Happy birthday Steve 
Thanks, guys! Aside from the joint aches and pains, I really don’t feel old, and you can get joint pain at any age. Well, except when I get out of the car after a long drive, then the creaking when I unfold myself is audible and painful… I just have to focus on good form and remember that age brings a certain amount of increased susceptibility to injury.
Only managed 2 workouts this week. I was planning to go last night, got to the gym and realized I forgot my gym shorts, and I wasn’t about to do front squats and run in jeans, so I went ahead and postponed it to this morning.
1/11/19
Warmup: Barbell complex x3 with chinups 1/1/1
Main giant set:
Bench:
5x45#
5x65#
5x95#
5x115#
5X135#
5x155#
5x175#
Chinups: 2/3/4/5/6/7/8
Deadlift:
5x45# +2 power cleans
5x95# + 2 power cleans
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
5x275#
Accessory giant set:
Dips: 10/15/15
Barbell rows 135#: 10/10/10
Front squat 95#: 5/5/5
Conditioning:
10 laps on indoor track: ~:30 rest between laps.
I got off track and ended up only doing 6 rounds of deadlift, but not sure I wanted to make a jump to 315# yet, anyway.
I don’t think it’s prudent to do BB rows and front squat as part of the same giant set. I had planned to progress up in weight on the front squats, but the rows fatigued my core too much, so even 95# was hard. Maybe I’ll switch to horizontal bodyweight rows, that’ll hit my horizontal pull without trashing my core. I don’t have anything to do chest-supported BB rows with, except a machine that I don’t like a whole lot.
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I had to go into work today to get some bookkeeping work done that I can never finish during normal hours because I never have a few hours to work undisturbed, so I hit the gym here at work. No track here, and I really can’t run on site, so I did the elliptical for my conditioning.
1/13/19 - Press/squat/accessory day.
Warmup: barbell complex x3 with chin-ups 1/1/1
Giant set 1:
Press:
5x45#
5x65#
5x95#
5x115#
5x135#
5x145#
Chin-ups 2/3/4/5/6/7
Squat:
5x45#
5x95#
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
5x245#
Accessory giant set:
1 arm DB press per arm:
10x50#
10x50#
10x50#
Krok rows:
10x60#
10x60#
10x60#
Zercher squats:
5x135#
5x135#
5x135#
Conditioning: 15 minutes elliptical, 145 calories burned, which I guess is the best way to measure progress on that machine.
I’m happy that I am still able to progress with the weight, but things are starting to feel heavy. Up until now it’s mostly been making me out of breath, and then DOMS the next 2 days. Today the DOMS from Friday was completely gone, so I guess my muscles are starting to get used to having a demand placed on them.
Oh, forgot to mention, I totally forgot to time the workout again today. The good thing about using the gym at work today, though, was I had 2 squat racks to myself, so no swapping weights around. Rest time between sets was as long as it took to load the bars with the next weight, and take a sip of water. Still under an hour counting warmup and conditioning.
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I jumped into the Strongman Resolutions 2019 thread over in the Strongman section, and it made me think about goals for this year, other than just going to the gym to go, and the t-ransformation challenge. So, here’s my tangible goal list:
1.Keep my knee healthy - This one is a no-brainer, but I tend to forget and push myself past where I should, or do something outside of whatever program I’m working on a whim, and hurting myself, so I guess the more broad goal is to stay healthy, but my knee is what’s a little wonky right now so it’s what I’m actively monitoring.
2.Get down below 180# so I can compete LW next time I compete, expect to accomplish this by June 1 with the @t-ransformation2019 challenge - I initially signed up for this challenge without a concrete goal in mind other than to see my abs again, but since I do want to compete in Strongman some more, I figured I’d target the lightweight cutoff so I’m not competing against people who have 150# on me, since the master’s class usually ends up all together instead of splitting weight classes.
3.500# deadlift - This has been a goal that I have been pursuing but not very intently. I hit 475# last year with a couple months of focused effort, so I think it’s achievable when I shift focus back to strength after June 1st.
4.Consistent 200# log clean and press - I just want to do this because it kicked my ass last year. I realistically should be able to get well over 200# log press, since I can just about strict press 200# with a barbell, but for some reason this is my nemesis.
