Apex Alchemy ECLIPSE Log
- Thread starter Smont
- Start date
Smont
Legend
Did your wife compete? I can't remember. I'm boarding my plane right now
Hyde
Legend
Yup! Took last place, but we knew she wasn’t going to be strong enough to win yet; she just wanted to get back on the pro stage the same year she had a baby. She did lose 40lbs of fat in 13.5weeks though, and strength improved despite the chronic deficit, so we’re very happy.
Smont
Legend
Back home and finished unpacking. @nostrum420 I haven't gone through our vacation pics yet but I promise I will get around to it when I get a chance.
Started 10 pumps today @ 5 pumps am/5 pumps pm, obviously it's going to take a couple days to notice the difference, at least I would assume.
Will get a accurate bw reading in the morning.
Going back to my modified ppl routine where I work on getting stronger at bench, squat, deadlift, shoulder press. And my other exercises will be done more for volume, still working on getting stronger at them but in higher rep ranges.
Did a huge grocery shop today. Diet outline is as follows
M1. Whey, oats, fairlife milk, pb2 and dark chocolate. 58protein/610calories
M2. Shredded lettuce and broccoli slaw (which is basically just shredded vegetables) corn, black beans, chicken and a zero calorie dressing I found mixed with a little homemade tzatziki sauce. 60protein/500ish calories
Snack. Protein granola bar 10protein/190calories
Dinner or M3. will always be different as we decide as a household what's for dinner. But my target will be 60 g of protein and 800 calories.
Intra workout 40gm carbs/150cal (this will be adjusted and eaa's will be added back in as soon as I buy some more.
Post workout or M4. 1 scoop whey, fairlife milk and cereal 45protein 450calories
233 protein and 2700 calories for workout days.
On rest days I will not have the intra workout and my last meal will be different foods but same macros.
This will basically put me in a to a 300 - 450 calorie deficit depending on the day of the week. I will be using cardio to create a bigger deficit when needed and the week leading up to Thanksgiving I'm going to do my 7 Day mini cut I've had great success with in the past. That's where I'll refeed on Thanksgiving and transition into my bulk
Started 10 pumps today @ 5 pumps am/5 pumps pm, obviously it's going to take a couple days to notice the difference, at least I would assume.
Will get a accurate bw reading in the morning.
Going back to my modified ppl routine where I work on getting stronger at bench, squat, deadlift, shoulder press. And my other exercises will be done more for volume, still working on getting stronger at them but in higher rep ranges.
Did a huge grocery shop today. Diet outline is as follows
M1. Whey, oats, fairlife milk, pb2 and dark chocolate. 58protein/610calories
M2. Shredded lettuce and broccoli slaw (which is basically just shredded vegetables) corn, black beans, chicken and a zero calorie dressing I found mixed with a little homemade tzatziki sauce. 60protein/500ish calories
Snack. Protein granola bar 10protein/190calories
Dinner or M3. will always be different as we decide as a household what's for dinner. But my target will be 60 g of protein and 800 calories.
Intra workout 40gm carbs/150cal (this will be adjusted and eaa's will be added back in as soon as I buy some more.
Post workout or M4. 1 scoop whey, fairlife milk and cereal 45protein 450calories
233 protein and 2700 calories for workout days.
On rest days I will not have the intra workout and my last meal will be different foods but same macros.
This will basically put me in a to a 300 - 450 calorie deficit depending on the day of the week. I will be using cardio to create a bigger deficit when needed and the week leading up to Thanksgiving I'm going to do my 7 Day mini cut I've had great success with in the past. That's where I'll refeed on Thanksgiving and transition into my bulk
nostrum420
Well-known member
No rush. As much as I am dying to get that lightsaber pic up, it would be weird to start promoting a product we're not even 100% sure we're gonna make... except even if we don't I might post the lightsaber one anyway because
Smont
Legend
This one's for you.Yes sir! I'm a foodie through and through
I mentioned my new diet outline but said dinner will vary, well tonight nobody could decide on anything so I decided to make everything!
