Wrong height on previous chart (damn metric system conversions for improved accuracy!). Update below with Sunday stats (Start of Week Eight of T-ransformation 2019).
Also, too
Cardio Day
SUNDAY
BW: 156.0
waist: 33 1/2"
BF est. (Navy calc): 18%
AM Cardio: treadmill walk: two miles / 3.5 - 3.9 mph / 1.5% - 4.5% grade / intensity 7.4
Woke up this morning and decided to go in a different direction. I’d been wanting to do a program like what CT suggests here (20 Pounds of “Hollywood” Muscle!) and just got tired of waiting to do it.
More about my rationalizations later. Today was day one. Going forward day one will be on Sundays and I’ll run the 12-week program Sunday/Monday/Wednesday/Friday with jiu-jitsu training on Tuesday/Thursday (and Saturday when I can make it.)
MONDAY
BW: 153.8
waist: 33 1/4"
BF est. (Navy calc): 17%
Warmup: eight minutes walking on treadmill
Shoulders conjugate / Traps heavy
Seated DB press
5 x 10
10 x 10
25 x 10
35 x 6 / 6 /5 / 5
Upright DB rows
5 x 10
10 x 10
25 x 10 / 10 / 10
Seated incline lateral raise
5 x 10
10 x 10
15 x 8 / 10 x 10 / 10 x 10
Arnold Press
5 x 10
15 x 10
25 x 8 / 7 / 6
Lateral raise
5 x 25 / 25 / 25 / 25
Barbell power shrugs
bar x 10
95 x 10
115 x 5 / 5 / 5 / 5 / 5
Kneeling cable crunch
70 x 10
80 x 10
90 x 12 / 12 / 12
Hanging knee raise
BW x 20 / 20 / 20
TUESDAY
BW: 154.4
waist: 33 1/4"
BF est. (Navy calc): 17%
Cardio & Jiu-jitsu Day
No cardio. But managed to get in about 20 minutes of Live Training in the second hour of jiu-jitsu. Our Professor will be out for the next 4-6 weeks, so I’ll be doing more teaching than training until April, I suspect. I’ll have to make sure I get the equivalent cardio as that happens.
WEDNESDAY
BW: 153.4
waist: 33 1/4"
BF est. (Navy calc): 17%
Warmup: eight minutes walking on treadmill
Quads/Hams/Biceps/Triceps
[Warmup sets/reps not included]
Back Squat / RDL Compound Superset
135 x 15 / 115 x 12
135 x 12 / 115 x 10
135 x 8 / 115 x 8
135 x 20 / 115 x 15
Barbell Curl / Close Grip Decline Press Compound Superset
45 x 8 / 95 x 8
55 x 8 / 105 x 8
55 x 8 / 105 x 8
Preacher Curl / Decline DB Tricep Extension Compound Superset
bar + 20 x 12 / 20 x 12
bar + 20 x 12 / 20 x 12
bar + 20 x 12 / 20 x 10
Hammer Curl / Cable Tricep Extension Compound Superset
20 x 12 / 40 x 15
20 x 18 / 50 x 15
20 x 12 / 50 x 15
Skipped abs since I trained them fairly well at jiu-jitsu last night.
Keeping Superset rest intervals at one minute for the first two weeks of this initial four-week cycle. Then down to 45 seconds for the final two weeks.
I’m enjoying this change of pace in training, and it’s nice to feel a little excitement about heading to the gym. I also like the fact that I’m focusing more on the motion and the muscle than I am on hitting rep and weight PRs.
I think I was starting to get a little obsessed with the numbers, and not in an especially good way. A couple of months on this hypertrophy focused work and I think I’ll be ready to resume my march toward a 1080 total in the Big Four by year’s end.
THURSDAY
BW: 154.4
waist: 33 1/4"
BF est (Navy calc): 17%
Cardio & Jiu-jitsu Day
No cardio. Three six-minute rounds of Live Training. Was not expecting that, but I’ll take it!
More bodybuilding tomorrow. Traps conjugate / shoulders heavy. Hams and triceps still feeling it from Wednesday’s workout.
FRIDAY
BW: 156.6
waist: 34"
BF est (Navy calc): 18%
Warmup: eight minutes walking on treadmill
Traps conjugate / Shoulders heavy
[warmup sets/reps not included]
Barbell Shrugs (iso hold at top)
95 x 6 x 4
Haney Shrugs (Smith machine) / Upright DB Rows Compound Superset
50 x 10 / 25 x 10
50 x 10 / 25 x 10
50 x 10 / 25 x 10
A little tricky getting the motion on the behind the back shrugs, so I kept the weight a little on the light side.
