Segansational's Motivation Log

[Hyde]

I agree, it’s probably too much sugar/processed food. Cut that back, pump up the veggies, and restrict feeding windows some. Any HIIT cardio you can add will also help.

Get some Boron and take ~20mg daily for a month, then drop to ~9-12mg daily for maintenance for 2-3 more months. SHBG will bind to it and free test will rise significantly.

Swanson, Piping Rock, etc have it dirt cheap. You may also check out NOW Foods or the like on Amazon - don’t spend a lot!

 

[Segansational]

Tough wake up call this morning, almost skipped cardio day. But dragged my sleepy self out of bed, drank some Fitmax and hopped on the bike. 30 mins, 192 cals, followed by some Bird Dogs. Simple and to the point.

Need to get some holiday shopping done. Looking for ideas, so throw them in here! Something for the wife and parents... kids are already squared away.

 

[BOSSMAN]

Tough wake up call this morning, almost skipped cardio day. But dragged my sleepy self out of bed, drank some Fitmax and hopped on the bike. 30 mins, 192 cals, followed by some Bird Dogs. Simple and to the point.

Need to get some holiday shopping done. Looking for ideas, so throw them in here! Something for the wife and parents... kids are already squared away.

I do personalized cds for my mom and dad separate. We don't always tell them things like how much we love them, how important they are to us, and how thankful we are for them. You can do it through music. It takes time and you have to be creative. You can personalize the cd case and the cd. They can take it with them in a vehicle or jam around the house.

Diamonds "are a girl's best friend"

You go camping, get her a blackstone. Doesn't have to be the biggest and best one. Sperry boots, concert tickets....

Or you could get her some bad ass weightlifting equipment and supplements . If she doesn't like them, well i guess you could just figure something to do with them possibly

 

[Dustin07]

yeah for the wife it's always jewelry and lingerie. I ran out of parts of her body to decorate so we are back to new rings, more earrings etc.

folks... got them a gift card to a nice restaurant last year that they loved even though it took them 11 months to use it lol.

 

[Hyde]

Can never go wrong buying your parents dinner.

Wife and I decided last year & this year not to give gifts - we just don’t give each other any crap when we buy our own crap on Black Friday!

I do get my wife a card.

 

[Segansational]

I do personalized cds for my mom and dad separate. We don't always tell them things like how much we love them, how important they are to us, and how thankful we are for them. You can do it through music. It takes time and you have to be creative. You can personalize the cd case and the cd. They can take it with them in a vehicle or jam around the house.

Diamonds "are a girl's best friend"

You go camping, get her a blackstone. Doesn't have to be the biggest and best one. Sperry boots, concert tickets....

Or you could get her some bad ass weightlifting equipment and supplements . If she doesn't like them, well i guess you could just figure something to do with them possibly

Blackstone? Is this what you meant? Because this looks badass and now I want one! I usually do the grilling, so it'd be more of a present for me. But at least now I know what to ask for next year!

 

[Segansational]

yeah for the wife it's always jewelry and lingerie. I ran out of parts of her body to decorate so we are back to new rings, more earrings etc.

folks... got them a gift card to a nice restaurant last year that they loved even though it took them 11 months to use it lol.

Can never go wrong buying your parents dinner.

Wife and I decided last year & this year not to give gifts - we just don’t give each other any crap when we buy our own crap on Black Friday!

I do get my wife a card.

I remember many years back when I bought my mom a gift card to this acclaimed restaurant down in Philly. Literally they never used it. And then they lost it, LOL.

 

[Dustin07]

I remember many years back when I bought my mom a gift card to this acclaimed restaurant down in Philly. Literally they never used it. And then they lost it, LOL.

my folks are now at the "snowbird" age in AZ, so we had found a great place down there with views over the red rocks... it was a safer bet for us than in your case maybe lol. My dad has favorite cigars but I don't buy them just cause... IDK. I don't mind them but feel bad encouraging them. he's also a golfer so really a gift card to the range would be good for a guy like that too. moms... flowers, jewelry maybe even idk. my mom raised 3 boys so she's not the girly type.

