Record from the Front Lines

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Sounds like a solid way to start and end each day.  Remember, it doesn't have to be huge things.  The simple things are often the things we are most thankful for. 

[hblyne]

Absolutely. This morning I was thankful for my children letting me get another two hours sleep before waking me up

[hblyne]

This evening I am thankful for supermarket loyalty scheme vouchers that shouldn't really apply to my grocery shop being applied anyway

 

My calories have been lower again today, back down to about 1200, without me going hungry. Plus I did an epic session in the gym with my PT and didn't eat back those calories. I don't feel especially hungry. I've been getting more veggies and less processed food and am already feeling the benefit. I think it'll be hard for me to eat 1900 calories of good stuff. I wonder what this will mean for my metabolism? I've been on under 1400 calories for YEARS. If my metabolism has adjusted and is in permanent starvation mode do I need to force feed myself to get my calories up? :/ 

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Well done on not eating your calories back.  Finding healthy calorie rich foods shouldn't be too hard in this community.  

[hblyne]

Hehe true

[hblyne]

I've had a rough few weeks I've been so ill (flu followed by a stomach bug) and not worked out in two weeks. I've lost 5lbs but I know I'll struggle to keep it off when my appetite gets back to normal. I'm really, really depressed atm. I keep seeing really slim women on TV and just hating them and myself. I don't want to just eat salad! I LIKE cake! I've been in this constant battle with my body ever since I was a teenager and I honestly don't know what the way forward is. I do want to be healthier, and I know I can do that without giving up everything that I love but I have to learn to be at peace with myself too.

[hblyne]

Right. I am respawning again and am back and raring to go. I have some goals, some rewards and a new training program that I bloody well WILL rock.

 

I'll be lifting twice a week and doing interval training on the treadmill twice a week. I'm having a lifting session tomorrow to figure out my current maxes and then following the 5-3-1 program (doing 2 lifts each session to get all 4 in in one week, and I won't deload every 3 weeks, it'll be every 6). I'm going to figure out some targets to hit in 10 weeks time (my birthday) and have a treat in mind if I meet them. 

 

I have also set up a reward chart for myself, complete with shiny star stickers, to help me level up my life. Ironically, as an unconditional parent, I've never used rewards with my kids and they are thriving and intrinsically motivated because of it. But I was raised on rewards and don't seem able to shake them. I have three daily achievements: eat a home cooked meal, do something productive (above and beyond normal housework) and spend quality time as a family (as it's too easy to let a day slip by without meaningfully engaging with my kids). Given that the kids stay with their dad and grandparents 3-4 nights per week, it's a potential 17-19 stars per week. If I get 55 in a month I get to buy myself an album or DVD that I want. If I get 5 stars a week for eating home cooked meals I allow myself a take away. They have to be genuinely home cooked, from scratch, no convenience food. A challenge with two young, fussy kids and being a fussy eater myself! 

 

I'm feeling fired up and ready to go. I do have a weightloss goal in mind but am trying to replace it with an enjoyment for these lifestyle changes for their own sake, rather than being fixated on the numbers and getting disheartened if I don't see progress fast enough. If I can shake that attitude and just start enjoying my life then hopefully the weight (or more importantly, fat) will come off as a happy side effect.

[Jittersthe.Clown]

[hblyne]

Thanks!

[hblyne]

Had a great lifting session last night. Will post full log later, but wanted to give myself a high five for setting a squat 1 rep max that was higher than I expected. I thought it would be 60kg (previous best work weight of 40, current work weight of 35) but I got 67.5! Woot! I tried for 70 but missed it, so going to set that as a target.

 

Bench was a bit of a let down, given a previous work weight of 30kg, I thought I might set a 1RM of 40, but only got 32.5. But I haven't benched in months, so I think my form had gone out the window and just needs a bit of work to get it back.

 

More later!

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Way to go!  Keep pushing hard.  

[hblyne]

Thanks

 

So Here are my logs for the week. I was setting maxes, not doing work weights, so the sets reflect that.

 

Tuesday

 

Squats

8x20kg

3x30

3x35

1x40

1x45

1x50

1x60

1x65

1x67.5

0x70

 

Bench

5x20

3x20

1x25

1x30

1x32.5

0x35

 

I missed those top weights when I tried them. I'm happy to have round numbers to aim for in my first set of targets though.

 

Friday

 

Deadlift

3x40

1x50

1x60

1x65

0x70

 

Overhead Press

1x20

1x22.5

1x25

0x30

0x27.5

 

Deadlifts were interesting. My previous workweight was 30kg, which were tough with sets of 6. But I managed singles up to 60 with relative ease. 65 was tough but I managed it after one aborted attempt. 70 wouldn't come off the mat though.

 

I had never done overhead press before so had no idea how that would go. Evidently I need to get hold of some fractional plates because 25 was a smooth lift, (which is why we tried jumping up to 30,) but even 27.5 was a non-starter.

 

I've done ok with my meals, managing one home cooked meal every day, but I've been drinking a lot of Pepsi :/ My difficulty in shaking the fizzy drink habit has been one of the things getting me most down. So I decided to let it slide for now, it's something to tackle another day. I need some victories first to give me momentum. Small, sustainable changes and one at a time.

