Nordic Blood: Climbing And Lifting / Lifting And Climbing

End of day thoughts: hunger level acceptable, but felt a bit worn post workout which progressed into a bit faint/weak and slow as the day progressed.

Went to a show in the park so I got my pre-bed snack in a little late (normally I try to have eaten all my meals before 20:00). This meant som extra time on the old bike. Speaking of which, biked home from work standing since a bird had shat on my bike seat. Talk about time under tension for the triceps.

Been designing my meal plan for next week, will post a first draft tomorrow - there are a few things Iā€™d like to tweak but itā€™s hard to to with the number of calories I have to play with.

Friday, 10th of August 2018.

Weight: 77.4kg (+0.7kg - Iā€™m guessing water retention as I had some shy veins that normally show through well - now they were more diffuse)
Sleep: barely 7h, for one I still have a hard time falling asleep (life-long concern) but there also happened to be an outdoor concert about 100m away from my bedroom. Was really shitty music too, earplugs helped once I actually went and got them (which I held off of for far too long in the hopes that they would stop playing). I consumed 0mg caffeine yesterday, so I donā€™t think thatā€™s the culprit although I should still be mindful of how much caffeine I take in.

Mirror analysis: look comparable to yesterday, pecs are slightly less convex (so, looking a little flatter but itā€™s hard not to look flat when you donā€™t have much muscle to begin with)

I was feeling weak and worn even before my workout, getting through my warm-up alone was rough, so it was on grit alone I went to the gym.

Workout

A. Knee Tuck Jumps Over Hurdle 1x5
B. Power Clean 8x1@60,
C. Deadlift 3xcluster(5) @ 130kg (belt) 90s rest [0]
D. 4x30s each, done as a circuit

  1. Box Jump
  2. Power Clean From Hang (40kg)
  3. Burpees

E1. Trapbar Deadlift carry 4x60s@80kg: 30s rest
E2. Farmerā€™s walk 4x60s 30s rest

[0]: Tried 145, got it once, then 140, no rep, 130 no rep. Other two sets were okay at 130
I skipped the Farmerā€™s walk, after my carries I was fried. A headache, general nausea (not the working out kind but the fuck Iā€™m only stroking my ego at this point. Iā€™d say that 130 is not 90% of my max, so I wasnā€™t performing at the intended intensity.

I donā€™t really fulfill this condition for a refeed: Tip: The Jiggle Test but if my performance continues to decline I should probably add in a carb refeed at some point soon.

Next Weekā€™s Workweek Meal-Plan:

Hereā€™s a week that is a lot more in-line with what I have normally eaten during my diet. Iā€™ve made some minor adjustments to my basic template, and there are still a few things that Iā€™m thinking about changing but hereā€™s a first draft. Iā€™ve combined all days into a single post and tried to format any deviations appropriately, Iā€™m hoping this will make it a bit easier to see what differs between the days rather than posting out each day separately (which would equate to a wall of text).

Note: I want to come in at about 2000 calories on a normal day where my only planned workout is the one from 6 Weeks to Superhero https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/6-weeks-to-superhero Iā€™m okay with coming in at a bit higher than this, as the workouts seem more intense than what Athlete Lean, Athlete Strong was putting me through. The average ALAS would take me a little more than an hour and Iā€™ve read that 6WtS averages between 70-90 minutes for some people in the forums.

Pre-workout

  • 15g maltodextrin
  • 16g whey
  • 7-8g sea salt

Intra-workout

  • 50g maltodextrin (20g more than I was consuming on ALAS)
  • 40g BCAA [0]
  • 7-8g sea salt

Post-workout/Breakfast

  • 50g oats (up 20g from last week)
  • 50g blueberries
  • 50g fruit/berries (this is only 25 calories and helpā€™s with satiety)
  • 1 scoop whey
  • 1 scoop casein (an hour after the above)[1]

Lunch

  • 3g Omega-3s
  • 200g ground beef (10-12%)
  • 300g frozen vegetable mix

Dinner

  • 3g Omega-3s
  • 2 eggs [2] (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday)/250g cottage cheese 4% (Monday, Wednesday) [3A]
  • A low GI fruit, such as an apple/orange/pear. Depends on whatā€™s in the fruit bowl at the office (Monday & Wednesday only - to have as an additional carb source before the climbing session) [3B]
  • 300g frozen vegetable mix
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (not on Monday and Wednesday - Iā€™m not bringing this to the office)

Pre-bed snack

[0]: Running a new blend thatā€™s 8:1:1, the old one was 4:1:1 and wouldnā€™t mix all that well (lumps at the bottom).

