5/3/1 CYCLES / LIFTING PLANS

Lifting plans/thoughts:

1.  Obviously, continue 5/3/1.

2.  Assistance work - continue my current stuff until either I start to stall out or start to get through the workouts with energy/strength to spare.

If I plateau, I will shuffle stuff around (ex:  have two leg+back days, two chest/shoulder + arm days), but keep the volume pretty consistent.

If I have extra go-juice, I will add in more exercises (this will probably happen once my food intake increases sufficiently).

3.  Specialization/concentration - Currently I am going pretty heavy on shoulders, upper chest, and hamstrings.  Back & quads are mostly maintenance.  I will probably switch my concentration to quads, back, and arms once my gains start to plateau.

Days will probably go something like:

-BB OH press, bicep curls, skull crushers, hammer curls, shoulder-triple

-Squat, pullups, leg press, BB row, calf raises

-DB bench, preacher curls, floor press, tricep push downs, concentration curls

-Deadlifts, RDLs, 1-hand row, step ups, cable pullovers

4.  Do at least one four week cycle of Waterbury's HFT calf routine when my intake is high enough for mass gain.  Possibly April, possibly May.  Depending upon how I am doing I might run two cycles.

5.  Cardio - I will probably phase out most of my bike based cardio, at least until start leaning down again.  Morning/daily walks will happen once it gets warm enough.  And jogging/practicing for a 5K will begin as well.  So that should handle me for conditioning.

6.  Abs - I will probably continue doing them on lifting days, and then ceasing on my deload weeks

7.  I am pondering two-a-day workouts once I get my food intake high enough (probably 5/3/1 cycle #3).  If I do them, my workouts will probably be split like so:

Workout A (probably around 11:00am):  Main lift, one supplement - do at home

Workout B (5:00pm or so):  All accessories - do at Gym or home (depending upon equipment needs)

Example:

A)  5/3/1 Squat, bulgarians

B)  RDL, Leg press, GHR, leg extension, calf raise

=============================================================

Calculations for 5/3/1 primary lifts for the next six cycles.  By the end of the cycles, if all goes well, I should have added 25# to my OH Press & DB Bench, and 50# to my Squat & Deadlift

Cycle:
Week 1:  3x5 - 65x5/75x5/85x5+
Week 2:  3x3 - 70x3/80x3/90x3+
Week 3:  531 - 75x5/85x3/95x1+
Week 4:  3x5 - 40x5/50x5/60x5+

exercise:  65% / 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90 / 95 || 40 / 50 / 60

CYCLE 2:
BB OH      80 / 85 / 95 / 100 / 110 / 115 / 125       || 50 / 65 / 75
Squat         205 / 220 / 235 / 250 / 265 / 280 / 295 || 125 / 155 / 185
DB Bench  65 / 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90 / 95               || 35 / 45 / 55
Deadlift      255 / 275 / 295 / 315 / 335 / 355 / 375 || 165 / 195 / 215

CYCLE 3:

BB OH       85 / 90 / 100 / 105 / 115 / 120 / 130     || 55 / 70 / 80

Squat          215 / 230 / 245 / 260 / 275 / 290 / 305 || 135 / 165 / 195

DB Bench   70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90 / 95 / 100             || 40 / 50 / 60

Deadlift       265 / 285 / 305 / 325 / 345 / 365 / 385 || 175 / 205 / 225

CYCLE 4:

BB OH       90 / 95 / 105 / 110 / 120 / 125 / 135     || 60 / 75 / 85

Squat          225 / 240 / 255 / 270 / 285 / 300 / 315 || 145 / 175 / 205

DB Bench   75 / 80 / 85 / 90 / 95 / 100 / 105           || 45 / 55 / 65

Deadlift       275 / 295 / 315 / 335 / 355 / 375 / 395 || 185 / 215 / 235

CYCLE 5:

BB OH       95 / 100 / 110 / 115 / 125 / 130 / 140   || 65 / 80 / 90

Squat          235 / 250 / 265 / 280 / 295 / 310 / 325 || 155 / 185 / 215

DB Bench   80 / 85 / 90 / 95 / 100 / 105 / 110         || 50 / 60 / 70

Deadlift       285 / 305 / 325 / 345 / 365 / 385 / 405 || 195 / 225 / 245

CYCLE 6:

