Thor's Thunder: Electrake's Epic Training Tales

1/11 - THE HIP DESTROYER

Main - Deadlift
  • 5 x 205lb
  • 5 x 255
  • 5 x 305
  • 5 x 335
  • 5 x 380
  • 5 x 430
Supplemental -Squat
  • 10 x 5 @ 250
Assistance
  • One kneeling row (2.5" rolling handle) 5 x 10 @ 65
  • One arm upright row (smith machine) 5 x 10 @ 85
Abs (Ran out of time, doing at home on TRX)
  • Reverse crunch 3 x 20
  • Flutter kicks 3 x failure
Time 1 hour 22min (got caught up in conversation)
Weight 217.8 (Exact same as yesterday)

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, working my deadlifts as a reset between each rep instead of touch and go, really feeling that in the hips. I gave a lot of time to rest (3-5min) between DL sets, but still finished them all within 27min. I belted up for the first half of the squats, gave a bit too much of the back to the last deadlift rep, but everything was good to go for the last 5 sets of squats, no more belt.

Just an interesting observation, my lever belt went on with some wiggle room at the beginning of the workout, but was pretty damn snug by the end. I can usually tell how hydrated I am/how hard I hit the weekend by the tightness of it lol.

This workout next week brings my DL to 455, and the squat to 265. Week 3 will see 480 and 285 for this same volume 💀
 
Mood of the day - What happened?!

Main - Bench
  • 5 x 110lb
  • 5 x 140
  • 5 x 165
  • 5 x 185
  • 5 x 210
  • 5 x 235
Supplemental - OHP (log clean and press away)
  • 10 x 5 @ 135
Assistance
  • Pendlay Row (Axle) 5 x 10 @ 185
  • Kickbacks 5 x 10 @ 50
Legs
  • Leg Press 5 x 10 @ 895
Time - 55min (Little to no break in supplemental/assistance work, ~1.5min breaks in main sets)
Weight - 216

This workout was brought to you by the soothing sounds of Invalid Link Removed

This was an easy day, well nourished and hydrated. I doubled my food intake pre-workout (oatmeal) which seemed to be beneficial, however I need to look into an intraworkout beverage. Karbolyn seems to be a big hit around here. Bench has always been my weak point, and I'd like to see what I'm capable of with a spotter, but that day will come in 5 weeks. Not my usual place to add in leg press, but my back was a little tight, and it always corrects whatever I have going on there :ROFLMAO: it's also occurred to me I have included any flexing pics for posterity and growth, so without further ado:
239518


This concludes the 4 day split planned for this week, I still have some rowing this afternoon, and I may go in tomorrow morning for some grip strength and assistance work depending on fatigue and recovery from today. Also a birthday party this evening, need to monitor the alcohol consumption.
 
Knocked out a VERY casual 4.5k on the rower, 22min. Basically watched an episode of Rick and Morty and was done when it finished. HR never went over 110bpm.
 
Electrake said:
Mood of the day - What happened?!

Main - Bench
  • 5 x 110lb
  • 5 x 140
  • 5 x 165
  • 5 x 185
  • 5 x 210
  • 5 x 235
Supplemental - OHP (log clean and press away)
  • 10 x 5 @ 135
Assistance
  • Pendlay Row (Axle) 5 x 10 @ 185
  • Kickbacks 5 x 10 @ 50
Legs
  • Leg Press 5 x 10 @ 895
Time - 55min (Little to no break in supplemental/assistance work, ~1.5min breaks in main sets)
Weight - 216

This workout was brought to you by the soothing sounds of Invalid Link Removed

This was an easy day, well nourished and hydrated. I doubled my food intake pre-workout (oatmeal) which seemed to be beneficial, however I need to look into an intraworkout beverage. Karbolyn seems to be a big hit around here. Bench has always been my weak point, and I'd like to see what I'm capable of with a spotter, but that day will come in 5 weeks. Not my usual place to add in leg press, but my back was a little tight, and it always corrects whatever I have going on there :ROFLMAO: it's also occurred to me I have included any flexing pics for posterity and growth, so without further ado:
View attachment 239518

This concludes the 4 day split planned for this week, I still have some rowing this afternoon, and I may go in tomorrow morning for some grip strength and assistance work depending on fatigue and recovery from today. Also a birthday party this evening, need to monitor the alcohol consumption.
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I wait for iHerb to have a coupon for like 20% off on a big sale and grab Karbolyn for a steal then, but honestly it’s pretty affordable per serving at many vendors even without any sales going on. Probably the best effect vs money spent if I had to choose a single premium carb product.

