Disil's Log

[Disil]

Yeah, no pushing nothing here. Soreness was rather mild so I figured I'd just get a really intense workout in and then sit back and recover over 2 full rest days before finally crushing 4x8 @ 60Kg.

 

Workout for Tuesday:

 

Bench Press (53.5Kg): 10, 10, 10, 10* (Pretty good. Still some reps left I think. Up)

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg): 9, 8*, 8 (My previously highest weight for 8s, +3 reps since then)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 12, 12, 11* (+3, amazing stuff)

Lat Pulldown (60Kg): 12, 12, 12 (Up)

Lateral Machine Raise (35Kg*): 12, 13 (Good)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 9, 8 (-4 reps. Triceps was toast and I just didn't want to push failure again and again as I usually do with this one, or the incline curls below)

Cable Face Pulls(26.25Kg*): 13, 13 (Finally a challenge)

Triceps Machine (80Kg): 15, 15* (+2. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 10, 9 (See Pushdown)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 15, 13 (+1 and back to my previous best)

Rope Pushdown (17.5Kg): 12, 12 (-)

Standing DB-Curls (12Kg): 10, then 8 at 10Kg (Forearms were dead at this point)

 

Great stuff. The arm isos were disappointing, so I just added more volume in the form of two old new exercises which will become my first/main exercises for the future. The Rope Pushdown because they mainly target the lateral head of the triceps which is by far my weak point right now and the standing curls because I need a heavy movement in the up to 8 range since I've been sorely lacking in that department. I'll still keep the others though, just at a later point in the workout.

 

Weight: 71.9Kg
Calories: 3124

Estimated Surplus: 524

 

I'm getting strong, but also fat. There's a lot more to write on this, but at another time.

[Disil]

I recovered nicely during my rest days, aside from a weird wrist pain which appeared always right after waking up, 2 days in a row, but it went away after a few hours each time. Unfortunately, from Thu to Fri, sleep was rather shitty (2.5h, then wide awake for a few hours, then another 5ish hours, taking forever to fall asleep) and I had to go to the gym early (meaning 2-3 hours after waking up) due to the Christmas party in the evening, which not only resulted in not having much food prior, but also in not feeling as awake and strong as I usually do during my regular, much later workouts. I was also pressed for time in order to make it home early enough to get ready for the party and well, suffice it to say, I really imagined better circumstance for my next dance with 4x8x60Kg, last attempted August 29 after failing to complete all 4 sets numerous times. After that I got ill with the gastritis and worked my way back up and here we are, more than 3 months later and almost that many Kg heavier.

 

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (60Kg): 8, 8, 8*, 8* (The very last rep was an RPE 10, but overall this just felt too heavy compared to the work I put in these last months, but then again, given the above, I guess I should be psyched that I managed 4x8 in spite of it)

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg): 9, 8 (no progress, -1 set to account for the cable rows)

Seated Cable Rows (47Kg): 10, 10 (Since I now know how to "micro-load" the cable towers, I have reintroduced this one as I'm desperately looking for a row variant that helps target my lats completely, not just the upper half)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 12, 10, 10 (Had to share the machine with another dude which always leads to less rest. Also, bench apparently fried my tris and shoulders a fair bit so I ended up with -3 reps. Shucks)

Lat Pulldown (62.5Kg): 12, 10  (-1 set because of adding the rows)

Lateral Machine Raise (35Kg): 12, 14* (+1)

Rope Pushdown (20Kg): 12, 12 (Ok. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 11, 9 (+3 again, 1 below my previous best, despite doing the rope ones first)

Cable Face Pulls(26.25Kg): 13, 14 (+1)

Triceps Machine (82.5Kg*): 14, 11 (Ugh, rough)

Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 9*, 7* (It's been more than a year since I last did these with 14Kg, my best being 8, 6, 6, 5 reps so I'll view this as +2 and decent progress. The idea is to stay in a rep range of 4-8, since I'm doing the higher reps already with the other variations. I'll confirm 8, 8 next time and then probably go up to crazy/scary 16Kg afterwards, seeing how my worn out forearms handle them)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 14, 11 (-3, but evidently, the standing curls already take huge effort which impacts these here a lot)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 7, 5 (Biceps were just completely gone and I also had to use another bench than usual so tough to judge these)

 

Factoring in how suboptimal everything was going in, this was excellent.

 

Weight: 72.3Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: ?

 

I didn't bother trying to count during the party. I had 1 1/2 large beers and tons of decent food, some junk dessert stuff later and some caloric beverages, but eh, still quite ok I think. I woke up with brutal soreness after 8 mediocre hours of sleep from 4 am til 1 pm (1 hour lying awake inbetween) and sat on my ass doing nothing all Saturday. I really hope this will improve enough to work out tomorrow. Right now I'm not seeing it. But damn, it sucks that after training Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun/Tue and feeling less and less sore each time, I immediately feel completely wrecked once I take 2 rest days in a row between Tue and Fri. I almost feel like I never should take 2 in a row, but that would probably not go too well either. Sigh.

