PaulG's Training Log

[Basement Cat]

Your tummy is supposed to be rumbly before lunch!

 

Moving on, crunching numbers is fun! A good weight loss in just two weeks! Have fun with your numbers tomorrow, Paul!

[PaulG]

Crunched my numbers over an 11-day period: 1/7 - 1/18. According to the numbers, my current TDEE is roughly 3100, which is, quite frankly, awesome. The numbers are probably off by 1-200 calories for a couple reasons -- eyeballing portions, rounding up food amounts (all of which I try to minimize) -- but for my purposes, 3100 is fine, great even. That means I've been running about a 1000 calorie per day deficit (my daily goal after exercise is 2084kcal).

Of course, I've still got niggling doubts about my calculations, so for now my plan is to... continue with my current goal and not adjust at all. My fat loss has been rapid and if these numbers can keep it going, so be it. I'll continue to adjust as I go along, but for now, I like where I'm going.

[Basement Cat]

Glad to hear everything is going smoothly for you!

[PaulG]

Workout 1/21

Box Pistols

7/7b-y/x, 7/7c-y, 4/4c-y

Push-ups

5b-e, 5a-e, 6a-y

- Really concentrated on retracting and depressing shoulderblades in the bottom, which made the position much more challenging.

- Stretched neck flexors between sets, feels way nicer that way.

BW Rows

6b-x, 6b-x, 6b-y

- Wall slides between each set. Lower traps, don't fail me now!

- Lower traps... failed on the last 2 reps of the last set. Could not retract those ^#&@ shoulderblades. Form was otherwise decent, though I'd like more height. My lower traps are going to scream for a few workouts until they start firing properly.

Leg-Assisted Deep Step-ups (2 blues)

4/4c-x, 4/4c-x, 4/4c-y

- Shot from the pistols, my legs are going to be incredibly sore tomorrow. Can feel the DOMS coming on. Form suffered as a result, I almost fell several times -- and with an attractive woman watching me from a yoga mat, too.

- One day later, my calves have some wicked DOMS. The burn... It's beautiful. Long time since I felt my legs developing like this.

- No shoulder pain! Those days off did me good. I even managed a 3-set workout on schedule. If all goes well, next thing to add in is pull-ups (yay!)

[Basement Cat]

Awesomesauce! Glad to hear your shoulder is doing fine! Don't worry about the lady watching you. I'm sure she would have rushed to your rescue if you had fallen. (hey, you can dream)

 

Keep up the great work!

[PaulG]

Cutcutcutcutcutcut

Back on the cutting wagon after a Sunday night concert where I had one too many beers.

Barely squeaked by at 46 calories under my limit last night -- sushi is higher-cal than you'd think, yo. The scale is stalling at 180.2 for some reason, but given my success with waist measurements so far, I'm not overly worried. It would feel nice to see myself going through the 170s properly though. Ah well.

[Basement Cat]

You're doing fine. Just don't have too many of those beer and sushi nights.

 

Funny, when I read the first line I had this image pop into my head: 

[PaulG]

You're doing fine. Just don't have too many of those beer and sushi nights.

 

Funny, when I read the first line I had this image pop into my head: 

 

 

Amazing. But no sushi and beer... nooooo

 

Seriously, if someone told me I could never eat barbecued eel nigiri again, I would die.

[PaulG]

Workout Log 1/23

 

Normal Warmup/Prehab

 

L-Sits (1 leg on ground -- starting slow)

11s, 13s, 15s

 

 

Main Strength Work

 

Box Pistols

7/7^c-x, 5/5^b-x, 6/6^b-y

- Still feeling a little rough on the L knee, so I'm keeping the reps at 18 total per workout for now. I'll hang here until the knee is feeling better, then keep climbing. I should continue to make strength gains even if I hold here for a while -- I'm not terribly worried about making gains, I'd rather keep my quad tendon in good shape.

 

Push-ups

6^a-e, 6^a-e, 6^a-e

- Shoulder felt great all through these. Second workout with three sets of pressing that has gone well.

 

Pull-ups

2, 1, 1

-Chatting with another bodyweight afficianado in the gym led to me trying out a couple pull-ups despite my better judgment. Dammit.

 

BW Rows

6^b-e, 7^a-e

- Despite how easy rows were on my strength, started to feel a slight twinge in my R shoulder, so cut them short. Ice tonight...

