Learning and Lifting - A student's tale

[Cat in the rack]

Slept surprisingly well last night, not sure exactly why but I'm not complaining. Woke up around 7, not much to do today so it's gonna be a relaxing day. I didn't get time to do some cooking yesterday so I should get it done today, I also have a supermarket delivery coming later.

The rota this month is pretty full-on, we need another staff member soon. I'm working Monday to Friday, around 35 hours a week total. There's a 7.30-15.30 on Monday which is always long, a 9.00-16.00 on Tuesday which is less long but still long, then the rest are 14.00-20.00 which is nice and easy. One thing I'll say about evening shifts is that we store cooked chicken breast by the bucketload, and I may use the fact that I'm the only one around to my advantage in order to not pay for chicken breast, interpret that as you may.

I ordered some new clothes some of which arrived yesterday, just boxers, socks and a single T-shirt, there's more coming over the next few days. Odds are as I'm a size small now that in a couple of months they won't fit very well, at which point I'll wear my older size mediums, then a few months later when I start losing weight I should be able to fit into these clothes again, the circle of life.

I weighed in at 67.8kg this morning, which is a nice change from 67.5, but still exactly the same as what I started this month at, if there's no net gain by Monday I'll have to think about upping the calories again, though I may want to wait until after the deload week is over.

Anyway, that's all folks, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Woke up this morning at half 6 with a weigh-in of 68.3kg, aka around 150 lbs, glad to see anything that isn't 67.5kg at this point. 10 days in and a net gain of .7kg ain't bad, just under 2 lbs, providing it doesn't skyrocket over the next couple days or shoot straight back down. Ate bfast and headed to the gym for heavy OHP day.

Built up to 47.5kg for 3 sets of 5, makes me very optimistic about next week when I try for a new max on each of the four lifts. I did 5 sets of 5 fat grip chin-ups between warm-up sets, if I can do 5x5 with fat grips I gotta be able to do a few more without, it'll be interesting to see the difference between the two next week. This was followed by dumbbell rows and dumbbell bench press, both for 5 sets of 8, both with 20kg, both with fat grips. Then after that was dips for 5 sets of 6, felt a little easier given that I only had two pushing exercises prior. Then to finish barbell curls for 5 sets of 12 with 20kg and fat grips. Gonna be nice to increase the weight on curls, if only so I'm not curling an empty barbell.

I finished up with some cardio, 15 minutes alternating between punch bag and jump rope, both of which I'm not particularly great at, both of which I'm gonna try to work on more than I have been. I realised recently that the reason I didn't do jump rope between sets before was because my gym was so crowded 24/7, this one's a tad more spacious so I'm gonna start that again where I can, get the practice in. Headed home a little exhausted, as of right now I have under 2 hours before I have to leave for work, and I've yet to even shower, I also need to bulk cook some sweet potato today as I won't have time before lunch tomorrow, so I'll put em in the oven then jump in the shower. Shaving keeps slipping my mind, it's only not been a problem because my summer has involved little face-to-face interaction, gotta get back in the habit of doing it daily.

Anyway, I think that's everything. Saturday I have to go to a neice's birthday party which I am not particularly excited about, I also have to get a haircut, plus I wanna do some cardio. I'm not looking forward to the deload week after next week, but who actually likes deloads? Besides, after a week of pushing for new maxes I'll probably need it. Squat, deadlift and OHP its okay to hit failure because the bar can just fall down without hitting me, which is why I'm a little concerned about pushing for a bench max. Anybody who's ever asked a stranger for a spot on bench press knows that 100% of the time they ignore everything you say (ie, "don't touch the bar unless it's stuck on my chest", "do not touch the bar unless it's stuck on my chest", or the most common one "I said not to touch the fucking bar unless it's stuck on my chest you fucking invalid"), the worst is when the bar is moving slowly up and they just start cupping the bar and nudging it up, thanks dickhead, now I've exhausted my energy moving the weight but it doesn't technically count.

Went on a slight tangent there, but my point is I'm gonna have to plan around idiots at the gym not following basic instructions, either I'm gonna have to find someone I know and talk to them like they're three years old so they understand not to touch the bar, or go no-clips so I can slide the weight off, or just ask someone nearby to keep an eye out in case the bar gets stuck on my chest. Knowing my luck if I went with that last one the guy would see the bar moving slowly and rush over to save the day. What is it about spotting on bench press that gives everyone the mindset that they need to save the day? You are there in case I fail, you do not have to help out if up your help is not needed. I reckon I'll go for one of the no-spotter options, even the people that don't touch the bar tend to keep their hands within a centimetre of it which just throws me off because I panic thinking they're about to grab it or nudge it or some other method of ruining everything.