 

 

[Disil]

After another night of 2.5+5 hours of mediocre sleep, I woke up still pretty sore. Mostly lower back (seated rows), and pecs, as well as long head of the tris or delts, somewhere in that area. I went regardless, figuring I just need to push through again.

 

Sunday Workout:

 

Bench Press (63.5Kg*): 6, 6, 6, 6 (I was quite scared of this one, but I got it, despite the circumstances. Last time visiting this weight was for 4x4 exactly 4 weeks ago and it left me with brutal pain in my triceps and lead to abandoning the sets of 4 so despite the last two sets being RPE 10, this was still awesome. Not sure how I'm supposed to handle 4x6 @65Kg next week, we'll see when I get there. Up )

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg): 10*, 8 (+1)

Seated Cable Rows (49.5Kg): 10, 10 (Good. Up)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 12, 12, 11 (+3 again, but with a prolonged break inbetween. Still, I take it, back to my previous best which seems awesome with that bench beforehand)

Lat Pulldown (62.5Kg): 12, 11  (+1)

Lateral Machine Raise (35Kg): 14*, 14 (+2)

Rope Pushdown (21.25Kg): 12, 12 (Heavy. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 11, 10* (+1, previous best, but barely)

Cable Face Pulls(26.25Kg): 13, 15* (+1, super heavy)

Triceps Machine (82.5Kg*): 14, 13* (+3, damn this was hard )

Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8, 8* (16Kg will be really rough, but that's what I wanted I guess. Certainly gonna aim for the lower end up the 4-8 spectrum eh. Up)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 10, 10 (More time and the right bench and what do you know, 3 reps within my previous best, despite the standing curls beforehand)

DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 15, 15 (+2 from my previous best. Up)

 

Holy shit this was great. And to think I almost skipped it due to soreness. Now I just need to manage 9 hours of sleep two nights in a row, somehow.

 

Weight: 72.8Kg
Calories: 438

Estimated Surplus: 3038

 

Ended up eating late night, basically 4 in the morning, leading to this weight spike. Should get back to 72.0 ish soon.

 

[Disil]

I felt rather tired on Tuesday and figured I'd just take a 2nd rest day and switch my schedule to Wed/Fr/Sun/repeat, go to bed early for a full 9 hours of sleep and then attack on Wednesday. Well, I ended up waking up 1.5 hours later, unable to fall a sleep again until in the morning, where I slept for another 2.5 or so for a toal whopping 4 hours. I felt beat and had no idea how to work out later on. I rushed home after work, immediately took a 1.5hr nap, still got to the gym pretty late so I had to hurry the hell up.

 

Wednesday Workout

 

Bench Press (55Kg*): 10, 10, 10, 10 (Quite happy how these went. Up)

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg): 10, 9* (+1, wtf)

Seated Cable Rows (52Kg*): 10, 10 (Good. Up)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 12, 12, 10 (-1)

Lat Pulldown (62.5Kg): 12, 11  (no progress)

Lateral Machine Raise (35Kg): 14, 14 (no progress)

Rope Pushdown (21.875Kg): 12, 12 (Really heavy. Up)

 

I had to rush through all the following arm isos, costing me a ton of reps. Standing DB-Curls I still went and did with 16Kg for a super heavy 6+5 reps, Concentration Curls I had to skip entirely. Still, this was a lot better than what I expected. I really need to fix this sleeping (or rather waking up numerous times per night) issue, whatever it is caused by.

 

Weight: 73Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: ?

 

Didn't really track much, oh well. I shouldn't be in too much of a surplus most days since I still eyeball everything, I just didn't have the time or nerve to write and calculate everything up.

[Disil]

I managed to get some good sleep after that last workout and went into this one with some lingering soreness and still with hurting forearm (left) and wrist/elbow (right), but nothing major. Then I forgot my elbow sleeve for my left arm, so I just figured I'd just test how it holds up without it.

 

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (61Kg*): 8, 8, 8, 8 (These looked mostly very clean and none was a true RPE 10. Fucking awesome. Up)

Chest-supported Rows (85Kg): 10, 10* (+1. Up)

Seated Cable Rows (57Kg*): 10, 9 (Very heavy)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 12, 11, 09 (-3 from my previous best. Some elbow pain. Failed the 12th of the 2nd, better luck next time I guess)

Lat Pulldown (62.5Kg): 12, 12*  (+1. Up)

Lateral Machine Raise (35Kg): 15, 15 (+2. Up)

Rope Pushdown (22.5Kg): 12, 12 (Really heavy. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 11, 10 (Previous best)

Cable Face Pulls(26.25Kg): 15, 15 (+2)

Triceps Machine (82.5Kg*): 15, 14 (+2)

Standing DB-Curls (16Kg): 6, 6* (+1)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11, 10 (Still 2 below my previous best, but still nice with the pre-exhaustion from the standing curls)

DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg*): 12, 9 (Great start)

Rack Pulls (50Kg): 5, then 5 at 60Kg (This workout was feeling so great, I just wanted it to continue so I got stupid and went and did Rack Pulls. Up for depate whether I'll keep doing them or not)

 

Aside from the shoulder press this was pretty epic.

