:
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
[quote]Tonino wrote:
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
Good going!
Looks like your body’s glycogen store are almost depleted. You’re almost 2 weeks into the very low carbs aren’t you?
Tomorrow (or Thu…depending when the 2 weeks is up), have 3 meals with carbs in them. The meals to have carbs in are breakfast and peri workout. Total carbs should be around 200g (give or take 50g).
Then on Sat or Sun, have 3 cheat meals (same principle again). Calories should increase on this day too (no need to measure, just eat slightly more as long as it’s not excessive).
Repeat this cycle until you start the gaining phase - so 2x/week (e.g. Wed + Sun) have carb refeeds.[/quote]
Thursday will be 2 weeks going < 50g carbs a day.
So on carb refeed days, my total calories can increase by the additional 100-150g of carbs? or should I dial down on the fats to offset the calorie increase?
This actually is perfect timing. I have a party to go to on Sunday, so I’ll treat that as a cheat meal… but no worries, I won’t be excessive!!
[/quote]
Well for this Thu, increase the calories as well (just to give yourself a boost). So don’t drop fats this Thu, but every Thu after that you can. Only exception is every Sunday, increase calories on that day (with the extra carbs and don’t drop fat).
Lol, no need to feel guilty if you do over-do it slightly - I’ll let you off since it’s a party :)[/quote]
Now does it matter that Thursday happens to be an off day? Should re-feed days typically align with training sessions? If so, I’ll simply move it to Wednesdays. I was just curious as to what the body does with the extra carbs when there’s no physical activity until 24 hours later.
[/quote]
I was going to say just do the refeed today, and then Wed’s thereafter. If your body’s glycogen stores are depleted it shouldn’t make a world of difference when the refeed is (liver gets “filled” and so it wouldn’t lead to fat storage)…but for the sake of fuelling the workout days better, yeah it would be best putting them on Wed’s.
Friday, 4/8/2011 (Shoulders/Arms/Abs)
Seated BB Press
Bar/15 (warmup)
75/10
95/10
110/6 (+5 lbs)
Side Raises
20/15 (+5 lbs)
25/15 (+5 lbs)
30/11 (+5 lbs) … *again, as I near fatigue, I feel more stress on the elbow joint than I do in my delts
BB Curl
Bar/15
65/10 (+5 lbs)
65/10 (+5 lbs)
75/8 (+5 lbs)
Standing Alternating DB Curl
30/9 (+5 lbs)
25/10 (+5 lbs)
20/10
Skull Crushers
Bar/15
60/10 (+5 lbs)
65/10
70/8
DB Overhead Extensions
45/10 (+5 lbs)
50/8 (+5 lbs)
50/10 *I had a spot on this set, but still did all the work on my own. Again, the mental aspect of having a spot netted me 2 more reps.
Situps
3 sets of 25
Crunches (on Ab Crunch machine, with resistance of 30 lbs)
50 reps
Straight Leg Raises
50 reps (it took me 4 sets to get 50)
Saturday, 4/9/11 (Cardio session)
15 minutes of HIIT sprinting (outdoors) … 10 seconds on, 50 seconds off
Sunday, 4/10/11
Updated Stats (end of Week 9)
BW - 152.6 lbs (-2.0 from last week, -13.4 in total)
Waist - 31.75" (-0.25" from last week, -2.25" in total)
3 site BF - 9.61% (-0.76% from last week, -6.63% in total)
7 site BF - 10.96% (-0.38% from last week, -3.10% from start of calculation)
Comments
If anyone’s interested in specific measurements, here they are (average over 3 skinfold pinches)
Chest - 2mm
Abdomen - 15.3mm
Thigh - 12.7mm
Tricep - 2mm
Midaxillary - 14mm
Subscapular - 16mm
Suprailaic - 10mm
I’ll attach a table which tracks the measurements over the last 9 weeks. Hopefully it is visible. The numbers in red simply mean that those measurements are taken by my wife, so they may be slightly more prone to error!
