^ lol. Mike's a good guy. He graduated from HS 3 years before me.

These two are Gym Super Bromance

Saturday dinner was a 2k cal pasta and meat sauce refeed. Earlier in the day I had beans, 1.5 scoops whey, 3 mozzarella cheese sticks, the GOAT microwave popcorn, and a large mocha latte.

This popcorn will be tough not to cheat with during the week. If I do I may have to downgrade to low fat butter kind.



Sunday I had ~2000 calories 2/3 food 1/3 alcohol with ~400 cals burned of cardio in the morning

Pretty hungry today but think I can keep it to 2100 max

Too cold and rainy for sand volleyball either day

I skipped Wednesday+Friday workouts AND I forgot to weigh in any day from Thursday-Saturday.

Luckily I've made belt progress. The black smaller 38" belt may need to be replaced soon, as well as my 2 pairs of 38" jeans. I'm solidly into the third notch on the tan belt. Might be at the 4th notch if I didn't have extra fabric folding over at the waist from the 38" jeans

I'm switching up my way of eating slightly now that I'm being more social and drinking more often. I'll still have the same base foods but try to at least eyeball calories from Sunday-Friday. If I go over 2100 for the day, I'll subtract those from my Saturday cheat day. I'll set the Saturday cheat day to be a 4500 calorie day as a default.

This week I only had 3300 calories left for Saturday. I had a few excellent IPAs for craft beer week(Surly Todd the Axe Man and Stone Patascala) I'm newly back on the market so I had a couple beers on a first date. Also went out with friends Friday and had like 6 beers and ate out for dinner, though I got broiled fish fry(2 pc that turned out small) with garlic mashed and slaw on the side.

I try to still eat eggs beans and salad for the early part of Saturday then go more nuts in the afternoon until sleep. Had a couple Quest bars in the early AM to That mostly left room for 6-8 drinks and 15 bone in wings at BDubs. The drinks were all pretty low cal except for the 1 Derby Day mint julep. One Homestyle popcorn bag I didn't really have room for, but a decent compromise considering I was drunk and kind of sad from earlier weekend drama. I had fantasized about brownies and tortilla chips and salsa, but I didn't have the calories to spare so I'll have to leave them for another time.

Got Garlic Parmesan, honey BBQ, and Caribbean Jerk. Would order the first two again.



Also got in 5 games of volleyball 4s after my big lifting session Saturday morning, though the beginner level aren't quite as tiring since volleys are short.

I've been confused on my programming lately and I'm no expert, so naturally I combined a few ideas and invented my own. I just read up on the concept of RPE and started adding that into my training Tuesday. After skipping Wednesday and Friday I had to figure out what the hell I was going to do for all these lifts, and how I will use RPE to adjust on the fly

Program

3 week cycles with a deload if needed like 5 3 1. But the rep scheme will be:

Week 1:3x77%,3x80%,3x85%
Week 2: 2x80%,2x85%,2x90%
Week 3: 2x85%,1x90%,1x95%

possibly 1-2 sets of 10ish 8RPE between 60-70% for backoff volume

I want to leave a rep in the tank on the last set(RPE 9) but I want the first two work sets closer to the RPE 9 sets.

Saturday I did(arrows are change of plan due to RPE

Squat

280x3 @7.5
292.5x3 @7.5
310x3 ----->315x4 @ 9.5



Bench

215x3 @8
225x3 @ 7.5
237.5x3 @ 9.5

still having trouble distinguishing between 7, 7.5 and 8 RPE

Deadlift

warmups felt bad so I cut a little off my first two sets

342.5x3 ----> 325x3 @7.5
355x3------>340x3 @ 9.5
377.5x3 ---> 333(misload)x1 @7.5

almost gave up on the last set because of fatigue, and I felt so tilted after the misload I didn't do any more

325x3 video(very bad)



The guy who filmed this and spotted me on bench said I probably have a good squat with my big legs and hips

8 days of >0 beers in a row. 4 days over 3000 calories in a row. Making a little negative belt loop progress and I noticed less nut room in my tighter 36" jeans. Ugh. No cheat days for a while.

Friday 5/12 weigh in 218.0

happy to break even for 2 weeks after a bad stretch. Wed and Thurs were good, but Friday night was bad. Had like 9 beers, got emo over a girl and went for Chinese(1 quart shrimp lo mein).

Saturday I ate this + delicious roll of bread



had 4 light beers. But only my beans and salad the rest of the day. With about 1.5 hours hiking and ~30 of other walking I think it came out OK.

Thursday(no kickball again Wednesday night)

Squat

292.5 x 2 @7

310 x 2 @ 8.5

327.5 x 2 @ 9.5

Friday

Bench

225x2 @7.5
237.5 x 2 @8.5
252.5 x 2 @ 10

Press

142.5 x 3 @10
135 x 3 @ 9
125x5 @ 9.5

I know this was after Bench but ****.

