Guest viewing limit reached
  • You have reached the maximum number of guest views allowed
  • Please register below to remove this limitation

Slicin' and Dicin'

I think its just a whole vibe, you know? Like my wife and her aunt love to spend a late afternoon/early evening just repetitively pounding out these little pizzas all day. Its the experience of making their dough from scratch, using fire to cook it (cathartic, and often a masculine thing. dead animal + fire). it has a certain smell, flavor, etc. But my wife really loves to cook and around once a year will pick up sashimi grade fish to make sushi at home as well. Which I find to be super annoying because it turns into a loud obnoxious party of young people but once they're done the pile of delicious food is enough to add 10lbs to the scale immediately.

Generally, I am a minimalist. if I were a bachelor, a cheapo, small, $99 propane grill would be enough for me to occasionally grill a dog or brat. Usually steaks taste better with a reverse sear on the cast iron and oven anyways. But cooking is her thang, so different tools and methods appeal to her.

we hit this italian place last time we were in AZ and she was really drawn to the giant real pizza oven with the huge flame and coals that they were pounding out bread and pizza with. I have to admit it does taste a bit better!
Oh for sure, it does taste better in a real quality wood burning pizza oven, it just takes up a decent amount of space, and unless used regularly is more of a status piece than anything else. Which is fine, depending on your level of income makes perfect sense, or none at all.
 
Calves n Quads Day

Front squats
10 x bar, 95
5 x 135, 155
1 x 185, 205, 225, 245
7 x 205 (PR), 185
10 x 135

Leg ext
10 x 115, 145, 160
+ 15 x 85 dropset

Calf ext machine
3 x 20




Pretty sure my best is 205 x 5 and today wanted 6. Took 7. Might have had 8-10 if I was willing to puke / pass out.

I was spent after that though. Maybe I'm doing a better job of reaching than I used to be able to do cause that one set left me Shakey.
Screenshot_20250630-111711.webp
 
Calves n Quads Day

Front squats
10 x bar, 95
5 x 135, 155
1 x 185, 205, 225, 245
7 x 205 (PR), 185
10 x 135

Leg ext
10 x 115, 145, 160
+ 15 x 85 dropset

Calf ext machine
3 x 20




Pretty sure my best is 205 x 5 and today wanted 6. Took 7. Might have had 8-10 if I was willing to puke / pass out.

I was spent after that though. Maybe I'm doing a better job of reaching than I used to be able to do cause that one set left me Shakey.
View attachment 253227
I love me some Crystal Method!

Yeah for sure, the more you body build, or strength train and grind through reps the better you get at recruiting more muscle fibers at a time. The better you are at this the less overall volume you can handle because the intensity is just so much higher due to higher activation and thresholds.
 
The better you are at this the less overall volume you can handle because the intensity is just so much higher due to higher activation and thresholds.

it really makes a lot of sense thinking about my training over the past few years and especially lately. my sessions are shorter, but I'm frequently doing a better job of reaching heavier weight and getting absolutely trashed in the process, lol.

I still have so much fun training smaller body parts in high volume (there's a dick joke in there somewhere) but days like today truly felt super effective despite how short it looks on paper. that 205 x 7 left me shakey!
 
Bench
20 x 95
2 x 5 x 135
2 x 175, 205, 225, 245
5 x 265 (1 rep improvement from last week)
11 x 225

DB laterals
15 x 30s
2 x 12 x 40s
+ 15 x 27.5s dropset

Forward DB raises
3 x 12 x 30s
+ 20 x 20s dropset

Superset with
DB shrugs
3 x 20 x 70s

Face pulls
3 x 20

OHP
10 x 95, 115, 95

Barbell high pulls
15 x 70
15 x 110
+ 20 x 50 dropset.




Planned shoulders day but wanted to start with bench to make sure I got frequency in around the holiday. No spotter today so not sure if I had 6 or not. I think I had 12 x 225 though.
 
Bench
20 x 95
2 x 5 x 135
2 x 175, 205, 225, 245
5 x 265 (1 rep improvement from last week)
11 x 225

DB laterals
15 x 30s
2 x 12 x 40s
+ 15 x 27.5s dropset

Forward DB raises
3 x 12 x 30s
+ 20 x 20s dropset

Superset with
DB shrugs
3 x 20 x 70s

Face pulls
3 x 20

OHP
10 x 95, 115, 95

Barbell high pulls
15 x 70
15 x 110
+ 20 x 50 dropset.




