Disil's Log

[Disil]

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (56Kg): 4x6 (I made it through all four sets but damn this felt much heavier than I think it should've. I might've had a rep left for a few of these but still...Hopefully 57.5 will go better next week)

Chest-supported Rows (80Kg): 3x8 (Kind of forced the last rep, but I really wanted to see 82.5 again. My right shoulder acted up a bit)

Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 10, 10*, 8 (+1, -1 - meh)

Lat Pulldown (67.5Kg): 10, 9 (Pretty sweet actually. I did 2x10, but I cannot in good conscience count that last rep, just too much contortion going on.)

Lateral Machine Raise (15Kg): 2x12 (Decent enough. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (11.875Kg): 12*, 10 (See Shoulder Press..again)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 10, 9*, 8 (+2, -1)

 

This was better than Tuesday and after a hell of a week, I'm pretty happy with what I got. Sunday should be better though, with 2 days of rest and all. I will finally be able to try and beat my previous bests in a lot of lifts then, i. E. making some actual progress again, except for the bench obviously.

 

Weight: 68.9Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: ~?

 

A colleague had her farewell party including 3 cakes and I didn't plan the day well to begin with, so I ended up in like a 700 surplus, ish. Tough to say really. Tuesday will be another sushi buffet day with work, tomorrow a birthday party...well, guess it's safe to say that sufficient calories will not be an issue regarding my progress.

[Disil]

Workout for Sunday:

 

Bench Press (58.5Kg): 4x4 (Meh. I was really hoping this would feel lighter. I probably would've struggled with 4x6 even. I did a backoff set of 6x50 to dial in technique further and up volume a tiny bit. Here's hoping that 4x8 at 55Kg will happen on Tuesday, otherwise things will get really frustrating)

Chest-supported Rows (82.5Kg): 8, 8*, 7 (+2 compared to my previous best on September 6, but I noticeably shortened ROM on some reps, not fully retracting my scapula for a handful, so I will return to 80Kg and rather do that with better technique)

Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 3x10* (+2, awesome. Up)

Lat Pulldown (67.5Kg): 2x10 (Still didn't look too great on that very last rep, but eh, let's check out 70 next week. Up)

Lateral Machine Raise (20Kg): 2x12 (Had to go up to 20 since there was no 17.5, but this still worked out, albeit being really heavy)

Single Arm Pushdown (11.875Kg): 12, 10 (No progress. Sigh)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 10, 9, 9 (+1, but barely)

 

Not sure how to rate this, but the shoulder presses have me leaning towards thumbs up.

 

Weight: 68.8Kg
Calories: 2978

Estimated Surplus: ~528

[Disil]

Workout for Tuesday:

 

Bench Press (55Kg): 8, 8, 7, 7 (Sigh. I guess the super slow eccentric isn't helping with progressing either, I feel that because of it, my forearms and triceps become the limiting factor rather than the chest. I'm going to try to still keep the eccentric controlled, but not purposely slow to the point that it's tiring out my arms, particularly on the higher rep days. And yes, it will be paramount to prevent letting the weight just drop towards my chest, braking the fall at the last second and bouncing it a bit off of my chest again. Hopefully this will enable me to progress this further)

Chest-supported Rows (82.5Kg): 8, 6, then 7 at 80Kg (I wanted to give it another try at 82.5, but yeah, it is just too heavy right now)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg*): 9, 8, 7 (Decent start. Left elbow was complaining a bit)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg*): 8, 8 (Surprisingly ok)

Lateral Machine Raise (22.5Kg*): 11, 11 (I'm sure feeling my traps here too which I don't really mind, given the lack of deadlifting/rackpulls right now)

Single Arm Pushdown (11.875Kg): 11, 11* (-1, +1, but left one in the tank for the below)

Triceps Machine (42.5Kg*): 15, 15 (Found this one and figured it's a good idea. It sort of emulates dips and while it only displays the front delts and triceps as trained muscles, it obviously also uses chest quite a bit, hence the ease with which I repped 42.5Kg 15 times at the end of this session. Since I was looking for a way to increase both chest and triceps volume, but didn't enjoy the incline machine nor incline benching and the pec deck also felt rather meh, this here should do well, especially since it is another machine that should easily enable me to overload without needing too much stabilization)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 10, 9, 9 (same as last week, thinking about adding a new exercise, or rather an old one in concentration curls, and doing 2 sets each)

 

Pretty mediocre to be honest. Due to work schedule, I worked the late shift yesterday and the early one today and so I ended up with barely 7 hours of sleep 2 days in a row now which might've played a role in how today went. I also had the Chinese buffet with work which might've played a part and I ran 4/5/6km on the last 3 days between workouts respectively (so Thu/Sat/Mon) too which may or may not have had an impact. Either way, I intend to sleep a lot the next 3 nights before my next workout, with only 1 run scheduled at 7km and I'm hopeful to perform a lot better on Friday. 

 

Weight: 69Kg
Calories: 3299

Estimated Surplus: ~849

 

I had to eyeball a lot , but I'm pretty happy with how I managed the buffet. Things would have worked out fine if not for the 2 croissants a colleague gave out in the morning, ruining my intention of IFing until lunch. Oh well.