Sunday

Deadlift

355x2 @ 9
355x2 @ 8.5
370x2 @ 8.5

Every heavyish double feels like it'd be hard to do 2 more reps

Friday 5/26: 214.0

Hit the -20 pound mark for the log! Drank before/after/during volleyball last night and really wanted to hit Taco Bell since my last meal was 3:30 PM. But I was kind of full from the beers and held out at something like 1600 cals food 700 cals alcohol and 2 hours 6 a side volleyball for exercise.

I did all my lifting last week and I'm currently deloading.

Friday 6/2

213.4

Thought for sure I would gain. I had stomach problems(pre-ulcer type symptoms) and ate more carbs(Chipotle) than usual to avoid aggravating it.

Blew up last night with ~10 beers, a slice of subpar pepperoni pizza and 2AM Chinese. I did walk multiple miles on my barhop throughout the night. I should be fine if I consider that my cheat day and diet today.

Deadlift form check vids

Third set has that hitch that was present during your max effort reps; other, better deadlifters can probably comment more on what that means, but I did notice that it doesn't look like you're really finishing the lift at the top with your quads (i.e. your knees are soft). It's something I've been trying to wring out of my lift, too.

Your set-up does look a lot better and tighter, though. Progress for sure.

If you asked Mike or Dwight or hell even Haack for some tips during one of their down moments as you seem to be lifting same time as them they'd probably be open to it. I know Mike a teeny bit, he's actually exceedingly chill contrary to the gruffness you probably only see when he and Dwight bench. I've been exposed to his "softer" side via his fiancé on FB heh.

I weighed in at 208.0 on Friday!!! That's the lightest I've been as an adult, and only 3 pounds from my goal range. Anxiety over ex drama is good for fat loss

I'm trying to get away from the black beans as they've been killing my stomach. Actually have been eating lots more fruit these past couple weeks while I've had digestive issues

Friday Weight:209.0

Not too surprised to have a gain. Last week I think I went over my weekly calorie allotment by about 1k. I also had 2 pints beer Sunday&Monday and 3-5 pints Tuesday-Thursday. Food was ok but not great and usually near my 2100 cal limit not counting the beers. Only have 2500 cals left for Saturday. Planning to chill and stay in Friday and get my (deload) workout in early since Saturday may be a big day. Going to a concert with friends and probably out afterwards.

Avoided a sad meal Monday after a girl ended it with me. Pretty excited to be back on the market though. Got out of all you can eat food at a work outing ok Tuesday. 3 brats, one burger w/ cheese, one chicken breast, but I didn't get any buns. I did end up hitting some tortilla chips at the bar afterwards but not too many. And I put a dent in the damage by doing an hour on the elliptical afterwards.

I'm about to shrink out of another belt. The 36 waist jeans now are starting to seem a little big. I couldn't comfortably wear those when I started. Also some of my collared shirts are looking a little baggy.

Thursday 208.0
Friday 208.0

Had a bad Friday night with at least 7 drinks and 2 big slices of pizza after bar closing time. They're probably 500+ cals each. I should really hold it to one

Eating some good food(eggs, shrimp, veggies) hope to keep things in check at Summer Fest tonight.

Had this for my big meal. 3 beers and a cider(16oz cans) plus a little over half a carafe of sangria with very little fruit. Walked around a lot at and on the way to Summer Fest.

My knee feels pretty ****ed up from volleyball Thursday and dancing Friday. It kinda sucked during this week's squats too. Hope I'll be able to deadlift and volleyball tomorrow.

Friday Weight 209.2
Saturday weight 208.2

Considering my 4th of July cabin calories were (badly estimated)

Monday 4000
Tuesday 6500
Wednesday 3000

And I ate Indian buffet for lunch yesterday, I'll definitely take it. Back on the horse.

I also didn't lift yet this week so for the first time I'm doing all big lifts in one day.

Thursday weight: 206.6
Friday weight: 205.5!

Joined a weeklong sailing team competition with lots of afterparties hope I don't blow it up too badly

Saturday 7/15 weighin: 204.4

"Woo hoo I'd start maintenance. I'll just eat diet food when I'm not at the event and do what I want during and it'll even itself out."

Thursday 7/20 weighin: 213.x

"Holy **** how did I gain that much. guess 1.5 large thin crust pizzas from Dominos after the Tuesday pub crawl didn't help"

Friday 7/21 weighin 208.x

"Thaaat's a little more like it"

I realized that my original plan will prob just have me cutting one week and bulking the next due to water weight or lack thereof. I'm going to cycle my eating in 4 week blocks to go along with my mangled version of 5/3/1(3/2/1) with RPE.