BB OH       100 / 105 / 115 / 120 / 130 / 135 / 145 || 70 / 85 / 95

Squat          245 / 260 / 275 / 290 / 305 / 320 / 335 || 165 / 195 / 225

DB Bench   85 / 90 / 95 / 100 / 105 / 110 / 115       || 55 / 65 / 75

Deadlift       295 / 315 / 335 / 355 / 375 / 395 / 415 || 205 / 235 / 255

Monday - Chest day

@09:00 - SS Cardio completed.  Today's training will be my 5,3,1+ chest session.  For both OH Press & Squats I got 5,3,3.  I am hoping that I can beat the triple with DB bench press today and Deadlifts tomorrow.

I have about six 5/3/1 cycles remaining prior to D*Con.  I am not positive if I will keep on the template all the way to Con, but so far, so good.

@18:45 - Workout sucked *wry grin*.  Not surprisingly, I had no strength.  I only crashed out twice today *rolls eyes*.  I hit my 5/3/1 on DB bench.  Barely.  Dips I dropped a couple of reps below last week.  Incline flyes went ok.  Incline DB press I only got five reps at 55#.  Last week I hit 8 reps on my first set.  After the DB incline, I called the workout off.  No strength, no endurance, so I opted to stop rather than push myself too far.  Ah well.  Hopefully tomorrow's deadlift/back workout will be decent.

Sunday - no lifting

Just working on the wood pile and pipe insulation today.  Probably will do some cardio later this afternoon/evening.

I can say decisively that the 5/3/1 template I am on has had visible results.  I have new striations in my arms, dents in my abs, and my delts are rounding out.  Am I losing much fat?  No.  Am I gaining a ton of muscle?  No. But I am at the point where small changes are noticeable and very welcome.

Honestly, if I come into D*con at my current mass (180#) but am fully lean (<8% bodyfat, sharp abs, etc), I will be very happy.

WATERBURY HFT CALF TRAINING

CALF THOUGHTS:

Once increase my food intake to "a bit above maintenance levels" (aka - slow gains), I am going to add Waterbury's HFT Calf Routine into my training program.  It is a very simple bodyweight routine, two workouts per day.  He recommends a 2 on - 1 off cycle (ex:  Mon,Tues, Thurs,Fri, Sun,Mon...).  However, due to the fact that I am bad about having my workouts out of sync (I forget to do stuff), I will be just sticking to Sun,Mon,Tues,Thurs,Fri (Wed & Sat off).  The extra day should not do any harm.

The routine is as follows:

AM workout:

A1)  Single leg hop x 10 - goal is to hop as high as possible.  Really push hard.

A2)  Single leg calf raise x 5 - Five second contraction (try to cramp), followed by five second break.

No rest between exercises.

Rest 60 seconds after A2.

Do three cycles for one leg, then switch to the other leg

PM workout:

A)  Double leg calf raise to failure - no pausing, rapid speed, keep constant motion/tension

B)  Single leg calf stretch - Deep stretch for 30 seconds.  Alternate legs.  Two sets per leg.

Do the routine consistently for four weeks, then take a week off.  Hopefully results will be noticeable.  In my case, even 1/2" would be wonderful (get me closer to 15").

Saturday - Squats & calf thoughts

@09:15 - Feeling pretty good today.  Going to hit the gym in a couple of hours, as it closes at 2:00pm.  And I want to be able to spend most of tomorrow working outside.

@21:30 - Lifting went decently.  I was somewhat head-spinny after each set, but I made it through.  Nothing record breaking, but still a decent workout.  Only got a triple at 285# on squats.  Still weak sauce.

Went to Rodizios for dinner.  Oy.  So. Much.  Meat.  *nom nom nom* oof belly too full *tiny nom*

2011-02-26 Saturday Check in [180.25@32.0]

Doing the checkin today instead of Sunday so we can go to Rodizio's tonight for meat buffet!


