Minty Fresh

(Title Note: Recently recovered my preference for Linux, on the Ubuntu-based Mint distro. All it really took was having my graphics card driver work NEARLY out-of-the-box for me to come back. Ubuntu was a good run, and Windows 7 went as I expected: nice at first, barely-passable pig-disgusting towards the end. Ah, Windows. Predictable user experience.)

So, I’ve yo-yo’d back once again to pursue strength goals in favor over physique.

There won’t be any dirty-bulking, this time around, however.

According to a trusted source, my present weight at a lower body fat percentage is my genetic muscular potential. This seems to suggest a call for a recomposition: lose fat AND gain muscle.

So because I seem to be behaviorally disinclined to cooperate with my own “lose fat as fast as fucking possible” regimens, I’ve decided instead to focus on increasing my bench and deadlift scores while maintaining vaguely the same amount of weight. I’ll still be keeping composition scores… but I won’t be expecting any radical changes any time soon.

I’m also considering changing my routine more than will be described in this post, but some of the changes will be apparent here and is mostly the reason I’m even logging this workout. I also slightly edged past my 1RM tested earlier, even though this wasn’t a true test for that purpose. Just a failed 10lbs. jump, really.

The biggest change to my routine (meaning the one that will stick even if all the other changes I’m considering do not) is that I’ve moved my incline benching and chinning to the shoulder day I tend to do between deadlift workouts when I have that much time to work out. I actually have a job now, so I get to make excuses.

On to the workout for 5/11/11:

Deadlift

1. 135lbs. x 5 (double-overhand)
2. 155 x 3 (d-o)
3. 220 x 2 (d-o)
4. 260 x miss (straps+left hand over)
5. 260 x miss (s+lhu)
6. 250 x 2 (s+lho)
7. 215 x 1 (s+lhu)

I considered making a third 260lbs. attempt, but I kind of wanted to maintain my hand-switching for top sets… kind of dumb, but not as dumb as throwing out my back. My form was pretty terrible. I could just tell it was. I wasn’t “all there,” due to poor sleep quality. I’m going to try to make the jump to 260 next session, but if I miss it again I’m moving down to 5lbs. jumps.

Bench Press

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 45 x 5
3. 55 x 5
4. 80 x 3
5. 100 x 2
6. 115 x 2 (no change)
7. 105 x 5 (bottom of range)
8. 90 x 2 (stopped because weight felt weird, as though I’d misloaded. I had not.)
9. 90 x 7 (wanted to get at least 8 reps at this weight)

Because of the slightly-pinchy shoulder issue on my first warm-up last time I benched, I possibly over-warmed for this: doing dynamic stretching before most sets, especially the first. Spent five minutes warming up before my first set. The should-have-been-last set caused me to consider doing the dumbbell variation of this exercise to balance out my strength on both sides. It’s something I’ll have to look into: how much total weight ought I drop down to, how to kick up the dumbbells properly, and so on.

Low Cable Rows (narrow grips)

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 45 x 5
3. 60 x 5
4. 75 x 3
5. 105 x 2
6. 120 x 5
7. 120 x 5
8. 120 x 5

I was ready to call it a day by the time I started these, some combination of CNS and “I DINT SLEP SO GUD” fatigue. Going by my last row session (in my notebooks, I’ve been lax about updating on here) I should have ramped up to 150lbs. for a top set of 3. I’m very glad I did not. I’ll just be doing simple straight sets of five here to support my benching efforts, so I’ll be bumping this to 135lbs. x 5 next session. I don’t expect to make all the reps next time, but I’ll just stay at that weight and try to get at least 2 more reps per workout until I get my 3×5 before bumping again.

START: 9AM
STOP: 11:25AM

WEIGHT: 165.5lbs. – 168lbs.*

*I weigh myself before and after my workout.

Popularity: 2% [?]

B Variant

My back is still a little tingly-tender from deadlifts, so I skipped the squats I was initially planning to front-load. I considered doing leg presses or calf raises, but when I got to cardio I was much relieved to have not done any of those three. I thought my back was going to be irritated by the rows, but I must have actually activated the correct muscles for once, because no such problem was had.

B Workout

START: 11AM
Weight: 167lbs.

