Fri 11/16 - Lower 4 - down 7lbs in 5 days

Workout:
(Squat)135x8,185x5,5,6 (4) good
(RDL)225x10,275x6,6,6,6 (5) real good
(190#LegPress)3x15
(35#GHR)3x15 yowza again. good
(65#Shrugs)3x12
(TortureTwist)30/+10,10,10
(Dips)2x15 good

45 mins

Did this WO fasted and cals/carbs have been lower last couple of days so I didn't know what to expect.  Was shooting for similar WO to Tuesday and figured I'd cut volume.

Squats were good.  Same weights as last week, but I cut out one heavy set and added one rep to last set.  RDL was good.  I was going to bump up the weight on the last set, but reminded myself I'm cutting now and objective is to preserve muscle, not build it.  This was more sets than needed anyway.  I did bump up leg press weight and these were good.  Had to work on last couple of sets.

I supersetted GHR and shrugs.  I did higher reps GHR than last WO.  These REALLY work the glutes and hams.  Felt well worked over and was going to call it a day, but I added torture twists and 2 sets of dips.

Great WO! I'm still getting used to how intensive these lower WO's are by themselves. I didn't really cut volume at all.  I pushed hard with reasoning that I might be taking the weekend off.

Nutrition:
I weighed 179.8 this morning (down about 7lbs from Monday).  I upped the calories today from yesterday to what is around maintenance level.  I did this because lower day takes a great deal of energy and I need the nutrition for recovery, especially since today's WO was full volume and not a typical "cut" WO.  I'm leaning out a bit, but not strictly cutting.  I just want to strip off a little fat to get down to a level where I'll "bulk" again.  Another hard cut won't come probably until late winter early spring.

		Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
TOTALS:	Grams	236	249	33	2,211
	Calories	944	996	294	2,234
	Percent	42%	45%	13%	100%

Thu 11/15 - Upper Deload4 & Stripping off the fat

Workout:
(50#DBIncline)4x12
(120#SeatedRow)4x12
(35#DBOHP)3x10
(135#Pulldown)3x7
(50#DBBench)3x10
(80#RearDelt)3x12
(50#OHTriExt)3x10
34mins

2-hour break for meeting and lunch

(50#Crunch)30/+10,10,10,10 (5)
(Dips)2x12
(20#Flys)2x12
12mins

46mins total

Was getting ready to head over to large Sprint gym when I got an IM from boss asking for something for an All Hands Meeting presentation this afternoon. Change of plans and a lot less time before a meeting with Oracle, so had to move pretty quickly through exercises.

Incline with higher reps felt really good.  Decided to try some rows and see how elbows felt.  Palms facing with v-bar was really painful.  Narrow overhand grip wasn't too bad.  I hate not being able to hit back like normal, but all pulling movements hurt.  I should probably just stop them for a while, but with my hunting trip coming up, that will be a week off lifting so I'm trying to do some work before breaking for that. 

Seated OHP were good and supersetted them with some light, low-rep, pulldowns.  Next was DB bench.  These felt great, and pretty hard for 50#'s after hitting incline and OHP already.  Chest and tri's were on fire after these higher rep sets.  Rear delts were good.  I was running short on time, but wanted to get Overhead Tri Extensions in.  These felt great.  Tri's were really pumped.

I took a 2 hour break for my meeting, lunch, etc., then went back downstairs to the gym in my street clothes and did a few quick exercises.  Weighted crunches were good, but I think I need to go heavier.  Doing too many reps here.   Two sets each of dips and flys and called it a day.

Given the time constraints today, I got some really good work in.  I wanted to hit heavy bench with light volume, but had to improvise and was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this WO.

Nutrition:
I weighed 180.2 this morning.  Stripping off the fat.  Worked out fasted (16 hours).  Cals a little higher than yesterday because of WO.  Tried to eat most of the carbs w/in 2 hours of the WO (oatmeal).

		Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
TOTALS:	Grams	236	119	22	1,619
	Calories	943	475	200	1,617
	Percent	58%	29%	12%	100%

Wed 11/14 - Cardio & Cut

Cardio:
I walked 50 mins in my hunting boots again to continue breaking them in.  I walked fasted at lunch.

Nutrition:
I weighed 182.6 this morning.  Lower carbs today because no WO and I'll be leaning out a bit.  I will say that after getting used to eating 2,500-3,000 cals a day for a couple of weeks while bulking made it difficult to go down to 1,300 today.  Ouch!  How did I do this for days (weeks) at a time with even lower carbs than I had today?

		Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
TOTALS:	Grams	210	88	17	1,338
	Calories	842	353	155	1,350
	Percent	62%	26%	11%	100%

Tue 11/13 - Lower Deload3

This isn't a deload WO actually, but trying to take it easy for 2 weeks on upper body.  Still hammering lower while the elbows get a rest.  I see the PT tomorrow to see what he has to say.  Hopefully it will be something other than "stop lifting for a month".

