Boom goes the dynamite

[danzik17]

3/31/08

Time for a diet switchup since I think my body was getting used to that calorie level. That and I'm a little tired of carb cycling, I'd like to go back to just doing a good old standard diet for a few months. I'm including everything here, even the calculations I used to figure stuff out.

The goal is still to cut since I freaking want that low BF level, and I may have not been eating enough on my previous diet to allow it to happen.

BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 * weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 * height in inches ) - ( 6.8 * age in year )

BMR = 66 + (6.23 * 166) + (12.7 * 69) - (6.8 * 22)

BMR = 1826.88

Moderately active (workout 3x per week) = 1.55 multiplier

1826.88 * 1.55 = 2831.664 Total Calories for Maintenance

Target Calories for Cut = 2600 (for now)

166 * 1.5 = 249g protein

2600 * 0.25 = 72.22 fat

Remaining Cals: 238.5g carbs

For the record, the calories on my previous cut were averaging around 1900 per day. Yea, I think I may have been undereating here.

Here is the new meal plan - I haven't decided how I'm going to split these foods up per meal yet, but this is what is will consist of overall. Calories are close enough to my targets to make me happy enough.

I may forego some of the rice or oats for the first week so that I'm not jumping my calorie levels by almost 700 suddenly. That could have some bad effects, so I'll ease into the new calorie levels at a rate of maybe 350 per week, so two weeks to hit my target.

 

[danzik17]

I'll just throw this in there too as another goal: go to sleep earlier. Why the hell am I still awake. I'm going to sleep

 

[danzik17]

Meal 1:
2 whole eggs
6 egg whites
1 cup oats
1 apple

Meal 2:
2 scoops ATW protein
1 orange
4 fish oil caps

Meal 3:
2 scoops ATW whey
1 apple

Meal 4:
9 egg whites
1 cup oats
4 fish oil caps

Meal 5:
8oz chicken
1 cup brown rice
4 fish oil caps

Meal 6:
4oz steak
4 fish oil caps
6 walnuts

That will be the split that will carry me to mid-June when I may or may not redo the diet to fit whatever my new job needs me to do. That and woohoo, just found out there is a Costco right where I'm going to be living. Hello cheap food.

 

[goob]

Meal 1:
2 whole eggs
6 egg whites
1 cup oats
1 apple

Meal 2:
2 scoops ATW protein
1 orange
4 fish oil caps

Meal 3:
2 scoops ATW whey
1 apple

Meal 4:
9 egg whites
1 cup oats
4 fish oil caps

Meal 5:
8oz chicken
1 cup brown rice
4 fish oil caps

Meal 6:
4oz steak
4 fish oil caps
6 walnuts

That will be the split that will carry me to mid-June when I may or may not redo the diet to fit whatever my new job needs me to do. That and woohoo, just found out there is a Costco right where I'm going to be living. Hello cheap food.

Hot damn, wish I was that organised diet wise. Looks good.

What are you going to be doing for your new job?

 

[danzik17]

Well it's the same basic diet I've been following for over a year, I just keep tweaking the amounts and the timings of the meals. No reason to change up the foods if I don't mind eating them.

Initially it's a Desktop Support (blah) job at FactSet Research Systems, but within half a year I hope to move into the network engineering/administration side of the company.

 

[goob]

Well it's the same basic diet I've been following for over a year, I just keep tweaking the amounts and the timings of the meals. No reason to change up the foods if I don't mind eating them.

Initially it's a Desktop Support (blah) job at FactSet Research Systems, but within half a year I hope to move into the network engineering/administration side of the company.

Congrats dude, desktop support does not sound to bad, no doubt will be better than helpdesk, with less hassle. Plus, you'll get to met the hot chicks that work there when something goes wrong with their computer........

What sort of fat loss did you see following that diet? Must say, you are very organised, and seem to have factored in a lot of variables in calculating. Better than my 'rough guess' half assed efforts...

 

[danzik17]

I honestly don't know for sure, I haven't tracked it in a while except by the mirror. It's probably something that is limiting my progress. Overall I went from being around 250lbs, down to 153lbs, now I'm sitting at around 166lbs but the 13 additional pounds are mainly muscle. Over 2 years or so I just sort of naturally progressed to eating healthier and healthier after I got violently sick one winter and lost 40lbs in a matter of 2-3 weeks.