 

Weight: 72.6Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: ?

[Disil]

After a super busy week, I'll sum this up quick:

 

Workout for Sunday:

 

Bench Press (65Kg*): 6, 6, 5, 6 (Didn't want to do 6 without a spotter on the third set. Went for it with a spotter in the 4th. It's incredible how heavy this weight felt, particularly on my joints and tendons, despite it only being a 1.5Kg jump)

Chest-supported Rows (87.5Kg*): 8, 8, 8 (Accidentally did 3 sets. Great start tho)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 12, 9, 7 (Improving upon technique/ROM by staying more upright and making this less of an incline bench, this has become a ton more difficult so losing reps is no surprise, or concern really)

Seated Cable Rows (57Kg): 10, 10* (+1, Up)

Lat Pulldown (65Kg): 12, 10  (-)

Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 12, 10 (Super heavy)

Rope Pushdown (23.125Kg): 12, 12 (Really heavy. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 10, 10 (-)

Cable Face Pulls(26.875Kg*): 12, 13 (-)

Triceps Machine (82.5Kg): 15, 15* (+1)

Standing DB-Curls (16Kg): 6, 6 (-)

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

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

 

Pretty good.

 

Workout for Wednesday:

 

Bench Press (56Kg*): 10, 10, 10, 10 (I bonked against the rack twice during the 3rd set due to setting up to close, still managed to finish, but damn this took a lot out of me)

Chest-supported Rows (87.5Kg): 8, 8 (-)

Machine Shoulder Press (30Kg): 10, 9, 8 (-1 with much better ROM for all 3 sets, gonna build from there)

Seated Cable Rows (58.25Kg*): 10, 10 (Very heavy. Up)

Lat Pulldown (65Kg): 12, 12*  (+2. Up)

Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 12, 11* (+1)

Rope Pushdown (23.75Kg): 12, 12 (Barely made it. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 10, 10 (-)

Cable Face Pulls(26.875Kg*): 13, 13 (+1)

Triceps Machine (85Kg*): 13, 11 (+1)

Standing DB-Curls (16Kg): 6, 7* (+1)

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

DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 9 (Gym was about to close so I had to rush to these and stop here)

 

Pretty decent, especially giving I spent 3 days this week in a deficit, more or less on purpose. I really want trim down a bit, but don't want performance to suffer, also right now is really difficult since it's the holidays, but oh well.

 

What's worse is that I woke up with severe back pain again on Friday. I ran a strenuous 5km the day before, so I guess there's a connection as that's not the first time I end up with this pain following a run the day before. Regardless, my workout on Friday so was not happening.

Also, looking at my log and excel sheet, the workout above marks exactly 4 weeks, not only since my last deload, but also 4 consecutive weeks of great workouts so yeah, I'm ripe for a deload anyway. A real one too, not an impromptu one for 2 1/2 training days like last time. Here's hoping I can even do a deload workout on Saturday.

 

[Disil]

In the end I postponed the deload for one more day, opting for a 2-workout deload week of Sunday at 80% and Wednesday at 90% of my working weights, skipping the previous Friday workout entirely. Next Friday will then be my first real workout back, although I will resume the exact same weights of last Wednesday and not go for any increases just yet. That'll leave me sore enough anyway.

[Disil]

Wednesday at 90% felt way too heavy, but between the muscle relaxers I took until the day before, the long timespan since my last workout at 100% and the deficit I'm in most of the time right now, I guess that was to be expected.

[Disil]

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (56Kg): 10, 10, 10, 10 (Easily confirmed this at mostly RPE 8.5 or 9. Up)

Chest-supported Rows (87.5Kg): 8, 8 (-)

Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 12, 11, 9 (Had to go back with this one due to the technique changes/improvements, i. E. not making this half an incline bench and go from here)

Seated Cable Rows (57Kg): 10, 10 (Back down 1.5Kg due to a lack of 1.25Kg plates at the tower today as I was in a hurry. 58.5 again next time)

Lat Pulldown (65Kg): 12, 12  (Last time's weight confirmed. Up)

Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 11, 11 (-1)

Rope Pushdown (23.75Kg): 12, 11 (-1)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 10, 9 (-1)

Cable Face Pulls(26.875Kg): 14, 13 (+1)

Triceps Machine (85Kg): 11, 8 (-5)

Standing DB-Curls (16Kg): 6, 6 (-1)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 10, 9 (-2)

DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 9 (-)

 

9 days since my last regular workout, the 5th day in an average 700kcal deficit, I'd say this was pretty great. Apparently, my triceps were quite fatigued after the bench and I lost most reps on the arm isos which is fine. I'll get back up there in no time. Overall this was a pretty good deload and while deficit + deload is not ideal, this brief it should be no problem. I don't really have a plan in terms of how long I will remain in a deficit, but from the psychological side this is very easy and I never feel all that hungry, work should make this even easier. I'm still very unhappy with how I look, at least regarding my mid-section, but I also want to progress. Maybe I'll end the cut when the lifts start to decline, maybe after this cycle, not sure.

