Music makes this a lot easier - I'm expanding my EDM playlist.
30 mins at 3-3:30 per 500m, followed by 1 minute at sub-2:00.
I'm going to try adding 5 minutes per session up to an hour and doing a 500 for time at the end (or possibly doing 2x28min+500m). Focusing heavily on technique, so I look a bit weird, but whatever.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Some Programming Thoughts
I'm going to stick with my approximate current layout until my next meet - the movements may change a bit, but the overall program won't until I know how well it's working for my dead. I've got periodic checks on my squat and bench progress, so I can manipulate those a little more freely.
Reading the JTS manuals has given me some ideas that I'm going to apply. A few notes:
1) I got bonus confirmation of Floor Press being a tricep movement and pause work being useful off the chest.
2) A lot of very strong raw deadlifters like various types of deficit pulls. Brandon Lilly in particular mentioned squat stance deficit work as a good way to improve glute and low back strength.
3) Dan Green really loves front squats
From that, I'm thinking:
1) Alternate RDLs with Squat-Stance Deficit Pulls
2) Stick with the current bench cycle, everything there looks fairly solid for now
3) Try out high bar squatting for a few cycles and see how it goes
I may have to integrate some technical deadlifting work at some point, but for the time being I want to focus entirely on just getting the lift stronger.
I don't plan to gain any weight until after the meet; my training after that will include some more aesthetic focus (shrugs and curling, mostly - my traps and biceps seem to be lagging). This may have me competing at 132, which would be interesting.
New future ideas (possibly for upcoming cycles, since I'm actively tracking squat and bench progress):
1) If CG Bench work pans out well, try sticking it between bench movements - ie. CG, 2-Board, CG, 1-Board, CG, Bench. If I only do triples this should only add one week the cycle (4 otherwise). This probably applies to whatever lift seems to work out best for my bench, though; I could see it happening with board presses, for instance. One extra week in the cycle also facilitates a 9-week submax run, which could be appealing if the squat cycle goes well.
2) Consider hitting triples exclusively for max-effort work (maybe still a single on 2-board).
3) Spend a while just doing 5x5 heavy squats or front squats on Squat Day, or possibly a period of 5x5, then 3x3-5 (reps*sets), then a peaking period with just singles. Alternating the two might work fairly well (for a 9-week cycle, go 5x5/5x5*2, 3x5/3x5*2, then take a new squat PR). This actually appeals pretty heavily.
4) In the same vein, I could do that with Bench and any suitable "builder" movement (right now I'm thinking it'll be close grip, but whatever).
5) More emphasis on overhead work might help out my bench, though I might just be saying that because Deng has ridiculously awesome delts and outpresses me.
#2 looks interesting, but I'll have to wait until the end of this squat cycle to see - I should be done with my cut by then, and if I can hit 355 I'll give it another cycle and see if it works twice. Bench-wise the same applies with 225; if it doesn't pan out, I'll either drop ME work completely and switch to the squat cycle (if that works), or try something more volume-based like #4 and just dedicate Fridays to building my Press.
Reading the JTS manuals has given me some ideas that I'm going to apply. A few notes:
1) I got bonus confirmation of Floor Press being a tricep movement and pause work being useful off the chest.
2) A lot of very strong raw deadlifters like various types of deficit pulls. Brandon Lilly in particular mentioned squat stance deficit work as a good way to improve glute and low back strength.
3) Dan Green really loves front squats
From that, I'm thinking:
1) Alternate RDLs with Squat-Stance Deficit Pulls
2) Stick with the current bench cycle, everything there looks fairly solid for now
3) Try out high bar squatting for a few cycles and see how it goes
I may have to integrate some technical deadlifting work at some point, but for the time being I want to focus entirely on just getting the lift stronger.
I don't plan to gain any weight until after the meet; my training after that will include some more aesthetic focus (shrugs and curling, mostly - my traps and biceps seem to be lagging). This may have me competing at 132, which would be interesting.
