Beating the Weakassness Out of Me: TGF

Not much you can do about the achilles aside from strengthening and stretching IMO.
The hip flexor, however, is usually triggered and gets angry when you make it do short range - repetitive movements, like jogging. Not going to talk you out of jogging, but this is something to watch out for - you may do better with higher intensity and shorter distance runs, like the sprints you did a few days ago.

As someone who very recently had a rude (and overdue) awakening to my real BF%, i can confidently say that the percentage doesnā€™t matter if you donā€™t like the way you look, and even knowing that % is still completely irrelevant.

I notice you keep mentioning 50g protein shakesā€¦ If you arenā€™t double-scooping your protein, thereā€™s a good likelihood that number is spiked, meaning it has bad bioavailability. In short, you probably arenā€™t absorbing everything itā€™s promising. Most ā€˜high qualityā€™ protein shakes have 25-30g protein per serving, but iā€™ll leave the rest of that up to your discretion.

Watch out for going too far into a deficit, youā€™ll end up hurting yourself in the long run. IMO, anything over 1k deficit daily is bordering sabotage on a diet program. Earlier you indicated that meeting 1g/lb of bodyweight in protein is pretty difficult for you - which it is until you get used to it. In combination with you eating about 1500 calories/day feeling more comfortable that way, i think your body is just adjusting to itā€™s newfound protein intake.

I just dont want to see you fall off the wagon - itā€™s far too easy to overeat fats and carbs, and very difficult to overeat protein. Best method is to eat protein first at every meal, then veggies, then carbs if you still feel they are needed. Eating this way is a bit more intuitive, and will hopefully compensate for the discomfort youā€™ve been feeling around eating.

Welcome to the cutting club!

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Man I never considered that and it makes sense. I tried to do an elliptical at a jogging pace and it was excruciating the rest of the day. Iā€™m not married to the jog, I just enjoy the mental aspect. At this point I feel like I have the wind and recovery speed to go up to 15 1min ā€œsprintsā€

Instead of chasing a number, chase my satisfactory aesthetic - dig THAT.

So I am double scooping a muscle tech grass fed chocolate whey something or another, and single scoop of collagen peptides, which totals 50. Is 50g at one time dumb because the body canā€™t use it?

I gotta say Ive gone this low on calories before and never felt good. For whatever reason right now it does feel good. But your dead nuts on - how sustainable is this? Idk idk. Even my runs I feel like Iā€™ve got ample fuel in lieu of a fasted mid run hunger pang. Itā€™s odd, and Iā€™m kinda embracing it for what it is. Truth be told I may take a giant dump and all of a sudden Iā€™m starving all the time. Think I should just power through an extra 400+ calories or add it as I ā€œcrave itā€?

Thank you for all the awesome input. I really really appreciate it.

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This is actually bro science, kinda. The bro science portion of this is where ā€œthe body can only accept x protein at one timeā€ as if your muscles were a cup that would simply overflow at the sight of too much protein. The more factual part of this is that about 24 hours after weight training, your body is more willing and has more need for higher protein input. Where this belief truly misses the mark is that protein is only good for building muscle.

In reality, protein is simply a form of calories that is great at staving off hunger for longer than its carb/fat counterparts, but also has the added benefit of building muscle. There is nothing wrong with drinking 50g of protein shake, I just know of a LOT of people who donā€™t know a company can nitrogen spike their protein countā€¦ I wonā€™t get into it.

I would recommend splitting that protein shake up a bit because its a great tool to stave off cravings at times itā€™s easier to fold on the diet. Otherwise, there is very little science showing the ā€œmagical 30g proteinā€ thing many people (including myself, at one point) fell for.

Yes and no. If youā€™re short on protein intake, I suggest getting to your goal protein count. If youā€™ve already reached that protein goal and the remainder is carbs/fats and you havenā€™t had any impact on recovery then only eat the rest of those calories based on your intuition. If you want more food and are still 400 calories short - go for it; if you DONT want more food and are 400 calories short - take it as an advance on your calorie deficit.

Finally, if you feel just fine getting your sprints in - I suggest doing that. The metabolism boost you get for it is more than worth it, but ultimately itā€™s more about opening up your stride to avoid that abductor strain (oh the irony).