Planned shoulders day but wanted to start with bench to make sure I got frequency in around the holiday. No spotter today so not sure if I had 6 or not. I think I had 12 x 225 though.
What are your calories like these days? Deficit vs surplus?
 
so I finished my ATP Elite today, it was actually my only double dose. I had 3 caps this morning and 2 preWO to finish it off.

That leaves me with:
Anabolic Effect
Prime XT
M-Test
XPG Carnitine (mostly on training days)
XPG Alpha gel (maybe 1x per week when I feel like I need a bump up)

todays shoulder day was nice and pumpy. could see great separation delts vs traps, but overall I can tell BF has edged up a bit. muscle firmness is there with the current stack, arms/biceps look good. Vascularity less impressive coincidentally since running out of Alpha One maybe. My plan is to finish everything I have and possibly go dry for a while to think about what products I think had the biggest impact and which ones I want to bring back. I might add a bottle of Prime XT first though so it has a full 2 month run.
 
What are your calories like these days? Deficit vs surplus?
judging by the scale, maintenance. After making a big push down to about 192 (189 fasted/dehyrated) I have hung out for the last month at 194/195. Looking in the mirror from across the room my abs are POPPIN'. Looking in the mirror while brushing my teeth I can tell I need to drop 10lbs lol!
 
judging by the scale, maintenance. After making a big push down to about 192 (189 fasted/dehyrated) I have hung out for the last month at 194/195. Looking in the mirror from across the room my abs are POPPIN'. Looking in the mirror while brushing my teeth I can tell I need to drop 10lbs lol!
This is me right now too, just at 205ish.
 
Didn't realize you were running ATP Elite, what's the feedback?
I think you'll have to give me a week to decide because I added it at the same time as Prime XT so I need to see what feels "off" when it disappears. folks seem to feel like it is giving more push in the gym, maybe increased capacity for some.

I noted a few times that I feel like I'm doing a better job reaching and redlining the tach. today post bench, I was a little shakey in the legs already despite carb loading preWO so its possible the ATP might be giving me a little extra nitrous to hit the redline that I didn't have before.

HOWEVER, I'm not running 2 hour sessions. I'm getting more work done in shorter sessions lately so I don't have any complaints but I leave when "I'm done" and "I'm done" has been around 50-70 minutes lately depending on what I'm doing.

But bench work is leaving my lats pumped, squats are leaving me shakey after my big set, I can see my legs shaking in the mirror on my heaviest barbell curls even so I probably am reaching further than I've really successfully reached before relative to my abilities.... does that make sense?


This is me right now too, just at 205ish.

my wife says she's up like 3lbs (which is probably equal to me being up 8+) so it sounds like a diet is on the menu soon lol. that will be a good inspiration for me to double down on this cut and make the next wave forward. I know holding below 190 is probably my sweet spot, but breaking 190 has been increasingly hard. some due to lean mass, some due to just overall fatigue. not sure I can blame age yet.
 
judging by the scale, maintenance. After making a big push down to about 192 (189 fasted/dehyrated) I have hung out for the last month at 194/195. Looking in the mirror from across the room my abs are POPPIN'. Looking in the mirror while brushing my teeth I can tell I need to drop 10lbs lol!
lol I know I am significantly higher BF% than you, but it’s funny how in the mirror across the room I can flex my abs and it looks good, even though my love handles are still quite there, or i can relax my stomach and let the spare tire hang. 😂 😭
 
Squats
10 x bar, 95
3 x 135
1 x 185, 225, 265, 295, 315, 325, 340, 350
2 x 315

V squats
10 x +90, +180, +270

Leg press
10 x +270, +400, +500

Rare opportunity! My boy and buddy met me for a bro squat sesh after work. My boy topped out at 350 today with me which made me really happy cause it showed him not squatting since school got out has a cost!!

He did however put up 600 on the leg press for 6.
 
Oh yeah, quats can fall off quickly if not doing them. Especially if you don't already have years of experience with them.
 