Flat Bench

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 45 x 5
3. 50 x 5
4. 70 x 3
5. 90 x 2
6. 100 x 8 (+)
7. 90 x 9 (+)
8. 80 x 10 (+)

The (+) is going to be my shorthand that these sets need to be increased next workout. The rep range, respectively, for these sets are: 5-8; 6-9; 7-10

Row

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 45 x 5
3. 60 x 5
4. 75 x 3
5. 105 x 2
6. 120 x 8 (+)
7. 105 x 9 (+)
8. 90 x 10 (+)

Same rep set-up as the bench. I used a different sort of handle today: close-grip, smooth handles. Black. Didn’t agitate my calluses any, will be using it again.

Lateral Raise

1. 35lbs. x 5
2. 45 x 3
3. 55 x 2
4. 65 x 10 (+)
5. 55 x 11 (+)
6. 50 x 12 (+)

Rep set-up: 8-10; 9-11; 10-12

STOP: 1:30PM
Weight: 173.5lbs.

Cardio

1. Treadmill warm-up: 5 minutes of 2.0 mph/ 2.0 incline for the first two minutes, then 3.0 for the rest.
2. Treadmill intervals: 1′ walk / 1′ run, so that I got off the treadmill immediately after a run. 3.0 incline.
   1. x2 @ 2.0mph/6.0mph
   2. x3 @ 2.0mph/4.0mph
3. 6 minute rest in the locker room.
4. Stationary cycle: 5.52 miles in 37 minutes

Notes:

• I want to replace at least one of the 4.0mph runs with a 6.0, until they’re all 2.0/6.0mph. Then I’ll work on increasing the sprinting speed.
• The slow-and-steady cycling at the end will be increased in terms of duration only.
  • I don’t really have any idea as to how much to increase cardio duration by. I’m tentatively just saying “anything that is more, even just one minute.”
  • Another idea is mileage: I’d like to log 42 miles a week, as in real life I tend to have gone distances of about 20 miles and back.

Diet

Stuff I have to remember:

Maintenance Intake

At Body Weight 169lbs. = 2800kcal.

I’d really like my weigh-ins to be three consecutive days, but that probably isn’t going to happen.

I’m going to recalculate maintenance (for proper deficit purposes) weekly.

I would like to achieve a 1000kcal deficit on rest days, training days are allowed to be at maintenance/slightly over.

Fasting Period

Fast starts: 8-10PM
Feeding begins: 1PM on rest days; as soon as I can after training otherwise.

Protein Multiplier

• Lean Body Mass x 0.9 = Protein on rest days
• LBM x 1.1 = Protein on cardio-only days (not sure if I’m going to have these or not, yet)
• LBM x 1.5 = Protein on weight-training days (if cardio is done after weight training, still use this number)

Popularity: 2% [?]

Aprun

While I have been keeping a log of my meals and general intake, today I’ve actually plugged those figures into a proper calorie count to see where I stand.

5-Day Average

Calories: 2826
Fat: 98g
CHO: 390g
Protein: 120g

The craziest thing to me: if I were to reduce my average carbohydrate intake by 250g (so, down to 140g) I’d lose 2lbs. of fat that week.

I really just wanted a relevant snapshot to see how much of a fuck-up I’ve been since I’ve stopped being incredibly anal as to what goes into my mouth. I’m just assuming that this is my maintenance intake. If I come in somewhere around 167-173lbs. at tomorrow’s pre-workout weigh-in, then it definitely is. ¹

A pretty fabulous fuck-up, it looks like! I even managed to get weaker, way to go!

I’m pretty much at my last-call to looking good for this summer. I have a convention to attend in June to look my best for. Odds are, if I can’t manage to look cut and inspire envy in the otaku of Texas, I’m going to give up on this venture entirely and fully focus on strength gains for a few years. ²

I’m not entirely sure how I want to set up my workout, though. I’m fairly convinced I want to do “Deadlift + Incline Bench” ONLY, but I want a little more frequency than what that would demand.

I want to work out roughly every four days, but also wouldn’t mind making the “B” workout optional/droppable in the event of a suddenly-busy schedule. I can usually find ONE day a week to exercise, and if I have only that one day I’ll deadlift it.

