Thu 8/30 - Cardio

Cardio:

• Ran 4.2 in 38:55 (9:45,9:26,9:24,8:42), 9:15 pace, c/d 16mins.  Total 55mins

Started out feeling GREAT.  Knees/calves/feet felt good.  I thought, "I'm back!".  ~5 min into the run my calves just began to ache.  What the heck is going on?  This used to be an EASY run only a few weeks ago.  I'm not cutting *that* hard, but could it be due to low cals/carbs?  Normally in the past if my legs were feeling "dead" it was more in the quads.  Now my legs from knees down are just all screwed up.  Frustrating.

Nutrition:
Tough low carb/calorie day today.  I think it was tougher because I was home today, so I knew food was just a few steps away the whole day.  Eating window today was 2PM-8PM.  I weighed 171.6 this morning, which was a little higher than I expected, but only by about a pound.

Thu	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
8/30/2012	6AM	BCAA	10g
	7:30AM	55 mins: 39run/16walk.
	9AM	BCAA	10g
	2PM	Chicken	7oz	49	0	2	210
	2PM	Yellow Squash	13oz	4	12	0	65
	2PM	Chobani Yogurt	6oz	18	7	0	100
	5PM	Jerky (Walmart)	1oz	14	3	1	80
	7:45PM	Tuna (7oz can)	5.5oz	44	0	2	193
	8PM	Whey Protein W2	1 scoop	25	3	3	140
	8PM	Cottage Cheese	1cup	26	12	0	160
	All Day	Almonds	.5oz	0	0	0	0
		TOTALS:	Grams	180	37	7	948
			Calories	720	147	67	933
			Percent	77%	16%	7%	100%

Wed 8/29 - Back/Shoulders/Bi's & Cardio

Cardio:

• Evening 51 min walk after "dinner" and then ate dinner #2 after the walk.

Absolutely beautiful day.  I didn't sleep well at all last night w/ only about 4 hours.  I was up for good at around 4:45 and was going to walk in the AM, but decided to wait until later in the day.  Really didn't want to be at work today.

Workout:
I didn't have high expectations for this WO with little sleep last night.

• (Pullups) 11/+3,3,3,2,2,2 (7).  Pretty good.
• (120#Military) 17/+4,4,4,3,3 (6) Felt really good again, but I think I pushed it too far on activation set.  Only got half reps on last rep of last 2 sets.
• (135#SeatedRow) 11/+3,3,3,3,3 (7) Bumped weight up on this today.  Left elbow really bothering me on these, but don't think going lighter would have been any less painful.  That said, maybe I should have gone lighter so I could get 4 rep mini-sets.
• (60#RearDelts) 12/+3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (10)
• (80#Curls) 20/+4,4,4,4,4,3,3 (8) Really good bi's again. More activation reps and more sets this week.
• (20#LateralDelts) 10/+3,3,3,3,3,3 15#/+8,8 (9)  Added the two sets at end with lighter weight because felt I needed more reps.  Might need to go lighter here from the start to get higher rep mini-sets. 
• (TortureTwist) 50/+16,14,14,14 (HipThrusts) 25,25,25 (8).  I was going to do weighted crunches on the ball, but I tried that before the WO during warmup and was having balance issues so I did torture twists and hip thrusts instead.  I went to high volume on first set of twists and hit a wall quickly.  These were good, but I still like lying leg raises to hip thrust better.  I want to start adding in some weighted ab work for hypertrophy.
• (45#BentOverRows) 12/+4,4,4,4,4,4 (7) Bumped up weight for bent rows and they felt really good again.  These take a lot out of me.  I'm breathing really hard and sweating a lot after these.
• (25#FrontDelt) 15/+4,4,4,4,4,4,3 (8) Good today.  Did them slow and under control on way up and down.
• (45#Shrugs) 20/+5,5,5,5,5,8 (7).  Haven't done shrugs in a while and just decided to add them on today

49 mins
Back: 21
Shoulders: 40
Bi's: 8
Core: 8
Total: 77 sets (activation + mini-sets) 

Decent WO, especially given lack of sleep.  Most of my lifts were as good or better then last back WO, so that's good.  I didn't do as much back work.  My left elbow is really bothering me and heavy pulling motions really bother it (ie. Seated Rows).  This is why I didn't do Reverse Grip Pulldowns or Close Grip Pullowns.  Hopefully by next week my elbow will be able to handle those again.  If not, I'll swap out pullups and do at least one of those.