 

Leg-Assisted Deep Step-Ups

5/5^b-e, 5/5^b-x, 5/5^b-x

 

- Skipped out on shoulder prehab because of the twinge. I'll do it tomorrow if my shoulder is feeling better. Tests are inconclusive, it seems to be the tiniest bit inflamed, nothing major. Do wish it would calm down so I could really hammer at upper body stuff, but I know the only way to make sure it does is to go easy for now.

[Basement Cat]

Looking good! I hope your shoulder stops twinging soon.

[PaulG]

Workout Log 1/25

 

Normal Warmup/Prehab

 

L-Sits (1 leg on ground -- starting slow)

16s, 17s, 18s

 

 

Main Strength Work

 

Box Pistols

7/7^b-x, 5/5^b-e, 6/6^(b+)-y

- This time, during my warmup, I wrapped a compression band (actually a bike inner tube I slit down its length) around my left knee when I did my BW squats. It's a trick I learned from Kelly Starrett's MobilityWOD: he calls it voodoo flossing, and it's a great way to loosen up tight tissues that might otherwise cause problems during a workout. What do you know, no knee pain when I did my pistols.

- For the first time, I felt great and well-balanced all through my sets. This is a good sign that my stabilizing muscles are getting stronger. Can't help but wonder what I'll be capable of once I break back into parkour.

- Performed one 7-second L-sit between my first two sets, between two boxes. Difficult, and I'm afraid it might be kind of tough on my shoulder. I think I'll lay L-sits to rest for a few more weeks.
 

Push-ups

6^a-e, 6^a-e, 6^a-e

- Shoulder felt great all through these. Third workout with three sets of pressing that has gone well.

 

BW Rows

8^b-e, 8^b-e, 8^b-e

- Again, twinge in the R shoulder on the last set. Ugh.

 

Leg-Assisted Deep Step-Ups

6/6^b-e, 6/6^b-x, 6/6^b-y

 

R Tricep Extensions

10x7, 10x8

- Skipped out on all other shoulder prehab... again. Need to start working rotator cuff prehab back in.

 

 

Cooldown (wrist curls and extensions)

 

- Not my finest cooldown. Skipped stretching because the gym was closing, and never got around to it after.

 

- R shoulder started hurting again a few hours after my workout, about 7 PM. Iced it and took some NSAIDs. We'll see how it feels tomorrow... I'll throw the ice pack on it one more time tonight, just in case.

[Basement Cat]

Great job on stabilizing the pistols, Paul!

 

You keep taking good care of that shoulder.

[PaulG]

Shoulder's tender today and my upper traps, levator scapulae, and neck flexors feel tight. Stretching time!

[PaulG]

Oh, also:

 

BREAKING CUTTING NEWS

 

Weighed in at 176.8 today, with a waist of 31.75 and a calculated bodyfat of 12.9%. I'd place myself somewhere closer to 15-17% bodyfat, but it almost doesn't matter: it's near-impossible for males with bodyfat%s in the teens to see any changes. Until I hit 10% (which I don't plan to during this cut), visual changes will be minimal and will probably just make me look smaller.

 

Still, I'm at the halfway point! That's something. Cut my calories down to 1900/day on Friday. I did it mostly because I didn't trust my calculations of my maintenance -- they seemed incredibly high for my level of activity. But when I go over my numbers now, near as I can tell I'm losing 2.1 lb every week, which is an insane level of weight loss for someone as lean as I.

 

For now I'll stick to my plan, but I may add some calories back in if my weight loss accelerates. I don't want to lose any muscle here.

[Basement Cat]

Congratulations on reaching the halfway point!

[PaulG]

Cutting Update (again)

 

The official halfway point is here! Or at least close enough.... I began my cut on 1/6, exactly 21 days ago. Let's take a look at my handy, high-tech cutting dashboard:

    _________                           ___________                              /   _____/__ ________   ___________  \_   _____/____    ____   ____ ___.__.   \_____  \|  |  \____ \_/ __ \_  __ \  |    __) \__  \  /    \_/ ___<   |  |   /        \  |  /  |_> >  ___/|  | \/  |     \   / __ \|   |  \  \___\___  |  /_______  /____/|   __/ \___  >__|     \___  /  (____  /___|  /\___  > ____|          \/      |__|        \/             \/        \/     \/     \/\/                     _________         __    __  .__                                \_   ___ \ __ ___/  |__/  |_|__| ____    ____                  /    \  \/|  |  \   __\   __\  |/    \  / ___\                 \     \___|  |  /|  |  |  | |  |   |  \/ /_/  >                 \______  /____/ |__|  |__| |__|___|  /\___  /                         \/                          \//_____/          ________                .__   ___.                          .___        \______ \ _____    _____|  |__\_ |__   _________ _______  __| _/         |    |  \\__  \  /  ___/  |  \| __ \ /  _ \__  \\_  __ \/ __ |          |    `   \/ __ \_\___ \|   Y  \ \_\ (  <_> ) __ \|  | \/ /_/ |         /_______  (____  /____  >___|  /___  /\____(____  /__|  \____ |                 \/     \/     \/     \/    \/           \/           \/ 