Workout:
(Squat)175x6,185x5,5,5 (4) Good
(RDL)225x6,275x6,6,6,6 (4) Really good
(180#LegPress)3x15
(35#GHR)3x12 wow, good
(65#Shrugs)3x12
(TortureTwist)30/+10,10,10
(Dips)2x12

41mins

Squat was good. 185 was "heavy".  Trainer at the gym gave me a tip on squating w/ smith machine. He recommended moving my feet up more so my back stays more vertical and not rounding as much when in bottom position.  RDL's were good & 275 didn't feel all that heavy. 

Leg press was good.  These high reps burn like hell.  I had SLDL penciled in, but did Glute Ham Raises (GHR) with a 35# plate instead.  These were really good and really worked better than SLDL's have been.  I had leg curls next, but skipped them after GHR's.  For once a smart call in the gym I think.  Hamstrings and glutes really worked from these and didn't need to press it.  I did a couple sets of shrugs, then torture twists for abs, and finished off with 2 sets of dips.  I did some stretching for my hams to cool down.  GHR's worked me pretty hard after squats and deads.

Really good workout.  Happy with squat, deadlift & GHR. I'm still surprised that I can't squat more.  Lots of work to be done there.

Nutrition:
I weighed 183.4 this morning.

		Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
TOTALS:	Grams	220	188	31	1,898
	Calories	881	751	278	1,910
	Percent	46%	39%	15%	100%

Mon 11/12 - Upper Deload3

Workout:
(185#SmithBench)4x8  Good
(105#RowMachine)4x12 Surprisingly good
(70#OHP)3x10 A bit too heavy
(25#IncFly)3x12
(50#RearDelt)3x12
(50#OHTriExt)3x12
(50#Crunch)25/+7,7,7,7 (5)
(HeelToCeilingCrunch)25/+15,15,25 (4) Great

38 mins
Chest: 7
Back: 4
Shoulders: 6
Tri's: 3
Abs: 9
Total: 20 (not including abs)

Bench was pretty good. I've been doing mainly incline the last couple of weeks so it was nice to do flat bench.  Wrists tender.  I used the plate weighted row machine and it was actually better than I expected.  I tried BOR's, but that wasn't happening with my elbow.  I did 70# OHP again after noting it was a little too heavy for sets of 10+ reps.  Well, it was a bit too heavy again today.  You'd think I'd learn.  Inc flys felt good.  Overhe tri extensions and rear delt flys were good.  I was really feeling rear delt flys in my tri's today. Not sure why. 

I bumped up the weight to 50#'s for crunches today.  I thought I had these nailed down, but still not sure about form.  They were decent I guess.  Instead of full lying leg rasises to hip/heel thrust, I just did reps of the hip/heel thrust toward the ceiling.  Trying to take the hip flexors out of the movement by doing this. These felt really good, especially after already doing weighted crunches.

Overall a pretty good WO.  I stopped by the doc office after WO to get an appointment to have my elbows looked at because they are bad, and don't appear to be getting better.  No one was at the reception desk, so I'll have to stop down later today.

Nutrition:
I weighed 186.6 this morning.  Slow bulk is now over after this weekend.  Starting a short cut this week to get weight back down a little.  I'll keep protein fairly high and just reduce carbs some and keep diet clean. I was at ~1,500 cals but added 1/2 turkey sandwich and an apple to get it to ~1,900.  Didn't want to start the cut too hard on a WO day.

		Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
TOTALS:	Grams	219	180	37	1,928
	Calories	877	721	334	1,932
	Percent	45%	37%	17%	100%

Sat/Sun - 11/10 & 11/11

Saturday 11/10
Rest
Weighed 183.0

Sunday 11/11
Hiked at Red Rock Overlook Park 45 mins
Weighed 184.4
I did some pushups yesterday and elbows were killing me today.  WTF?!?!

Fri 11/9 - Deload Lower2

Workout:
(Squat)135x6,155x6,175x6,6,6,6 (5) Real good
(RDL)225x6,245x6,265x6,6,6 (5) good
(170#LegPress)3x15
(110#SLDL)3x15
(30#HammerCurl)12,10
(TortureTwist)30/+10,10,10,10 (5) Great
(Dips)15/+5,5,5,5 (5)

44mins

Squat was good.  Was planning on 4 sets, but wanted to do another set at 175#'s.  Dead lifts were good and 265 wasn't too hard, but toward the end I could feel my right elbow beginning to hurt.  High rep leg press burned pretty good after squats and deads!  110#'s on SLDL is too light, but I supersetted this with hammer curls and my forearms were on fire.  It was painful holding onto 110#'s for 15 reps of SLDL's.  I think this was a mistake to do curls because it bothered elbow.  The only curls I can even attempt right now are hammer curls across the body.

I had weighted crunches penciled in, but I did those yesterday so I did torture twists.  These are the highest reps I think I've ever done, and they didn't seem too hard.  Awesome!  Couldn't help myself from doing a few dips.  They were feeling good, so I did a few more than normal.  Probably not smart.  One of these days
I'll learn.

Really good WO.  Very pleased with Squat and RDL.

Nutrition:
I weighed 178.0 this morning.  I ate a lot today, especially after getting the kids.  Still fairly clean, but as you can tell from below, quite a bit of food. :)  Good day to do it after squat/deadlifts.

		Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
TOTALS:	Grams	327	477	95	4,057
	Calories	1308	1907	857	4,072
	Percent	32%	47%	21%	100%