991
Bios / Re: "Duncan Lou Who" might be RIP
« on: August 05, 2017, 05:07:25 pm »
It seems they found him!
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992
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: warpspeed to the new scenario
« on: August 05, 2017, 06:32:47 am »
05-08-17
BW: 80.6kg [i guess the cut is going well, lol. was just rather dehydrated since i don't think i'd had any water to drink for 12 hours before weighing in, oops]
Shall go do a harder cycling session (~25mins @ ~160BPM) at some point in the afternoon.
Slept 9.45pm to 2:15am and then 5:15am to 9.45am. Hopefully more or less on track to get normal sleep at normal times now?
Workout
Stationary bike
Time: 20:05
BPM: 159
Level: 10
Distance: 6.24mi
RPM: 80
This suggests to me that the level does indeed work sort of like a bike gear, since, iirc, I was peddling at around the same rate yesterday and, as is clear, going a fair bit slower in terms of MPH than today
Nutrition
Kcal - 2501 (probably closer to 2600 due to some small sugary snacks a friend brought me)
Protein - 150g
Carbs - 235g
Fat - 100g
BW: 80.6kg [i guess the cut is going well, lol. was just rather dehydrated since i don't think i'd had any water to drink for 12 hours before weighing in, oops]
Shall go do a harder cycling session (~25mins @ ~160BPM) at some point in the afternoon.
Slept 9.45pm to 2:15am and then 5:15am to 9.45am. Hopefully more or less on track to get normal sleep at normal times now?
Workout
Stationary bike
Time: 20:05
BPM: 159
Level: 10
Distance: 6.24mi
RPM: 80
This suggests to me that the level does indeed work sort of like a bike gear, since, iirc, I was peddling at around the same rate yesterday and, as is clear, going a fair bit slower in terms of MPH than today
Nutrition
Kcal - 2501 (probably closer to 2600 due to some small sugary snacks a friend brought me)
Protein - 150g
Carbs - 235g
Fat - 100g
993
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: warpspeed to the new scenario
« on: August 04, 2017, 04:01:54 am »
04-08-17
BW: 81.8kg (drop, I think, due to stopping taking creatine rather than "actual" weight loss, given I was eating a lot while travelling)
Waist: 34.5" (same as when I started at 76kg!)
Walked briskly to gym today, 10mins for .9 miles.
Barbell Complex
Wide Grip Pullups
BW x 5
Bench
Bar x 10
40 x 6
60 x 5
72.5 x 5
80 x 3
90 x 2 [+2.5kg, -2 reps]
85 x 3
80 x 5
75 x 3
72.5 x 5
67.5 x 3
62.5 x 8
CGBP
60 x 3, 5, 7, 4, 6, 5 [strength just not there for this, form a bit sloppy too]
Lo->Hi Cable Flye
9 x 16, 15, 15
Seated DB OHP
18 x 13, 10, 8
1.5 Style Lateral Raise
7 x 8, 8, 7
SS1A Low Incline Bench Rear Delt Flye
9 x 12, 12, 12, 11
SS1B High Incline Bench Lateral Raise [facing the bench, idea taken from here: http://www.simplyshredded.com/muscle-specific-hypertrophy-chest-triceps-and-shoulders-by-menno-henselmans.html -- Meno Henselmans suggests a lower incline, so I will perhaps try that next time]
4 x 11, 11, 11, 10
PJR Pullover
24 x 12, 12, 10
EZ Bar Curl
40 x 6, 6, 6
Bike
Time: 30:02
BPM: 132
Level: 6
Distance: 7.73 [I should probably note average RPM instead of distance, since I'm not sure how "level" affects distance moved (i.e. whether upping level works like upping gear on an actual bike), but whatevs for day one]
Notes
Jet lag is a bitch. Slept ~4.5 hours, from 11pm to 3.30am. Went to the gym at 6.30. Quite nice, basically totally empty. Unlikely to (want to) keep up this sort of timing though. Took 200mg of caffeine in the form of pills to make up for this lack of sleep and got a solid workout in.