As pulverized corn rice & potatoes it digests pretty well (and I have a sensitive gut), you feel it pretty fast but it’s not absolutely rapid like HBCD, and the cost for a 50g serving is aggressive compared to anything that can like up with it. Plus it mixes up a lot better in cold water than stuff like Vitargo or other products that sometimes clump instead of going into solution.

If you have a need for absolute speed, drinking honey, eating glucose tabs, and drinking HBCD give ultimate timing control. But they have a faster fuse to burn through as well.
 
Hyde said:
I wait for iHerb to have a coupon for like 20% off on a big sale and grab Karbolyn for a steal then, but honestly it’s pretty affordable per serving at many vendors even without any sales going on. Probably the best effect vs money spent if I had to choose a single premium carb product.

As pulverized corn rice & potatoes it digests pretty well (and I have a sensitive gut), you feel it pretty fast but it’s not absolutely rapid like HBCD, and the cost for a 50g serving is aggressive compared to anything that can like up with it. Plus it mixes up a lot better in cold water than stuff like Vitargo or other products that sometimes clump instead of going into solution.

If you have a need for absolute speed, drinking honey, eating glucose tabs, and drinking HBCD give ultimate timing control. But they have a faster fuse to burn through as well.
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I also have a sensitive gut, so I'll trust you. I actually looked on I herb yesterday, an extension I use in my browser 'Honey' got me a pretty sweet discount, I think the total came down to $40.55. Code was NEW24, but I didn't pull the trigger. I'm not sure I spend enough time per workout to worry about super fast absorption, but between seeing my macro intake the last 2 weeks (always off by 50-100g carbs), and noticing my slump mid session, I definitely need something. I'll give it a shot
 
Electrake said:
I also have a sensitive gut, so I'll trust you. I actually looked on I herb yesterday, an extension I use in my browser 'Honey' got me a pretty sweet discount, I think the total came down to $40.55. Code was NEW24, but I didn't pull the trigger. I'm not sure I spend enough time per workout to worry about super fast absorption, but between seeing my macro intake the last 2 weeks (always off by 50-100g carbs), and noticing my slump mid session, I definitely need something. I'll give it a shot
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Just start drinking it from the beginning of the session and finish by the end. As short as your session times are & depending on meal timing prior, it might even make sense to drink all or most immediately preWO. I have enjoyed all the flavors, but Strawberry Kiwi is my favorite to drink over and over.

My wife only uses 25g, so a tub lasts her forever.
 
Hyde said:
Just start drinking it from the beginning of the session and finish by the end. As short as your session times are & depending on meal timing prior, it might even make sense to drink all or most immediately preWO. I have enjoyed all the flavors, but Strawberry Kiwi is my favorite to drink over and over.

My wife only uses 25g, so a tub lasts her forever.
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I'm a cherry lime guy :cool:
 
Also forgot to ask your username on Reddit. I check the 5/3/1 subreddit pretty often. Just got caught up on your week. Damn your pretty strong man! I’m going to learn a bunch following along!
 
slimsaw00 said:
Also forgot to ask your username on Reddit. I check the 5/3/1 subreddit pretty often. Just got caught up on your week. Damn your pretty strong man! I’m going to learn a bunch following along!
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On Reddit I go by Phallys lol. Im just trying to catch up to Hyde, that guy puts up some serious numbers!
 
Hyde said:
Just start drinking it from the beginning of the session and finish by the end. As short as your session times are & depending on meal timing prior, it might even make sense to drink all or most immediately preWO. I have enjoyed all the flavors, but Strawberry Kiwi is my favorite to drink over and over.

My wife only uses 25g, so a tub lasts her forever.
Click to expand...