DETAILED MEASUREMENTS
Weight:  180.25 (no change)
Waist:  32.0 (+0.125)
Arm: 15.875 (+0.125)
Thigh:  23.0 (no change)
Calf:  14.375 (+0.125)

CURRENT CARB ROTATION:
  Meal 4,5:  30gP+20gC
  Meal 1,2,3,6:  40gP+10gF
  Totals:  180gP+40gF+40gC
--kind of.  Added random fruit, was not as rigorous about portions, and had an extra meal (shake + PB) Friday night.  Plus stuff noted below

CURRENT CARDIO:
  Pre-breakfast, on exercise bike
  Lifting Days - 30 minute steady state
  Off Days - HIIT (5 min warm up, 20min sprints [15s on, 45s off], 5 min cool down)
--that was the plan.  Mostly did steady state this week, due to energy levels

TRAINING PLAN:
5/3/1, Cycle #1, Week 3 [5,3,1]

HOW TRAINING/STRENGTH GAINS ARE GOING:
Friday was my first post-tattoo lifting day.  Went pretty well, considering my arm is still beaten up and my pre-workout meal was over three hours before I hit the gym.  


Still enjoying the program.

ANY DEVIATIONS THIS PAST WEEK:
1.  Sunday  - Photoshoot.  No lifting or cardio, and pigged out at Outback afterwards.
2.  Monday - Tattoo.  Did cardio in the morning, but no lifting, and pigged out at Famous Dave's afterwards.
3.  Tuesday - Crashed all day.  Pigged out at Camachos.  No training.
4.  Wednesday - cardio, no lifting
5.  Thursday - cardio, no lifting
6.  Friday - cardio & lifting
7.  Saturday - Lifting, possibly cardio.  Rodizios tonight.

Friday - Shoulders

First day of lifting post-tattoo.  Today was my shoulders day.  It went fairly well.  I did not have as much strength/energy as the last time I did this workout.  However, seeing how I had my arm tattooed on Monday and had not eaten for over three hours, the lack of drive is not surprising.  I did make it through everything.

Today was 5,3,1 for military press.  I only got a triple for my last set.  Just no strength.  And I had to fight through everything else.  But I completed all of my sets, which is good enough.

I am hoping to lift again tomorrow (Squats) and then Monday/Tuesday (Chest/Back).  No clue what I will be doing while in DC.

I have no idea how my weigh-in on Sunday will be.  Hopefully not horrid.

Wednesday - Still not lifting

Mid-week weighin
mass: 183.0 (+2.75)
waist: 32.0 (+0.125)

Sunday I was at a photoshoot which took my entire day.  Monday I had a tattoo session.  Tuesday & today have been recovery days from the inking.  Therefore, I have not lifted recently.  I have done some cardio, but nothing major.

Sunday evening we ate at Outback after the shoot.  It was a scheduled cheat/refeed meal, so I did not feel bad about eating a lot.
Monday evening we went to Famous Daves after my tattoo.  Again, I ate a lot.
Tuesday evening we went to Camachos (I had a strong desire for nachos & stuff).  Overate yet again.

The end result of not lifting, only a bit of cardio, and three cheat meals:  I am up 2.75# and 0.125" on my waist.  Not bad, considering what I just did.  I wish that my upcoming mass gaining cycle would let me gain 2-3# a week with a 0.125"/week waist gain.  That would give me about 20# of mass with less than 1" of waist increase over my cycle.  Sadly, I know that will not happen.  But I can still hope.

2011-02-20 Sunday Check In [180.25@31.875]

CURRENT WEIGHT: 180.25
LAST WEEK’S WEIGHT:  182.5
CURRENT CARB ROTATION:
  Meal 4,5:  30gP+20gC
  Meal 1,2,3,6:  40gP+10gF
  Totals:  180gP+40gF+40gC
CURRENT CARDIO:
  Pre-breakfast, on exercise bike
  Lifting Days - 30 minute steady state
  Off Days - HIIT (5 min warm up, 20min sprints [15s on, 45s off], 5 min cool down)

HOW TRAINING/STRENGTH GAINS ARE GOING:
5/3/1 is still going very well for me.  I am going up in weight and/or reps on all of my supplement exercises, and my primary lifts are flying.  Plus, I am having fun while doing it.


ANY DEVIATIONS THIS PAST WEEK:
Nope.


DETAILED MEASUREMENTS
Weight:  180.25 (-1.75)
Waist:  31.875 (-0.25)
Arm: 15.75 (-0.25)
Thigh:  23.0 (-0.125)
Calf:  14.25 (no change)

PHOTOS:   http://s1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd478/davenwilliams/Progress%20Photos/2011-02-20/

OTHER NOTES:
This is my final check in.  My Shelby time is now at an end.  I am going to continue leaning for a few more weeks.  Then I will spend about twelve weeks slowly increasing my food intake.  I am not looking to gain all that much (maybe a few pounds total), but my goal is to ratchet my intake as high as possible while not gaining much fat (ie--waist size stays below 33").  Then starting in June I will be leaning out in preparation for Labor Day weekend.