I've got to get over trying to go heavier and listen to what my body is telling me, and that is 4-rep mini-sets seems to work better for some (most?) muscle groups. Also need to work this into a progression plan, meaning:

• Start with a weight that I can get 15-17 activation reps, 4-5 rep mini-sets week1/2
• Week 3/4, move to a weight for 12-15 activation reps, 3-4 rep mini sets
• Week 5/6, move to 10-12 activation reps, 3 rep mini sets
• Week 7/8, 8-10 activation reps, 2-3 rep mini sets
• Week 9/10, deload week(s)

Nutrition:
Decent day today.  Got into a little bit of cereal this evening, but that was OK.  Weight was 169.8 this morning.

Wed	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
8/29/2012	Noon	BCAA	10g
	12:15PM	WO - Back/Shoulders/Bi's
	1:30PM	Creatine	5g
	1:30PM	Whey Shake W1	1 scoop	30	4	1	140
	2PM	Tuna (7oz can)	5.5oz	44	0	2	193
	2PM	Broccoli/Snap Peas	5oz	3.5	10	0	50
	2PM	Sweet Potato	4.6oz	3	27	0	120
	2PM	Banana	1 small	1	23	0	90
	5:30PM	Chicken	6.5oz	46	0	2	195
	5:30PM	Salad	14oz	8	19	0	100
	5:30PM	Oatmeal	1/4cup	3	14	2	75
	6PM	Apple	1 med	0	25	0	95
	6PM	51 min walk
	8PM	Egg Whites	2whites	7	0	0	34
	8PM	Apple Jacks	2servings	2	50	1	200
	8PM	Milk (FF)	1Cup	8	13	0	90
	8PM	Casein Protein C1	1 scoop	25	11	2	160
	8PM	Chobani Yogurt	6oz	18	7	0	100
	11PM	BCAA	10g
	All Day	Almonds	.5oz	3	3	8	83
		TOTALS:	Grams	201	206	16	1,724
			Calories	803	825	145	1,772
			Percent	45%	47%	8%	100%

Tue 8/28 - Cardio

Cardio:

• 46 mins before work.  Knees and feet feeling a bit better.  I was tempted to start running, but decided to give it another day or two.   

 I was going to go for another walk in the evening, but spent a good bit of time cleaning out my freezer.  I put 4 cans of diet Mountain Dew in the freezer this morning and forgot about them.  They exploded all over the freezer.  I was frustrated at first, but decided it was just a good excuse to clear out some old stuff in the freezer and make some space.  Maybe this is a hint that I need to cut down on my caffeine intake!

Nutrition:
Added some carbs in this evening that weren't planned, but still a decent day.  Better to be moderate and under control than too strict and not be able to maintain adherence.  This happens easily when trying to cut too hard.  Weight was 171.6 this morning, so I'm doing well.

Tue	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
8/28/2012	7AM	BCAA	10g
	8AM	46 min walk
	2PM	Creatine	5g
	2PM	Whey Shake W1	1 scoop	30	4	1	140
	2PM	Chicken	6oz	42	0	1.5	180
	2PM	Salad	12oz	7	16	0	86
	2PM	Egg White	3whites	11	1	0	51
	2PM	Sweet Potato	3.4oz	2	20	0	88
	4PM	Chobani Yogurt	6oz	18	7	0	100
	7PM	Tuna (7oz can)	5.5oz	44	0	2	193
	7PM	Yellow Squash	9oz	3	8	0	45
	8:30PM	Oatmeal	1/2 cup	5	27	3	150
	8:30PM	Apple Jacks	28grams	1	25	1	100
	8:30PM	Milk (FF)	1Cup	8	13	0	90
	8:30PM	Casein Shake C2	1 scoop	24	3	1	130
	All Day	Almonds	.5oz	3	3	8	83
		TOTALS:	Grams	197	127	16	1,435
			Calories	788	507	145	1,440
			Percent	55%	35%	10%	100%

Mon 8/27 - Chest/Tri & Cardio

Cardio:

• Walked 41 mins in the evening.  It was a nice night and my feet were feeling OK.  Also, I didn't want to be in the house and be tempted to start chowing down bowls of cereal :)

Workout:

• (45#Incline) 18/+4,4,4,3 (5) 
• (150#Bench) 11/+3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (9)
• (Dips) 15/+3,3,3,3,3,2 (7)
• (30#IncFlys) 12/+4,4,4,4 (5)
• (LyingLegRaise) 30/+7,7,7,7,7,7 +20,20,20,20 hip thrusts (11)
• (50#OHTriExt) 11/+4,4,4,4,3 (6)
• (100#PushDown) 10/+4,4,4,4,4,4 (7)
• (110#PeckDeckc) 12/+3,3,3,3,3 (6)

45 mins exactly
Chest: 25
Tri's: 20
Core: 11
Total: 56 sets (activation + mini-sets)

Incline, even though not that many sets was really good with the higher reps.  I think I should bump the weight next time.  That will give me less reps on activation set, but could still hopefully get 4 reps in the mini-sets.  If not, then 45#s is right for now. 

Last week I used 165#s after incline and it was a bit too heavy.  150# felt good today, evn if heavy after hard incline.  I REALLY worked on the last reps of the last 2-3 sets.  Chest was really worked.

After incline/bench I didn't know what to expect from dips.  I was surprised I got 15 dips on the activation set.  These were really good today.

I bumped up incline fly weight today.  This movement bothered my left elbow, but I don't think it was just because of increased weight. The weight was right fro activation set and mini-sets for this movement and volume was right as well.

I had core listed as last exercicse, but did it in this position to give my tri's a little rest.  Lying leg raises were really good today.  Lots of volume and did 4 sets of 20 hip thrusts at the end.  The hip thrusts really work my lower abs and I try to hold them at the top for a second.  Really
good.

Overhead tri extensions were pretty good, but tri's were worked and I hit a wall pretty quickly.  Was glad I could get 4 reps in the mini-sets as that seems to be better than 3, especially for isolation exercises.

For tri pushdowns, I started at 120#s, but it was too heavy.  Tri's were beat.  I dropped to 100#'s and got some good reps.  Same as above, glad I could get 4 reps on mini-sets.  Had I stuck with 120#, that wouldn't have been possible.

Peck deck felt OK, but had a hard time squeezing chest hard at contraction.  I think chest was just done.  Bench really tough today.

Overall a great WO.  Chest was really pumped after this WO, and tri's were worked well.  Great amount of time at 45 mins exactly when I hit my watch to stop the time.  Based on the Myo-rep WO's I've done the last couple of weeks, I seem to get a better WO at higher rep ranges.  This is especially true for isolation movements (bi's/tri's).  Incline felt really good today with the higher reps.  That said, bench felt great today with lower reps, but that might be due to the amount of volume and that it followed tough incline. 

Nutrition:
Good day today.  Pretty clean.  I was right about where I wanted to be this morning at 172.8#s so I didn't restrict carbs too much today.  Lower carb tomorrow.

Mon	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
8/27/2012	11:30AM	BCAA	10g
	11:45AM	WO - Chest/Tri's
	1PM	Creatine	5g
	1PM	Whey Shake W1	1 scoop	30	4	1	140
	2PM	Tuna (7oz can)	5.5oz	44	0	2	193
	2PM	Broccoli/Snap Peas	5oz	3.5	10	0	50
	2PM	Sweet Potato	4.6oz	3	27	0	120
	4PM	Chicken	3.2oz	22	0	1	96
	4PM	Egg Whites	2whites	7	0	0	34
	4PM	Banana	1 small	1	23	0	90
	7:30PM	Chicken	6oz	42	0	2	180
	7:30PM	Salad	12oz	7	16	0	86
	7:45PM	Apple	1 med	0	25	0	95
	7:45PM	41 min walk
	8:45PM	Oatmeal	1/2 cup	5	27	3	150
	8:45PM	Milk (FF)	1Cup	8	13	0	90
	10PM	Casein Shake C2	1 scoop	24	3	1	130
	11PM	BCAA	10g
	All Day	Almonds	.5oz	3	3	8	83
		TOTALS:	Grams	199	151	17	1,535
			Calories	798	606	151	1,555
			Percent	51%	39%	10%	100%

 

Sat/Sun 8/25-26 - Cardio & Weekly Recap

Cardio:

• Saturday - 60 min walk with my Mom before she headed back to Williamsburg.  She and Cranny were in town for one night for a wedding.
• Sunday - Nothing.  I was active all day, but didn't get out for a walk/run.  Crazy weather.  It was sunny for 20mins, then rained like crazy for 30 on-and-off all day.  Needed a day off anyway.  Feet/calves feeling a little bit better.