Your looking at a half of a new you're strip, jalapenos stuffed with ground beef chorizo sausage and cheese, a small bell pepper stuffed with rice ground beef cheese and a little red sauce, a Big slice of pork tenderloin with some gravy, And a 50/50 cauliflower and pasta mac and cheese. If my calculations are correct this should be 78protein and 940 calories. I didn't have my snack earlier so this pretty much balances things out.
I weighed in at 191.4 this morning so I actually lost a couple pounds on vacation.
Did a push workout and got 285 for 3 fairly easy sets of 5 reps on bench and then I went through the rest of my workout hitting or beating previous weights I left off on before vacation all in the 8-15 rep range
Attachments
Smont
Legend
I'm hopping I can finish this little diet dropping a lb of fat per week and still get 315 for 3-5 reps on bench like I did a few weeks back still at the end. Then I know once I Spike those calories up I'll be able to use 315 for my working sets on bench which I haven't done since I weighed a porky 223-225lbs
LeanEngineer
Legend
Segansational
Well-known member
Only hopping into this log now, but looks like you (and your bottles of eclipse) had an awesome vacation!
Smont
Legend
We cook a lot around here weather it's a holiday or not. My grandmother made everything from scratch and left me all her recipes in a book when she died. But on top of that I have 4 different relatives that own restaurants. 2 are Fine dining Italian, 1 is a Spanish Asian fusion tapas and the other is just pizza and grinder type stuff.Now that looks good! I'm ready to thanksgiving and christmas food already
No shortage of cooks in this family and definitely don't run out of recipes. Unfortunately we're better at dirty bulking around here too lol
Smont
Legend
Got out of work early and did my first full leg workout in a while, always dealing with pain in my ankles and knees and smashed my knee not too long ago. Well I tried everything in the gym and found a few solid exercises that are pain free so it's time to get my legs back.
Mind you I was just feeling out the exercises and trying to figure out the poundages today.
Box squats- worked up to 335x3
Hack squat variation I do with the Smith machine - worked up to 3 plates for 5
Machine leg press feet close - 295x10 for 3 sets
Calf press in the leg press machine for a couple sets of 20
And finished off with light single leg extensions.
This is what I'm running with for now and once my quads start catching up a little il throw stiff leg deadlift and hamstring curls back in.
I think that should be enough to get the ball rolling, hopefully
Mind you I was just feeling out the exercises and trying to figure out the poundages today.
Box squats- worked up to 335x3
Hack squat variation I do with the Smith machine - worked up to 3 plates for 5
Machine leg press feet close - 295x10 for 3 sets
Calf press in the leg press machine for a couple sets of 20
And finished off with light single leg extensions.
This is what I'm running with for now and once my quads start catching up a little il throw stiff leg deadlift and hamstring curls back in.
I think that should be enough to get the ball rolling, hopefully
Smont
Legend
Oh, and one more thing I forgot to mention particularly about eclipse, I've been back for 2 or 3 days now doing 10 pumps a day and I'm definitely starting to urinate more again lol. So I'm expecting to drop some more water weight in the next few days. Going to have to increase my water intake I think.
Even if this product for any reason doesn't pan out for Apex the way that they wanted it to, I can definitely see this being used in short bursts when you just need to drop some water weight real quick and I would purchase it just to have on hand for that purpose.
Even if this product for any reason doesn't pan out for Apex the way that they wanted it to, I can definitely see this being used in short bursts when you just need to drop some water weight real quick and I would purchase it just to have on hand for that purpose.
Hyde
Legend
Even when my knees are garbage, I can usually Boxsquat if I set it a few inches high from usual, like right around parallel instead of thru parallel. And as long as I don’t set my stance sumo wide.
Smith squats are indeed awesome to hit the legs and keep the back out of things. I always forget about them.
Smith squats are indeed awesome to hit the legs and keep the back out of things. I always forget about them.
Smont
Legend
I have a narrow bench at the gym and if I stand directly over it the foot placement is perfect and the bench is exactly parallel putting me into a perfect seated position. It's when I break parallel with more than about 200 lb things bother me so this is perfect for letting me get some heavy working pain-free sets. I went to 335 but judging by how it felt I probably could have went up close to 400 for a set of 3, but I'm going to play it safe, stick with a couple of 5 rep sets adding 10lbs each workout and take me time.