 

[BOSSMAN]

Blackstone? Is this what you meant? Because this looks badass and now I want one! I usually do the grilling, so it'd be more of a present for me. But at least now I know what to ask for next year!

View attachment 226283

Yes, I have the mack daddy one at my campsite and can cook for a dozen people at a time. Doeant have to be that one necessarily, they have smaller ones that can fit on the counter top in the rv.

 

[Dustin07]

Yes, I have the mack daddy one at my campsite and can cook for a dozen people at a time. Doeant have to be that one necessarily, they have smaller ones that can fit on the counter top in the rv.

View attachment 226286View attachment 226287View attachment 226288

that's awesome, my brother brings his every year on our boys only fishing trip lol. different brand tho:

 

[BOSSMAN]

that's awesome, my brother brings his every year on our boys only fishing trip lol. different brand tho:

View attachment 226289

View attachment 226290

Just keep it seasoned and always remember water is your enemy. You don't want rust. I can get down on that bad boy, hibachi, breakfast, burgers, steaks, pizza, grilled cheese, pretty much everything

 

[Dustin07]

Just keep it seasoned and always remember water is your enemy. You don't want rust. I can get down on that bad boy, hibachi, breakfast, burgers, steaks, pizza, grilled cheese, pretty much everything

My wife wants me to build us an outdoor kitchen with a flat iron (but she also wants one in the house too). They're awesome!

 

[Segansational]

My wife wants me to build us an outdoor kitchen with a flat iron (but she also wants one in the house too). They're awesome!

I would absolutely love this. PA weather I'm not sure makes an outdoor kitchen worth it, but it's definitely part of the dream!

Arm workout:

McGill Curl Ups x10,5,3
Resistance band curls 20x3x15
Resistance band triceps pressdowns 20x3x15
DB hammer curls 15x12, 17.5x10, 20x10
Dips 3x15 - was happy how these went.
Close grip BP 125x10,7,5

PAUSE - the little guy woke up, so read him a book and grabbed him his breakfast. Did the last exercise while he was munching on cheerios and raisins.

EZ bar curls +45x10,8,7

1 hr 7 mins, 242 cals
Weight: Holding pretty steady around 157.4#
BF: 14.3%

Lower back was feeling a little sore yesterday, so I didn't push anything too heavy today.

Arms felt nice and pumped!

Pre: 1 scoop Zeus, 3 caps AnabolicXT
Intra: 1 scoop GAT EAA Flex, 1 scoop Canteen, 2g Peak02, 3g micro creatine, 1/2 scoop Cluster Bomb. This will be the new intra combo I'll be rolling with for the next few weeks. Feel like this should be a good comprehensive intra now that I'm moving to EAAs vs BCAAs (EAAs/Astragin/electrolytes/Peak02/creatine/HBCD) at least until whatever @sns8778 comes out with!

 

[Dustin07]

we are in the Seattle area so most of the "outdoor kitchen" would only get used of course for half the year, although I do find myself grilling all winter especially when we do food prep on sundays and I'm cooking up 6 or 8 chicken breasts.

That Peak02, you like it intra workout instead of pre? I notice that a couple mushrooms on the ingredients list match a nootropic I was taking that I really liked but I took mine in the morning and I felt like it kept my head clear all day in the office.

 

[BOSSMAN]

I would absolutely love this. PA weather I'm not sure makes an outdoor kitchen worth it, but it's definitely part of the dream!

Arm workout:

McGill Curl Ups x10,5,3
Resistance band curls 20x3x15
Resistance band triceps pressdowns 20x3x15
DB hammer curls 15x12, 17.5x10, 20x10
Dips 3x15 - was happy how these went.
Close grip BP 125x10,7,5

PAUSE - the little guy woke up, so read him a book and grabbed him his breakfast. Did the last exercise while he was munching on cheerios and raisins.

EZ bar curls +45x10,8,7

1 hr 7 mins, 242 cals
Weight: Holding pretty steady around 157.4#
BF: 14.3%

Lower back was feeling a little sore yesterday, so I didn't push anything too heavy today.

Arms felt nice and pumped!

