ZM Strong like Bull training log (Tactical Barbell training log)

Training Training Logs
985

I won’t change anything drastic with my sodium intake then, but If I avoid heavily salted foods then that makes eating healthier easier, possibly. Most healthy unprocessed foods don’t have a ton of salt, although some do of course. Salt isn’t an enemy, I know that.

That’s a good point, il remember that. I am pretty much in control (I don’t say completely because of course the body sometimes has other plans, but I’m in control of all the actions I do) of what my body does. If I put good stuff in, good food and good training, I will get good results, bigger stronger muscles.

Had to search that one up, but that’s a good quote.

Will track food on here after I’m done eating.

986

I won’t change anything drastic with my sodium intake then, but If I avoid heavily salted foods then that makes eating healthier easier, possibly. Most healthy unprocessed foods don’t have a ton of salt, although some do of course. Salt isn’t an enemy, I know that.

This is actually a pretty funny “for instance”. I was a total fast food addict for a long time. I ate it many times a week. I eventually quit cold turkey. And suddenly, I found myself waking up on the floor of my garage in the middle of workouts. I went and checked my blood pressure and it was like an 80 year old bingo player: totally bottomed out. By cutting out the fast food, I had cut out pretty much ALL of my salt/sodium, and my electrolytes were all jacked up. I had to make an effort to AGGRESSIVELY salt all of my food from that point to keep that from happening. You don’t realize how much salt is in processed food until you stop eating it. Dan John says “Salt is a cheap condiment”

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987

Man, yeah that’s something. I couldn’t even imagine something like that happening.
Yeah, salt is something that makes food taste better for some reason.

This week I can afford to go lowerwith sodium, but with mass I anticipate having to consume more. Not an issue. I eat my food unsalted as is, so adding salt should make it taste better.

Breakfast:
2 eggs
2 pieces of asparagus
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup protein granola
1 banana (this was difficult, almost threw up kept gagging. I have trouble eating bananas sometimes. the texture gets me)
5 raspberries
5 blackberries
1/2 cup black tea (having the rest now, frozen, in milk)
----Total: 720 Kcal, 29g fat, 68g carbs, 46g protein

Lunch:
1 wrap with ham lettuce cheese tomato
----Total: 240 Kcal, 12g fat, 4g carbs, 27g protein

Snack
The rest of the chicken pot pie (about 1.5 cups)
1 pack protein oatmeal
1.5 cup milk (half with the frozen tea lump)
1/2 cup black tea
-----Total: 844 Kcal, 36g fat, 80g carbs, 45g protein

Need 1061 Kcal and 92g protein. Were having beef vegetable soup tonight. I should be able to get enough.

Not going to do much running today, its very windy. I will probably do a bit of movement inside though. Tomorrow I will do a light jog during strength. Not doing any testing so I can properly rest. Thursday is my testing day.

DIdn’t drink as much water as I wanted today so far, I forgot to bring the two bottles of water to school. Oh well. I can catch up.

On a completely unrelated note: Any ideas on what to do with 15lbs of good copper wire (other than selling it). I don’t want to just sell it, and we don’t have anything to melt it down with. Anything useful? I can do some chemistry on it but it wouldn’t be really useful other than for practice.

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988

Dinner:
2 cups beef vegetable soup
4 oz beef cubes
2 pieces of asparagus
2 sweet peppers
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup oats
1/2 tbsp honey
----Total: 1114 Kcal, 46g fat, 72g carbs, 89g protein

Days total: 2918 Kcal (53 over), 123g fat, 224g carbs, 207g protein

I love eating high protein, I know its very good for me. It can be a pain sometimes, but, gotta deal with it anyways.
I need to get protein powder I think. It would be very helpful.

989

November 18th 2025 Rest and Retest week Day 2

Today for strength I will only do a bit of jogging to get the blood flowing.
This is a dumb question, and I assume the first answer is no, but,

Can I burn a significant (noticable) amount of fat by jogging for awhile during strength (as LSS work), just this day?. Or weight in general(water weight)? And should I even be doing so, given its a rest week?

