Disil's Log

[Disil]

Saturday was a rest day. I ate well, recovered from the little bit of drinking the day before and did some chores and studying.

 

Weight: 144.4lbs
Calories: ~2813
Estimated Surplus ~500

 

---

 

Workouts for Sunday:

 

3.1m run in 35min

 

This was supposed to be day 60 of my bulk, but after all the feasting this week and those last couple of weeks in general, I wasn't really feeling like eating and so I just didn't. What I did feel like was going for a run in what was a gorgeous, sunny December afternoon and boy has my endurance declined. I played it smart and didn't run my usual minimum distance of 4.2m in order to not screw with the legs portion of my workout today. 

 

 

Squats (52.5Kg/115.5lbs): 3x6 (following the trainer's advice, these went a lot better, while the "new form" left me sore in all sorts of places, especially the adductors and also, finally, the quads)
Bench-Press (42.5Kg/93.5lbs): 3x6 (I'm still struggling to improve. In fact it feels as if I was farther along 2-3 weeks ago than I am now. I'm all but done trying new cues and techniques tho and intend to return back to what I was doing before and just keeping on doing it)

Deadlifts (62.5Kg/137.5bs): 1x7 (lost count sort of, ended up doing 7 reps and frying my lower back. I debated doing a second set, but didn't want to risk anything, not even unnecessary soreness in my back)

Overhead-Press (22Kg/49.5lbs): 2x8 (made some major adjustments to my form and will keep doing so next workout in the hopes of seeing some progress here)
Pull-Ups: 6x5 (-)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 1x15, 1x14, 1x12 (-)

Triceps-Extensions (Rope, both arms) (15Kg/33lbs): 14, 10 (-)
Hammer-Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 12,10 (-)

 

Felt pretty beat up afterwards, but good.

 

Weight: 143.7lbs
Calories: ~2019
Estimated Deficit ~1200

 

---

Monday was a rest day. Extreme soreness in my adductors and some in my quads as well as some other spots. Sadly, my knees also hurt a ton which I hope gets better as my squatting form improves. I don't see myself working out on Tuesday; maybe I'll just skip legs (oh no he didn't just say that) and work out upper body instead of not going at all.

Like an Obelix, I fell into a cauldron of cereal. Unfortunately I didn't end up with superhuman strength, but a huge belly nontheless.

 

Weight: 142lbs
Calories: ~?
Estimated Surplus ~?

 

---

 

Today is another rest day. I'm just not in shape to get any sort of decent workout in so I better save it for tomorrow. Very stressful day, soreness is still going strong, eating was pretty horrible.

 

Weight: 142.4lbs
Calories: ~?
Estimated Surplus ~?

[Disil]

I had to concede that things are just not working right now. So, for the big four, which is also where I'm predominantly stagnating, I decided to go back down a notch, again. The idea is to actually stay there this time until I've fully established a 3 days/week schedule for a bit while I work on perfecting my form and getting more mobile and flexible. I've also scheduled a 1 hour session with the trainer that helped me with my squats the other day for next Tuesday so that should be good.

After yet another very busy day, I went from work to doctor's appointment right into the gym and yep, this was horrific. there were so many people, both squat racks were occupied and had another person waiting already, I had to stop myself from doing a 180 and just walking out again. So, with everything going on here and in general, a subpar workout was to be expected. Doing 3 sets of Face-Pulls to boot and not having done any foam rolling or proper warm-up routine/yoga also showed..

 

Squats (50Kg/112lbs): / (my knees still hurt and my adductors are still sore)
Bench-Press (40Kg/88lbs): 3x6 (this was better, but still far from good)

Deadlifts (60Kg/132lbs): 2x6 (very tight hamstrings, tight lower back, tight ankles..yeah. These still were decent, but I'm glad I lowered the weight)

Overhead-Press (20Kg/44lbs): 2x8 (this was just ok. Face-Pulls and Bench had my shoulders already complaining at this point)
Pull-Ups: 5x5 (super heavy, ugh)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 1x16, 1x14, 1x12 (this feels like the only exercise that's truly improving constantly. maybe because I never did jack shit for my rear delts except for a dozen inverted rows every now and then)

Triceps-Extensions (Rope, both arms) (15Kg/33lbs): 14, 12 (-)
Hammer-Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 12,8 (-)

 

This was ugly, but it had to do.

 

Weight: 144.2lbs
Calories: ~?
Estimated Surplus ~?

 

Didn't count, but didn't need to. I ran a ton today, worked out, all good.

[Disil]

Rest day again. Lower back is very sore and it's really annoying. Extremely busy day yet again. Can't wait for the weekend.

 

Weight: 144.2lbs
Calories: ~3152
Estimated Surplus ~600

[Disil]

Workout for today:

 

Squats (50Kg/112lbs): 3x6 (this was okay)
Paused Bench-Press (40Kg/88lbs): 3x6 ( good)

Overhead-Press (20Kg/44lbs): 2x8 (these sucked. I don't get it)
Pull-Ups: 5x5 (-)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 1x16, 1x14, 1x16 (-)

Triceps-Extensions (Rope, both arms) (15Kg/33lbs): 13, 12 (-)
Hammer-Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 11,8 (-)

 

I got it done, that's all there is to it.