Pre: 1 scoop Zeus, 3 caps AnabolicXT
Intra: 1 scoop GAT EAA Flex, 1 scoop Canteen, 2g Peak02, 3g micro creatine, 1/2 scoop Cluster Bomb. This will be the new intra combo I'll be rolling with for the next few weeks. Feel like this should be a good comprehensive intra now that I'm moving to EAAs vs BCAAs (EAAs/Astragin/electrolytes/Peak02/creatine/HBCD) at least until whatever @sns8778 comes out with!

Pretty sure @Rocket3015 is in PA, he finished an outdoor kitchen recently

 

[Rocket3015]

My outdoor kitchen

 

[Segansational]

That looks great!

 

[Rocket3015]

Thank you ! That was my summer home project. If anyone ever wonders what @BOSSMAN does for a day job, he mines Blue Stone like the counter tops here.

 

[Segansational]

we are in the Seattle area so most of the "outdoor kitchen" would only get used of course for half the year, although I do find myself grilling all winter especially when we do food prep on sundays and I'm cooking up 6 or 8 chicken breasts.

That Peak02, you like it intra workout instead of pre? I notice that a couple mushrooms on the ingredients list match a nootropic I was taking that I really liked but I took mine in the morning and I felt like it kept my head clear all day in the office.

View attachment 226340

Well, I workout first thing in the AM as it is, usually around 5:30. I'm not sure it makes much difference when you take it, as I've seen pre, post, etc. I actually think the more important thing is daily use. I'm currently doing intra 5x per week.

Thank you ! That was my summer home project. If anyone ever wonders what @BOSSMAN does for a day job, he mines Blue Stone like the counter tops here.

I was actually looking into blue stone counter for my home bar, but the company didn't as ship to PA.

Afternoon cardio session on the bike, 32:11, 225 cals. Finished up with side planks. Good sweat.

 

[Rocket3015]

What size do you need ?

 

[Segansational]

What size do you need ?

Well, ended up buying something else. But it would've been sweet!

Shoulders.
Bird dogs x10,5,3
Rotator cuff ex, resistance bands 2x12
Seated behind the neck BB press +40x3x10
DB laterals 20x3x10
Bent over DB laterals 20x3x10
DB raises 15x3x10
Resistance band facepulls 20x3x12
EZ bar upright rows +60x10,8,

Just been feeling off lately like my body is rebelling against me. Mentally I've been elsewhere the past two days, just going through motions in my day. Slightly aggravated. Left nip feeling a little sore. Feeling a bit bloated too. And now my throat is a bit sore. Going to try to blast that with Zinc and Vit C. Wondering if I need more of an anti-e to run, feels almost like rebounding not that I've been running anything hormonal. Might start inhibit-p in case it's prolactin related.

 

[Dustin07]

Yeah, shipping especially around the holiday deals is always slow. But, the tactical bag is pretty sweet and seemingly pretty good quality. Here are my other orders to make folks jealous!

View attachment 225714

3/4 of my shipment finally came in this last weekend. I gave my boy the tactical bag jammed full with "starter" stuff for the gym. He's pumped. I added stuff like wrist wraps, liquid chalk, got him a shaker and some BCAA's just to give him the "feel" of it all, he was happy as a clam to drag it through the gym with me yesterday setting leg day PRs.

 

[Rocket3015]

Well, ended up buying something else. But it would've been sweet!

Shoulders.
Bird dogs x10,5,3
Rotator cuff ex, resistance bands 2x12
Seated behind the neck BB press +40x3x10
DB laterals 20x3x10
Bent over DB laterals 20x3x10
DB raises 15x3x10
Resistance band facepulls 20x3x12
EZ bar upright rows +60x10,8,

Just been feeling off lately like my body is rebelling against me. Mentally I've been elsewhere the past two days, just going through motions in my day. Slightly aggravated. Left nip feeling a little sore. Feeling a bit bloated too. And now my throat is a bit sore. Going to try to blast that with Zinc and Vit C. Wondering if I need more of an anti-e to run, feels almost like rebounding not that I've been running anything hormonal. Might start inhibit-p in case it's prolactin related.

If you need any Anti-E let me know. Zinc & C are my go to when I first get a scratchy throat

 

[MrKleen73]

Blackstone? Is this what you meant? Because this looks badass and now I want one! I usually do the grilling, so it'd be more of a present for me. But at least now I know what to ask for next year!