Initially considering something along the lines of:

A
Deadlift – 1 x 1-3
Incline Bench – 1 x 3-5
[Chin Assist - 1 x 3-5]
[Lateral Raise - 1 x 5-8]

B
Squat – 1 x 3-5
Flat Bench – 1 x 5-8
[Low Row - 1 x 5-8]
[Lateral Raise - 1 x 8-10]

Deadlift + some kind of press is pretty much a full-body workout. If I didn’t have any benches to work with I’d just do a basic military press.

I suspect someday I’ll have such a situation ³ as the incline bench is a vertical push, I feel it has enough synergistic benefit to be applicable. It’s also easy to “save” myself from it if I fail, using my legs.

The bracketed movements are “optional for this workout,” and I chose chin assist as it’s another vertical pull. It’s also something I want to get stronger at, which is the theme here anyway.

The second workout is a little trickier for me. I wanted it to be a lighter workout, one that didn’t demand as much of a strain on CNS but would still force me to focus (this has been a problem for me with the high-rep routines I’ve been trolling myself with lately.)

For the first two movements, I simply threw in the remainder of the Big Three. I’m sure RDLs or power cleans would be more supportive of my deadlifting, but I feel that performing RDLs degrades my DL TECHNIQUE, which I sweat, and that power cleans are too technical for me if I’m to be dieting. If I could achieve passable form of complex moves, I’d be doing Olympic lifts.

And I’m sure it’s weird to be lifting less on Flat Bench than on Incline Bench, but it’ll probably catch-up/exceed it eventually anyway. I don’t mind.

The rows are the plane-opposite of flat benching, so there that is.

I saw no reason to replace Lateral Raises. They’re already optional. If I’m too burnt-out to do lateral raises it’s not as though I’m going to be able/willing to do much anything else. Abs? Curls? Fuck that noise.

Maybe calf raises.

MAYBE.

Probably not.

Popularity: 2% [?]

But I Don’t Wanna Diet!

Feh.

I’m over 20% bodyfat.

I should be starting a diet.

It really doesn’t feel like happening. Just not motivated. Don’t really care about having abs. Kinda more interested in deadlifting 500. Maybe I’ll just work on that. Not this workout though. Just as a general plan of attack.

Though if I had started this week I’d be done in time for my birthday.

I’ve never met a deadline like that before in my life.

So fuck it.

Workout for 9.7.10

8AM: Sucked down 2 scoops of EAS Premium Vanilla Shit and, because I wanted to try it, decided to sub-out ephedrine for yohimbine this morning in the interest of the cardio coming my way later on in the day. Turns out I was using the ephedrine more for its neurological-asskick than raw stimulatory power. 2.5mg yohimbine, 200mg caffeine.

Weight: 173lbs.
Fat%: 20.4%

The Strong Bit

Start Time: 9:05AM

Bench Press

1. 45lbs x 5
2. 45 x 5
3. 60 x 5
4. 80 x 3
5. 105 x 2
6. 120 x 2 (I should have only done one, my form was off and I neuro-fried myself for the rest of the workout)
7. 110 x 2 (pitiful)
8. 95 x 3 (but fried!)

Incline Bench

1. 45lbs x 5
2. 95 x 3
3. 105 x 1 (damn)

I stopped there. Nothing was moving, my arms were just done from that forced rep on the top set of benching.

Chin-Ass

1. 43lbs x 5
2. 88 x 3
3. 118 x 2
4. 138 x 3
5. 123 x 4
6. 103 x 6
7. 88 x 8 (went to failure)

HOLY YES! My first workout without a single chinny fuckup. Glorious day.

Strength Portion Completed at: 10:42AM, deep-throated another 5mg yohimbine.

Vanity Circuit

I didn’t have a lot of time to do this, I needed to be done by a quarter-after-eleven to have enough time to slave through some cardio before my ride arrived.

Calf Raise

1. 45lbs x 5
2. 60 x 5
3. 60 x 5
4. 60 x 24 (to failure)

These exercises are pretty much linear 3×5, with a warm-up set, because I don’t really give a shit about them but I don’t want it to look like that.

Increasing the weight here next time around.

Bicep Curl

1. 10lbs x 5
2. 10 x 5
3. 10 x 19

Increase.

Pushdown

1. 22.5lbs x 5
2. 27.5 x 5
3. 27.5 x 5
4. 27.5 x 16

I’m really not sure why I’m bothering with this exercise again.

Probably just because I’m guilty about the bicep curls.

Increase.

Vanity Completed: 11:03AM. Kickass. Glad I did it as a circuit.