Anyway, that's all, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Up at half 6 with a weigh-in of 68.5kg, had bfast and headed off to the gym. First on the schedule was squats 10 sets of 3 with 105kg, which were strenuous but I made it through them. Followed that with deadlifts 5 sets of 8 with 70kg, more form work than anything. Then after that was leg press 5 sets of 8 with 110kg. After legs work was abs work, 5 sets of 6 leg raises then 5 sets of 60 second planks. I did a little jump rope between most sets, and I think I'm improving, then I ended with some jump rope and punch bag work. Headed home incredibly hungry, ate, and here we are.

Next week I'll be pushing for new maxes, and because of this the assistance work won't be pushed too hard, gonna keep to what I've already done (I'd dumbbell bench and rows for 5 sets of 8 with 20kg, 5 sets of 8 for squats and deadlifts with 70kg, etc) and then push for heavier weight or more reps starting next cycle.

Gotta leave for work in a little over 2 hours, so I gotta prep dinner and shower before then. Tomorrow I don't have work but I have to go to a child's birthday party as much as I may not really want to. Not exactly sure how I'll handle food tomorrow as I gotta leave around 2, but I guess if I stick to my first 2 meals and then I'll eat after I get home to make up for how short I estimate I am on calories/macros. I also have to get a haircut tomorrow, I think it's a little overdue, but yesterday I got a compliment on my hair so now I don't know what to believe, though I got it cut too short last time which was like 7 weeks ago.

Got some more clothes delivered yesterday, I think all I have left to arrive is some boxers and some socks. Got a total of three new short sleeve T-shirts in size small which are pretty similar but different colours, and one long-sleeve T-shirt in size small, I never usually go for long-sleeve so I thought I'd give it a go, it'll be better come winter as I don't like wearing hoodies all the time. Yes, soon they probably won't fit, but they will start fitting again a little while after.

I estimate I should want to make sure I have 3 months to cut, but I don't want to be cutting during exams which take place in both January and June, and I don't want to be cutting during the summer because as of now I'm not sure of where I'll be living, whether I'll be working, how often I'll be able to get to the gym, so on so forth. Because of this that pretty much narrows it down to February or March as a starting date for the cut, so not much room to allow for alterations. Still, if I assume I'll start cutting March 1st, and I assume my bulking progress continues at the same rate it has been going, that puts me at 159 lbs, 6 lbs under my target but still an improvement of 14 lbs aka exactly one stone, so at least it's a nice round amount I guess. Of course I've only got 2 months to go on, but the average was 2 lbs a month and I gotta assume that'll be the minimum as the first month saw less net gain than the second, plus I've nearly seen 2 lbs gain already this month and it's not even halfway through, plus I've got a deload coming up.

Anyway, exactly 2 hours until I have to leave now, better go get ready and stuff, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Yesterday's shift wound up being incredibly stressful for me, and not for the usual reasons. I won't go into too much detail, but I discovered yesterday that my fear of small hands is actually more serious than I thought, I handed some kid a capri sun, and as he took it his hand briefly touched mine, and it just really freaked me out. At first it was just kind of creeped out, but the weird feeling in my hand wouldn't go away and within 20 minutes all I could think about was peeling the skin off my hand to get rid of it. It didn't help that there were kids in the cafe for the next hour, I really couldn't stop being freaked out, which I hid from the customers and reception staff of course, but I did just forget to make coffee orders on about three occasions because I was so distracted, luckily none of those customers were impatient. Took me about 2 hours total before I could even remotely relax.

Anyway, moving on to today, woke up around half 6, weighed in at 67.5kg again, and apart from a cup of coffee and lots of water that's all I've done. Gonna try to get in the habit of eating at around 8 (with the exception of morning gym days) because there are gonna be at least two days a week I can't get to the gym until 12-1ish and I'd probably eat a snack just before leaving for lectures and then bfast during the break half way through the lecture, so that when I get to the gym it'll have been 1 1/2 to 2 hours since having last ate. Though that's based on my timetable as it is now, and I'm fairly certain it's going to change soon, as the online timetables went offline almost immediately after being put up.

I was actually looking forward to cardio today, but alas I can't. I gotta go get a haircut at some point in the morning and then in not too long I have to go to *sigh* my 8 or something year old nieces birthday, which is exactly what I'd want after yesterday (note the sarcasm). Plus tomorrow I shouldn't do cardio with any intensity because the following day begins a week of PR attempts and I don't want to be fatigued at all. Still, just because this ain't my week for cardio days doesn't mean all bad, I have done decent cardio postworkout twice I think, and on top of that yesterday I did jump rope between almost every set which must have built up to a decent amount. I think that's a good target actually, three decent sessions of cardio a week, plus a cardio day if I can fit it in.

Yesterday I handed a list of the hours I could work to my manager with the understanding that I want three shifts a week. The hours I gave are arranged as such around my lecture timetable that I could get to the gym every day, not that I necessarily will, gotta get at least one rest day in a week with no lifting or high intensity cardio. Of course my lecture timetable will almost definitely change, so the hours I gave will also probably change, hopefully not too drastically though.