[1]: On Wednesday Iā€™ll have the oats, fruits, berries, blueberries and 2 scoops of casein instead. Maybe. Another idea is to actually have breakfast at home and not in the office and have 6 eggs instead. Iā€™ll call this option B below.

[2]: In the past Iā€™ve used chicken thighs/chicken breast for dinner but, even though slow cooking it in peeled tomatoes makes it less of a drag itā€™s still boring. I love eggs, and not having eggs for breakfast everyday is the only thing I donā€™t like with working out in the morning. Since I live alone, I can get away with having breakfast for dinner X).

[3A/3B]: On Monday and Wednesday Iā€™m attending a certification course in climbing so that Iā€™m licensed to climb using a rope and a harness. I signed up for this ages ago. This is immediately after work, so I want to be able to bring my dinner with me to the office and also have a little more to eat than I would on a ā€œregularā€ day. Cottage cheese fits the bill.

Iā€™m pretty happy with this, the only thing that I feel could be better would be if I could get some carbs in with my pre-bed snack. Especially on Monday and Wednesday to ensure that I have some glycogen in store for my workout the next day. Havenā€™t decided on a carb source for that yet (or if I will add it even).

Monday: 2254 calories + a fruit (230p, 156c, 72f)

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 2164 calories (211p, 152c, 73f)

Wednesday: Option A: 1810 calories (183p, 93c, 70f) Option B: 1770 calories (160p, 52c, 97f)

Saturday and Sunday will be similar to Wednesday, maybe have salmon for dinner on one of them.

If I go with this design (>2000 calories), Iā€™d probably see some initial weight gain as Iā€™m having more carbs than before and will hold on to a little extra water as a result. So, Iā€™d have to do the whole week before thinking about any adjustments and rely completely on the mirror and measurements to see that I donā€™t start to regress. Although, Iā€™m quite confident Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday are adequate to establish a weekly deficit. Food for thought.

Iā€™ve been bad at writing down other supplements, but I take in ZMA before bed, 1 Hot-Rox Extreme, C-vitamin (3-5g) and creatine (5g) every morning, and recently curcumin/turmeric with dinner. I found some green tea extract Iā€™ve bought and forgotten about that I might add in, but with my poor sleep record, Iā€™m trying to keep caffeine down (not sure if this contains any caffeine but since a normal cup of green tea does Iā€™m assuming it does).

Super low energy throughout the day. Took a half-a-day at work (Iā€™ll work the hours over the weekend to make up for this). Normally I feel invigorated after every meal I have, but now I just havenā€™t experienced that the last two or three days. Iā€™m thinking sleep is the main culprit but if this state persists after a good nightā€™s sleep, and if my gym performance continues to be less than expected, Iā€™ll be doing a carb refeed.

If I can, Iā€™d like to hold off such a refeed until Monday, as Sunday is just an active recovery day and I donā€™t see tremendous value in having extra carbs after my workout tomorrow. That way, Iā€™d hopefully be feeling better intra-day during Monday and have some extra energy come Tuesdayā€™s workout.

I think Iā€™ll follow @danteismā€™s suggestion to me,

Another idea would be to have some extra carbs Sunday before bed, say 50-100 grams, to aid with sleep and then the remaining 200-250 grams on Monday (some added into my peri-workout nutrition and some in the pre-bed snack maybe - once again, to aid with sleep).


Why am I being so wary of a refeed? Well, primarily because Iā€™m not that many weeks into this diet, this is the 4th week, and I donā€™t want to get into the habit of adopting the mindset ā€œugh, feel bad - best eatā€ as that seems as if it might be a hard habit to break, and I think I should be leaner before refeeds become a frequent/recurring thing.

Having had the body fat stores that I had, I will always have plenty of fat cells that are ready to be filled back up again, and so I have to be a bit more restrictive with how I approach eating in general, I think.