5.Compete in at least 1 meet this year - I wimped out of the meet in November because of my knee, so obviously achieving #1 on the list is a prerequisite here, but I’m going all in on strongman prep after I finish the challenge on June 1st. Of course, between now and then I’ll continue to work on strength, but with a focus on conditioning and weight loss I’m sure I’ll have some ground to make up this Summer and Fall.
I’m confident that they’re all achievable goals, I just need to keep focused and not have any major lapses, and not be stupid and hurt myself.
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1/15/19 Bench/Deadlift/Accessory day
Warmup: Barbell complex x3 with chinups 1/1/1
Main giant set:
Bench:
5x45#
5x65#
5x95#
5x115#
5X135#
5x155#
5x185#
Chinups: 2/3/4/5/6/7/8
Deadlift:
5x45# +2 power cleans
5x95# + 2 power cleans
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
Switched to mixed grip
5x275#
5x295#
Accessory giant set:
Front squat: 5x95#, 5x115#, 5x135#
Dips: 15/15/15
Barbell rows 135#: 10/10/10
No conditioning, I didn’t bring my running shoes today. I though about doing some sort of WOD, but I decided to head on home because the wife isn’t feeling well. I did remember to time things today, 38:40 from start of warm-up to taking the weights off the bars at the end.
I’ve also decided to keep track of what I’m eating, to keep myself somewhat accountable. I’m not going to weigh things to start out, just watch what I’m putting in my mouth for right now. If I don’t start seeing some progress after a little while, I’ll go to the next step.
Breakfast: Shake = 1 cup whole milk, 1 large egg, 1 scoop quick oats, 1 scoop protein powder. 1 small orange.
Lunch: Large salad = baby spinach, cucumber, carrot, bell pepper, broccoli, olive oil and vinegar. 1 can tuna in olive oil. 12 oz glass of whole milk. (I need to buy some mushrooms, onions and cherry tomatoes to add to my salad fixings at work.)
Dinner: Bowl of roast beef with potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. 12 oz glass whole milk.
Not a whole lot of food compared to an average day last year, but the dinner was pretty substantial, and I’m not hungry right now. Like I said, I’ll keep this up for a while, and if I don’t start seeing the results I like, I’ll start weighing stuff and doing math.
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Your goals are written down now let’s go get it…
Yeah Steve, those are some nice goals, achievable, but it takes some effort.
Get the head down and dig deep. Then you’ll check them all off.
I’ll be here to remind you about them
I thought about adding another goal, ‘beat all Hog’s goals’, but then I realized there’s no way I’ll touch your deadlift or bench goals… You’re getting seriously strong.
I aim to hit them, but yeah, it will take me making it a whole year without slacking. I appreciate the accountability, it definitely helps!
1/15/19 - Make up the conditioning I missed yesterday
Conditioning: 20 minutes elliptical, 198 calories burned, and max heart rate of 160 during the high speed parts of the program. More calories per minute than last time, but then I hadn’t just finished 2 giant sets today. I decided to track my max heart rate as well, since it’s a reasonable measure of how relatively difficult it was.
Breakfast: Shake = 1 cup whole milk, 1 large egg, 1 scoop quick oats, 1 scoop protein powder. 1 apple.
Lunch: Pretzel rounds with hummus. 1 can sardines in mustard. small salad = baby spinach, cucumber, carrot, bell pepper, broccoli, olive oil and vinegar. 12 oz glass of whole milk.
Snack: handful of peanuts (well, handful with the shells, so not a huge amount of actual peanuts.)
Dinner: Homemade chile rellenos made with fresh poblanos, homemade red sauce, homemade guacamole with tomatillos, and sour cream. Black beans. 12 oz glass of whole milk. My wife is an awesome cook!
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1/17/19 - Press/squat/accessory day. 200.4#
Warmup: barbell complex x3 with chin-ups 1/1/1
Giant set 1:
Press:
5x45#
5x65#
5x95#
5x115#
5x135#
6x145#
Chin-ups 2/3/4/5/6/7
Squat:
5x45#
5x95#
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
8x245#
Accessory giant set:
1 arm DB press per arm:
10x50#
10x50#
10x50#
Krok rows:
10x60#
10x60#
10x60#
Zercher squats:
5x135#
5x155#
5x155#
Conditioning: 10 laps of run the straights, walk the curves on indoor track. The run actually is starting to approximate a sprint. Total time from start of warmup to end of runs = 56:00.