I usually workout before school so I’m starting at about 4:30 (fasted). What would be the best pre/intra carb, or is it preference? I’ve used HBCD and it seems to to just fine. I’ve always wondered about Karbolyn though. Thanks!
 
slimsaw00 said:
I usually workout before school so I’m starting at about 4:30 (fasted). What would be the best pre/intra carb, or is it preference? I’ve used HBCD and it seems to to just fine. I’ve always wondered about Karbolyn though. Thanks!
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I'm going to throw my .02 on this one. Fairly opinion based, and knowing what works for me. I also go before class, although that's waking up at 0530 for me, the first thing I do is throw a cup of oatmeal in the microwave and let the dogs out. I also chow down on a banana for the fructose, but more importantly for myself, I was getting wicked night cramps and a banana a day helped that.

The oatmeal keeps me satiated and some longer energy for the volume work I do. Most importantly, the poops are great :ROFLMAO:.

Now where I'm at, and you can see where I mentioned this recently, I'm dieing out a few sets before the end of my workout which is where I started this discussion about Karbolyn. I take a high stim pre and don't want to add any more caffeine into my life.
 
Electrake said:
On Reddit I go by Phallys lol. Im just trying to catch up to Hyde, that guy puts up some serious numbers!
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It’s all drugs; the steroids do the lifting for me 🤫

slimsaw00 said:
I usually workout before school so I’m starting at about 4:30 (fasted). What would be the best pre/intra carb, or is it preference? I’ve used HBCD and it seems to to just fine. I’ve always wondered about Karbolyn though. Thanks!
Click to expand...

HBCD is the top of the line best option for intra support - it digests extremely well, very high molecular weight that allows it to hit the bloodstream fastest, as well as drag other things like amino acids & creatine along with it for faster shuttling & recovery. If you are willing to pay for it, you won’t go wrong.

Karbolyn is the next best option. It’s slower, but it works well even on my sensitive gut and is substantially cheaper.

Then from there things get slower digesting, more bloating, less useful in an acute/immediate sense. Vitargo, Waxy Maize (corn starch) Moving towards ingredients like Dextrose/Gatorade powder, then things like powdered oats and such that’s really basically just regular food.

My opinion is you should use the cheapest carb source you can make work comfortably with your gut, time, & energy needs.

Like Electrake said, if you can just eat something prior far enough out to get it to feel good and have smooth energy (oatmeal, cream of rice or wheat, some fruit, maybe some honey) that’s great. And if you can feel good on something like Dextrose, awesome - that stuff costs nothing. It just depends on how full you want to be, how you digest what, how long you train, whether you have meals in you from earlier in the day. You can play with eating something small and drinking something, but not too much, then increase over time to see what helps/hurts.

Most of my training is first thing in the morning. I have 1-2 bars, lately a fig bar & a rice krispy treat on the 15 min drive to the gym, then drink Karbolyn intra. I have also had good luck with Cliff bars prior, but eaten 30 minutes before I leave (pulverized oats, brown rice syrup). When close to a contest I switch Karbolyn to HBCD usually because my digestion is usually getting worse from diet and/or steroids, & HBCD keeps my glucose up even with slower gut motility.

If your gut is bloated, the liquid and food is just sitting in it, useless - it’s not getting into the muscle or your bloodstream where you want it. If you like to feel extra full, that’s great, but your body is not trying to digest during a sympathetic period such as training.
 
Sorry that was so long. I have spent probably 9 years at this point tweaking and testing and modifying my pre/intra carb & electrolytes. But now I know exactly what I need for different situations and I never get caught off guard for any pace competition.
 
Hyde said:
It’s all drugs; the steroids do the lifting for me 🤫



HBCD is the top of the line best option for intra support - it digests extremely well, very high molecular weight that allows it to hit the bloodstream fastest, as well as drag other things like amino acids & creatine along with it for faster shuttling & recovery. If you are willing to pay for it, you won’t go wrong.

Karbolyn is the next best option. It’s slower, but it works well even on my sensitive gut and is substantially cheaper.

Then from there things get slower digesting, more bloating, less useful in an acute/immediate sense. Vitargo, Waxy Maize (corn starch) Moving towards ingredients like Dextrose/Gatorade powder, then things like powdered oats and such that’s really basically just regular food.

My opinion is you should use the cheapest carb source you can make work comfortably with your gut, time, & energy needs.

