I still don’t regret taking a day off the other day. It really was the right thing.

Then yesterday I did my usual trip for cardio. and today, back to lifting. I do miss lifting, just one day away was not what I desired. But I desire being recovered and rested, instead of beat-up. I can’t eat my way to recovery, so I have to really be mindful of sleep. Been thinking more about it and how I can improve my sleep efforts too. But another topic for another time.

Official weigh-in today: 218, down 2 since Sunday. Huzzah. See, taking Tuesday off meant I also ate like an off-day, so it was 2 days in a row of almost no carbs, and much hunger. But if “hunger is just fat leaving the body”, then so be it. Seems it’s paying off, so you just keep going through it. But that said, that bowl of oatmeal this morning was awesome. 🙂

I keep working on lifting in a bodybuilder style: explosive concentric, slow eccentric. I found myself today really trying to be even more getting the muscle to do the work, instead of making the movement. I found that especially on face pulls, of all things. That pull can very much be the arms doing the work, or at least carrying a fair portion of the load. I found myself really working to remove the arms from the mix and let the motion focus on just the shoulder… retracting the shoulder to get the blades to touch, “flying” the elbows out to the side and that THAT is only done by contracting the rear deltoid. I even lowered the weight because it was more about trying to just get those muscles to do the work. It’s taking time, but I’m getting there… building that so-called “mind-muscle connection”… thinking more about really just having the muscle move the weight by pure contraction, instead of the body working in concert to move the weight. It’s different for me to really focus on that, but kinda cool to branch out and try this.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

Press

• bar x 5
• bar x 5
• 60 x 5
• 75 x 4
• 90 x 3
• 110 x 2
• 125 x 1
• 110 x 11 (AMRAP)
• 110 x 6 (50%)

Upright Rows

• 80 x 10
• 80 x 10
• 80 x 10
• 80 x 10
• 80 x 10

Side Laterals

• 20e x 10
• 20e x 10
• 20e x 8

Face Pulls

• 85 x 12
• 85 x 12
• 85 x 12
• 85 x 12
• 70 x 12

Close-Grip Bench Press

• 145 x 8
• 145 x 8
• 145 x 8
• 145 x 7

Triceps Pressdowns (350-Method)

• 45 x 15
• 45 x 13
• 45 x 13

The log of no log.

I didn’t go to the gym today, by choice.

I woke up, and my body told me that sleep was more important. And not just sleep, but not beating myself further with squats and deadlifts… I needed the break to recover.

Don’t regret it. It was the right decision.

Change up. Let’s see where it goes.

As I mentioned before, whereas at the start of the diet my strength increased, slowly but still increased, for the past some whiles it’s been steady and more recently it seems to be going down. But it’s hard to get a bead on it because I’ll go down in some things but go up in others. Like on squats, that top work up weight feels heavier and heavier, but then the work sets feel stronger and strong. Go fig. But again, I have to remember that lifting right now is to support the diet.

On that front, I was officially 220 at yesterday’s weigh-in, so I “held steady” since the Thursday-prior weigh-in. But that’s not entirely true. I did have a cheat meal on Thursday-prior (2 slices of pizza… don’t go crazy now), and I did “bloat” a bit from it, but then by Sunday had lost the bloat. So on paper it’s steady but it really wasn’t, but good enough. This morning I’m 219, so we’ll see where it goes. If I’m 218-219 by Thursday, I’m good.

So while I’m contemplating dropping my weights, before I did so I figured to try changing the plan first. The changes are minor, but sigificant enough to try for a little while, assess, then continue from there. In this case, I was doing Base Building model 2 for bench, so I figured let’s drop back down to a model 1. Well, it’s not entirely model 1 because I wanted to keep the work-up to a heavier single, and to me that’s a matter of helping assess strength on the diet — a bit of a way to compare how model 2 was doing vs. model 1, since you can’t directly compare them.

Model 1 is a little less work, but still work. It’s also more reps per set, which may play into the diet plan. I mean, I got through the first 3 sets ok, but then sets 4 and 5? No gas in the tank, which makes sense. So now the question is, what happens over the next few weeks? Do things remain here? go up? go down? That will be telling. And yes, if the solution winds up being that I have to drop my weights, then so be it.

