2012-03-27 Deload Deadlift

Deadlift - 135, 175, 215, 255 (for 5)
Then 3 singles at 305. First one was done relaxed; meh speed, meh difficulty. Second one was still hook-gripped but done harder; decent speed and fairly easy. Third was full competition setup. Easy and fast.

Also did a 135 Press single before the deads, then a much easier one right afterward. It's funny how I forgot how much of a problem it is if you set up "relaxed."

Log - 4/25/2012

I'm pretty sure my switch back to "3 per week" rather than "Every other day" will pay off now. Not deloading for about another two weeks, though.

Warmup

Deadlift: 135x5, 185x5, 225x1, 275x1, 315x1 (mixed)

5x5 - 245lbs

I actually had to stop and reset for the last few of these. My grip is giving out (this is a recovery issue and not a strength one; I was hitting easy sets of 10 at 225 as an accessory about a month ago).

Bench: 45x5, 95x1, 145x1

5x5 - 115lbs

I'm losing the abdominal bracing from pilates. I'm blaming fatigue for this one too, though I suspect I could be doing more to regain it.

Chin Up Holds:

7s, 5s, 3s, 3s, 3s

Blast straps; easier on the joints, harder on the movement.

I have progress pics now, but they're on my girlfriend's camera and I don't know how to get them off.

Dietary Update

Well, that didn't take long.

I'm currently sitting (or, rather, sliding) around 180lbs with pretty respectable sustained weight loss. However, due to a variety of factors, I'm switching from the straight up Apex Predator approach as Jamie writes it into the "actually fasting" equivalent.

I have a few reasons for doing this:
1) Convenience. Drinking a tasty 500mL protein shake is a hell of a lot easier than going out and actually making food, but it's considerably more annoying than not consuming anything at all, especially given that I'm somewhat limited in how often I can go to make more. This is a relatively weak reason, but it certainly played into my thought process on this.

2) Expense. In fairness, I doubt this will actually save me a whole lot of money, but protein powder - while cheap - gets a little pricier when you're buying 15lbs of it each month. I know I haven't actually hit the month mark yet, but I'm a nerd and do budget calculations in my spare time, so piss off.

3) Gas. This could be avoided if I switched back to straight Whey Protein Isolate rather than using the Concentrate that ON sells, and it's not a huge factor, but I actually get gas now. I haven't had gas in a fairly long time (pretty much since I cut out all pasteurized dairy).

4) I was planning to do it eventually anyway (partly for the above reasons and partly because I seem to have acquired a small amount of my girlfriend's dislike of casein...and partly for the below reasons, I suppose) and figure that I might as well use the period right as my classes end but shortly before my finals start to do it.

5) I recently found myself inundated in (relatively) famous and respected people jumping on board and saying it's at least decent, probably because of a recent study demonstrating that while there's no difference in mass lost between IF and Caloric Restriction protocols, the IF one actually does do a better job of preserving lean mass. These famous people then enlightened me about a metric asston of other benefits, notably including longer life, clinically-verified improvements in insulin sensitivity, and better cognition (though I should note that the last one seems somewhat conditional - John Berardi noticed that his creative thinking seemed pretty inhibited during the fasting window, at least on the daily IF protocol he tried [see Leangains, Warrior Diet]).

So, the plan is essentially the same as it was before, only now I'm nixing the protein shakes and presumably making up the difference with more meat. For those who care about specifics, the layout will probably be roughly:

Sunday - Fast. Possibly small dinner, depending on how much this day winds up sucking
Monday - Medium/Large "lunch" and massive dinner. (8-hour window) (TRAIN)
Tuesday - Massive dinner
Wednesday - Small "lunch" and massive dinner. (8-hour window) (TRAIN)
Thursday - Medium, lower-fat dinner
Friday - Small "lunch" and massive dinner (8-hour window)
Saturday -  Textbook Rampage day, but with only an 8-hour total eating window (TRAIN)

Training on Saturday will take place before the Rampage window. Once my bodyfat's down to single digits, I'll add a "Lunch" to Sunday and Tuesday. I may take all fasting-related restrictions off on Saturday, depending on how I feel.

So yeah, it's basically textbook Predator Diet, just sans all protein shakes and with more specific windows imposed for eating. The actual windows will probably wind up being more like 6 hours because I'm a busy man, but whatever.

I will provide progress pictures today.

EDIT: Oh, and carb-free liquor is allowed. I think I mentioned this previously, and the "I drink like twice a year" thing still applies, but I figure I should throw that out there.

EDIT 2: From rereading Lewis's material, I've suspect that my first Monday "lunch" may be rather on the large side. We'll see how this goes.

Log - 4/23/2012

Added Yohimbine HCl to the stack. The stimulant effects were very, very apparent.