New future ideas (possibly for upcoming cycles, since I'm actively tracking squat and bench progress):
1) If CG Bench work pans out well, try sticking it between bench movements - ie. CG, 2-Board, CG, 1-Board, CG, Bench. If I only do triples this should only add one week the cycle (4 otherwise). This probably applies to whatever lift seems to work out best for my bench, though; I could see it happening with board presses, for instance. One extra week in the cycle also facilitates a 9-week submax run, which could be appealing if the squat cycle goes well.
2) Consider hitting triples exclusively for max-effort work (maybe still a single on 2-board).
3) Spend a while just doing 5x5 heavy squats or front squats on Squat Day, or possibly a period of 5x5, then 3x3-5 (reps*sets), then a peaking period with just singles. Alternating the two might work fairly well (for a 9-week cycle, go 5x5/5x5*2, 3x5/3x5*2, then take a new squat PR). This actually appeals pretty heavily.
4) In the same vein, I could do that with Bench and any suitable "builder" movement (right now I'm thinking it'll be close grip, but whatever).
5) More emphasis on overhead work might help out my bench, though I might just be saying that because Deng has ridiculously awesome delts and outpresses me.
#2 looks interesting, but I'll have to wait until the end of this squat cycle to see - I should be done with my cut by then, and if I can hit 355 I'll give it another cycle and see if it works twice. Bench-wise the same applies with 225; if it doesn't pan out, I'll either drop ME work completely and switch to the squat cycle (if that works), or try something more volume-based like #4 and just dedicate Fridays to building my Press.
2013-07-30 ME Bench
I'm making a pledge not to waste time anymore. My rest periods are more than enough time to chat, and staying late hurts the rest of my life.
Warmup - Comprehensive (sans lower body rolling)
CG Bench -
45x5x3
95x5x2
135x5
155x3
175x1
185x1
195x1
200x1
I would have liked 210. I'll take this, though.
Dumbbell Bench -
65x6x5
Very happy with this one, though I suspect that the twenty-minute break after my ME work made it a little easier. Might have been 7 on the last set.
Pulldown -
125x8x5
Longer rests here, but still good. I've stopped deloading the weight between reps - it keeps the tension in my lats and lets me get more per set.
Rear Delt Fly -
15x15x5
ADB Curl -
20x10
EZ Curl -
25x20x4
On Costis' advice. I used the heavier EZ Bar; he actually recommended the light one, so I may switch to that.
Since I'm cutting right now I'll focus on strength and go for something more in the 8-rep range.
Monday, July 29, 2013
2013-07-29 Diet and Erg
Switched fully to the IF as discussed in the last post. Today I'm doing two scoops in 400mL every hour to get the protein in.
Erged for half an hour (10-5-5-5-5). I'll take my headphones next time; it's supposed to be a pretty relaxed workout, so I'm focused mostly on technique and trying not to stop. This may do some good things for my mid back, actually - I'm certainly feeling it there.
Erged for half an hour (10-5-5-5-5). I'll take my headphones next time; it's supposed to be a pretty relaxed workout, so I'm focused mostly on technique and trying not to stop. This may do some good things for my mid back, actually - I'm certainly feeling it there.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Diet Update - Hammering Out Details
Since I'm almost out of protein powder, and (as far as we know) Yohimbine only works on an empty stomach, I'm switching back to straight IF for the remainder of this cut. I'll compress the protein shakes to the end of the day until I run out.
I'm skipping the ECA stack because of some recent Alan Aragon reading - looks like for someone with properly-set macros, it'll probably amount to maybe an extra quarter-pound per week. Yohimbine doesn't play nice with ephedrine and adds something I can't get from diet alone, so that stays in and ephedrine stays at the door.
I'll be training in the evenings, so I'm looking at a slightly lighter yohimbine dose on waking and then boosters throughout the day. I originally thought 10g on waking and then 7.5 every 3 hours after that, but now I'm looking at 10 on waking and 2.5 every hour. If I'm waking up at 8:30 and eating around 7 (training at 8), that's 35mg per day (just over twice the bolus dose for someone my size) - I figure I can safely start there and bring it up as I get used to it.