I also upped some other things, like another set of dips. I’m also going to do inclines for straight-sets now… did 3 today, might up it to 4, we’ll see; 8-12 rep range, bodybuilder style to really make the pecs work. Machine flies… shit… I only stopped where I did because it was driving me nuts… such slow movement, so many reps…. fucking killing me. 🙂 But it became more mentally tolerable as I went along; I thought about not doing it 350-method, but no… that’s good. Strive for a lot of reps, failure, good squeeze… etc..

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

• Bench Press (model 1)
  • bar x 5
  • bar x 5
  • 120 x 5
  • 145 x 4
  • 165 x 3
  • 180 x 2
  • 205 x 1
  • 225 x 1
  • 180 x 8
  • 180 x 8
  • 180 x 8
  • 180 x 4
  • 180 x 4
• Dips
  • BW x 8
  • BW x 6
  • BW x 6
  • BW x 5
  • BW x 5
• DB Incline Press
  • 45e x 12
  • 45e x 12
  • 45e x 8
• Machine Flies (350-Method)
  • 70 x 18
  • 70 x 18
  • 70 x 12

Mmm… bicepts.

I’m doing well at sticking to “more bodybuilder-like” work. Fast, explosive concentric; slow controlled eccentric. And really focus on making the particular muscles in question do all the work, not just movement. I’ve said it before, but this really makes my back finally feel like it’s getting some work. I can’t wait until I can start eating in a manner that promotes growth!

To that end my 220 lb. weigh-in from yesterday… tho it’s fast, Nick @ RP isn’t worried too much. My strength hasn’t really changed. Sure it’s a little down, but overall it’s probably safer to say I’m holding steady given the long-term trend. And while we were going to start some diet maintenance at 220, we’re just going to keep going. I reckon on this current plan I’ll eventually stall out, so we’ll mid when that happens. I did have a cheat meal last night — 2 slices of pizza! And this morning woke up at 221, which isn’t surprising — it’s just the carbs. I’m sure come Sunday I’ll be 220, maybe 219. Not really concerned. Heck, if I can keep up this rate of loss, have a weekly cheat, yet still post 2-3 lb/week loss? I’ll take it!

Anyways, I’m really looking forward to next week at this point. The changes I’ve been making in the program feel right and good, more focused towards the goals, each exercise with more purpose than just “it’s part of the template”.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

Chins

• BW x 7
• BW x 5
• BW x 4
• BW x 3
• BW x 3

Cable Rows

• 110 x 10
• 110 x 10
• 110 x 10
• 110 x 10
• 110 x 9

Meadows Shrugs

• 60e x 12
• 60e x 12
• 60e x 12
• 60e x 12
• 60e x 12

Wide, Neutral-grip Lat Pulldowns

• 130 x 10
• 130 x 10
• 130 x 8
• 130 x 8

Hammer Curls

• 25e x 10
• 25e x 10
• 25e x 10
• 25e x 9

BB Curls (350-method)

• 45 x 15
• 45 x 12
• 45 x 13

I should feel happy about getting down to 220 lb… but I don’t.

I weighed myself this morning and came in at 220 lb., which is awesome! I mean, that’s 45 lb. down since I started back in August. Go into the gym and cart around one of the big weight plates — that’s how much I’ve lost. That’s substantially huge! And looking in the mirror, I get happier each day with how things are looking, but I’ve still got a ways to go to be where I want to be.

Thing is, I’m not totally happy with this because of the rate of loss. I was 223 on Sunday — that’s 3 lb. in half a week. That’s way too fast. In fact, I was 226 the prior Sunday, so it’s 6 lb. in about 11 days. That’s just way too fast. I could attribute maybe 1 pound of that to the prior-prior week’s deload, but even still… too much too fast. Why did this happen? I don’t know. I haven’t changed diet or stress or workload or anything. Well check that, I did of course come off the deload then ramped back up. I’ve also been changing HOW I lift — more bodybuilder-like — which is a bit more stressing, more consuming of energy. Maybe that was enough to make the difference somehow? Burned more? I just don’t know. I’m bringing up the issue with Nick, so we’ll see. I was supposed to start another “mid” when I hit 220, but now I’m not so sure. Part of me wants to keep going. I mean, the finish line is in sight, I don’t feel too horrible, and so long as the current dietary plan is working might as well keep rolling on it until it naturally plateaus THEN mid. But again, we’ll see what Nick says.