 

[danzik17]

New workouts aren't designed yet, but they will be some variation of the 5x5 setup since I've been reading good stuff about it. Just need to do a little more reading to find out the % 1RM on what days I should be lifting and whatnot.

 

[goob]

I honestly don't know for sure, I haven't tracked it in a while except by the mirror. It's probably something that is limiting my progress. Overall I went from being around 250lbs, down to 153lbs, now I'm sitting at around 166lbs but the 13 additional pounds are mainly muscle. Over 2 years or so I just sort of naturally progressed to eating healthier and healthier after I got violently sick one winter and lost 40lbs in a matter of 2-3 weeks.

Thats a pretty outstanding achievement. 100lb's?????? Great job.

Also, you might want to look into Gazhole's blog at the Texas method, I think me, Gaz and scarface are going to be doing a variation of it. It uses 5x5 principles and 4 compound moves per workout. Should be highly effective, I was doing 4 compunds per workout recently and the weights I'm putting up are the best I've ever done.
A Sheep Lover's Blog

 

[danzik17]

4/1/08

Everything went pretty smooth up until my workout then oh my god I had some of the worst creatine bloating I could imagine. I'm currently sitting in my chair waiting for this to pass. I'm definitely going to be dropping the creatine for at least a week, then very slowly introducing it to my body (unlike yesterday when I just dove right in at 4g).

Here's where I'm at in the gym today - I'm not happy with it but it's the best I could do given the ridiculous pain my stomach is in.

Deadlift: 135lbs 7x3
Pullups: Dead hang BW 6x3 (BAH I CAN DO BETTER)
One Arm DB Rows - 55lb DBs 10x2, 60lb DBs 7x1
Hyperextensions - BW 10x1, BW+25lbs 7x1

 

[danzik17]

4/3/08

Workout out while sick sucks. Don't know if it's a cold or allergies, but I was just more tired than usual. I'll be designing my new routine over the weekend, so I'll start it on next Tuesday

Here's today:

Warmup: Light weights of each of the major exercises I did
Squats: 135lbs 10x1, 140lbs 10x1, 145lbs 10x1
DB Bench Press: 55lb DBs 10x2, 60lb DBs 6x1
Dips: 10x3 BW
Leg Extensions: 80lbs 10x1, 90lbs 10x1, 100lbs 10x1

My right leg/thigh (adductor) still bothers me from when I hurt it squatting almost two months ago. It doesn't necessarily hurt, but there is a pressure that makes me nervous about putting on heavier weights which is why I'm still pretty far below what I used to do. Any ideas on that?

 

[danzik17]

4/5/08

Just a normal pull workout, nothing spectacular here. Looking forward to starting the 5x5 setup soon.

Pullups: BW 10, 8, 6
Hyperextensions: BW 10x1, BW+25lbs 10, 6 (Not going to do these anymore. They don't seem to be beneficial at all anymore and they're hindering my other lifts by making my LB tired)
Deadlifts: 125lbs 10x1, 135lbs 8x1 (Stopped here - my lower back really was tired at this point and I didn't want to risk bad form)
DB Rows: 55lbs 10x1, 60lbs 10x1, 65lbs 8x1 (New high weight!)

 

[fufu]

Do you normally do deadlifts later in your workout? I like to do them earlier because it is easier to maintain form.

 

[danzik17]

Usually I do it first, but I wanted to do pullups first since my pullups always suffer due to my grip being tired at that point. Big mistake since the hypers made my LB so tired that I just couldn't maintain good form anymore after 2 sets of DLs.

 

[danzik17]

4/8/08

Well I didn't start the 5x5 setup like I wanted to since I got pretty busy doing actual schoolwork that I procrastinated on. I am very happy with the workout as a whole though - DB Bench went up, squats are recovering from my injury though slowly.