One of my biggest goals for a while has been to bench my bodyweight for reps, i. E. x6 or so and I figured that if I struggle too much with getting up to benching ~72Kg, I'd rather cut a few Kgs until I'm benching that, heh. Or meet in the middle, benching and weighing 67.5 in a month or two.

 

Weight: 71.7Kg
Calories: 2057

Estimated Deficit: 593

[Disil]

As seems to be the standard, I had to take 2 rest days after my first workout back from the deload. This'll launch me right into a nasty Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun schedule, but eh, there really would be no issue with taking 2 rest days again after one of these. It's not like I'm bound to training on any specific day.

 

Workout for Sunday:

 

Bench Press (61Kg): 8, 8, 8, 8 (I decided not to increase the 8s after coming out of a deload and being in a deficit and good thing I didn't. While I was able to confirm 4x8, they were heavier than last time around. Not sure whether or not to increase to 62.5, I think I'll play it by ear and decide on the day of based on how I feel)

Chest-supported Rows (87.5Kg): 8, 8 (-)

Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 12, 12, 10 (+2 with new and improved form. Good)

Seated Cable Rows (58.25Kg): 10, 10 (Good. Up)

Lat Pulldown (67.5Kg): 10, 9 (Back up there with better form, previous best being 9, 9 at 70Kg on October 31)

Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 11, 11 (-)

Rope Pushdown (23.75Kg): 12, 10 (-1)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 4 (Had to skip these due to the gym closing 2 hours earlier because of New Year's...)

Cable Face Pulls(26.875Kg): 15, 13 (+1)

Triceps Machine (85Kg): 12, 9 (-3 to my previous best, +2 to last time)

Standing DB-Curls (16Kg): 6, 6 (-)

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

DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 6 (Had to skip these also. I really need to be better on time for the future, all this rushing sucks)

 

 

Pretty good, probably would've been even better with 60 minutes more to train..

 

Weight: 72.2Kg
Calories: 2166

Estimated Deficit: 484

[Disil]

Not enough sleep, slight stomach issues and lingering soreness all over my upper body were far from the best circumstances to re-attempt 4x6@65Kg and the pseudo deficit turned maintenance or more today and yesterday (more below) didn't help too much either.

 

Workout for Wednesday:

 

Bench Press (65Kg): 6, 6, 6*, 6 (Some of these were pretty all over the place or downright ugly, but I made it. With a spot for the last set, but I didn't need it thankfully. Still I'm not sure if I should go up, then again it's "only" by 1Kg to 66)

Chest-supported Rows (87.5Kg): 8, 9* (+1)

Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 12, 12, 9 (-1 again. These are starting to get annoying as hell)

Seated Cable Rows (59.5Kg): 10, 10 (Very heavy. Up)

Lat Pulldown (67.5Kg): 11, 10 (+2)

Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 12, 12 (+1 from my previous best)

Rope Pushdown (23.75Kg): 12, 12 (back to my previous best, but barely. Up)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 8, 7 (Meh)

Cable Face Pulls(26.875Kg): 15, 15 (+2. Up)

Triceps Machine (85Kg): 13, 11 (back to my previous best)

Standing DB-Curls (16Kg): 6, 7 (back to my previous best)

Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11, 10 (back to my previous best since doing these 2nd)

DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 9 (-)

 

Hell of a workout. I wonder what 9+ hours of sleep, no tummy troubles, no soreness and a designated surplus would've done for me. Let's find out next week!

 

Weight: 71.9Kg
Calories: 3457

Estimated Surplus: 807

 

Well, an Italian supplier sent us 1Kg of luxury chocolates/nougat for Christmas and goddamn I cannot control myself. I ended up eating like 15 of them for a total of around 1300kcal which of course messed up everything, but so be it. I weighed in at 71.4 the day after which is just funny.

[Disil]

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (57.5Kg*): 10, 10, 10, 10 (Whoa. The last two sets were hella difficult, both RPE 10 and the last one the closest to failure I've been in months. Up!)

Chest-supported Rows (87.5Kg): 8, 9 (-)

Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 12, 12, 10 (-)

Seated Cable Rows (60.75Kg*): 10, 10 (Incredibly heavy. Up)

Lat Pulldown (67.5Kg): 12*, 12* (+3. Up)

Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 13*, 12 (+1)

Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg*): 11, 10 (-)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 9, 8 (-)

Cable Face Pulls(27.5Kg*): 15, 15 (Immediately completed these. Wow. Up)

Triceps Machine (85Kg): 14*, 12* (+2)

Standing DB-Curls (16Kg): 7*, 7 (+1)

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

DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 10, 9 (-)

 

I entered this one well rested and hyped with a ton of food frontloaded and boy, good that I did, cause this was excellent.

