Waldo's Log

[RisenPhoenix]

I measure at the thinnest point. I've measured a couple of different ways, that is to me the most repeatable. I flex my abs, exhale, stand up straight, and cheat my measurement as much as possible (with a myo-tape, that doesn't mean much (jiggle it for an extra 1/4"), with a regular tape I used to pull it hard). It is such a repeatable measurement that I'm able to track body fat levels (which it is a near perfect proxy for) extremely accurately.

 

Hm.  I do try to exhale as much as possible when I measure.  Maybe I haven't been as lax as I thought.  Thanks for the insight!

 

So day 1 of the cut in the books.

Started strong, day 1 was at 1355 net cals, a deficit of 1345 cals for the day.

 

 

Holy hell that's a deficit.  Are you doing IF to keep it that low?

[Waldo]

Holy hell that's a deficit.  Are you doing IF to keep it that low?

No. I just cut all the unnecessary fluff out of my diet and up the easy cardio.

[tenaciousglee]

But the list of the dead is very, very long. When I go through my old challenges, most people are gone.

 

That's one of the reasons I haven't jumped into a challenge, I wouldn't know anyone anymore.

 

 

I'm glad to see you posting again!  I know you met most of your fitness goals a while ago, which is why you switched to this log.  I tried dropping out of the challenges, but actually find it easier to stay motivated when I have stated goals, even when it's something simple like "lift X pounds Y times".  Actually, one of my goals this challenge is to go back through my old challenges and chronicle all of the lessons I learned.  I was surprised by the number of people that didn't stick around.

[RisenPhoenix]

No. I just cut all the unnecessary fluff out of my diet and up the easy cardio.

 

Ahhhh.

 

It just dawned on me you had net cals written.  Which now makes muuuuch more sense in my brain. (Though still holy hell low.  At ~2200 total for me I see performance issues that I find unacceptable (probably ~1800 net?), so the thought of going lower is just mind boggling for me.)

[Georges]

So day 1 of the cut in the books.

Started strong, day 1 was at 1355 net cals, a deficit of 1345 cals for the day.

 

 

Holy hell that's a deficit.

 

Seconded.

 

Today's my first day of trying to seriously restart weight loss...

I know a deficit that size isn't going to happen for me (1710 BMR, according to mfp's estimates).

I'm still trying to figure out how much of my deficit should be from less food and how much I should bump up my easy cardio.

Any suggestions on finding that balance?

[Waldo]

Well, I try to have as much deficit as possible, there really is no attempt to balance, I find more deficit everywhere I can.

I make no bones about it, I crash diet. Get in, hit my tape measure target as fast as I can, and get out. Stuff like sustainability or performance really doesn't concern me.

Cutting for me is very goal oriented (when I do it for real), and the goals are relatively easy to achieve (1" in the tape, my current goal, is about 4 lbs of fat, not a whole lot). I could dilly dally on a crappy cut for 6 weeks or more, or go crazy mode and get it over with in less than 2.

You can approach things a lot different when your frame of reference isn't trying to lose weight, instead its that you're already pretty lean, just want to cut away some accumulated fat and sharpen muscle details up. At that point, standard diet advice really doesn't apply at all.

[Bolson32]

Good to have you back sir and glad everything seems to be going well. I took a bit of a break from NF as well, but I'm poking my head around a bit more again. 

[Waldo]

Good to have you back sir and glad everything seems to be going well. I took a bit of a break from NF as well, but I'm poking my head around a bit more again.

Nice.

I really didn't take much of a break, I just didn't post as much. I just didn't have much to talk about, and cruising around other threads, didn't have much to add.

