Good thoughts. Just keep 'em in the gym bag. Having to do 10# jumps on bench and clean is just not sustainable. Even squats, I’ll have to go down to 5# jumps pretty soon.
So - tracking calories religiously. Been averaging about 2800 a day - and down a bit in belt loop and skin fold after a week. It weighing myself but would guess 2#. Funny thing is, I didn’t feel like I ate that much today, but still hit 2900 calories. I was probably about 4K a day when I couldn’t lean out lol. No wonder!
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It’s depressing how little food it takes to reach 3000 calories.
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2/8 - Quick Lunchtime session
- Snatch Grip DL - 10x2 up to 365
- Plate Raises - 100 reps at 25#
- Lunges - 100 reps
- Curls - 100 reps
- Triceps Ext - 100 Reps
Funny how DLs can feel really hard at some weights, then fly up at a heavier weight. IE - 315 felt really tough, but 335 and 355 were super easy
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2/9-2/10 Weekend out of town - walked a lot, played ping pong, no exercise. Had my calf acting messed up - feeling like a pull or a strain of either the popliteus, the head of the gastrocnemeus, or the plantaris. If it doesn’t sort itself out, I will need to go to a PT and get it looked out. Is not hurting while just sitting, and didn’t bother me during squats or Rows today, but then had a couple steps on way back to office that felt like someone was jamming a needle in the back of my knee. Only thing I can think could have caused it were heavy snatch grip deadlifts on Friday. 365 is some weight.
2/11
- Warm-up squats
- Squats 3x5 at 255-285-315
- Bent Rows 3x5 at 155-175-185
- Superset - 7-6-5-4
a. Pull-up
b. Hollow Rocks plus hold
So… Squats - this was first time I had a chance to do back squats outside a smith machine and with no bench to gauge depth in a VERY long time. And I am a mile high. Like 3 or more inches above parallel. Think I’m going to get through this last round of 5-3-1, and then switch my model on cleans and dead lifts, and level-set my squat super light - but A2G for awhile. Imagining something higher reps - maybe sets of 5-8 and progress from paused, to 2-step paused, to 3-step paused, then increase the weight. So early on, we’d be talking about sets of 135 or something. Would rather get mobility fully back. I know I can get all the way down pain free, just haven’t for a long time.
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Oh - and tracked diet all weekend - and didn’t try to limit my food, just tried to monitor. Came in at 3500 calories each day - and walked a bunch, and comparing that to normal days before deciding to reduce calories - it tells me that 3500-3600 is about what was doing most days - or averaging most weeks - with a pretty static weight of 219-223. Which is good that I don’t gain weight on that many calories, but also suggests that just dropping to 2500 or so for a couple months should make a huge difference.
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Yes it could. But it’s not fun.
I’m jealous of the squats. 315 x 5 seems like an eternity away for me…and I don’t plan to try anymore. But I have to admit that my lower back feels great when I don’t squat or Deadlift.
Yeah, just remember that squat was high. When I drop to A2G and doing the pauses and multiple sets, we’ll be talking 225 or so. For a exactly parallel I don’t think I can hit 315. I thought I was way over that, but was fooling myself due to smith machine and squatting to a parallel bench, but that probably gave me a little help out of the hole, bc there was no risk of getting stuck. I was getting stronger on the smith machine, but regular squat sucks. So will fix that.
You’re right, cutting that many calories on what I thought was an okay diet with just a few too many drinks is going to be a challenge.
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You can probably cut at 2900-3000 calories per day. That’s where I started but I’m trying to get this done in half the time so I dropped to 2400ish. I’m not tracking and I’m probably close to 3000 calories on my bad days but that’s still progress.
I’m not doing intermittent fasting but I’m putting off breakfast most days. On my four work days I have a double protein shake for breakfast and then don’t eat til about 10. I’ve started taking another double protein shake to work and drinking that for my second “meal”. That gets me to about noon and I’ve had 100g protein and only about 650 calories.
On non work days I have a double shake and banana before I go to the gym around 10. I stay at the gym for about two hours which puts lunch around 1. It’s easier for me to put off eating to minimize my eating window than it is to eat first thing and then deal with hunger all day.