I shan't reset bench back, since 2 reps on a crappy day is decent, but will probably keep the same weight next week.
Curious to see if what I yesterday referred to as "intra-workout recovery" improves over the next week or two, or whether it was at an elevated level due to creatine.
Diet
Kcal - 2373
Protein - 177g
Carbs - 263g
Fat - 63g
Eating schedule a bit messed up by the weird sleep. To make my life easier I think I can cut the size of my usual breakfast and lunch a little to make room for either an evening snack or a nicer dinner.
BW: 81.8kg (drop, I think, due to stopping taking creatine rather than "actual" weight loss, given I was eating a lot while travelling)
Waist: 34.5" (same as when I started at 76kg!)
Walked briskly to gym today, 10mins for .9 miles.
Barbell Complex
Wide Grip Pullups
BW x 5
Bench
Bar x 10
40 x 6
60 x 5
72.5 x 5
80 x 3
90 x 2 [+2.5kg, -2 reps]
85 x 3
80 x 5
75 x 3
72.5 x 5
67.5 x 3
62.5 x 8
CGBP
60 x 3, 5, 7, 4, 6, 5 [strength just not there for this, form a bit sloppy too]
Lo->Hi Cable Flye
9 x 16, 15, 15
Seated DB OHP
18 x 13, 10, 8
1.5 Style Lateral Raise
7 x 8, 8, 7
SS1A Low Incline Bench Rear Delt Flye
9 x 12, 12, 12, 11
SS1B High Incline Bench Lateral Raise [facing the bench, idea taken from here: http://www.simplyshredded.com/muscle-specific-hypertrophy-chest-triceps-and-shoulders-by-menno-henselmans.html -- Meno Henselmans suggests a lower incline, so I will perhaps try that next time]
4 x 11, 11, 11, 10
PJR Pullover
24 x 12, 12, 10
EZ Bar Curl
40 x 6, 6, 6
Bike
Time: 30:02
BPM: 132
Level: 6
Distance: 7.73 [I should probably note average RPM instead of distance, since I'm not sure how "level" affects distance moved (i.e. whether upping level works like upping gear on an actual bike), but whatevs for day one]
Notes
Jet lag is a bitch. Slept ~4.5 hours, from 11pm to 3.30am. Went to the gym at 6.30. Quite nice, basically totally empty. Unlikely to (want to) keep up this sort of timing though. Took 200mg of caffeine in the form of pills to make up for this lack of sleep and got a solid workout in.
I shan't reset bench back, since 2 reps on a crappy day is decent, but will probably keep the same weight next week.
Curious to see if what I yesterday referred to as "intra-workout recovery" improves over the next week or two, or whether it was at an elevated level due to creatine.
Diet
Kcal - 2373
Protein - 177g
Carbs - 263g
Fat - 63g
Eating schedule a bit messed up by the weird sleep. To make my life easier I think I can cut the size of my usual breakfast and lunch a little to make room for either an evening snack or a nicer dinner.
994
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: warpspeed to the new scenario
« on: August 03, 2017, 02:55:58 pm »
Okay, going to weigh myself tomorrow and take baseline measurements to begin the cut. Will also start tracking food intake again, since intuitive eating seems less workable when trying to lose weight, for me at least. Initial target around 2300-2400. Most calculators have been putting me at 3000 TDEE, but I don't want to go straight to a 1k deficit. I figure the last two weeks of travel were solid enough of a maintenance phase.
Will also begin to include cardio. 3-5 sessions a week, most of which will be 30-45 minutes in length at between 120-150BPM, i.e. pretty easy. One of which will be shorter and more intense, 20-30 mins, at ~160BPM. This is based on Joel Jameison's suggestions in this article: http://www.8weeksout.com/2017/04/26/the-ultimate-guide-to-conditioning-for-non-athletes-how-to-write-a-simple-effective-conditioning-program-for-general-population-clients/ (I factored this in when doing the TDEE calculation above).