Date:         1/7      ->      1/26

 

Weight:   182.12   ->     176.8

 

Waist*:    32 3/8"   ->     30.5"

 

BF%:       13.9%    ->    9.99%

 

AdjBF**:  20.9%   ->    16.99%

 

 

 

* Based on Waldo's method of waist measurement: flexing your abs as hard as possible by pulling as tightly as possible on the tape. Though it gives a totally inaccurate reading of your actual bodyfat percentage, it seems to show progress more consistently with one's actual fat loss.

 

** My own estimate of my BF%. (I run my waist and weight through the Modified YMCA Formula, then add 7%. Why 7%? I have no reason other than photos and observation.) It's a shot in the dark, but hey, so is any bodyfat formula.

 

 

 

In other news:

 

Current calorie goal: 1900 kcal/day

 

Current estimated maintenance: 3,028 kcal/day

 

Notes:

 

- Finding the new, lower goal difficult to stick to. Plus I'm eating out too much... did great all day until some Thai food put me slightly over my limit. Enh, worse things have happened.

 

- Not making my protein goal, averaging about 150g/day. I need more, especially rehabbing from this injury. I'll happily sacrifice a couple hundred calories of progress to make sure I nail this. My main problem is dinner -- the ones I plan are usually not high enough in protein, or else difficult to estimate intake. I'll need to add in a protein-heavy snack before dinner, and start cooking meat more often. I think burritos are on the menu this week... with lots of chicken.

[Basement Cat]

Love the "Super Fancy Cutting Dashboard" .

 

You're doing great! Just stay away from restaurants and you should be fine. As for protein, I guess you could buy one of those cartons of egg whites and drink that stuff? (just kidding)

 

Good luck! When do you plan to end your cut?

[PaulG]

Well, I WAS planning to end it in another 3-4 weeks once I'm down to 170 and in the 13-14% bodyfat range.

But...

Woke up today sick. I've been taking care of my girlfriend who has bronchitis, and I guess I caught something. I'll keep tracking but I'll have to adjust my calories to maintenance for now, if I can even eat that much while sick.

And I can't work out. Le sads.

[Basement Cat]

Aw, man, that sucks!

 

You take good care of yourself and your girlfriend, now. Chin up, it will clear up soon enough.

[Waldo]

Man, nice thread, I missed this. Good progress on the cut. Keep refeeds in your back pocket if the going gets tough.

From a few pages back:

SSC work has one very specific application, prepping the elbow tendon for straight armed work. While its use is questionable across all exercises, it should definitely be used for the back lever and planche (and iron cross).

One can get similar effects for other exercises by programming easy/form days. Days where you back off a good bit, go nowhere near failure, use lighter loads and focus on doing as perfect of form as possible.

You can also incorporate this into your workouts by doing ramp up sets, which reinforce form and lock in gains, in addition to causing a supercompensation that increases your peak strength a bit.

[PaulG]

Man, nice thread, I missed this. Good progress on the cut. Keep refeeds in your back pocket if the going gets tough.

From a few pages back:

SSC work has one very specific application, prepping the elbow tendon for straight armed work. While its use is questionable across all exercises, it should definitely be used for the back lever and planche (and iron cross).

One can get similar effects for other exercises by programming easy/form days. Days where you back off a good bit, go nowhere near failure, use lighter loads and focus on doing as perfect of form as possible.

You can also incorporate this into your workouts by doing ramp up sets, which reinforce form and lock in gains, in addition to causing a supercompensation that increases your peak strength a bit.

 

Thanks Waldo, you've been a big help with my programming and tracking.

 

Refeeds are definitely on the menu once I'm back in the game. Up to now though, I don't seem to be having more trouble than a grumbly tummy and occasional fantasies of pizza. Mmm... pizza.

 

Thanks for the help on SSC stuff, it's hard to find anyone talking about it online who's not a Coach Sommers disciple. Not that Sommers doesn't have some very good stuff, but his idea of sticking with the exact same workout for two months or more seems a little too cautious for beginners.