Nutrition:
Did a short re-feed on Friday after a big cut week (4,000 cals Mon-Thu).  Calories for Fri/Sat/Sun were ~2,700/2,000/1,500.  Kind of tapering down for the week.  Weight Fri/Sat/Sun was 169.8/170.8/173.2.  That's about perfect from last Sun night when I was 191.2.  Cut hard all week, then carb'd back up a bit and tapered getting ready for the week.  I'll probably cycle carbs/cals this week on WO days and get back down to consistent sub 170 by end of the week.

Sat:

TOTALS:	Grams	161	285	26	2,025
	Calories	643	1140	237	2,020
	Percent	32%	56%	12%	100%

Sun:

TOTALS:	Grams	152	180	24	1,523
	Calories	606	720	214	1,540
	Percent	39%	47%	14%	100%

10,439 calories for the week.  1,491/day average.

Week Ending 8/26/12:
Decent Week.  2 runs, 3 WO's, 0 doubles. My feet and calves were killing me all week for some reason.  I have no idea why.  Left elbow is bothering me and left shoulder is still giving me some trouble.  Need to start doing my PT exercises and keep an eye on the left elbow.

I "logged" 2 runs, but they were short with walking during/after.  Hopefully feet will feel better this coming week and I can get some decent runs in.  Playing that by ear depending on how feet/calves feel.

The three WO's were really good this week.  That's one bright spot.  I was also happy with being able to get my weight back down after going a bit crazy in PA.  I did in 1 week what I thought would take at least 2.  I'm still really liking the Myo-reps, and will do them for a couple more weeks.  Need to have some consistency in the diet for those couple of weeks and then determine if the Myo-rep protocol is working like I *think* it is.  Could be that I just like the format of the WO's a lot, but the results also have to be there.

Coming up this week, 2 chest/tri WO's and 1 back/shoulder/bi.  Cycling carbs/cals on WO days and hopefully get at least a couple of runs in.  Tinkering with the idea of doing full upper body Myo-rep WO's, but think I'll use the split again for at least this week.

Fri 8/24 - Back/Shoulders/Bi's (Myo-reps)

I weighed 169.8 this morning.  21+ pound drop from Sunday night.  Time for a re-feed today.  No cardio this morning to give feet a rest in hopes of getting them better.

Workout:

• (Pullups) 10/+3,3,3,2,2,2 (7)
• (150#CloseGripPull) 10/+3,3,3,3,2,2,2 (8)
• (120#Military) 16/+4,4,3,3,2 (6) Really good.  Shoulders on fire rest of WO
• (120#SeatedRow) 10/+3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (8)
• (LateralDelsts) 10/+3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (8)
• (80#Curls) 17/+4,4,4,4,4,3 (7) Really worked last rep of last 3 sets.  Great Bi's
• (60#RearDelts) 15/+3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (9)
• (LyingLegRaise) 30/+7,7,7,7,7,7 +20HipRaises at end (8)
• (25#FrontDelt) 15/+4,4,4,4,4,4,4 (8)Really good today
• (40#BentOverRows) 12/+3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (9) Really good.  Could really feel these in back today.
• (20#IncCUrls) 12/+4,4,4 (hurting shoulder so finished with standing curls) +6,6,6,6 (8)

52 mins
Back:  32
Shoulders: 31
Bi's: 15
Core: 8
Total: 86 sets (activation set + mini-sets)

I haven't done pullups in a while, opting for reverse grip pulldowns so I was pleasantly surprised I didn't have much trouble getting 10 reps on the activation set.  Mini-sets of 3 got difficult quickly though.

Close grip pulldowns were pretty tough after pullups, but I was fairly happy with these.  I would have liked a few more sets of 3 though rather than 2's.

Military was great again.  Really felt the shoulders working and think this rep range might be better for a lot of exercises.  Shoulders were on fire.

Seated rows were good.  Really squeezed the back.  Right weight I think.

Lateral/Rear/Front delts were all pretty good, especially front delts.  I might want to start with rear delts given I need to be working on them more due to the impingement in my left shoulder.

