Disil

Welp. I only went a total of 29 days, then I pinched a nerve in my back and couldn't move for 2 days, figuring I wouldn't be able to work out for at least a week and stopped the cut there. Things improved quickly and so I decided that this was just a brief 9 day diet break and that I will resume cutting again, but with a few changes: I dropped down in weight for most exercises by 5-10%. I will slowly increase volume throughout the next few months by first increasing sets and then increasing reps, going from what should be around MEV (minimum effective volume) to MRV (maximum recoverable volume). Example: Bench Press went from 3x8x60Kg to 3x8x55Kg, but will go up from 3x8 to 5x10-12. I will do this for almost all exercises in some form or fashion. Typically I will increase by any one set per workout, so for example today, I will add 1 set of Diamond Push Ups to my push workout and everything else remains the same. Tomorrow I will add one set of Face Pulls to my Pull workout, while the rest stays as is, except for Pull Ups. These I will treat as a giant set of X where the goal is to just +1 every time regardless of sets. So last time I did 7/6/5 (=18), Wednesday the goal is 19, no matter if it's 7/6/6, 8/6/5 or 7/6/5/1. I did this years ago when I started, going up from something like 20-ish to 50-ish and it worked quite well. The idea is to first up the sets, still maintaining a manageable level of effort (RPE 7.5-9) and then also upping the reps to maximum effort (RPE 9-10) with very high volume, facilitating hypertrophy. All the while I will cut at a very modest deficit (300-500) to promote enough recovery and hopefully some body recomposition. Afterwards will follow a deload and then either another cycle like just described, but starting with increased weights compared to before or a strength phase (low volume, high RPE). Weight: 70.9KgCalories: 1955 Deficit: 595 Total Deficit after ~2 days of cutting: 1306 Weight is currently sitting at 70.9Kg, but stomach content and glycogen stores are both still high/full (hit 69.2Kg the day before ending the cut). Also, I'm on Tuesday of my 2nd week off and very much recovering nicely.

So I've had a not so ideal "diet break" over 18 days where I re-gained a bunch of weight. After that I re-entered my dieting phase, but unfortunately I lost a bit of strength on the way, mostly due to very subpar sleep + high stress which are both much better now. I also have stopped taking any caffeine/green tea caps before my workouts because they impacted my sleep (usually training at 9-10pm that should not be surprising) so I don't know how much that did to my performance as well. Anyhow: Weight: 70.2KgCalories: 1625 Deficit: 725 Total Deficit after ~23 days of cutting: 17008 The idea is to keep going until around 65Kg and then build back up from there with a pretty small surplus, focusing mostly on increasing work capacity/overall volume and stay away from training to failure for a while.

Pretty much the same as above. Allergies + unreal work stress + sleep deficit + calorie deficit = not a good time. I'm still trying everything to hold on to my strength. Weight: 71.8KgCalories: 2057 Deficit: 593 Total Deficit after ~39 days of cutting: 23943

No real news. I'm keeping the weights up and try to hold on to the reps as best I can, but work is just killing me right now. Weight: 73.5KgCalories: 2057 Deficit: 593 Total Deficit after ~27 days of cutting: 13519

Sunday Workout: Bench Press (61Kg): 10, 9, 7 (Meh) Seated Cable Rows (70.75Kg): 10, 8, then 8 at 67Kg (I had to admit to myself that my technique has gotten worse and worse with more and more momentum and less and less actual lat-activation. I will drop down to 67Kg and keep form clean) Machine Shoulder Press (35Kg): 12, 12, 10, 10 (-) Lat Pulldown (80Kg): 8, 8 (-) Triceps Machine (92.5Kg): 12, 10 (-1) Cable Face Pulls (35Kg): 13, 13 (-) Rope Pushdown (21.25Kg): 15, 13, 11 into Dropset (-) Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 10, 10 (-) Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 15 (-) Seated Incline DB-Curls (8Kg): 12, 12 (-) Pretty crappy for various reasons. Weight: 74.2KgCalories: 2121 Deficit: 529 Total Deficit after ~22 days of cutting: 9140 Since my weight has not improved in almost two weeks and adherence is just so much harder at these slight deficits (stupid, I know), I will resume more severe cutting as of right now. We're not talking about a PSMF, but simply a larger deficit between 800 and 1200 probably. I won't change much training-wise, just reduce some of the excessive sets here and there (4th shoulder press, 3rd pushdown, curl and lateral) and train my ass off to keep that muscle.