I enjoy weighing, planning, and just having a generally structured approach to both aspects of this (leaning out, gaining mass) as I enjoy the tinkering, the experimentation, and the optimization aspects - but I also want to train myself to intuitively make good choices for the times when I donā€™t have a scale, when I donā€™t have the benefit of relying on someone elseā€™s experience, when Iā€™m travelling, etc. so I need to be mindful of how I make my decisions.

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Note to self: foam-rolling is invigorating!

Not a bad idea.

You donā€™t want to go so deep down the rabbit hole that you just go on an all out binge one day from cravings. But you do make a good point here, refeeds have become a bit too big of a thing - everybody is using them as an excuse to eat more.

But if you are feeling horrible by all means, do refeed. Then try to survive for another 2 or so weeks before the next one. Your diet is so low on carbs that you can get away with refeeding a bit more frequently.

Iā€™ve noticed that you are a very analytical person, which is, in my opinion, a good trait to have when lifting weights is something you enjoy. Makes it much easier to see what works and what doesnā€™t

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Noted.

My cravings have actually been better this week than last, maybe the reduction in calories has just made me less hungry (would fall pretty well in line with your post: Natty on Pennies - #1294 by danteism) Although, I did have a slight pang craving for donuts earlier this evening (I didnā€™t indulge of course) which is very strange as I have never in my life had a donut that I ended up liking.

If I refeed I think Iā€™d try to hold off for more than just 2 weeks, in part for the challenge but also since my new meal plan involves a bit more carbs than the one before but Iā€™ll let it play out first before I make up my mind. Also, I should update that meal plan with a second amendment, decided to remove 20g of oats to the benefit of 20g extra maltodextrin in my pre-workout. Iā€™d rather be hungry than have bad performances in the gym.

I see the same trait in you! My physio says that all his weightlifting friends are the nerdiest people he knowā€™s really. Might be something to that.

Thanks for stopping by the log man, if we donā€™t see each other around on the forums this weekend I wish you a nice one!

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Iā€™ve heard of people that drenched tuna in calorie free sodas on a diet, I guess the deeper you go,the weirder your cravings get

Thanks man, I wish you the same!

Saturday, 11th of August 2018

Weight: 76.9 (-0.5kg)
Sleep: <6 lousy hours. No real cause ā€” took until 2 AM to fall asleep, and then I started waking up 40 minutes after that (and was feeling wide awake too). Woke up 5-6 times throughout the night. Yikes.

Mirror analysis: Looking good, my pecs are starting to be more defined by the lines of the muscle and less so by the moobs. Iā€™d say that, visually, my chest and my legs have had the greatest fat loss this week. My abdomen has kind of let go of some fat around the obliques, love handles seem unchanged. The little pouch just below the belly button is possibly a bit smaller - it seemed that way when I did some stomach vacuums at least.

Despite my poor sleep record, I had a decent performance in the gym, it didnā€™t feel great but the numbers were good. Iā€™d say this was because I had another 20g maltodextrin in my pre-workout.

Workout

5 circuits
3 reps @ 135 kg DL
5 reps @ 15 kg Dip
3 reps @ 55 kg Power Clean [0]
5 reps @ 10 kg Pull-up

[0]: Power cleans made my piercing above my clavicle sad, not the first time, but I definitely have to clean the bastard now. Boiled water and sea-salt to the rescue!

I have one more workout left on the program, and then Iā€™ll post a review. Hereā€™s a teaser: the program is great, there are a few things Iā€™d tweak for me specifically but thatā€™s just to take into account some idiosyncracies that I exhibit.

Posting pics and updated measurements tomorrow!

Finalized my meal plan for next week, now that Iā€™ve done my grocery shopping (got 10% ground beef which affects the tally somewhat), and I left the previous draft untouched. See Nordic Blood: Climbing And Lifting / Lifting And Climbing - #43 by Voxel if you are curious about the rationale behind some of these items.

