Maple Syrup Strength (littlesleeper)

When I eat carbs like a lot of the people I know do (>~200g) i bloat up hard, feel sluggish and don’t perform the best. I do however, eat a good bit before going on max 1-5 RM sets which is rare and have good results. You just have to find the balance. Some people have an extremely hard time with keto or high fat/protein diets. I actually get most my food from fats as I only eat around 150 protein a day. I feel like anymore wpuld make me feel like shit. Again, I think its all in the balance really and understanding your body. I can gain fat and musculature fairly easy. Never had a problem putting on mass, but losing my lovehandles and such is quite difficult which is why I stay in the ranges I do.

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Sorry I meant to tag @Frank_C in that.

I agree, I feel that your nutrition is a bit more individual than your workout plan. Which is why self-experimentation is necessary to find your sweet spot.

I had success with this diet strategy last year, so I’m giving it a try again. 2 weeks in and I’m feeling like this may be how my body performs optimally. A very small sample size, but it’s good enough to make me want to do it for a full 10 weeks.

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It’s showing man. Your transformation is insane and to still be hitting the numbers you are is crazy. Good work brother

Thanks man, appreciate you following along and popping in for some discussion!

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There is definitely way too much going on in the human body to apply one method to everyone - - or even multiple people. My last successful bulk was in 2007 when I was 22.

These days I can bulk just fine. Fat, puffy, muffin top bulking. I know it’s going south when my wife gets this shit-eatin’ grin on her face when I take off my shirt. Sadly I carry my fat on my sides and back. I can be fooled by the mirror because my stomach doesn’t tell the whole truth.

As far as cutting it doesn’t take much more than a small deficit for a few weeks and I’m good. But I also pump the brakes when I reach 14+ % BF. I’d like to think I can stay around 10-12% year round but then I decide to try a clean bulk and end up putting on 10lbs of fat so I start all over.

04/10/2017

Wave 1/Week 3/Day 1 - Monday

STRENGTH - Load a bar with 70% of your 1RM Squat
You have 20 Minutes to hit 32 total reps at this weight. You can break it up into any number of sets you need, with the stipulation that no set can be less than 8 Reps.

365 x 12, 10, 10
Holy crap, this was hard. This took some digging in. Second set, I was about to rack it at 8 then I thought about those damn jump ropes that I suck at and decided grinding out two more and trying for 10 next set was a better idea. Still unsure if this was the case. I was floored after these. I completed the 32 reps in just over 15mins.

Every time you take the bar off your back, complete:
10 Ab Wheel Roll-Outs - 10, 10, 10 (extra at the end for fun)
100 Jump ropes - 100, 100 (this second set of 100, was more like counting by 5 jumps before screwing up, YET ANOTHER THING ALPHA HAS SHOWED ME I SUCK AT. THANKS MAN!

ACCESSORY - 5 Rounds
6 Front Squats @ 185lbs
6 Good Mornings @ the same weight as your front squat, immediately followed by
6 Stiff Legged Deadlifts @ the same weight as your good morning.

This giant set, kicked my ass…pretty much as these workouts are now expected to do. Not defeating my strength, but defeating my conditioning, willpower, and cojones.

I was supposed to follow this with:

STRONGMAN CONDITIONING
3:00 Minutes Max Effort Tire Flips
3:00 Minutes Max Effort Dumbbell ManMakers
2:00 Minutes Max Effort Tire Flips
2:00 Minutes Max Effort Dumbbell ManMakers
1:00 Minute Max Effort Tire Flips
1:00 Minute Max Effort Dumbbell ManMakers

1 Rep of Dumbbell ManMakers:
Begin with Dumbbells at the top of the deadlift position.
Drop to Push-Up Position (DBs stay in your hands)
Complete 1 Push-Up
Hold plank position and complete 1 Row with your left hand.
Complete another push-up
Hold plank position and complete 1 Row with your right hand.
Bring your feet in and clean the dumbbells to front rack position.
_Perform 1 Push-Press. _
Immediately drop back into push-up position (DBs still in hand) and begin your second rep.

But shucks, it started raining outside, so I took that as a sign not to do it. I’m currently contemplating on doing this tomorrow morning fasted. Future me might have different plans when the time comes.


QUESTION: Does anyone else skip/jump rope? Any recommended ropes? I just have some cheap dollar store one that is all deformed and doesn’t really properly straighten out. When looking online there are TONS of different kinds. Some attach to handles at 90 degrees, 10 different materials to choose from, weighted, etc. I’m just going to be using it for a conditioning tool, but would like one that I could eventually work up to doing a double under…I don’t think I’ve ever done one in my life. Might as well cross that off the list.

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I jump rope every training session for 10-15 minutes. Just get a speed rope. Any of them will work. Just make sure they have the metal at the end to hold the rope in place. I swear I think the rope material is what they use for weed whackers. When you are going fast and it hits your ankle or shin it hurts lol.

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Perfect, thank you good sir.

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Some homemade guac to take for lunch this week. I also made some shrimp/veggie stir fry, burgers and bacon to take for lunches. Mmmm, high fat, low carb.

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Avocados must be cheaper in Canada than they are here. That’s like $20 where I live…lol

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On sale this week $3 for 6 avocados. They are usually ~$1.75 each. So I took full advantage of it!

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04/11/2017

Ok, well this is two days in a row of sub-par workouts. It was pouring rain out so I decided against tire flipping/zercher carries/etc outside and opted to stay dry and do a make shift workout.