Took a ten-minute break, then another 5mg yohimbine+200mg caffeine, and it was onto the stationary bike.

Cardio

Stationary Bike: 7.86 miles in 45 minutes @ level 2. My heart rate never went above 115bpm, so I’ll be increasing this to level 3 next workout. I don’t really buy into the whole “fat burning zone” thing, but I figure if I’m not AT LEAST at the minimum heart rate for that shit, I’m not working hard enough for it to be worth my time.

My goal is to get up to 13 miles per hour and then start increasing the duration of cycling.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Post Bachelor Party

Spent the weekend eating and shooting at stuff with pistols/shotgun and eating.

Spent Monday sleeping it off.

Tuesday I got a half-volume partial depletion in before going to the dentist and getting my mouth raped.

I think tomorrow I’m going to sleep that off.

So I have to get this in now before I pass out.

Workout for Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Starting Weight: 172lbs.
BF%: 18.4%

Preworkout Supplements: Ephedrine/Caffeine (25mg/400mg), washed down with 12g Purple Wraath in 1 cup of water (fucking awful going down, but the grape Jollyrancher burps are ACE!)

Start Time: 8:55AM

Strength Work

Bench Press

1. 45lbs x 5
2. 45 x 5
3. 55 x 5
4. 75 x 3
5. 95 x 2
6. 110 x 4 (increase)
7. 100 x 5 (increase)
8. 85 x 8 (increase)

My goals for the last set was lower, but I decided to just go for eight so I could increase all three sets next workout. Huzzah.

Incline Bench

1. 50lbs x 5
2. 90 x 2
3. 100 x 5 (increase)
4. 90 x 6 (increase)
5. 75 x 9 (increase)

Same story.

ChinAss (Weight: 174)

1. 44lbs x 5
2. 44 x 5
3. 99 x 3 (DAMN IT)
4. 129 x 3 (didn’t lose a rep thankfully, and I probably could have made the fourth that I wanted, but I left it at that and will increase next workout)
5. 114 x 5 (increase)
6. 94 x 9 (increase)
7. 85 x 12

One of these days, I’m going to load my chins properly, and it’s going to MATTER! Ugh.

Strength Finish: 11:05AM

Volume Work

Block One

Leg Press: 6 x 15 @ 60lbs
Leg Curl: 4 x 15 @ 45lbs
Lateral Raise: 1 x 15 @ 20lbs

Ten minute break.

Block Two

Lateral Raise: 3 x 15 @ 20lbs
Calf Raise: 3 x 15 @ 30, 30, 45lbs
Bicep Curl: 4 x 15 @ 5lbs
Pushdown: 4 x 15 @ 22.5lbs

8 minute break.

Block Three

Crunch Machine: 4 x 15 @ 35lbs
Calf Raise: 3 x 15 @ 45lbs

5 minute break.

Block Four

Cable Twist: 4 x 15 @ 30lbs

Volume Finish: 12:35PM

Body Weight: 174lbs

Cardio “Work”

Stationary Cycle: 35min, 6.62miles, level 2

30 minute break, then Yohimbine/Caffeine 15mg/400mg

Stationary Cycle: 35min, 7.08miles, level 2

Cardio Finish: 2:34PM

I was having trouble walking before I did the cardio, so I opted out of doing the treadmill in favor of something where I wouldn’t have to support my own weight.

Didn’t take any insulin until around 4:30PM.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Workout for Friday, August 6, 2010

I went out to my cabin after I went to the gym on Friday, so I didn’t get a chance to upload my workout.

I don’t really remember what I was going to rant about so this is going to be pretty bare-bones.

Workout for Friday, August 6, 2010

Weight: 167.5lbs
Body Fat %: 16.2%

Start: 10AM
Finish: 12:09PM

Bench Press

1. 45lbs x 5
2. 45 x 5
3. 55 x 5
4. 75 x 3
5. 95 x 2
6. 110 x 1 (the second rep was horribly dirty and the third didn’t reach lockout, obviously staying)
7. 95 x 5 (increase)
8. 80 x 7 (increase)

I’m not horribly concerned. My chest is probably still pretty fucked from the depletion workout that I over-volumed on. I felt pretty fucked yet from that coming into this workout. I don’t know how I’m going to sort out my B workout just yet, but at the time what I knew was that I wasn’t ready to be doing deadlifts and I didn’t have time to sort out an alternative program aside from the one I had readily available.