Pre-workout (207 calories, 13p, 39c, 0.6f)

  • 35g maltodextrin (+20g from normal)
  • 16g whey
  • 6-8g sea salt
  • 5g Cinnamon

Intra-workout (304 calories, 39p, 38c, 0f)

  • 40g maltodextrin (+10g above normal)
  • 40g BCAA
  • 6-8g sea salt

Post-workout/Breakfast (356 calories, 54p, 25c, 3f)

  • 100g blueberries (increased 50g - notice I have removed oats from this meal)
  • 100g fruit/berries (bumped from 50g to 100g)
  • 1 scoop whey
  • 1 scoop casein (an hour after the above)

Lunch (454 calories, 23p, 17c, 25f)

  • 3g Omega-3s
  • 200g ground beef (10%)
  • 300g frozen vegetable mix

Dinner A (Monday, Wednesday) (411 calories, 40p, 21c, 15f)

  • 3g Omega-3s
  • 250g cottage cheese
  • 300g frozen vegetable mix

Dinner B (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) (317 calories, 21p, 18c, 16f)

  • 3g Omega-3s
  • 2 eggs
  • 300g frozen vegetable mix
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Pre-bed snack (479 calories, 35p, 32c, 22f)

  • 25g almonds
  • 5g glycine
  • 10g gelatine
  • 40g olive
  • 100g quark 0.2%
  • 100g saurkraut + a probiotic.
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp psyllium husks
  • 30g rye oats (consumed last along with the almonds and the cinnamon)
  • 5g cinnamon

Monday: 2210 calories, 203p, 172c, 65f
Tuesday: 2116 calories, 185p, 169c, 66f
Wednesday: 1876 calories, 177p, 79c, 80f (no peri-workout nutrition, replaced with 3 eggs and 2 scoops of casein)
Thursday: 2116 calories, 185p, 169c, 66f
Friday: 2116 calories, 185p, 169c, 66f
Saturday: probably like Wednesday but maybe replace rye oats with more protein in the morning, weā€™ll see.
Sunday: Like Wednesday.

Hopes and dreams: sleeping better, performing better and feeling better. A bit unhappy with the low fat count on workout days but Iā€™m hoping Wed, Sat, and Sun are enough to offset that. Iā€™ll probably definitely gain some water weight from the increase in carbs but Iā€™m hoping to be able to sustain throughout the presumably longer workouts. So, I will be flying blind a bit with regards to feedback from scale weight and will basically have to give it a week and compare my measurements and my pictures to evaluate how this works.

Do you consume this entire meal one hour after the above or do you take the casein an hour after this meal?

Because if itā€™s the latter, Iā€™d have to argue against it. Protein synthesis, like many other things works in pulses. Your blood leucine levels should return to baseline before being lifted again for it to be optimal.

Iā€™d just toss the casein in there with the whey and other stuff

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The casein is the only item that is delayed, in an attempt to pulse it - how long does one need to wait to achieve an actual pulse? But otherwise noted, Iā€™ll enjoy the fullness it will add to the meal.

Hereā€™s a rough outline of my (intended) timings:

  • Consume Pre-workout, warm-up, be at the gym 15 minutes later (rarely works out like this in practice so Iā€™m making some minor adjustments to make it so this week).
  • Drink intra during workout, usually finished just in time for the workout to end. Sometimes if the workout is really dense Iā€™ll still have some left that I finish at the end of the workout.
  • Shower and bike to work, depending on which gym I go to. One gym is literally in the same building as my office so sometimes itā€™s just ā€œshowerā€.
  • Consume post-workout nutrition.
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Todayā€™s diet; 2103 calories (210p, 134c, 77f). I had reindeer again, yum. Been on two walks today so have had plenty of fresh air and sunshine.

Worth noting is that I am going to the movies tonight and I have had the bulk of my pre-bed snack but Iā€™m taking the glycine and gelatin when I get back right before hopping into bed.

Not worth noting but Iā€™m going to write it down anyway, my cats have started to lie on my stomach now which they avoided before and that has to be the most peculiar indicator of my new leanness - before they always seemed adverse to how unstable a surface it was.

Iā€™ve also noted that deadlifts now hit my quads, Iā€™m guessing I canā€™t tatter-tot using my bodyweight as much I did in the past. Or Iā€™ve just changed up my form.

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Iā€™d say at least 2.5 hours.