Anyway, that's it for today, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Up at half 6 with a weigh-in of 69.2kg, likely a fluctuation because of eating differently yesterday and tomorrow it'll drop back down. Made bfast because I was pretty hungry, ate at like 5 yesterday.

Not a whole lot on the agenda today, I wanted to download a bunch more music for the gym but my laptop's playing up as per usual so that'll have to wait. I got three of the books for the next semester at uni so I might have a look through those briefly, gonna take advantage of the fact that I don't have lectures yet, seeing as I plan on working particularly hard this year, after all the grade I get actually matters now, and admittedly I did coast a little during the second semester last year, though I still got a 2:1 so maybe that's a bad comparison.

Anyway, gonna go do... things, I dunno, not much to do really. I did mop the floors earlier which was long overdue, and I'll probably clean my bathroom, probably the kitchen too. I hope that all my housemates aren't as complacent when it comes to cleaning as the one currently living here. That's about everything, so looking forward to next week's gym, less forward to the following weeks deload, and then the following week will be the start of my first cycle after recalculating my maxes. Have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Up at half 6 with a weigh-in that I don't remember because it was like 12 hours ago now. Left for work just after 7 because I had to open today, and had a looooong shift. Honestly it went pretty quick today, which is weird because there were times when the place was dead. I ate for the last time before the gym at around half 1, then finished work at 3. Preworkout was 2 scoops of grenade and 1 scoop of mypre, three scoops gave me an unbelievable buzz, I was moving faster and more focussed, definitely like having 3 scoops, though hopefully it won't have any effect on my sleep given I took it in the afternoon. I was also wearing new gym trousers, they're technically pyjama bottoms, but they are way better than any of my other gym trousers. Not too thick like most tracksuit bottoms and plenty of manoeuvrability.

Whilst warming up for bench press I threw in a max set of pull-ups, only made it to 5, but my goal this year is 6 so I should be able to make it in the next 3 months. Built up to 72.5kg which I did for 2 reps, the second rep went pretty slow so I expected a single at 75kg to be a grinder. I asked a guy for a spot, and he understood that I didn't want him to touch the bar, but 75kg shot up so it didn't matter. Then I put 77.5kg on, used the same spotter, it went up slowly but not painfully slowly, and bonus the spotter didn't put his hands anywhere near the bar. 77.5kg was as heavy as I anticipated going, but 80kg is my goal for the year so I went for it, the bar got halfway up, then stopped, then went back down, and then the spotter pulled it back up. I was glad he followed my instruction, a rare treat in my experience. 3 months to get my max bench up 2.5kg? Easy. I don't plan to test my maxes again until December, I think I can make it to 85kg in that time.

After the heavy bench press was fat grip dumbbell rows, nothing new, just 20kg for 5 sets of 8, like I've said before, I'm not pushing for anything heavier than I've already done for accessory work during this PR week. Then fat grip dumbbell overhead press, which I haven't don't before so I was testing the water, ended up settling at 14kg for 5 sets of 8, not too heavy but not too light., I'll be pushing it heavier next cycle. I did it seated because I figure standing will get difficult when it gets heavier, but I didn't raise the back of the bench, so it was seated without my back rested against anything. After that it was dips for 5 sets of 8, went up surprisingly easy, I'm undecided about how many reps I'll go for before adding weight, at least 12, maybe more. Then to end was fat grip barbell curls, 22.5kg for 5 sets of 8, I'm surprised at how fast the weight is going up on this, I was at 5x8 for 20kg at the start of the cycle, I reckon I'll be up to 25kg by the end of the next cycle. On top of that over the last two months my arms have increased by 1/4 of an inch, doesn't sound like much but given increasing my arm size isn't a main focus I'm happy about it.

I did jump rope between most sets as I recently planned to do, and given how some people were looking at me either it was impressive or annoying, I'm gonna go with impressive regardless of whether it's true, I'm definitely improving though. Postworkout I did 12 minutes total of jump rope and punch bag work, using a pattern of 4 minutes without rest then 1 minute rest, trying to work on my cardio endurance a little by going as long as I can without stopping. Not pushing it too hard though becaus I want to repeat a couple times. Then 6 minutes meditation before leaving the gym.

Got home, ate pancakes, and here we are. Gonna fill out my gym table, plan next cycles bench lifts (gonna be going 67.5kg for 5+, 72.5kg for 3+, and 75kg for 1+, so same as if I hadn't tested a PR today), eat again soon enough, smaller dinner because I had to eat more preworkout, probably shower before bed. I am pretty exhausted after today, but in a good way, so that's all for today, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Up at 7 with a weigh-in of 68.7kg, just over 2 lbs over where I started this month. Did not sleep well last night, possibly because of preworkout in the afternoon, if I don't sleep well tonight I'll know to avoid it. Left for work which started at 9, then had a long-ass shift. Fate really conspired against me and I was exhausted before I even got to the gym, so right now I'm unbelievably tired.