 

Weight: 71.9Kg
Calories: 2448

Estimated Deficit: 382

[Disil]

Workout for Sunday:

 

Bench Press (62.5Kg*): 8, 7, 7, 7 (Well, I tried going up, but damn this was hard. The deficit the day before didn't help, sure, but all in all I felt pretty good going in. The 7s were at RPE 9.5, 9.5 and 10)

Chest-supported Rows (87.5Kg): 9*, 9 (+1)

Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 12, 11, 11 (-1, +1 ..sigh)

Seated Cable Rows (62Kg*): 8, 8 (New endboss right here)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 10*, 8 (+1 from my previous best back in October, nice start to 70Kg again)

Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 14*, 13* (+2)

Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg): 12*, 10 (+1)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 10, 9 (-)

Cable Face Pulls(28.125Kg*): 14, before that accidentally did 15 at 27.5 again (-)

Triceps Machine (85Kg): 15*, 12 (+1)

Standing DB-Curls (16Kg): 7, 7 (-)

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

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

 

Great stuff, despite not completing 4x8 with 62.5. More sleep, more food and next time I'll get 'em. But first 4x6x66Kg...scary stuff.

 

Weight: 72.3Kg
Calories: 3047

Estimated Surplus: 297

[Disil]

Only 6 hours of sleep from Sun -> Mon were subpar, but plenty of food helped. This on/off scheduled right now is so great, because whatever soreness I get the day after has always disappeared the 2nd day, meaning I go into each workout pretty much fully recovered. I might just keep it up, though I'm a bit worried that it might beat me up too much long term, but we'll see.

 

Workout for Tuesday:

 

Bench Press (66Kg*): 6, 6, 6, 6 (Holy fuck that was heavy. The last 2 with a spot, but still, given all 4 sets with 65Kg last week were RPE 10, this was phantastic. 67.5Kg though...damn Up)

Chest-supported Rows (87.5Kg): 10*, 10* (+2, boom! Up)

Seated Cable Rows (62Kg): 8, 9* (+1)

Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 12, 11, 10 (-1 again..clueless what to do)

Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 10, 10* (+2, whoo! Up)

Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 14, 14* (+1)

Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg): 12, 10 (-)

Single Arm Pushdown (13.75Kg): 10, 9 (-)

Cable Face Pulls(28.125Kg): 15, 13 (-)

Triceps Machine (85Kg): 15, 11 (-1)

Standing DB-Curls (16Kg): 7, 6 (-1)

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

DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 10, 9 (-2)

 

If not for the regression in the arm isos, surely due to the progress on compounds, and the dreaded shoulder press not getting better, this would've been excellent. Still good though, especially the bench and the pulling. My forearms gave me a little trouble as well in the end, unsurprisingly given all the strain they have to take each workout.

 

Weight: 72.3Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: ? (probably 4k or something along those lines)

 

After that workout, already being at around 3k, I just couldn't eat nothing or a measly protein shake so I just ate until I was full. No regrets.

[Disil]

When taking my pre-workout nap on Thursday, I overslept, woke up late, couldn't go to the gym anymore, which meant being forced to squeeze the gym in somewhere between after work and before the birthday I was invited to on Friday. I also had taken preworkout and napped too long so I couldn't fall asleep until after 2 am. Good times. Friday was super stressful and annoying and I need to go to the dentist because I've goot toothache in two spots so yeah..my expectations were not too high for this one.

 

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (58.5Kg*): 10, 10, 10, 10  (Hell yeah. Pretty close to failure on the last one, but getting all 4 felt incredible today)
Chest-supported Rows (90Kg*): 8, 8 (Great start)
Seated Cable Rows (62Kg): 9, 9* (+1)
Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 12, 10, 9 (-2 more reps, 3 less than my previous best. After checking in with my coach today, I will increase volume by another set and see if that will help me progress again)
Lat Pulldown (72.5Kg*): 9, 8 (Nice)
Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 14, 11 (I cleaned up execution on these which cost me 3 reps, but that's okay)
Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg): 12, 10 then 8 at 26.88Kg by accident (I decided to kick the unilateral variant in favor of a third set of these to put more emphasis on the lateral head of the triceps)
Cable Face Pulls(28.75Kg*): 13, 13 (Good start)
Triceps Machine (85Kg): 15, 11 (-1)
Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8, 8 (Decided to drop back down since I figured I would use more biceps doing 16 of these clean than 14 with 16Kg that use a lot of body english)
Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 11, 10 (-)
DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 10, 9 (-)

 

Good in a vacuum, great considering everything else.

 

Weight: 72.7Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: ?

 

Birthday party equals no clue about calories. I kept the alcohol somewhat in check, said no to a ton of drinks, ended up with 2 beers and 3 shots of peppermint liquor, felt mostly fine the day after sans some dehydration.