End Shelby - Plans for the future

Last day of working directly with Shelby.  I will be continuing on the same path at least until DragonCon in September.

I have not exercised today at all.  Went shopping for an unexpected six hour stint, which threw my meal schedule off badly, and I never recovered enough to do anything.

=======================
Plans for the upcoming months:

Now until March 3: Remain on a hard leaning cycle until I go out to Herndon.

March 10-13:  Resume hard leaning to repair the damage caused by the lack of diet/exercise while in Herndon.

March 14 - May 5 (MD S&W):  Slowly increase food intake over an eight week period.  Goal is to ratchet my intake as high as possible while not gaining excessive fat.  My cut-off will be if my waist hits 33".  Once that happens, I will reduce intake to ensure that I do not exceed that measurement.  Basic steps:

May 11 - June 8:  Maintain body mass and food intake as much as possible (stabilize a bit).

June 9 - Aug 31:  Lean down slowly.  Basic steps:  implement carb cycling, drop carbs, implement occasional cardio, drop protein & fats, drop more carbs, implement daily cardio.  I will go through each step based upon my results from the week.  Once my results stall, I will ratchet down more.  This should give me twelve weeks of slow cutting, with the goal of retaining as much muscle as possible while leaning down utterly.

For gaining/maintenance, my upper limit is a 33" waist.  Body mass has no cut-off, heavier is better.  Food intake likewise has no limit, the more the better.
Food intake goal (the minimum I would like to be at by June 9th without excessive abdominal size gain):
Protein = 300g/day, Fats = 120g/day, Carbs = 200g/day.  More would be a good thing.

My current daily intake is:  180gP, 40gC, 40gF
My plan for increasing my intake is pretty simple.  Each week, add in 15gP, 20gC, 10gF to my daily intake.  Once I reach a point where I start gaining waist size, I will switch to carb cycling.  Example, if my threshold is 240gP+120gC+80gF, then I will have my low days be about 210gP+80gC+80gF, high days would be 240gP+140gC+60gF.  If that works (waist gain stabilizes), then I will slowly ratchet up my high days.  If my waist gain continues, I will implement medium days as well.  Initial schedule will be Lifting Day = High, off day = Low.  If/when medium days are necessary, then my week will be LMHLMHL (lifting Mon,Tues,Thurs,Fri)

For leaning, I have no lower limit.  My goal is to have defined abs.  But even if I achieve that state before my leaning cycle is over, I will continue to lean down more.  Unless I drop to sub 5% bodyfat, I will not halt leaning. And as my likelihood of getting that lean is negligible, I will be leaning heavily for the entire twelve weeks.

Friday - Deads & Back

@09:15 - Today is going to suck.  Chris has put me in a horrid mood, I am starving, I have a throbbing headache, and my energy levels are shit.

@13:00 - Lifted early today, due to anger at work stuff.  Workout went decently. I  probably could have hit one or two more reps on my deads, but oh well.  Pull downs increased, but by the time I got to one-hand rows my muscles were getting fatigued.  Still, made it through everything.

@14:15 - Ate post-workout meal.  Went for walk.  Ate again.  Bloody exhausted.  Want to sleep now.

@16:00 - napped for 1.5 hours.  Still feel dragged out and somewhat nauseous.

Thursday - Chest

@09:00 - Cardio complete, meal 1 consumed, chores taken care of.

Today is chest day.  So far, I am doing ok.  Hopefully I will have energy later on.

@13:30 - Hunger levels are at "zero tolerance".  Only a few more days of this, then a decently large meal.  Then I repeat this crap until I go to Herndon.  And then resume when I get back.  And continue until I am actually lean (or until I give up)

I just calculated:  If I do things correctly, I should have a full eight weeks between trips.  Which means I should be able to get through two full 5/3/1 cycles.