As for lifts, I have been reading more, learning more, and thinking more. I did a minor adjustment today, but the big adjustments will come next week. I’m not changing things too drastically, but enough evolution where it’s not just following a printed template but moving away from that, retaining the principles and basic work, but finding what I need and adjusting to that. One thing evident in today’s is a desire to have some heavier arm work, then some rep work. Like I started doing close-grips 3×12, but I think what will hold me better is something like a 4×6-10, or around a 4×8. Straight sets, slightly heavier weight. Then something like pushdowns get to be for the pump, something 350-method or whatever. I want to see where such a thing gets me. Start by working things with more compound movements, heavier weights, slightly more sets, slightly less reps; then transition to more isolation movements, lighter weights, slightly less sets, slightly more reps.

And yes, explode on the concentric, slow on the eccentric, and really focus on feeling that muscle doing the work. So much of the back and shoulder work needs to think about originating from the elbows and thinking about moving the upper arm and/or the shoulder joint. Feel that muscle. Be more bodybuilder like. It really stresses things differently.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

Press

• bar x 5
• bar x 5
• 60 x 5
• 75 x 4
• 90 x 3
• 110 x 2
• 125 x 1
• 110 x 12 (AMRAP)
• 110 x 6 (50%)

Upright Rows

• 80 x 10
• 80 x 10
• 80 x 10
• 80 x 10
• 80 x 8

Side Laterals

• 20e x 8
• 20e x 8
• 20e x 8

Face Pulls

• 85 x 12
• 85 x 12
• 85 x 12
• 85 x 12
• 85 x 12

Close-Grip Bench Press

• 145 x 8
• 145 x 8
• 145 x 8
• 145 x 6

Triceps Pressdowns (350-Method)

• 40 x 20
• 40 x 20
• 40 x 15

Yeah… weaker.

The diet goes really well, for fat loss. I do hate how it’s affecting my strength, but I know that’s how it goes.

I mean, the 285 is turning into a real grinder, which isn’t how it should be. But then the 200’s go really well. Go figure.

I did try spacing my hands a little wider, and that seems to be happier on my elbows while still doing the “lat pulldown” tightness. I’m going to have to continue to get used to all these changes, but it seemed alright enough for me to stick with it for a bit without any further changes to see how it goes.

Oh, and yes… trying to drive my butt/hips up first but almost immediately follow it with the back and everything… yeah.

Funny thing. I’ve been reading more from Greg Nuckols on squatting. I’m still digesting it all and I could have it wrong. But the bottom line of what I get from it finally seems to run counter to so many things I’ve read in the past…but it makes more sense. Basically it’s what I’ve suspected but went about it wrong: if there’s any weakness for me it’s that my quads suck. I’ve got a wicked strong back and posterior chain, very evident by the great difference in terms of how much I deadlift vs. how much I squat. Plus when I do squat near-max loads, I do have a tendency to want to turn it into a good morning, which I fight heavily against. So yeah, time to fix the quads.

How to fix them? I’m not sure yet.

It does seem that leg press will actually be good from the mass-building side, but I’ll need to change my technique to bring my feet closer together and let my knees come to touch my chest instead of out to the side. And then should I try front squats or maybe high-bar back squats? I don’t know yet. But it’ll probably be one or the other, but also with a stance change, like bringing my feet together, pointing the foot forward, and so on. Basically, trying to get more knee flexion/extension and involve the quads a lot more. Bring up dem quads.

