Page 6 of 9
Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 11:15 am
by sovabrat
Day 25 Planned rest for me. No weigh in.
I definitely feel sore in my ass and calves today. I am pretty sure it is because my hams and quads were still tender from the extreme HIIT I did on monday. My glutes definitely made up for that.
I slept like a baby last night and was glad I had this morning off. I dont have another lower day until monday so that is plenty of time to rest up my legs and lower back. Hopefully it was just a matter of being tired and sore and not a real injury.
Tomorrow is upper workout #2 for the GLP. I think the super sets I included were very effective, especially the one arm row and pull ups. My back felt worked the next day.
Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 7:17 pm
by RobRegish
Great intuition sovabrat...
To me, the Blueprint teaches this.... rapidly. It's a fantastic tool to guage when and where to make the right move. And you're making all of them
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 9:47 am
by sovabrat
Day 26 (176 lbs)
I tried to eat a little more yesterday. I am very happy with my weight and bodyfat losses so far but they are getting close to the 2 lbs a week level which is too much I think. I am more comfortable losing 1-1.5 so I can be assured I am not losing muscle.
At the end of the day, if my calories are correct, and I know im not overtraining, and I still lose 2 lbs, then oh well. But There have been a couple days where my workout days didnt have enough calories.
Workout #2 of GLP Upper
First 5 sets were pretty easy. Called a spotter for the 6th set, it was 200 lbs for 6 reps. I completed 5 clean good ones on my own and had the spotter help with the last one. I am ok with this. I gave it my best. Still a PR for me.
Super setted the same 6 exercises as #1. I reduced the weight for my DB extensions from 45 down to 35. This feels so much better. I get a great stretch and it doesnt feel painful anymore. I think I was just trying too much weight when I wasnt using proper form.
My Pullups were cleaner this time also. I even added 10 lbs for dips. I think each week I will add 5 lbs to my dip weight. I dont want to go overboard. Maybe next time I will do the pullups with a 5 lb added.
Next upper day im going to increase my military DB press weight to 40 lbs.
I think the inc curls at 30 are still good. I get a great pump and the last 2 reps on the 3rd set are much slower. 1 arm rows also.
cardio was 20 min of HIIT on the Bike. I used level 7 of 15 on the strength interval program. It was moderately difficult. I got a great sweat.
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 7:02 pm
by RobRegish
GREAT work man!
As I state in the Blueprint, this loading pattern is VERY forgiving and people (including me) routinely miss a rep or two here or there.
And like you said... new PR anyway
I love PR's. Lots of them around these parts. As Hank says "I see PR clouds forming in your future".
Great quote from a great man...
Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 10:06 am
by sovabrat
Day 29 ( 176.5)
Weight has plateau'd not really losing any more pounds, definition is continuing to happen though. I did cardio and abs on saturday and got a good combo of treadmill, bike, and elyptical cardio.
Sunday I did rack pulls with statics at the top, felt so good to do traps again. I did an hour on the elyptical and sweated my ass off. Felt so good to do cardio all weekend, I am going to continue this.
This morning I popped two thermo's. I like the cardio effects with 2 so I will continue until my cycle is over.
Lower Workout #2. No back problems today. I noticed on my third set from looking in the mirror that I am not squatting ALL the way down like I should be. Its not a bro-rep though so I will continue as is. Next BP run I will start lighter and work on perfecting my form.
Supersetted Stiff Leg Deadlift with seat calf raise statics.
Supersetted One Leg Hack Squats with Standing calf raises
Supersetted Leg Curls with Static Calf Raises. This one really got me. I would hold all the way up until I started to shake, then go down to opposite range of motion until I shook. I repeated this 6-10 times. By the last rep I was shaking unconrtollably.
I did 25 minute HIIT on the bike. Today was the first day I had music and it really, and I mean REALLY intensified my HIIT. I was peddling faster than ever and sweat was all over the place. People were staring at me as I went through the intervals at 130 RPM's.
Almost out of E-bol and tbol trib. Cant decide if I want to order some KA right now and continue feast as long as possible, or stop it when its gone and begin cruise and continue to concentrate on cardio and maybe do high rep EDT's. Have not decided.
Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 7:11 pm
by RobRegish
Awesome.
Sounds like re-comp is still going on
Suggestion on the KA... use it for your next Feast run. Best to evaluate that way to compare. Either way, you can't lose!
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 10:51 am
by sovabrat
Day 30 (176.5)
Weight appears to have settled. This was planned as I have ratcheted up my caloric intake on workout days. Bodyfat appears to be dropping still but not as fast as it did for those first two weeks. That period of time was ridiculous now that I reflect back on it. When this run is over I am going to review my log and workout notes and diet to see what could have triggered that extreme fat burn. I might try and emulate that in the future if I can identify it with certainty.
Today was cardio core day. Got on the bench to do some floor wipers, on my first rep my abs were so sore. I really went at it on saturday and sunday with the abs. I decided to skip them, it isnt really important to hit them 3-4 days a week in my opinion because the squats, and other complex movements activate all your core anyways.
tried to run on the treadmill again but after a 3 min warmup, and then working up a slow jog I got sore right around 8 minutes again. My left shin tightens up really bad and it is burning. It is too uncomfortable to run with. Any ideas Rob? Ive had this in the past but it usually goes away.
I havent been able to hit the treadmill in about 2 weeks. I opted instead for the ellyptical machine and did 55 minutes on there. I got a great sweat but I feel like the treadmill would have worked my cardiovascular a little better. Oh well.
Tomorrow is workout #3 for Upper. I will have my regular gym partner back too. He has been on vacation and then whimped out of the gym for a week. Having him around usually motivates me to lift harder and longer.