[Disil]

After a 7km run (nothing too special really) on Thursday evening, I woke up Friday with slight discomfort im my back (left side, usual spot) and it grew worse throughout the morning and early noon, but improved towards the end of the day, so I ended up working out after debating whether I even could.

 

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (57.5Kg): 4x6 (Pretty decent, particularly given the above. A few reps left here and there for sure, but not going super slow sure helps with this)

Chest-supported Rows (80Kg): 7, 6, 4 at 70Kg (Yup, whatever it is, my right shoulder is tired of these, whenever I'm at the full end or beginning of the ROM it hurts something fierce)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg*): 9, 8, 8 (+1, zero elbow pain)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 8, 7, 6* (Did another set to account for the lower rowing volume)

Lateral Machine Raise (22.5Kg): 2x12* (Heavy af. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (11.875Kg): 2x12* (Nice. Up)

Triceps Machine (45Kg*): 15, 15 (Still quite easy. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 10, 10*, 9 (+1)

Cable Face Pulls(12.5Kg): 15, 15 (Decided to add these back in for good. They take little time, feel good and would get little volume otherwise)

 

During and shortly after this one I felt pretty good, but the later in the evening, the worse my back got again. I didn't sleep well this night too and woke up even worse on Saturday. I went to the doc to get some muscle relaxers etc. since this if the 4th time this has happened in the last 3 1/2 years and I figure it's the same deal as it always is. Unfortunately, Sunday morning, things still aren't much better, so working out seems very unlikely. I'm getting so tired of my body being this lousy of a vehicle to train and get stronger with.

 

Weight: 69.1Kg
Calories: 3013

Estimated Surplus: ~513

 

I forgot a yoghurt I had throughout the day and ended up ~200 over my target, but no biggie, especially since weight is not moving these last 1-2 weeks anyway.

[Disil]

So I took some more painkillers and muscle relaxers after writing the above, spent 3 hours doing a ton of household chores which helped me feel better and towards the end of the day I started to feel pretty good. So good in fact that around 9:30 pm, I decided that I might as well go to the gym after all. Despite a missed train, the late hour (got there at 10:30), no caffeine and everything else, including the painkillers noticeably having worn off a while back, I was determined to get a good workout in and given everything, I sure did.

 

Workout for Sunday:

 

Bench Press (60Kg): 4x4 (Only 4 reps each, but at least I finally revisited 60Kg. Good)

Chest-supported Rows (80Kg): 7, 7 (I did the obvious: If the very beginning and end of the ROM are an issue, just don't go there? It's not like I'm half-repping these or anything, merely not unhinging my shoulders on every eccentric and not completely retracting to the point where I can't go further on every concentric. Doing it this way, I did not manage all that many reps, but nothing hurt. I skipped a set since my lats were still quite sore and I was pressed for time anyway)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 9, 8, 8 (Tried and failed a 9th in the third, oh well)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 8, 8 (-)

Lateral Machine Raise (25Kg*): 11, 11 (Very heavy)

Single Arm Pushdown (12.5Kg*): 10, 10 (Good start)

Triceps Machine (47.5Kg*): 15, 15 (Pretty easy, but beginning to feel them in my triceps the last few reps. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11*, 9, 8 (-1, -2. Biceps still very sore)

Cable Face Pulls(13.75Kg): 15, 15 (Up)

 

Quite happy with what I got out of this, particularly given I expected to not get to train at all.

 

Weight: 69.3Kg
Calories: 3238

Estimated Surplus: ~738

 

Yeah, I did not care about tracking much at all this weekend for obvious reasons.

[Disil]

Workout for Tuesday:

 

Bench Press (55Kg): 4x8 (Finally. Up)

Chest-supported Rows (80Kg): 8, 7, 8 (Very little pain, less ROM too but still fine)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 9, 8, 8 (No progress :()

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 8, 8 (-)

Lateral Machine Raise (25Kg): 12, 12* (Very heavy)

Single Arm Pushdown (12.5Kg): 11*, 10 (Good start)

Triceps Machine (50Kg*): 15, 15 (Yep. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11, 10*, 9 (+1)

Cable Face Pulls(14.375Kg*): 15, 15 (Up)

 

Rack-Pulls (70Kg): 1x5 (Pretty heavy. Up)

Leg Press (80Kg): 1x12 (Felt pretty easy. Up)

Leg Curls: (30Kg): 1x12 (See above)

Leg-Extensions (50Kg): 1x12 (Quite heavy but a good start. Can't believe how much this is increasing)

 

Pretty awesome, despite feeling really tired and spending ~3 hours in the Gym. I knew I needed to get into lower body sooner or later so I figured I'd get it over with by adding one set of each at very light weight at the end of the workout. I'm still terribly sore the day after, still went for a great 7m run though. Feels good to be back at 100% back & stomach  wise. Let's build on that.

 

Weight: 69.6Kg
Calories: 2943

Estimated Surplus: ~243

[Disil]

After a brutal week, I just fell straight into bed after work, didn't get quite the 90 minute nap I wanted, but the 45 I got were still helpful it seems. I loaded up on carbs, protein etc. and got to the gym at 9:30 pm.