@19:00 - Did pretty well in the lifting.  Beat last week in everything.  Go me.
I also spent about 1/2 an hour coaching a guy in deadlifts & DB swing technique.  Sadly, this, combined with running to the grocery store, put me about an hour late for my post-workout meal.  I just finished consuming it.  Still a bit spacy

Wednesday - off day

No lifting today.  Instead, just interval sprints later on.

My weigh in this morning was positive.  Down about 1.5# and 0.25" off of my waist.  So my current meal plan & cardio seems to be working.  And seeing how my lifting performance is not dropping off, I seem to be retaining strength as well.

The only issue is that post-lifting I have been getting really drained.  Not full-on crashing, but pretty much dead in terms of energy.

@13:15 - hungry, out of energy, in a bad mood

Tuesday - Squats

@08:30 - Cardio taken care of, meal #1 consumed.

Last night I crashed kind of badly in the evening.  Therefore, I am going to re-shuffle my meals a bit today so that I eat seven times, rather than six.  Hopefully this will help stave off another crash.

Monday - Shoulders

Due to various timing issues, I did not lift yesterday.  So I am going to be lifting Mon-Tues/Thurs-Fri this week.

My new diet for the week:
Lifting days:  Meals 1,2,3,6 = 30gP + 10gF,  Meals 4,5 = 30gP + 20gC
Non-lifting days:  Meals 1,2 = 30gP + 20gC, Meals 3,4,5,6 = 30gP + 10gF

Cardio:
Lifting days:  30 minutes steady state
Non-lifting days:  30 minutes interval sprints
Done pre-breakfast.

@12:45 - Still really hungry.  The lack of carbs and reduced protein is very noticeable.

@20:30 - I love Geronimo.  Yet again, made it through my workout without energy issues, even though I was dragging due to hunger.

It is triples week for my 5/3/1 motion.  My military press was 85# x 3, 95# x 3, 115# x 8 (last set was supposed to be 3+, I think I hit the +).

Everything else went well.  Slight improvements on all of my auxiliary motions.

Afterwards, of course, I am severely dragging.  I had my post-workout meal around 17:30, and my final meal was around 19:30.  I wasn't paying attention, and had forgotten that I had four meals before lifting, which means I only get two post-workout meals.  Oops.  Ah well, I'll live.  Just a bit crashy.

2011-02-13 Sunday Checkin [182.5@32.125]

CURRENT WEIGHT: 182.5
LAST WEEK’S WEIGHT:  183.0
CURRENT CARB ROTATION:
  Meal 1,4,5:  40gP+10gF+20gC
  Meal 2,3,6:  40gP+10gF
  Totals:  240gP+60gF+60gC
CURRENT CARDIO:  
  Pre-breakfast, on exercise bike
  Tues - 30 minute steady state
  Thurs - HIIT (5 min warm up, 20min sprints [15s on, 45s off], 5 min cool down)
  Sat - 30 min steady state


My results (or lack thereof) are confusing and upsetting.  I do not cheat at all, unless you consider eating a bunch of onions, green peppers, mushrooms, carrots, and cabbage to be cheating (I have a pretty big shot of veggies with each meal, and those are my favorites).


Obviously, the addition of cardio did not help.  Therefore, I expect to have my intake reduced.  In addition to cutting down on my macros, should I implement a rudimentary carb-cycling protocol (ex:  60gC on lifting days, 20gC on off-days, with fats being opposite)?

HOW TRAINING/STRENGTH GAINS ARE GOING:
Very well.  Due to general "blah" about the routine I was on and stagnating progress, I switched to Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 this past week.  Each workout I have the primary motion (military press, squat, dumbbell bench press, deadlift), and then three auxiliary motions (performed for 4x8-10), and finish with variou ab work and stretching.


I actually enjoyed each of the workouts, and was very eager to lift.  Which is a vast improvement over the "ugh, have to go to the gym again" phase I had been in.


Strength-wise, my numbers are not too dissimilar to where I was before I started dieting in August.  My dumbbell bench is down about 15% (not surprising, as I have not done any flat pressing for a long time), my deadlift is just about the same, and my military press is actually up.  My squat numbers are not comparable, as I used to use a wide-stance, low-bar position (power lifting stance), and I now use a more olympic stance (high bar, feet about shoulder width, upright torso).  


I also have much greater DOMS than I have experienced for a long time.  My technique is getting more focused on concentrating on a given muscle, rather than merely "moving the weight".  So between the volume and the focus, I seem to be getting better at bodybuilding-style lifting.