This workout and the next one are to approximate a 1RM. 6x145# gives me ~175# on the press, and 8x245# gives me 310# on the squat. I had maybe another rep in the tank on press, and definitely 1-2 on squat, so I think that’s a good conservative place to start. I don’t expect leaps and bounds of strength gains while controlling diet and conditioning, but I think there’s some room to get stronger between now and June.
Breakfast: Shake = 1 cup whole milk, 1 large egg, 1 scoop quick oats, 1 scoop protein powder. 1 small orange. 1 kiwi.
Lunch: Large salad = baby spinach, cucumber, carrot, bell pepper, broccoli, radish, onion, mushroom, tomato, olive oil and vinegar. 1 can tuna in olive oil. 12 oz glass of whole milk. (I have to watch the portions while preparing the salad with that many ingredients or it can get out of hand really fast).
Dinner: Bowl of sausage with peppers, onions and tomatillos, with cilantro lime rice. 12 oz glass whole milk.
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Rest day, and a little wonky meal schedule due to a trip to topeka with my daughter.
Breakfast: Shake = 1 cup whole milk, 1 large egg, 1 scoop quick oats, 1 scoop protein powder. 1 small orange. 1 grapefruit.
Snack: Small handful of mixed nuts. small cafe latte (double shot espresso with 4 oz steamed whole milk).
Dinner: Small cup hot and sour soup (basically broth with a little chives sprinkled in). Small salad = lettuce and shredded carrots with ginger dressing. Sushi - 14 pieces, plus a dynamite roll. 2 pieces of shrimp flipped into my mouth by the chef at the hibachi table, plus the fried onion that he used to make the onion volcano… they usually throw that away but it’s basically an onion saute’d with sesame oil and soy sauce, which is delicious and totally a waste if it gets tossed.
Edited to add some detail to the food eaten.
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1/19/19 Bench/Deadlift/Accessory day
Warmup: Barbell complex x3 with chinups 1/1/1
Main giant set:
Bench:
5x45#
5x65#
5x95#
5x115#
5X135#
5x155#
9x185#
Chinups: 2/3/4/5/6/7/8
Deadlift:
5x45# +2 power cleans
5x95# + 2 power cleans
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
Switched to mixed grip
5x275#
9x315#
Accessory giant set:
Front squat: 5x95#, 5x115#, 5x135#
Dips: 15/15/15
Barbell rows 135#: 10/10/10
Conditioning: 1 mile = 14 laps on indoor track, ~:20 rest after each lap.
185#x9 gives me ~240# max on bench, and 315#x9 gives me ~410# max on deadlift. 1-2 reps in the tank on both lifts, so I have my starting point for the next cycle, which will start Tuesday. I’ll post later with today’s meals.
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Breakfast: Shake = 1 cup whole milk, 1 large egg, 1 scoop quick oats, 1 scoop protein powder. 1 apple.
Snack: Small handful of mixed nuts. small cafe latte (double shot espresso with 4 oz steamed whole milk).
Lunch: Leftover bowl of roast beef with potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. 16 oz glass whole milk (didn’t want to put the carton back with half a cup in it.)
Dinner: Leftover homemade chile rellenos made with fresh poblanos, homemade red sauce, homemade guacamole with tomatillos, and sour cream. Black beans. 12 oz glass of whole milk.
I probably ate more calories than I needed today, but we were working on using up leftovers and clearing out the fridge, so I’ll fall on that sword. All was delicious.
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Great effort Steve, great lifts.
I would have done the 10’th rep… just bc 10 is an awesome number for a pr set/amrap
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I could have. To be honest, I stopped because I want my starting 1RM’s on the conservative side, and multiples of 3 make for easy mental math on calculating your projected 1RM = (#reps x weight lifted x.0333) + weight lifted. Each 3 reps gives you + 10% onto the weight you used.
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Not only are your strong… you’re clever as well
Well, either that or OCD… 
Breakfast: Shake = 1 cup whole milk, 1 large egg, 1 scoop quick oats, 1 scoop protein powder. 1 grapefruit.
Snack: Small handful of mixed nuts. 1 date. 5 cloves pickled garlic. 2 pickled quail eggs. (found a cool butcher’s shop in Lawrence that sells a good variety of Amish pickled stuff. Both the garlic and quail eggs have peppers in them, plenty of spice).