Today is Mom’s birthday. She’s turning 49. I made her a scarf, I hope she likes it.

Not much else on my mind.

Breakfast in fünf Minuten, oder, es ist fünf vor sechs.

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990

Can I burn a significant (noticable) amount of fat by jogging for awhile during strength (as LSS work), just this day?. Or weight in general(water weight)? And should I even be doing so, given its a rest week?

Fat, no. The amount you could burn would be measured in grams. It’s a slow process.

Water weight, possibly. Weight cutting like that has been used by weight class athletes for decades. It’s not a very healthful practice.

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991

Yeah, I assumed so. Fat takes awhile to get rid of… I know from experience.

Yeah my friend who is in wrestling has done that alot. He would starve himself just to make weight (which I get its good but dude your 15-16, that’s NOT good for you). Im sure its not super healthy.

Breakfast:
3 eggs
5/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup protein granola
1 tbsp peanutbutter
6 raspberries
1 cup milk
----Total: 964 Kcal, 49g fat, 62g carbs, 67g protein

Workout:
I did 15 minute on the elliptical with a HR of around 150bpm,
A minute of rowing
2 minutes of walking
a few lat pulldowns because I was showing a friend some of my strength. I wanted to see how much I could do to. I did 160 (his max) for a few reps, 180 for like 1 rep or 2, and then tried 200, I got it down about halfway but not quite. Oh well. Doesn’t matter anyway
A bunch of goofing off, moseing around, and doing a bunch of nothing. Did some stretches actually, and foam roller stuff
Fun all in all

Snack
2 oz beef cubes
----Total: 116 Kcal, 5g fat, 0g carbs, 17g protein

Lunch
1 wrap with turkey lettuce cheese tomato
1 juice box (was thirsty forgot water)
----Total: 391 Kcal, 12g fat, 40g carbs, 28g protein

Dinner:
1 steak roll
5 oz shaved steak
a bit of cheese
a bit of sauce
2 pieces of baklava
1 hotdog wrapped in bacon (pig, with some pig)
Need more

I got to check my moss agar cultures. Well something grew around the moss leaves, I think its the protonemata but not fully sure since a lot of it isn’t anything at all, just white gunk. I wiped some of the condensation off the glass since I have a theory that the excess moisture was making the moss rot some.

Time to eat.

992

Yesterday’s dinner

1 steak roll
5 oz shaved steak
a bit of cheese
a bit of sauce
2 pieces of baklava
1 hotdog wrapped in bacon
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup protein granola
1/2 tbsp honey
----Total: 1173 Kcal, 59g fat, 95g carbs, 66g protein

Days total; 2644 Kcal, 125g fat, 197g carbs, 179g protein

November 19th 2025 Rest and retest week Day 3

Not much today. Im going to ask my chemistry teacher what I can do with the bit of mercury metal I have. I have it sealed in a jar with water ontop, in a jar with water, inside another jar with water, but I want to convert it into something less volatile for safety measures.

Il need to ask around to figure out who the ceramics teacher is. I think I know what room shes in but not fully sure if I’m right.

Time for breakfast.

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993

Breakfast:
2 eggs
5/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp peanut butter
4 raspberries
1/2 cup protein granola
1 tsp honey
----Total: 784 Kcal, 39g fat, 55g carbs, 53g protein

Lunch:
1 wrap turkey cheese lettuce tomato
----Total: 293 Kcal, 11g fat, 23g carbs, 23g protein

Snack:
1.5 cup beef vegetable soup
1 can tuna
1/2 cup rice
1/2 lemon
----Total: 561 Kcal, 17g fat, 46g carbs, 48g protein

Need 1227 Kcal and 86g protein

Today was a good day. Nohing really interesting though, just a history test and some review in German. I stayed after school, only ended up really organizing my backpack and doing 1 assignment for history. Still got work done so that’s good.

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994

Tomorrow Im testing my maxes. Will do 1-3 reps to test, not forcing a 1rm max to save a little time and energy. Will do bench, squat, OHP, and if I’m up to it, Deadlift. If I don’t get deadlift done in class, I will probably do it afterschool.