Like Electrake said, if you can just eat something prior far enough out to get it to feel good and have smooth energy (oatmeal, cream of rice or wheat, some fruit, maybe some honey) that’s great. And if you can feel good on something like Dextrose, awesome - that stuff costs nothing. It just depends on how full you want to be, how you digest what, how long you train, whether you have meals in you from earlier in the day. You can play with eating something small and drinking something, but not too much, then increase over time to see what helps/hurts.

Most of my training is first thing in the morning. I have 1-2 bars, lately a fig bar & a rice krispy treat on the 15 min drive to the gym, then drink Karbolyn intra. I have also had good luck with Cliff bars prior, but eaten 30 minutes before I leave (pulverized oats, brown rice syrup). When close to a contest I switch Karbolyn to HBCD usually because my digestion is usually getting worse from diet and/or steroids, & HBCD keeps my glucose up even with slower gut motility.

If your gut is bloated, the liquid and food is just sitting in it, useless - it’s not getting into the muscle or your bloodstream where you want it. If you like to feel extra full, that’s great, but your body is not trying to digest during a sympathetic period such as training.
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Hyde said:
Sorry that was so long. I have spent probably 9 years at this point tweaking and testing and modifying my pre/intra carb & electrolytes. But now I know exactly what I need for different situations and I never get caught off guard for any pace competition.
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I've never cared about it until recently, it's been a deep dive full of opinions, anecdote, and experience. There's so much science based data out there, but we are all so different that it's brutal to wade through.
 
Electrake said:
Invalid Link Removed


I've never cared about it until recently, it's been a deep dive full of opinions, anecdote, and experience. There's so much science based data out there, but we are all so different that it's brutal to wade through.
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It is, and the damn truth is you just need to play with things to find what works FOR YOU. I have woken up early to eat different amounts of all kinds of combos of things, and the reality is having much in my gut when I squat or pull just hinders my performance/energy.

Get salt, water, and carbohydrate in before training in some form & timing that has you feeling well-prepared. That’s all it comes down to.

Sodium was a breakthru thing for me. Putting table salt in my pre/intra, or eating a pickle or soy sauce prior, or using salt tabs like Thermotabs, can make a big difference (as long as you have the fluid to support it).
 
Hyde said:
Sodium was a breakthru thing for me
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That's really interesting to me, my wife is very paranoid about sodium intake due to genetic predisposition, so I'm generally light on the salt when it comes to food. Ill have to try out some pedialyte or something before training for a week and see if there's anything noticeable. Or pickles.
 
I’ve done HBCD for a while and just see people on here mention Karbolyn. Thought I would inquire. I slam my pre and usually go downstairs to lift so a liquid carb works for me. I thought HBCD was slower but I learned it’s not. I guess in my case that’s not bad.
 
Electrake said:
That's really interesting to me, my wife is very paranoid about sodium intake due to genetic predisposition, so I'm generally light on the salt when it comes to food. Ill have to try out some pedialyte or something before training for a week and see if there's anything noticeable. Or pickles.
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It’s a minority of the population (25-30% depending on the paper) who are sodium sensitive, but that is really easy to determine if it’s you or not. I mean, you will know.

Otherwise, you are in the majority of people who will just be better hydrated by consuming some extra sodium pre/intra, therefore having less chance of injury and better pumps, strength & energy.

Pedialyte sucks, outside of the things like getting picky sick kids rehydrated. It digests slowly, is expensive, and not even that salty. Take your salt shaker and shoot/chase 1/4 tsp back or mixed in your preWO. Even simpler, don’t even measure and just throw some dashes in. Salt is basically free, too.

We do drink pickle juice sometimes in the summer right before training instead, since it’s cold & goes well before a session without AC. Or to help rehydrate after.
 
15Jan2023

Main - Squat
  • 5 x 150lb
  • 5 x 190
  • 5 x 230
  • 5 x 265
  • 5 x 315
  • 5 x 345
Supplemental - Squat
  • 10 x 5 @ 265
Assistance
  • seated row 5 x 10 @ 220
  • Reverse grip tricep pushdown 5 x 10 @ 75
Abs (superset)
  • Weighted crunches 4 x 50 @120
  • Ab wheel 4 x 10
Time - 52min
Weight - 218

Feeling like **** today, narrowly avoided a head on collision on a curvy mountain road last night, but they still messed up the entire drivers side of my truck. Then, up to late watching football, it was my team vs my wife's (Rams v Lions), couldn't sleep from nerves. Probably got a solid 5 hours of sleep, watch say 4.5 lol. Furthermore, I just had 2 tons of wood pellets in 40lb bags delivered, and instead of calling and asking where to drop them, they left them on the wrong side of my property over an acre away. Does this count as a loading event, or cardio? End rant.