 

Weight: 143.3lbs
Calories: ~?
Estimated Surplus ~?

 

At a target of about 3800cal today, I didn't bother counting halfway through.

[Disil]

Workout for today:

 

Squats (50Kg/112lbs): 3x6 (with my knee still in pain I tried a bunch of different approaches to find what works best/hurts the least. I think I might've found something)
Deadlifts (60Kg/132lbs): 2x5 (debated entirely ditching these, but instead worked on my form and might keep them after all. See http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/75456-so-am-i-just-not-supposed-to-deadlift-conventional for more on this )

Bench-Press (40Kg/88lbs): 3x6 (improved my setup, these felt good aside from the fact that for the life of me I can't unrack the bar properly, i. e. pulling with my lats instead of pushing it, thanks to my fucking t-rex arms. which hurt my left shoulder)

Overhead-Press (20Kg/44lbs): 2x8 (changing to a suicide grip helped, but these still feel way harder than I think they should)
Pull-Ups: 5x5 (pretty horrible, pain in my shoulder and tricep)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 1x16, 1x14, 1x12 (-)

Triceps-Extensions (Rope, both arms) (15Kg/33lbs): (-) triceps were toast already
Hammer-Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 13,9 (-)

 

Going into a workout hurting a bunch isn't ideal, but I'm so incredibly annoyed right now with a ton of things regarding all this lifting business that I've all but adopted a "fuck it" mindset and really have to force myself to not do something stupid. While I felt mostly fine during, an hour after I already feel really bad, especially my knee, back, shoulder and forearms and I doubt I'll be able to train for a few days, including Tuesday when I'm scheduled to have that session with my trainer. All of this makes me even more upset and I honestly wished a bunch of times tonight that I never even started with this shit and just kept on doing calishenics. It's been two months now and I'm hardly seeing any of the newbie gains and rapid strength developement people rave about. In fact I'm regressing from the starting weights, my flexibility is still garbage, my technique questionable, I'm constantly hurting and getting fatter by the day, probably putting on 90% fat / 10% muscle given the lackluster increases in strength and I'm really wondering why I'm even bothering. I probably should just take a full week off, do nothing but mobility and then refocus, but man..does that sound unappealing.

 

Weight: 144.2lbs
Calories: ~3144
Estimated Surplus: 250

 

Oh yeah, yesterday was a rest day. Eating was bad, nothing much happened.

[Disil]

Rest day. Ibuprofen, studying for my last exam this year, light mobility work/yoga. Knee is real bad, but everything else isn't as bad as I feared. Eating was bad, but that's kind of expected given my current mood.

 

Weight: 144.2lbs
Calories: ~3045
Estimated Surplus: ~900

[Disil]

Another rest day. Felt dizzy and nauseous for no apparent reason, slowly getting better, but this is no fun. Unfortunately that meant cancelling the appointment with my trainer and not working out today.

 

Weight: 146.4lbs
Calories: ~2872
Estimated Surplus: ~400

[Disil]

Workout for today:

 

Squats (50Kg/112lbs): / (I should've sat them out last time already and now I'm paying for it. Likely skipping squats for a while until I'm at absoluetly zero knee pain again. On the bright side, at least I'm pretty sure how avoid this in the future, key being to eliminate forward lean)
Deadlifts (60Kg/132lbs): 2x6 (tough to judge right now, but I think these are improving. Strength is not an issue, apparently)

Paused Bench-Press (40Kg/88lbs): 3x6 (getting better and better, vastly improving form)

Overhead-Press (20Kg/44lbs): 1x8, then 1x8 at 22.5Kg/49.5lbs (since I wasn't even out of breath after the first set I decided it's time to go back up. Starting to feel better)
Pull-Ups: 5x6 (-)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 1x16, 1x12, 1x13 (-)

Triceps-Extensions (one arm, supinated grip) (7.5Kg/16.5lbs): 10, 9 (after seeing a good video on this, I decided to make this switch and they feel so much better this way)
Hammer-Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 13, 10 (-)

 

Good workout, despite still not being 100%. See signature.

 

Weight: 145.7lbs
Calories: ~3386
Estimated Surplus: ~500

[Disil]

Yesterday = Rest day. Improving my benching form made for some awesome pec soreness. I still haven't found a solution to what's up with my left elbow. I can train with it and the pain is mostly outside of working out when I move it certain ways, but it's really annoying nontheless.

