Experiment Mark: Lift Heavy. Lose weight.

[AshPS]

I can put most of my weight on it while it's wrapped. Just have to be careful and not bend it too far any direction. And a lot of walking last night made it a bit achy again, lol. 

 

Much better than I expected this soon. Thanks for asking!

[CourtnieMarie]

great loss! its amazing what your body does when you eat what it really wants/needs. I love using my foam roller when the doms hit - might be worth it to try it out!

 

have a great weekend!

[Broba Fett]

great loss! its amazing what your body does when you eat what it really wants/needs. I love using my foam roller when the doms hit - might be worth it to try it out!

 

have a great weekend!

Thanks!

 

It is truly amazing to me that I can be eating this much and losing weight. 

[AshPS]

It is truly amazing to me that I can be eating this much and losing weight. 

 

Yep, my thoughts exactly! Amazing what we get our minds convinced of. Like we have to starve ourselves to achieve those results.

 

Have an awesome weekend Mark!!

[Donar]

Last week: 409.2

 

This morning: 404.8!

 

 

 

 

Whoa!

I am glad we got you going on reasonable cals before too much damage was done metabolically on the 1500....

 

Also, super proud of you! You knew the short-term scale uptick was coming, prepared for it and made it pay off...

 

Great work Mark!

 

 

 

I am sore as hell this morning (apparently going to failure on 6 different lifts sucks two days later) so I didn't hit the gym today.  Not going to make a habit of it though.  Will try to go this weekend to figure out the bodyweight movements.

 

 

 

Yeah man.... failure is a tool to be exercised every now and then....you might wanna back it off a little....you are on a caloric deficit.

Remember, Rome wasn't built in a week.

 

Wife and I got another inconsistent result on waist measure so we decided to do the freckle method.  We found one a couple inches up from my navel and we'll be using that from now on.  Hopefully we can get some accurate information. 

 

 

The freckle method should work....and you can always take 2 or 3 measurements and average them.

I do two circuits on the calipers and average when I do BF calc.

[Broba Fett]

Thanks!

 failure is a tool to be exercised every now and then....you might wanna back it off a little....

 

Yeah, I'm not planning on doing that again anytime soon...  Just needed to estimate my 1RMs so I could start 5/3/1 on Monday.  Planning on doing a whole lot of nothing tonight and tomorrow so I'm totally fresh going into the week.

[Broba Fett]

Day One of 5/3/1 is in the books and it was a success.

 

Bench day today.  My working sets went like this:

 

100x5x1

115x5x1

130x14x1 (!!!)

 

I'm doing the Boring But Big version of 5/3/1 so my assistance work was to drop the weight to 75 and do 5 sets of 10. 

 

Felt strong through all of it.

 

Then I went and tried out the assisted pull-up machine.  I maxed out the counter-weight at 220lbs and managed to do 2 pullups!  That may seem pathetic but I've never done a pullup period, assisted or not.  So I'm stoked.  I then went and did 3 sets each of pulldowns in back and in front at 200lbs.  That got my shoulders and back burning.

 

Observations:

 

1. I wanted to make sure I was doing things correctly so I read up on proper form for bench.  Turns out I had my hands roughly 3-4 inches wide on either side.  I attribute that as part of the reason why I was able to push out 14 reps at 130, which pushes my estimated 1RM to 190 from 170 before.
2. I was wondering if I was using too light of a weight until I got to the end of the 3rd set of assistance work.  It really started burning the last few reps of the last couple sets.  But I guess thats the point, let you get as many reps out on your working sets and then use the assistance work to get volume.
3. I cannot say how awesome it felt to get those two assisted pullups in.
4. My workout was quick!  I'd gotten used to 90ish min workouts doing Starting Strength.  3 exercises is a snap.
5. My new protein powder tastes like hot chocolate when mixed with warm water.  Ehhhxcellent.
6. Doing the assistance work tomorrow on squat day is going to be a pain in the ass.
7. I think my wife is actually getting interested in calorie counting and getting healther. Woohoo!

Time to get ready for work.  I already have my macros planned for the day and should be 3-5g over on each by bedtime.  Hope everyone has an awesome day.

[Donar]

So much win!

[Broba Fett]

Definitely the start I needed this week.

[CourtnieMarie]

yes! I love it!

[AshPS]

Whoooo Hoooo!!!!!