Unrelated to this, but I remembered a funny thing I witnessed in the gym yesterday: Mixed-grip barbell shrugs with 40kg while wearing straps. There was a group of 4 guys working out together who were all doing these. Quite amazing.
Will also begin to include cardio. 3-5 sessions a week, most of which will be 30-45 minutes in length at between 120-150BPM, i.e. pretty easy. One of which will be shorter and more intense, 20-30 mins, at ~160BPM. This is based on Joel Jameison's suggestions in this article: http://www.8weeksout.com/2017/04/26/the-ultimate-guide-to-conditioning-for-non-athletes-how-to-write-a-simple-effective-conditioning-program-for-general-population-clients/ (I factored this in when doing the TDEE calculation above).
Unrelated to this, but I remembered a funny thing I witnessed in the gym yesterday: Mixed-grip barbell shrugs with 40kg while wearing straps. There was a group of 4 guys working out together who were all doing these. Quite amazing.
995
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: warpspeed to the new scenario
« on: August 03, 2017, 11:34:06 am »
03-08-17
Barbell complex, plus some plate swings
Deadlift
70 x 5, 5
90 x 3
110 x 5
122.5 x 3
140 x 5
130 x 3
122.5 x 3
110 x 8
Front Squat
Bar x 6
50 x 5
60 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 5
70 x 6
60 x 8
[changed up foot and bar positioning a bit and was able to stay much more upright, woopwoop]
Chins
BW x 11, 9, 7
Lat Pulldown
64 x 6 [didn't notice the extra 5kg on the plates]
59 x 8
52 x 10, 9
Cable Row
45 x 12, 11, 10
DB Seal Row
16 x 11, 11, 11
Diverging Lat Pulldown [inspired to try this by Kingfish's post]
41 x 8
32 x 18
[liked this a fair bit, the wide position at the bottom helped get a nice and quite different lat contraction from what i feel with other things]
45* Back Extensions
BW x 16, 15, 15
[focussed on really folding at the bottom to get a stretch+contraction with the lower erectors instead of just a static movement.
Notes
Got 9 hours of sleep but still woke up exhausted. Going to take a couple days of good rest to catch up, I reckon. Good workout, though. It feels like the main thing that went away was not peak strength, but intra-workout recovery. That is, feels like the drop-off between sets and as the workout goes on are larger than previously.
Barbell complex, plus some plate swings
Deadlift
70 x 5, 5
90 x 3
110 x 5
122.5 x 3
140 x 5
130 x 3
122.5 x 3
110 x 8
Front Squat
Bar x 6
50 x 5
60 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 5
70 x 6
60 x 8
[changed up foot and bar positioning a bit and was able to stay much more upright, woopwoop]
Chins
BW x 11, 9, 7
Lat Pulldown
64 x 6 [didn't notice the extra 5kg on the plates]
59 x 8
52 x 10, 9
Cable Row
45 x 12, 11, 10
DB Seal Row
16 x 11, 11, 11
Diverging Lat Pulldown [inspired to try this by Kingfish's post]
41 x 8
32 x 18
[liked this a fair bit, the wide position at the bottom helped get a nice and quite different lat contraction from what i feel with other things]
45* Back Extensions
BW x 16, 15, 15
[focussed on really folding at the bottom to get a stretch+contraction with the lower erectors instead of just a static movement.
Notes
Got 9 hours of sleep but still woke up exhausted. Going to take a couple days of good rest to catch up, I reckon. Good workout, though. It feels like the main thing that went away was not peak strength, but intra-workout recovery. That is, feels like the drop-off between sets and as the workout goes on are larger than previously.