 

Weight: 145.9lbs
Calories: ~2494
Estimated Surplus: ~400

 

---

 

Workout for today:

 

Squats (50Kg/112lbs): / (see below)

Leg Press (60Kg/132lbs): 2x6 (since I don't know how much time it'll take until my knee is fully recovered I might as well do something for my quads that's actually possible. Doing this didn't hurt so I just have to see whether it will be worse tomorrow)
Deadlifts (62.5Kg/137.5lbs): 2x6 (now that I've worked on technique, I should be able to increase the weight to get up to where my strength actually lies)

Paused Bench-Press (42.5Kg/93.5lbs): 3x6 (going back to 40 and working on my form is paying dividends. 42.5 felt heavy, but good also and technique was very good throughout most reps which certainly was not the case 2-3 weeks ago when I moved the bar like twice as fast. Sore pecs didn't stop me either. T-rex arms for the win)

Overhead-Press (22.5Kg/49.5lbs): 2x8 (the suicide grip is helping a lot and I can practically feel my brain getting more used to the movement, making it less akward and more efficient. I might be able to increase to 25Kg soon)
Pull-Ups: 4x6+2x5 (as much as I like how balanced the neutral grips are, I feel they still aren't too great for my elbow so I might go back to normal pronated grip pull-ups again)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 1x18, 1x16, 1x13 (I'm still amazed at how awesome of an exercise this is)

Triceps-Extensions (7.5Kg/16.5lbs): 11, 8 (-)
Hammer-Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 13, 10 (-)

 

Good.

 

Weight: 145.5lbs
Calories: ~?
Estimated Surplus: ~?

 

Working out, walking a ton while running errands, some yoga - I should be in a decent surplus, but totally fine.

[Disil]

Two rest days in a row. I donated blood on the first and felt like shit for both.

 

Weight: 145.7
Calories: ~?
Estimated Surplus: ~?

 

--

 

Weight: 145.1lbs
Calories: ~2265
Estimated Surplus: ~0

 

I didn't feel like eating all day, but kept on with it to aid the recovery of my knee, from training and donating blood. If not for those reasons I might as well have stayed at a 1000cal deficit. I do however intend to throw in a short cut rather soon, since I'm in the perfect place hormonally to drop a pound or two without any issue, don't have to study for anything for a while and also have vacation from Christmas until January 4 - I just want to be in better shape when I do as to not hurt training recovery/progress.

[Disil]

I still felt pretty bad, but I wasn't gonna rest three days in a row. Unsurprisingly, I feel better now that I've worked out.

 

Workout for today:

 

Squats (50Kg/112lbs): / (Seems my knee is worse than I thought. 8 days since I last squatted and it still hurts quite a bit. The only good thing is that it constantly improves so I hope it'll heal on its own over time. I'm not sure how to feel about the leg press, but I rather be a little too careful and won't possibly delay recovery by doing it)

Deadlifts (65Kg/137.5lbs): 2x6 (this still didn't feel heavy to be honest, but my back is just in rough shape in general, probably not even exercise related. Long story, but, anyhow, this wasn't too bad)

Paused Bench-Press (42.5Kg/93.5lbs): 3x6 (good, but not good enough to increase just yet)

Overhead-Press (25Kg/55lbs): 2x8 (I just went with it and while the last rep was a bit of a grinder, this felt pretty decent overall. Gonna stay there for a sec I reckon)

Pull-Ups: 5x6 (as predicted, I have returned to the good old pull-ups with a pronated false/suicide grip to help with preventing elbow pain)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 1x18, 1x16, 1x16 (<3)

Triceps-Extensions (7.5Kg/16.5lbs): 12, 8 (-)
Hammer-Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 13 (had to skip the last set to not miss the last train, no biggie)

Standing Cable Crunches (15Kg/33lbs): 10, 8 (I was looking for a good core exercise to do, to help stabilise my core during the main lifts and I guess I found one that fits the bill, thanks to this in hindsight hilarious 2 1/2 year old candito vid, see below - something I can properly progress in that's not some weird machine and actually has some carryover - great)

 

Pretty good workout actually. Way better than I excepted given how crappy I felt for three days now and especially since I donated blood on Saturday.

 

Weight: 145.7lbs
Calories: ~?
Estimated Deficit: ~?

 

Crunching for time I had to skip breakfast and basically was behind in calories all day. Since I didn't feel like stuffing myself with calorically dense garbage, I ended up in a slight deficit. Not sure about the exact numbers, but it also doesn't really matter.

[Disil]

December 22/23: Rest days. My lower back was very sore after the last workout, so I had to take two rest days again. On the first I overate due to two birthdays at work and eating all the cake/tiramisu. On the other hand, my two weeks of vacation have begun where I can eat whatever/whenever, don't have to work, don't have to study and thus I started a loose cut on the 23rd. Loose as in, I'm trying to hit any kind of deficit if I manage to, but I'm also not depriving myself of anything throughout the holiday season or thereafter if I don't want to.

 

22nd:

Weight: 146.8lbs

Calories: ~?
Estimated Surplus: ~?