DETAILED MEASUREMENTS
Weight:  182.5 (-0.5)
Waist:  32.125 (no change)
Arm: 16.0 (no change)
Thigh:  23.125 (no change)
Calf:  14.25 (no change)

PHOTOS:   http://s1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd478/davenwilliams/Progress%20Photos/2011-02-13/


Even though my measurements are not changing, visually I am looking better.  While lifting on Friday, I had new veins showing up that I have never seen before (such as one running horizontally across my bicep).  I am also getting much deeper cuts in my delts and quads.  Granted these don't show up in my photos, but are apparent when I am pumped up.

OTHER NOTES:
Supplements
Creatine - I stopped taking Creatine as of Wednesday.  There seemed to be a correlation between when I started the Creatine and my utter lack of mass/physique change.  On Friday I did a quick weigh-in and I was down to 181.0#, so my supposition seemed to be correct.  Of course, today I am back to 182.5#, so I am somewhat confused.


Geronimo - So far, I love it.  I have used it for three lifting sessions, and I have blasted through my workouts.  I occasionally reach muscular failure, but I have had no issues with energy, motivation, or mood.


Cognitrop/Metabotrop - I am taking these twice a day.  Once pre-breakfast, once mid-afternoon.  I am doing a full (three pill) dose of Metabotrop and a half (two pill) dose of Cognitrop each time

Saturday - Cardio

@13:30 - Steady state cardio this morning, then ran errands.  Nothing major going on.  I feel fine, just hungry (as usual)

Friday - Deads & Back

Yes, I am making my deadlift day a "back" day.  Deads work the back of the body, don't they?  *grin*

@08:30 - Feeling pretty good so far.  My chest is still sore as all hell from Wednesday, but other than that I seem to be in good shape.

@12:15 - Hungry and oddly tired.  Been this way for a few hours now.  *annoyed*

@18:15 - went for a walk during the afternoon, perked me up a bit.

I officially love my pre-workout supplement stack.  Pre-workout carby meal with Metabotrop + Cognitrop (at around 15:00).  Thirty minutes later, two scoops of Geronimo with a scoop of ALCAR.  An hour after my workout I am still energetic, although worn out.

Lifting went quite well.  I hit an easy single at 415# for deadlifts.  I calculated my percentages using 425# as my 1RM, although if I was truly maxing out I could probably have gotten at least 445#.  But, no reason to over-strain myself.

After my 3x5 deadlifts (250x5, 285x5, 325x7), I did strict pulldowns (full stretch, contract lats first), single handed rows, and alternating sets of supinated and hammer curls.  Finished up with weighted leg raises and some stretching.  During the curls, I had veins popping out that ran horizontally across my biceps.  First time that has ever happened.

My endurance was not superlative (I wound up doing drop sets), but still, I made it through without lagging.  Granted, I was somewhat nauseous, but I am blaming it on the ab work and general fatigue.

Thursday - Cardio

@09:00 - This morning was interval sprints and stretching.
I am a bit sore from lifting the past few sessions.  Not surprising.  On the upside, I actually feel pretty good.

I have stopped taking creatine.  I realized that in the past week and a half I have had zero changes in my waist/weight.  Which correlates to the creatine.  Granted, there were other factors, but perhaps merely cutting out the creatine will help me restart the weight loss.

@13:30 - I have been quite hungry today.  Not surprising, due to the workouts.  But still not fun.

Wednesday - Chest

@08:15 - Today will be my chest-centric workout.  This will be interesting, as I tweaked my right delt when I fell down the stairs yesterday.

This morning's weigh-in was not encouraging.  Really no change since Sunday.  Although I am hoping part of that is due to eating at Waffle-house last night.  Ah well.  Four days until my official weigh in, with two lifting sessions (chest, deadlifts+back) and two cardio sessions (sprints, steady state) to go.

@11:00 - Just ate.  Still hungry.  Stupid body.  If I am constantly hungry, I should be losing weight.

@20:00 - Workout went quite well.  I had to dial in my DB bench press, and I was able to hit 100# for a single.  Not too bad, considering I have not gone heavy on the exercise for a while.  I did drop a few reps on my dips.  I am blaming most of it on my second set when the weights swung too much and threw off my form.  Hard to recover after that.  Incline flys went well.  By the time I got to incline DB press I was fatigued, so I dropped the weight for each set (55,50,45,40).

