Dec 20th - Awesome. Christmas is coming. It will be great to take a few days off from training and dieting. Just what my body needs right now.
Dec 26th - At my parents’ home. Third day of pigging out. These cheat days are great psychologically. Also, didn’t Chris Shugart write a column titled “Life expanding or life limiting a while back?”. I wouldn’t want to disappoint my Mum by insisting on my “lifestyle” during such family gatherings.
Dec 27th - Breakfast. Still at parents home. No whey. No oatmeal. Hey, Mom’s chocolate-walnut cookies! Walnuts are great. Good fats. Hmm… Am I getting enough protein? I’ll drink this gallon of milk with cookies just in case.
Dec 29th - Still snowing. I don’t want to drag my ass to the gym right now. After all, all famous strength coaches advocate taking a week off.
Dec 30th - Whoaa! This oatmeal-chocolate cookies my girlfriend made are awesome! I ran out of whey so I just have to make with milk. “Squats and milk”, as the oldtimers said.
Jan 2nd - New Year’s eve has passed. I’ll definitely hit the weights tomorrow. I’m slightly worried about my caloric intake, but then remembered the G-flux concept. I spent the holidays constantly having sex with my gf, so I should be ok. I’ll do some pushups and squats before bed, just to make sure.
Jan 7th - Ski week! The sun, the slopes, the snow… but I must ensure adequate caloric intake because I’m skiing 7-8 hours a day. I wouldn’t want to lose any hard earned muscle mass, would I? Fortunately I’m in France. And you cannot ignore the local cuisine, right? These brioches are awesome! Also, I found some great oatmeal with chocolate chips and blueberries. Fiber, antioxidants - and chocolate! Ate three bowls today.
Jan 15th - back in the gym. Feeling stronger than ever. 5x5 compound lifts and eating like a horse. I almost forgot how putting on mass can be fun. Yeah, I guess I’m on a mass cycle. Somehow I can start the ascent from the squat position easier. Calipers are for whimps. I flexed in front of the mirror after training - still no visible fat gain. I just look a little bit softer, but that’s water retention.
Jan 26th - my brother’s back from Afghanistan. Went out and had a few drinks. Okay, got drunk as fuck. That’s great. I remember reading about Bulgarian weightlifters drinking alcohol to help them unwind after neurologically taxing lifting sessions. And that’s what I’m doing right now. It’ great I took a break from grappling for a month. I can concentrate on weights are really push myself to finally break some milestones on the 3 main lifts.
Feb 2nd - Strange. I feel bloated. Maybe I loaded myself with carbs yesterday? And I feel somewhat strange around my midsection. Like I have something there. Let’s just look in the mirror… HOLY FUCK I’M FAT!!!
As someone with 18 years of lifting experience I just wanted to share this little cautionary tale of mine in a journal format to show that the wealth of information we have acquired can be misused.
While I was fooling myself that I was eating and lifting “right” my calories skyrocketed. And I spent more time reading training articles and devising new routines than actually lifting in the gym.