 

So NOT pathetic!!! Pull-ups are hard! I still have to do assisted ones. So that is awesome!!

 

Yay on the wife!! That is really fantastic!

 

What protein powder is it????!!!! I want some! lol

 

We're going into cold weather and that idea seriously works for me!

[Broba Fett]

What protein powder is it????!!!! I want some! lol

We're going into cold weather and that idea seriously works for me!

It's this stuff:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000P0ZSHA/ref=ya_aw_oh_pit

Tried to find a good value and something that would last awhile as it is not unusual for me to have 3 to 4 servings per day to hit that PRO

[Broba Fett]

Btw, shoulders are feeling it right about now. Glad I didn't second guess the weight.

[Broba Fett]

Squat day.

 

Working sets were:

 

125x5x1

145x5x1

165x7x1

 

Then backed down to 100x5x10, followed by BW lunges and leg press 405x5x10.

 

By the time I got through the lunges it was a constant burn.  The leg presses were... interesting.  Got them done though.  Tomorrow's long walk should be interesting.

 

Shoulders and chest are ALIVE today. 

 

Minor problem:  my scale at home broke.  That's probably a blessing in disguise as I now can't check my weight every morning and stress out if it bumps up.  I weighed in full clothes and having drank 1/3rd gal of water on two different scales at the gym.  One of them was 398 and the other was 415, so we're probably somewhere in that range...

 

Other minor problem:  I have a biometric screening Thursday at 11:30.  I'm supposed to fast for at least 9 hours before.  My plan is to cheat a little and still do my BCAAs before/during my workout and then bring a baggie of protein powder to work to mix up and chug right after my screening.  I wouldn't think that 80 cals of BCAAs would throw off my triglycerides or cholesterol much.  I'm excited to see my results next month.

 

Plan for tomorrow (day off) is to get some major sleep in and then do my long walk.  It's been a few weeks.  Shooting for at least 5 miles. 

 

Hope everyone has an awesome day.

[Donar]

Welcome to the party my friend:

http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/forum/310-level-1-club/

 

[Broba Fett]

Challenge thread is here if anyone wants to follow along:

http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/39297-lift-it-lose-it/?view=getnewpost

[Broba Fett]

My glutes are so sore today. 

 

Hopefully that means it's working.

 

Decided to keep things in here until Monday and then it'll be moved to the aforementioned challenge thread.

 

It's raining here so in a little bit I'm going to hit the gym and do my walk on a treadmill.  I'm planning on watching some Breaking Bad on my phone to keep myself from dying from boredom. 

 

That's about all I've got.  Hope everyone has a good one.

[CourtnieMarie]

oof - definitely need to entertain myself if i ever did long periods on the treadmill. i'm an audiobook junkie though so i'd probably get one of those going

 

have fun today!

[Broba Fett]

Walk went ok.  My gym teases you with WiFi but it never works so my entertainment was buffering alot and there is only soo much walking in place a man can take without a distraction.  Only got 2 miles in.

 

Today: OHP day.  Or, as I have renamed it: Ultimate Warrior day.

 

Sets went mostly well.

 

My last working set was 95lbs and I put it up 7 times, which was less than last week.  I'm blaming the higher volume of work on 5/3/1 and the fact that I didn't eat this morning (and still can't until 11:30!  I'm starving!) due to the biometric screening I have.

 

I will post what I can from the screening after I'm done so we can compare last year to this one.

 

Diet has been going well.

 

I can't seem to get a consistent weigh in on any of the scales at the gym so I'm going to try to see if we can buy a new one for at home tonight.  Its overly important to me to see that number keep going down. I know it shouldn't be but...

 

On the good news side, I'm growing traps!  Not much of anything but when I roll my shoulders there is a little bump on either side.  Woohoo progress!  I've also got a little hollow spot on either side above my collar bone that I don't remember being there before.

 

Yay for small victories!

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do on Deadlift day tomorrow.  Don't think I've ever deadlifted without squatting beforehand.  Should be interesting.

 

Hope everyone has a good Thursday.

[Donar]

Yay for small victories!

 

 

Damn right! Small victories are still victories.....*nodding

 

 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do on Deadlift day tomorrow. Don't think I've ever deadlifted without squatting beforehand. Should be interesting.

 

 

Be sure to do plenty of warm up and acclimation sets....deadlifts are not to be fooled around with.