--And so far, Geronimo has my approval.  I am still buzzing from my workout, even though I really did hit failure.  Monday I was the same way after my legs workout.  Energy and drive all the way through, only stopping point was actual muscular failure.  And then felt good afterwards.

Tuesday - cardio & flooring

@11:00 - Woke up, took my Creatine, ALCAR, metabotrop, and cognitrop then jumped on the bike for 30 minutes of steady state.  Wolfed food, then started moving stuff out of the living room so the floor could be removed.  Lots of trips up and down the stairs.  Oy.

Seeing how today is not a lifting day, I am going to have my second meal contain carbs.

@14:15 - Not doing too bad so far today.  Shoulders & traps are really sore.

@14:45 - Hmm.  I think I tweaked my delt.  It feels muscle-centric, not joint related.  So I am not too worried.  I'll just have to stretch out today and warm up really well tomorrow.

Monday - Squats

@08:00 - Today is day #2 of 5/3/1, and I will concentrating on squats.

I did not sleep very well.  Woke up at 3:00am, and never really fell back asleep.  Just dozed a bit.  Ah well.

In terms of workouts - I had forgotten that I have my tattoo on Feb 21st.  If I work out four times a week, then I  will only get through my first two weeks of lifting before the tattoo (3x5, 3x3).  However, if I do a two-on,one-off cycle (Sun,Mon, Wed,Thurs, Sat,Sun, etc), then I will be able to get in almost all of my workouts for the first cycle (I will miss out on my 5-3-1 day for deads/back).  So, I think I am going to try that out.

@08:15 - On reflection, 2-on/1-off will only get me one extra workout.  With my normal schedule (Sun,Mon,Wed,Fri) I will have nine more workouts before my tattoo session.  With the 2/1, I will have ten more.  So, meh.  I am on a leaning cycle, I need my recovery & cardio time

@13:30 - Meal #2 was at 12:00.  I am now dizzy from hunger, so I am going to eat meal #3.  Meal #4 (carby) will occur before I lift, which might not be for a while, as an electrician will be coming by to give an estimate for running a 240v line under the house.

@14:00 - just ate, still hungry.  I guess 5/3/1 kicked up my metabolism a bit.

My Geronimo and ALCAR just arrived, so I will be starting those today.
Geronimo - energy booster for lifting
ALCAR - Acetyl L-Carnitine (aka - Carnitine L-Tartrate/CLT):  Helps with muscular recovery.  Will be taking a hit before every exercise session (cardio & weights)

@21:30 - At 15:30 I took my second shot of Metabotrop & Cognitrop.  At 16:00 I took a single scoop of Geronimo and some ALCAR.  The workout went pretty well.  Got through everything, no problems with energy or strength throughout.  I did get a bit head-spinny during my RDLs, but that is not an issue.  I also was able to isolate my hams much more than usual.  yay for technique progress.

I am wiped now.  After the workout I ate and cooked a lot.  No more food tonight, so I will just be kind of dead.

Sunday - Shoulders - Start 5/3/1

@15:00 - Today I switched to Jim Wendler's 5/3/1.
Reasons:
1.  I was stagnating on my previous program (triple drop sets, 6-8 reps per exercise)
2.  I was not having any fun lifting
3.  No fun = no motivation to hit the gym
4.  I have wanted to try 5/3/1 for a while, and this seems like a good time to transition.  The first month/cycle will get me used to it, and I can continue it once I start adding more food in (or if I continue to lean out)
5.  I miss being able to test my strength levels.

Today was shoulders.
3x5 strict military press, at 65%,75%,85% of my sub-max (sub-max = 90% of 1RM).  I am wimpy, so my weights are low (1RM = 135#)
4x8-10 lat raise
4x8-10 1-hand arnold press (much harder than you would think)
4x8-10 tricep pushdown
4 sets of 1-hand overhead carries (about 40' per carry)

This workout felt better than any I have done in quite a while.  And I could really feel my shoulders working by the time I got to the arnold presses.
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Diet/Cardio updates:  Due to my pathetic results this past week (I had no positive changes at all), I will be adding in cardio on my non-lifting days.  Shelby actually gave me a choice between dropping my carbs or adding cardio.  Hmm...let me think...I am already down to 60g of carbs a day.  Now, would I rather drop that to 40g or less or add in some cardio sessions?  Such a difficult decision.  *snort