Built up to 100kg on squats for 3 reps which felt much heavier than it should have, then 110kg for 2 reps, followed by 115kg for 1 rep. Went for 120kg but couldn't get up all the way, had I been in a little better condition I think I would have managed it. Thankfully from October onwards I'll never be heading to the gym earlier than 2 so this shouldn't be an issue in the future.

After squats I did deadlifts for 5x8 with 70kg, then leg press for 5x8 with 110kg, hanging leg raises for 5x6, then 5 sets of 1-minute planks. Jump rope was nowhere near as good as yesterday, and I was too exhausted for cardio after, so I headed home, ate, and here we are. I'm still 10kg under my goal for squats this year, but on Thursday I'll be going for OHP and I'm pretty sure I'll hit 55kg which is my OHP goal this year. Deadlifts my goal is 140kg but I'm not too confident on hitting it soon, perhaps I'll get lucky though.

I don't have gym tomorrow but I do have work, at least it's at 2 and not a morning shift, I don't plan on setting an alarm. Anyway, I am soooooo exhausted, so have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Up at 7 with a weigh-in of 68.4kg aka about 1 1/2 lbs net gain this month. Much better sleep last night than the night before I'm glad to say. Based on how my training is planned I should hit this year's squat goal of 120kg in November, however December will also have a max test week so I could get way over that.. The same goes for bench press, rather than push as heavy as I can I'm aiming to hit my goal this year and see how higher I can go. After the 1RM test week in December I'll plan my goals for 2016, though if I hit all my goals this year I'm thinking 160kg for squats, 100kg for bench, 180kg for deadlift, and above bodyweight for OHP (so 75kg max).

Anyway, not much on the agenda until work, gotta cook some sweet potato, and it's a 2-8 shift today. Gonna relax and recover for a well-earned rest day. I've hit failure once each day so far this week so it's no wonder I need rest. I was talking to someone at work who recently benched 110kg for a 1RM yesterday and he mentioned that a- he's been lifting since he was 15 (he's in his late 20s now I think) and b- that he was surprised that after just a year of lifting I'm where he was after like 8. He also said he thought a 100kg bench would be years away, though I think it's a case that he's more of a brolifter so his progress is really inefficient, the fact that his bench is higher than his squat sort of confirms this.

That's all for today I think, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Up at around half 6 with a weigh-in of 69kg, aka 1.2kg net gain aka 3 lbs net gain this month, pretty high but probably a fluctuation. Had bfast and headed to the gym for 8.

Gym was pretty good, after warming up for OHP and chin-ups I hit a chin-up max of 10 reps, aka this year's goal. Then I built up OHP, first 50kg for 2 reps, then 52.5kg for a single, then 55kg for a single, aka this year's goal. I decided not to push for 57.5kg, I hit my year's goal so there was no need to risk failure pushing for more, plus the first rep is always the slowest for me on OHP, probably because of a lack of stretch reflex. So two new PRs made for a good start to the workout.

After that was the accessory work, dumbbell rows and dumbbell bench press, each for 5x8 with 20kg fat grip dumbbells, no problem there. Then 5x8 dips which went up easy, and 5x8 fat grip barbell curls with 22.5kg. So overall a great workout, though I'm looking forward to pushing the accessory work a little more, being a PR week the only things I've pushed for new bests are the 4 main compound lifts and pull/chin-ups.

Did jump rope between most sets as per usual, went pretty well, and ended with 10 minutes on the punch bag plus jump rope. Jump rope has improved I think, made it to 40 seconds in one go, guess that means I need to aim for a minute now. I've also decided to keep cardio to upper body days, that'll give me three times a week.

Started prepping dinner for tonight, got a 2-8 shift again, and I am so looking forward to having fewer shifts when lectures start again in October. I've asked for 3 a week and given only times I know I can fit around lectures and gym, if it's too exhausting I'll ask for fewer, but I think I can handle it. I've decided that in January I'm gonna switch to 3 full body sessions a week for a while, that way when it comes time to cut I'll have reduced intensity in the gym, don't think I'd be able to handle my current routine in a caloric deficit. I'll stick to that routine until I'm finished cutting, so that should be the first 6 months of 2016, I'm not 100% sure what I'll do after that, might revert to my current routine, might try something new, but whatever I do I'll stick to it until at least the end of the year.