Oh yeah, quats can fall off quickly if not doing them. Especially if you don't already have years of experience with them.

I've been telling him that all summer but 16yr old was excited to not be going to school and to be sleeping in late, lol. so I told him I was going to crush him on bro sesh. he was convinced he'd walk in and smash his 375 PR again so I was happy to see him squat very well, but not reach 375 because I think it will light a better fire. if he walked in and squatted 375+ without training the past few weeks he wouldn't have learned.

we now have him on a 4 day split basically.

squats
bench
deads
OHP

and if I'm lucky, I'm hoping one GPP day. I told him since he's going to be doing all of this at my old xfit box, tell coach Cam he's training strength but it's OK to throw in one xfit day (WOD) per week for GPP. I think for him and his goals/passion that's a good fit so he can get conditioning mixed in, he'll recover better, and since his only sport that he loves is powerlifting, adding crossfit wods will help him develop very crucial athleticism IMO.

He has wrestled and done baseball but not much. I grew up on football, baseball, wrestling, track, and of course racing BMX so my body awareness and athleticism generally were very very high. I want him to have a better footing in that regard so that when he's in his 30s+ he has a little more ability to be agile, injury prevention, etc.
 
I've been telling him that all summer but 16yr old was excited to not be going to school and to be sleeping in late, lol. so I told him I was going to crush him on bro sesh. he was convinced he'd walk in and smash his 375 PR again so I was happy to see him squat very well, but not reach 375 because I think it will light a better fire. if he walked in and squatted 375+ without training the past few weeks he wouldn't have learned.

we now have him on a 4 day split basically.

squats
bench
deads
OHP

and if I'm lucky, I'm hoping one GPP day. I told him since he's going to be doing all of this at my old xfit box, tell coach Cam he's training strength but it's OK to throw in one xfit day (WOD) per week for GPP. I think for him and his goals/passion that's a good fit so he can get conditioning mixed in, he'll recover better, and since his only sport that he loves is powerlifting, adding crossfit wods will help him develop very crucial athleticism IMO.

He has wrestled and done baseball but not much. I grew up on football, baseball, wrestling, track, and of course racing BMX so my body awareness and athleticism generally were very very high. I want him to have a better footing in that regard so that when he's in his 30s+ he has a little more ability to be agile, injury prevention, etc.
That’s a good balanced plan, and definitely the right way. I guess he realized old Dad was right on not missing leg day. My boys are all in their mid to late 30s, and it feels good when they come back and tell you you were right on something they didn’t understand when younger, but they get it now, especially the lessons they are learning with their own kids.👍
 
one thing though to give my boy credit, he has been working. on his first day of summer he put in a long day and made I think $200 or $280 working for a local auto detailer. he now has 2 other jobs too. none of them are "regular" with set hours every week so it's a little weird to me, but he's constantly finding work to make some $$$

he's just going to have to learn the work/lift balance part of life now
 
one thing though to give my boy credit, he has been working. on his first day of summer he put in a long day and made I think $200 or $280 working for a local auto detailer. he now has 2 other jobs too. none of them are "regular" with set hours every week so it's a little weird to me, but he's constantly finding work to make some $$$

he's just going to have to learn the work/lift balance part of life now
That’s great….it shows he has drive and is self motivated.👍
 
Doing the odd jobs like that and finding a way to make things work is very positive. It shows he learned work ethic from watching you, and your wife. People who learn to hustle for what they want early in life tend to get a lot more of the things they want throughout life. That is one thing i wish I had my Dad around when i was a kid. I didn't learn that early, and it is a very hard lesson to put in practice after a lifetime of not doing it that way.
 
Great stuff to hear, and nice squat!
thanks dude, I ate like a mofo tuesday night, all morning weds (cut be damned), gave myself a couple pumps of xpg epiandro on the feet and a half a var even if just for placebo to try to give my boy a run for the money. I've only hit 350 I think 3 times in my life, so it's a decent number for me to hit.

of course, he slept in until after 10:30, rolled out of bed, may or may not have eaten, and also squatted 350 for his 3rd time but whatever.
 