Friday Workout: Bench Press (62.5Kg): 8, 8, 8 (Quite heavy, not sure if I have missed a rep in the 2nd set and maybe did 9 reps, sure felt like it) Seated Cable Rows (70.75Kg): 9, 9, 8 (-) Machine Shoulder Press (35Kg): 12, 12, 10, 9 (-1) Lat Pulldown (80Kg): 9, 7 (-) Triceps Machine (92.5Kg): 12, 10 (-1) Cable Face Pulls (35Kg): 13, 13* (+1) Rope Pushdown (21.25Kg): 15, 13, 10 into Dropset (-) Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 10, 10, 9 (-) Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 15, 15 (-) Seated Incline DB-Curls (8Kg): 12, 10 (-) Pretty good I guess. Weight: 74.5KgCalories: ? So I'm on a 3-day fuckup right now for various reasons. Around 3k-3.5k each day. Let's hope I manage to get a handle on things starting tomorrow.

So the deload week came and went. 2 workouts at 80 and then 90%, the first with reduced sets and no isolation movements, no third workout. Overall this went pretty will I think, despite the deload+deficit combo that I usually would want to avoid. Tuesday Workout: Bench Press (65Kg): 6, 6, 6 (Felt a little heavier than I would've liked, but that's to be expected following the deload) Seated Cable Rows (70.75Kg): 9, 9, 8 (-2) Machine Shoulder Press (35Kg): 12, 12, 10, 10 (-) Lat Pulldown (80Kg): 8, 8 (-1) Triceps Machine (92.5Kg): 12, 11 (-) Cable Face Pulls (35Kg): 13*, 12 (+2) Rope Pushdown (21.25Kg): 15, 12, 10 (-4) Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 10, 9, 8 (-3) Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 15 (-) Seated Incline DB-Curls (8Kg): 10, 10 (vastly overhauled my form here. I did them wrong forever and I'm curious how this will go) Well, I've lost a couple reps here and there, but I'll be getting those back soon I'm sure. Weight: 74.2KgCalories: 2348 Estimated Deficit: 352 Total Deficit after 17 days of cutting: 8327 Weight loss is super slow and I'm wondering if the numbers are right. I'm barely where I should be given the 8327kcal deficit, but that does not account for water weight and stomach content lost. I might reduce intake a bit further if this holds up.

I did everything I could to ensure that my last session before the deload is banger, especially since the 3x4x70Kg bench had me half afraid half excited going in. Sunday Workout: Bench Press (70Kg*): 4, 4, 5 (I usually don't do stuff like this, but since the 4th of the third felt RPE 9ish, I went for another, knowing I would deload the next week anyway. Super happy with this.) Seated Cable Rows (70.75Kg): 10, 10, 8 (-1 felt my lower back go out a little and didn't want to risk anything, but most reps and negatives were nice and clean) Machine Shoulder Press (35Kg): 12, 12, 10, 10 (-) Lat Pulldown (80Kg): 8, 9 (-) Triceps Machine (92.5Kg): 12, 10 (-1) Cable Face Pulls (35Kg*): 11, 12 (Talk about challenging. Guess I'm finally there) Rope Pushdown (21.25Kg): 15, 15, 13 into Dropset (-) Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 10, 10, 10, 9* (+2) Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 12, 11 (Just nothing left here) Awesome. I'm more than ripe for a deload. Weight: 74.1KgCalories: 2292 Estimated Deficit: 408 Total Deficit after 8 days of cutting: 4163