Anyway, I have still got to shower, and fill in my gym table, and plan OHP for the next cycle, I'm thinking I'll build up to 52.5kg, seeing as that's what I'd have done if today wasn't a 1RM testing day, it seems this progression system is perfect for me at the moment. Only deadlifts left to test now, aka the lift I'm least confident with seeing improvements, nevertheless I'll give it a go, might make 140kg which is my goal this year for deadlifts. That's all, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Up at around half 6 with a weigh-in of 69.3kg, which was surprising, I'll be very surprised if I don't weigh a fair bit less tomorrow morning. Made bfast, prepped preworkout, headed to the gym for a heavy deadlift day.

Spoiler alert: it wasn't brilliant. 120kg went up for 2 reps, then 130kg for 1 reps, then 140kg for... a grand total of zero reps, it didn't even budge. 135kg might have gone up for a grinder but I decided not to try it. Still undecided exactly how I'll plan out deadlifts for the final 3 months of the year but I'm gonna aim for 140kg in December.

After deadlifts was squats for 5x8 with 70kg and leg press for 5x8 with 110kg. Then some abs work, 5x6 hanging leg raises and 5 sets of 60 second planks. Fairly easy, getting used to planks now.

Anyway, got home, ate, gotta shower and get ready for work. I'm gonna try to take naps regularly, my version of a good nights sleep differs greatly from most, I consider just about getting 7 hours to be great. I'd love to just sleep longer, but it's just not gonna happen, and even though I wake up easily without an alarm I always look pretty tired an hour or so later. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing. Of course I won't always have half an hour free to nap, with lectures and gym and work coming up, but I'll try. Oh, and since I started drinking a decaf coffee an hour or so before bed I've been sleeping better, don't know if it's a coincidence or what but I guess we'll see.

Speaking of which, lecture timetable was updated and October has 8-11 contact hours a week assuming it doesn't update again which it might, though I don't know what I'll be working yet. I have my training all planned out in 4 week cycles, with 4-5 training days a week and a deload at the end.

Aaaaand speaking of deloads I'm now starting one, gonna keep caffeine down and weights down and general enthusiasm down. I'm sure it'll wreck havoc with my sleeping patterns but we'll have to wait and see. I'm also going to take week 1 of the next cycle without preworkout, just stick to coffee, then week 2 will be single scoop and week 3 will be double. In the meantime, not much apart from work to do today, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Up at around half 6 with a weigh-in of 69.3kg, it's strange how I seemingly gained 2 lbs overnight, but ah well. Haven't got much to do today, laundry, a little cooking, got a delivery coming, that's about it. Quiet day really, quiet, boring, etcetera.

Yep, that is literally it.

Have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Similar day to yesterday, up at 7 with a weigh-in of 69.5kg today, it's weird how much higher of a net gain I've had this month, 1.7kg so far this month, averaging like 1 1/2 lbs a week. I guess we've just gotta wait and see how much more weight I gain this month.

I did a remeasure of my waist and it was at around 29", I've been typically between 28-29" so maybe some slight gain but nothing substantial as of yet. Quiet boring day just like yesterday, but tomorrow I'll have an 8 hour shift at work followed by a deload session in the gym, then also I have plans with friends.

Anyway, really not anything else to say, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Jesus, a weigh-in at 6.30 of 69.8kg, I've no idea why it's shooting up so much lately but it should stop soon enough, maybe it's my energy stores all refilling during the deload. Left for work which went by fairly quickly actually, even if my legs were exhausted by the end of it. Headed up to the gym at around quarter to 3.

Upper body deload today, bench press 5x5, dumbbell row 5x10, OHP 5x5, pull-ups 5x1, dips 5x2 and chin-ups 5x2. I was way too exhausted for cardio afterwards so it was back home after that, damn work got me tired. I'm going out with friends tonight, and tomorrow I don't have anything planned. I might try to get to the gym for a lower body deload depending on how I feel, but odds are I'll save it for Wednesday. Then Thursday will be the last day before the new cycle so I'll be doing a very light deload day. I have to start the next cycle on Friday for a few reasons, but basically there are a couple days I can't make it to the gym and this is the only way to avoid them all without altering my program.

The no-caffeine week is on its third day and a lot less difficult than the first time I did it. I'll definitely have to take a nap before I go out tonight though as I'll probably be out late, don't wanna have caffeine right in the middle of the caffeine-free week. I am so eager to get back in the gym properly, this deload stuff is so boring.

Anyway, that's about it, nothing else to say really, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Okay, a lot to go through. Last night I hit some clubs and drank a little, so on top of the alcohol the caffeine-free week was ruined by jaeger bombs, not that it's too much of an issue.

Woke up at half 7 for god knows what reason with a weigh-in of 69.1kg, then went back to bed until half 10 where I had a weigh-in of 68.5kg. Obviously these numbers are nothing to go on, I'll have to let a couple of days pass before my weight levels out properly.