The only exception is that you should have your post-workout meal as soon as you can if youā€™re not having a post-workout shake, and you seem to be doing that part pretty well. Thereā€™s no need to bring your meal to the gym but donā€™t wait 2.5 hours after finishing your session to have your whey and casein

Reindeer is great.

Have you thought about the fact that the Australians here probably feel the same way about reindeer that we feel about kangaroo? Feels funny to me

I guess cats are indicator species now

What do you think is the reason then for Biotest suggesting two servings of Mag-10 ASAP after a workout and then another two an hour later? If the benefit isnā€™t the pulse would the elevated levels of amino acids in that elongated window (elongated from the 1hr delay) be markedly beneficial on its own or is it a more like a micro-optimization?

I thought most Aussies were adverse to to eating kangaroo. Donā€™t know whoā€™s an Aussie on here to double check though.

If I had the time and a suitably sized freezer Iā€™d get a hunting license and have tons more reindeer and elk.

I chuckled out loud

Iā€™ll have to say that I donā€™t know, Iā€™ve heard of people using a two part post-workout drink (aminos first and whey an hour later) but I never looked into it. We have to remember that those are liquids and thus they get absorbed faster, especially aminos. Youā€™re having solid food and whey so itā€™ll take longer before it even begins to digest

@MarkKO
@duketheslaya
come to und first, but just so you know, this is practically an Australian board

Reindeer is amazing. Never had elk

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Mate kangaroo is fucking delicious. If you donā€™t like kangaroo and youā€™re an aussie you may as well denounce your citizenship, pack your bags and leave. :joy:

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Elk is best when itā€™s ground, like ground beef. You can make the most nordic tacos ever with elk.

Seems as if some of your kinsmen should leave then Eating Skippy: Why Australia has a problem with kangaroo meat - BBC News

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Sunday, 12th of August 2018

Weight: 76.6kg (-0.3kg since yesterday, -4kg for the week ā€” lost a lot of water weight when I added salt to my peri-workout regimen). Overshot (undershot?) my target weight this week which was 77.9kg by quite a bit.
Sleep: slept 8 hours, woke up just the once. Awesome.

  • Weight: 79.8 kg
  • Shoulders: 116 cm (-0.5cm)
  • (Lower) Waist: 80 cm (-1cm)
  • Chest: 95 cm (+1cm)
  • Arm: 33 cm (+0.5cm)
  • Neck: 37 cm (same)
  • Calf: 36 cm (-0.5cm)
  • Thigh: 56 cm (-1cm)


ā€œLegsā€. I think I carry a surprising amount of fat on my inner thighs for a man

Not much of a change in the love handles this week

Ribs are coming in a bit this week, hard to see in this picture compared to the last as Iā€™ve lost some of my tan.

Felt a bit bloated this morning but the abdominal outline is coming in compared to the pictures I posted last week (see the first post of the log for reference). Iā€™m thinking that a flat stomach is definitely a possibility at the end of the diet (6 weeks left). Whether or not I have the abdominal musculature to exhibit a 6 pack at the end of the process is uncertain.

Had a good active recovery workout today as well. Ab circuit as per the Athlete Lean, Athlete Strong program by CT after 15 minutes on the elliptical. Iā€™d run, but my Achilles tendons are still a bit too roughed up. Iā€™m just guessing here, but taken into account the 4 weeks since I wrecked them Iā€™d say that I have another 2-4 weeks left before Iā€™ll be able to run/sprint. Havenā€™t tried jump rope but Iā€™d guess it hits them in the same way.

Will try to find the time to post a review of the program today but I might now make it, if not itā€™ll come up during the week.

Todayā€™s diet will end up at 2206 calories, 209p, 173c, 70f.


Tomorrow marks the start of 6 Weeks to Superhero. Very excited. Donā€™t have access to a sled or a prowler (but my gym is ordering in a sled soon, they want one with wheels and a braking system to spare their floors) so Iā€™ll substitute backwards sled sprints with an all-out effort on the ergometer until my Achilles heal after which Iā€™ll do normal sprints. Going with the exercise set that is written out otherwise, not the one in the videos: 6 Weeks to Superhero

Kangaroo is pretty good. Stinks when you cook it though. It isnā€™t super popular, but probably more eaten than liver and kidneys.