 

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (58.5Kg): 4x6 (Still a bit in the tank, surprisingly. Up)

Chest-supported Rows (80Kg): 8, 8, 8 (Good. Up)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 10, 9*, 8 (+2, yeah)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 8, 9* (Kind of forced the +1, oh well)

Lateral Machine Raise (27.5Kg*): 10, 11 (Very heavy)

Single Arm Pushdown (12.5Kg): 11, 11* (+1)

Triceps Machine (52.Kg*): 15, 15 + Dropset (Still no real challenge. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 10, 10, 11* (-1, +2)

Cable Face Pulls(15Kg*): 15, 15 (Up)

 

The best workout in months. Let's keep this going.

 

Weight: 69.8Kg
Calories: 2810

Estimated Surplus: ~310

[Disil]

Another workout late in the evening like I always used to train at. Maybe I'll keep it this way since the results seem great. Maybe unrelated, but whatever, my new working hours easily allow this anyway. I actually wanted to go to the gym earlier, around 3, but I was dead tired from the moment I woke up until...well arriving at the gym at 9:30 pm (again).

 

Workout for Sunday:

 

Bench Press (61Kg): 4x4 (I did not get technique right at all for most of these. Even the warmups felt weird, I just could not get properly tight. The last set almost felt the easiest. Still a ways from the 3x6x61Kg on September 3rd when the gastritis started, but I might've been able to complete 4x5 at this weight)

Chest-supported Rows (82.5Kg): 7, 7, 8 (Decent, very little shoulder pain)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 10, 9, 9* (+1, albeit RPE 10)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 9, 8 (+1, -1, failed the 9th of the 2nd)

Lateral Machine Raise (27.5Kg): 11*, 11 (Still heavy)

Single Arm Pushdown (12.5Kg): 12, 12* (+2, sure they're getting super difficult, but the fact that I'm still increasing them this frequently is just awesome. The next jump will be quite steep at 13.75, but it's ok. Up)

Triceps Machine (55Kg*): 15, 15 into Dropset (Starting to feel these. Still no issue. up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11, 10, 10 (+1, -1, Rough. No real soreness the day after though, I possibly have to add more volume then, so I'm probably cutting 1 set of these here and adding 2x15 Concentration Curls next time)

Cable Face Pulls(16.25Kg*): 15, 15 (Starting to get heavy. Good. Up)

 

Another excellent session.

 

Weight: 69.6Kg
Calories: 3038

Estimated Surplus: ~438

 

They day after this I weighed in at 69.1 so yeah, no idea what's going on right now in terms of where maintenance is and whether I'm actually in a surplus most of the time or not. Weight has been going up slowly so all is well I guess, but these sudden drops have me wondering whether the increase in training volume + more frequent runs have upped my de facto maintenance a fair bit. Average intake for the last 3 weeks has been pretty exact at around 3050kcal which should be enough. I'll keep monitoring this and see what happens.

[Disil]

Workout for Tuesday:

 

Bench Press (56Kg): 8, 8, 8, 9 (The first set felt a bit off, but the other 3 felt pretty great and like there's certainly some energy left. Kind of stupidly I decided to go for an AMRAP set with a spotter for the last one. I probably shouldn't have, but what the hell)

Chest-supported Rows (82.5Kg): 8, 8, 7 (+1 and My old PR in terms of reps)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 10, 9, 8 (-1, probably fried my shoulders and tris with that last bench set)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 9, 8 (no progress)

Lateral Machine Raise (27.5Kg): 12*, 11 (+1 but barely)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg*): 8, 8 (Yeah, what a leap from 12.5 to this. Pretty happy with 2x8 I guess)

Cable Face Pulls(16.875Kg*): 15, 15 (Starting to get heavy. Good. Up)

Triceps Machine (57.5Kg*): 15, 15 (Almost difficult. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11, 10 (No progress, removed the third set for 2 sets of the below)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 13, 8  (Kind of a weak start, but I guess that's to be expected after 2 heavy sets of incline curls before)

 

While I didn't feel quite es fresh as the last two times, this was still pretty good, particularly sets 2+3 of the bench were great and inspired some confidence. Since I want to do a mini-cut soon (3 weeks at ~1000kcal deficit) for various reasons (might elaborate on this at a later date), I will have my next deload during the next 3 sessions (=1 week, basically spanning from Friday until Tuesday). This will enable me to start the mini-cut right after the 2 holidays where I will work and get a bunch of free food, from November 2 until November 22. This will mark my first planned deficit since March 18 and I'm actually looking forward to it.

Doing it this way means that I will be well recovered, with exactly 1 week of training after the deload before I hit the deficit and then 3 weeks within a deficit, but at high volume. I'm looking to still make some gains and certainly will not reduce volume unless absolutely necessary.

 

Weight: 69.4Kg
Calories: 3259

Estimated Surplus: ~709 (theoretically...)

 

The day after this I weighed in at 69.2 so I'm really confused. I chalked it up to a lot of low-volume food, but still, I had 150g of whole wheat pasta with salad and bell peppers around 7 pm and 4 slices of cheese toast, a protein shake and 2 carrots around midnight. I mean, I'm not complaining really, if I'm able to eat more without gaining much that's great, I just hate when my math is wrong.