Anyways, my calf (soleus) is killing me today, as well as my elbow, but I was able to rock out this workout quickly because I wanted to get the hell out of there. Will be rolling it out and stretching today, and working on my finger exercises since they stretch out the area that hurts. I'm moving my PM cardio to tomorrow, I'm never in a bad mood and it's usually health related so I'm taking the rest of the day easy.
 
Yeah that’s going to be loading and conditioning moving all of that - it will have a recovery cost you can bet!

Glad you didn’t end up in a head on. That kind of thing can be life altering, or ending.

What in your training is killing the elbow? Squats?
 
Electrake said:
15Jan2023

Main - Squat
  • 5 x 150lb
  • 5 x 190
  • 5 x 230
  • 5 x 265
  • 5 x 315
  • 5 x 345
Supplemental - Squat
  • 10 x 5 @ 265
Assistance
  • seated row 5 x 10 @ 220
  • Reverse grip tricep pushdown 5 x 10 @ 75
Abs (superset)
  • Weighted crunches 4 x 50 @120
  • Ab wheel 4 x 10
Time - 52min
Weight - 218

Feeling like **** today, narrowly avoided a head on collision on a curvy mountain road last night, but they still messed up the entire drivers side of my truck. Then, up to late watching football, it was my team vs my wife's (Rams v Lions), couldn't sleep from nerves. Probably got a solid 5 hours of sleep, watch say 4.5 lol. Furthermore, I just had 2 tons of wood pellets in 40lb bags delivered, and instead of calling and asking where to drop them, they left them on the wrong side of my property over an acre away. Does this count as a loading event, or cardio? End rant.

Anyways, my calf (soleus) is killing me today, as well as my elbow, but I was able to rock out this workout quickly because I wanted to get the hell out of there. Will be rolling it out and stretching today, and working on my finger exercises since they stretch out the area that hurts. I'm moving my PM cardio to tomorrow, I'm never in a bad mood and it's usually health related so I'm taking the rest of the day easy.
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Definitely glad you avoided the head on collision! Man I miss my pellet stove from a long time ago, that thing heated the whole house!
 
Hyde said:
What in your training is killing the elbow? Squats?
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Nah, a bit of tennis elbow. I usually do wrist stretches, bicep stretching, and those silly finger bands to warm everything up, just wasn't happening today. I used to suffer from shoulder pains, it was a symptom of everything down my arm being way too tight. The finger bands alone fixed a lot, then I found some wrist stretches from one of the grip training subreddits that literally changed my life.

Regardless, it's not so debilitating I can't work through it, just sucks and I need to continue rehab whether it's hurting or not.

akboom87 said:
Definitely glad you avoided the head on collision! Man I miss my pellet stove from a long time ago, that thing heated the whole house!
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Thanks dude, my f150 came out relatively well considering the circumstance, the other guys Chevy blew out both driver side wheels and shattered his drivers side window from the force of the mirror snapping back.

We have a 100 year old farmhouse that's ridiculously drafty, the pellet stove keeps the main floor in the 60s depending on the weather, I love it. We have a propane furnace backup, but my god is propane expensive.
 
Electrake said:
Nah, a bit of tennis elbow. I usually do wrist stretches, bicep stretching, and those silly finger bands to warm everything up, just wasn't happening today. I used to suffer from shoulder pains, it was a symptom of everything down my arm being way too tight. The finger bands alone fixed a lot, then I found some wrist stretches from one of the grip training subreddits that literally changed my life.

Regardless, it's not so debilitating I can't work through it, just sucks and I need to continue rehab whether it's hurting or not.


Thanks dude, my f150 came out relatively well considering the circumstance, the other guys Chevy blew out both driver side wheels and shattered his drivers side window from the force of the mirror snapping back.