Curls were awesome today.  I think this was mainly because I dropped the weight a little and got more reps.  I'm noticing a theme here :)  When I get the activation set in the 12-15 range and mini-sets (effective reps) in the 4 range, I seem to get more out of the exercise.  That's my perception anyway.

Core was lying leg raises and these felt good as usual.  When the last mini-set ended, I continued with hip raises (20) to the ceiling.  These really burned my lower abs good.

Bent over rows felt good today.  Sometimes I can't really tell if they are "working", but today they felt good.  My back is really tight tonight.

Bi's felt so good earlier in the WO I decided to give them another exercise.  I did dumbbell curls lying on the incline bench.  This really started to hurt my left shoulder and left elbow (another joint that started bothering me recently that I need to keep an eye on), so after 4 sets of that, I finished with 4 more sets of 6 standing, which felt better.

Great WO today.  A little longer than I would have liked, but I did a lot of volume today.  Surprisingly, I had a lot of energy even though I cut really hard this week and had only a little over 4,000 calories all week.  I did this WO at 12:30 fasted from the night before at 8PM.  Then I started a re-feed.  Which leads me to...

Nutrition:
Well, I decided not to bullshit around with the cut this week, and it worked.  Worked amazingly well actually.  I dropped from 191.2 on Sunday evening to 169.8 this morning.  Mostly water/glycogen for sure, but I'm very happy with the results.  I have to admit, I'm not looking as lean as I was previously at 169, so I probably need to get back down after today's re-feed and stay there for a little while to get the belly veins popping back out again.
For today's re-feed, I kept it to 6.5 hours, maintained protein, kept fat low and just increased carbs significantly.  I should have eaten cleaner carbs, but was craving cereal so I ate quite a few bowls of that.  Carbs were at 386g and calories were about 2,700.  A healthy amount for sure, but not insane and it was good I kept fat low.  In PA I ate a lot of high fat foods (cookies, cake, ice cream) and no doubt this is largely why I'm not looking as lean as I did previously at the same weight.
Back to it tomorrow.  I won't be cutting real hard over the weekend.  I'll try to stay between 1,800-2,000 cals before dropping back down next week.  I'll see where I am Monday morning as planned to determine how hard the cut will be next week.  All that really means is varying the amount of carbs I'll be eating, but it certainly won't be as few as this week.

Fri	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
8/24/2012	Noon	BCAA	10g
	12:15PM	WO - Back/Shoulders/Bi's
	2PM	Creatine	5g
	2PM	Whey Shake W1	1 scoop	30	4	1	140
	2:30PM	Chicken	6oz	42	0	2	180
	2:30PM	Ranch Dressing	1tbs	0.2	1	7.7	73
	2:30PM	Naan	4.5oz	10	60	10	380
	3PM	Sweet Potato	8oz	4.8	47.2	0	208
	3PM	Banana	1 small	1	23	0	90
	4:30PM	Cracklin Oat Bran	50grams	4	35	7	200
	4:30PM	Apple Jacks	56grams	2	50	1	200
	4:30PM	Milk (Fat Free)	2cups	18	26	0	180
	4:30PM	Apple	1 med	0	25	0	95
	5PM	Froyo (Sugar Free)	1/2cup	3	15	3	100
	5:15PM	Oatmeal	1/2 cup	5	27	3	150
	8:30PM	Egg White	2 Whites	7	0	0	34
	8:30PM	Chicken	5oz	35	0	1	150
	8:30PM	Salad	12oz	7	16	0	86
	9PM	Kix	30grams	2	25	1	110
	9PM	Milk (Fat Free)	1 Cup	9	13	0	90
	9PM	Froyo (Sugar Free)	1/2cup	3	15	3	100
	11PM	BCAA	10g
	All Day	Almonds	.5oz	3	3	8	83
		TOTALS:	Grams	186	386	47	2,648
			Calories	743	1542	421	2,706
			Percent	27%	57%	16%	100%

Thu 8/23 - Cardio

I weighed 170.4 this morning.  That's less than when I left for PA.

Cardio:

• Ran 20 mins in 2 bouts and walked the rest for total of 1:11.  Feet/calves still killing me.  No idea why.  I haven't been running much the last week or so.  Puzzling.  I've been rolling tennis balls under my feet and that seems to be helping a little. I've got to get rid of this pain.  Stretched calves real well afterward.