Haha, but he outweighs you by quite a bit too doesn't he? You have to hit him with the DOT score... 350@190 is 1.84lbs per 1 lb of body weight, and 350@230 is 1.52 lbs per lb of bodyweight... I still win young buck!!! LMFAO!!!!
 
thanks dude, I ate like a mofo tuesday night, all morning weds (cut be damned), gave myself a couple pumps of xpg epiandro on the feet and a half a var even if just for placebo to try to give my boy a run for the money. I've only hit 350 I think 3 times in my life, so it's a decent number for me to hit.

of course, he slept in until after 10:30, rolled out of bed, may or may not have eaten, and also squatted 350 for his 3rd time but whatever.

JM Blakley talked about how you can have anything you want - if you can pay the cost. But the cost just may not be the same for me as you. It may cost me $5, but only cost you a quarter for that Coke. I can still have it, if I can pay the $5, but you have to ask yourself if it’s really worth that to you - it doesn’t matter what someone else can get it for, only what YOU have to pay.

This is why it’s silly for people like Mitch Hooper to say most healthy men could possibly deadlift 600lbs. Yes, if they trained for over a decade and bulked up enough and used steroids and got good coaching and lived & breathed for it…but that’s missing the point. The point is, most people would need to spend $10 for that can of Coke, while Mitch was nearly born with it in his hand. He is trying to be motivating, but it ends up coming off as obnoxious.
 
Felt super weird having a day off and not being able to hit the gym like a normal Saturday!

Spent the first four hours doing yard work and overall BBQ prep then took the pup on a short jog / walk down the neighborhood. That's about it for today though.

Gonna apply my calories legit tomorrow and Sunday

Briskets looking good, just added ribs to the smoker.

PXL_20250704_194233801.PORTRAIT.webp
Screenshot_20250704-124549.webp
PXL_20250704_194624076.PORTRAIT.webp
artworks-WsEnGuGSTXQhB1SX-E17oxA-t500x500.webp
 
DB bench
2 x 10 x 60

Bench
10 x 135
3 x 170, 200, 225
1 x 250, 265

+ Green bands
3 x 135, 155

EMOTM
10 x 3 x 155

Raw
25 x 135

Incline DB
10 x 60, 70, 80
20 x 50

Incline DB flies
15 x 30, 40

Treadmill
15 min HIIT

Notes, really expected more from yesterday's calories and a solid long night of sleep!
 
Deads
10 x 135, 185
5 x 225
3 x 275
1 x 315, 355
5 x 375
15 x 225

BB Rows
2 x 15 x 135
+ 20 x 90 dropset

Cybex t bar rows
2 x 10 x +90
+ 20 x +45 dropset


Lat pull downs
3 x 10-15


Notes
My wife noticed my new shorts are tight on the quads lol. Which adds up cause my knee sleeves are really tight lately. So even though my weight is up, my lifting belt is still between holes 2 and 3 but legs are clearly adding mass.
 
Haha, but he outweighs you by quite a bit too doesn't he? You have to hit him with the DOT score... 350@190 is 1.84lbs per 1 lb of body weight, and 350@230 is 1.52 lbs per lb of bodyweight... I still win young buck!!! LMFAO!!!!
haha thats true, as he starts to build momentum again and I see his competitive side come out, I'll throw that in his face at an appropriate time, for now lb per lb gives him something to really fight for. Being a kid he doesn't really see the difference, he likely still sees dad as being bigger than him to be honest. When he is out squatting me again legit I'll start to throw some DOT/Wilkes stuff at him to push him a little harder ;) lol

JM Blakley talked about how you can have anything you want - if you can pay the cost. But the cost just may not be the same for me as you. It may cost me $5, but only cost you a quarter for that Coke. I can still have it, if I can pay the $5, but you have to ask yourself if it’s really worth that to you - it doesn’t matter what someone else can get it for, only what YOU have to pay.

This is why it’s silly for people like Mitch Hooper to say most healthy men could possibly deadlift 600lbs. Yes, if they trained for over a decade and bulked up enough and used steroids and got good coaching and lived & breathed for it…but that’s missing the point. The point is, most people would need to spend $10 for that can of Coke, while Mitch was nearly born with it in his hand. He is trying to be motivating, but it ends up coming off as obnoxious.

is the juice worth the squeeze!
I consider myself fortunate in many ways to be right in the middle of everything genetically when it comes to sports. at 5'9" and usually walking around around 180-190lbs I'm able to be above average in strength and typically above average in conditioning. My genetics don't really mean I'm walking out of the gate with that $10 coke already in my hands, but there is a discounted soda on both sides somewhat within reach, lol.