Anyways… just thinking out loud, because The Defattening Project is nearing a close (tho still a few months away), and I want to make sure I have my game plan for the road ahead. 🙂

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

• Squats (model 1)
  • bar x 5
  • bar x 5
  • 165 x 5
  • 190 x 4
  • 225 x 3
  • 250 x 2
  • 285 x 1
  • 200 x 5
  • 200 x 5
  • 200 x 5
  • 200 x 5
  • 200 x 5
• Stiff-Legged Deadlift
  • 225 x 8
  • 225 x 8
  • 225 x 8
  • 225 x 6
  • 225 x 6
• Leg Press
  • 185 x 10
  • 185 x 10
  • 185 x 10
  • 185 x 10
• Standing Calf Raises
  • 70 x 12
  • 70 x 12
  • 70 x 12
  • 70 x 12
  • 70 x 12

Yeah… I’m getting weaker.

But I’m also getting less-fat, and that’s the focus.

Officially weighed in at 223 yesterday morning, and oddly was 221 this morning. I’m reluctant to think I dropped 2# in 24 hours of real weight… water? depletion? that’s my guess. This shows the dangers in tracking your weight on a daily basis. I mean, I track it daily to monitor and watch the short-term trends, but the only weights that truly matter are my semi-weekly official weigh-ins and then the long-term trend. 220 is in my sights, and well… the thing is that I’m unsure of what to do. Part of me says I should take a month of diet maintenance regardless — it’s been enough time on the loser-train, my body could use the break. But every week I think I’m done, I find I’m able to go another week and just keep pressing on and continuing to make progress. And when the light at the end of the tunnel keeps getting brighter and bigger, I’m more and more motivated to press on until truly I cannot press on any more.

But I have to temper my eagerness and excitement with reality — I can’t sacrifice my true health and well-being for this. So, that’s why it’s good to have a coach (Nick @ Renaissance Periodization) helping.

Anyways…. so yeah, I can tell my strength is going down. But that’s how it goes and while I’m not stoked about it, well… it is what it is and I have to focus on the bigger picture.

But part of that would be adjusting my weights so I’m making proper progress, especially in reinforcing good lifting habits, good technique, and so on. For the first time I thought about dropping my weights back, like 10# or something and going from there. But I’m not sure I will do that yet… I think I might actually try reverting back to Base Building model 1 first and see how that goes. I didn’t find myself progressing well enough on model 1, but again, this isn’t about progressing on my lifts right now. Model 1 may be what I need to do for now.

Other things were continuing with the effort to be more bodybuilder-like. The inclines and flies were explosive concentric, hold/squeeze, then a slower controlled lowering. And it was all about making the muscle do the work, not just trying to do the movement.

I switched from the Polquin Flies to just using Machine Flies. I feel the Polquin’s are really good for my shoulder, but that’s about it. And on the machine I can get a good squeeze at the top (where you can’t get that as much with dumbbells on the bench).

Oh… and on the “ups”. I continue to try to do some sort of pull-/chin-ups, like just 1 after each set of whatever. I decided that while chin-ups will be my staple right now on my back day until I’m stronger at them, that I’m going to try doing other “ups” during these “one-off” sessions. So after each set of inclines and flies today I just did 1 “up”, but with different sorts of grips. One maybe was a wide pronated grip, another was neutral grip, another was narrow(er) pronated, and just varying it up… then once I got to a point where I couldn’t do it with those grips, go back to chin-ups so I could still get the work in.

Anyways, things are what they are. Progress is progress.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

• Bench Press (model 2)
  • bar x 5
  • bar x 5
  • 120 x 5
  • 145 x 4
  • 165 x 3
  • 180 x 2
  • 205 x 1
  • 225 x 1
  • 205 x 5
  • 205 x 5
  • 205 x 5
  • 180 x 5
  • 180 x 5
  • 180 x 5
  • 145 x 12 (AMRAP)
• Dips
  • BW x 7
  • BW x 6
  • BW x 5
  • BW x 5
• DB Incline Press (350 Method)
  • 40e x 16
  • 40e x 13
  • 40e x 12
• Machine Flies
  • 80 x 12
  • 80 x 12
  • 80 x 8

Yeah… I have to remember to do things more bodybuilding-like.

My effort to make my assistance work more bodybuilding-like: focus on the muscle, not the movement; the eccentric matters; moderate weight and moderate reps (6-10, 8-12, depending); time-under-tension; etc.. I’ve found when I do that sort of thing for my back it generates better results. Today reinforced that. I really have to keep this ball rolling to see how it does for me, and if I can ingrain that habit.