Nutrition:
Another low cal/carb day.  I actually went out to lunch yesterday and today with friends.  Both restaurants were fine with just putting a plain chicken breast on the grill for me with no sauce and steamed veggies today, salad with no dressing yesterday.  I just used a drizzle of balsamic vinegar on the salad.  It's really not THAT difficult to eat out healthy (even if your friends do give you an odd look or two).  Today's portion lunch portions were small so when I got back to the office I got a salad and some grilled chicken from the cafeteria and ate again. Protein probably should have been higher today, but should be fine with BCAA's this morning and I'll probably have another 10g before bed.

This week hasn't been too bad until this evening.  I was hungry and carbs, the cereal in the cupboard specifically, were calling me.  Some doses of caffeine helped that.  Hopefully that won't affect my sleep tonight. 

Plan is to fast through my workout tomorrow and then eat some carbs and have a small refeed.  Then closer to maintenance calories Saturday and possibly Sunday, then see where I am Monday morning.  From there I'll either keep the cut like this week (which I wouldn't look forward to) or more likely go back to carb cycling on WO days.

Thu	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
8/23/2012	7AM	BCAA	10g
	7:30AM	71 min (20 run, 51 walk)
	10AM	BLOX BCAA	10g
	Noon	Chicken (Jacksons)	5oz	35	0	1	150
	Noon	Asparagus	2oz	1	2	0	12
	1:30PM	Salad	10oz	5	13	0	71
	1:30PM	Egg White	2 Whites	7	0	0	34
	1:30PM	Chicken (Salad bar)	2.5oz	18	0	1	75
	3:30PM	Chicken (Salad bar)	2.5oz	18	0	1	75
	6PM	Tuna (7oz can)	5.5oz	44	0	2	193
	6PM	Yellow Squash	10oz	3	9	0	50
	6PM	Chicken	3oz	21	0	1	90
	TBD	Casein Shake C2	1 scoop	24	3	1	130
	All Day	Almonds	.5oz	3	3	8	83
		TOTALS:	Grams	179	31	13	962
			Calories	715	124	121	959
			Percent	75%	13%	13%	100%

Wed 8/22 - Chest/Tri's & Weight Update

I weighed 171.4 this morning.  That's down from 191.2 Sunday night, 186.0 Mon AM and 176.2 Tue AM.  20 pounds in 4 days! 

Feet still killing me today and had to be at work early this morning so I didn't get any cardio in before work for both reasons.  I wouldn't have walked/ran even if I had the time.

Workout (Myo-reps):

• (45#Incline) 15/+3,3,3,3,3,3,2 (8)
• (165#Bench) 10/+3,3,3,3,3,3,2 (8)
• (Dips) 8/+2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2 (9)
• (25#InclineFlys) 12/+3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (8)
• (50#OHTriExt) 15/+3,3,3,3,3,3,2 (8)
• (120#TriPushDn) 12/+3,3,3,3,3,2 +70#X15 (8)
• (110#PeckDeck) 12/+3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (8) 
• (LyingLegRaise) 25/+6,6,6,6,6,6 (7) 
• (10#TriKickBack)

43 min
Chest: 32
Tri's: 26
Core: 7
Total: 65 (as usual, sets are listed as activation set/+mini-sets)

Incline was really good today.  I decided to do it first because I still feel like my upper chest (and chest in general) is lagging behind other body parts.  This was a good weight and all sets really worked chest, especially the last 3-4 mini-sets.

I had 50# dumbbell bench penciled here, but decided to use the machine.  Dumbbells are just kind of hard to do Myo-reps because it's too short a rest time to set them down, then get set back up, and holding them on the lap gets tedious.  So, after doing that for incline, I switched to the machine.  I only used 165#, but this might have been too heavy after really hitting incline hard.  I was barely getting 3 reps after a couple mini-sets and needed an assist the last 3 sets.  Here's where I don't know if I should have just stopped after I could only get 2 reps on about the 4th set, but I wanted more volume, so gave myself an assist.  Regardless, this really worked chest hard.

Whoa, dips were really tough, but felt good.  I've been getting a lot more dips lately, but today my tri's were already pretty fatigued from hitting bench/incline hard.  Repped out sets of 2, which is right in line with the protocol after the activation set of 8 reps.

Incline flys were good.  I had 30# penciled in, but after dips, I realized my chest was already fairly hammered, so I lightened that up to 25# and I think that was the right choice.  Felt good.