We have a 100 year old farmhouse that's ridiculously drafty, the pellet stove keeps the main floor in the 60s depending on the weather, I love it. We have a propane furnace backup, but my god is propane expensive.
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I hear that we have electric furnace and rates are high, propane even higher. We rent for now and are town home is all right but the windows leak when it’s this cold and windy. Furnace has been getting a workout, I’ll probably **** when I see the electric bill
 
Gym owner just texted saying he won't be open tomorrow either... I have a TRX anchored to a wall, resistance bands up to 110lb, and my concept2, so I'll get something going. No way in hell I'm flipping tires in single digits lol.
 
Electrake said:
Gym owner just texted saying he won't be open tomorrow either... I have a TRX anchored to a wall, resistance bands up to 110lb, and my concept2, so I'll get something going. No way in hell I'm flipping tires in single digits lol.
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When I moved here the gym I went to at the time had an 800lb tire out back, and a few smaller ones. We got a big snow & the gym was similarly closed for power reasons, so I met up with another serious member out back for tire flips & some triple extensions with the kegs in the snow.

She’s my wife now
 
Hyde said:
I met up with another serious member out back for tire flips
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Mine's just 500lb and in my back yard, and I will absolutely not being going out there and digging it out to flip :ROFLMAO:

Hyde said:
She’s my wife now
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That's funny, I wish my wife would lift. She likes 5ks and half marathons, but she doesn't do any sort of training for them. It's a whole thing lol.
 
1/17/23

Gym was closed today for ice and power issues.. Regardless, got a 35min row in. Worked to balance fatigue and maintain heart rate >120 which was a battle, didn't care about distance.

Will be moving 2 tons of pellets in 40lb bags finally today, couldn't get my truck to the garage I store them in and back due to the ice (on a hill) and I don't want to tear up the yard too much.

weight - 216
Weight is dropping though I've increased my intake, I attribute this to actually getting the calories and protein I'm supposed to be taking in. I am on a recomp, but I guess I need to shove MORE food in my face hole.
 
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Electrake said:
Mine's just 500lb and in my back yard, and I will absolutely not being going out there and digging it out to flip :ROFLMAO:


That's funny, I wish my wife would lift. She likes 5ks and half marathons, but she doesn't do any sort of training for them. It's a whole thing lol.
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Your wife has that champion’s mentality. She is a keeper sir!

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“You don’t see a cheetah practicing to run down a gazelle”
 
1/18/23

Week 2, day 2

Main - Bench
  • 5 x 110lb
  • 5 x 140
  • 5 x 165
  • 5 x 195
  • 5 x 225
  • 5 x 250
Supplemental - OHP (Barbell-strict)
  • 10 x 5 @ 120
Assistance
  • Face Pull 5 x 10 @ 75
  • Pec Deck Fly 5 x 10 @ 120
Legs
  • Front Squat 5 x 10 @ 185
Time - 1hr 12min
Weight 216.2

Nailed it. Very solid session, I always get nervous on BP because it's always been a weak point, but I rocked out the top set with a slight pause on the bottom like it was nothing. Big emphasis on keeping my ass on the bench. Definitely guilty of arching until my lower back snaps. I've literally never done face pulls, 75lb maxes out the cables, so I'll have to try them next time on the seated row cables. As mentioned previously, I superset the supplemental and assistance work, aiming to reduce rest time, the only rest between the supp to assist is the walk, and usually a minute or so to reset. My shoulders were burning like hell by the end of flies and ohp's. Had a new sensation in my knee doing front squats, it felt almost like hair being pulled just to the left of my left knee cap. Can't imagine that leads to anything good, so I paid more attention to form and moved slower the last 3 sets. I know I can rock out double what I was lifting, but the goal was volume and that feeling weirded me out.

Didn't want to talk much diet in this log, but I'm presently down 6lbs in 3 weeks. I haven't changed a bit about what I'm eating, but I am eating more than I was, since I'm keeping a diet log I know it's 500-700cal more. Dramatically more protein. I'm also doing the FF stack from BLR, but I don't give much credence to supplements after not even 3 weeks. Scratch that, I started it 10 days ago, but my diet has been consistent for 3 weeks now. Am I just "recomping" due to the increased protein intake? Carbs actually increased as well, although my fat intake remains around 100g.
 