So I changed things up on the fly a bit today to try to get more focus on the muscle. Try to think about moving the weight just by pure contraction of the muscle, larger ranges of motion, squeeze at the peak, eccentric emphasis, etc.. Sure, I dropped the weights and the reps, but it was better quality work.

I did cable rows instead of regular BB rows. Cable rows give me a fuller range of motion and a better chance to stretch and squeeze. I actually thought about doing DB rows again. I haven’t been a fan of DB rows, but they may be something to reconsider. I also changed the BB shrugs for Meadows shrugs and really dropped the weight on them because I’ve been finding my shrug work is causing me some upper spine posture problems — I’m just letting the weight drag me down and into weird positions, instead of keeping my body solid, upright, and strong and shrugging from there. Shit like that.

And so yeah… things went down on paper, but the quality went up.

We’ll see how things continue to evolve here.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

Chins

• BW x 7
• BW x 5
• BW x 3
• BW x 3
• BW x 3

Cable Rows

• 100 x 10
• 100 x 10
• 100 x 10
• 100 x 10
• 100 x 10

Meadows Shrugs

• 70e x 12
• 60e x 12
• 60e x 12
• 60e x 10
• 60e x 10

Wide, Neutral-grip Lat Pulldowns

• 130 x 10
• 130 x 10
• 130 x 9
• 130 x 8

Hammer Curls

• 25e x 10
• 25e x 10
• 25e x 10

BB Curls (350-method)

• 45 x 10
• 35 x 17
• 35 x 17

I’ve been wondering what to do post Defattening… and I do think the primary is getting my strength back, but I also think doing so will require me to build some mass too.

One thing I always think about but rarely stick with is ensuring my assistance work is more bodybuilder like. That is, ensuring emphasis on the negative/eccentric; thinking and focusing on the muscle and its contraction (not the weight, not the numbers, not the movement); and so on. I often come back to this thinking, but since it’s just not my preferred style of lifting I often drift away.

I need to stop that.

Sure, main movement? work the movement. Squat, bench, deadlift, press, let those be about the movement. But then assistance work, even if it’s direct variations, e.g. front squat, incline or db pressing, stiff-legs, etc., try to work them more bodybuilder like. I think it will vary some, like if I do pause squats I probably will still do that focusing on the movement and in particular the movement emphasis that pause squats bring (e.g. tightness in the hole, explosive drive out of the hole from that dead stop, etc.). But you get the point.

And so today I tried to really do that. Like upright rows were not about rowing, but about “lifting from the elbows”, feeling and focusing on the muscle contraction, then ensuring the muscles were directly and actively involved in lowering the weight (not just controlling the descent). So sure, things were tougher. Hell, I don’t think I’ve ever felt like I did after a round of face pulls like my upper back did today.

Or with the close-grips and pressdowns, zero elbow flare (if I felt the desire to flare, rack it); that it’s all about triceps contraction. So sure, resulting reps went down, but I do feel the quality was higher.

I just need to keep myself focused this way going forward, with my assistance work. Oh sure, I won’t build any muscle on the Defattening Project — at best I’m just working to minimize/avoid muscle loss. But it’s about building the habit NOW so when I start back bulking (maybe 3-4 months from now?) it’ll be very productive.

And speaking of Defattening, weighed in at 224 this morning, down 2 since Sunday. On track, on target.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

Press

• bar x 5
• bar x 5
• 60 x 5
• 75 x 4
• 90 x 3
• 110 x 2
• 125 x 1
• 110 x 12 (AMRAP)
• 110 x 6 (50%)

Upright Rows

• 80 x 10
• 80 x 10
• 80 x 10
• 80 x 10
• 80 x 7

Polquin-style Side Laterals

• 20e x 8
• 20e x 8
• 20e x 8

Face Pulls

• 85 x 12
• 85 x 12
• 85 x 12
• 85 x 12
• 85 x 12

Close-Grip Bench Press

• 135 x 12
• 135 x 10
• 135 x 8

Triceps Pressdowns (350-Method)

• 50 x 12
• 50 x 12
• 50 x 10

Sometimes it’s less about the weight on the bar, and more about the lessons from being under the bar.

