Nothing of note so far, but I imagine it will take close to a month to notice anything. I am hoping it will help mitigate some of the recovery and energy issues with cutting. Then help with gainz and minimal fat rebound come maintenance time. On paper, it should do those things, but we shall see!
1 Like
Wednesday 7/24
JN Essentials W11D2
Pendulum Squat
(Plate weight only)
6, 8 x 45, 11 x 35
Standing Arnold Press
8 x 35, 10 x 30
Seated Ham Curl
10 x 133, 9 x 140
Compound Row
12, 12 x 110
Zottman Curl
Dropset - 15, 12, 12, 10 x 20-15
Pec Deck
Dropset - 12, 12 x 50-40
10 minute walk
The carbs paid off on this one. Done in 40 minutes, weights moved well.
Tuesday 7/30
Weigh-in
144.6, -3.2
Big drop in water weight from last week. Pretty good considering the nutritional debauchery that took place over the weekend. Didnāt bother trying to log food, so no idea on macros.
Had an amazing time camping and wheeling in the San Juan Mountains. Ate pretty well, lots of carbs. Did get some chocolate and one of my favorite doughnuts from Moab on the way home. Other than that, protein was still high, and almost all the food was homemade.
Did go out for one meal in Telluride, very fancy ramen with smoked brisket, pulled pork and smoked pork belly in smoked bone broth. I am forever ruined for other ramen.
10 Likes
Tuesday 7/30
JN Essentials, W12D1
Slight Incline DB Bench
4, 4 x 55, 11 x 45
DB RDL
12, 12 x 55Dbs
Machine Pulldown
Dropset - 12,12- 12,10x 110-90
DB Bulg Split Squat
10, 10 x 35
Tricep Pushdown (drop set)
15, 15-15, 15 x 95-75
Machine Lat Raise (drop set)
12, 12, 12, 12(30-20)
Reverse bar curl (drop set)
12, 12 x 30-20
Hip Abductor
17 x 70, 20 x 60
15 minute walk outside
Bumped up the weight on incline bench and managed to not get crushed. It was ugly, but I hit the minimum reps. I will make that press grow!
Speaking of not growing, those hip abductors have been stagnant for weeks. Though, I still feel it and itās an accessory, so Iām not sure it matters.
Wednesday 7/31
Sprints
10 min jog/running drills
5 x ~60yrd Hill sprints
20 minutes jog/walk
Woke up naturally at 410. My body seems to wake me up for these. Itās interesting.
Hunger is hitting hard this week. I think my stomach got four days of higher calories and loved it a little too much. Been getting nauseous hungry between meals. Calories arenāt back down to the low they were before my trip. Trying to work them back down without too many side effects. Weāre still jiggly body, stop fighting it!
10 Likes
Thursday 8/1
Sprints + run
10 min jog + running warm up
5 x 60yrd sprints
30 minutes jog/walk with drills
This was pretty fun. I went to a park and ran in the grass field for better cushion. Felt like being a kid again and sprinting full-bore around the park.
I got a new Garmin watch for my birthday, Venu 3. It has some built in running training plans. I am loosely following the Half Marathon plan. This is a dangerous slope. I donāt realize how much I miss training for something specific until I get a tiny taste. I still default to endurance. I so donāt have time for that.
10 Likes
Friday 8/2
JN Essentials W12D2
Pendulum Squat
(Plate weight only)
6, 6 x 40, 10 x 40
Standing Arnold Press
9, 7 x 35
Seated Ham Curl
10, 10 x 140
Vertical Row
12, 12 x 80
Zottman Curl
Dropset - 15, 15, 12, 10 x 20-15
Pec Deck
Dropset - 12, 12 x 60-50
15-minute walk
Great day, feeling super strong.
Hubby decided to film me a bit. Watching the videos after was definitely a confidence booster. I look way better in motion. Maybe he will take some lower body next time.