 

23rd:

Weight: 146.2lbs
Calories: ~1393
Estimated Deficit: ~1100

 

---

 

Workout for Christmas:

 

Squats (50Kg/112lbs): / (-)

Deadlifts (65Kg/137.5lbs): / (with my lower back still in bad shape there's no way I could deadlift like that)

Paused Bench-Press (42.5Kg/93.5lbs): 3x6 (this felt rough)

Overhead-Press (25Kg/55lbs): 2x8 (this felt rough)

Pull-Ups: 6x6 (did these at the very beginning and the entire rest of the workout suffered, bad idea. At least I've figured out the issue by now -> http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/75813-pull-ups-and-long-head-of-the-triceps-sorenesslimitation/)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 1x18, 1x16, 1x16 (-)

Triceps-Extensions (7.5Kg/16.5lbs): 10, 8 (-)
Hammer-Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 14, 10 (-)

Standing Cable Crunches (17.5Kg/33lbs): 15, 15, 12 (I really don't feel like these are doing the trick, more on this and my whole exercise routine soon)

 

I only got 3 hours of sleep after my last workout because I got home at 1 am and to bed at 3 so I need to find another way. My bright idea was to work out before work instead of before going to bed. Well, I got up at 3:30am for a dry-run (I didn't have to go to work) and damn working out this early was hard, especially when I'm loosely cutting anway. Given all that, this workout wasn't too bad really, almost good. Still, I'm not too sure whether I can actually do this long-term, but I'm determined to find out.

On a different note, the new bluetooth headphones (this time not just dumb in-ears) I ordered finally seem to work for me and I won't have to send those back too, like I had the previous two pairs. Can't wait to test them while deadlifting next session. Those headphones on Amazon

 

Weight: 144.6lbs
Calories: ~4000
Estimated Surplus: ~1400

 

Christmas dinner, a ton of cookies and some good pre and post workout eating put me at a huge surplus. No worries though.

[Disil]

Yesterday was a rest day. I went for a 30 minute run in the evening which was nice.

 

Weight: 146.6lbs
Calories: ~1278
Estimated Deficit: ~1450

 

---

 

Workout for today:

 

Squats (50Kg/112lbs): / (-)

Paused Bench-Press (42.5Kg/93.5lbs): 3x6 (Pretty decent, but still heavy enough that I can't go up)

Deadlifts (65Kg/137.5lbs): 2x6 (It's interesting what a difference music makes while training. the new headphones rule and this felt good)

Overhead-Press (25Kg/55lbs): 2x8 (I really need to pay attention to the way I grip as that directly translates into how much power I have while pushing up. The closer the bar is lying on the fleshy part of the heel of my hand, the better and using suicide grip certainly helps there. I'm not quite ready to increase again just yet)

Lying T-Bar-Rows: (20Kg/44lbs): 2x10 (Meh, not my cup of tea. I already have my eyes on a different machine for next time. It has individual handles for each arm so I can focus on one side while rowing and also don't have my breathing impared due to lying on a pad)

Pull-Ups:  8, 8, 7 (Not going chest to bar, only normal ROM, should help with the triceps soreness in the long head so these felt better, even doing them after the rows)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 20, 17, 14 (I could increase with those rep-numbers, but I rather improve my form before doing so)

Hammer-Curls (10Kg/22lbs): ?, ? (Lost count because I was listening to a friend telling me something, oh well)

 

I arrived at 8:15 in the morning and I'm sorta cutting, which makes this workout a definite success.

 

Weight: 144.4lbs
Calories: ~2678
Estimated Deficit: ~300

 

Despite cake, a huge ass dinner and dessert I ended up in a slight deficit and I'm proud as fuck. I eeeeeasily could've eaten several pieces of cake, chocolates and lots of other stuff that was widely available and ended up between 4-5k. I even held a palm-sized gingerbread cookie in my hand already, but I gathered all my willpower and put it back. Damn does it feel good now.

[Disil]

Workout for today:

 

4.2m run

 

I had to pause a few times, but I made it the entire distance so that's a win. I also did some mobility work in the evening.

 

Weight: 145.5lbs
Calories: ~1360
Estimated Deficit: ~1500

 

Eating so much yesterday made this deficit pretty easy to achieve. I don't plan on staying this low for most of the upcoming days tho.

[Disil]

Workout for today:

 

Squats (40Kg/88lbs): 2x8 (For my first squats in two weeks I took it extremely slow/light. They felt alright, but it was apparent that I had lost a lot of the adaptions/motor pattern I had worked up to. Now my knee just needs to not get worse from this and I can very cautiously keep on with it)

Paused Bench-Press (42.5Kg/93.5lbs): 3x6 (I'm continuing to improve my form and setup and so this went very well which means I'll be able to go up to 45Kg/99lbs)

Deadlifts (67.5Kg/148.5lbs): 2x6 (I'm hoping that I'm finally at the stage with these where I can simply dump another 1.25Kg/2.75lbs on each side almost every workout for a while. They certainly didn't feel too heavy.)

Overhead-Press (25Kg/55lbs): 2x8 (Still struggling too much with the last reps to go any higher)

Pull-Ups: 7, 7, 6 (I tweaked something between my clavicle and my pec on the left side during the first set and thus they didn't feel alright)

Rows, one arm: (17.5Kg/38.5lbs): 12, 12 (I'm not entirely sure, but I think I found a suitable machine to do rows with, see pic -> http://img.medicalexpo.com/images_me/photo-g/70274-128159.jpg )

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 19, 19, 16 (-)

Hammer-Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 11, 10 (Guess I'll go back to normal curls after all, since my forearms are pretty worn out after DLs, Pull-Ups, Face-Pulls and Rows and I'm feeling this is what limits the movement when really, the biceps should do that. It'll be interesting to see where I stand with the normal ones now)

 

Phantastic workout.