Great to see the constant improvements!
I have some things on the back-burner for you; will explain a little more soon. You don’t HAVE to do it, but I think that on your last weeks of the diet it will give you an edge. The diet phase shouldn’t last too long now before you get to where you want.
Basically, it involves varying a few variables (e.g. set/reps) each training session. This helps to burn off more calories than normal (due to the body having to adapt more - and adaptation makes the body burn more), and helps to avoid stagnation on the lifts (less draining).
Changing exercises has the same effect, but at this stage I’d rather have you get used to the exercises more (get stronger on them…at least while you are still making some improvements). Will look into the delts issue as well.
Also, for the cardio, making it slightly more intense will burn more calories (since the body adapts to a certain workload and “learns” to burn less). For HIIT, it would be good to increase the “on” phase to 15 seconds.
Will update you soon…
Monday, 4/11/2011 (Chest & Back)
BB Incline Bench
80/12
110/10
130/7
125/8 (+2 reps)
BB Flat Bench
80/10
115/10
135/6 (+1 rep)
125/8 (+2 reps)
Pull-Ups
BW/3 (warmup)
BW/8
BW/8
BW/8 (+1 rep)
BB Row
100/10
125/8 (+1 rep)
Cable Rows
120/15 (+10 lbs)
130/14 (+10 lbs)
Comments:
I felt good today. Not sure if it was due to yesterday being a “refeed” day, or simply because I was focused.
Here’s the update, you can put this into practice whenever you want (e.g. straight away)
Basically, now that calories have been low for some time now, you may start to experience signs of over-training. Over-training usually encompasses lack of drive/energy during workouts, lack of recovery between workouts leading to stagnant lifts/weakness, difficulty sleeping, irritability etc.
You control excessive fatigue/overtraining via managing workout volume (and spiking calories which you already are doing). So I’ll lower training volume somewhat by cutting some exercises and lowering warmup volume.
You also was talking about having elbow trouble when doing delts. This is highly likely “over-use” of the elbow joint (especially while dieting), and happens sometimes when training arms frequently or with high volume (like on this routine where you indirectly train them on separate days too). The reduction in exercises should greatly alleviate this problem.
On Chest/Back day, remove the cable rows. On shoulder/arms/core day, remove the dumbbell curls, triceps pushdowns and the situps. On leg day remove the leg curls and seated calve raises. Just do one low rep working set for squats and deadlifts, do normal sets for leg press. In other words, don’t go to close to failure for those 2 large exercises (save something in the tank).
For all sets on all days, cut down volume on warmups. So instead of doing 10-12 reps, then 8-10 or so, do 8 reps, then 5 reps, then do your work sets.
Example:
Incline Press
Set 1: 8 reps - 80lbs
Set 2: 5 reps - 105lbs
Set 3: 8 reps - 125lbs (work set)
Set 4: 8 reps 125lbs (work set)
While gaining, I would have you doing an extra set or so, but for the sake of good recovery we’ll limit it to 2.
Set/rep variables:
On leg day, swap between 3 sets of 5 (3x5), and 5 sets of 3 (5x3). Keep the load the same each set. Make sure you don’t get close to failure until at the most the last set. You’ll notice that the 5x3 day feels more manageable even though total workload is the same as the 3x5 day. For calves, swap between 2x12-15 and 3x6-8
On all other days, swap between 3x5-6 and 2x8-9. If in doubt about the loads to use, just use your 8 rep max load (or just close to the loads you were already using).
The trick is to stay away from ball busting failure, and if reaching failure, it should always be the last set.
Progression is the same. As soon as another rep is managed on each set (e.g. 3x6 on leg day, or 5x4), increase load by 2.5-5lbs and start at the lower end of reps again. On higher rep exercises like calves/abs, wait until you get to the top end of the rep range before increasing load.
Feel free to ask questions