Saturday 8/3
Run
2.25 miles
Only walked for a couple minutes of this. I had time between flights so this was done in the afternoon, around 95F. It was slow, but felt awesome after.
12 Likes
Looking strong and fit!
2 Likes
Indeed
1 Like
Back starting to get some nice detail in there and those calvesā¦damn
1 Like
Thank you! It is rewarding to see those little muscles showing.
Years of running, bicycling, and good genetics for those puppies. Havenāt done calf raisesā¦ ever.
1 Like
You look fantastic! Definitely getting stronger and stronger, but youāre also looking slimmed down. Go you!
1 Like
Appreciate all the kind words! Iām sure you are right there with me with all of the CG workouts!
1 Like
Weigh-in
145.6, +1.0lb
Week steps: 50k
I am struggling to get back in the game mentally. As the screenshot shows, I have been busting the Appās calorie budget. I had to adjust my goal to get it to add a couple hundred calories. With my weight going up the last couple weeks, it was calling for 1200 cals a day. That wasnāt going to happen.
I might be reaching the point of diet fatigue with this cut phase, itās getting harder to stick to lower calories. Hunger and cravings are up. Just a few more weeks left before a break.
Funny thing at work today. I went out to lunch with a few co-workers. On the way back out to the car, one of my female co-workers was saying lovely things like:
āYour arms are amazingā, āYou are so jackedā, āGoalz, what do you do?ā
Then she asked if I could flex for her and she gave my bicep a few squeezes.
It is a great day when a beautiful woman squeezes my bicep.
11 Likes
that really would be a great day. I need to find me a bicep squeezer. 
1 Like
Highly recommend! Itās great for the soul.
1 Like
3 Likes
Lives like a days drive away, I need an option closer to home.
1 Like
It would be worth it.
3 Likes
Tuesday 8/6
JN Essentials, W1D1
Machine Press
6, 5 x 115, 8 x 105
Hip Press
10, 10, 10 x 360
2-Grip Lat Pulldown
12, 11 x 110
DB Walking Lunge
2 x 10ea side x 40s
Machine OH tricrep ext
15, 14 x 15
DB Lateral Raise
2 dropset x 15,15-12-12 x 10-5
Donkey Kicks
Drop set - 12, 12 x 60-40
15 minute walk
Starting the program over again. No need to change what is working.
Picked up the weights were I left off on these moves week ago, quite happy with that.
Had a lot of carbs to work with after the work lunch yesterday - Mexican food. Yum. Going to be a low calorie day today to make up for it.
Wednesday 8/7
Sprints and Run
5 minute run drills warmup
5 x 60yrd Hill Sprints
2 mile run with drills
Great morning, felt so nice to get out and move. I have been slacking on the steps the last few days and I was feeling lazy.
Watched a good video from Mike Israetel yesterday about lean gain periodization. He suggested a 12 week gain and 6 week cut for a gain focus, and a 6 week gain and 12 week cut for a fat loss focus. This resonated with me and so Hubby and I layed out phases for the rest of the year. He will focus on gaining and my focus is still fat loss.
The gain periods should help mentally and physically. The back to back cuts were overall successful, but the second cut was far less fruitful than the first. I think a gain, maintenance, cut will keep the momentum going a bit better.
I am sure this has been written about and suggested on this site many times, it didnāt hit until now.
Anyway, Iāll be finishing out this weekās cut, not lifting and eating maintenance for a week, then into a six week gain, at 0.5lbs per week. Should be an interesting experiment!
7 Likes
BIG fan of a cyclical approach to eating. I agree: this should be enjoyable, and having clearly defined end dates/states really goes a long way toward maintaining progression. When youāre on an āindefinite cutā, it can be hard to maintain motivation and momentum, and very easy to break. But when you know itās ājust 2 more weeksā, you can stick with it. And, quite often, by the time the gaining phase is ending, youāll be sick of eating and EXCITED to start off the cut phase.
Any plans on changing training to match up with the nutrition?
1 Like