 

Weight: 144.4lbs
Calories: ~1761
Estimated Deficit: ~1200

 

Great and effortless.

[Disil]

Yesterday was a rest day. I walked my usual running distance and did some light yoga. Good.

 

Weight: 143.5lbs
Calories: ~1330
Estimated Deficit: ~1200

 

---

 

Workout for today:

 

4.2m run

 

Every 7 days I'm scheduled to have 2 rest days from lifting and while I usually am sorta happy to be able to rest up, this time it was a real struggle. I just wanted to go to the gym so bad and my body felt very close to fine except for some mild lower back soreness. Still, I abided, given I'm cutting and recovery will be hard to come by anyway and went for a run instead. While cold, it was still pleasant outside and I felt great.

 

Weight: 142.2lbs

Calories: ~1492
Estimated Deficit: ~1300

Deficit Total: ~6950 (since December 25)

 

I'm curious how tomorrow's workout will go. If it sucks too bad, I might ramp up calories to a less severe deficit and if it goes well, I'll probably stick around where I've been so far. It has been incredibly easy since I barely feel hungry.

I also ordered a bunch of new supps, including caffeine pills, since I can now use them before training because I don't work out in the eveing anymore and I'm expecting it to make quite a difference, given I don't intake any caffeine aside from a green tea once every other day. I also ordered MSM to maybe help with my elbow and knee issues as well as a basic micro-blend that will serve me well during cuts, but really anytime I think I need a better micronutrient intake, since it has pretty much everything in it to some degree or another. Lastly, a new ration of vitamin D since my old one had run out around May and it's now winter again.

[Disil]

Workout for today:

 

Squats (40Kg/88lbs): 3x6+2x6 at 50Kg/110lbs (Yeah this went horribly. I don't really know how to fix my forward lean during the descent that leads to my knee pain. I almost fell back during one set which had me buckle and my back cave in and I guess I'm only still able to walk because I was doing the valsava correctly. My knee also hurts quite a bit and I wouldn't be surprised if it were really bad again by tomorrow)

Paused Bench-Press (45Kg/99lbs): 3x6 (This felt quite heavy, but form was mostly good)

Deadlifts (70Kg/154lbs): 6, 4 (The combination of running 4+ miles yesterday evening, not being used to squatting before DLing anymore, heavier weight and the fact that I'm running quite the steep deficit made this very difficult. My legs were noticably tired and thus my back was forced to work more than was good. Thankfully I came to my senses and didn't try to complete the 2nd set, but I realistically never even should've tried for more than the first and the pain in my back is confirming this)

Overhead-Press (25Kg/55lbs): 8, 7 (yeah all of the above + cutting. Still these weren't bad, just hard)

Pull-Ups: 9, 8, 7 (unsurprisingly, being like 4+lbs lighter = better Pull-Ups)

Rows, one arm: (20Kg/44lbs): 12, 12, 12 (-)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 17, 12, 13 (tank empty at this point)

Triceps-Extensions (7.5Kg/16.5lbs): 11, 7 (-)

Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 14, 8 (-)

 

Yep, cutting while doing mostly bodyweight exercises was a lot more fun. Since this was/is supposed to be only a loose mini-cut, I won't bother starting to reduce volume/frequency or what have you, but instead just eat more and get a couple more days in before I call it. But this was good to experience for the future, when I'm likely to cut for longer at less ridiculous deficits (say, 4-6 weeks in a 700cal range).

 

Weight: 141.3lbs
Calories: ~?
Estimated Surplus: ~?

 

Alright, this ain't working. My back and legs are ranging between discomfort and actual pain, I might not be lifting for a couple of days and need to maximize recovery. Guess I should've been smarter than this. I'll do my usual high carb/minimal fat refeed now and throw in some ibuprofen.

 

---

Quick update from the following morning: My entire lower body, especially adductors, glutes and back are extremely sore, but my knee is not feeling as horrific as I'd feared. It's pretty bad, but not any worse than it was two weeks ago. The refeed was good, albeit excessive, but I started watching the previous Star Wars movies and finished all six of them yesterday (to prepare for finally watching the 7th part next week), so that didn't exactly make it easy. I probably ended the day at around 5000 calories, though the vast majority was protein and carbs with less than 50g of fat in total.
 

Weight: 146.4lbs
Calories: ~3012
Estimated Surplus: ~500

 

 

Did one quick 25 minute yoga workout. I forgot that I'd taken an ibuprofen earlier and I hope I didn't overstretch due to a lack of pain signals.

[Disil]

So I spent more than 2 months working on my ankle mobility (dorsiflexion to be precise) with basically nothing to show for, except among others the horrible mishap during my last squat session where I was about to fall backwards with 110lbs on my back and almost booked a ticket to snap city by letting my back come forward. After spending a few hours on further researching this topic, I hope that I've got it mostly figured out by now:

 

Misonception #1: To improve ankle mobility, I need to "stretch the ankle". Whut? While it's not impossible that the joint or joint capsule itself/scar tissue there is the cause, this way of thinking is too short-sighted and simplistic.