Incline Bench

1. 50lbs x 5
2. 90 x 2
3. 100 x 4 (one less than what I was going for, stay)
4. 85 x 7 (increase)
5. 70 x 8 (increase)

ChinAss (bodyweight = 172)

1. 42lbs x 5
2. 42 x 5
3. 72 x 5
4. 87 x 3
5. 107 x 5 (this pissed me off, I really have to keep the work set on the same line in my notebook as the exercise name)
6. 127 x 3 (fortunately I didn’t lose a rep over it, stay weight)
7. 107 x 5 (increase)
8. 87 x 7 (increase)
9. 77 x 9 (increase)

Overall this exercise went pretty well, though I was ready for a nap by the time I finished here.

Stationary Bike

3.17 miles, 22:11

Level 1 intensity. Just too tired to go the distance this day, really.

Notes

I’m pretty solidly 20lbs away from being 5% bodyfat. I mean, of course I should be taking these measurements as dry as possible. But I’ve started my proper LeanGains-inspired fasting protocol on Sunday (August 8) and I’ve gotten my yohimbine and BCAAs in the mail, along with complimentary fat caliper (“free gift” for spending an excessive amount of money on supplements.) On Tuesday I’m going to take measurements with both the bio-impedance meter at the gym, as well as taking a skinfold measurement of my gut.

There’s a three-site measurement method with the calipers as well, but having tried to measure my chest on my own made me realize I only measuredly care about the fat loss around my navel, so, that’s what I’ll be pinching.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Standard Strength

Much like I did here, I’m going to post what my poundages are for some lifts.

These are the lifts I’m going to struggle to maintain as I diet down. I will not be increasing weight much, if at all, until next year. Most likely.

Workout A

• Bench Press: 110lbs x 2 reps
• Incline Bench: 95lbs x 5 reps
  • Drop set: 85lbs x 8 reps
• Close-grip Bench: 80lbs x 5 reps
  • Drop set: 70lbs x 8 reps

Workout B

• Deadlift: 200lbs x 2 reps
  • Drop set: 165lbs x 4 reps
• Lateral Raise Machine: 95lbs x 3 reps
  • Drop set: 85lbs x 4 reps
• Pulldown: 130lbs x 3 reps
  • 115lbs x 6 reps

I’m probably going to still do Chins (assisted) on A days, but they won’t be a part of the central workout whose numbers I want to maintain. It’s almost a push/pull routine!

Probably going to fill this in with more goal-talk at some point, but I wanted to post up my numbers for my own reference. It’s surprising how useful this blog is when I have a phone with internet access.

God, I am so weak.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Come Back Crying (P4C5A1D)

UD2 kicks my ass. I just do not have the balls for it.

So I’m going back to the lofty realm of cheesecake and BBQ ribs that is LeanGains. Also less volume work. Today was my last day of volume work. It’s fun, but, I really have no use for the pump.

Heh.

So I went back to my old A1B1 routine, starting with A1 today. Chest/tricep day. Monday. Fuck that worked out horribly.

Not really. I came in early. I finished the heavy portion of this day looong before the benchbros. came to town. I finished up entirely around the same time that Ken11 did. I don’t know if I’ve talked about Ken before or not (I know I’ve cited him as one of the strongest people in my gym) but today we’re christening him because I accurately determined his bodyfat percentage. Woot.

Workout for July 12, 2010

Bench Press

1. 45lbs x 5
2. 60 x 3
3. 80 x 2
4. 100 x 3 ~ increase
5. 90 x 6 ~ increase

This felt really good, honestly. I’m flirting with the idea of increasing the top set by ten pounds instead of five next workout.

Incline Bench

1. 55lbs x 3
2. 70 x 2
3. 90 x 6 ~ increase

This I’ll probably still only bump by five. Too much shoulders, though I found out I can use my legs to help me get to the low pins (failed my seventh rep…)

Horizontal Press, Hammer Grip

1. 65lbs x 3
2. 85 x 2
3. 110 x 1 ~ Actually failed the first attempt but refused to mark down a zero…

I’m ditching these. The machine’s starting to hurt my wrists because of the awkward angle of them to the grips. I could probably fix this. And I am, by switching to close-grip benching.