Keep up the good work man, Iā€™ll try to follow along!

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Incline db press
45s 1x12
55s 1x8
65s 4x6

Db press
55s 2x 12
55s 1x10
55s 1x8
60s 1x6

More sets than I probably needed to do on chest but I just felt like I had so much more in the tank I wanted to get a few reps in.

Db 1.5s Shoulder press
20s 4x10 slow
Right shoulder being weird so went light, slow, burn. Pump on right side is so intense I feel like my shoulder isnā€™t rotating in the socket correctly.

Left a lot in the tank here

Decline cable press cross
65 1x15 slow
75 1x8 slow
75 2x6 slow

Tricep v bar extension
60 2x10
60 1x8
60 1x7 fail

Db 1.5s lateral raise
20s 2x12 slow
20s 1x10
20s 1x8 fail

Barbell skull crushers
30 1x15
50 2x8
50 1x7 fail

Incline curls
30s 4x8 fail

Rotator cuff extensions - band

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This might be indicating you are ready for some more weight. Also worth noting that youā€™re having some shoulder issues but running quite a few sets for chest - particularly DB bench flavorā€¦ These might be a contributing factor.

I usually run BB Incline Bench for 5x5, followed by High Incline DB Press for 4x8, and my shoulders tend to do well. When i swap that BB Incline Bench out for DB Incline Bench, my shoulders shit out on me and are in a fair bit of discomfort for the rest of my workout.

Bench Press, particularly DB Bench Press, is rough on the shoulders. It might be worth your time to attempt a few different variations/combos to find what works for you, rather than have a stubborn shoulder impact the rest of your training session.

Solid training session. :muscle:

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So to out this to the test, I did a little overhead press today and had no problem with weight up to 120lbs on the machine, so the DB are definitely influencing the tweaky shoulder thing. Iā€™ve been doing more DB in lieu of barbells purely because I know my stabilizing muscles are fucking non existent. Iā€™m going to play around with this. Thank you so much!

Iso lat pulls
180 3x8
180 1x6

Iso chest supported rows
90 1x15
120 1x10
160 2x10
170 1x8 fail

Facepulls
90 1x12
110 1x12
120 1x8 fail
This is big weight improvement. Iā€™m not sure why. Im on the same machine with the same rope. It just felt so good today.

Delt fly
85 2x10
85 1x8
90 1x6 fail

Underhand Close grip lat pulls
130 1x8
130 2x6
130 1x5 fail

Bb curls
70 4x10

Deadlift
225 8x1
Left a bit in the tank here but really focusing on my form. I havenā€™t deadlifted since college and Iā€™m scared of injuring my back (herniated a disc 2 years ago, healed with McKenzie stretches). Luckily there are lots of good YouTube videos on form. In a few weeks Iā€™ll start really ramping up the weight if it feels good.

5min walk warm up
12x1min sprints, focusing on long strides
13x1min walks
5min walk cool down

I didnā€™t have my watch on so I donā€™t know my distance totals.

Both of my kids and my wife are sick so I had to run this morning and then lift tonight. I slept like shit because my son started shitting and puking around 3am. I did get a nap in after Dr visit.

A few members of a nearby highschool football team were in the gym and I totally was that mid 30s dude internally struggling watching kids laugh at TikTok instead of focusing. They left about 15mins before me but when I left they were parked next to my car in the far corner of the parking lot huddled up in an SUV smoking a doob. I couldnā€™t help but laugh.

Not sure if I like night lifts or morning lifts better. I think I like the lack of a night crowd better. I do know for certain I like morning runs better.

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Glad it helped. Admittedly I was the young lifter that was clearly too good to do warm ups or take care of my shoulders (sarcasm). I didnā€™t care about my shoulder health until they made me start caring, but I was surprised to see such large differences come from such small changes.

Feel free to reach out if anything else is feeling wonky, there are plenty of well-experienced lifters (far beyond my own experience) here. Iā€™ll try to follow along

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Leg day

Didnā€™t have much time because my house is a cesspool of illness.