I'm also going to start adding in more cardio - once I'm fasting, I'll be cooking actual meals in the evenings and can start buying groceries in advance. I'll start out just walking to Andronicos/Safeway in the mornings, but once I have a bike I'll try hitting Berkeley Bowl (should be an easy ride - at regular pace it'll actually be faster than the walks). I want to keep this very low-intensity, since (as Aragon constantly points out) fasted cardio has negative effects on lean mass.
I'm going to refine the carb refeeds somewhat based on Lyle McDonald's work - some notes on that:
1) The liver stores about 100g glycogen; muscles store roughly 10g/kg or 4.5g/lb. For me that pegs things around 650g total (assuming slightly sub-10% bodyfat and 160lbs). Due to the liver limitations, (0.5*Sucrose + 1*Fructose) should (ideally) stay under 100g.
2) Synthesis goes fastest following training and tapers off from there. The first meal should come as soon as possible.
3) Outside of the training "window," timing/distribution doesn't seem to matter. The best layout will probably involve a higher-fat and higher-fiber meal shortly before bed to slow release.
4) High-GI carbs do seem to work better overall.
5) A pre-training meal with moderate carbs should improve synthesis by increasing circulating insulin levels.
6) Fat gain stays negligible as long as fat intake stays low (Lyle quotes 88g from a paper and recommends 60-70g for someone 140-160lbs).
Lyle's recommended macro breakdown falls at 70/15/15 C/P/F by lean body mass, which seems pretty reasonable. Right now that's 720/153/68 in the first 24 hours; dropping carbs to 500 doesn't offer much of a change, but it's nice to know I've got a fairly serious buffer.
Based on that, my refeed plan is to wake up, take a full 15g of yohimbine, and have a lowish-fat, moderate-carb, high-protein breakfast about two hours later. An hour or so after that, train and immediately follow with a high-carb, lowish-fat, high-protein meal (min. 100g carbs), followed by at least 3-4 similar meals throughout the rest of the day. I'll be avoiding fruit here - this should help to keep fructose content down, and fruit itself is very filling and gets in the way of other foods that I should be consuming in greater bulk. I can handle the fruit side on other days. The same applies to salad, and for similar reasons. I want this to be satisfying, not unpleasant (which is what the current one's shaping up to be, thanks almost entirely to overdoing fruit and leafy vege).
For starches I'm looking mostly at potatoes (and other roots) and rice, though I'll still allow wheat.
The fat refeed won't involve any shakes - there will be fiber, but for the most part it'll just be two unlimited meals of fatty meat on the bone with some leaves to aid with digestion. This one's very nice and very simple.
Regular days will be a bit more limited. For the upcoming week, I'll just concentrate the shakes into less water and consume more quickly. On lifting days that'll probably just be one scoop at a time; I don't need to worry about frequency so much as just making sure I take in at least six scoops (some of which can go with the meat meal). For nonlifting days, it's at least 9 scoops, which might take some more work to imbibe but shouldn't be a huge problem.
---
Once I run out of powder, this switches over 100% to cooked meals. The macros here don't change much - on erg days it's at least 150g protein worth of lean meat with some allowance for fat and very low carbs, plus a small amount of fruit post-workout for liver health (probably berries - again, small). For lifting days, it's the same, just frontloaded so I'm full when I head to the gym. They'll have a higher fat allowance, but the goal's still 150g+ protein spread across two meals totaling around 1500kcal; chicken thighs actually won't be good for this. These days will include greens to keep things going.
I'll hammer out more specifics later, but I'm still getting over crippling abdominal pain from eating too many plants so that'll probably have to wait until next time I'm at Costco.
EDIT: I'm also going to resume contrast showering and stop turning on the heating system - cold exposure activates non-shivering thermogenesis and thereby increases fat utilization. The morning walks should help with this, though that's not happening tomorrow because tonight I'm going to be up until six.
I'm skipping the ECA stack because of some recent Alan Aragon reading - looks like for someone with properly-set macros, it'll probably amount to maybe an extra quarter-pound per week. Yohimbine doesn't play nice with ephedrine and adds something I can't get from diet alone, so that stays in and ephedrine stays at the door.