Pushdown

1. 42.5lbs. x 3
2. 47.5 x 2
3. 52.5 x 5 ~ INCREASE!

Gosh. I almost didn’t EXCITED over this because of the Ryan Reynoldsalike Douchebag who spit LORDLY GOBS OF PHELGM into the water fountain. I wanted to see him fail his 315lbs bench. I didn’t see it from here.

In retrospect: FUCK YEAH! That much closer to lifting the whole stack, HAHAHAHA!

Asschin ~ bodyweight 171.5

1. 51.5lbs x 5
2. 76.5 x 3
3. 101.5 x 2
4. 126.5 x 4 ~ Increase.
5. 61.5 x 6 (misread my log and set the pins to the weight I intended to lift rather than the proper offset, I’m not counting either drop set today)
6. 96.5 x 6

I’ve basically decided that, for top sets, 3-5 will be the rep range of increase. If I get at least three reps at a given weight, I’ll increase it next workout.

Cable Twists

1. 30lbs x 5
2. 40 x 3
3. 60 x 2
4. 80 x 5

Not doing drop sets on core work of any kind.

Weight (preworkout): 169.5
Body Fat %: 17.1%

This is bad. I haven’t been able to properly keep a lid on my appetite following the refeed. I’m going back to UD2, with cardio on off-days to help with the deficit I’m behaviorally incapable of properly achieving through diet.

Start: 10:20AM
Finish: 11:48AM

I took about a half hour break to rest and reflect on my approach (yes, again, another post on planning coming up. Sorry I suck at adhering.) before returning to the floor to do volume-centric work. I cut out some sets based upon the above workout as well. This was from my INTENDED UD2 depletion workout, and I only managed to get one round in before I checked time and blood to decided to do some cardio. Here we go.

Superset: Leg Extension / Leg Curl: 3 x 15 @ 30lbs / 25lbs

Cable Rows: 3 x 15 @ 45lbs

Superset: Lateral Raise / Calf Raise: 3 x 15 @ 30lbs / 45lbs

Dumbbell Curls: 2 x 15 @ 8lbs (no rest, alternating arms)

Pushdown: 2 x 15 @ 27.5lbs (probably should have just skipped these, but I had planned to do the ENTIRE depletion workout, and I cut the extra sets from the back-end.)

Cable Twist: 3 x 15 @ 30lbs (I almost just skipped them because somebody had the pulleys, but he was all “Nah man! I only have one more set on each one!” so I hung out.)

For the single-exercise portions I just waited 2 minutes straight between sets. On the supersets, I did the first exercise, started my timer, walked over and did the second exercise, walked back, and waited for the timer to hit 2 minutes before I did the next set of the first exercise. Seemed to be the least-bothersome way of organizing the rest periods, to me.

Start: 12:35PM
Finish: 1:30PM

I didn’t check time as to when I did the cardio. I think it was around 1:40PM after I called my dad to secure a ride home (I would otherwise be stuck until 7PM, and as I’ve typed this my mom called to tell me she was running late besides… but this was why I figured I’d have time to do the entire depletion routine.) Once sure, I hit the bike for 5 miles in 14 minutes. If I keep biking, I’ll work on speed and try to get to 7.5 miles in 15 minutes, before I work on duration.

Realistically, though, I don’t give a shit about my cardio performance. I’ll probably drop the intensity and go for calories in the future.

I got out of the gym at 2:55PM, after showering/shaving etc.

Popularity: 2% [?]

New Notebook (P1C2A2)

Just cracked open a fresh multi-subject cheapshit notebook.

First page got this workout loaded onto it. Hooray!

Workout A2 for Monday, June 14th, 2010

Incline Bench

1. 45lbs x 3
2. 65 x 2
3. 80 x 8
4. 70 x 9

I was really happy about this lift. No doubt increasing it next workout. Kind of annoyed by the EZ-deadlifter indirectly giving me shit about my form. You know why the bar drops into the pins when I’ve completed my reps? That’s called muscular failure. Try it some time.

Maybe with those deadlifts, sweet-cheeks.

Wide-grip Horizontal Press Machine

1. 35lbs x 5
2. 55 x 3
3. 70 x 2
4. 90 x 1

I made the horrible discovery that the BACK of the machine can be adjusted to augment the stretch of the starting position (basically mimicking how far your elbows would go below a bench in the real lift.) Seat back to 4 was optimal. But, given that I hadn’t been training full-range up until this point, I’m actually quite pleased with the eeked-out single at the raised working weight. Going to keep it here.