Today was one of those days. Nothing deep here, but just some insights.

First, I do believe the Chris Duffin squat technique/cues are responsible for my elbow/arm pain. Even if they aren’t the cause, they make it worse and every squat session since I’ve ended the squatting with my arm in pain. That said, I’m still not willing to give it up because it makes an obvious difference. Reps within the same set I’ll try using the technique and not, and without question I do better with it. So what to do? Well, a thought that crossed my mind was my grip width. I grip where I do because of past efforts where “narrow grip” leads to “tight(er) back”. Is that so necessary any more with this approach? While my arms aren’t huge, it does feel like there may be the “levering” or pressure of forearm against biceps that may be involved. I thought about that while doing stiff-legs and intended to go back and do some checks on the bar but totally forgot to. But the intent is next time, let’s try with a wider grip and see what difference that makes, if any.

Second, another thing I’ve been thinking/working as I squat is coming out of the hole. Everyone has an opinion on how you have to squat: break at the knees first, break at the hips first… as soon as someone says one thing, there’s someone else that says another. And coming out of the hole, exactly what should drive first? While I was trying to do a lot with my head/back to ensure I didn’t fall forward (or hips rise and everything else doesn’t), I did that first for that notion itself but then also because it’d put more focus on my quads on the drive. Well… I’ve been finding myself wanting to go back to Mark Rippetoe’s approach of using the hips to drive out. When I did dthat in the past, all too often I wouldn’t bring everything else up with it, or the hips would get too high and then I’m good-morninging the weight. Well, I’ve been going back to that, and with some better technique with the rest of my torso, the hip drive is actually more solid now and working a lot better. I wish I could describe it, but I’m liking where this is going. Basically when I get into the hole, reversing starts with the hips going up… lifting my ass upwards, basically. But basically that’s what STARTS the motion — it can’t BE the (only) motion. Almost immediately after starting the hips upward, everything else has to go up too… the legs drive, the torso remaining straight, driving the head up/back if I need to, whatever. That is a refinement, and it felt a lot better. Again, I’d change it up during reps of the same set and every rep where I did it this way was a better rep.

Third, I really wonder about my weights and my strength. I shouldn’t because Defattening. But I can’t help it. I mean, I can look at the weights I was using when I started Base Building program and Defattening back in August, and for sure my weights have gone up since then. But man, every time I do that 285, it feels tough… like if I put 315 on the bar I’d get stapled… and supposedly my working weight (every day max) right now is like 332.5 lb. Doing the 1RM calculations, my 1RM is like 375 or something — you gotta be kidding me! Have I actually gotten weaker? The progression since August says no, but the way that 285 goes up says yes, but then the 200 5×5 feels so “right where it should be” and thus the math says yes. So I really don’t know right now.

But it does reinforce my current line of thinking that once I’m done with the Defattening, the best approach for me is to stay on a Base Building-styled program for 6-12 weeks while I eat well again. After that, a Strong-15 short cycle to really see where my numbers are, and the program from there. I have even thought about going back to 5/3/1, because there’s more volume there and more potential for some mass building (along with a good linear strength progression). But I don’t know… I haven’t been able to give Paul’s programs enough of a fair shake since a lot of it was done on the diet. But that’s still months off, so I’ll figure it out later.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Basebuilding

• Squats (model 1)
  • bar x 5
  • bar x 5
  • 165 x 5
  • 190 x 4
  • 225 x 3
  • 250 x 2
  • 285 x 1
  • 200 x 5
  • 200 x 5
  • 200 x 5
  • 200 x 5
  • 200 x 5
• Stiff-Legged Deadlift
  • 215 x 8
  • 215 x 8
  • 215 x 8
  • 215 x 8
  • 215 x 8
• Leg Press
  • 135 x 12
  • 135 x 12
  • 135 x 12
  • 135 x 12
• Standing Calf Raises
  • 65 x 12
  • 65 x 12
  • 65 x 12
  • 65 x 12
  • 65 x 12