I'll be training in the evenings, so I'm looking at a slightly lighter yohimbine dose on waking and then boosters throughout the day. I originally thought 10g on waking and then 7.5 every 3 hours after that, but now I'm looking at 10 on waking and 2.5 every hour. If I'm waking up at 8:30 and eating around 7 (training at 8), that's 35mg per day (just over twice the bolus dose for someone my size) - I figure I can safely start there and bring it up as I get used to it.
I'm also going to start adding in more cardio - once I'm fasting, I'll be cooking actual meals in the evenings and can start buying groceries in advance. I'll start out just walking to Andronicos/Safeway in the mornings, but once I have a bike I'll try hitting Berkeley Bowl (should be an easy ride - at regular pace it'll actually be faster than the walks). I want to keep this very low-intensity, since (as Aragon constantly points out) fasted cardio has negative effects on lean mass.
I'm going to refine the carb refeeds somewhat based on Lyle McDonald's work - some notes on that:
1) The liver stores about 100g glycogen; muscles store roughly 10g/kg or 4.5g/lb. For me that pegs things around 650g total (assuming slightly sub-10% bodyfat and 160lbs). Due to the liver limitations, (0.5*Sucrose + 1*Fructose) should (ideally) stay under 100g.
2) Synthesis goes fastest following training and tapers off from there. The first meal should come as soon as possible.
3) Outside of the training "window," timing/distribution doesn't seem to matter. The best layout will probably involve a higher-fat and higher-fiber meal shortly before bed to slow release.
4) High-GI carbs do seem to work better overall.
5) A pre-training meal with moderate carbs should improve synthesis by increasing circulating insulin levels.
6) Fat gain stays negligible as long as fat intake stays low (Lyle quotes 88g from a paper and recommends 60-70g for someone 140-160lbs).
Lyle's recommended macro breakdown falls at 70/15/15 C/P/F by lean body mass, which seems pretty reasonable. Right now that's 720/153/68 in the first 24 hours; dropping carbs to 500 doesn't offer much of a change, but it's nice to know I've got a fairly serious buffer.
Based on that, my refeed plan is to wake up, take a full 15g of yohimbine, and have a lowish-fat, moderate-carb, high-protein breakfast about two hours later. An hour or so after that, train and immediately follow with a high-carb, lowish-fat, high-protein meal (min. 100g carbs), followed by at least 3-4 similar meals throughout the rest of the day. I'll be avoiding fruit here - this should help to keep fructose content down, and fruit itself is very filling and gets in the way of other foods that I should be consuming in greater bulk. I can handle the fruit side on other days. The same applies to salad, and for similar reasons. I want this to be satisfying, not unpleasant (which is what the current one's shaping up to be, thanks almost entirely to overdoing fruit and leafy vege).
For starches I'm looking mostly at potatoes (and other roots) and rice, though I'll still allow wheat.
The fat refeed won't involve any shakes - there will be fiber, but for the most part it'll just be two unlimited meals of fatty meat on the bone with some leaves to aid with digestion. This one's very nice and very simple.
Regular days will be a bit more limited. For the upcoming week, I'll just concentrate the shakes into less water and consume more quickly. On lifting days that'll probably just be one scoop at a time; I don't need to worry about frequency so much as just making sure I take in at least six scoops (some of which can go with the meat meal). For nonlifting days, it's at least 9 scoops, which might take some more work to imbibe but shouldn't be a huge problem.
---
Once I run out of powder, this switches over 100% to cooked meals. The macros here don't change much - on erg days it's at least 150g protein worth of lean meat with some allowance for fat and very low carbs, plus a small amount of fruit post-workout for liver health (probably berries - again, small). For lifting days, it's the same, just frontloaded so I'm full when I head to the gym. They'll have a higher fat allowance, but the goal's still 150g+ protein spread across two meals totaling around 1500kcal; chicken thighs actually won't be good for this. These days will include greens to keep things going.
I'll hammer out more specifics later, but I'm still getting over crippling abdominal pain from eating too many plants so that'll probably have to wait until next time I'm at Costco.
EDIT: I'm also going to resume contrast showering and stop turning on the heating system - cold exposure activates non-shivering thermogenesis and thereby increases fat utilization. The morning walks should help with this, though that's not happening tomorrow because tonight I'm going to be up until six.