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 6:31 pm
by RobRegish
Good man for looking back at those notes for key learnings!
God that fired me up..
Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 9:58 am
by sovabrat
Day 31 (176 lbs)
Upper workout #3
Got all the reps and weights with the exception of the 4th rep on the 6th set @ 210 lbs. I got the three with no problems, the 4th i just hit a wall and couldnt muster up the strength to get the bar back up. Thank god for spotters.
I had originally planned to do some forced negatives with my partner today but he slept in again... its becoming a habit for him. He says he was drained... I am in the gym 3-4 times more than him in a week and I was out bowling with him last night also.... Im so glad my routine is concrete and I get really upset with myself if I miss a day.
Did same super sets as last week but increased the weight of my inc db curls from 30-35. Barely got the last rep on the final set.
Increased Military DB press from 35 to 40. This was still easy, I think I should be more around 45 or 50 for this.
I lowered my DB extension weight again, I am really trying to find a comfortable balance in my form. This went much better.
I increased my reps on wide grip pull ups. Last week I did 3x6 with bodyweight and REALLy struggled on the last rep last set. This week I did 7,6x2 and had almost no problems. Next workout Im going to put this super set first after my bench press, I think I could do these with a weight belt in teh beginning rather than struggling with form at the end.
Dips I added one more rep to the first set so it is 7,6x2x10 lbs.
I did 18 minutes of HIIT on the stair climber today because I took so long with my weights. The cavs took a REALLY bad loss last night and highlights were on all the TVS. Even though I heard it a hundred ways to hell, I couldnt help but mope while watching. It extended my rest periods a little longer.
Note to Log: My observation is that my first surge of weight loss was to my stomach, this really made me look thinned out. That kind of progress sort of stopped but I am noticing that my thighs and calves are now becoming much more defined. Same goes for my biceps and triceps now.
A little bit of progress with the chest. Ultimately I still have the small soft spot on my lower abs. I suspect this will come last. I almost have no love handles now. I think once I get my weight down to about 173 ish the lower abs will start to show. I really need to find a way for a Body Fat Analysis to track this because I dont think my weight is a real good indicator anymore.
Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 7:12 am
by RobRegish
Excellent, EXCELLENT work!
Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 10:44 am
by sovabrat
Day 32 (175 lbs)
Today was cardio core day. I actually did a couple sets of bench press more or less as a warm up. My gym partner made it today so I had to spot him on some sets. I thought why not jump in a bit. He is a little lighter than me in terms of lifting weight so it was a good stretch for me to use close grip on some of his working sets.
I then attempted 225 for 1 rep.. Piece of cake. Could have done a couple reps but I had just done workout#3 the day before, need to rest up.
Didnt do abs again, they are still pretty tender. I have come to the determination that this is because I am actively engaging my abs during all my lifts now. I tighten up my mid section to try and isolate some movements better. It is really helping my form, especially benching and squating.
Did 50 minutes on the elliptical machine today. I didnt take any Ebol, tbol trib, cbol creatine, or nanox9. Just 2 capsules of the Oxyelite and 2 tabs of pure Beta Alanine. Im not sure if it was just the BA, but my sweat was EXTREME today. Im going to combo this again on my next cardio day and compare it to a control day of just the thermo pill.
Log Note: My wheels are really starting to get defined. My calves are popping for the first time in my life, and when I flex they are looking good (no homo). Love handles visibly getting smaller as the week moves on. I also must say that my weight right now is approaching my PR of Post College days. I think when I left school I was around 170 and pretty lean, although I look much better now at 175, just so much more muscle and definition.
I cant wait to get my bodyfat into the single digits and then start the BP again to pack on some mass but keep it all lean gains.
Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 7:11 pm
by RobRegish
Great work man, and your 1RM strength actually improved!
OUTSTANDING
Too often, you see max strength suffer on a recomp/cut like this. You pulled it off though...
Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 10:56 am
by sovabrat
Day 33 (174.5)
Weight was at a plateau for a week but recently it is starting to surge again. My diet has been so clean and controlled for the past month. I am actually really proud of myself. I allow for cheat days and it makes it such a breeze. I never once have thought "this diet sucks". All I do is create a "pool" of healthy options for the week while shopping at the store and I just mix and match that stuff for lunch snacks and dinner. Protein shake twice a day, some almonds here, some fruit here, some yogurt there. Its really a simple program. If it wasnt for hank posting the Livestrong site, i dont think I would have come to the realization of how important it is to get at least a basic grasp of what you are eating. From tracking my intake, I was able to identify my protein deficiency even when I thought I was getting enough.
Thanks Hank.
So today was supposed to be lower #3 but I just felt like my form has been suffering by trying to use to heavy of weight. Rather than work on increasing my 1RM I have decided from here out to perfect my form and get a full range of motion squat. This will not only help with overall development but I think that my next BP run will be more successful with great form.
I did 2x135 x 8 and 2 x 155x 8 supersetted with Stiff Deads at 185x6x4
Next I did 155 BB static holds for calves inside the rack. Held the up movement for 6 seconds and slowly went down. This was supersetted with some floorwipers.
One Leg Hack Squats full range superset with seated calf rasies at 45lbs for 20 reps. All of this for 3 sets
Finally I had leg curls at 90 lbs for 12 reps super setted with jump squats. During the squats i had a 10 lb dumbell in each hand.
Finished it up with 24 minutes of HIIT on the stairs, got a tremendous sweat going from this.
I felt great when I left the gym.
Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 4:15 pm
by RobRegish
I'm going to have to hit Livestrong myself..
Great work here sovabrat and smart move getting away from the 1RM stuff for a bit. It will serve you well in the future...!