Squats: 115lbs 10x1, 145 lbs 10x1, 155lbs 10x1
DB Bench: 55lbs 10x1, 65lbs 10x1, 7x1 (woot, used to top out at 60s)
Pistols: BW 10x1,8x2 (Was skirting complete failure on these after squats, pretty happy)
Dips: BW 10x3
Cardio: 4min10s on the bike - my legs were so shot at this point that I had nothing left

 

[danzik17]

4/10/08

Deadlifts: 135lbs 10x1, 155lbs 10x1 7x1
One Arm DB Rows: 55lb DBs 10x1, 65lb DBs 10x1 8x1 (woot, new high weight)
Hamstring Curls: 80lbs 10x1, 90lbs 8x1 7x1 (God these felt worthless, but I refused to do hyperextensions. I'll have to think of something)
Pullups/Chinups: 9 BW Pullups, 8 BW Chinups, 5 BW Pullups
One Arm Lat Pulldowns: 40lbs to failure, forget how many reps. These felt awesome.

 

[danzik17]

4/12/08

Squats: 115lbs 10x1, 135lbs 10x1, 155 lbs 10x1
DB Bench: 55lbs 10x1, 60lbs 10x1, 8x1
Pistols: 10,8,8
Dips: 10x3 BW
Core: Not sure if there is a name for this, but I jumped on the decline bench and just held myself straight suspended for 30s x 3. Kind of like an upside down plank?

Still making progress overall although my right leg is still arguing with me. It's getting more and more used to heavier weight though so that's good.

 

[danzik17]

Hell of a day. 3 hours at work, 2 hours apartment hunting, 3 hours racing , then the first day of the Texas Full Body Method. I am goddamn tired.

As for the new routine, the high intensity day didn't feel all that intense. I'm used to doing circuit training with about 15-20seconds rest in-between sets, so 1:45 really felt like an eternity. Leg Presses were also really really easy, I know I can do a lot more weight next time - I kept putting more on, but it never felt like it was heavy at all.

Squats: 150lbs 5x5
Pullups: BW 5x5 (damn weight belt was locked up so I couldn't do it with +20)
Leg Press: 375lbs 5x1, 405lbs 5x1, 445lbs 5x3 (the platform weighs 65lbs right?)
T-Bat Rows: 135lbs 5x1, 160lbs 5x4

Bicep Curls Back against the wall: 25lb DBs 12, 10, 8
Shrugs: 60lbs 14x1, 65 lbs 14x4 (These were easy for my traps but holy god my grip was gone at this point)
Inverse Planks on Decline Bench: 30seconds x 3

 

[Gazhole]

Looking good, man! You're gonna like this program, i promise you

 

[goob]

Looking good, man! You're gonna like this program, i promise you

Agreed. Looks like a great start you've made. It's working well for me on week 3, I reckon you'll do even better with your diet far superior to mine.

 

[danzik17]

We'll see about that one. I already know my diet will be pretty bad over the next couple of weeks, but I'm ok with that. There's only 3 more weeks left before I graduate, and I might not see some of my friends here after that so I'm not going to let my diet get in the way for now.

That and in 2 weeks it's senior week i.e. the entire senior class roaming around the city in a drunken stupor for 7 days. It's going to set back my progress a good bit probably but I can always just drop more fat, I can never do this again.

 

[danzik17]

I will say I am goddamn dead from that last workout. I didn't feel tired at all last night, but holy shit I am dying right now.

 

[danzik17]

4/24/08 Low Volume / Low Intensity

I can't say I like this day, but I know it's necessary. It's just so freaking boring doing 2-3 reps, rest for a minute, do another 2-3. Hell the most brutal thing I did was cardio (I am not conditioned in any way shape or form)

Deadlifts: 135lbs 3x6
Hyperextensions: 6x5 or something, I lost count. They were so easy I probably did more than I should have.
DB Press: 65lb DBs 3x6
Dips: BW 3x6

Front Raises: 20lb DBs 8x3
Tricep Pushdown: 50lbs 7x3 (Screw this, I'm doing dumbells next time. I hate machines)

Monkey Hangs: 25s, 15s, 8s (These things are freaking hard holy shit)

Cardio: Exercise Bike for 10m on medium intensity

 

[danzik17]

4/26/07 Low Volume/High Intensity

Apparently the gym at my college closes at 9PM on Saturday (wtf?) so I didn't get to do any accessory stuff, but I got the four big lifts done. I will say I did surprise myself on leg presses. The weight belt for pullups still is locked on a cabinet so I did a superset of lat pulldowns and pullups to at least try and compensate.