I have my schedule typed out for Grey Man Mass Protocol. Im excited.

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995

November 20th 2025: Retesting day.

I get to test my strength today… Im excited.

Q) For the supplemental work, it is worked with percentages also, meaning I have to test my maxes. No problem at all, except for kettlebell swings. Im not used to them much, and actually thinking about it this could be a problem due to our gym’s lack of kettlebell other than a 75lb and an 88lb, which I are too heavy for me i assume. Any replacements/modifications? And If I am able to test them, what will this look/feel like? Never really tested my strength on it before.

Im pumped for this. Its gonna be awesome. Next week I start, and its thanksgiving week. So Im gonna be putting on a pretty good amount of mass next week (though maybe not all muscle lol). Im fine with it, since its the holidays. This is NOT an excuse, however, to just eat whatever. Still going to eat healthy, lots of meat. Our thanksgiving duck will be tasty. Its a lot of fat, but still a decent amount of protein. Duck is one of my favorite meats, only below beef I would say.

I will do my OFFICIAL weigh in on Sunday to get the real number.

I will start logging my weight everyday, just to see how its moving.

Will aim to not look at myself in the mirror. I want to be shocked at my gains. Its super difficult for me but I can manage I’m sure. Il start putting my shirt over the mirror when I take a shower so I won’t have the opportunity to see myself when getting in/out.

Is it normal to have a common dream of either being late for the bus, forgetting stuff going to school (like gym clothing or something important?
Or what about somebody putting peroxide in your chocolate drink because they want you to die on a fieldtrip?
I had one where I had 3 of the same cat.
I had one where it was storming, and looking out my window I saw the neighbor opening the door to her car. Then a huge wave of water crashed over the hill and swept away everything, our house was shaking I tried going down the steps but I couldn’t keep my balance.
I have atleast 2 dreams almost EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. I wake up a few hours after I fall asleep. Its stupid. I go to bed at like 8:30 9:00, I wake up around 10:00, then get back to sleep. Might be from mom turning on the fan downstairs but not sure.

Breakfast in sechs Minuten, oder, es ist sechs vor sechs.

Oh, yesterday’s dinner:
2 taco shells
1 small tortilla
6 oz ground beef with taco seasoning
1/4 cup shredded cheddar
a bit of lettuce
1/2 cup protein granola
1 cup milk
----Total: 1070 Kcal, 55g fat, 69g carbs, 71g protein

Yesterdays total: 2708 Kcal, 122g fat, 194g carbs, 195g protein

Pretty close but it was getting late so I didn’t want to eat. This will change with mass protocol though so I better get ready.

Time to eat now.

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996

An option from the book that I think might be applicable here, is figuring out your rep max with either kettlebell, and then doing the sets based off of that. In layman’s terms, lets say you test and you can do 50 good swings with the 75lber before your form starts to deteriorate. In week 1, you would do 4 sets at 55% of that, AKA 4 sets of 28.

If you think the kettlebells are too heavy for that, then another option could be Good Mornings with a barbell, or Stiff Legged Deadlifts with dumbbells.

It’s been 15 years since I’ve ridden a school bus and I still have this dream. I wouldn’t sweat it.

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997

Love your mentality heading into mass. This is, indeed, a great time to grow.

@BrandonCrawford already got you some great advice on the KBs. In the absence of KBs, dumbbell swings are an option as well (that’s a very old school exercise), you can also make a plate loadable swing handle out of plumbing pipe, but I’m not sure if your gym would be cool with you bringing it in. Yet another choice would be to just establish a rep goal and get that any which way you can, and gradually increase it (20 total swings, then 30, then 40 for example). In the Green Protocol Tactical Barbell Book (I just picked it up and I’m reading through it now), K. Black has another mass building protocol build similarly to Grey Man, and for there he allows the trainee to be a little more flexible with the supplemental work.