 

Realization #1: It is not the joint itself, but the muscles/tendons that need stretching.

 

Misconception #2: The tibialis anterior is responsible for dorsiflexion, so I should stretch that sucker, right?

 

Realization #2: Actually, the limiting factor are mostly the calves and to some degree the bottom of the foot. This made sense once I realized that it's often the muscle on the other side that's limiting the actual movement, see lower back rounding caused by tight hamstrings. Yes, anyone more versed in kinesiology is likely facepalming hard, but I'm a fucking idiot so bear with me.

 

Misconception #3: Alrighty, stretching them ankles and calves and all, shouldn't be too hard right? Well..

 

Realization #3: To properly stretch the calves it's important to know that the knee needs to be extended to stretch the gastrocnemius, which oh surprise is that large hunk of flesh that gets all the attention while the soleus on the side is rather small and will receive a stretch when the knee is not extended. Good thing I've never kept my knee in full extension during those stretches, eh...

 

Conclusion: I've successfully stretched the shit out of my ankle joint and my soleus, but my gastrocnemius is as tight as ever, which was swiftly proven by doing the usual dorsiflexion tests online combined with some proper (knee extended) calf stretches.

 

 

Summed up - and to the surprise of absolutely no one this is a recurring theme: Do your damn yoga! Some proper down dog-ging 3 times a week would probably help a lot with this matter already, let alone doing yoga 6 days a week combined with proper calf stretches + lacrosse balling them and my feet. Which is exactly what I'm gonna do. Starting right now.

[Disil]

I probably should've rested one more day, but I wasn't having that after just forcing myself to rest two days in a row before the last workout. My entire lower body + lower back was still very sore which certainly affected the upper body compound movements, but I wasn't going to sit around today.

 

Workout for today:

 

Squats (40Kg/88lbs): /

Paused Bench-Press (45Kg/99lbs): 3x6 (this felt a little heavier even than last time, but given how noticably weaker my setup was due to the soreness in my back, I'm still happy with this)

Deadlifts (70Kg/154lbs): /

Overhead-Press (25Kg/55lbs): 2x8 (I made two small adjustments - a little wider stance and a little closer grip - and these felt good, despite everything else going on)

Pull-Ups: 8, 7, 6 (given my ridiculous weight spike, this was more than okay)

Rows, one arm: (22.5Kg/49.5lbs): 12, 12, 10 (I finally seem to have come close to where my working weight is supposed to be. 23.75Kg/52.25lbs next week should be the ideal fit)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 18, 14, 14 (I guess the additional upper body work from the rows is affecting these, which is totally fine)

Triceps-Extensions (7.5Kg/16.5lbs): 11, 8 (-)

Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 14, 9 (-)

 

The very above being said, I'm happy I went and got this in. I'm feeling pretty good now. Beat up, but good. I only got a little over 5 hours of sleep because I wanted to be in the gym early (unnecessarily, it was dead empty all morning), so I'll make sure to hit the hay early today and get in 9+ hours on what will be my last night of the vacation. I'll also see that I do some yoga in the evening to cool down and keep working on my mobility.

 

Weight: 147.9lbs
Calories: ~3175 (tbd)
Estimated Surplus: ~350 (tbd)

[Disil]

This week has been incredibly busy, but I've seen Star Wars VII, worked out as scheduled and did mobility work as well as additional stretches to help with ankle dorsiflexion every day. Between stress, birthdays and going to the movies, diet has been rather bad and I'm trying to get a handle on it.

 

Workouts have been so-so. My knee still is not in shape to squat, not that my mobility would be where it needs to be anyway and I still haven't fixed lower back rounding during deadlifts (which might be co-related: Weaker quads/glutes = more work for lower back :/), but anyway, here's my log for today's workout:

 

Squats (40Kg/88lbs): /

Paused Bench-Press (45Kg/99lbs): 3x6 (I get the impression that the benches in my gym are pretty abysmal. It's tough to say because I don't know shit, but they feel weird, kind of like the bar isn't entirely perpendicular to the bench. This felt okay.)

Deadlifts (70Kg/154lbs): 3x6 (after going back to 67.5Kg last workout - which felt light - I went back up to 70 and they didn't feel as heavy as before, but the video of at least the second set shows how my lower back always gives out and rounds a bit the moment the weight leaves the floor. I also have slight lower back pain in different spots afterwards so this can't be good and I certainly can't up weight before I've fixed it)

Overhead-Press (27.5Kg/60.5lbs): 7, 5 (this felt pathetic. I went up a tiny bit and I couldn't even make it through the first set. Back down again I guess..)

Pull-Ups: 7, 6, 5 (weighing ~154lbs with shoes and gym gear, this seems about right)

Rows, one arm: (25Kg/55lbs): 12, 12, 12 (These fry my forearms and posterior delts, but I finally feel something going on in my back/lats at least)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 16, 12, 10 (-)

Triceps-Extensions (7.5Kg/16.5lbs): 11, 9 (-)

Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 12, 6 (-)

[Disil]

Yesterday was a rest day. I did yoga and a ton of chores and also, after the horrible eating this last week, decided to try something different for a change: Cutting at a more "moderate" caloric intake. I really believe that I still have a bunch of noob gains that I can get while cutting so I might as well try to make the most of it, when I'm not shooting myself in the foot by being at ridiculous 1700cal deficits for a week.

