^ One of my favorite bodybuilding pics of all-time.
Partly because Wilkosz has a badass build and is under-appreciated, but also because of the way she’s looking at him. You’re a lying liar who lies if you say getting that kind of reaction from your lady (or your guy) doesn’t register as motivation.
Anyhow, to make it official and whatnot, I figured “keeping” a log for the challenge couldn’t hurt. By “keeping”, I mean it’ll be as consistent as I can. I don’t actually have time to post in general as much as I’d like (I work for a living, dammit), so updates will happen kinda whenever. But I’m a team player, so I’m down to see (and show) where it goes.
(Reinforcing the reason why we ask this. Yesterday was, like, totally an exception. No, for reals. It was the kiddo’s birthday, so we hit Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I usually eat like a monk, honest. I did skip any actual cheesecake though.)
Bigass coffee with stevia; 4 whole eggs and a two handfuls of Normandy vegetables (broccoli/cauliflower/carrot mix) cooked in some coconut oil.
1 shrimp summer roll; mac & cheese burger (so disappointing. It’s fried mac & cheese on a burger, but it’s not two great tastes that taste great together); small side of fries.
1 scoop Metabolic Drive with 1 scoop Superfood in water.
Yesterday’s training:
About 6 inches of snow on the ground, so training in the yard wasn’t an option and walking 3 blocks to the gym wasn’t going to happen. Impromptu session indoors.
A1) 1-KB clean and front squat 4x8-10
A2) Goblet squat 1 and 1/2 (top half for quad emphasis) 4x8-10
B1) 1-KB floor press 3x15
B2) Neutral-grip chin-up 3x5
C) Thick handle Zottman curl 2x10-15
D1) Stationary bike 5x2 minutes
D2) Lying leg arc 5x15
General plan for now, and probably until March, is full body work 3-4 days a week with simple calorie cycling. Since each workout will be comparable, there are no high-medium-low days to coordinate with training volume/intensity, just a “base” day for training and less carbs/total calories on non-training days.
5 - during training) 1 scoop Plazma, 1 scoop creatine.
4 grilled chicken drumsticks, 2Tbsp habanero bbq sauce; 1 cup homemade mac & cheese (made up for the travesty at Cheesecake Factory); 2 cups sauteed kale with onions.
2 scoops Mag-10.
Yesterday’s training:
Went up to almost 50 degrees and everything melted, so training in the yard was back on.
A) Clean and press 10x3 (same weight every set, 75 seconds rest)
B1) Deadlift 5x5 (same weight every set)
B2) Dip 5xX (ended up as 5x9-12)
C1) Lateral raise with 1-count pause at top 3x10-12
C2) 1-arm hammer curl 3x6-8
D1) Stationary bike 5x2 minutes
D2) Side crunch 5x20
Homemade meatloaf (made with 15% lean beef, 1/2 cup panko, 3 eggs, 1/2 an onion, splash of milk); homemade mashed potatoes (just peeled potatoes, boiled then mashed.); sauteed kale with garlic; 1 glass of wine.
2 scoops Mag-10.
Rhetorical Math Quiz: The meatloaf was made using 2 and 2/3 pounds ground beef. I ate almost 1/3 of the meatloaf. How much meat did I eat? The answer is “plenty.”
I’m really digging the pre-bed Mag-10. I’ve played around with it before, but I’m pretty sure I’m sold on this being my favorite application. Pulses during the day are fine, but the big hit before bed seems to crank up recovery even more.
If you follow the "eat for what you’re about to do” approach to nutrition, then I think it makes sense to throw down fast-acting, high quality protein when you tell your body “I’mma rest, you go rebuild and grow stuff.” Whether it has to do with how the hydrolyzed casein influences cortisol levels at night or how protein synthesis works during sleeping hours or whatever, I have no idea, but I’m sticking with it.
A1) Front squat 10x3 (60 seconds rest, starting the clock after squats so chins are done during the minute “rest”)
A2) Chin-up 10x3
B) 1-arm elbow-out row 4x8-12
C1) 1-arm thick rope pressdown 3xX (ended up 25,9,10)
C2) 1-arm thick rope hammer cable curl 3xX (same weight as above, ended up 15,9,7)
D1) Max incline treadmill walk 3x5 minutes
D2) Hanging knee raise 3x12-15
The ab-cardio superset thing has been around since the ‘70s, if not before that. Frank Zane had “ab-aerobics” alternating an ab move with a piece of cardio for a minute each, 10-20 minutes total. Pretty sure Nubret also did something along those lines. And there have been a few articles from Lowery, Thib, Rooney, and Mahler that all talked about a similar approach. Feels good (and it sucks, which must mean it’s good) and it’s less boring than knocking out a full ab session and a separate full cardio session.
A) Clean and press 10x3 (same weight each set, 75s rest)
B1) Deadstop RDL 4x10-12
B2) Dip 4xX (ended up 4x11-12)
C) Hammer Strength 1-arm DY Row 4x8-10 (my most favorite machine ever)
D1) Lateral raise 3x10-12 (1-count pause at top)
D2) Zottman curl 3xX (ended up 3x12-15)
E1) Hanging knee raise 4x12-15
E2) Max incline treadmill walk 3x5 min. (basically like last week, just started with 1 additional ab set)
Yesterday’s food:
1A) 16oz Spike
1B) 4 eggs, 1 diced potato; bowl of Normandy veg with garlic salt; 1 cup pineapple.
4A) 4 sausages, many peppers and onions; baseball-sized chunk of fresh bread; 2 glasses red wine (1 while cooking, 1 during dinner.)
4B) Breyers CarbSmart Almond bar
That said, I’d be very surprised if I was still over 200lbs by the end and I’m fully expecting not to be. So, guess I’m headed straight for “not an adult male” territory.
1 month progress pics. Essentially zero weight loss the last 4 weeks, so… recomping? Creatine water weight cancelling out fat loss? Whatever, I’ll take it:
1 month comparison. Love handles seem to be the first thing going, so that’s neat. Definitely continuing the ab work-cardio supersets, even though “spot reducing isn’t a thing”:
A1) Front squat 10x3 (60 seconds rest, doing chins during the “rest”)
A2) Neutral-grip chin 10x3
B1) 1-arm DY row 4x8-10
B2) Lateral raise with 1-count pause 4xX (used 10-pound plates for all sets, ended up 11-18 reps)
C1) Alternating hammer curl 3x6-8
C2) High incline curl 3xX (ended up 6-15)
D1) Hanging knee raise 4x12-15
D2) Max incline treadmill 3x5min.
On the third set of squats, something in my back went phwang (that’s a technical term) after I got out of position in the bottom. I was dumb and went on like nothing happened, but did keep the rest of the squats a bit higher/just to parallel. Woke up this morning and, yeah, something happened. Using a heating pad, cat/camel drill, fish oil, and Curcumin throughout the day to fix it.
Bugger. Phwangs are not to be taken lightly. Odd as this may sound, try touching your toes under a hot shower with the water jet on the offending area. That works a treat for me.
So I went in the shower, turned around, and grabbed my ankles just like you said. Thanks, man, it felt great. Ha, but yeah, a few days rest and recovery and it’s all back to normal.
Feeling refreshed and seeing the time a’ticking, I decided to step things up across the board. Will be weighing in twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays, to watch the trending a bit more.
Today’s morning weight: 212.2
Yesterday’s food:
Coffee with stevia; 2 scoops Metabolic Drive, 1/2 cup steel-cut oats, 1 Tbsp cinnamon, 1 diced apple
I did skip any actual cheesecake though.)
Ha, but yeah, a few days rest and recovery and it’s all back to normal.