First cycle is a cut ldo. Back on the grind.

Workouts did not go too well as I dipped under 205. I want to leave one rep in the tank but usually wasn't sure I had it(even when I lowered the weight a bit at times). I decreased deadlift estimated 1RM by 15, bench by 10, and squat by 5. Kept press even.

Dead: 390
Squat: 345
Bench: 260
Press: 170

or sailing makes you gain weight? heh

Deadlifts from the last cycle

Week 1




Week 2






Week 3

starting end of week updates

Weight

Thurs: 208.0
Fri: 207.4
Sat: 208.6

Avg: 208.0

Cheats:

Tuesday was a little bad with kickball beers. I did avoid going out for food and had cottage cheese for a post game meal. Luckily it was so late that most food places, including our bar’s kitchen, were closed.

Friday I had 2 dates and drank on both. 1st we were supposed to kayak but the waves were considered to choppy and they wouldn't rent. We split a pitcher of sunset old fashioned(idk she bought it) Then headed to minigolf. There had a brat minus one bite and a bigger half of the side of fries mixed in with an otherwise typical good food day. 2nd I had 3 pints.

Saturday I knew I’d be drinking a lot at a friend’s birthday so I kept food very disciplined and ate a decent amount before I left to avoid a drunk late night meal. I didn’t realize there would be so much food there. I avoided having any cake or ice cream, but slowly over the night I ended up hitting the chips and cheese+crackers pretty hard. Probably at least 1k cals each in beer and snacks on top of the ~1600 I had before the party, and I slept in til 10AM.

Lifts

Squat

265x3 @ 7.5
275x3 @8
292.5x3 @ 9
215x6@8

Press(felt like **** this morning. Had difficulty air squatting. Ended up leaving work and skipping volleyball)

130x3 @ 8.5
135x3@8.5
145x2@10
105x9@8

Deadlift

300x3 @ 7.5
315x3 @ 8
335x3@9

Bench

200x3@7
207.5x3 @ 8
220x4 @ 9.5
185 x 6 @ 8.5

Fri 208.6
Sat 208.6

Cheats Tuesday house party after kickball was pretty awful. I tried to load up on the roasted pig but as I got really drunk I hit some carbs including some pretzel thins, a piece of pie and a few small pieces of cake.

Wednesday and Thursday I had a few beers on dates but kept food in check.

Friday I went to a BBQ place had 2 meat plate with brisket and dark meat chicken leg. sides were mashed potatoes, cornbread, and baked beans, not huge portions for USA restaurants. At least we didn't drink. I did go out for 3 pints with friends

Saturday I pregamed/went out and had 8 pints iirc. kept calories lowish before drinking. Got hit up by a girl and ended up crashing at her place. Started to raid the pantry but kept it to one fun size cheez its pack and one serving of almonds.

Feel lucky to almost break even

Lifts

Squats(sucked this week)

275x2 @ 8
292.5 @ 9
310 x 2 @ 10
225x6 backoff

Press

135x2 @ 8
145x2 @ 8.5
152.5 x 2 @ 10
110 x 9 backoff

Deadlift

315x2 @ 8
332.5x2 @ 8.5
350x2 @ 9.5
255x8 backoff

Bench(felt good and jumped the last set up higher)

207.5 x 2 @ 7
220 x 2 @ 7.5
245x2 @ 9.5
185 x 7 backoff

Thurs 206.7
Fri 210
Sat 207.4

I did really well until Thursday when I had volleyball beers, felt really drained hungry. Someone ordered fries curds and two burgers for the table. I had most of a burger and not too many fries. Enough to not be hungry. But then we played drinking games. I got a ride home and hit the Chinese place for a Hunan Beef with steamed rice. Hence the 210 Friday.

I did have 5 pints Friday but kept food reasonable. Went home and had 10 of my Golden Platter Chicken Nuggets which at like ~330 cals 32g protein is better than anything I would have picked up on the way home.

Stayed in Saturday.

Squat

292.5 x 2 @ 8
310 x 1 @ 8.5
327.5 x 2 @ 10
225x6

Press

145 x 2 @ 8
152.5 x 1 @ 8.5
162.5 x 1 @ 10
110 x 8

Front Lat Raises(40s) 10 & 12
Dips(BW) 14 & 12

Deadlift

332.5 x 2 @ 7.5
350 x 1 @ 8
370 x 2 @ 9.5
255 x 8

Barbell Bent Over Rows(80kg) 9,8

Bench

220 x 2 @ 7.5
235 x 1 @ 8.5
247.5 x 1 @ 9
185 x 8

Pushup(+ 15 kg) 10, 13
Dips(BW) 9, 8