 

Weight: 67.1Kg/147.4lbs
Calories: ~1756
Estimated Deficit: ~1150

 

 

---

 

 

My forearms felt really sore still, but I wasn't gonna take two rest days. Unfortunately, I took my time and arrived later than I wanted, meaning the gym was more crowded than usual, which also meant that my attempts to record were thwarted by impossible angles and idiot's butts blocking the view like it were their job.

 

Workout for today:

 

Squats (40Kg/88lbs): 1x8, 45Kg/99lbs: 1x6 (felt alright, but not sure about form since there's no footage)

Paused Bench-Press (45Kg/99lbs): 3x6 (decent, all things considered)

Deadlifts (60Kg/132lbs): 1x8, 65Kg/143lbs: 1x6 (I went back down in weight to work on form, but the sore arms, a sore back and the lack of recording make this hard to judge, but it didn't feel too bad I guess)

Overhead-Press (25Kg/55lbs): 2x8 (-)

Pull-Ups: 10, 8, 7 (-)

Rows, one arm: (26.25Kg/57.75lbs): 12, 12, 9 ()

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 18, 14,13 (-)

Triceps-Extensions (7.5Kg/16.5lbs): 12, 10 (-)

Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 13, 10 (-)

 

My back feels really beat up, but otherwise this was pretty good.

 

Weight: 65.8Kg/145.1lbs
Calories: ~3100
Estimated Deficit: ~150

 

Went out, had half a pitcher of Guinness and a couple of Captain Morgan + Coke. Life is good.

[Disil]

Yesterday was a rest day. I just chilled, did some yoga in the evening and that was that.

 

Weight: 65.4Kg/144.2lbs
Calories: ~1500
Estimated Deficit: ~850

 

---

 

I intended to work out early Monday morning, but going to sleep around 11, I wasn't gonna get up at 4 to train, especially on such a busy week as this one (regarding the office) where I need to be alert.

So I had 1 1/2 days of rest, changing my rhythm for right now to Mo/Wed/Fr and going very late, also because I will likely be way too hungover Saturday morning to do anything.

 

Workout for today:

 

Squats (45Kg/99lbs): 2x6 (no footage yet again, but given that my knee didn't hurt during the workout or after and feels basically fine the next day, I'd say this was a success. I'll keep it real slow though, working on my mobility)

Paused Bench-Press (45Kg/99lbs): 3x6 (rough, probably just the lack of energy during the cut + less bodyweight)

Deadlifts (65Kg/143lbs): 2x8 (doesn't feel heavy necessarily, but it's really taxing trying to focus on using the glutes and legs more. I recorded both sets and they were..better and I also feel better)

Overhead-Press (25Kg/55lbs): 8, 7 (really rough)

Pull-Ups: 9, 9, 8 (-)

Rows, one arm: (27,5Kg/60.5lbs): 12, 12, 10 (-)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 18, 13,12 (-)

Triceps-Extensions (7.5Kg/16.5lbs): 13, 10 (-)

Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 14, 10 (-)

 

Sweet ass workout.

 

Weight: 65.1Kg/143.5lbs
Calories: ~2549
Estimated Deficit: ~850

 

I'm feeling a lot better with a less than four digit deficit, big surprise right there, I know. Being an all or nothing kind of guy, this is still pretty difficult to be honest, basically as or even more difficult as a super hard cut, but the reason why I do this isn't ease of use or the mental part in general, but the physical part. I don't want to get sick or injured, I don't want my training and work life to suffer a lot and I don't want to sacrifice muscle because I'm too stubborn to just up the calories a little when I easily can. So far I've hit 150-180g of protein on a daily basis and intend to stay there. That puts me right around 2.5g/kg (162g right now), which should suffice.

 

I had a huge ham sandwich + a gigantic protein shake before going to bed so the scale surely is gonna spike hard. Oh well.

[Disil]

Yesterday was a rest day. I went for a walk and did some yoga. All good, except for a few hours less sleep than I'd have liked.

 

Weight: 66.4Kg/146.4lbs
Calories: ~1569
Estimated Deficit: ~1200

 

Weight spiked as predicted. Deficit on the high side, but didn't feel like eating more than I already had.