I had bfast at like 11, and though I wanted to go to the gym for a deload or some light cardio I couldn't, wound up preoccupied until around 6. Had steak for dinner tonight, a lucky coincidence. It's been a real struggle not to pass out, but I'll probably get a fairly early night tonight. Not gonna set an alarm, so whether or not I go to the gym for a deload session is entirely dependent on when I wake up, I figure getting sufficient sleep after only getting around 2 hours last night is more important. Then Thursday will be a very light deload session, as Friday is the start of a new cycle.

That's all for now, tomorrow's post will hopefully be decent, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Slept in somewhat today, but woke up with a weigh-in of 69.6kg, which like I said doesn't really matter on it's own. No gym today unfortunately but I will tomorrow. This hasn't been the best deload week of all time, for one it's only six days total because I have to start the next cycle early, and for another there's only going to have been two total gym days. But ya know, if any gym sessions were to be interrupted by a night out clubbing until 4am I'd choose deload days over regular days.

Everyone's gonna be moving in this and next week it seems, gonna have to keep work and gym up despite that, shouldn't be too difficult. Looking forward to it, and I'm also looking forward to getting back into the gym properly. The week free of caffeine may have been interrupted somewhat, but I may as well keep it going until Friday, it's only two days but it's better than nothing.

As for today, got the closing shift today at work, not too much else to do besides that, gotta prep dinner for work which shouldn't take too long. Yep that's about it, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

I was wrong about the most recent deload week, there hasn't been 2 gym sessions, there was 1, because I caught something from a housemate and feel absolutely awful, hence no post yesterday. I still feel awful but not as awful, I didn't go to work yesterday and today my shift will only be 3 hours instead of 6. I did go to the gym today but kept it to a minimum with just pull-ups for sets of 4 and then bench press for which I did only one set of 5 for 67.5kg. Basically just got it out of the way, bare minimum possible, was in and out in about 20 minutes.

I'm struggling to eat lately because of whatever it is that's wrong with me, yesterday I barely ate, and today I struggled to get through bfast. I'll probably just have the pancake for postworkout meal with none of the sweet potato or peanut butter, and I might not even finish that. I'll probably pick up some soup on the way to work, I always want soup when I'm sick. I'm surprised work wants me there today seeing as I could be contagious, plus the job is entirely serving people drinks and food, plus I look like absolute shit today.

I have a 9-1 shift tomorrow which I'm dreading, gonna have to go to bed early tonight. Depending on how I feel at the end of the shift I might go up to the gym, but it is squat day so I'll have to feel at least slightly alive. So long as I hit the four lifts for 5/3/1 it shouldn't have too drastic a hit on my strength, though I am a little concerned about deadlift day, there's no way I can do that unless I'm feeling a little better.

Anyway, I'm gonna force some food down my throat and relax until my shift which starts at 4, wish me luck.

[Cat in the rack]

Okay so I decided to head to the doctor and it turns out I've got some sort of throat infection, fairly sure I caught it from a housemate, but another housemate moved in yesterday and I'm pretty sure I gave it to them. Was told not to go into work for at least 48 hours and they put me on 10 days of penicillin. I should be at least mostly better by Monday, I actually feel a little better already but I haven't tried to eat yet, though my neck and throat and head is still sore.

I probably should have just done a lower body deload yesterday in the gym, as I plan to just start the cycle properly on Monday if I'm feeling better. It's not ideal in terms of when it places many of my training days but I can make it work. Seeing as I was able to manage a set of 5 with bench for 67.5kg I'm sure I can nail it on Monday no problem. I doubt the one heavy set bench and two working sets of pull ups won't have been too draining.

I made the foolish error of thinking I could go to sleep early yesterday and wake up at a normal time this morning, 4am I woke up. I weighed in at 67.8kg which is what I started this month at, but obviously I can expect my weight to be a little down at the moment. I popped my pills, and have since been doing very little.

I'm gonna go see if I can eat, generally how well I can eat is a perfect indication of how ill I am. I've gotten sick a couple of times since starting uni a year ago, but it's not like it's been for no reason, first time was just freshers flu, then food poisoning, and now an infection I caught from a housemate. I guess that's what happens when you move somewhere new with hundreds of other people doing the same thing.

Anyway, that's all, hopefully tomorrow I'll be chirpy as ever, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Alrighty, up at 7 this morning with a weigh-in of 68.4kg, just glad to see it returning to normal. And I'm feeling better today, popping pills all the time but headaches mostly gone, neckache is still there a little, got a fever last night a bit but not at all so far today, stomach feels good, eating pretty much exactly as I usually do, throat still feels a little swollen but clearly not as badly as before. I reckon I'll wake up tomorrow feeling better than ever. Then again I do have work at 7.30 tomorrow so I may disagree at the time. Unfortunately I'm opening so there's no moving the shift a little later. Good news is I can use illness as an excuse to take it a little easy, not that it gets terribly busy as is.

Also on the agenda tomorrow is heading back into the gym, gonna retcon that last workout and start this cycle fresh. I feel good enough to have headed back today so tomorrow should be no problem. I will back off if come Wednesday I'm feeling awful again, but so long as I keep taking the penicillin and paracetamol I should be fine.