[Disil]

Workout for Sunday:

 

Bench Press (62.5Kg): 8, 8*, 8*, 8*  (+3. Spot for the last one. A true RPE 10 where form almost broke down. Damn)
Chest-supported Rows (90Kg): 8, 9* (+1)
Seated Cable Rows (62Kg): 8, 8 (-2)
Machine Shoulder Press (22.5Kg): 12, 12, 12, 12 (Reset by 10%+, added a set. This was still pretty difficult unfortunately. Up)
Lat Pulldown (72.5Kg): 10*, 8 (+1)
Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 14, 11 (-)
Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg): 12, 10, 9 (-)
Cable Face Pulls(28.75Kg*): 13, 14* (+1)
Triceps Machine (85Kg): 14, 11 (-1)
Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8, 8 (-)
Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 9, 9 (-3)
DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 9, 8 (-2)

 

Great first half. Arm isos sucked. Oh well.

 

Weight: 73.1Kg
Calories: ?

Estimated Surplus: ?

 

Didn't manage to count today, but kept things pretty in check. Surplus yes, but not all that big.

[Disil]

Workout for Tuesday:

 

Bench Press (66Kg): 6, 6  (Two RPE 10s, but I managed)
Seated Cable Rows (62Kg): 8, 9 (-)
Machine Shoulder Press (25Kg): 12 (-)
Lat Pulldown (72.5Kg): 10 (-)
Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 13 (-)
Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg): 12 (-)
Cable Face Pulls(28.75Kg): 15* (+1)
Triceps Machine (85Kg): 15 (-)
Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8 (-)
Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 10 (-)
DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 10 (-)

Rack-Pulls (60Kg): 5 (Guess now is a good time to introduce these back. I'm thinking about transitioning into a push/pull plan soon and these would work well there)

 

So what's going on? See below.

 

Weight: 71.8Kg
Calories: 1004

Estimated Deficit: 1781

Total Deficit after 2 days: 3435kcal

 

After a lot of back and forth, a few things happened. After the birthday party on Friday I'm through with any upcoming events for a while. I watched a YT video on bulking, bodyfat percentage and..well, stuff just makes sense and I know it, I've just tried to ignore it best I could to keep getting stronger, but even while it's difficult to judge with any precision, it doesn't matter if I'm 18%, 20% or 23%, it's all too much really. I also watched a video regarding PSMF, re-read Lyle's Rapid Fat Loss Handbook and decided to just jump in full force. I know that I'm having an easier time, cutting at severe deficits with sharper restrictions and I'm also primed to do a PSMF given my highest bodyfat percentage since like 2012. I also really need to hit a reset button on my nutrition in general, a lot less garbage, a lot less stuff killing my teeth (need to get probably 2 fixed because of that), my skin, etc. and something allowing for virtually no sugar and fat (except for the fish oil capsules and trace amounts) seems just right. Additionally, I really am never hungry right now and only eat for enjoyment/entertainment. It takes absolutely no effort mentally to diet at the moment. I could eat nothing and be fine for a week probably, but I need to get that 160g of protein in.

 

The idea is to do this for 2-3 weeks and go from there. I certainly want to keep bulking and the goal of 75Kg later this year; 70Kg ripped probably next year, is still very much there, but if I can strip a couple of kilos of pure fat right now, that'll be very helpful both from a personal standpoint as well as supporting those goals in a healthy manner.

 

Training will suck, of course, but it's only a very short timeframe. Sets were halved or cut to 1/3rd and if need be, I will reduce frequency too. Weight and reps will remain and the goal is to keep both up for all remaining sets by any means necessary. I'll probably do a refeed/high carb day once or twice during this PSMF to ensure that performance doesn't drop that much.

 

[Disil]

So, quick update: I ended up doing this for 10 days total, albeit with one refeed (2000cal, still a 753 deficit) and one normal deficit day (2145cal, 505 deficit), but that still leaves 8 days at 1004-1403cal. The total deficit was around 13900 which translates into 1.93Kg of fat, were I to lose nothing else which seems unrealistic. Still, the scale went down 3Kg within days for what was very little effort and my workout performance wasn't impacted much at all. Only my last workout yesterday was bad, but I had (unrelated to the PSMF) stomach pain all afternoon and just felt like crap in general that day. Mentally, this was super easy, I never felt hungry and based just on that I probably could do this for 3 weeks+, but I had a bunch of events come up and also feel like having some great workouts again, so I stopped at this point. I leaned out considerably too and will certainly implement this method again in the future, but for now, I hope to be able to keep bulking for a few months, get stronger and bigger, and then, once it's warmer and spring is approaching with summer around the corner, cut again.