2013-07-28 Deadlift
I need to talk less, and not install a dishwasher next Saturday.
Warmup - All but the glute bridges
Deadlift -
135x10
185x10
225x10
275x5 (hook, 4.375")
335x6+3 (straps, 4.375")
335x1 to rerack (hook, 4.375")
I blamed the straps at first, but then noticed my grip sucking on everything else and remembered what I did for most of yesterday.
Next week should be better.
DB Row -
35x10x5
Playing with technique - shoulder blade flares if I emphasize the mid-back, stays flat if I focus on lat recruitment - worth remembering for bench days. I'd like to see if I can keep it flat on the mid-back emphasis, though. Right side is getting stronger.
RDL -
225x10, 8, 9, 8, 7
First two were hook, last three were strapped. I wonder what would happen if I mixed the two.
Still focusing on technique for these - organized spine, screw feet into the floor, keep lats engaged, hips back/knees constant, engage glutes. Happy to be at 225, though.
Rollout -
10x5
Lots of iffier reps and partials here, but I'll settle as long as I keep improving.
Band BTN Pulldown - 12x2xMini
Band Pullapart - 12x2xMini
Band External Rotation - 12x2xMicro
Some chance I'll need to switch to the light over the mini for the first two, actually.
Warmup - All but the glute bridges
Deadlift -
135x10
185x10
225x10
275x5 (hook, 4.375")
335x6+3 (straps, 4.375")
335x1 to rerack (hook, 4.375")
I blamed the straps at first, but then noticed my grip sucking on everything else and remembered what I did for most of yesterday.
Next week should be better.
DB Row -
35x10x5
Playing with technique - shoulder blade flares if I emphasize the mid-back, stays flat if I focus on lat recruitment - worth remembering for bench days. I'd like to see if I can keep it flat on the mid-back emphasis, though. Right side is getting stronger.
RDL -
225x10, 8, 9, 8, 7
First two were hook, last three were strapped. I wonder what would happen if I mixed the two.
Still focusing on technique for these - organized spine, screw feet into the floor, keep lats engaged, hips back/knees constant, engage glutes. Happy to be at 225, though.
Rollout -
10x5
Lots of iffier reps and partials here, but I'll settle as long as I keep improving.
Band BTN Pulldown - 12x2xMini
Band Pullapart - 12x2xMini
Band External Rotation - 12x2xMicro
Some chance I'll need to switch to the light over the mini for the first two, actually.
Burgers (Planning)
I'll be doing another burger night soon, so I'm working up the basic ideas for methods and ingredients. Here's what I've got so far:
1) Keep the meat in the fridge, and freeze the grinder before use.
2) Hand-mincing may actually work better than grinding.
3) The optimal mix probably involves some combination of sirloin, short rib, brisket, and oxtail. Possibly include some suet if I have any lying around.
3b) Sirloin wants to be at least 30% for texture. I'll probably start with 3:2:2:2 and go from there. Short rib's texture can help out the sirloin so I can probably up the brisket without much worry.
3c) Emphasize quality and pick out stuff that's nicely marbled. Apparently grass-fed actually might beat out grain here, but at the prices they charge that's not happening on a $5 cover.
3d) Brisket needs to be ground/chopped very fine. Short rib (and any other chuck bits) maybe not as much, unsure about oxtail and sirloin.
3e) Heston likes to salt some of the meat in advance of grinding it so it binds things better. I'll experiment with this (especially with some ground chuck eye). I'll try an hour in advance first and look into 6 depending on how it compares.
4) Handle the meat as little as possible. I plan to spread it onto plates and use a metal spatula to section off and weigh the portions, then put them on foil and shape them from the side instead of hand-forming full patties. I'll be doing a test run of this first, though.
5) Start with 6oz portions and go from there. This means I'll need to dimple the middle of each patty and make them all a bit wider than the buns
5b) OR try to reconcile the handling thing with balling them up and smashing them onto the griddle with a heavy spatula, since this maximizes the browning area.
5c) Also note that you can get away with coarser/less even work with thicker patties, since they're going to be heavier anyway.