Behind the Neck Press (Smith machine)
20 x 10
20 x 8
20 x 8
A little heavier than I did when using these as an assistance lift last year. Probably because it’s the first press of the session rather than the last.
Front Plate Overhead Raises
25 x 25
25 x 20
25 x 20
25 x 20
25 x 15
Very challenging, and I can see why the extra effort to go overhead makes such a difference. Weight is good. Need to get them done in four sets by end of cycle.
Military Press
65 x 5 x 5
A little humbling to do these at 50% of my PRESS TM. But there was nothing left.
Kneeling Cable Crunch
90 x 15 x 3
superset with
Hanging Knee Raises
BW x 10 x 5
Overall: Great feeling in my rear delts - thinking this might also be the road to a BW overhead press in the second half of the year.
Chest/back tomorrow. #minotaurmaking. I let my calories get away from me earlier in the week (2400 on a 2000 day followed by 2000 on a 1300 day …), but hoping that weight training the next four days in a row as I get back on a Sun/Mon/Wed/Fri training schedule will help take care of that.
SATURDAY
BW: 157.2
waist: 33 3/4"
BF est (Navy calc): 18%
Warmup: eight minutes walking on treadmill
Chest / Back
[warmup sets/reps not included]
Incline Bench Press / Bent Over Barbell Row Compound Superset
115 x 8 / 95 x 8
115 x 8 / 95 x 8
115 x 8 / 95 x 8
Flat DB Bench Press / Lat Pulldown Compound Superset
30 x 12 / 110 x 12
35 x 12 / 110 x 10
40 x 12 / 110 x 10
Decline Bench Press / Seated Row Compound Superset
115 x 15 / 110 x 15
115 x 15 / 110 x 15
115 x 10 / 110 x 15
Week 1 of 12 is done. Great Saturday workout - so nice to train when I’m not in a rush to get back to the office,
MONDAY
BW: 157.4
waist: 34"
BF est (Navy calc): 18%
Warmup: eight minutes walking on treadmill
Shoulders conjugate / Traps heavy
[warmup sets/reps not included]
Seated DB Presses
30 x 8 x 4
Upright DB Row / Seated Incline Lateral Raise Compound Superset
25 x 12 / 10 x 12
25 x 12 / 10 x 12
25 x 12 / 10 x 12
Arnold Presses
20 x 8 x 3
Lateral Raises
5 x 25 x 4
BB Power Shrugs
125 x 5 x 5
Hanging Knee Raises
BW x 12 x 5
Had to skip Kneeling Cable Crunch since I couldn’t get access to the machine (of course, it was totally available all hour until I needed it. Will pick those up when I do Leg/Arms on Wednesday.
Very interesting to see/feel all the specific weakness when doing this kind of work (I’m talking about you left rear delt!). Still wrestling with the diet; I would have liked to see a bit more progress on the waistline nearing 1/3rd of the way into the Transformation.
TUESDAY
BW: 157.8
waist: 34"
BF est (Navy calc): 18%
Cardio & Jiu-jitsu Day
No cardio. Eighteen minutes of Live Training at jiujitsu (an eight and a ten) during the second class after helping tutor the first class.
Legs and arms tomorrow at the gym.
Low calorie day today and Thursday - following the EyeDentist model of carb/calorie cycling. 1,300 calories today (ugh!). P 129 C 63 F 54. Fats were on the low side today since they were on the high side yesterday - about 83.
WEDNESDAY
BW: 156.4
waist: 33 3/4"
BF est. (Navy calc): 18%
Warmup: eight minutes walking on treadmill
Quads/Hams/Biceps/Triceps
[Warmup sets/reps not included]
Back Squat / RDL Compound Superset
140 x 15 / 120 x 12
140 x 12 / 120 x 10
140 x 8 / 120 x 8
140 x 20 / 120 x 15
Barbell Curl / Close Grip Decline Press Compound Superset
55 x 8 / 105 x 8
60 x 8 / 110 x 8
65 x 8 / 115 x 8
Preacher Curl / Decline DB Tricep Extension Compound Superset
bar + 25 x 12 / 20 x 12
bar + 25 x 12 / 20 x 12
bar + 25 x 12 / 20 x 12
Hammer Curl / Cable Tricep Extension Compound Superset
20 x 15 / 50 x 15
25 x 15 / 60 x 15
30 x 15 / 70 x 15
Still need to make up a few sets of kneeling cable crunches from Monday’s workout …
Inching up the weights across the board. Feeling pretty good halfway through week 2 of 12. Total calories about 1850 today (P 164 C 125 F 68), a little high, but still a modest deficit and okay for a resistance training day. Also, tomorrow will be another major calorie deficit day of about 1300 calories.