[PaulG]

Sickness Update

 

Think I wound up with a moderate flu; I've been in and out of a fever for the past two days, home from work while I shiver my way through the day. Without exercise, I've estimated my maintenance level at about 2450kcal/day, and I've hit that goal pretty solidly since I got sick. (Thank god for turkey quesadillas.) Protein is up and down; I can't really stomach the high-protein stuff I usually pack myself with, roasted chicken, yogurt, cottage cheese.

 

My next PT appointment is Friday, and I'm hoping I'll be recovered enough by then to make it. Might take tomorrow off work as well to make sure I'm in good shape for it.

[Waldo]

Thanks Waldo, you've been a big help with my programming and tracking.

 

Refeeds are definitely on the menu once I'm back in the game. Up to now though, I don't seem to be having more trouble than a grumbly tummy and occasional fantasies of pizza. Mmm... pizza.

 

Thanks for the help on SSC stuff, it's hard to find anyone talking about it online who's not a Coach Sommers disciple. Not that Sommers doesn't have some very good stuff, but his idea of sticking with the exact same workout for two months or more seems a little too cautious for beginners.

Some of Sommer's stuff has to be taken with a big time grain of salt.

- His trainees work day after day, and have lots of other stuff to do besides the basic strength routine. He also has the luxury of a LONG time with his athletes. Daily workouts are real easy, and failure avoided.

- His trainees are little boys by and large. Little boys have a great strength to weight ratio and have a massive recovery ability.

The guys at GMB (who wrote the NF Batman Bodyweight Workout) do a better job adapting gymnastics to the general adult IMHO.

I personally can't stand the arrogance of Sommer and his followers, and the secrecy. I've always been curious as to what happened to Ido Portal and Steven Low. Both at one time had accounts on the GB forum, both of them were either banned or had their accounts otherwise deactivated. Sommer literally gets along with no one else in the BW community, whereas most of the others tend to at least be nice to each other, if not outright friends.

[PaulG]

Some of Sommer's stuff has to be taken with a big time grain of salt.

- His trainees work day after day, and have lots of other stuff to do besides the basic strength routine. He also has the luxury of a LONG time with his athletes. Daily workouts are real easy, and failure avoided.

- His trainees are little boys by and large. Little boys have a great strength to weight ratio and have a massive recovery ability.

The guys at GMB (who wrote the NF Batman Bodyweight Workout) do a better job adapting gymnastics to the general adult IMHO.

I personally can't stand the arrogance of Sommer and his followers, and the secrecy. I've always been curious as to what happened to Ido Portal and Steven Low. Both at one time had accounts on the GB forum, both of them were either banned or had their accounts otherwise deactivated. Sommer literally gets along with no one else in the BW community, whereas most of the others tend to at least be nice to each other, if not outright friends.

 

Interesting. I've actually met Steven Low briefly, he and Ido have some ties to my parkour gym. I've seen some good programming on basic skills from Sommer's stuff, like some of his writing on handstands. But maybe that's why I never hear about him in the circles I run in.

 

I like GMB's stuff, though I've only looked seriously at their flexibility resources (which are really good). Any strength literature from them you can recommend?

[PaulG]

At the Hi-Spot Cafe in Seattle, this is what they give you when you ask for a cinnamon roll side:

Appointment with the PT just finished. We talked about my twinges during pulling motions, which felt like acute bicep tendonitis that passed within a day or two. She agreed it was my bicep tendon, watched me perform a row, then pointed it out: though I thought I was retracting my right shoulderblade, I wasn't at all. It was rolling forward considerably. Whut. As soon as she pointed it out, I fixed it and it felt fine.

In any case, my shoulder coming forward = using my bicep while over-stretching its tendon = irritation. All I have to do is solve the form problem and I'm golden.

- My right side seems better balanced in pressing motions now, so I think my tricep issues are close to fixed.

- My grip strength is still lagging. Must work this more consistently, I haven't yet actually brought my hand gripper to the gym for my workout, just worked it randomly. Need to put it in my gym bag and remind myself to use it.

- PT says not to worry about my twinges, that I'm training intelligently and as long as the twinges are steadily decreasing and I'm fixing the problems causing them, they're nothing to worry about.

So it would appear I'm ready to start training again, as soon as my health is a little better. My flu/cold has resolved into an occasional cough. I'll probably start again tomorrow if I feel decent.