[Disil]

Wednesday being the last day of my PSMF, the idea was get right back into things, even though I was fully aware I might end up with crippling soreness, but I really wanted and needed a full workout again. After fueling up 2 days straight, this was Friday evening:

 

Bench Press (58.5Kg): 10, 10, 10 (This was very difficult, but I managed to not lose any reps)
Seated Cable Rows (62Kg): 10, 9, 10 (-)
Machine Shoulder Press (25Kg): 13, 11, 10 (-)
Lat Pulldown (72.5Kg): 9, 8 (-)
Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 12, 10 (-)
Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg): 12, 11, 10 (-)
Cable Face Pulls(28.75Kg): 15, 12 (-)
Triceps Machine (85Kg): 14, 12 (-)
Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8, 8 (-)
Seated Incline DB-Curls (12Kg): 9, 9 (-)
DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 7, 7 (-)

Rack-Pulls (80Kg): 5 (-)

 

Good start I guess.

 

Weight: 70.4Kg
Calories: 3526

Estimated Surplus: 801

 

Overshot my target "a bit". Still, being down about 3kgs on a "heavy" weigh-in compared to 2 weeks ago is pretty great.

[Disil]

A lot of eating and sleeping, not much else. Still I wasn't feeling as great as I would have liked for this, mostly due to the severe soreness in my pecs. I also didn't nap because I had already slept 11 hours the night before and I forgot my elbow sleeve. Not too bad since I would have needed to check how I do without it sooner or later but..well

 

Bench Press (62.5Kg): 8, 8, 8 (This was very difficult, but I managed to not lose any reps - same as with the 3x10 last time. Elbow held up, but it was unfamiliar and just heavy as hell)
Seated Cable Rows (62Kg): 10, 10*, 10 (+1. Up I guess, tho that means a 5Kg jump to 67)
Machine Shoulder Press (25Kg): 12, 12, 9, 6 (Unfortunately, my left elbow started to hurt bad by the 3rd set)
Lat Pulldown (72.5Kg): 10, 10* (+2 from my previous best. Up)
Lateral Machine Raise (37.5Kg): 12, 7 (Left forearm started to hurt as well...)
Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg): 12, 11, 10 (-)
Cable Face Pulls(28.75Kg): 15, 14* (+2)
Triceps Machine (85Kg): 14, 10 (-)
Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8, 8, 8 (Decided to kick the incline curls for a 3rd set of these. Less dicking around with variations, more focus on a few things)
DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 7, 7 (-)

Rack-Pulls (85Kg): 5 (Getting heavier)

 

Not too bad, but I really hoped for more when bulking. Here's hoping it's just me getting acclimated with the volume again.

 

Weight: 71.4Kg
Calories: 3175

Estimated Surplus: 525

[Disil]

Work is very stressful right now. I sleep a ton, eat a ton. My left forearm still hurts somewhat, as does the elbow. I did something with my right hamstring, no clue what, but it hurts like a small tear or something, so I didn't do Rackpulls today. I wish I'd felt great going into this, but I didn't really. I also couldn't nap because the pain in my ham just didn't stop while I was lying there.

 

Bench Press (66Kg): 6, 6, 6 (So I bounced back from the horrible workout last time around where I only managed 5 and 3 reps for my two sets at this weight, but the last set I had a spotter and he didn't know what that meant, so he started helping ever so slightly for the last two reps. I would've gotten 5, but probably not 6. I think I'll go up regardless, since I already did 4x6 at this weight before and I simply need to facilitate some progress)
Seated Cable Rows (67Kg*): 9, 8, 8 (Very surprised by how well these went)
Machine Shoulder Press (27.5Kg): 10, 10, 10, 8 (Accidentally went up and first was crushed by how poorly these went until I realized I had done 2.5Kg more than planned)
Lat Pulldown (75Kg*): 8, 7 (+2 from my previous best. Up)
Lateral Machine Raise (35Kg): 13, 12 (To give my forearm some relief and improve sloppy technique, I decided to drop down one increment)
Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg): 10, 11, 9 (-3)
Cable Face Pulls(28.75Kg): 15, 15* (+1. Up)
Triceps Machine (85Kg): 14, 11 (-)
Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8, 8, 8 (-)
DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 15, 13 (Since these were supposed to be in the 12-15 rep range I decided to drop back down and keep working where I'm acually supposed to be at)

Rack-Pulls (85Kg): / (-)

Lateral DB Raises (5Kg): Two sets to failure, ~20 or so reps each (Since I feel that I don't get enough lateral delt activation out of the two machines, I decided to add these back in, as they truly burn my side delts, meaning I'm quite good at isolating them with these)

 

Eh. Nice progress on the pulling movements, not so much everything else.