[Disil]

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (57.5Kg): 4, 4 (-)

Chest-supported Rows (82.5Kg): 6 (-)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 7 (-)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 6 (-)

Lateral Machine Raise (27.5Kg): 8 (-)

Single Arm Pushdown (12.5Kg): 8 (-)

Cable Face Pulls(16.875Kg): 10 (-)

Triceps Machine (57.5Kg): 10 (-)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 7 (-)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 7  (-)

 

Boring as fuck. That's workout 1/3 of the deload.

 

Weight: 69.2Kg
Calories: 2715

Estimated Surplus: ~215

 

Well, weight is not really moving much at all. 7-day average went up as high as 69.7 last weekend but since dropped again to 69.4 and seems to keep moving in that direction. I expect a spike tomorrow since I ate pretty salt-heavy today and only did a very light workout, but I'm still not sure where my maintenance really is now.

[Disil]

Two equally uneventful Deload days followed the above, as well as a few runs to get some cardio in. Diet has been good, but I still haven't gained weight despite a regular surplus (calculated) of 400-500kcal which has to be wrong I guess. Work has been super stressful and sleep could have been better. Since I won't be able to train per my usual schedule of Fr/Sun due to social events on Friday and a friend moving on Sunday, I decided to have my first workout after deloading on Thursday instead, figuring the 2nd rest day wasn't that needed in this instance anyway. I'm not sure I'll be remotely recovered by Saturday to train again given the vast increase in volume back to normal, but I'll just have to see. I might try to work out Sunday late after the move, but that seems super unlikely and even if I manage to, the quality of that workout can't possibly be up to par so I'll probably end up training either Monday or Tuesday even. Doesn't matter, from then on I'll train whever I'm recovered, whatever day that might fall on.

 

Weight: 69.3Kg
Calories: 3146

Estimated Surplus: ~406

[Disil]

Since the last two deload workouts were about as low volume as the first and felt pretty heavy despite the cut in reps, I wasn't so sure if I should jump right back in with working weights, in some cases even increases in weight if I managed to hit all reps last time, but I figured I might as well try and can pull back a bit if it doesn't work out. I also debated just doing less to not get too sore after a week of much lower workload, but I didn't want to limit myself and instead took the chance of maybe having to rest a day or so longer. Really, I just wanted to push myself and go all out again after such a tame week.

 

Workout for Thursday:

 

Bench Press (60Kg): 6, 6, 6, 6 (Given how decently heavy 2x3 at 60 on Sunday and 2x6 at 55 on Tuesday felt I was worried about this. Also this was not far removed from my alltime best of 8/8/7/6 at 60. Still, I managed these pretty well. The third set I struggled a bit with the last and the very last rep was shaky, but I was never close to failure which is awesome )

Chest-supported Rows (82.5Kg): 8, 8, 8* (+1, PRs baby. Up)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 10, 9, 9* (+1)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 9, 8 (no progress)

Lateral Machine Raise (27.5Kg): 12, 12* (+1, up)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 8, 8 (no progress)

Cable Face Pulls(17.5Kg*): 15, 15 (Quite heavy. Up)

Triceps Machine (60Kg*): 15, 15 (Getting more difficult finally. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11, 9 (-1)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 13, 9  (+1)

 

Wow. I did not expect that. I mean I'm a believer in deloads after the last one, sure, but I expected to take maybe one or two workouts to get back to full strength. Guess not. Now if not for that dreaded move on Sunday...oh well. It's only one day and it'll pass and if I'm careful enough I should be able to train soon after. The only other issue that'd hold me back from progressing is that mini-cut, but we'll see about that. Maybe I'll even manage to progress despite a deficit.

 

Weight: 69.2Kg
Calories: 3567

Estimated Surplus: ~1067 (theoretically...)

 

So I don't know how off my numbers are and what the hell this is, but after the above I weighend in at...69.1. Yeah, a large amount of those 3567cal was low-volume junk, but that's usually also a ton of carbs, equalling water gain but...nope.

[Disil]

I got the dreaded move behind me and while it was brutal, it was still miles better than the last two. So much so in fact that I pondered going to the gym afterwards like a true insane person. And then I did.

 

Workout for Sunday:

 

Bench Press (62.5Kg*): 4, 4, 4, then 4 at 55Kg (Strength wise I could have gotten 4x4, but my left elbow was hurting since the last warm-up set and I didn't wanna risk injury when I felt it becoming too much after the third set. Still, a PR and really nice after such a day)

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg*): 6, 6, 6 (Expectedly heavy)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 10, 10*, 9 (+1, wow)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 9, 8 (no progress)

Lateral Machine Raise (30Kg*): 10, 8 (Ugh..heavy)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 8, 9* (+1)

Cable Face Pulls(18.75Kg*): 15, 15 (Barely finished these. Good. Up)

Triceps Machine (62.5Kg*): 15, 15 (Quite heavy. Good. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11, 10 (+1 again)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 13, 9  (no progress)

 

Seriously. Can't believe I went and did this. Awesome stuff! Sure it wasn't too smart I guess, but going Monday would have meant another 3 days with no workout, more soreness afterwards, also potentially a ton of weird soreness from the move forcing me to postpone even further, also I hate going Mondays and I would have to have gone Mon/Wed/Fr/Sun/Tue to get back on schedule which sounds super brutal.