Overhead tri's were good, but this is another exercise where Myo-reps are a bit problematic.  It's hard to take a 10 second rest with a heavy dumbbell and then have to get it back overhead again in a short period of time.  Need to think about how I'll handle these going forward. I think 4 reps in mini-sets might be better here too.

My left elbow has really been bothering me the last couple of days, and I think tri pushdowns is one of the exercises that might be contributing to it (maybe OHTriExt's too).  I was on the fence about doing these, but thought I'd start off and if my elbow started hurting, I'd scrap it.  The elbow felt OK, and I was good about stopping when it got too much and didn't cheat.  I think that's where I get in trouble.  Wanted a little more work at the end, so I dropped the weight to 70# and repped out 15.  Tri's must have been pretty dead, because this should have been really light, and it didn't feel all that "light".  This is another exercise (similar to bi's) where I think my Myo-reps mini-sets need to be in the 4-5 range instead of 3, so I need to start lighter.

Peck deck was good.  This seemed like a pretty good weight.

Stood in front of the fan to cool down.  Grabbed a light dumbbell and did a set of tri kickbacks while cooling down.

I was short on time and had an all hands meeting at 11AM and was going to scrap core, but I can't keep doing that, so I did it and got on the AHM call a few minutes late.  I sacrificed taking a shower so I could get this in.  Hope my teammates don't mind!  Glad I did these.  They felt really good after doing Capt Chair leg raises yesterday that weren't great.

This was a really good WO.  Still adjusting and tweaking the Myo-reps and need further adjustments (increasing tri/bi reps, for example) but really loving this protocol.  I know I keep saying that, but it really is a GREAT workout and keeps the time more to what I've been wanting for months (i.e. shorter workouts, but very high intensity).

Nutrition:
I weighed 171.4 this morning.  That's down from 191.2 Sunday night, 186.0 Mon AM and 176.2 Tue AM.  20 pounds in 3 days!  Yes, that's just a repeat from above.  These past 3 days have been really clean, low carbs and low fat, but I've kept my protein up.  It hasn't been too hard yet.  I'll keep same diet through Friday and then have a bit of a re-feed over the weekend.  Nothing crazy though.  I'll just bring my calories up from ~1,000/1,100 to closer to maintenance for a day or two, then another week of moderate cutting (not as hard as this week) to get back down to around 10% BF and take it from there.

Wed	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
8/22/2012	10AM	BCAA	10g
	10:15AM	WO - Chest/Tri's
	1PM	Creatine	5g
	1PM	Whey Shake W1	1 scoop	30	4	1	140
	1:30PM	Chicken	5.5oz	39	0	1	165
	1:30PM	Asparagus	5oz	3	6	0	30
	2:30PM	Sweet Potato	3.6oz	2	21	0	94
	4PM	Jerky	56g	23	3	2	120
	6:30PM	Tuna (7oz can)	5.5oz	44	0	2	193
	6:30PM	Broccoli/Snap Peas	6oz	4	12	0	60
	7:15PM	Cottage Cheese	185g (3/4c)	21	10	0	130
	10PM	Casein Shake C2	1 scoop	24	3	1	130
	11PM	BCAA	10g
	All Day	Almonds	.5oz	3	3	8	83
		TOTALS:	Grams	193	62	15	1,144
			Calories	772	246	131	1,149
			Percent	67%	21%	11%	100%

 

Tue 8/21 - Cardio

Cardio:

• 7:30AM - Walked 31 mins before work - ran 6 mins to get HR up a bit, then walked.
• 11AM - Ran 20 mins, then finished with 30 mins walking on treadmill at 11% incline. 
• Did Myo-reps Captain Chair for core 15/+5,5,5,5,5,4,4.  Should have done lying leg raises.

Run at lunch sucked.  Calves felt like knots.  Feet hurt - felt like they were on fire.  Don't know what's going on.  Feet were "on fire" all day.  Had to take my shoes off at work.

Nutrition:
Weight on Sunday night was 191.2, Monday morning 186.0, this morning 176.2.  I was under 1,000 cals today with 34g carbs.  Determined to get weight back down quickly.  I'm back to Intermittent Fasting (IF).  Monday and today were 7-hour eating windows (2-9PM), with workout/cardio at end of fasting period.