You’re a busy guy and that helps. If you’re too busy to eat then you just miss meals. That makes it easy to lose weight!
Yeah - I think that’s going to help me too. Shake in AM. Doing one for lunch might really help.
2492 calories today. Well - 2300 so far and a beer to go while I read and email at 10 PM
2/12
- Walk/jog
- Complex - all with 45# plate: 4 Rounds
a. 5x Plate Raise overhead
b. 10x Triceps Extension
c. 15x Biceps Curl - Complex: 4 Rounds 135-145-155-165
a. 3x A2G Front Squat
b. 4x Power Clean
c. 5x RDL - Complex: 5 Rounds 65-75-85-95-105
a. 3x Strict Press
b. 3x Push Press
c. 3x Push Jerk - Row 500m: 1’40"
Nice little metcon day. Could probably push those for either more reps or more weight on all cases, although haven’t done much barbell overhead work in quite awhile.
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2/13 Lunch Time Workout
- Power Snatch Warm-up - doubles to 165 (this went up pretty easily).
- Power Clean, 3x3 day: 195 (3) 215 (3) 235 (3) - marks the second time making a 10# jump vs. prior. On 5-3-1 day, I think I’ll probably bump to 245.
- Bench Press, 3x3 day: 165 (3) 185 (3) 205 (6: 3-2-1)
- Pull-ups: 23 (8-7-5-3) - keep getting better.
- Plyos:
a. 3x Standing LJ (all at around 9’2"-9’6")
b. 1x 3 Broad (3 2-leg hops for distance in a row - covered a little over 28’)
c. 3 Box Jumps up to 30" box landing as close to vertical as possible
Going to finish this cycle of 5-3-1 - Need 3x3 on Row and Squat, then 531 of all 4. Then going to change things up. Again, all things running/throwing are not really happening due to weather outside and lack of facilities inside.
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2/14
Gonna is a V-day workout w wife before dinner tonight, but this AM decided to do the “Texas push-up challenge” I saw on front page yesterday.
Sounds super easy, but damn, my chest and triceps about blew up! Fun stuff.
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The push-up challenge is 1 push-up then standup, then 2 and stand up and then 3 and so on up through 10.
Evening:
- 108 plate raises (25#)
- 108 lunges (bw)
- 108 Triceps ext (25# DB)
- 108 barbell curls (45# bar)
Great little blood flow session and doesn’t take much time. Each big set as quickly as possible. Generally broken out as 42-32-22-12
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2/15
It was about 60 degrees here in NYC today, so I decided to take advantage of it and get some work done outside, throwing, and doing track stuff.
- Did about 15 minutes of drills - skips, hops, easy runs, etc
- Between Legs Forward Throw with 16# shot put - I like this as a way of gauging where my power output is. At my best shape, 50’ was about the furthest I could go. Today, I got out to 44-45’ so not terrible.
- Shot Put - about 12 throws (did both right and left hand which is kind of fun) had a few around 40’. Mostly around 38. Actually pretty happy with this, given I’ve done zero work on this for a couple of months.
- Discus - 6 throws - all into a fence, bc there were too many kids within range at the park.
- And also - the walk to and from the park is 500m, so I got 1000m of loaded suitcase carries with my track bag - total weight of around 25#.
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Blew. I mean blew. Through my 2500 calorie target today. Late Valentine’s Day dinner w the wife. 14 oz wagyu steak, mashed potatoes, oysters, tuna tartar, bread and butter. 3 martinis. Estimate of 2200 calorie dinner’. But it was good!
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It doesn’t take much! The minute you decide to cut you suddenly find yourself starving at all hours and struggling to control yourself.
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2/16
Working on Squat Depth, so going A2G and Pausing.
10x5 - 45-65-95-115-135-155-185-205-225-225
Then a little complex of Leg Raises, Bicep Curls, Triceps Ext, and isometric hold of curls and lateral raises.
All in all pretty pleased with my squat depth. Will do same weight and progress to 2-step pause squats (pause, halfway up, back down, pause, all the way up). Then add weight and keep going.
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1.5 rep squats suck. Paused squats suck. Why not combine them and do both?!? You’re nuts.