Squats
225 5x5
205 5x5

Late night walk: 4.4mi

Rest day:

inspired by @throwawayfitness

sprints: 1.6mi
jog 1.2mi (between sprints)
walk: 4.2 mi

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So Iā€™ve been working crazy long hours. Been waiting on a few containers of equipment to arrive from overseas. It arrived. Iā€™m 9 days into 6 weeks of commissioning a plant. Trying to get it done in 4 weeks which is extreme considering the few people we have working on it. So the last 9 days Iā€™ve been buried in welding projects, drilling concrete, caffeine ,and nicotine.

Because my hours are 6am-8pm, Iā€™ve been doing push ups. When I started this adventure, I could only do 10-15 pushups followed by 10-15 assisted pushups. Not sure whatā€™s changed but I am cranking out 10 sets of 10 in an average of 8 mins. God bless testosterone.

So for the last 9 days Iā€™ve done 100 pushups a day followed by this ab workout: BRUTAL 10 Min Ab Workout - With Dr. Samantha Vogel & Jonny Catanzano - YouTube
I went to college with him, hung around the same fraternity, so go Vols.

I rested yesterday and today got back in the gym.i have another long long 2 weeks ahead of me. Im going to try to up my pushups every other day. If I fail, Iā€™ll decrease my rest time. Iā€™m feeling strong as absolute shit. My veins are popping out of my arms.

Todayā€™s lift:

Iso lat pulls
190 PR
1x10
1x9
1X8
1x7 fail

90
1x25

Chest supported rows
160
2x12
180 PR
1x10
1x9

Close grip underhand lat pulls
130
2x10
2x9

Facepulls
120
4x10

Bb curls
3x8 70
1x7 70

Incline db curls
20
3x10 Slow
1x7 fail

Delt flys
90
2x10
1x9
1x8fail

I havenā€™t been running because Iā€™m averaging 17k steps a day working on the plant.

Iā€™m not eating anywhere near enough calories. Averaging 2300 and itā€™s a struggle to get that in. Granted, I am consuming metric fuck tons of caffeine and nicotine. 4-500 grams of caffeine, 15-20mg nicotine (pouches)

Iā€™m also not drinking anywhere near enough water. 3 liters a day and based on the color of my urine, double that would likely be sufficient.

One thing thatā€™s weird is how sleepy I am at the end of the day. This time last year, if I had to run at the plant for 20-24 hours, it was a struggle, but I could do it. I canā€™t now. After about 18 hours, I absolutely have to sleep. I actually had to nap for about an hour before I drove home Tuesday. Iā€™m curious what my bloods will show. Theyā€™re coming up after the new year. Is this a high e2 symptom? Idk idk. Data is king and Iā€™ll wait til I have the data. Maybe itā€™s increased energy expenditure. Weā€™ll see.

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Long hours continue but snuck in at lunch

BB Bench
1x15 135
1x10 185
2x5 225 fail

Overhead press db
2x10 25s
2x10 30s

Flys machine
1x15 85
1x12 135
1x10 165
1x8 185
1x6 185 fail

Tricep ext rope
3x8 65

Overhead tricep ext rope
3x8 40

Db pullovers
4x10 40

Db incline bench
2x10 45s
1x8 45s
1x7 45s fail

Tricep ext machine handle iso
2x10/side 20 fail

Incline bench curl
4x10 25s


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Been absent from here because commissioning a plant fucking sucks, especially when small town politics get involved.

I got the omicron right after my last post. I had a ton of ear pressure so boiled some water to breathe the steam.

Well my dumbass knocked the boiling water off the stove somehow and it lit my leg up.



Omicron took about 5 days to vacate back to 100% so missed some training. I lost a lot of cardio days with the foot but did get a fair amount of walking in. Itā€™s mostly better now.

So in lieu of posting a fuck ton of logs, Iā€™ll just resume from today.

In the snow flurries -

by the way, fuck snow, thatā€™s why I live in the south -

I ran 1.86mi 8x1min ā€œsprintsā€ fb 8x1min walk, with warm up walks prior to and post.

Still felt like I had good legs so ran 3.02mi @ 10:32/mi.

The leg pump after the run today was pretty intense. Enjoyed it.

Since being back in the gym, my strength has jumped a fair amount and my wife is commenting on my appearance, giggity.