I've made a decision about preworkouts, and that's that I'm only going to take them when I feel I need them. So if all goes as planned I should be hitting the gym Monday for bench with preworkout because I got work before, Tuesday for squats so I'll take pre only if I feel off, Wednesday for OHP with no pre, Friday for deads definitely with pre because deads, and Saturday for bench 10x3, which may or may not have pre.

Got some new clothes delivered today, and I'm amassing quite the wardrobe over summer break. Just got like 5 new T-shirts, mostly long sleeve, three of them feel a little too baggy for wearing out but a- that might change after they go through the wash a couple times, b- they were the cheapest ones I got anyway, and c- I purposely get some smalls and some mediums because smalls sometimes come out a little tight plus I like having clothes to lounge around the house or for casual get togethers.

In hindsight, I should have added a fourth working week onto the last training cycle so that this week would be a deload, but ya know, coulda shoulda woulda. Might be difficult with freshers, but I should have Thurs-Sun off (providing my manager remembered this time) so work won't get in the way at least, and if I don't have work then I can roll into the gym whatever time of day,

Anyway, overall I'm in a good mood, feel like catching tonsillitis or whatever it is was just the storm before the calm, and everything should be great for a second year at uni. Have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Busy busy busy so a quick update today.

Feel great, pretty much entirely healthy again. Nailed it at the gym for a bench upper body day on pretty much everything, grip especially has clearly improved, chest feels like it's been growing, couldn't do cardio at the end because the punch bag was taken.

I signed up for a health MOT on Thursday, not entirely sure what measurements or whatever they do but I'm looking forward to it, also signed a friend up as my plus one on my staff membership.

Got back, ate, gonna go shower, then probably go out later tonight seeing as work isn't until 2 tomorrow, I could leave getting up until 10.30 and still do gym before work starts. Have a good one.

Oh and nearly forgot, a decent weigh-in of 69kg today, around here would be a good ending point for the month. Have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Woke up at like 8 with a weigh-in of 68.9kg. Ate and headed to the gym with no preworkout for a heavy squat day.

Damn squats, I got to 105kg which was supposed to be for 5+ and yet only managed a single, failing on rep 2. I'm gonna put this down to just being due to not having gotten any squats in during the deload, deadlifts may also suffer too, though I did 5x10 for 70kg after squats. Then was leg press, 5x10 for 110kg, ending with some ab work which got cut short due to being in a rush.

Got back, ate, showered, gotta leave for work in an hour. Awesome. Here's hoping next week's squats are a little more on point, I'll probably just play it by feel, go for 110kg if I think I can manage it. Tomorrow is OHP day, looking forward to it, nice and simple. Also looking forward to trying our 10x3 for bench for the first time on Saturday.

Good (somewhat) news for this week, I was worried about training due to it being freshers week, but it doesn't matter. I can't drink much anyway seeing as I'm on antibiotics, so the only drawback is lack of sleep, and seeing as I said I didn't want any shifts Thursday-Sunday that shouldn't be an issue, I can just sleep in and go to the gym later.

Anyway, that's all, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Last night was a house-wide Dominos 2 for Tuesday night, I kept to eating exactly half (which with my appetite is restraint), so around maybe 1,000 calories, putting me just barely over my typical calories no problem. Weighed in at 69.4kg this morning, which I'm surprised isn't actually higher. Prepped preworkout and headed to the gym after bfast and antibiotics.

Spoiler alert: fairly disappointing gym session, but not terrible. OHP was supposed to be sets of 5 with 47.5kg, got to 4 reps on set 1, 3 on set 2, then lowered the weigh to 42.5kg for 2 sets of 5. Likely it's just recovery from sickness, depending on how week 2 goes I might retest a 5RM to start the following cycle, we'll see. Fat grip chin-ups for 5 sets of 6 weren't bad, dumbbell rows for 5x12 with 20kg, dumbbell bench for 5x10 with 20kg, 5x9 dips were better than usual, and 5x10 fat grip barbell curls at 22.5kg went fine. Ended with a little punch bag and jump rope.

Got work 2-8, which would be my last day this week except I got roped in to work tomorrow now sadly, but I had a health MOT anyway so it doesn't alter my plans much. Already eaten, gonna shower and get ready for work. Still got half a pizza left for dinner which I'll eat when I get home, then after that it's back to standard chicken and rice every day, oh the joy.

Anyway, nothing else springs to mind, if all my lifts are bad this week then I'm dreading deadlifts on Friday, but bench Saturday should be fun. Anyway, that's it, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Alrighty, quiet day today, I'm not supposed to do any intense exercise prior to the health MOT I've got booked for 3, and I got roped into work for the evening shift tonight. Still, woke up this morning with a weigh-in of 69.8kg if I remember correctly, I'll see what tomorrow's weigh-in is before making it a starting point for the month. Quite a sizeable leap in weight this month, which is weird as calories haven't changed, I'll see how the first two weeks of the month go before considering changes. Still, approaching the halfway point of 70.5kg, so that's good.