996
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: warpspeed to the new scenario
« on: August 02, 2017, 12:06:35 pm »
02-08-17
Barbell complex
Chins
BW x 6, 6
OHP
Bar x 6, 6
30 x 5
40 x 3
50 x 5
55 x 3
62.5 x 0 [got it just past my head and no further]
57.5 x 3
55 x 5
52.5 x 5
50 x 4
45 x 5
40 x 6
Incline Bench
40 x 6
50 x 5
57.5 x 3, 5, 7
55 x 5, 4
50 x 5
Lateral Raises
10 x 14, 12, 12, 10
SS1A Facepulls
12.5 x 16, 16, 14, 14
10.2 x 16
SS1B Cable Rope Curls
17 x 12, 12, 12, 12
Machine Preacher
23 x 14, 12
Machine Chest Press [seems to be set up at a slight decline, quite liked it]
39 x 12
52 x 10
45 x 12
Notes
Still very sore from Sunday's push workout. Also exhausted from the holiday. Touring big cities and walking in the heat not stop all day for 2 weeks is not restful. On top of that I'm on only like 5 hours of sleep having flown overnight. All things considered a decent workout, if not at all fun. I'll see how Friday and Monday shape up before deciding whether to reset back a bit, or what.
Went to the gym in the afternoon instead of in the morning. No busier but a rather different crowd. Hope to get back on that morning schedule asap. Looking forward to deadlifts/back stuff tomorrow.
Barbell complex
Chins
BW x 6, 6
OHP
Bar x 6, 6
30 x 5
40 x 3
50 x 5
55 x 3
62.5 x 0 [got it just past my head and no further]
57.5 x 3
55 x 5
52.5 x 5
50 x 4
45 x 5
40 x 6
Incline Bench
40 x 6
50 x 5
57.5 x 3, 5, 7
55 x 5, 4
50 x 5
Lateral Raises
10 x 14, 12, 12, 10
SS1A Facepulls
12.5 x 16, 16, 14, 14
10.2 x 16
SS1B Cable Rope Curls
17 x 12, 12, 12, 12
Machine Preacher
23 x 14, 12
Machine Chest Press [seems to be set up at a slight decline, quite liked it]
39 x 12
52 x 10
45 x 12
Notes
Still very sore from Sunday's push workout. Also exhausted from the holiday. Touring big cities and walking in the heat not stop all day for 2 weeks is not restful. On top of that I'm on only like 5 hours of sleep having flown overnight. All things considered a decent workout, if not at all fun. I'll see how Friday and Monday shape up before deciding whether to reset back a bit, or what.
Went to the gym in the afternoon instead of in the morning. No busier but a rather different crowd. Hope to get back on that morning schedule asap. Looking forward to deadlifts/back stuff tomorrow.
997
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: warpspeed to the new scenario
« on: July 31, 2017, 07:44:00 am »progress seems to be accelerating. two thoughts:
1. this is good.
2. be careful that you don't get caught up in PRing and hurt yourself.
oh, yeah, i have no intention of continuing the 1rm attempts when back in the UK -- i'll be getting right back on my usual nsuns programming. just a quirk of training with a friend who is based here so in their flow + is stronger than me, so this was a nice chance to get things.
998
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: July 30, 2017, 09:49:54 pm »Looking into improving my testosterone levels. Anyone have any tips?
nothing other than taking steroids makes enough of a difference to matter.
Lifestyle changes definitely can make enough of a difference to matter somewhat, no?
they matter for reasons other than raising testosterone levels.
#badadvice
Sleep and stress are testosterone killers. Fucking with your metabolism is too. Increase vitamin D and raising your good cholesterol can increase T as well.
i agree that sleeping well and managing stress are good things to do. i also agree taht a healthy diet and making sure you have all your micronutrients in order are good. is the main operative reason they are good because they shift you from being, at a given time, like 40%ile but within normal test range to 60%ile but still within normal test range? i highly doubt it. one should definitely do those things anyway, though, because they make a big difference, just likely for other reasons.
999
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: July 30, 2017, 09:03:25 pm »Looking into improving my testosterone levels. Anyone have any tips?
nothing other than taking steroids makes enough of a difference to matter.
Lifestyle changes definitely can make enough of a difference to matter somewhat, no?
they matter for reasons other than raising testosterone levels.
1000
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: chasing athleticism
« on: July 30, 2017, 08:48:32 pm »Looking into improving my testosterone levels. Anyone have any tips?
nothing other than taking steroids makes enough of a difference to matter.