They are one of the best exercises in the gym.....and need to be treated with a respectful all-business attitude.

 

(You already know this....just a friendly reminder) 

[CourtnieMarie]

all awesome things! sorry about the interrupted wifi cutting your walk short - is 2 miles shorter than what you wanted to do? i'll advocate audiobooks again since you can put them on your ipod or w/e and listen without wifi needed also they're usually free to rent online at your local library.

 

glad diet is going well! any good staples you've come across? (besides protein powder)

 

i know what you mean about the scale. i still weigh in everyday and try not to be affected if it goes up. i totally fail at that.

 

also - that hollow spot was a huge deal for me! so congrats! i remember how awesome it felt (and feels) to see that in the mirror everyday when before, well, you know lol

 

can't wait to hear about the screen!

[Broba Fett]

all awesome things! sorry about the interrupted wifi cutting your walk short - is 2 miles shorter than what you wanted to do? i'll advocate audiobooks again since you can put them on your ipod or w/e and listen without wifi needed also they're usually free to rent online at your local library.

 I should really go back to this.  I listened to all of the 4th Wheel of Time book (God was that long) this way while doing walks before i fell off the walking wagon.  Thanks for the advice.

 

As far as staples,  i discovered nonfat greek yogurt.  Decent amount of carbs and pro without any fat and the fruit ones taste awesome.  The vanilla and honey ones... not so much.  Also, I like to take a can of tuna, mix with a couple tablespoons of mayo and then put it on a bagel with some cheese.  Hits all 3 macros. (Horrible for the breath though.

 

Other than that, just the regular stuff you hear alot.  Lean meat, eggs, veggies, etc.

 

An average day would be:

 

Two scoops of BCAAs before workout

Two scoops of BCAAs sipped during workout

4 scoops of protein powder with skim milk just after workout

A couple English muffins with honey for breakfast

2 nonfat yogurts at work

2-3 baked chicken breasts and a bag of broccoli/greenbeans/peas for lunch

1/2 of whatever my wife is making for dinner (by far my worst meal as we're still eating really heavily processed stuff 9 times out of 10)

Scramble to eat whatever else I need without going over the others. (usually another protein shake or an apple with some peanut butter, etc)

 

Bioscreen results coming as soon as I can type them...

[Broba Fett]

Ok, Biometric screen results:

 

First the wins. 

 

BMI went from 59 to 48. (I know this is a silly measuring system but I'm taking every win I can get.)

 

Lost 7 inches on my waist!

 

Now the not-so-win.

 

BP was 144/92.  Last year it was 110/80.  However, I was pretty anxious when they took it because they hadn't taken my blood yet and I am the king of wusses when it comes to needles.  I shall check it again at the pharmacy after I have some time to chill out and if it is still bad I'll go see a doc.

 

That's all I really have right now.  have to wait awhile for the cholesterol/triglycerides/glucose results.

[Broba Fett]

 

 

Be sure to do plenty of warm up and acclimation sets....deadlifts are not to be fooled around with.

They are one of the best exercises in the gym.....and need to be treated with a respectful all-business attitude.

 

 

Will do.

[CourtnieMarie]

 I should really go back to this.  I listened to all of the 4th Wheel of Time book (God was that long) this way while doing walks before i fell off the walking wagon.  Thanks for the advice.

nice! i think i checked my library for those books and they didnt have them available... or maybe it was something else. i'll check again! unless it wasn't good. tell me what you thought about it beside it being long lol

 

 

As far as staples,  i discovered nonfat greek yogurt.  Decent amount of carbs and pro without any fat and the fruit ones taste awesome.  The vanilla and honey ones... not so much.  Also, I like to take a can of tuna, mix with a couple tablespoons of mayo and then put it on a bagel with some cheese.  Hits all 3 macros. (Horrible for the breath though.

you say this to the girl currently eating tuna, salsa, lettuce, and spicy seasonings. ha! it's okay - i have gum, don't worry.

 

i also LOVE greek yogurt. i track my sugar though and unfortunately the flavored cups have a bit too much in there for my liking. i get the giant tubs of plain nonfat and add anything my heart desires. fruit, tuna, beans, nut butter. the sky's the limit, man.

 

btw it looks like you are doing amazingly awesome for someone who just got their macros figured out. like seriously, it took me forever to adjust.