Regarding the missed school bus/anxiety dream: constantly. As you grow up, the school bus will just turn into something else, but then you’ll also STILL have school dreams even when you’re well beyond that age. However, often, within those dreams, I remember that I already have a Masters degree and shouldn’t need to be worried about my undergrad anymore…and then I wake up.

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998

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Il have to think about which approach it is I will do for reps with kettlebell.

In other news; I did my Benchpress and Squat test. WOAH. This program WORKS.
Benchpress: 200 x 1 (up 25lbs)
Squat 255 x 1 (up 40lbs from 215 x 2)
Might have been able to do 265 (or do 255 for 2) but lower back was a little unhappy, so I backed off

After school today I will do OHP and then deadlift. I hope I have time, its only 30 minutes. OHP should be quick though. Its not a ton of weight already.

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999

This is what I love to see. That’s outstanding dude!

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1000

Did OHP, Deadlift, and then decided to do barbell curl and tricep extension

OHP: 100lbs x 1
Deadlift: Yes! 285 x 1, my all time record (previous was 275 x 1 back in summer)
Barbell curl: 95 x 1 (probably could have done 100 for 1, got about half a rep of 95 after the first rep, but, still only marking 95lbs)
Tricep extension: 85 x 2 (calculated 1rm of 90lbs)

I might make my goal that by the end of the school year I’ll be doing OHP for 135 (need to add 35lbs, Bench for 225 (I only need to add 25 pounds… I got this), Squat 315 (need to add 60lbs… I should be able to), and Deadlift 405 (maybe not, that’s a 120lb gain. Never the less, maybe.

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1001

Saturday I will be able to test Dips, Pullups, Lunges (ugh I hate these this is gonna be fun), and Kettlebell swings. I will try 75lbs for the swings, but I don’t think I will be able to do it. Nevertheless, so I will try.

Today’s food

Breakfast:
3 eggs
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup protein granola
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp peanut butter
3 oz ground beef
----Total: 1228 Kcal, 65g fat, 65g carbs, 89g protein

Snack:
3 oz ground beef
----Total: 216 Kcal, 14g fat, 0g carbs, 21g protein

Lunch
1 wrap, turkey lettuce cheese tomato
1 juice box
----Total: 353 Kcal, 11g fat, 38g carbs, 23g protein

Dinner
5 oz tuna salad with egg
4 mini rolls
1 tsp butter
1 oz beef jerky
4 oz ground beef
1 piece of baklava (this was my celebratory food item. Its not rewarding myself, Im just celebrating my achievement. Is this healthy mentally?)
1 cup milk
----Total: 1035 Kcal, 55g fat, 58g carbs, 73g protein

Days total: 2832 Kcal, 145g carbs, 162g carbs, 207g protein

Sufficient for now.

Today was a good day. Wrapped up a lot. Finished the first phase of my science project at the college. The agar plates were bleached, sealed, and disposed of.

I have the Google sheet I made all color coded. I attached a screenshot of part of it. When I’m done, the grey area will be filled in with plenty of data.

I might make a video on sunday and then one at the end to compare. Should be interesting to see my results. The last day is… February 14th. Valentines day. Hah.

I will now work on my homework

Screenshot 2025-11-20 6.41.45 PM
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1002

When is stuff gonna stop happening in the US. And the world.

Just get the stuff fixed and stop doing stuff. Get everything back to how it was when stuff worked better. Then, Dont. Mess. With. It. Just leave it be! This is why I don’t pay much attention to the news. Its too much. And it doesn’t affect me at all, my life remains pretty much the same.

Im sure its more complicated than that though. There ALWAYS something.

1003

November 21 2025 Rest and Retest week Day 5

Nice and sore today.

I think deadlifts and kettlebell swings are going to benefit me greatly.

1 more post until 1000. Thats a milestone.

@T3hPwnisher I was searching up stuff on kettlebells and I found that Dan John guy you talk about a lot. Neat. Its a good resource

Seven minutes until breakfast.

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1004

I was searching up stuff on kettlebells and I found that Dan John guy you talk about a lot. Neat. Its a good resource

He’s an excellent resource. I first discovered him here on this very site. He posted as @Dan_John and wrote several articles

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