1001
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: warpspeed to the new scenario
« on: July 30, 2017, 02:22:36 pm »
Bench
Up to 205 x 1
185 x 3
155 x 10, 8, 7
Chins x a few, a few, a few
Hammer Strength OHP
45+25 x 8
45 x 13, 11
Lateral Raise
20 x 16, 13, 13
10 x lots
Dips
BW x 15, 13, 10
Then did some squats, but kind of a no-go after deadlifts. Dis some curls. Fun workout. Back home Wednesday and looking forward to getting back into swing of things.
Up to 205 x 1
185 x 3
155 x 10, 8, 7
Chins x a few, a few, a few
Hammer Strength OHP
45+25 x 8
45 x 13, 11
Lateral Raise
20 x 16, 13, 13
10 x lots
Dips
BW x 15, 13, 10
Then did some squats, but kind of a no-go after deadlifts. Dis some curls. Fun workout. Back home Wednesday and looking forward to getting back into swing of things.
1002
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: warpspeed to the new scenario
« on: July 29, 2017, 03:27:44 pm »
Worked out with a pal.
Deadlift
Up to 365 x 1
And 305 x 3, 3, 2
RDL
205 x 5, 5
Pendlay Row
135 x 7, 7
Chest Supported T-Bar Row
45 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Lat Pulldowns
Idk x some, some, some
Notes
Accidental deadlift PRs there, lol. Good workout. Double BW deadlift checked off the list.
Deadlift
Up to 365 x 1
And 305 x 3, 3, 2
RDL
205 x 5, 5
Pendlay Row
135 x 7, 7
Chest Supported T-Bar Row
45 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Lat Pulldowns
Idk x some, some, some
Notes
Accidental deadlift PRs there, lol. Good workout. Double BW deadlift checked off the list.
1003
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: warpspeed to the new scenario
« on: July 25, 2017, 03:29:23 pm »
Vacation has been nice but exhausting so far. I miss the gym, heh.
1004
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: warpspeed to the new scenario
« on: July 20, 2017, 02:37:10 pm »you know this already but: keep protein high. set protein first and build around.
Yup, target will be ~1g/lb. Will be a bit of a puzzle managing that on a lower Kcal diet as a vegetarian, but I see lots of seitan and beans in my near future.
1005
Progress Journals & Experimental Routines / Re: warpspeed to the new scenario
« on: July 20, 2017, 04:58:02 am »What made you stop training before? start uni & those responsibilities for the most part correct? Seems like you're really enjoying training & also realized how much you missed it. Just need to be careful when you start a new/big job, it's easy for training to slip when you're confronted with a whole new set of stressors + that "ego to perform" (work addiction).
As for cutting, that's always a debate. You've found a good rhythm.. One of the hardest things in training, is finding a good rhythm and then riding it out for as long as possible. Either we never find a good rhythm, or we find it and get bored or convince ourselves we need to switch it up. It's almost as if our subconscious is trying to short-circuit our progress in order sabotage our gains & make us quit training so we can go back to lying on the couch. Some of my biggest mistakes in training were finally finding a rhythm but then changing things up way too soon.
That's more related to switching things up drastically though, not cleaning up your diet slightly, eating a little lighter, and staying on basically the same routine. Seems like most people start cutting, their brain starts scrambling, and their routine eventually switches up dramatically.. just becomes a mess.
pC!
A whole host of reasons meant I stopped training. What you say is definitely chief among them. Also being so used to training at home and having now to drag myself to a fairly distant and yet kind of worse gym. Having to spend a lot more energy on schoolwork than I did at HS, too. Mental health wasn't great either, to be honest, though that's in check nowadays.
I think you're totally right about the rhythm thing. However, 85kg at my height and degree of leanness just leaves me feeling quite heavy (physically, not in terms of mental perception, I'm quite happy with my body at the mo), and I would love to get to a good degree of leanness and just feel light. I reckon that 6-8 weeks of lighter eating and regular cardio will do it. To sustain this weight gain I've been eating past fullness regularly, so I think that getting started on a leaning phase would actually be quite easy/pleasant.