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If a larger % of calories had been SHIFTED to protein from carbs or fats, the increased thermogenic effect of eating protein could account for a net loss in actual calories. But if you had the same diet and purely added more protein on top, that’s still just extra calories. So your metabolism has increased.

Losing fat while eating more is generally most people’s ideal scenario, unless eating becomes a chore. Which, if you are eating healthier foods, it often is. If you are just housing danishes it’s not so bad, but then your cardiovascular system would beg to differ, I suppose.
 
Also, remember the point of a facepull is to isolate & develop the rear delts. Make sure the pull is initiated by them, otherwise it’s easy to incorporate some rowing, which will create the need for much more weight to be used. You can also add some tempo as well if you are running out of weight.
 
Hyde said:
If you are just housing danishes
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:ROFLMAO: I wish I could just shove all the cream cheese danishes in my face hole. I'd probably explode in a fiery ball of gas and stomach acid.

I am eating literally the same, I'm not much for sweets or junk food really, just isn't satisfying to me. Basically at this point I've increased the amount of chicken/food proteins I'm consuming, as well as grains. So yes, eating has become a chore.
 
Hyde said:
If a larger % of calories had been SHIFTED to protein from carbs or fats, the increased thermogenic effect of eating protein could account for a net loss in actual calories. But if you had the same diet and purely added more protein on top, that’s still just extra calories. So your metabolism has increased.

Losing fat while eating more is generally most people’s ideal scenario, unless eating becomes a chore. Which, if you are eating healthier foods, it often is. If you are just housing danishes it’s not so bad, but then your cardiovascular system would beg to differ, I suppose.
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Housing danishes!
 
1/19/23

Main - Deadlift
  • 5 x 205lb
  • 5 x 255
  • 5 x 315
  • 5 x 355
  • 5 x 405
  • 5 x 455
Supplemental -Squat
  • 10 x 5 @ 265
Assistance
  • One kneeling row (2.5" rolling handle) 5 x 10 @ 65
  • One arm upright row (Handle and loading pin) 5 x 10 @ 135
Abs
  • Reverse crunch 3 x 20
  • Flutter kicks 3 x failure
Time 1 hour 8min
Weight 216.2

I see my wife maybe 3 days a week usually, last night we went out to a swanky dinner and I really overdid it. 20oz prime rib, a cocktail (manhattan), and 2 bottles of wine, and I'm awake from midnight until 4am with it all sitting like a vat of acid at the back of my throat.

So today sucked ass, but I made it. Deadlifts went fine until the top set, I got 2/5 and stopped due to form breakdown. I'm confident I have it in me on a normal day, so I'm progressing next week to the next weights. I'm pretty good at calling my own ego, so I'm not too worried about it. Squats went fine, no calf or knee issues, spent some extra time warming up/stretching/rolling. Karbolyn is delicious. That is all.
 
For a different perspective, if you did decide to repeat the weight next time but do it better, you will still get stronger.

You can run totally flat cycles, with respect to volume and intensity, and still improve. Especially if you can increase the density of that work. Not saying you should or that it’s optimal, but I have found intent and the practice of quality execution to be just as effective at times vs trying to hammer more load.
 
Hyde said:
For a different perspective, if you did decide to repeat the weight next time but do it better, you will still get stronger.

You can run totally flat cycles, with respect to volume and intensity, and still improve. Especially if you can increase the density of that work. Not saying you should or that it’s optimal, but I have found intent and the practice of quality execution to be just as effective at times vs trying to hammer more load.
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I do agree, and it's been on my mind all morning. This week has been so jacked up because of the weather I'm thinking of just repeating the whole week.
 
The breakfast makers are NOT amused by this weather.
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There's been another 6" or so since this picture yesterday... I have to swap out their water a few times a day, and I covered the straw with scratch and mealworms to keep them busy and stirring the straw lol.
 
Electrake said:
I see my wife maybe 3 days a week usually, last night we went out to a swanky dinner and I really overdid it. 20oz prime rib, a cocktail (manhattan), and 2 bottles of wine, and I'm awake from midnight until 4am with it all sitting like a vat of acid at the back of my throat.
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That's honestly the worst when you have a great meal, delicious food & drink and a good time, but then pay for it overnight because of indigestion!
 
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