I was very surprised to find that there was barely any soreness after that last one and so I unexpectedly was ready to train again 48 hours later. Friday Workout: Bench Press (67.5Kg): 6*, 5, 6* (Damn. 3x6 just wasn't happening, the last set was with a spotter and a 3 second grind. Thankfully a great spotter who did not help regardless and let me finish the rep on my own. I do not believe diet made a difference here. I went into this well fed and attribute any lack of performance to both the stress at work as well as the fact that this is week 6 since my last deload and the second to last workout before the next deload) Seated Cable Rows (70.75Kg): 10, 10, 9 (-) Machine Shoulder Press (35Kg): 12, 12, 10, 8 (-1) Lat Pulldown (80Kg): 9, 8 (-) Triceps Machine (92.5Kg): 12, 10 (-1) Cable Face Pulls (34.375Kg): 15, 15* (+1. Up) Rope Pushdown (21.25Kg): 15, 13, 11 (-4, slow and controlled af tho) Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 10, 10, 9, 7* (-1 from previous best, added 4th set) Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 15, 15 (-) I really hope the changes at work in May and June and some much needed time off after that will help me reduce stress levels again. Also, deload. Sunday will by my last workout and I will go all out of course, anticipating the recovery and fatigue reduction that is coming up. I thought about going to maintenance for that week, but it really shouldn't matter so I'll just go with it while cutting. Weight: 74.0KgCalories: 2576 Estimated Deficit: 124 Total Deficit after 6 days of cutting: 2935

Wednesday Workout: Bench Press (61Kg): 10, 9, 10 (No progress) Seated Cable Rows (70.75Kg): 9, 10, 9 (-1) Machine Shoulder Press (35Kg): 12, 11, 10, 10 (-3) Lat Pulldown (80Kg): 9, 8 (-) Triceps Machine (92.5Kg): 12, 10 (-1) Cable Face Pulls (34.375Kg): 15*, 14* (+3) Rope Pushdown (21.25Kg): 15, 15, 14 (+2) Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 10, 10, 7 (-3) Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 15, 12 (-3) The cut can't really be why this sucked. I figure it's more a combination of work crushing me and this being my 6th week of training without deloading. Two more workouts until my deload which I'm a bit scared of since I'm also cutting, but not that steep and well, I just can't do much about this timing right now, just have to accept it and make the best of it. Weight: 74.2KgCalories: 2211 Estimated Deficit: 489 Total Deficit: 2297

Sunday Workout: Bench Press (67.5Kg): 5*, 5*, 5* (Unfortunately this was all RPE 10 or close to it, but eh, I'll take it) Seated Cable Rows (70.75Kg): 10, 10, 9 (Yup, this feels better. Lost a rep, but form looked better. Not feeling too great today anyway) Machine Shoulder Press (35Kg): 12, 12, 12, 10* (+1) Lat Pulldown (80Kg): 8, 7 (-2) Triceps Machine (92.5Kg): 12, 11 (-) Cable Face Pulls (34.375Kg*): 13, 13 (-) Rope Pushdown (21.25Kg): 15, 14, 13 (The slow negative feels so much better, totally worth losing the reps and some weight) Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 10, 10*, 10* (+2, no clue where that progress came from) Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 15, 15 (-) Well, they can't all be winners. This marks the end of week 5 of this cycle so I'm sure that's part of the reason. Weight: 75.6KgCalories: 2242 Estimated Deficit: 508 Total Deficit: 508

Friday Workout: Bench Press (65Kg): 7*, 7*, 7* (Damn. I was quite a bit scared of today, but these went smoothly, at the exact same RPEs of Sundays 3x6x65Kg, RPE 9/9.5/10) Seated Cable Rows (72Kg*): 8, 8, 8 (Ugh, heavy as all hell. I might go back down to 70.75 again) Machine Shoulder Press (35Kg): 12, 12*, 12*, 9* (+4, wtf) Lat Pulldown (80Kg*): 8, 9* (+1) Triceps Machine (92.5Kg*): 12, 11 (Great start) Cable Face Pulls (34.375Kg*): 13, 13 (Good start, heavy) Rope Pushdown (23.75Kg): 15, 14*, then 11 at 21.75Kg with slow negative (similar to the lateral raises, after two very hard sets I decided to drop down in weight and instead do a more controlleg eccentric. Overall, this is a technique I should have and will use more, since it enables me to progress and promote hypertrophy without having to go so high in weight, taking better care of my joint and overall using more of the muscles that I actually want to target) Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 10*, 9, 9 (no progress, but unreal bicep pump just from these which certainly wasn't the case in the past) Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 15, 15 (-) Cable Curl (32.5Kg): 12*, 12* (These just feel awkward and my shoulders are always too worn out at this point. I'll just drop these entirely and resume the seated incline curls instead) That moment when your last workout was one of the best in a while and the current one beats that by a long shot. Incredible stuff. What makes this even more ridiculous is the fact that I forgot my elbow sleeve at home and not only did I barely have any pain, but got the above results. Weight: 75.2KgCalories: 3253 Estimated Surplus: 503 Unfortunately, all those great workouts these last weeks have coincided with a fair bit of weight and fat gain. Now that it's getting much warmer and less and less clothes fit (or even have me feel in the least bit comfortable), I need to take action. The plan will be to do a cut as perfect as possible, meaning: Pretty small deficit / a truckload of nutrients / a ton of sleep / quality training with an emphasis on good form and injury prevention. Diet breaks every so often (rather more frequent than less), while cutting for a total of 12 or so weeks. Starting Sunday.

