Ghost Chant's Battle Log

[Ghost Chant X]

Just got started today with a Stronglifts 5x5 program. I haven't been in a gym in a few years so this a bit of a reboot. The plan is an m/w/f Stronglifts program with the possible addition of some lap swimming/sprinting. Last time around I got some really great (for me) results from following the beginner bodyweight training -> intermediate bodyweight work.

 

The food plan is what I call PDP™ or pretty damn paleo/primal. I started paleo about 4 years ago, dropped 40lbs of fat, but I've put back on about 20 over the last 4 years, none of the good muscle kind. The short version of the plan: no grains, no added sugars, no industrial seed oils. I also cook most of my own food, eat organic and such. My biggest struggle is going to be avoiding that evening store bought ice cream that far too often creeps into my life. I've been mostly gluten free the last 4 years but I've let too much corn, rice, and white potatoes back into my diet without doing the work to make use of them. I am planning to continue to allow rice in my diet, mostly for cost reasons. It doesn't give me any stomach issues or make me feel sick like other grains. Corn I need to be more careful of. I enjoy chips/salsa/guac quite a lot and those corn chips are all fried in nasty industrial seed oils. Diet tweaking will need to happen, I just know some variant of paleo/primal seems to sit well with me, I need to make it maintainable.

 

So this is day one, strong lifts workout A this am at the crack o dawn. One down, many to go.

 

It was semi-awkward to be lifting an empty bar for squats and bench press, but in all honesty, my legs are already tired from just the 25 squats with the bar, so it was a smart starting place, as minimal as it is. Its a little of a reminder of how even though I am still way ahead of where I was at the start of my fitness journey, I've lost a lot of the strength I built up with body weight training. Feels good to have my feet back on the trail to awesome.

[Ghost Chant X]

Day two of strong lifts done! Thankfully the weight is so light still that things are pretty easy. My legs are definitely feeling the squats though! I am in stair climb/descend hell and I am sure that will last quite some time

 

Diet is holding fairly steady. I've been eating considerably more rice than my typically paleoish diet, and I've consumed half a bottle of delicious local root beer, but still eating well 80%ish of the time. Next shopping trip I need to load up on frozen veggies, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes.

[Ghost Chant X]

Day 3 (yesterday) of Stronglifts done. The soreness in my legs is starting to recover quicker and lessen, which is great. In addition, the weight is just starting to pass a point where I can actually feel that it is there. It's still incredibly easy to do each set, I don't even need the 90 seconds of rest time suggested. I am starting to get more comfortable with the equipment, and I've figured out how the rack in our YMCA gym works quite well and have figured out adjusting the safeties for squats and bench press so that I can continue to workout while the weights get heavier without needing to have a workout buddy with me. This will be my first weekend of rest before lifting again (I am on a m/w/f routine) so I am interested to see how the extended recovery time will change how I feel when getting up at dawn Monday morning to drive to the gym. 

 

Diet has been fairly steady, I am certainly indulging in some sugary foods from time to time, but the exercise seems to help curb my desire to binge, make myself sick, and then binge again (a terrible cycle I get in that has made me fear sugar/grains for the last couple of years).

 

I eat a very meat/egg heavy diet and want to incorporate more leafy green veggies. My favorite veggies by far are peppers and onions, and they get included along with tomatoes in a lot of the dishes I make. Funny thing is that these suckers are technically fruits, and are definitely on the sweeter side of spectrum, so I feel I need to balance their consumption with more leafy greens.

 

Onward and upward!