[Bolson32]

On the bulk front Waldo, you'll be happy to know I've gained 30lbs since late June(or maybe not lol). I had Jaw surgery in March and couldn't eat a ton. Detrained a bunch and withered down to 167 from 180ish. Now I'm roughly the same body comp and stepped off the scale at 197 this morning. Hoping to push up to 205 by the summer. Just know that your bulking enthusiasm is getting through to someone

[Waldo]

On the bulk front Waldo, you'll be happy to know I've gained 30lbs since late June(or maybe not lol). I had Jaw surgery in March and couldn't eat a ton. Detrained a bunch and withered down to 167 from 180ish. Now I'm roughly the same body comp and stepped off the scale at 197 this morning. Hoping to push up to 205 by the summer. Just know that your bulking enthusiasm is getting through to someone

Wow, very nice. That's a lot of mass to put on that fast, well done.

Oh how I miss the good ol days, with easy progress. Damn diminishing returns.

[Bolson32]

Oh how I miss the good ol days, with easy progress. Damn diminishing returns.

 

Yea, at 6'1" I was a bit of a shadow of my former fat days. It's slowed down and I've struggled through the fat feelings, but I had to buy all new jeans which was awesome. It's gotta be refreshing for you to see the growing trend of actually eating a decent amount of food, and weight training. It seems like it's grown so much around here and other places in the last couple of years. Maybe I'm just suffering from confirmation bias and the circles I hang out(electronically) in.

 

Anyway, good to hear from you, looking forward to more of Waldo's Wisdom. 

[Waldo]

It's gotta be refreshing for you to see the growing trend of actually eating a decent amount of food, and weight training. It seems like it's grown so much around here and other places in the last couple of years. Maybe I'm just suffering from confirmation bias and the circles I hang out(electronically) in.

No, its a real thing.

I think it is a compound effect of the two most important The Wayâ„¢ factors right now, Crossfit and Myfitnesspal.

Paleo almost owes its entire existence to Crossfit. Granted it has grown way beyond those bounds, but that gives a clue as to the massive shadow Crossfit now casts, how much Crossfit culture influences general health and fitness culture.

Likewise, Myfitnesspal is THE weight loss app. Any exploration is bound to lead to the Success Stories forum eventually. MFP's success stories forum is mind boggling, pretty much blowing every other collection of weight loss success stories out of the water. And it contains one refrain in pretty much all of them (especially all the wow transformations), eat reasonable and lift heavy. As that filters out into society, it too is having a massive effect. (Honestly, NF's success stories is so incredibly lame by comparison, no offense to anyone).

Beachbody programs, which are also massively popular (and seem to be gaining) can almost be seen as Crossfit lite. Strength work is always important in BB programs, and the suggested diet is at least reasonable (though the whole shakeology thing is dumb).

[TeaKwonDo]

Best of luck on the cut! Are you still training levers and GHRs?

 

And this is Lee's power rack.

[Waldo]

Best of luck on the cut! Are you still training levers and GHRs?

 

And this is Lee's power rack.

Levers, yes. Though the only one I seriously pursue at all is the front lever. I do back levers, but not enough to really progress (which would merely mean holding them longer with better form). I don't particularly enjoy doing them either. I do planche stuff but I'm not putting much effort into progressing anymore. I haven't done a dragon flag in a while, but the same motion is included in the front lever.

GHR's, no. I would if I had a way to. My old shelves are in a different area of the house and not nearly as loaded down. Eventually I'll make myself an apparatus and get back at it, I have a design worked out in my head, its just a matter of picking up some wood and spending a few hours building it.

Huh, never heard of that power rack.

[Waldo]

Day 2 of cutting is in the books. Had an intake of 1513 net cals yesterday, a deficit of 1187 cals. Total cumulative deficit so far is 2532 cals. Scale isn't budging much yet, but the tape has dropped 1/4". Fat has started to get squishy.

Workout last night was good. Did a full depth HSPU. With the little bit of weight gain (and lack of strength gain...), 1 HSPU rep is pretty much my 1RM nowadays (last summer I could do 3 reps @ 198). Was worried the deficit would prevent nailing that rep, nope. Was strong at the assisted one arm chin work. I tried to do ring dips, but my shoulder wasn't happy with it so I switched to pseudo planche pushups. Also did some freestanding handstand holds between sets; its been a while, but I was able to reliably hit 10 sec holds.