View attachment 226283

No, no no, you are looking at it all wrong. It is for her, just remind her that with the blackstone comes the commitment that you will be cooking more dinners so she has more time for herself. Yeah, that's the ticket!

 

[Rocket3015]

No, no no, you are looking at it all wrong. It is for her, just remind her that with the blackstone comes the commitment that you will be cooking more dinners so she has more time for herself. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Don't you lose some of that smokie grill flavor with a flat top ??

 

[Dustin07]

Don't you lose some of that smokie grill flavor with a flat top ??

tradeoffs... My assumption is that you'll season it like any cast iron but I always go back and forth myself. I love the primal experience of cooking over fire and I think chicken taste better on the grill but If I'm cooking a high end steak I've come to accept that it just cooks better on a super hot cast iron vs fire grill.... personal opinion..

plus you can cook pancakes on your outside flat top

 

[MrKleen73]

Don't you lose some of that smokie grill flavor with a flat top ??

Oh certainly, it is a give and take between the flavor added from wood/charcoal grilling, and the convenience of the entire grill. However on the same note there is so much more you can do with a big grill, like @BOSSMAN mentioned you can do hibachi, steaks, stir fry, pancakes, pretty much whatever you can think of you can do big scale on one of these.

 

[Rocket3015]

I need to make some pancakes, I have not had them in a long time. Maybe some blueberry protein pancakes ???

 

[MrKleen73]

I need to make some pancakes, I have not had them in a long time. Maybe some blueberry protein pancakes ???

What about some real blueberry pancakes and a protein shake instead! YUM!!!!

 

[Rocket3015]

What about some real blueberry pancakes and a protein shake instead! YUM!!!!

Oh, I will put some real Blueberries in the pancakes !!

 

[Segansational]

I'm more of a chocolate chip pancake with peanut butter and banana type of guy!

 

[Rocket3015]

I'm more of a chocolate chip pancake with peanut butter and banana type of guy!

That sounds good also !!

 

[Dustin07]

whelp, I'm craving pancakes now.

 

[Rocket3015]

I woke up this morning thinking maybe I would stop for pancakes on my way to work........... I did not !

 

[Segansational]

Leg WO.

McGill Curl Ups x10,5,3
TRX squats 3x12
TRX alt lunges 3x12
BB squats 135x3x10 - still keeping these light. Not sure when I'll be ready to move up, but not trying to push too fast.
SLDLs 95x8,8,6 - first time testing this movement since my lower back issue. Still just feel like I don't have the muscular stamina back yet, but I'll get there. Good lat activation.
Calf raises 3x15

56:10, 197 cals

Pre: 3/4 scoop Decim8, 3 caps AnabolicXT
Intra: Same as previous
Soundtrack: DJ Khaled GOD DID Spotify playlist

 

[Dustin07]

It's funny when I ran 531 my sessions were always under an hour. like 45-55minutes. Now days I'm pretty sure I'm running 70+ almost every time. the 531 app did a good job of minimizing my rests.

 

[MrKleen73]

It's funny when I ran 531 my sessions were always under an hour. like 45-55minutes. Now days I'm pretty sure I'm running 70+ almost every time. the 531 app did a good job of minimizing my rests.

That is pretty typical when focusing on strength. When I ran 5-3-1 I took however long I needed to feel I was ready to push the weight. Often 2-3 minutes. Sometimes more depending on effort level. Plus my warm ups take longer now that I am old!

 

[Segansational]

Got a late start this morning. Had a cup of coffee, a bowl of cinnamon cheerios. Downed 1 scoop of Fitmax & 3 caps of AnabolicXT. Cardio on the bike for 27:01, 179 cals, followed by some cool down stretching. Legs felt fried from yesterday's session, but pushed it from my initial plan of 20 mins. Watching Generation Iron today.

 

[Dustin07]

Love that movie

 

[Hyde]

Why are you eating simple carbs before your cardio? You don’t need 40g carbs to get on a stationary bike for 30 minutes.