So yeah, did everything right it seems.

 

Weight: 69.9Kg
Calories: 3196

Estimated Surplus: ~104kcal deficit probably

 

Weight spiked again, keeping me in the high 69s and low 70s for a few days now (following this workout). The 3 week mini-cut is around the corner though and it's time.

[Disil]

That move + workout combo sure left some debilitating soreness, especially in my forearms and biceps, but also my back and I was far from fully recovered 48h later, but I also wasn't willing to rest after going to the all you can eat buffet with work yet again.

 

Workout for Tuesday:

 

Bench Press (57.5Kg): 8, 8, 8, 8 (My left elbow or rather triceps as I figured out was giving me issues again, but I tried to ignore it as best I could. Form was quite shaky because of that, seemingly compensating with other muscles, but I made it through 4x8 which is great, even if the last set was pretty much RPE 10)

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg): 6, 6, 7* (+1)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 10, 10, 8 (-1, triceps were toast and hurting)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 9, 9* (+1)

Lateral Machine Raise (30Kg): 10, 9* (+1)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 8, 4 (-5, triceps pain got too much at this point)

Cable Face Pulls(19.375Kg*): 15, 15 (I switched to doing these sitting on the floor, pressing with one foot against the tower, making these miles better. Up)

Triceps Machine (65Kg*): 15, 15 (Thankfully no triceps pain here. Barely got to 15 though, awesome! Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 10, 8 (-3, arms beyond done at this point)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 10  (-3, -1 set, no sense in continuing here)

 

Oof..still a great workout, but damn another day of rest would've been great. Not in the cards though so I'll just have to live with it now. At least I get 2 days of rest now (ignoring the 7km run scheduled for Wednesday) and they are badly needed.

 

Weight: 69.4Kg
Calories: 2895

Estimated Surplus: ~395

 

Pretty great for a day at the Mongolian all you can eat. I frontloaded sushi and lean beef + veggies and didn't eat much else all day, but hey, whatever it takes. Also a great day to cap off exactly 7 months of bulking (ignoring the gastritis with 1 week of little eating) with my mini-cut starting tomorrow.

[Disil]

So...I started the mini cut on Wednesday with what I figured were 874 and 1072cal deficits. Friday I had a horrible workout despite feeling pretty good going in. The prospect of having to suffer through another 8 workouts like that for the remainder of the cut was unbearable and losing 2, 3 or at times 6 reps felt so bad that I decided to just abort. The idea now is to keep eating, keep getting stronger and worrying about cutting later. Maybe at a smaller deficit to not impair performance as much, maybe at a bigger weight where I can eat more, maybe once I'm strong and big enough that I won't mind it as much anymore since I have reached some goals, but now is just not the time, even if I would be okay with eating less for a few weeks from a mental standpoint.

After living well and eating, as well as a pretty exhausting weekend, I went into this workout not knowing what to expect, but praying for the best.

 

Workout for Sunday:

 

Bench Press (62.5Kg): 4, 4, 4, 4* (Left triceps held up mostly, just the last set was somewhat painful. I also had a really hard time getting proper tightness which certainly played a role. Still, this is a PR. Up)

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg): 6, 6, 7 (Back to my previous best after dropping 3 reps on Friday)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 10, 10, 10* (+2 from Tuesday, +4 from Friday. Good stuff. Up)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 9, 8 (-1 from Tuesday, +3 from Friday)

Lateral Machine Raise (30Kg): 10, 11* (+2)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 8, 8 (1 below PR)

Cable Face Pulls(21.25Kg*): 13, 15 (Really heavy. Not going up for the first time)

Triceps Machine (70Kg*): 15, 15 (Last Rep was really close. Nice. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11, 10 (Previous PR)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 11, 12*  (+1)

 

Really happy with this. I didn't feel too great going in and this was amazing given everything these last couple of days. To build on that.

 

Weight: 68.4Kg
Calories: 2742

Estimated Surplus: ~142

[Disil]

My lats were still quite sore and I was a bit low on sleep, but overall I felt good and was itching to take on this workout. Then I almost got run over by the fucking train that left early which forced me to run through the rain to the gym with my bag for 20 minutes and I felt done before my fist warm-up set...great.

 

Workout for Tuesday:

 

Bench Press (58.5Kg): 8, 8, 7, 7 (I don't know whether I would've managed 4x8 without the above, but think it's possible. Alas, no dice, better luck next time I guess)

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg): 6, 6, 7 (-)

Machine Shoulder Press (32.5Kg*): 8, 7, 7 (Really heavy, tho my arms and shoulders were fried from the bench already, particularly the last two sets which were both RPE 10)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 9, 7, 2 (I decided to just stop the 2nd set when form was about to break down and instead of forcing 2 more reps with subpar form, I added them about 20 sec later when I was recovered a bit)

Lateral Machine Raise (30Kg): 11, 12* (+2)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 8, 10* (+1)

Cable Face Pulls(21.25Kg): 15*, 15 (+2, Up)

Triceps Machine (72.5Kg*): 15, 12 (Wow, nothing left after 12, surprised, but also happy. Can't wait to get this one to 80)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 10, 8 (-3, no clue why)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 11, 11  (-1)

 

A few PRs, a few setbacks, overall still pretty good I'd say. I'm bound to make Friday one of the best workouts in a while. There's also a birthday and I'll work til 5, but I'll make it happen anyway. First order of business? Get a ton of sleep and eat well and plenty.