[hblyne]

So, with maxes determined, this week I began my new program. So Tuesday looked like this:

 

Squats

Warm up:

5x20kg

3x30

Work weight sets:

5x40

5x45

5x52.5

First Set Last Set:

5x40

 

Bench

Work weight sets:

5x20

5x22.5

5x25

Joker:

5x27.5

First set last sets:

5x5x20

Jokers:

1x25

1x30

1x35

0x37.5

 

Squats were hard. I haven't had a work weight over 40kg before and by the end they were getting tough. So I just did one first set last set and even those reps were hard. I had a solid rest then moved on to bench. I powered through bench with hardly any rests and when I finished my first set last sets, which were all easy, I knew I had plenty left in the tank, so went on for more jokers. We just kept putting more weight on the bar until I failed a lift. I was really stunned at how much I managed to lift, both in weight and volume. The single rep max I set last week was only 32.5kg but I lifted 35 on Tuesday with relative ease. So maybe I was fatigued when testing my maxes. My trainer says we shouldn't change my maxes and work weights mid cycle, so we're sticking with the program as written and will add more jokers for now to push me more. Then we revisit my maxes after 6 weeks.

 

The weight progression of this program means that after 3 sets of 3 week cycles (9 weeks, 10 if I have a deload week), my work weight maxes should be my current SR maxes on all 4 lifts. So that's my target. I decided that if I manage it (which I will unless I stall on any lifts, which I shouldn't do at this level) then I'm going to treat myself to a new swimsuit for my holiday in October. 

 

So in 9/10 weeks, my top work weights should be:

Squat: 67.5kg

Bench: 32.5kg

Deadlift: 65kg

Overhead Press: 25kg

 

I'd like my SR maxes in 9/10 weeks to look something like:

Squat: 80

Bench: 42.5

Deadlift: 80

OHP: 32.5

But these are guesstimates and I have no idea what they'll actually be, so I'm not setting targets.

 

Bring it on!

[Jittersthe.Clown]

Well done!  

I have to ask, what are Jokers?  Seems like something I should know

[Silverbolt]

Well done!  

I have to ask, what are Jokers?  Seems like something I should know

 

They're a concept Wendler added to the 531 template in Beyond 5/3/1. The idea being that after doing your + set, you then add 5% and do another set. You can do as many of these sets as you feel like, upping weight each time, and generally the sets will follow one of two patterns - either a single rep, or reps equal to the week you're in, so 5 in the 5+ week, 3 in the 3+ week, 1 in the 531 week.

[hblyne]

^^ Yeah, that

[Guzzi]

Gawd dammit girl!!!!!

Your starting weights are higher than my 1RMs were back when I was lifting!

That's it! I'm not hanging around with you anymore.

**storms off in a huff**

[hblyne]

LOL!! You know what they say.... "lift because there is someone out there warming up with your maximum"  Besides, I'm not recovering from major injuries (((hugs)))

 

Deadlifts and OHP tonight. Raring to go!

[Guzzi]

One for you and me both.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[hblyne]

Love it!

 

Log from last night's session:

 

Deadlift

5x40kg

5x45

8x50

 

Overhead Press

3x5x20

1x25

 

Deadlift was great. Very happy with those sets. The last one was tough and I took a few pauses to get through 8 reps, but pushed through as I know it feels loads harder than it really is.

 

OHP wasn't strictly 531 as I'm working with a 20kg bar. Week one work weights were meant to be 15, 17.5 then 20. Rather than messing about with dumbbells we decided to just to 3 sets with the empty bar. It's a bit more weight than I was scheduled to lift but give me all da gainz.

[hblyne]

Tuesday's session:

 

Squats

Warm up:

5x20kg

3x30

Work weight sets:

3x42.5

3x50

3x55

First Set Last Set:

3x3x42.5

 

Bench

Work weight sets:

3x20

3x25

5x27.5

Jokers:

1x30

1x35

0x37.5

First set last sets:

5x5x20

 

Pretty happy. Went for a new max on bench but failed it. It's all good though, just keep pushing through.

[Silverbolt]

I think you need heavier back-off sets on the Bench. If you're able to do 5x5 after your normal work sets and a few heavy singles, they're probably too light.

[hblyne]

Been somewhat busy lately so not had chance to get on here to log, but workouts have been going well. So here are my last three workouts (I'll split them into separate posts).

 

26th June 

Cycle 1, Week 2, Day 2

 

Deadlift

Work sets

3x40kg

3x47.5

10x52.5

Joker

1x60

First Set Last

2x3x40

 

Overhead Press

Work sets

2x3x20

8x20

Jokers

1x25

0x27.5

First set last

3x3x20

 

Missed that 27.5kg on OHP, but it'll come soon.

[hblyne]

30th June

Cycle 1, Week 3, Day 1

 

Squat

Warm ups

5x20

3x30

1x40

Work sets

5x45

3x52.5

3x57.5

Jokers

1x60

1x62.5

First set last

5x45

 

Bench

Work set

5x25.5

3x25

5x27.5

Jokers

1x30

1x35

1x37.5 (new 1RM)

First set last

2x5x25

 

Loving my progress on bench. Every session I just feel like I can do so much more. The jokers are really pushing me and it feels great to keep lifting so much more weight after my work sets Coming to the end of my first cycle on 5-3-1 and really pleased so far.

[Silverbolt]

30th June

Cycle 1, Week 3, Day 1

Squat

Warm ups

5x20

3x30

1x40

Work sets

5x45

3x52.5

3x57.5

Jokers

1x60

1x62.5

First set last

5x45

Bench

Work set

5x25.5

3x25

5x27.5

Jokers

1x30

1x35

1x37.5 (new 1RM)

First set last

2x5x25

Loving my progress on bench. Every session I just feel like I can do so much more. The jokers are really pushing me and it feels great to keep lifting so much more weight after my work sets Coming to the end of my first cycle on 5-3-1 and really pleased so far.

You're progressing well. The jokers and back off sets make it a much more complete program, giving both volume and intensity every session