6) Experiment with some bun recipes. I'll start with this one:
The Spotted Pig's Hamburger Buns | Serious Eats : Recipes
7) Experiment with herbs, caramelized onion extract, and tomato concentrate, but try to integrate these into the grinding process to minimize handling. Kenji likes anchovies, marmite, and dashi to boost the umami, so I might as well try with those. Mushrooms (perhaps oven-roasted) may also work here to boost the umami.
8) Flip frequently for faster cooking. This requires a good spatula.
9) Try using the same technique as the roasts - cook to the desired doneness in the oven at a low temperature, then annihilate at max in the pan to build the crust.
10) Eventually work out something on the cheese. Everyone seems to like making your own American-style cheese using sodium citrate, and Comte seems fairly popular for the flavor base. Kenji has his own trick here, which might be worth a look.
10b) Maybe use a mandolin to cut slices of conventional cheese for the time being.
11) Play around with condiments, but note that you can still get slices from the tomatoes used to make any concentrate. Play with onion slicing approaches, but Kenji likes pole-to-pole (versus orbital or chopped) for balance.
I'm looking forward to going pure IF partly because it'll let me play around with these - I can buy, section, and flash-freeze large batches of the cuts and then refine the recipes almost day by day if I want to.
Also, much as I hate straight up blogging, I've noticed that as I lose weight from my face, my cheekbones start looking more and more German.
1) Keep the meat in the fridge, and freeze the grinder before use.
2) Hand-mincing may actually work better than grinding.
3) The optimal mix probably involves some combination of sirloin, short rib, brisket, and oxtail. Possibly include some suet if I have any lying around.
3b) Sirloin wants to be at least 30% for texture. I'll probably start with 3:2:2:2 and go from there. Short rib's texture can help out the sirloin so I can probably up the brisket without much worry.
3c) Emphasize quality and pick out stuff that's nicely marbled. Apparently grass-fed actually might beat out grain here, but at the prices they charge that's not happening on a $5 cover.
3d) Brisket needs to be ground/chopped very fine. Short rib (and any other chuck bits) maybe not as much, unsure about oxtail and sirloin.
3e) Heston likes to salt some of the meat in advance of grinding it so it binds things better. I'll experiment with this (especially with some ground chuck eye). I'll try an hour in advance first and look into 6 depending on how it compares.
4) Handle the meat as little as possible. I plan to spread it onto plates and use a metal spatula to section off and weigh the portions, then put them on foil and shape them from the side instead of hand-forming full patties. I'll be doing a test run of this first, though.
5) Start with 6oz portions and go from there. This means I'll need to dimple the middle of each patty and make them all a bit wider than the buns
5b) OR try to reconcile the handling thing with balling them up and smashing them onto the griddle with a heavy spatula, since this maximizes the browning area.
5c) Also note that you can get away with coarser/less even work with thicker patties, since they're going to be heavier anyway.
6) Experiment with some bun recipes. I'll start with this one:
The Spotted Pig's Hamburger Buns | Serious Eats : Recipes
7) Experiment with herbs, caramelized onion extract, and tomato concentrate, but try to integrate these into the grinding process to minimize handling. Kenji likes anchovies, marmite, and dashi to boost the umami, so I might as well try with those. Mushrooms (perhaps oven-roasted) may also work here to boost the umami.
8) Flip frequently for faster cooking. This requires a good spatula.
9) Try using the same technique as the roasts - cook to the desired doneness in the oven at a low temperature, then annihilate at max in the pan to build the crust.
10) Eventually work out something on the cheese. Everyone seems to like making your own American-style cheese using sodium citrate, and Comte seems fairly popular for the flavor base. Kenji has his own trick here, which might be worth a look.
10b) Maybe use a mandolin to cut slices of conventional cheese for the time being.
11) Play around with condiments, but note that you can still get slices from the tomatoes used to make any concentrate. Play with onion slicing approaches, but Kenji likes pole-to-pole (versus orbital or chopped) for balance.
I'm looking forward to going pure IF partly because it'll let me play around with these - I can buy, section, and flash-freeze large batches of the cuts and then refine the recipes almost day by day if I want to.
Also, much as I hate straight up blogging, I've noticed that as I lose weight from my face, my cheekbones start looking more and more German.
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