 

Weight: 69.3Kg
Calories: 3167

Estimated Surplus: ~367

[Disil]

Almost everything went as planned and I was well-rested, well-fed and ready to get shit done, but had to work more than an hour past the end of my work day due to a late major contract and then I couldn't find my chip for the gym and got delayed even further. Things turned out well, but I still got there quite stressed and a little less ready to get shit done after all.

 

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (61Kg): 6, 6, 6, 6* (Tightness was less of an issue this time, but my barpath was just all over the place for the first two sets. Still I managed to close with a PR since the last time I did 61 for 6 was on September 2, right when the gastritis hit and when I was still at 3 sets and not 4. This fourth set was RPE 10, but still....up)

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg): 6, 6, 8* (+1)

Machine Shoulder Press (32.5Kg): 8, 8, 8* (+2, awesome)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 9, 7, 2 (-)

Lateral Machine Raise (30Kg): 12*, 12 (+1, RPE11. Extremely sore traps following this, ugh. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 9, 9 (+1, -1, really difficult. I might start adding more volume for arms)

Cable Face Pulls(21.875Kg*): 15, 15 (Wow. Up)

Triceps Machine (72.5Kg): 15, 15* (+3. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11, 10 (Back at the old PR, but super rough)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 14, 12  (+4..whoa, nice)

 

Mostly great. Not sure what's up with lat pulldowns, but this workout's really starting to get crammed. If I add more arm work and another set of pulldowns I might look at a solid 2 hours which is quite a lot. Then again I'm only going 3 times a week now so that's still not all that much. I probably would benefit from splitting push and pull, but I don't want to go to the gym 6 times per week, nor do I want to stack the volume of 6 days into 4 by doing push/pull/rest/push/pull/rest/rest instead.

 

Weight: 69.4Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: maybe 400?

 

Weight went down to 69.3Kg the day after so I'm not sure whether I was even in much of a surplus. Tough to say given the kebab at lunch and the birthday party + snack food in the evening. Not too worried about tracking right now, since eating "by feel" has me mostly maintaining anyway and I need to gain some weight if I eventually want to see my lifts go up considerably.

[Disil]

Workout for Sunday:

 

Bench Press (63.5Kg*): 4, 4, 4, 4 (My left tricep started hurting during the third set and while I finished the fourth, it got pretty bad towards the end)

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg): 7, 7*, 8 (+2, great stuff)

Machine Shoulder Press (32.5Kg): 9*, 8, 8 (+1 more, unfortunately my tricep really started bothering me. Otherwise I might've had the strength for another rep in the end)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 9, 8, 2 (+1)

Lateral Machine Raise (32.5Kg*): 10, 9 (Quite heavy)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 6 (The pain in my tricep now covered all 3 heads and there was nothing left to do with it)

Cable Face Pulls(22.5Kg*): 15, 15 (Insane. Up)

Triceps Machine (75Kg*): 2 (No chance. Tricep dead)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11, 10 (no progress)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 15*, 11  (+1, -1)

 

If not for the tricep situation this would've been great. Still good though.

 

Weight: 70.2Kg
Calories: 2617

Estimated Surplus: 17

 

I calculated it the day after, otherwise I would've found a way to get another 200 or so cal in. Oh well, I had about a 500 surplus Saturday so it should even out. Weight finally spiking, mostly from salt and stuff but still.

[Disil]

For most of the last two days I didn't expect to work out today. I only got 6 1/2 hours of sleep Sun->Mon and despite 9 1/2 Mon-Tue, the pain in my tri still didn't go away completely. I was thinking about pushing it back another day, but I would have to work out in the morning around 7 because I had plans in the evening I couldn't postpone and so I just went and figured I'd do a deload workout as a worst case scenario.

 

Workout for Tuesday:

 

Bench Press (58.5Kg): 8, 8, 8, 8* (Damn. I had slight pain, but still very manageable. This is "almost" 60 4x8 and I probably would have had a bit more left if not for the tricep situation)

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg): 7, then 10*, 10 at 80Kg (-)

Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 12, 12*, 9 (Tricep sure liked the lighter load and held up mostly)

Lat Pulldown (65Kg): 12*, 9 (-)

Lateral Machine Raise (27.5Kg): 15, 14* (-)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.125Kg): 12, 9 (Figured I could use small plates to create another increment between 12.5 and 13.75. Muuuuch better)

Cable Face Pulls(23.125Kg*): 15, 13 (See above)

Triceps Machine (75Kg): 15, 14 (A little pain, but I made it through)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 12, 10 (+1)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 15, 12  (+1)

 

Wow, that was phantastic. I decided to go for more reps at a bit lighter weight for a couple of the exercises since I feel that lower reps are just too much of a strain on my joints and tendons right now. I'll also drop the 4x4 bench and probably pivot towards 6s/8s/10s instead of the 4/6/8 I did so far. Still, I'm a fair bit stronger now at those "old" weights and that is despite feeling how I did today (longing for a deload or another day of rest). I'll now have 2 well deserved rest days and Friday I'ma crush it!

