Wolverine

True story. I forget how crappy I feel when I skip it... and my natural inclination when I feel crappy is to skip it... which leads to more crappy. A vicious cycle that will be broken! Thanks for the support. I really appreciate it! My goal for Zero Week is to decide on a program, as I've been bouncing around quite a bit. Leaning toward GST which, if you haven't heard of it, is most similar to 5/3/1 with accessory work. Goal is primarily hypertrophy, but I'm having trouble giving up the strength stuff... A generic push/pull/legs is also in contention.

WOLVERINE'S MAIN QUEST CHALLENGE INTRODUCTION My step-mom was tired three weeks ago, diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer two weeks ago, and has progressed to stage 4 as of last week. We are a very close with her and our family has been struggling a bit to keep up with the ever worsening news. I’ve completely stopped training and have been eating/drinking instead of feeling, but I’m not going to do anybody any good by self-sabotaging. This challenge is all about getting my shit together so that I’m better able to support my family. GOAL 1: MIND I need a community to be successful, and in many areas of my "real life” I have that community. Leveling up (particularly physically) is not one of those areas. My friends and family aren't particularly interested in fitness or nutrition, and without the support, encouragement, and accountability of likeminded individuals I have really floundered. During this challenge, I will re-establish myself in this community; I will reconnect with old friends and take time to make some new ones. I will post in my personal challenge thread at least 5 times per week. I will follow and stay active in at least 5 other challenge threads. GOAL 2: MOUTH Beer and donuts have become my crutch the last few weeks; that needs to stop. I’m setting some pretty easy goals for this one as I’d like to build up some good momentum before really diving in. During this challenge, I will regain control of my eating and drinking. I will track ALL the food I eat EVERY day. I will eat at least 135 grams of protein every day GOAL 3: MUSCLES Long term goal is to lean out and maintain what mass gains I’ve made over the last few years and then attempt bulking again (hopefully a lot more intelligently next time around!). During this challenge, I will focus on maintaining as much muscle mass as possible as I reduce my calorie intake. I will train at least five times per week I will stick with the same program for the duration of the challenge STARTING STATS Male 34 years old 5 ft. 7 in. Weight TBD Chest TBD Waist TBD

+1 for using my calories at the end of the day on hitting my protein goal and not on the beer that I had in the fridge. #characterbuilder OHP Focus Overhead Press: 45 x 5, 65 x 5, 85 x 5, 95 x 5, 110 x 6Shoulder Dislocate + Pull-Apart + Face Pull: Band x 10/10/10 x 5Bench Press: 80 x 10 x 5Chin-Up: BW x 5 x 5Barbell Curl: 70 x 9, 70 x 9, 70 x 8Rope Pressdown: 70 x 10, 70 x 10, 70 x 9Notes Back was feeling wonky. Skipped leg day. *GASP* Right elbow is still jacked. I think it's the tendon. Going to switch to DB shoulder press for the time being to see if a neutral grip will be kinder to it.

You said "North Bay" and "beer" (and mentioned Heroine) so I figured you'd be familiar. Pliny the Younger from Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa. Side benefit of hand sanitizer... serves as a good base for chalk. Improves my grip noticeably.

In 2014 I had 367 unique beers, no repeats. Have you Pliny'd?

Good luck with PT! Lemme know if you find some magic exercise that cures all.

Just got back from a family vacation in Disneyland. Averaged about 13 miles per day for 4 days... I'm calling that my conditioning for the week. Pseudo-cheating, but I have no shame. Looking forward to catching up with everyone.

Bench Press Focus Bench Press: 45 x 5, 75 x 5, 105 x 5, 120 x 5, 140 x 3, 155 x 5Lat Pulldown: 50 x 10, 60 x 10, 70 x 10, 80 x 10 x 3DB Shoulder Press: 37.5 per DB x 10 x 3DB One-arm Row: 57.5 per DB x 10 x 3Barbell Curl: 67.5 x 10 x 3Rope Pressdown: 67.5 x 10 x 3

Yes, it's still a problem. The INSANE nerve pain is gone, but my leg is still jacked. My mobility is worse in that leg, it gets very tight and painful if I don't do PT/mobility work every night, and I have about 50% strength in my calf now (not from strength loss, the muscle just doesn't fire correctly anymore). Looking like permanent nerve damage but only time will tell. Thankfully, the rest of my body seems to be working around it. My coach says that if I hadn't told him he wouldn't have known I was injured (i.e. my squat/deadlift form looks fine and I'm not compensating in a noticeable way). Wahoo!

I'm in. Won't be posting anything close to even novice levels, but I'm in!

^ What he said.

Squat/Deadlift Focus Squat: 45 x 5, 75 x 5, 105 x 5, 140 x 5 x 3Deadlift: 65 x 5, 95 x 5, 125 x 5, 145 x 5Good Morning: 47.5 x 10 x 3Leg Curl: 32.5 x 12 x 3Notes I'm a very quad dominant lifter and I'm trying to learn to engage my posterior chain more (thus all my accessory work being focused on hamstrings/glutes). Going to test the waters with some low bar squats and see how that affects things. Deadlifts are feeling GREAT. Weight is flying (not that surprising since it's still so low) and my form feels dead (ha!) on.

Time to capitalize on your new powers. There is much free beer to be had...

Abs, biceps, triceps, chest... that's four.

I forgot how much I missed all the detail in your tracking. What's your thought on not tracking calories burned during exercise? Think breaking it out that much is necessary? As opposed to making adjustments based on averages and weekly trends from intake alone...

I think you're the only one who can give me a run for my money for the "Most Name Changes" prize. SL definitely classes up the joint, that's for sure. Come for the music, stay for the challenge crushing. ... Still waiting for you to mash-up swing dancing and handbalancing...

You doing accessories at all? Or just the one compound lift and calling it a day?

Awesome! Thanks!

Overhead Press FocusOverhead Press: 45 x 5, 70 x 5, 95 x 5, 110 x 3, 120 x 5Chin-up: BW x 4 x 5DB Bench Press: 45 per DB x 10 x 3Bent-over Row: 65 x 10 x 3DB Lateral Raise: 15 per DB x 15 x 3DB Rear Lateral Raise: 15 per DB x 15 x 3Notes Took a slightly wider grip on the bar during the OHP and it seemed to help my elbow quite a bit. It was painful but much less so.

That's the current plan. Once I hit sets of 5 (next OHP day), I'll start adding weight. I CAN'T WAIT. Yup - lower body volume isn't great enough to really affect anything at all at this point. Coach wants me to eat and focus on lifting. I want to be less jiggly. We'll see who wins out. A SLLLLOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW recomp. is tempting. Maintain weight, focus on strength, adjust as necessary. True story. I've got a couple of inches to go. Though I'm hoping that my 10% is significantly heavier than it was last time.

And another Assassin bites the dust. Looking forward to following along!

Meh. A decent amount. Was doing sets of 15-20 bodyweight at the height of my pull-up training. More interested in ze weight at this point!