Tuesday Workout: Bench Press (61Kg): 10, 10*, 9 (Only +1 sadly) Seated Cable Rows (70.75Kg): 10*, 10*, 10* (+3, holy shit. Up) Machine Shoulder Press (35Kg*): 12, 11, 10, 8 (Great start) Lat Pulldown (80Kg*): 8, 8 (Good start) Triceps Machine (90Kg*): 12, 12 (Barely made it. Up) Cable Face Pulls (33.75Kg): 15*, 15* (+3 more, just incredible. Up) Rope Pushdown (23.75Kg): 15*, 13*, 13* into Dropset (Good start) Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 10*, 9, 9 (+1) Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 15, 15 (Holy shit the pump and the agony with slow negatives. Also, yay, my joints don't hurt as much now) Cable Curl (32.5Kg*): 10, 11 (I was just done, no idea how I made it through those two sets) I decided to switch the triceps (dip-ish) machine and rope pulldowns in place and rep-range as it just made more sense this way around. It also enables me to do dropsets with the rope which I hope will help with my lacking triceps. Weight: 75.0KgCalories: 3199 Estimated Surplus: 449

Sunday Workout: Bench Press (65Kg): 6, 6, 6 (Eh, I was really hoping for easier reps, but this was quite heavy still. 67.5 for 5 next week will be interesting) Seated Cable Rows (70.75Kg): 9, 9*, 9 (+1) Machine Shoulder Press (32,5Kg): 12, 12, 12*, 12* (Wtf ok. +4 from previous best. Up) Lat Pulldown (77.5Kg): 10*, 10 (+1. Up) Rope Pushdown (26.875Kg): 12, 12*, 11* (+2) Cable Face Pulls (33.75Kg): 14*, 13* (+2, damn) Triceps Machine (87.5Kg): 15, 14* (+1) Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 9, 9, 9 (Back on track) Lateral DB Raises (10Kg): 15, 15, 15 (These are really becoming painful on my joints. I might go back down and instead do slow negatives instead) Cable Curl (31.25Kg*): 12, 12 (Ouf, barely. Up) Good stuff. This theoretically would be my last workout of this cycle, but I really feel like I can go another couple of weeks right now so I will push back the deload a bit instead. It's certainly plausible that have been deloading too frequently / too early into a cycle in the past. Weight: 75.2KgCalories: 3107 Estimated Surplus: 207

Despite severe soreness in my pecs I decided to go, not wanting to take another 2 rest days in a row. Friday Workout: Bench Press (62.5Kg): 8, 8, 8 (Pretty happy with this. RPE 9.5/10, but still, good form on most of these) Seated Cable Rows (70.75Kg*): 9, 8, 9 (Good start) Machine Shoulder Press (32,5Kg): 12, 11, 11, 8 (Just not getting anywhere with these) Lat Pulldown (77.5Kg): 9, 10* (+1) Rope Pushdown (26.875Kg*): 12, 11, 10* (+1) Cable Face Pulls (33.75Kg*): 13, 12 (Good start) Triceps Machine (87.5Kg): 15, 13 (back to my previous best) Cable Curl (30Kg): 12, 12 (Pretty heavy already. Up) Lateral DB Raises (10Kg): 15, 15, 15 (-) Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8, 8, 7 (Shouldn't have done the cable curls first, ugh) Excellent. Weight: 74.8KgCalories: 3202 Estimated Surplus: 302