Warmup - Added Overhead Squat (set up with BTN Push Jerk)

Squat: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x1, 225x1, 275x1
5x5 - 205lbs
Paused the 225 and 275 reps, along with a few from the main sets.
Fatigue was noticeably lower than last time, though the Yohimbine+Caffeine throughout the day may have had something to do with that.

Press: 45x5, 95x1, 135x1
5x5 - 85lbs
Yeah, I'm just going to stick to 115 for the next few singles. I'll murder 135 later.

Blast Strap Chin Holds:
15s, 12s, 10s, 10s, 10s
Got distracted teaching someone how to Deadlift; I have a hard time resisting that temptation, especially if when people actively seek my advice.
Anyway, the setup I was considering last time worked very well, and I'll be using it in the future.

Marching + Extensions:
5x5ea
Need to advance this again.

Log - 4/21/2012

Fatigue is starting to set in; I may actually take an extra rest day this week (i.e. not just go every other day the way I have been - part of that's a matter of convenience, but still).

Warmup

Deadlift - 135x5, 185x5, 225x1, 275x1, 315x0.5, 1

5x5 - 240lbs

Got 315 past my knees double-overhand, then put it back down and immediately pulled an easy single mixed.

Grip was giving out on the 240 sets too (this is part of my indication that I need to take some extra rest, honestly).

Bench: 45x5, 95x1, 145x1

5x5 - 110lbs

These are getting easier, which leads me to believe that I'm not activating my abs properly.

Some mild shoulder discomfort on a few sets; the issue appears to be related to tightness.

Chin Holds:

5s, 10s, 10s, 10s, 10s

Doing reps to get up now.

I'm going to set up the Blast Straps to do these in future; they should be ok if I set them up the way I have been but then thread them through the adjustable pull-up handles at the back of the rack. I was getting sufficient elbow and shoulder discomfort today that I think the switch will be a good idea.

I then left and ate three pounds of icecream in about ten minutes.

Log - 4/19/2012

I was unbelievably tired going into this - which is odd, because I actually caught up on sleep somewhat last night.

Warmup

Squat: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x1, 225x1, 275x1 (paused in hole)
5x5 - 200lbs
As usual, the work sets got better as they went. That said, this was a lot harder than it should have been - not even weight-wise, I was just so fucking exhausted for some reason.

Press: 45x5, 95x1
5x5 - 80lbs
Increasing the single weight next time. I'll probably do 135, just for kicks.

Chins:
5 10-second holds (getting easier)
1 pretty excellent full rep
Wanted to try doing these without a fixed wrist angle, but it the blast straps are too long to work. I'm thinking I'll make some PVC rings with short straps and hook them up to the "you set the width" rotating handles already on there.

Face Pulls:
3x10
Ropes are too short, so these aggravate my wrists somewhat. I'm guessing I'll just deal with this, or possibly switch to inverted rows.

Suped-Up Marching:
5x 4ea
Basically the same as marching, but extending at the hip and knee of one leg for each inhale and flexing back on the exhale. Dramatically harder.

Once classes finish I will probably post some analyses of some "Nuggets of Wisdom" I recently unearthed on Reddit. Foreshadowing: The first thing I look at will come up wanting. Severely, severely wanting.

Log - 4/17/2012

Diet update: Started mixing Whey and Casein together for shakes. The shakes aren't particularly palatable (though they're certainly tastier than the plain whey ones), but are "good enough," as they don't make me retch and become tolerable with salt. I doubt this will have a huge effect on my results, but the expense increase isn't anything noteworthy.

Today's training went well, especially considering that I only got 3 hours of sleep last night.

Warmup - omitted bridges and GHRs due to the risk of someone else stealing my equipment

Deadlift: 135x5, 185x5, 225x1, 275x1, 315x1 (alternated)
5x5 - 235lbs
I'm not sure that I could have taken 315 double overhand either way, but I believe that some of the bars at the RSF are getting "loose" and rotate too easily relative to the collars. I'm also fairly sure that the one I was using today was somewhat smoother than the ones in the Annex, presumably because people are scared to go in the Annex thanks to people like me (when I'm lifting heavy, at least - I can't imagine anyone being scared off by the weights I'm currently using). Most of these sets were done with about two minutes' rest; it seems I can probably continue doing this without much issue, and suspect that it will enhance my weight loss somewhat.
I'm starting to get the hang of the eccentric for touch and go - both sides now contact the floor at about the same time.

Bench: 45x5, 95x1, 135x1
5x5 - 105lbs
Hilarious.

Chin-Up Holds:
3x 5-8s
I appear to have developed a significant trigger point in my upper back.

I also need to stop neglecting my ab work and shoulder prehab.