Tue	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
8/21/2012	7AM	BCAA	10g
	7:30AM	31 min walk
	11AM	50 min (20 run, 30 walk)
	2PM	Creatine	5g
	2PM	Whey Shake W1	1 scoop	30	4	1	140
	2:15PM	Chicken	8oz	56	0	2	240
	2:15PM	Salad	8oz	4	11	0	57
	4PM	Chobani Yogurt	6oz	18	7	0	100
	7PM	Tuna (7oz can)	5.5oz	44	0	2	193
	7PM	Yellow Squash	7oz	2	6	0	35
	9PM	Casein Shake C2	1 scoop	24	3	1	130
	All Day	Almonds	.5oz	3	3	8	83
		TOTALS:	Grams	181	34	13	977
			Calories	726	136	118	980
			Percent	74%	14%	12%	100%

 

Mon 8/20 - Back/Shoulders/Bi's

OK, let's go ahead and get this out of the way.  I went WAY overboard with my eating while in PA.  From Thursday evening through Sunday night I ate about anything and everything.  It was definitely a planned diet break, but I really should have eaten more protein.  Instead, I ate lots of carbs and tons of desserts.  They were great, and I don't regret it, but could have had a little self control.  I had lots of cookies, cake w/ ice cream, took the kids out for ice cream every night.  I basically ate until I felt uncomfortable several times a day, especially at night.  And, the scale shows it.  I was 191.2 Sunday night, and 186.0 this morning.  I haven't been 180+ in over 6 months.  Time to get to work.

Workout:

• (180#RevGripPull) 11/+3,3,3,3,3,3,2 (8) 
• (120#Military) 15/+4,3,3,3,3,2 (7)
• (120#SeatedRow) 15/+3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (8)
• (20#LateralDelsts) 10/+3,3,3,3,3,3 15#+8 (8)
• (90#Curls) 15/+4,3,3,3 80#+3,3,3 (8)
• (60#RearDelts) 15/+3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (8)
• (25#FrontDelt) 12/+4,4,4,4,4,5 (7)
• (40#BentOverRows) 12/+3,3,3,3,3,3,4 (8)

31 mins
Back: 24
Shoulders: 30
Bi's: 8
Total: 62 sets (activation + mini-sets)

Great WO in a short amount of time.  This was a tough 30 minutes.  A meeting ran over and only had 45 minutes to work out and shower and get to another meeting. 
Reverse grip pulldowns were good, but need to concentrate on keeping biceps out of the movement more. 
Military was great today. Weight was good and reps felt enough to get a burn and heavy enough for growth.
Seated rows were really good.  Tried to squeeze my back hard on contraction.
Lateral, rear and front delts all felt good.  They weren't in the old triple set, but hit them all.
Curls were pretty good, but need to start lighter to get more reps during the mini-sets.  Dropped to 80#s to get more reps.
Bent over rows were pretty good. 
I also had close grip pulldowns and core penciled in, but cut them out due to time constraints.


I would have liked one more back exercise, but an awesome WO even without it.
 
Nutrition:
I'm going to see how quickly I can get down back below 170.  That's 20 pounds as of last night, 16 as of this morning.  I think I can do that in under 2 weeks.  I don't regret the long cheat weekend, but I don't know if 2 weeks (if I can do it in that short a time period) and a TON of work for a couple of days of being a pig will be worth it.  A little self control would have made this a one week ordeal.  Much more manageable.  I'm going to try to do it quickly though, because the slower I do it, the more painful it's going to be.

Mon	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
8/20/2012	Noon	BCAA	10g
	12:15PM	WO - Chest/Tri's
	1PM	Creatine	5g
	1PM	Whey Shake W1	1 scoop	30	4	1	140
	2PM	Tuna (7oz can)	5.5oz	44	0	2	193
	2PM	Broccoli/Snap Peas	6oz	4.2	12	0	60
	2PM	Sweet Potato	4.8oz	3	28	0	125
	4PM	Chobani Yogurt	6oz	18	7	0	100
	4PM	Egg White	2 Whites	7	0	0	34
	7PM	Chicken	6oz	42	0	2	180
	7PM	Salad	12oz	7	16	0	86
	9PM	Casein Protein C1	1 scoop	25	11	2	160
	All Day	Almonds	.5oz	3	3	8	83
		TOTALS:	Grams	183	82	13	1,160
			Calories	731	327	118	1,176
			Percent	62%	28%	10%	100%