2011-02-06 - Sunday Checkin [183.0@32.125]

CURRENT WEIGHT: 183.0
LAST WEEK’S WEIGHT:  182.75
CURRENT CARB ROTATION:
  Meal 1,4,5:  40gP+10gF+20gC
  Meal 2,3,6:  40gP+10gF
CURRENT CARDIO:  none

HOW TRAINING/STRENGTH GAINS ARE GOING:
Unknown.  As mentioned on Wednesday, I did decently last Sunday and Monday.  However, I have not had a strength workout since then (see deviations)
ANY DEVIATIONS THIS PAST WEEK:
Supplementation:  I did my creatine load this week, and now I am on standard dosage (5g/day, taken in the morning).

Training:  Due to house issues and taking Wendi to the airport, I was unable to go to the gym on Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday I wound up doing cardio (30 minute steady state) and some light dumbbell work at home.  Between dealing with the home-repair guys continually and my general lack of energy I did not make it into the gym.


Diet:  On Wednesday evening I had an unscheduled and undesired cheat meal.  Between dealing with the house issues and taking Wendi to the airport, my meal schedule was thrown off.  I neglected to bring a meal with me to consume after dropping Wendi off.  On the way home from Denver I stopped at a Subway.  Reason:  I had not eaten for over five hours, and it would be another hour and a half before I was home. I was too crashed out to make it back, thus the Subway visit.


I weighed myself and measured my waist every day since Wednesday.  Thursday I was up four pounds due to the Subway meal & water retention.  I have slowly dropped back to about where I was.  I am still up 1.25# since Wednesday, but my waist has remained constant.

DETAILED MEASUREMENTS
Weight:  183.0 (+0.25)
Waist:  32.125 (no change)
Arm: 16.0 (no change)
Thigh:  23.125 (no change)
Calf:  14.25 (no change)

PHOTOS:  No photos.  Wendi took the camera on her trip.

OTHER NOTES:
I have been in a horrid mood the past few days.  Partially due to hunger, partially due to house issues (including the fact that there are very loud blowers drying out the floors/walls and I no longer have access to my stove).
I have also been utterly lacking in motivation/energy.  Again, I think this is mostly due to the house issues and the stress that comes with them.  To counter-act this, I am planning on upping my Metabotrop and Cognitrop dosing.  I am currently taking 1 serving of Metabotrop and 1/2 serving of Cognitrop in the middle of my day.  I am going to change to taking the same dosages, but doing it twice a day (pre-breakfast and pre-workout).  My Geronimo and ALCAR should arrive this week, so I will start on those as well.

Friday - more cardio & messing around

I had absolutely zero drive today.  Let's hear it for depression.  *rolls eyes*
So instead of hitting the gym, I did another bout of cardio.  Weight-wise I did some high-rep curls and low-weight DB rows.  Nothing strenuous, but worked on trying to really feel the muscles.

High-rep curls alternated with hammer curls = very effective at making my biceps & forearms give out
1 hand rows, pulling back to the hip rather than up to the chest (DB arcs backwards) - felt my lats a lot
2-hand db rows with a squeeze at the top - ditto

Wednesday - Push Day

@07:00

Weight: 181.75 (-1.0)
Waist:  32.25 (+0.125)

I am attributing the waist gain to a bit of bloat from the creatine.  But I am still down a pound since Sunday.

No workout, due to random shit.

Thursday - makeshift workout

I was unable to go to the gym, as I was waiting on the restoration people to show (they didn't).  Instead, i did 30 minutes of steady state on the bike and then some shoulder work.
1-hand Arnold presses (surprisingly effective delt-smasher), lat raises, rear delt raises.  Nothing major, but at least something.

Side note - no hunger issues at all today.

Tuesday - Off day

@10:00 - No lifting today.  A bit of stress from the water pipe bursting, but that is not related to exercise.

I was not full of Death Hunger when I woke up.  But between morning chores (animals, wood, etc) and the plumbing issues I did not finish breakfast until 2.5 hours after I woke up.  I am really hungry again, but that is probably residual.

@11:30 - two meals down, still bloody hungry.

@22:00 - hungry.  Not deathly so (yet)