THURSDAY
BW: 154.6
waist: 33 3/4"
BF est, (Navy calc): 18%
Cardio & Jiu-Jitsu Day
No cardio. Twenty-four minutes of Live Training (four six-minute rounds). Low calorie day today (1478 = P 135 C 55 F 75). Hoping for a little scale weight/waist line movement …
Traps conjugate / Shoulders heavy tomorrow.
FRIDAY
BW: 153.4
Warmup: eight minutes walking on treadmill
Traps conjugate / Shoulders heavy
[warmup sets/reps not included]
Barbell Shrugs (iso hold at top)
95 x 8 x 4
Haney Shrugs (Smith Machine) / Upright DB Rows Compound Superset
50 x 12 / 25 x 12
50 x 12 / 25 x 12
50 x 12 / 25 x 12
Behind the Neck Press (Smith machine)
20 x 10
20 x 9
20 x 8
Front Plate Overhead Raises
25 x 25
25 x 25
25 x 20
25 x 20
25 x 10
Military Press
70 x 5 x 5
SATURDAY
BW: 156.4
waist: 33 1/2
BF est (Navy calc): 17%
warmup: ten minutes walking on treadmill
Chest / Back
[warmup sets/reps not included]
Incline Bench Press / Bent Over Barbell Row Compound Superset
125 x 8 / 105 x 8
125 x 8 / 105 x 8
125 x 8 / 105 x 8
Flat DB Bench Press / Lat Pulldown Compound Superset
40 x 12 / 110 x 12
40 x 12 / 110 x 12
40 x 12 / 110 x 10
Decline Bench Press / Seated Row Compound Superset
115 x 15 / 120 x 12
115 x 12 / 120 x 12
115 x 12 / 120 x 12
Kneeling Cable Crunch / Hanging Knee Raise Compound Superset
100 x 15 / BW x 15
100 x 15 / BW x 15
100 x 15 / BW x 15
20 Pounds of SuperHero Muscle - Thibaudeau Template (Mostly)
Phase 1 of 3 / Week 3 of 12
Rest periods dropped from 60 seconds to 45 seconds
MONDAY
BW: 156.6
waist: 33 3/4"
BF est (Navy calc): 18%
Macros: 2181 => P 142 C 179 F 55
Warmup: ten minutes walking on treadmill
Shoulders conjugate / Traps heavy
[warmup sets/reps not included]
Seated DB Presses
35 x 8 x 2
35 x 6 x 2
Upright DB Row / Seated Incline Lateral Raise Compound Superset
30 x 10 x 3 / 15 x 10 x 3
Arnold Presses
20 x 10 x 2
20 x 8
Lateral Raises 100 Rep Set
5 x 40
5 x 30 x 2
BB Power Shrugs
135 x 5 x 5
Kneeling Cable Crunches
110 x 15 x 3
Hanging Knee Raises
BW x 15 x 3
Supplementing with Curcumin and Cissus due to a little ache in my left shoulder. Fascinating to do this kind of BB work and see which body parts respond most aggressively. Few surprises: the areas I’ve always thought were weaknesses - upper pec, rear delt, biceps - are proving to be weaknesses. I’m hoping they are appreciating the extra attention!
I’m liking this progression approach (recommended for 2Bs) - working within a two-rep range (i.e. 6-8 reps) and increasing the weight when I’m hitting all my reps at the top of the range. I think sometimes my inexperience led me do alternatively do too little and too much with my first round of 5/3/1 last year. This current approach is helping me self-regulate a bit better, and I’m confident that will help when I return to 5/3/1 work later this year.
Monday Macros: 2181 = P142 C179 F55
TUESDAY
BW: 158.2
waist: 34"
BF est (Navy calc): 19%
Macros: 1352 => P 87 C 57 F 85
Cardio & Jiu-jitsu Day
A cardio & jiu-jitsu day with relatively little of either. Treadmill arrives (hopefully) tomorrow, so the cardio schedule will be easier to meet. Tutored and worked with one of the white belts during the first class. The second class was sort of an open mat (guest instructor tonight), and I ended up partner less for the first two rolls so I helped keep folks from crashing into each other for awhile and then called it a night.