I also like getting in the Smith machine and putting a 45lb plate on the ground, stand on it and do what looks like a deadlift with the bar behind my back kind of replicating a hack squat. Those felt pretty good too and a lot of quad activation
LeanEngineer
Legend
It's ok, at least you had legs back in the day. My saying would be "cus I never had legs"
Smont
Legend
I by no means had massive bodybuilder legs, but they were much bigger then average and good shape. So I like to hope because they use to be there that there should be muscle memory like every other body part that disappears when you stop training it but whenever you see a bodybuilder make a comeback late in the game their legs never come back right. Between that and the reoccurring Injuries I get very discouraged. But I'm making it a priority now to be very cautious about little aches and pains and stick with things that don't fuk me up. Fingers crossed. If I can put 2 inches on them from now till the summer next year I'll be happy with thatIt's ok, at least you had legs back in the day. My saying would be "cus I never had legs"
Smont
Legend
Nothing new today, I never have done a sponsored log so I feel obligated to update as much as possible, but with most products (unless it's a fast acting steroid or something with extreme side effects) not much changes on a day-to-day basis. Kind of just a slow steady process of figuring and feeling things out here.
I think it's pretty clear that I have noticed nothing negative other then maybe a tiny bit of stiff joints but that's expected as I am noticing that drying effect.
I've hit my protein and calorie goals every day with the exception of vacation and there was actually only a few days there I didn't hit my numbers right. So I'm pretty happy about that.
Today was rest, my main aim is training two days on, one day off. Two days on, one day off, and so on. Legs are barely sore at all. But I have a feeling they're going to be a little bit sore tomorrow.
Tomorrow is a pull day and I'm trying out some new stuff recommend to me to better target lats.
See y'all tomorrow
I think it's pretty clear that I have noticed nothing negative other then maybe a tiny bit of stiff joints but that's expected as I am noticing that drying effect.
I've hit my protein and calorie goals every day with the exception of vacation and there was actually only a few days there I didn't hit my numbers right. So I'm pretty happy about that.
Today was rest, my main aim is training two days on, one day off. Two days on, one day off, and so on. Legs are barely sore at all. But I have a feeling they're going to be a little bit sore tomorrow.
Tomorrow is a pull day and I'm trying out some new stuff recommend to me to better target lats.
See y'all tomorrow
Smont
Legend
I gotta go through them and see what else I got. I still haven't unpacked everything lol. I went straight back to normal life so fast I barely realize it's been 4 days.no need to kill your self with this log. Its a slow burner.. we get it. just a update every few days is plenty... plus..
that freakin light saber pic.
Smont
Legend
I also have another light saber pic that's 10 x betterno need to kill your self with this log. Its a slow burner.. we get it. just a update every few days is plenty... plus..
that freakin light saber pic.
nostrum420
Well-known member
Smont
Legend
Im trying man lol.
That spare tire area around the boxer line to the bellybutton area never wants to go away. I'm hopping 4-5 weeks is enough time to peel it off
Hyde
Legend
I don’t think you accurately understand the definition of the term ‘spare tire’ in the context of bodyfat
xR1pp3Rx
Legend
Invalid Link Removed
Smont
Legend
This might double post, but I know lol. I was more so using that term to define the area.
I'm pretty happy with my bf and everything, this is very comfortable and easy to maintain. But I know when I try to put some size back on that bf is gonna go up too so I wanna get a little leaner first.
And I already said I was gonna cut till thanks giving so I wanna see some results in that time and not have to post some progress pics that look like nothing changed.
I promised the kids pizza tonight and guess who's not going to get any
xR1pp3Rx
Legend
xR1pp3Rx
Legend
AND? ? ?
Smont
Legend
That's enough outta you, I was ready to start a bulk, but nooooo, rippy said diet till thanksgiving. Jerk
Hyde
Legend
I'm over here eating a salad with grilled chicken while there's 2 buffalo chicken pizzas and teriyaki wings sitting on the table.
I had an ex that was fond of the saying, “Real women sacrifice.”