Hammer-grip Horizontal Press Machine

1. 55lbs x 4
2. 75 x 2
3. 95 x 4

Phooey. Two reps short. Surprising, though, given that this is the same machine as above and the seat is adjusted. Maybe it’s to the benefit of my triceps while at the detriment of my pecs. I dunno. I’m probably not even doing these right. I’m suspecting the wide-grip is nailing my triceps and hammer-grip is recruiting anterior delts or something.

Pushdown

1. 32.5lbs x 3
2. 37.5 x 2
3. 42.5 x 11

FUCK YES! I really wanted to get at least ten with this movement. At these weights my abs are contributing like crazy to keep myself upright (rather than trying to crunch the weight down.) I noted last workout that I was going to drop the 5-rep warm-up to three reps and this apparently has helped. I know that my triceps are all but warmed-up by now anyway. Those two warm-up sets are more of a nervous wake-up than a muscular warm-up.

Pulldown

1. 45lbs x 5
2. 75 x 3
3. 95 x 2
4. 120 x 5

Shit. One short of being able to increase again. I really felt like I used too much biceps in this, even though I’m feeling it today and I had at least enough linkage to flex my right lat (vanity posing waiting for towel to dry, heh.) My leftie still doesn’t want to cooperate. I think I’m going to try to, next workout, not only get that next rep but BEGIN the movement with the lats and throw in dedicated bicep involvement when I can’t lower the bar further to just under my chin.

This workout took about an hour and a half. I was intending to do cardio but since I’m not going to get my full allotment of rest days and because I just felt catabolic generally, I decided to pass on it.

Body Weight: 164lbs

Condition: B-. Felt stringy/flabby at the same time. Morale was good, and just mentally ‘ready’ to kick some ass and WORK.

Stalling on more than half of my lifts makes me think I might need to bump protein in future cycles. This one is going to be a little weird though with training frequency (essentially trying to reconfigure my schedule to account for a root canal next Wednesday) so I’m bumping up calories to hopefully compensate for the relatively little rest. Luckily this Wednesday’s workout is the lightest in the cycle and I should be recovered for the next cycle by Monday.

…You know, having done the majority of my refeed today already I realize it’s feasible for me to work out on Thursday rather than tomorrow if I’m willing to wait longer for a ride home. Well. Neat. I’ll see how I feel tomorrow morning.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Progress Excites Me (P1C2WA1)

I just realized I started my second workout cycle yesterday. Awwriiight~

It was a highly unexpected result, my measures, as I still feel like I’m vastly overeating. I’m still recording on paper when and how much of whatever I’m eating, but I’m not tracking the calories on The Daily Plate.

I’m not as anal about how much I’m eating as I used to be. Granted, it has to be less than enough, but what I’m doing now can be best-described as eating until I’m full once a day. If I mysteriously put on weight, I can easily backtrack into my records and tabulate the calories. If the numbers make sense, then I know I ate too much and I’ll have to back off. If they don’t quite, or there’s a lot of carbs in there, well! Water weight.

I’m slowly introducing a little more cardio, here-and-there. I don’t really have a set plan with it. I’m tentatively looking at days that I do yohimbine (fasted-cardio style), or post-workout. Something about fat being released into the bloodstream from the Y or the high-intensity activity, that makes me want to include cardio at those times. More on this in another post. I haven’t been as tenacious in my physiological studies as I used to be.

Saturday Cardio

1. 6:45AM: 15mg Yohimbine HCL + 200mg Caffeine (since I haven’t been posting on this as much, in the future this will be referred to as YC much like the ephedrine+caffeine stack is referred to as EC.)
2. 7:23AM: Slow warm-up. Easy-walking for about 12 minutes.
3. 7:35AM: Speed walking. Just walking quickly enough for it to be uncomfortable, for about 40 minutes.
4. 8:15AM: I didn’t plan my route, so when time was up I had to walk back home. Another 12 minutes.

Something I noted was that I had a really high blood sugar. I should have tested much, much earlier (on the order of around midnight, I’d say) but since I had only just realized it a couple of minutes after taking my YC, I just tested right then, at 380mg/dL. Insulin counteracts the effects of yohimbine, so I just went and did my cardio anyway.