After running, I had pull day:

Chest supported rows
4x10 230
1.5x10 90lbs

Lat pulls
1x10 200
1x8 200
1x7 180 fail
1x6 180 fail

Db Curls
4x12 20s
1x12 22.5

Ezbar curl
4x10 60

Side Shoulder raises
4x10 20s

Facepulls
4x10 60
1x15 30

Ezbar curls
4x10 50

Bent over rows
4x12 50

Delt fly
2x10 85
2x10 105
1x8 115 fail

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Damn bro! Talk about insult to injury :joy:

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Man it was 4 in the morning too and I wanted to scream but I knew my kids would freak tf outā€¦ So I didnā€™t. I was so mad at myself!

Self restraint PR for sure!!

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Hot.minute since Iā€™ve updated this, but the training has raged on.

Iā€™ve dropped a lot of the distance running I was doing because of how much I walk at work. I primarily 2.grind sessions for an hour on the stair master until I enter a state of Zen and think k pop is really good music.

Last month I got caught up chasing PRs (few reps to failure) because moving heavy shit is fun. This month, Iā€™ve been back to a more normal routine, whatever that means (higher volumes to failure).

Today

Bb bench:
1x10 295
2x8 345 fail
1x8 295

OHP:
2x10 185
1x9 185
1x7 185 fail

Incline DB bench
3x10 85s
1x8 85s fail

Db pullovers:
4x8 90

Tricep rope ext:
3x10 90
1x8 90 fail

Assisted dips:
4x10 165

Pec deck:
3x10 205
1x8 225 fail

Db side raises 2sec pause at top bc holy shit it burns:
4x10 30s

Hammer curls for volume bc I have small arms:
4x10 30s

My body looks nothing like I used to. I was a fat slob. Iā€™ve still got mid section weight to lose,.and I see now where I need to put on muscle to balance out my aesthetic (lats, arms)

Side note, amazing how taking care of myself has impacted every other aspect of my life. Business, marriage (especially), fatherhood, friendships - all markedly improved.

When Iā€™m happy with my figure Iā€™ll post better before and afters (maybe next month, maybe next year), but have a bathroom work pic I sent my wife because Iā€™m a fucking weirdo. Iā€™ve never looked like this before, am proud of where Iā€™ve come from, but gosh damnit Iā€™m fucking fired up for the journey ahead.

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And the show goes on.

Many months into my new facility at work and have a good routine going.

Iā€™ve named everyone on the ā€œnight squadā€ at the gym.

Though Iā€™m wildly extroverted in my real life, I refuse to talk to anyone at the gym. Iā€™m weird.

When I started tackling my fatassness, I honestly didnā€™t have high expectations. I had given up. But I said fuck it anyways.

Though this was down to 260ish from 300+.

Ive kept at the weight training, ate/eat clean 70ish% of the time. Iā€™ve been in this routine where Iā€™ll eat super clean for 6 weeks, and then have a shitty week. After a week of eating shitty I feel gross and need to sweat it out to feel normal again. My wife and I will out some miles in hiking and weā€™ll grab a pizza from time to time.

Anyways, I took the picture below a month ago or so. Iā€™m down to 223lbs (Iā€™m 6ā€™4"), with way more muscle, stronger than Iā€™ve ever been, with significant output increase both in my professional, romantic, and personal life.

I might try to push bodyfat to 10%, but I honestly donā€™t know, donā€™t care. For now Iā€™m enjoying the self competition of beating the absolute dogshit out of myself.

Who knew I was such a masochist.

The hardest part for me right now is eating enough calories in a day. I had no idea eating 3000 clean calories was so fucking difficult. I think I have the shitty diet weeks because my body is like, ā€œfor fucks sake youā€™re burning 3000 calls/day. Fucking eat it for once, gosh damnit.ā€

Perhaps this is where Iā€™ll pretend to update more regularly, but I wonā€™t. But next time I do, Iā€™ll be bigger, leaner, and stronger.

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Merry Christmas

A little more size, maybe another 5% bf reduction and then itā€™s maintenance mode.

Left elbow injury, only pain when curling. Extension does not hurt. All positions curling causes pain. Feels deep inside, really hard to push deep and find a pain point. My arm size is shit anyways so whatever.

Dec 12 2021 vs Dec 24 2022

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