Do it fasted next time, which will pull from your love handle stores & further increase insulin sensitivity so when you eat them after, the glucose will get stored in your sore legs.

This is an important difference - the order matters, and it is how you can decrease those triglycerides & love handles while eating the same calories and food even.

If you eat for what you’re about to do, you will have maximal performance & be in storage mode. If you eat for what you just did, you will optimize fat utilization during and recovery after at the expense of performance.

But you do not need performance optimization to peddle on a bike for cardiovascular health.

 

[Segansational]

Why are you eating simple carbs before your cardio? You don’t need 40g carbs to get on a stationary bike for 30 minutes.

Do it fasted next time, which will pull from your love handle stores & further increase insulin sensitivity so when you eat them after, the glucose will get stored in your sore legs.

This is an important difference - the order matters, and it is how you can decrease those triglycerides & love handles while eating the same calories and food even.

If you eat for what you’re about to do, you will have maximal performance & be in storage mode. If you eat for what you just did, you will optimize fat utilization during and recovery after at the expense of performance.

But you do not need performance optimization to peddle on a bike for cardiovascular health.

Usually I am doing it fasted, this morning I was just unusually hungry. Wanted something quick that wouldn't fill my belly.

 

[Segansational]

Office was closed today, so had a late morning workout. Think I'm making Christmas Eve Eve into a Day of Deadlifts tradition. This will be my last WO until mid-next week as I enjoy the holidays and time off with the fam.

Bird Dogs x10,5,3
Neutral Grip Pull Ups x10,8,8
Straight arm lat pulldowns, resistance bands, 20x3x10 - think I might've mentioned that I saw a vid talking about how this is a good warm up before deads. Can't remember where I saw it though.

Deadlifts:
95x10
135x10
185x8,7,5

Well, been about 2 months since my back issue. So thought I'd give deads a fair shake. Even though I'm about 100# off from last year's pull session, I'm calling this a win being able to do working sets.

Single arm Landmine Rows +45x8, +25x8 - don't really have the hang of this motion without leaning back too much yet.

Lots of foam rolling and stretching out to finish up.

52:08, 304 cals

Pre: 3/4 scoop Defiant unleashed 4th edition. Probably a little less since my wife knocked over my shaker this AM.
Intra: Same as usual

Merry LIFTMAS!

 

[Hyde]

Usually I am doing it fasted, this morning I was just unusually hungry. Wanted something quick that wouldn't fill my belly.

40mg pseudoephedrine, and a bigger glass of water, will fix that just as quickly

Merry Christmas! Glad you got to deadlift; I did last night and it felt great.

 

[Segansational]

40mg pseudoephedrine, and a bigger glass of water, will fix that just as quickly

Merry Christmas! Glad you got to deadlift; I did last night and it felt great.

Same to you! I felt pretty good all in all for the first time really back at it. Had to stop myself from trying to do something stupid like match my old PR though, haha.

I'll have to post up a vid, I think I don't sit down into the motion far/low enough so I don't get as much leg drive as I could. Plus I believe I need to keep it closer to my shins/drag more.

 

[Hyde]

Same to you! I felt pretty good all in all for the first time really back at it. Had to stop myself from trying to do something stupid like match my old PR though, haha.

I'll have to post up a vid, I think I don't sit down into the motion far/low enough so I don't get as much leg drive as I could. Plus I believe I need to keep it closer to my shins/drag more.

“Never tie your PR” - Louie Simmons

Yeah post when you can; you definitely want to keep it as close as possible without actually creating a bunch of friction.

 

[Segansational]

Let me know if you can see this.

after lots of trial and error, think I figured out how to embed video...

My 2nd rep on this was off for sure. You can see the path of travel kicks out front more than it should be, but I knew that.

Post-Christmas WO:

Side Planks x10,5,3
Rotator Cuff Ex, Resistance bands 2x12/10

Bench Press:
105x10
140x8
160x5,5,4 - suicide grip

Dropped my working set weight, but upped the reps. Gotta get back to moving some weight.

Incline BP: 125x10,10,7 - suicide grip. These felt really good.

Resistance band flys 20x3x12

1 hr 20 mins, 287 cals.