A few minutes after I got home (around 8:30AM) I tested again at 292mg/dL. Still really high, but an 88-point drop is pretty significant. I don’t know if that would have worked from 188 to 100 (I don’t know why it wouldn’t but I’m not going to make that claim), but I think doing cardio with an untested threshold made the higher level of sugar a decent “safety net” though I wouldn’t ordinarily like to be anywhere near that high.

Workout for Sunday, June 6, 2010

Before leaving for the gym: EC1 @ 9:45AM

Bench Press

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 50 x 3
3. 70 x 2
4. 90 x 7 (felt 50/50 on making the 8th rep; I decided not to risk it.)
5. 85 x 9

I’m going to increase this next workout.

Incline Press Machine

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 75 x 3
3. 90 x 2
4. 120 x 4

Okay. Screw this machine. I can’t find a suitable place to set the lever (it’s either too-high to be useful or too low to not be damaging to my shoulders) so I’ll be moving back to the free-weight version.

Hammer-grip Horizontal Press Machine

1. 55lbs. x 3
2. 70 x 2
3. 90 x 8

Shoulders are bugging me now.

Pushdown

1. 32.5lbs. x 5
2. 37.5 x 2
3. 42.5 x 9

I cheated a tenth rep so I’m not counting it, making this fall below my desired range for increase. Next workout I’m dropping the first warm-up set to 3 reps, but keeping everything else. If I make 10 reps on A2 then I can increase the weight.

Pulldown

1. 45lbs. x 5
2. 70 x 3
3. 90 x 2
4. 115 x 6

I very nearly almost skipped doing these. I was hearing all sorts of excuses in my head during the tricep exercises. I switched on autopilot and let the excuses fly, hammering out possibly the best-form round of pulldowns I’ve ever done in my life. FUCK YEAH. Increasing the weight next workout.

Weighted Crunch Machine

1. 30lbs. x 5
2. 45 x 3
3. 60 x 2
4. 75 x 5

This isn’t, probably, going to be a regular exercise, but I thought in an effort to combat staleness in my routine I’d stick in a ‘reward’ exercise at the end. I chose crunches over calf raises because I’ve got something nasty happening on my left big toe joint and I’d like to establish that it’s not an infection before I harass it much more than I have.

Body Weight: 160.5lbs

Body Fat Percentage: 13.7% ~ I totally didn’t believe a lick of this, though before I saw it I mistook my BMI for my bodyfat percentage and had a mini-heart attack (23.7!?) I redid this reading multiple times and 13.7 was the first one to show up three times so I took it down. It was also the second-highest in the range (13.8 beat it) so it panders to my inner-pessimist.

Condition: B. ~ I very BARELY made it to the gym today. Had to roll off the couch and run down the parking lot in my underwear to make the ride to the gym, but I DID. So, yeah. I’m probably disproportionately proud of myself for having done that. Screw it.

Time in: 10AM
Time out: 12:35PM

I finished the workout at 12:20 but I sat in the locker room debating cardio for 15 minutes before I decided to leave and, if I started to regret it later… just do it later!

So I Regretted It and Came Back and This Is Treadmill

1. 1:42PM: EC2
2. 2:23PM: back in the gym. Warm-Up: 10 minutes at 2 incline/2mph. Heart Rate 102bpm
3. 2:35PM: HIIT: 5.5 minutes. Started and stopped with jog @ 4.5mph for 1.5min; run @ 6mph for 30sec. Incline set to 3 for both. Heart Rate 178bpm
4. 2:41PM: Rest. Talked to DJ in the locker room about cutting. He’s bulking, but cut for beach season.
5. 2:53PM: Steady State: 40 minutes at 3 incline/3mph. Heart Rate 135bpm
6. 3:35PM: Done.

I cut the HIIT short because I just am not fit enough for it. I was sweating and wheezing and my legs felt like they were going to fail out on me at any moment. (I wanted to total 10 minutes.)

So, then, while doing the steady state stuff I kept trying to convince myself to stop. But there weren’t any physical signs of needing to stop early, and any excuse I could come up with was quite easily squashed with “you’re not going to be burning any more fat than you are right now.”

But man, when 40 hit the clock I was off.

Popularity: 1% [?]