Looking forward to the health MOT today, mostly because of stuff like BF%. I'll get another one done in a few months and see how the bulk has progressed, it's a shame I didn't get one at the start of the bulk 3 months ago, would've been nice to compare, but oh well.

Not much else going on, got a little cooking to do, that's about it, gonna chill. Have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

Okay, up at around 8 with a weigh-in of 69.3kg, nice and high net gain for September, gonna go on whichever is the highest out of today and tomorrow for a starting point of October. Nice that my sleep cycle has shifted forward somewhat, only difficulty will be that I need to get up early on Fridays for an early shift.

Yesterday my hamstrings were real tight so I was expecting today's deadlifts to be pretty poor. I was mistaken. Built up to 115kg for a single set of 5, next week will be 120kg+ for a single set of 3, and I'll end the cycle with a single set single for 130kg+, all depends on how the final rep feels as to whether I go heavier.

Moved on to squats with 70kg for 5x10 and they were surprisingly easier than usual but still brutal, kept a fairly constant tempo mostly. After that was leg press 5x12 for 110kg which felt weirdly light which is just how I like it. Then abs work. 5x7 hanging leg raises and 5 sets of 65 second planks... I hate planks.

Looking forward to tomorrow's 10x3 bench with 67.5kg, fairly light as that's my 5+ rep weight but still, 10 sets, I'm sure it'll get hard fairly quickly. I'm thinking I'll go for OHP next cycle, as I want to change the lift each cycle but deadlifts are a big no and squats make 3 leg days a week pretty brutal.

Not much else going on today, a little cooking, tesco delivery coming, team meeting at work that I am not going to, might get shit about that as I was in the gym earlier but oh well.

Oh and the health MOT was yesterday. Cholesterol, glucose, all that stuff was fine, which makes sense because I'm 19. Body fat was the main reason I went, and it's at 14.1%, of course that might be a little inaccurate but all that matters is I have something to compare next time I get it done. I expected higher, but maybe that's just my low self esteem. I'm only around a kilo off the halfway point to my goal weight so I'm happy with that BF% overall.

Anyway, that's all folks, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

There was no post yesterday as I was somewhat sidetracked but I am back baby. Feeling pretty good just generally speaking, even with lectures kicking off tomorrow with advanced statistics and data analysis, plus a shift a little bit later. Had to move some stuff around and as a consequence tomorrow will be deadlifts instead of a rest day, because that's the obvious trade-off. Weighed in this morning at an even 69kg but I'm gonna stick with 69.3 as the starting point unless it remains lower.

Got everybody moved in now, and I'm sure everybody's amped up to get back in a sweaty/freezing lecture hall to listen to some guy talk for 2 hours several times a week. News both good and bad in regards to lectures. The bad: they updated this morning and changed around quite a lot, meaning I had to tell my manager I can't work Thursday's. The good: I now don't have as many shifts per week (I asked for 3 and they gave me 4 so this is really their own fault) and I have Friday's off. Side note: I have Friday's off from lectures, but do have a 7.30-11.00 shift, so I foresee many Friday naps in my future, as that is the day most people go out. Though weekends are completely free so that's a plus.

Bench day yesterday went well, hit all 10 sets of 3 with 67.5kg, pull-ups, rows, dips, curls, all went well. Did jump rope between sets though no cardio to finish up with, need to up my cardio a little me thinks. Looking forward to deads tomorrow. That's about it, have a good one

[Cat in the rack]

It's late so I'mma make this quick. Woke up with a weigh-in of 69.3kg, had bfast an hour or so later, left for my first lecture at 10.30, it was advanced stats, basically a recap of last year, over in an hour. At just after 12 I left uni to head for the gym, had my preworkout and went up for deadlift day.

Deadlift day went well, built up to a triple with 120kg. Unfortunately the squat rack was taken for the rest of my session, so I went to leg press for 5x8 with 120kg, after that as I couldn't do squats I fooled around a bit on the leg press machine, built up to a heavy single of 180kg, then did 3x3 with 150kg. Finished with some abs stuff, hanging leg raises and planks, all pretty standard.

After gym I showered there and ate my lunch in the cafe. Went through my lecture notes until work started at 4, pretty dull shift but I had plenty of cooking to do to keep me busy. Made chicken and rice with brocolli and salad for dinner, finished my shift at 9 and headed home. Just finished prepping lunch for tomorrow as I have a workshop and a lecture but hey, at least that's all. Gonna chill for a bit then get some sleep. After legs in the gym and 5 miles walking to uni and work and home I am knackered, have a good one