Squats: 165lbs 3x3
Leg Press: 515lbs 4x1, 565lbs 3x2
Pullups: 6x3
Lat Pulldowns: 90lbs 6x3
T-Bar Rows: 165lbs 3x1, 175lbs 3x1, 185lbs 3x1

I'm kind of in the same boat as goob here, the weights felt heavy but I just wasn't getting tired. I'm way too used to circuit training with like 15-20s RI.

 

[goob]

4/26/07 Low Volume/High Intensity

Apparently the gym at my college closes at 9PM on Saturday (wtf?) so I didn't get to do any accessory stuff, but I got the four big lifts done. I will say I did surprise myself on leg presses. The weight belt for pullups still is locked on a cabinet so I did a superset of lat pulldowns and pullups to at least try and compensate.

Squats: 165lbs 3x3
Leg Press: 515lbs 4x1, 565lbs 3x2
Pullups: 6x3
Lat Pulldowns: 90lbs 6x3
T-Bar Rows: 165lbs 3x1, 175lbs 3x1, 185lbs 3x1

I'm kind of in the same boat as goob here, the weights felt heavy but I just wasn't getting tired. I'm way too used to circuit training with like 15-20s RI.

Exactly. It's very wierd, although you are putting a lot of stress on yourself, you don't get the fatigue of a higher rep workout.

These days also seem to be very effective......although they don't really feel it. Good stuff Dan.

 

[danzik17]

4/29/08 - High Volume/High Intensity

Well I fucking did it today. Now I'm out of commission for at least two weeks. Despite how anal retentive I tried to be with form on my deadlifts, I managed to hurt something in my back - that's why I fucking hate deadlifts. It's not my lower back though, it's more of the area right beneath the area between the shoulder blades. Center back?

Would have been a good day if it wasn't for that. I was happy with everything else.

Deadlifts: 155lbs 5x5 (FUCK THESE. Not even that heavy)
Dips: BW + 2 chains (probably like 20-25lbs) 5x5
DB Bench Press: 65lb DBs 5x5
Hyperextensions: 5x1 BW, 5x1 BW + 10, 5x3 BW + 25 (Took these slow to make sure they wouldn't put pressure on the wrong part of my back)

Accessory: Lateral/Frontal Raises, Planks

 

[danzik17]

When I do recover, I'm replacing deadlifts with either rack pulls or RDLs. I hurt myself at the bottom of the lift which is mostly quad dominant, and I get plenty of work on my quads during my "A" workouts.

 

[danzik17]

Well just an update I guess. I'm still out of the gym due to hurting my back last workout on deadlifts (fuck those ). It's recovering faster than I expected though - I'm not terribly stiff when I wake up in the morning anymore, and after a few hours of being awake it pretty much stops hurting unless I intentionally stretch it.

Hopefully that means I only have 1-1.5 more weeks of rest needed. Question though - assuming I feel pretty good next week, could I potentially do exercises where my back is supported like DB Bench or something, or should I still completely lay off?

 

[danzik17]

Good stuff, I just banged out a set of pullups in my room and my back didn't even twitch. I'm going to try and hit the gym tomorrow to see what I can do, but I won't be doing any exercises that put direct pressure on the LB for at least a few more days. I'll probably stick to my "A" workout of squats, leg press, pullups, and t-bar rows (although t-bars might put too much pressure on the LB, we'll see).

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about deadlifts for now - I may skip those this week and just stick with mainly push exercises with cardio on my "B" day.

 

[danzik17]

5/08/08 - High Rep / High Intensity

Overall a good day. Done with college, did my last workout ever in the college gym . On the bright side, I did do a PR on pullups even though I sort of knew I could do it already, I just never had. Good last workout.

Squats: 135lbs 5x1, 155lbs 5x1, 165lbs 5x3
Pullups: BW + 1 chain (about 20-25lbs) 5x3, 3x1, BW 3x1
Leg Press: 425lbs 5x1, 515lbs 5x4
T-Bar Rows: 160lbs 5x1, 170lbs 5x1, 180lbs 5x3

Accessory:
Back against wall curls: 22.5lb DBs 10x3
Tricep Pushdowns: 50lbs 10x2, 60lbs 8x1


No core work today. I didn't want to put the direct pressure on my back yet which is why I'm still not going to try deadlifting again yet, not even light.