 

Weight: 70.4Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: ?

 

Didn't have the nerve to track today since I ate out a lot and a bunch of weird/new stuff so eh. Getting stronger is the most important thing right now.

[Disil]

5 hours of sleep, 10 hours of work. Shit is supposed to be the other way round. I'm really running on fumes right now and desperately need time off work. Despite all of it, I tried to muster the strength to force a good workout, but I should've just went the other way and started the deload a bit early. Instead I ran against a wall with the bench press at 62.5Kgx6, going RPE 10 on the first set, then failing the 6th of the 2nd and having to dump the weights to the side which is always fun. I ended up doing 6+5 at 60Kg which I shouldn't have, tried to squeeze out some good lifts on the machines and stuff, but I was just dead in the water at this point. I did 3 sets of rows and had to accept that this wasn't going to happen today, cut a set and some weight for all of the remaining exercises and went home with pain in my left tri again, great stuff.

 

My first thought was to recover and sleep well for two days and then tackle some PRs on Sunday, but realistically, I need a deload. My tricep needs to fully heal before it gets more problematic and overall I'm just pretty close to done anyway. I could maybe put it off for another week, but there's no point to that. I've had 3 weeks of balls to the wall training, most of it great except for the few days in a huge deficit, I had that move + workout combo shortly after this cycle started which took a ton out of me and there were a bunch of other very stressful things too. There is no harm in taking the foot off the gas for a minute and getting myself ready for a great new cycle come Friday.

 

Since my joints etc. are feeling weary, this time I won't just reduce sets and reps, but rather weight and sets. Today is ~85% and -1 set each, Tuesday will be ~90% and -1 set each.

 

Edit: The deload felt heavy as fuck, but given the muscle relaxers and overall feel, this wasn't too surprising. I even managed to get some cardio in, on a stationary bike for a change, since that seems smarter for my joints and I can watch Netflix more easily while doing so.

I started supplementing creatine again as well since I can really use any help I can get right now and the gastritis has passed. I'm certainly feeling its effects if only on the scale for now. I took 10g on Sat/Sun each and the scale spiked by 1.4Kg. Even if some of that may be food-related, it's pretty clear that I'm not a non-responder which is relieving on multiple levels.

 

 

The 2nd deload workout was much better. I tried to replicate everything I typically do when not deloading including the preworkout, green tea, music, attitude etc. and it seemed to have helped. I went to town on my left arm with a lacrosse ball, trying to release whatever trigger points I could find and massage the crap out of its tissue. No idea if it helps, but at least I was mostly pain free during the workout, but it was light weights so who knows.

I also ordered an elbow sleeve from Rehband to support in case of bad pain. I really want this cycle to be successful and awesome. I really need it.

[Disil]

On 19.11.2017 at 9:12 PM, Disil said:

I really want this cycle to be successful and awesome.

 

Well, consider this a start. I went into this one with plenty of food, decent sleep, zero pains or soreness, low stress and felt ready to attack again after deloading.

 

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (57.5Kg): 8, 8, 8, 8 (Pretty easy all things considered. The last two were around RPE 9-9.5)

Chest-supported Rows (80Kg): 10, 10, 10* (Nice. Up)

Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 12, 12, 12* (+3. Up)

Lat Pulldown (57.5Kg): 12, 12* (Decided to reset this and add a third set next time. I need both more volume and better form so yeah, this'll hopefully do the trick)

Lateral Machine Raise (27.5Kg): 15, 15* (+1. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.125Kg): 12, 12* (+3. Up)

Cable Face Pulls(23.125Kg*): 15, 15 (+2. Up)

Triceps Machine (75Kg): 15, 14 (Previous best)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 12, 10 (Previous best)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 15, 12  (Previous best)

 

I expected this to be more of a "getting back into things" workout, but it ended up being absolutely phantastic. I know I'll probably be quite sore from this, but eh, what are you gonna do. I took a ton of magnesium and foam/lacrosse ball rolled my most worn out muscles (lats, pecs, arms, traps) in the hopes that it will reduce soreness a bit.

My elbow held up well, the sleeve is great. I didn't use it for the first two bench sets, but after a slight bit of pain at the end of that, I used it from the 3rd set forward for the rest of the workout (and day, really) and I got through it almost painfree which is great news. I hope it'll stay this way, but we'll see.

 

Weight: 71.2Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: ?

 

I just stopped tracking in the afternoon when there was too much stuff that was more guesswork than anything else and especially today I just felt like eating based on how I felt even if it meant a bigger surplus. I definitely put the food to good use.

[Disil]

I knew to expect some wicked soreness, but this was some next level shit. I had to postpone the next session to Monday, one day of rest so would not have cut it.