 

Weight: 71.6Kg
Calories: 2982

Estimated Surplus: 332

[Disil]

Workout for Friday:

 

Bench Press (60Kg*): 10, 9, 9 (The jump from 58.5 to 60 really isn't that big, but these still felt incredibly difficult past 8 reps)
Seated Cable Rows (67Kg): 9, 9, 8 (+1)
Machine Shoulder Press (25Kg): 12, 12, 12, then 12 at 22.5Kg (.)
Lat Pulldown (75Kg): 8, 8* (+1)
Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg): 12, 11, 10 into a dropset (-)
Cable Face Pulls(29.375Kg*): 14, 13 (-)
Triceps Machine (85Kg): 12, 12 into a dropset (-)
Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8, 8, 9* (+1)
DB-Concentration Curls (12Kg): 10, 9 (-)

Rack-Pulls (85Kg): 5 (-)

Lateral DB Raises (6Kg): 20, 20, then 20 at 5Kg (-)

 

Workouts are mediocre, I need (and get) a ton of sleep, food is plentiful, work stress is rather high. I was hoping that the vast reduction in volume during the PSMF would act as a sort of deload, apparently it only served  to maintain, but given that following a deload week during the holidays, I ran 8 pretty great workouts, progressing quite a bit, before the PSMF and now had 4 not so great workouts after it, that makes 12 in total, so exactly 4 weeks worth of training aka one cycle usually. That I am currently overreaching (moving towards overtraining) is the only way I can interpret what is going on and the only solution is a proper deload, as much as that proposition annoys and frustrates me after having just gotten back on track with volume following the diet. Oh well.

 

Weight: 72.0Kg
Calories: 3034

Estimated Surplus: 384

[Disil]

So I spent the following week deloading with only 2 instead of 3 workouts on Monday and Thursday, both with 80% of working weights and half the sets (rounded up). My first one back was on Sunday, but I went in with slightly decreased weights here and there:

 

Bench Press (60Kg): 8, 8, 8 (-)
Seated Cable Rows (67Kg): 8, 8, 8 (-)
Machine Shoulder Press (22,5Kg): 12, 12, 12 (-)
Lat Pulldown (67.5Kg): 12, 12 (-)
Rope Pushdown (23.75Kg): 12, 12, 12 (-)
Cable Face Pulls(29.375Kg): 14, 12 (-)
Triceps Machine (80Kg): 12, 12 (-)
Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8, 8, 8 (-)
DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 14, 11 (-)

Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 13, 13 (-)

Rack-Pulls (85Kg): 5 (-)

 

This was an okay start.

 

Weight: 72.5Kg

Calories: 3093

Estimated Surplus: 303

 

Weight has ben more or less stagnant at roughly 72.0 for 2 weeks now, this day being a spike and an exception. No problem though, just getting acclimated and slowly gonna increase from here.

[Disil]

I started getting a sore throat on Monday, but thankfully, my nose, sinuses etc. are unaffected. Work is super brutal right now, but I still went to the Gym, not wanting to let this deload go to waste.

 

Workout for Tuesday

 

Bench Press (63.5Kg): 6, 6, 6 (I sure felt that I hadn't moved anything remotely heavy for a while, but there still was a bit left in the tank.)
Seated Cable Rows (67Kg): 9, 9, 9* (+1)
Machine Shoulder Press (22.5Kg): 12, 12, 12, 12 (Easy. Up)
Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 12, 10 (Somewhere along the lines I fucked up and only went to 10 with these so I dropped back down from 75, aiming for 12 reps again now)
Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg): 12, 11, 9 (-1 from my previous best)
Cable Face Pulls(29.375Kg): 15*, 13 (+1)
Triceps Machine (82.5Kg): 15, 15 (-)
Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8, 8, 9 (-)
DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): 15, 11 (+1)

Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 15, 15 (+4, but barely)

Rack-Pulls (87.5Kg): 5 (-)

 

Today this certainly qualifies as amazing. So happy that I went.

 

Weight: 71.9Kg
Calories: 3005

Estimated Surplus: 355

[Disil]

My throat has gotten worse, but thankfully everything above and below seems mostly fine, sans some runny nose here and there. Work was borderline intolerable, but I somehow made it through Wednesday and then the rest of the week. I immediately called in 3 impromptu off days next week, so I'm looking at 5 days off work in a row now which is badly needed. With all of that going in, my expectations  for this one were quite low.

 

Workout for Friday

 

Bench Press (56Kg): 10, 10, 10 (These felt I guess appropriately hard for the day, not for what I can/should normally be able to do)
Seated Cable Rows (67Kg): 9, 9, 8 (-1)
Machine Shoulder Press (25Kg): 12, 12, 12, 12 (A bit of a struggle. I think I will stay here for a sec)
Lat Pulldown (70Kg): 12, 9 (-1)
Rope Pushdown (24.375Kg): 12, 12, 12 (Unfortunately, extended breaks between sets skewed these numbers a bit, but eh, I'll take it. Up)
Cable Face Pulls(29.375Kg): 15, 15 (+2. Up)
Triceps Machine (85Kg): 15, 12 (Back to my previous best a while ago)
Standing DB-Curls (14Kg): 8, 8, 8 (-)
DB-Concentration Curls (10Kg): - (Skipped these due to time constraints)

Lateral DB Raises (8Kg): 15, 11, 16 (My side delts were completely fried from the 48x25Kg press before. Good.)

Rack-Pulls (90Kg): 5 (-)

 

Eh. Could have been worse. I just hope that all the stress from being sick and work being terrible hasn't invalidated everything I did with the deload

 

Weight: 72.7Kg
Calories: 3457

Estimated Surplus: 807