MissoulaSquatch: Building a better Sasquatch

[MissoulaSquatch]

*stumbles in*

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey everybody,

MissoulaSquatch here (formerly known as Ajaxus on these here forums, retired that handle after 18 years recently..thank you Deadpool).  I'm not exactly new to these parts, been around NF for a little over 3 years now.  CNF15 alumn, member of NF Academy, NF Yoga, think that's about it.  This is kinda my respawn/new battle log/accountability post through the ridiculous amount of vacation time I've got coming up (3 weeks of vacation between now and January 3rd..yikes!)

TLDR on what happened before I started this today: Quit smoking 3 years and 4 days ago (and roughly a few weeks after joining NF), lost roughly 15% bodyfat, went from a guy who could barely get out of a chair to a guy who squatted 340# last week, founded an outdoors/hiking group in western Montana that has 600 members, oh and speaking of Montana..moved here 2 years ago to get a new/fresh start on life which was inspired quite a bit by this journey to better health.  That covers all of the good stuff I think.

I've been spending the last 1.5 years focusing primarily on bulking, I've spent most of my life weak and I don't want to be weak again.  So I've prioritized muscle/strength gain over fat loss, I'm still leaning out over time but it's been a bit slower.  I am getting ready for a deep cut in January which I'll be posting in the Challenge section of the forums, it's my war on my belly..we're gonna kiss that sucker goodbye once and for all and I'm taking you lot along for the journey with me.

Here's some fun links:

https://www.instagram.com/missoulasquatch/

Food, hiking, there's some videos of my heavy squats from last week in there too.
 

In August I posted this gem, my very first progress photo (which I don't think I'd shared much until this point) side by side with where I was in August.  It's a good example of how much more important body composition is than body weight.

You can probably see from the food pictures that I'm pretty decent in the kitchen, here's a bonus link for you to one of my personal recipes for a staple dish in my diet (if you're on a budget..this is your best friend): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UKcAZw9n2KCAqoNk6SmmHWycqarsBHQK3M0Ea-OPLPs/edit?usp=sharing  Note: You can do 2-3# of whatever meat/protein you want in this.  I also recommend buying Bob's Red Mill Black Beans and BRM Wild&Brown Rice on Amazon, dirt cheap and good quality.  If you make it, let me know what you think.

I worked with Personal Trainers up until this summer when I started writing my own programs.  

Here's a look at the program I wrote (still fine tuning bits of it) for my deep cut in January: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tFErLbHN7J1P6qLRmucwyBuNaQG-1bEWA6XvlFfAwMs/edit?usp=sharing

I think that's enough for a first Battle Log post.

[Laghail]

Following for some of your Montana nonsense.

[MissoulaSquatch]

12 minutes ago, Laghail said:

Following for some of your Montana nonsense.

 

Just take this in for a bit..

[MissoulaSquatch]

Ok, vacation is over..I haven't been to the gym in weeks..so that's going to change today..gonna just go in without a plan and ease back into things..my vacation kinda roughed my legs up a bit so I just want to focus on some mobility stuff, dynamic stretches, and form checks on myself today..make sure my range of movement is solid before I jump back in.

Surprisingly I didn't gain any weight on vacation..considering I was drinking from sunrise to sunset most days everything from mezcal to margaritas to my weight in pacifico. 

Which gives you a good look into how hard it is for me to eat when I'm doing things with my family.  I was practically begging them to buy starchy foods (we had a kitchen in our beach house so we did quite a bit of meal prep) because they absolutely will not put carbs on their plates.  They're all still stuck in Atkins mode believing carbs are all evil.  I lose weight eating <300g of carbs a day..I'm pretty sure carbs aren't evil, lol

Got a few weeks here in Montana then I'm off to visit my parents for 2.5 weeks for the holidays/extended vacation for me.  I've gotten them to agree to let me prep my own extra food (carbs) for meals so I can try to eat close to my diet..and I've been guaranteed access to a gym atleast 2x a week where I can hit some heavy compound lifts..should be enough for me to maintain my strength (they have weights in their basement..but it maxes out at 265#..I can do only so much with that these days..lol).

[Laghail]

Living the heavy life! what's the gym back home?

[MissoulaSquatch]

1 minute ago, Laghail said:

Living the heavy life! what's the gym back home?

So the home gym..

Has a weight set I got when I was 20 as a gift..back on my first attempt to get in shape (this one is attempt 3 and it finally stuck).  Has a bench that you can incline and decline with including all of the attachments for everything from incline bench to decline crunches.  Weight rack..but just a basic one..not solid enough for me to do squats with (I'd tip it over when I slam the bar back in..lol).  Barbell that's barely been used (the knurling tears my skin up..lol).  265# in plates.  Also have an EZ bar and one of those free weight bars that you can toss plates on.

My parents have also picked up a 55cm exercise ball and I think a smaller one as well, yoga mats, foam roller, and one of my dowels is there as well.   

So I can honestly do quite a bit with the setup..I'll hit 2-3 upper body hypertrophy workouts on it..maybe hit some RDL's..I "could" do deadlifts..even as light as it is they have rubber flooring and I never drop weights.

They also live a quarter mile from Rock Cut State Park..no mountains but it's got some decent hills and lots of trails..so I can get out on that for some winter hiking while I'm there.  That's a good fat burner.