2012-01-08 Check in [208.25 @ 36.0]

Mass:  208.25 (-2.75)
Waist:  36.0 (-0.25)
Arm:  16.75 (--)
Thigh: 25.25 (--)
Calf: 15.125 (-0.125)

Meh.  I have dropped a few pounds, but not nearly as much off of my waist as I was hoping.  Two weeks ago I was 210.25 with a 36.0" waist.  Ah well.  I was 208.0 In July 2010, with a 36.75" waist.  So I am better than 18 months ago.  The first week or so of a diet usually has much more mass loss than waist loss, due to water retention.

exertion levels

I do not know if the Indigo 3G experiment actually did anything for my carb tolerance and/or nutrient partitioning abilities.  However, it does seem to have at least one lasting effect.

Courtesy of Thib's insanely brutal training style (lots of super-giant sets, extreme intensity lifting, etc), I have learned how to truly push myself to the limit when lifting.  The 5/3/1 cycles I have done in the time since I ended the Indigo training have been the most effective and brutal lifting sessions I have ever done.

My previous two cycles were focused on body-building.  5-6 assistance exercises, 4-5 sets each, and 10-15 reps per set.  A fuck-ton of volume.  I am now on a lower-volume cycle, with 4 assistance exercises mostly in the 5-8 rep range (a few 10-12s).  But all of the workouts have drained me.  I feel fine when doing them, although I do occasionally run out of strength by the end of things.  Afterwards I am utterly gassed.  Not from a lack of bouncy energy, but from overall muscular exhaustion.

Additionally, the Indigo training taught me to be more focused on what I am doing, which no doubt aids in the "kill my muscles" ability.  I have been able to force myself into true muscular failure, wherein the target muscle group quite simply stops firing.  Previously, I only reached failure in a more overall manner, where the failure was from hitting a strength wall where I could not move the weight, but it was not focused on specific muscles.

Overall, the experiment was worth the cost, even if the supplement itself was not effective.

Lifting sticking points

For both bench press and overhead press, my sticking point is in the middle.  Pretty much when my triceps are parallel to the floor.  Due to this, my next lifting cycle will incorporate floor pressing.  Provided I can figure out a way to do it at the gym.  At home, I can press in the rack.  At the gym, the j-hooks are too deep to pull the bar out (they are actually "J" shaped, with about a 2" deep cup).

2012-01-01 Check In [211.0 @ 36.25] - START DIET

Mass:  211.0 (+0.75)
Waist:  36.25 (+0.25)
Arm:  16.75 (--)
Thigh:  25.25 (+0.25)
Calf:  15.25 (+0.125)

Yeah, my waist is up.  Not surprising after the volume of crap food I ate this past week.  Anyhow, beginning the new leaning cycle now.  Amusingly, it starts on January 1.  No "New Years Resolution" crap, just amusing cycle syncing.

New diet:

Meal 1:  50p + 40c
Meal 2:  50p + 30f
Meal 3:  50p + 40c
Meal 4:  50p + 40c
Meal 5:  50p + 30f

Intra-Workout:  25gBCAA + creatine + beta-alanine
Post-workout:  Surge Recovery

Totals:
Non-Workout:  250p + 120c + 60f
Workout:  300p + 170c + 60f

I will do a small bit of cardio after lifting (mostly while waiting for Wendi).  Daily cardio will come later.

Leaning down - diet start

To begin my new diet, I am going to start kind of slowly.  Macro-wise, I will be fairly close to what Shelby had me do in January.  Shelby had me on 6 meals a day, at 40p + 20c + 10f each, for a total of 240p + 120c + 60f.  I have discovered that I do better keeping my fats and carbs separated (and I prefer 5 meals a day), so I will be doing the following:

Meal 1: 50p + 40c
Meal 2: 50p + 30f
Meal 3: 50p + 40c (pre-workout)
Meal 4: 50p + 40c (post-workout)
Meal 5: 50p + 30f
Totals: 250p + 120c + 60f

On lifting days, I will add in two shakes:
intra-workout:  25g BCAA + creatine + beta-alanine
post-workout:  Surge Recovery

This will start me a bit higher than Shelby had me at (due to the shakes), and that is ok, as I was 25# lighter then.

Cardio - I will do a bit of cardio at the end of my workouts (~10 minutes), provided I finish before Wendi does.  I will hold off on morning/daily cardio at least until the first week is over.

Diet considerations

At the beginning of August I was 185# @ 32.625".  I am now up to 210.25# @ 36.0".  So I have gained 25.25# and 3.375".  During my previous Shelby diet, I lost an average of 5.5# per inch.  I am hoping to reduce that to 3#-4# per inch.  But even at 5.5#, to lose the gained inches will take about 18.5#.  Leaving about 6.75# of lean mass gain.  Which would equate to about 1.3# per month gain.  Not great, but not too shabby.  And again, if I can diet slowly and keep my mass up, I will have an even better ratio.

2011-12-25 Check In [210.25 @ 36.0]

Mass:  210.25 (+4.75)
Waist:  36.0 (+0.75)
Arm:  16.75 (+0.25)
Thigh:  25.0 (+0.125)
Calf:  15.125 (+0.125)

Yeah, so.....This last week's diet was "eat like shite, randomly, and have way too many restaurant meals".  This did not do good things to my physique.

My stated goal was to continue mass gaining until February, and then start leaning out in March.  However, I had a cut-off limit of 36" for my waist.  So, I am revising my plan.  Step 1:  stay (mostly) on diet this week.  Step 2: Weigh in again next week.  Step 3:  If my waist is back under 36", continue mass gain for another cycle.  However, if my waist is at or above 36", I will begin leaning out.
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Right-o.  I have come to a decision.  This coming week I will continue on the mass-gain/relaxed eating schedule.  I have two more core workouts (legs & shoulders), and then my deload days.  I am going to compress the deloads into two days (Mon - Legs,  Tues - shoulders, Thurs - deload back & chest, Fri deload legs & shoulders).

Next week I will begin leaning out.  I am going to take it quite slowly, to preserve as much muscle mass as possible.  Perhaps even add a tiny amount.  My lifting routine will go from higher rep hypertrophy to lower rep strength work.

End goal - Get my waist as lean as possible (probably around 30").  So, I am going to say I have about 6" to lose off of my waist.  When doing the Shelby diet, I lost about 5.5# for every inch off of my waist. I am hoping to improve that ratio, so that I lose less mass per inch.  I would love to drop my waist the 6" and only lose about 20#.  Which would put me at 190# and lean.  Not great, but a good base.