This was just a solid workout session today. A little interrupted when the kids came downstairs, but all in all felt good and like I'm getting back into the groove. Which is good since my lower back/shoulders were sore since my deadlift session.

Pre: 1 scoop Zeus, 3 caps AnabolicXT
Intra: Same as previous
Soundtrack: 21 Savage and Quavo

 

[Hyde]

It’s a tough angle because being placed on the floor, the plates block a lot of the side shot, but there’s a few things I think may be helpful I am seeing you could tweak.

Those shoes look solid for most activity, but I would not squat and especially not deadlift in them - they are most definitely affecting balance and your ability to grip the floor/engage your feet/root. Try pulling in socks if you don’t have any extremely flat shoes like a Chuck Taylor already, then you can put them back on for everything else (shoes are important safety gear around weights!).

Your neck is moving a lot, and especially craning back while you strain - in my experience, this can hurt the traps or even the neck (c-spine) itself. I’ve done both. You want to try to get used to keeping your neck straight. You can adjust your vision with your eyes swiveling through the pull if you fixate on a spot, or just let your view change as you go if you don’t focus on anything.

Lastly, most significantly, your shoulders appear to be in front of the bar some, decreasing your leverage and overloading the low back. Your hip height seems decent, like you’re getting it low enough, but it seems like your shoes are making it hard for you to push your butt back far enough. Try to think about pushing back into your hamstrings as you bend over to grab it, really load them up. Don’t rely on your low back so much to make the pull.

 

[Segansational]

It’s a tough angle because being placed on the floor, the plates block a lot of the side shot, but there’s a few things I think may be helpful I am seeing you could tweak.

Those shoes look solid for most activity, but I would not squat and especially not deadlift in them - they are most definitely affecting balance and your ability to grip the floor/engage your feet/root. Try pulling in socks if you don’t have any extremely flat shoes like a Chuck Taylor already, then you can put them back on for everything else (shoes are important safety gear around weights!).

Your neck is moving a lot, and especially craning back while you strain - in my experience, this can hurt the traps or even the neck (c-spine) itself. I’ve done both. You want to try to get used to keeping your neck straight. You can adjust your vision with your eyes swiveling through the pull if you fixate on a spot, or just let your view change as you go if you don’t focus on anything.

Lastly, most significantly, your shoulders appear to be in front of the bar some, decreasing your leverage and overloading the low back. Your hip height seems decent, like you’re getting it low enough, but it seems like your shoes are making it hard for you to push your butt back far enough. Try to think about pushing back into your hamstrings as you bend over to grab it, really load them up. Don’t rely on your low back so much to make the pull.

Thank you @Hyde, exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. I'll try lifting without shoes next time. The neck and shoulder feedback though sounds particularly relevant, as my traps felt super sore coming off of that lift day.

Also, would it be more helpful to see a front or rear view?

 

[Hyde]

Thank you @Hyde, exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. I'll try lifting without shoes next time. The neck and shoulder feedback though sounds particularly relevant, as my traps felt super sore coming off of that lift day.

Also, would it be more helpful to see a front or rear view?

I think pulling in socks will probably let you get your shoulders back better and engage your hamstrings harder so you can focus more on driving your hips into the bar as you push your heels into the floor, and less on “pulling” backwards.

The side view is generally the best so we can see what your back and hips are doing, but you’d just want to put it on a table or chair if possible next time so instead of looking upward it’s more mid body.

 

[Segansational]

Arm WO.

Bird Dogs x10,5,3

Resistance band curls x Resistance band triceps pressdowns 20x2x15 - warm up
EZ bar curls +50x10,10,8
Dips x12,15,12
Incline DB curls 10x3x10
DB kickbacks 20x3x10
DB hammer curls 20x3x10
Close grip BP 125x10,10,6

54:05, 198 cals

Usually I enjoy arm WOs, but didn't have the drive this morning. NGL, been hitting the beer & cookies hard lately for the holidays. Time to clean it up and get back on track.

Pre: 1 scoop Total War, 2 caps Special Forces
Intra: Same as previous
Soundtrack: Spotify playlist, Drake & The Pretty Reckless. Anyone else just find out that the lead singer was Cindy Lou Who in the Grinch??