Since I saw @dchris and @T3hPwnisher do the Grace WOD, I decided to give it a go for some conditioning.

It just wasn’t there. No real intensity or rush, just kind of went through the motions. It was tiring, but not exhausting. Going to try this again, but actually push myself.

Completed it in ~4mins 12seconds.

Followed this with a superset of:

T-Bar Rows
90 x 10
115 x 10
115 x 10
115 x 10
90 x 10

30lb DB Manmakers
5, 5, 5, 5, 5

The DB manmakers really got the conditioning going; these make burpees seem like child’s play.

I suppose this was better than nothing, but maybe I’m starting to feel my calorie deficit. I have started being a little more strict on my calories, and that may be starting to show. I’m going to try to get a full 8hrs of sleep tonight and see if I can bounce back. Tomorrow is a rest day, but I plan on hitting a little HIIT on the AirDyne.

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Good on you for stepping up dude. This workout SUCKS. My lungs feel broken every time, haha.

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04/12/2017

REST DAY :rageguy:

Woke up at 205.6lbs. Up 2lbs from last week, but I’ve been feeling bloated the last couple days. I’m going to consciously increase my water intake and make sure I’m getting additional fibre in the morning and evening. I anticipate getting back under 204lbs by the weekend. My weight fluctuates like crazy.

AM: 30min LISS (Walking the dog)

I plan on going a little lighter on the cals today:

Plan for PM: 30min LISS (Walking the dog), 10-15mins of HIIT on the AirDyne.


My hamstrings/adductors are feeling pretty tight today from the giant set that included RDL’s and good mornings. This giant set happened after doing the Grace WOD, so the hamstrings were definitely targeted a bit more than usual. The LISS is pretty close to the top of my list for leg recovery, so I won’t be skipping that.

I might also get intimate with the foam roller tonight.

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I can’t really make this kind of commitment. I keep my interactions short because it hurts. I can do multiple short sessions a day but some of the knots in my quads are too painful to work out in one session. If I don’t play basketball then I don’t have as many knots.

When I first started foam rolling I was super sensitive to it. Now I can grind on it pretty good. I also mix in the lacrosse ball for my hips, that is a new type of pain, enough pain that I usually start sweating lol

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This is the devil I use. It has plastic on the inside so it doesn’t give or squish. Those knobby things hurt on the tender spots.

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Hey @robstein - For some reason I had thought that Biotest did not ship to Canada, but now going through the ordering process it seems that they do!

Right now my order looks like:
V-Diet Package: (I’m not doing the V-Diet, but it contains the following @ some great cost savings)
2 x Bottles of Flameout ← I already take fish oil, so it would be nice to ensure the quality
8 x 2lb of MD ← protein, for obvs reasons
1x 1.3kg of Plazma ← This is exciting for me. I’ve heard so many great things and can’t wait to give it a try.
1 x 140g of Superfood ← I’m already take a greens supp (currently out of stock at my supplier, so this is perfect)
12 Finibars ← some pre-workout deliciousness
1x Order of Z-12 ← I suck at sleeping and have attempted my own blend of zinc, magnesium and meletonin with no success in sleep improvement; fingers crossed
1 x Additional Order of 1.3kg of Plazma ← because you get a $15 discount on a second order of Plazma when purchasing the V-Diet Package.

I was wondering if you had recommendations on flavours for these products? I am leaning towards chocolate and vanilla for the MD as they are versatile flavours for mixing, but I’m not sure about the Plazma or Finibars. I know everyone’s tastes are different, but maybe there are some flavours you’ve learned to steer clear from?

Also, what are your thoughts on the above order?

I typically don’t like adding too much at once as it is tough to tell what is working. The order above would really only be increasing the quality of supps and adding Plazma which I like the looks of. Maybe next order I could add the other supps (Mag-10, Indigo3G, MicroPA, etc) to take it to the next level?

Any comments from my frequent visitors on this?

This will run me about $550, yikes, but should last the better 3months (MD will probably stretch a lot longer than that even).

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Awesome man, glad to hear you’re able to get these awesome items!

Metabolic Drive - Personally, I LOVE the chocolate. I’ve tried them all, never been much of a strawberry or banana guy. The vanilla is also really good, very versatile and great for baking with also. But, my orders are pretty much always chocolate, all the time.

Finibars - Chocolate all the way, and I do love peanut butter, LOVE peanut butter, but for the Finibars, and this is just my preference, chocolate Finibars, especially after 30 seconds in the microwave, are absolutely incredible. Even right out of the wrapper they’re perfect, every time. Since you’ll be ordering in bulk to last a while, I would highly recommend ordering more than one box, you’ll be glad you did.

Plazma - Enjoy, you’ll feel great during your workouts, and after. For flavors, my favorite has always been lemon-lime combo, just mixing half lemon and half lime. I also recently tried the Blue Razz and it’s pretty good! Lemon-Lime combo is still my stand-by for Plazma and Mag-10.

Z12 is great, I obviously use it every night, along with ZMA.

Regarding some “Extras” for the future, I’m a huge fan of Micro-PA and have been taking it every training day for years. I noticed results with it very quickly. It’s perfect for packing on muscle when you’re bulking, and I love it for a prep because I feel like it’s “muscle insurance” to make sure I definitely won’t lose any precious LBM, and I know I definitely still kept making gains in size and LBM during the first part of my prep when cals were decent.

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