1751895369636.webp
 
Fasted cardio
4 min warm up
18 minutes HIIT
(.1 mile sprint up to 10mph / 1 min walk)
2.1 miles total

Total = 30 min sweat fest.
 
Sitting at 36hrs fasted so far. I was surprised how well the cardio went yesterday and also surprised by how heavy my eyes are today lol. Went to bed feeling that keto-rush of energy I assume from my body switching energy sources. slept very well. Going to try to push through until tomorrow although my wife and I have a business BBQ tonight so I'll just read the room and make my decisions then.
 
Food looks amazing, congratulations on the quad growth!
 
It might be hard to read the room and say no if you’ve got these looking back at you.😜
View attachment 253447

ahaha its true, especially if there are burgers... my June Kryptonite.
I'm shockingly still not hungry in the least. I feel like one of the biggest struggles for me with fasting is actually dopamine. Well, clearly I'm speculating that it's dopamine, but it's the boredom factor. I'm keeping a lot of sparkling waters in stock during the day and I'll probably allow myself a zero sugar redbull or monster or something for that dopamine kick. I don't worry too much about a 5 cal drink.

I've been forcing myself to log weights on the renpho app even when they're up because I like the long term graphs and story telling they give.

My wife went back to her gym yesterday, and has been cracking open her books renewing her own energy towards her first cert, possibly getting back into coaching her small classes she had last year. so both of us resetting the cut simultaneously helps tremendously!
 
More fasted cardio
Treadmill intervals
2 min up to 6mph
1 min up to 7mph
Total = 40min

+ Additional morning walks

Total around 60 minutes but only 9,200 steps today despite aiming for 10k

Quickly becoming a believer that 10k steps a day is enough for me on a cut because I rarely ever hit it.

Sitting at 44hrs fasted.
 
So I did actually break 11,000 yesterday but man it does sorta reinforce that a 10,000+ step day is substantially more than I normally get from behind a desk.

Screenshot_20250709-074013.webp
 
Nice job. It can’t happen with a desk job without a very concerted effort.
Facts, we do a step challenge twice a year and you need to get an average of 10000 steps a day throughout the challenge with 15000 being the most credit you can get for a single day. Whn doing these, I don't always do them but when doing them it requires an hour walk every day on top of doing cardio with my pedometer counting steps during cardio. It is not an easy feat at all with a desk job.
 
Squats
10 x bar, 95
3 x 135, 185, 225
6 x 265
3 x 6 x 245

Paused - 2+ count
3 x 5 x 185

RDL
3 x 10 x 185



Weds squats with my boy.
He's running a 4 x 6 at 70-75%. We gave 265 a try based upon his 375 PR but reps were a grind we decided to go with 245 based off his more recent 1RM.

It was a sweat fest!

Steps for the day are only 3k my goal is to be over 5k before evening LISS

I broke my fast with leftover 4th of July beef so I could get it done before it sours, lol. Off to teriyaki with my boy for some recovery food now.
 
Last edited:
Nice job. It can’t happen with a desk job without a very concerted effort.

Facts, we do a step challenge twice a year and you need to get an average of 10000 steps a day throughout the challenge with 15000 being the most credit you can get for a single day. Whn doing these, I don't always do them but when doing them it requires an hour walk every day on top of doing cardio with my pedometer counting steps during cardio. It is not an easy feat at all with a desk job.

it's true. I'm sitting at 4k now. hoping to get as close to 6k as possible before I actually leave work and pound out some evening LISS. my dad always shows up to work with 10k already done but he runs 3+ miles almost every morning.

I have no idea how his body tolerates that at 63 yrs old and 30-40lbs overweight (IMO). my body would kill me for trying to run 5ks daily.
 
Round Two:
Cardio - Treadmill
10 min warmup, incline to 12

20 minutes MISS 1:1

1 minute jog 5-6mph
1 minute walk

10 minutes cool down

Total = 40 min cardio
+Multiple walks all morning
Reached 10k steps at about the 38min mark on treadmill lol

Observation
I was playing with speeds and steps per minute. At 5mph my steps are double my 2.5mph walk but at 6mph there is a severe decrease with longer strides.