 

---

 

Workout for today:

 

Squats (47.5Kg/104.5lbs): 3x6 (these felt so good that I "accidently" did 3 sets. I just didn't think about it. Working diligently on my mobility seems to pay off. I might've had two or three reps where I had some forward lean, but my knee should be fine tomorrow..I hope)

Paused Bench-Press (45Kg/99lbs): 3x6 (yeah this is not getting better while cutting. Guess I just have to accept that)

Deadlifts (65Kg/143lbs): 2x6 (I might've figured something out. Not sure yet, especially since I did these with some lingering back soreness, but the second set just felt more right, after I tried to focus on feeling a hamstring stretch before lifting the weight off the floor - see Alan Thrall's RDL video)

Overhead-Press (25Kg/55lbs): 2x8 (I think I've made a huge improvement to my form regarding elbow placement or rather pathing by consciously trying to prevent any flaring, which should help progress with this soon)

Pull-Ups: 9, 7, 7 (-)

Rows, one arm: (28.75Kg/63.25lbs): 10, 10, 9 (seems I've arrived at my actual working weight)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 17, 15, 13 (-)

Triceps-Extensions (7.5Kg/16.5lbs): 13 (-)

Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 14 (-)

 

A beast of a day and I killed it. I'm probably gonna be sore for a few days, but it was worth it. I feel phantastic. I skipped the last sets of isolation work so I'd get the train at 11:33 pm which of course I missed anyway so I decided to jog (backpack and all) the entire way home, which explains my ridiculous TDEE for today. On the bright side, that means I could eat a fuckton and still maintain a good deficit.

 

Weight: 65.9Kg/145.3lbs
Calories: ~4025
Estimated Deficit: ~850

Deficit Total: ~5000 (since January 8)

[Disil]

Yesterday was a rest day. Ridiculously stressful. Surprisingly I wasn't too sore, except for my calves and acchilles'(es?) which weren't used to that much running and shit. I did pretty much nothing except for a little mobility work before bed.

 

Weight: 66.4Kg/146.4lbs
Calories: ~1910
Estimated Deficit: ~600

 

---

 

Workout for today:

 

Squats (47.5Kg/104.5lbs): 3x6 (for whatever reason, these felt much worse than last time. Hopefully just the soreness or whatever)

Paused Bench-Press (45Kg/99lbs): 3x6 (-)

Deadlifts (67.5Kg/148lbs): 2x6 (Yes, form is noticeably better with a wider stance, a tad closer to the bar and focussing much more on sticking my butt out, loading the hamstrings and consciously contracting  my glutes when lifting the bar)

Overhead-Press (25Kg/55lbs): 2x8 (keeping the elbows in is more difficult and I barely made the full reps, but I hope this helps in the long run)

Pull-Ups: 9, 9, 6 (-)

Rows, one arm: (28.75Kg/63.25lbs): 10, 10, 10 (-)

Face-Pulls (10Kg/:22lbs): 18, 14, 13 (-)

Triceps-Extensions (7.5Kg/16.5lbs): 12, 8 (-)

Curls (10Kg/22lbs): 12, 8 (-)

 

Training immediately after school (which I can only do Friday) was rough, given my last workout was very late Wednesday evening and thus only 38 hours removed from today's and a very taxing one at that. Add to this the fact that I've now been cutting for 7ish days with decent deficits now and I'm content with it.

 

Weight: 65.8Kg/145.1lbs
Calories: ~4315
Estimated Surplus: ~1100

Deficit Total: ~4500 (since January 8)

 

I stood at 2523 calories in the evening with a TDEE of ~3250, but I was meeting a friend for some Captain Morgan + Coke (Zero), beers and Mario Kart (on SNES of course) and thus ended the day in a sizable surplus. I made sure to keep fat low for the day and doubt that this will cause me any problems for the cut, save for the negative temporary effects of alcohol on testosterone levels, but oh well, that's just something that's bound to occur and not worth worrying about. In total a 4500 cal deficit despite two days of drinking and a lot of good eating while maintaining workouts really is pretty awesome.

[Disil]

After 10 days of alternating rest and workout days, I really had to take 2 in a row (as I should once per week, actually) and due to scheduling, I ended up having to rest for 3. Scheduling as in, tomorrow I finally have the appointment with my trainer to go over my Deadlift, Bench and OHP form as well as various other stuff he might point out. I had to postpone this back 6 weeks ago and I can't wait!

I did yoga/mobility work each day and I'm starting to see some progress in the usual areas (being able to put my first on the floor with extended legs for example) so that's good.

 

Also, after getting a roughly 5k deficit in, I decided to call the cut. I'm just not feeling it. It's not really difficult, far from it actually, but my workouts are no fun and overall it's just annyoing me, especially when it's so fucking cold out, I can't go on runs and don't feel much like moving overall. I've spent a lot of time really motivated to cut and taking advantage of that - no need to force it when I don't.

 

Saturday:

 

Weight: 65.5Kg/144.4lbs
Calories: ~2096
Estimated Deficit: ~350

 

Sunday:

 

Weight: 65.6Kg/144.6lbs
Calories: ~2736
Estimated Surplus: ~350

 

Monday:

 

Weight: 65.9Kg/145.3lbs
Calories: ~3059

Estimated Surplus: ~400

 

 

The most important thing aside from the basics (work out, sleep well, dont eat too much bad stuff) is simply to keep counting calories and hitting my target surplus while bulking better. From October 4 until today I've spent 84 days in a planned surplus. On 38 of those days I exceeded my target calories, often by several hundred and in some cases even thousand calories. The more I do this, the more I'll have to cut and subsequently spend spinning my wheels, forcing myself to work out half-depleted. Yeah, nothing of this is news, but writing it down helps I hope.