Lunch: Leftover bowl of Johhny Mozetti. This is a Panama Canal Zone ExPat thing, my Grandmother and my Mom made it, and now my wife has the recipe. It’s basically a casserole type thing, with pasta, ground beef, cheddar cheese , and black and green olives and onions and peppers, baked like a lasagna. It’s totally delicious. Salad = spinach, cauliflower, onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, ginger dressing. 12 oz glass whole milk.
Dinner: Leftover bowl of roast beef with potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. 12 oz glass whole milk
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Your Mrs is a champ making all that awesome food all the time. My wife can cook, but has been on Light and Easy, basically all meals prepared and delivered(she’s stuck to it and lost a heap of weight), so I’ve been fending for myself for last few months, basically steak, rice and veg, haha, with the occasional pasta and lots of butter chicken
Didn’t sleep for crap last night, and felt like crap this morning, so didn’t go to work. Sinuses draining all over the place, took some mucinex and went back to sleep, woke up 4 hours later feeling at least human.
Since I’m not at work, I figured I’d calculate my training maxxes and figure out what program I wanted to follow. I decided on a loose 5/3/1 using the same whole body format I’ve been doing, with main and accessory giant sets. Each day I’ll take one of the main exercises as a rep max, and the other I’ll do minimum reps on, so first press/squat day will be press max, first bench/dead day will be deadlift max, and so forth until I get through all 4 main lifts with 5’s, then the same thing with 3’s, and again with 1’s. I’ll continue doing the same conditioning style I’ve been doing, at the end of the main workouts, or on the next day if time precludes. My training maxxes are as follows:
Press: 160#
Deadlift: 370#
Bench: 215#
Squat: 280#
As far as diet goes, I I’m going to keep with what I’m doing until the end of the month, and then see where I stand. I’m controlling portions by eating most of my big meals out of a standard cereal bowl. If I need to make a calorie adjustment downward the obvious way to do it is by dropping my milk intake. If I drop from a 12 oz. to 8 oz. glass of whole milk for lunch and dinner, that’s 150 calories/day. Next step is drop the glass of milk from lunch completely, that’s 300 calories/day. If I go further and drop milk completely except for my morning shake, that’s 450 calories/day. So, I’ve got a couple of incremental calorie drops that I can easily implement without terribly affecting my satiation levels.
I am truly blessed to have the wife I have, I can’t lie. My dinner menu may be changing here in the not too distant future, though, as she’s about to start doing a diet/workout regimen herself that she found on TV. It’s a pilates/yoga mix that comes with a recommended diet book that at a brief read looks fairly paleo-ish. I expect to still have delicious meals, but with less starch and carbs in general, but still plenty of good protein, veggies and fats. I told her I’d go in with her on whatever diet plan she follows, but my breakfast will still consist of my breakfast shake and fruit, and my lunch, at least at work, will be salad with olive oil and vinegar, and tuna or sardines.
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Looks like a great setup, gonna follow that close
How many days a week would that be?
So cycle one would be
pres/squat, DL/bench, Squat/press, Bench/DL
PR/5 each day so eg 12 reps press/5 rep squat.
3 days/week is my goal, but if I only hit 2 days/week some weeks I’m still hitting all the main lifts at least once. It would look like:
max rep press/x squat, x bench/max rep deadlift, x press/max rep squat, max rep bench/x deadlift.
Where x = 5, 3 or 1 depending on where in the cycle I am. It makes sense to me, but I’m not sure I’m conveying it as clearly as I could. It’ll make sense once I start posting it.
Breakfast: Shake = 1 cup whole milk, 1 large egg, 1 scoop quick oats, 1 scoop protein powder. 1 orange.
Lunch: 1 6" Subway club sandwich, double meat, all the veggies, provalone cheese, mayo and Sriracha. 580 calories, 25g fat, 44 g protein and 44 g carbs according to the calculator on their website, but it felt like more than that.
Snack: some pickles jalapenos and garlic cloves, and 2 pickled quail eggs from my jars o’ pickled things.
Dinner: The other 6" of double meat subway club.
I think the calculator on the subway website is a little off. I didn’t gorge myself by any means, today, but both halves of my 12" sub left me pretty full. My shake is about 550 calories, and my snack was 50 calories at most, which puts me at about 1800 calories for the day, which is way low. I purposely didn’t have any milk except for my shake because I’ve been pretty phlegmy all day, and I know being sick can curb your appetite, but that can’t be right.
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