That was in the context of wearing heels and dressing up nice for things, but it seemed appropriate here
nostrum420
Well-known member
Smont
Legend
Garlic teriyakiThat chicken looks so good.
Smont
Legend
Combine 1 cup water, 1/4cup soy sauce, 5tsp brown sugar, 1/4tsp ginger powder, 2 tbsp minced garlic.
Pour it into a hot pan and whisk it around for 1 min.
That was the marinade.
If you wanted it as a dipping sauce have 2 tbsp corn starch disolved into 1/4 cup water and slowly add it to the boiling mixture above while whisking. That will thicken as it cools. You got to be careful cuz it's very easy to burn this stuff
Pour it into a hot pan and whisk it around for 1 min.
That was the marinade.
If you wanted it as a dipping sauce have 2 tbsp corn starch disolved into 1/4 cup water and slowly add it to the boiling mixture above while whisking. That will thicken as it cools. You got to be careful cuz it's very easy to burn this stuff
LeanEngineer
Legend
Smont
Legend
I don't know about that lol, but I do like to show what I'm cooking in most of my threads, especially when I don't have anything to talk about from a training/diet/supplements standpoint. I feel like it helps keep things at least a little interesting when the thread gets stagnantAgreed on that! Chef Smont for sure. He needs a cooking thread/log
LeanEngineer
Legend
Nice! Sounds very falvorful!
Smont
Legend
Slight increase in acne on my rear delt/ upper back area. If it's not from eclipse it could possibly be because I was injecting my trt daily, then when I went on vacation I took a 1 ml shot before I left and I've been doing 40mg every other day since I came home, so potentially it could just be some slight fluctuations causing it. Bacne seems to be my arch rival with testosterone so I can't really point my finger at the eclipse.
10 pumps a day also seems slightly better as I'm getting leaner and dropping weight faster then I planned with the little deficit I'm in.
188lbs even this morning.
The best part is I've been doing very little cardio so I'm sure without a doubt when I start a more rigorous cardio regimen on November 1st it's going to kick things into high gear. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended this cut weighing 180 lb which I haven't weighed since high school lol.
That would usually bother me being so light but in the mirror I don't look any smaller it just seems like my waist is getting smaller. I'm at the point now where I don't own a single pair of pants or shorts that I can wear without a belt
10 pumps a day also seems slightly better as I'm getting leaner and dropping weight faster then I planned with the little deficit I'm in.
188lbs even this morning.
The best part is I've been doing very little cardio so I'm sure without a doubt when I start a more rigorous cardio regimen on November 1st it's going to kick things into high gear. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended this cut weighing 180 lb which I haven't weighed since high school lol.
That would usually bother me being so light but in the mirror I don't look any smaller it just seems like my waist is getting smaller. I'm at the point now where I don't own a single pair of pants or shorts that I can wear without a belt
Smont
Legend
Good morning gentlemen, can I use that term gentleman loosely.
Seems like body weight is leveling off at 188 lbs.
Leading me to believe that my new maintenance calories are about 2500 going by my average calorie intake over the past seven or eight days.
Going to create a slight defect by removing the carbs from my intro workout and just drinking water. Also going to replace the half and half in my coffee with lactose-free skim milk. And adding 10min on the eliptical after every workout. Sticking with that till November 1st and then adding some real cardio in.
I actually think from here on out im only going to check the scale one time a week. I don't want to scare myself when my body weight drops too low and I'm just going to use the mirror as my guide for the most part and spend the next 30 days trying to get shredded for realz
Seems like body weight is leveling off at 188 lbs.
Leading me to believe that my new maintenance calories are about 2500 going by my average calorie intake over the past seven or eight days.
Going to create a slight defect by removing the carbs from my intro workout and just drinking water. Also going to replace the half and half in my coffee with lactose-free skim milk. And adding 10min on the eliptical after every workout. Sticking with that till November 1st and then adding some real cardio in.
I actually think from here on out im only going to check the scale one time a week. I don't want to scare myself when my body weight drops too low and I'm just going to use the mirror as my guide for the most part and spend the next 30 days trying to get shredded for realz