Hope to get some training in on Thursday. Never know what you’ll get at the academy …
Tonight was the first night of what should be the Six Good Months of the jiu-jitsu calendar when I’m able to get in some quality training due to a break in business trips. Not an auspicious start tonight. One thing that’s clear is that I’m going to have to do some emergency work on my cardio if I’m going to get back to my old training partner cohort by mid-summer.
WEDNESDAY
BW: 157.8
waist: 33 3/4"
BF est. (Navy calc): 18%
Macros: 1926 = P 139 C 127 F 60
Warmup: ten minutes walking on treadmill
Legs/Arms
[Warmup sets/reps not included / 45 seconds rest btw work sets]
Back Squat / RDL Compound Superset
145 x 15 / 125 x 12
145 x 12 / 125 x 10
145 x 8 / 125 x 8
145 x 20 / 125 x 15
These felt absolutely brutal. I had to use the deadlift machine for the RDLs, which was a little awkward and not something I’d like to repeat if I can avoid it. Part of my goal of doing this protocol was to increase my work capacity in higher rep ranges. So far, so good on that score …
Barbell Curl / Close Grip Decline Press Compound Superset
65 x 8 / 115 x 8
70 x 8 / 120 x 8
75 x 6 / 125 x 8
Preacher Curl / Decline DB Tricep Extension Compound Superset
bar +30 x 12 / 25 x 12
bar +30 x 10 / 25 x 10
bar +30 x 10 / 25 x 10
Hammer Curl / Cable Tricep Extension Compound Superset
30 x 12 / 70 x 15
30 x 12 / 80 x 15
30 x 12 / 90 x 15
Wish I’d read this before today’s RDL workout …
THURSDAY
BW: 156.8
waist: 33 3/4"
BF est (Navy calc): 18%
Macros: 1589 => P105 C87 F87
Jiu-jitsu & Cardio Day
BJJ: 10 minutes specific training
Cardio: 45:41 min / 356 cal / 7.8 c per m
Home treadmill arrived yesterday morning, but I won’t be able to put it together until the weekend. So since I got shortsheeted during post-class Open Mat again, I decided to take my conditioning into my own hands and stop by the gym on the way home for a few miles on the treadmill there.
That said, I did get about 10-minutes of King of the Hill specific training as well as a little bit of work in the first class partnering with a white belt. About 45 minutes of light conditioning (HR<130) and 10 minutes of the rough stuff (HR>160) for the day’s total.
FRIDAY
BW: 156.8
Waist: 33 3/4"
BF est (Navy calc): 18%
Macros: 1733 => P151 C66 F65
Going to have to tighten up on the diet as I get near the midway point of the Transformation run. Would like to be closer to 154-152 by the end of next week.
Warmup: ten minutes walking on treadmill
Traps conjugate / Shoulders heavy
[warmup sets/reps not included]
Barbell Shrugs (5 sec iso hold at top)
105 x 8 x 2
105 x 6 x 2
Haney Shrugs (Smith Machine) / Upright DB Rows Compound Superset
55 x 12 x 3 / 30 x 12 x 3
Behind the Neck Presses (Smith Machine)
20 x 10 x 2
20 x 8
Front Plate Overhead Raises
25 x 35 x 2
25 x 30
Military Presses
75 x 5 x 5
Hanging Knee Raises
BW x 15 x 3
SATURDAY
BW: 157.6
Waist: 33 3/4"
BF est (Navy calc): 18%
Macros: 1806 => P126 C97 F58
Jiu-Jitsu Day
45 minutes in-class training
16 minutes Live Training (sparring)
Realizing that although my cardio isn’t great, it’s my jiu-jitsu specific conditioning that’s disproportionately off. I’m looking forward to getting the home treadmill set up tomorrow morning. But today’s training was a reminder that now is the time (March - August) to step up the training time while the opportunity is here.
A little fatigued doing the strength/hypertrophy training immediately after jiu-jitsu class. I think my performance late (see Decline Bench Press) suffered a bit. Heading into the final week of Phase 1 (of 3) starting tomorrow.
Chest / Back
[warmup sets/reps not included]
Incline Bench Press / Bent Over Barbell Row Compound Superset
130 x 8 x 3 / 110 x 8 x 3
Flat DB Bench Press / Lat Pulldown Compound Superset
45 x 8 / 110 x 12
45 x 14 / 110 x 12
45 x 12 / 110 x 10
Decline Bench Press / Seated Row Compound Superset
115 x 12 / 120 x 15
115 x 12 / 120 x 15
115 x 9 / 120 x 15
Kneeling Cable Crunch
110 x 15 x 3