 

Workout for Monday:

 

Bench Press (61Kg): 6, 6, 6, 6 (Decent enough. Form could have been better, but overall I still had a bit left in the tank which is promising)

Chest-supported Rows (82.5Kg): 9*, 8, 8 (Good start)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 11*, 10, 9 (Rough)

Lat Pulldown (57.5Kg): 12, 12 (Stayed here to work on technique. Soreness through the roof)

Lateral Machine Raise (30Kg): 15, 15* (Wow. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 10, 10* (+2 from my best ever, nice)

Cable Face Pulls(23.75Kg*): 15, 15 (Hell yeah. Up)

Triceps Machine (75Kg): 15, 15* (+1. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 12, 10 (Previous best)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 15, 12  (Previous best, but with much improved technique, mostly in terms of wrist alignment)

 

This was phantastic.

 

Weight: 71.8Kg
Calories: 3050

Estimated Surplus: 450

[Disil]

Again I was debating to push this back another day, but I finally want to get back to training every other day and so I just  powered through with very sore lats and upper back + sore biceps.

 

Workout for Wednesday:

 

Bench Press (52.5Kg): 10, 10, 10, 10* (Pretty easy all things considered. Up)

Chest-supported Rows (82.5Kg): 9, 9, 8 (+1)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 11, 10, 9 (No improvement)

Lat Pulldown (57.5Kg): 12, 12 (Still super sore, still keeping things the same)

Lateral Machine Raise (32.5Kg): 13*, 12 (+6 reps since my previous best at this weight 2 1/2 weeks ago, jeez)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 11*, 10 (+1, ugly form tho)

Cable Face Pulls(24.375Kg*): 15, 15 (Up and up we go)

Triceps Machine (77.5Kg*): 15, 13 (Rough one)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 12, 10 (Previous best)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 15, 13*  (+1)

 

I sure did not expect to do this well, rather stagnation or some regression even. Happy as hell.

 

Weight: 71.3Kg
Calories: 3050

Estimated Surplus: 450

[Disil]

Two very busy days, in a positive way, but still busy. Only 6.5+7 hours of sleep unfortunately, soreness was still pretty mild at this point which is nice (but also about damn time). My arms were a bit worn out from carrying stuff to work and I also, due to snowfall and ice, the stupid train didn't come and I had to walk to the gym in the cold which always sets me up for a great session (not). With birthday stuff and everything I was very much not focusing on this one beforehand. I just took a nap in the afternoon and then got into the zone.

 

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (58.5Kg): 8, 8, 8, 8* (+2. Funny enough that the last time I tried this weight I also had to walk to the gym due to some train fuckery, but this time I just crushed it instead of only managing 7/7 for the last two. I still had about 2 reps left in the 4th which is great considering I'm looking at 4x8@60Kg next Friday. Up)

Chest-supported Rows (82.5Kg): 10, 10, 9 (+3)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 11, 11, 10* (+2)

Lat Pulldown (57.5Kg): 12, 12 (same)

Lateral Machine Raise (32.5Kg): 12, 14* (+1)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 11, 10 (same)

Cable Face Pulls(25Kg*): 15, 15 (Up and up we go, again)

Triceps Machine (77.5Kg*): 15, 15 (+2, incredibly difficult)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 12, 11* (+1, baaarely)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 15, 8 (Had to run because the gym closed at this point, thanks to being late due to the train not coming)

 

Gave myself the best present possible today. Now I'm off work until Dec. 12 which means a ton of recovery, just what I need right now to keep this going.

 

Weight: 71.9Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: ?

[Disil]

A lot of food and sleep with little stress set me up for a good session. Soreness was pretty slight, I was really surprised, then again I've been working out Fri, Mon, Wed, Fri and now being Sun, some serious adapting was bound to occur. The high frequency still had mee feel not quite ready, more like "wow, again?", but this is what I chose and so I went into this one a little afraid, but mostly looking forward to crushing it.

 

Workout for Sunday:

 

Bench Press (62.5Kg): 6, 6, 6, 6* (A major improvement over the 6, 5, then 6, 5 at 60Kg from the last session before the deload. There was a bit left in the tank on some sets too which is great. Up)

Chest-supported Rows (82.5Kg): 10, 10, 10 (+1, up, despite feeling heavy as hell)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 12, 11, 9 (+1, -1)

Lat Pulldown (57.5Kg): 12, 12, 12 (+1 set)

Lateral Machine Raise (32.5Kg): 15, 15 (+4, wow. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 11, 10 (same, so I did a bunch of reps til failure with the rope pushdown)

Cable Face Pulls(25.625Kg*): 15, 15 (Some rough reps towards the end. Up)

Triceps Machine (80Kg*): 15, 13 (Damn.)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 12, 11 (I did 12,12 but the last rep involved so much contortion and cheating that I could not in good conscience count it)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 15, 12 (no real progres, so I added another couple of reps until failure, doing standing dumbbell curls with this weight)

 

Pretty awesome. I could really use two rest days in a row now. They're scheduled for Wed/Thur, but I might take them now and just push Tuesday's workout to Wednesday. We'll see.

 

Weight: 71.5Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: ?

 

Too much eating out and not preparing my own meals so I just made sure I ate plenty and had enough protein.