Tomorrow is the big day, where we'll know the results of the IVF. Man this wait has been brutal.

[TeaKwonDo]

Levers, yes. Though the only one I seriously pursue at all is the front lever. I do back levers, but not enough to really progress (which would merely mean holding them longer with better form). I don't particularly enjoy doing them either. I do planche stuff but I'm not putting much effort into progressing anymore. I haven't done a dragon flag in a while, but the same motion is included in the front lever.

GHR's, no. I would if I had a way to. My old shelves are in a different area of the house and not nearly as loaded down. Eventually I'll make myself an apparatus and get back at it, I have a design worked out in my head, its just a matter of picking up some wood and spending a few hours building it.

Huh, never heard of that power rack.

 

I haven't done DFs in forever, too, in favor of hanging leg raises and side knee tucks. Trying to make the bar my only piece of equipment so that the workout is as portable as possible in case of travel.

 

But why front lever over back, if the latter is supposed to equate deadlifts and you're not getting in other posterior chain/hammie movements without GHRs?

 

Interesting. The theories behind his power rack and isometrics work is similar to this guy's HIT experiment. I'm most curious to hear your thoughts on the shebang, though.

[Waldo]

The legs aren't as clear of a split as the upper body. Every compound leg exercise hits every muscle to a degree. Weighted pistols work the posterior chain just fine, as do hill sprints.

The reason I haven't done much with the back levers is simply because I can do them. There isn't much more to achieve. I'd just be pushing out my hold times or improving my form.

Isometrics work, there is no doubt about that. I think that ideally, a mix of isometrics and dynamics is the best. There are some isometric non-believers though, Steven Low for example prefers a dynamic path even for static exercises, with little to no isometric work. Heck if you can push past the psychological boundaries, even dynamic tension can work.

[Waldo]

Cut day 3 is done.  Intake of 1635 net cals, a deficit of 1065 cals.  Total deficit thus far of 3597 cals.  14000 total cals of deficit is my approximate goal, so I'm 25.7% there.

 

Scale is starting to move, dropped about a pound in the last day.  These few days have noticeably taken the edge of off "I feel fat".

 

Ran about 3 miles last night.  Today is leg day, so I'll be doing weighted pistols later.

[JPrev]

Waldo, in a similar vein, do you have any thoughts on "eccentric" training?  I feel like I'm seeing a lot of articles from the NSCA talking about it, but I'm not sure if the general lifting community finds it offers enough marginal value.  Negatives are often suggested as a progression towards pull ups, but aside from that I don't know of programs that incorporate much eccentric training.

[Waldo]

The problem with eccentric training is the massive amount of damage it does, especially as you get stronger.

 

I think there is a band, between beginner gains that come easy, and advanced levels where recovery is a major component of progress, where eccentric training is useful.  The further from that band you get though, the less useful it becomes.

[MasterOfCows]

I hope you get the results you want today Waldo!!

[Waldo]

I hope you get the results you want today Waldo!!

 

Thanks

 

Well, wife had the test. We're just waiting for the nurse to call with the results.  Time has been crawling by agonizingly slow.

 

Said she'd call between 1-3.  I've had that scene at the end of Star Wars ANH playing in my head, where the command center watches the death star orbit the planet.  As soon as it hit 1:00; "the death star has cleared the planet".  "You may fire when ready".

 

Arrrrgh, this wait is brutal.

[Waldo]

As a sidenote, I can't be the only one who has Luke's targeting computer going in my head when I run on the treadmill.

[Waldo]

 

 

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaahh!

 

IVF worked.

 

Concern though is that her beta number is so high....eeek.....there might be two of them.....

[RisenPhoenix]

Whooo!  Congrats to you and the Missus!