So I landed at mostly 5mph for more efficient use of I steps and lowest impact on body since I've stepped it up fast this week.








Screenshot_20250709-171159.webp
 
Steadily killing it man. Your motivation is obvious right now!!!
 
Steadily killing it man. Your motivation is obvious right now!!!
a buddy of mine, actually a childhood friend who I haven't seen since around age 13-15 moved back to our state from Florida about 4 months ago, needed a job, we hired him, he had a small heart attack (he's 40) and has been in and out of the hospital weekly since. he's at work with me now, getting a surgery in august. He brings in his BP monitor and has to check it 3 times a day at work so I got everyone in the office to start making a game of it. I noticed my resting heart rate was often high 60s (higher postWO, lol) and I was irritated because I used to always be mid to low 50s when doing xfit, and the last time I personally was in the ER it was 47.

well, after one week of bringing back a little cardio, some fasting etc, my resting is now back down to 57 today, lol. conditioning happens fast, strength is a lifetime challenge 😂

I really want to push myself back down into the 180s and I have no idea what BF% that would be or even what BF% I am at now. Renpho (obviously not the most accurate choice) thinks I'm sitting at 16%. I don't know if its being generous or conservative. my abs feel washed out in some mirrors and popping in others so I tend to believe I am holding more lean mass yet again.

I was 196 today after having a full meat refeed yesterday. It wasn't altogether lean:

Left over ribs
left over brisket
turkey meatballs my wife just made
teriyaki lunch with my boy (although just one scoop of rice)
and for evening snack before dinner I took the last of the crumbled up chips in our container and put them in a bowl of cottage cheese and pico. lol

back to fasting today and exploring the idea of a modified ADF approach because the fasting just gets easier and easier when you get into a groove.
 
Oh yeah conditioning does improve quickly once you start pushing it.
 
Bench - comp
10 x 95, 135
5 x 175, 205, 225

CGBP
2 x 10 x 155

Incline bench
2 x 10 x 135

Machine flies
1 x 20 x 145

Cardio
5 min incline warmup
1 mile run at 1/2 incline = 10 minutes

Total = 30min
For day = hit my 10k steps. More to come as we have puppy school tonight....



Notes
We can call it a deload but this was sorta experimental as I'm throwing down a fast today so I thought lightweight high quality reps for practice/ROM would be a good start before cardio rather than getting too many days between lifting sessions.

I got into my cardio warmup and decided to commit to a full mile interval today. I haven't done that in a long time but it's important should zombies attack. 10 minutes isn't but about half as fast as my 6th grade mile time. Luckily the Prodigy made 10 minutes songs for slow runners on a cut












Screenshot_20250710-162802.webp
 
Dang man, you have run a mile in the 5 minute range in 6th grade? Talk about a nice wide spread type of muscle fibers. You are pretty strong, and to have that endurance ability at the same time is a nice luck of the draw situation. I bet if you focused on the mile you could be in the 6's before you knew it.

My absolute best time in a PT test for the 2 mile was 14:26, I am guessing the first mile was in the mid-high 6's but much slower on the second. I did my best attempt to sprint at the end then my legs buckled and I tumbled a couple times as soon as I crossed the finish line. I had completely redlined and had nothing left. This was after basic and AIT, but before Airborne school. So I was running more at that point than any point in my life.

On a side note... Man airborne school was fun!
 
Dang man, you have run a mile in the 5 minute range in 6th grade? Talk about a nice wide spread type of muscle fibers. You are pretty strong, and to have that endurance ability at the same time is a nice luck of the draw situation. I bet if you focused on the mile you could be in the 6's before you knew it.

My absolute best time in a PT test for the 2 mile was 14:26, I am guessing the first mile was in the mid-high 6's but much slower on the second. I did my best attempt to sprint at the end then my legs buckled and I tumbled a couple times as soon as I crossed the finish line. I had completely redlined and had nothing left. This was after basic and AIT, but before Airborne school. So I was running more at that point than any point in my life.

On a side note... Man airborne school was fun!
Did you go to Airborne school at Fort Benning here in Georgia?
 
Back
Top