21.5.2012

BW = 67.2 kg (148 lb)

2.8 kg (6 lb) lost in 3 weeks.

I think I now carry roughly same amount of fat as I did when I first time in my life touched barbell in Nov.
I weighed 63 kg back then so I guess that means I've gained about 4 kg of LBM.
Anyways, I think I still have 2-4 kg of fat that I'd be better off w/o so I'll keep on cutting 3-4 more weeks and then get back on teh bulking wagon.
Eating at a deficit absolutely blows but at least my lifting #'s still seem to go (creep) up despite of it.

If your goal is to eventually get to 170 lbs. AND be lean I feel like it would be easier to get to your target weight (or even a little more) first and then eat at a maintenance while continuing to build muscle.

What you're trying to do seems nearly impossible imo. But what do I know, I've got my own issues. GL bro.

Yes, longterm goal is to get strong and BW to 170-ish at, let's say 10-12 BF-%.
And by longterm I mean like 2014 or 2015.

Gaining weight is super-easy, I'm sure I could balloon myself up to 170 lbs in a few months if I'd like to but it's the gaining muscle part which is hard.
That just takes surprisingly lot of time, even if training and nutrition were close to optimal.
U familiar w this? http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/mus...potential.html

This is obv just a personal preference but ideally, I'd like to stay pretty lean (10-15 BF-% I guess) at all times, even if it means that getting to my longterm goal takes more time that way.
I like the approach Lyle suggests in this article http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/mus...n-changes.html

Yes, it will take many bulking and cutting cycles to get there but pros are staying lean at all times and having reasonably short cutting-periods.

Anyways, my #1 goal right now is to get my low back in such a shape that I can continue squatting and deadlifting.
#2 goal is to get to that 10-12 BF range.

22.5.2012

OHP
48 kg (106 lb)
5 / 4 / 4

Meh.

Chins
+16 kg (+35 lb)
6 / 5

Meh.

Hammer-Curls
12.5 kg's (28 lb's)
10 / 10

...supersetted with...

Wrist-Curls
29kg (64 lb)
12 / 12

Ab-wheel
12 / 12

Looks like I jinxed myself by typing this ****
Anyways, I hear RPT is good way to train while eating at a deficit, need to take a look at that I guess.

24.5.2012

BP
5x64 kg (141 lb)
6x60 kg
7x57.5 kg

Trying RPT.
Through the rest of my cut I'm prolly gonna apply RPT for BP and OHP and maybe weighted chins.

DB-Curls
15 kg's (33 lb's)
13 / 12

DB-Incline-BP
15 kg's (33 lb's)
12 / 12

Plank
+15 kg (+33 lb)
3x30s

27.5.2012

OHP
4.5x 48.5 kg (107 lb)
6x 46 kg
6x 43.5 kg

Repeat next time, want to get 5 reps in top set before adding weight.

Chins
6x +16.5 kg (+36 lb)
7x +12 kg

Hammer-Curls
12.5 kg's (28 lb's)
12 / 11

...supersetted with...

Wrist-Curls
30kg (66 lb)
12 / 12

Ab-wheel
12 / 12

29.5.2012

BW = 66.6 kg (147 lb) Beastly numbers.

-3.4 kg (-7.5 lb) in 4 weeks.

-0.6kg from last week, not bad considering I had a small refeed / ate ~3500 kcals on Saturday.

29.5.2012

BP
4x 65 kg (143 lb)
6x 61 kg
7x 58.5 kg

Repeat next time.

DB-Curls
16.25 kg's (36 lb's)
8 / 8

DB-Incline-BP
16.25 kg's (36 lb's)
12 / 12

Plank
+16 kg (+35 lb)
3x30s

31.5.2012

OHP
5x 48.5 kg (107 lb)
5x 46 kg
6x 43.5 kg

Top set took all my press-WIM, also prolly rested too little between top and 2nd set.

Chins
6x +17 kg (+38 lb)
7x +12.5 kg

Hammer-Curls
13.75 kg's (30 lb's)
9 / 7

...supersetted with...

Wrist-Curls
31kg (68 lb)
12 / 12

Ab-wheel
12 / 14

Missed a WO on Saturday, that's not good.

5.6.2012

BP
4x 65 kg (143 lb)
6x 61.5 kg
7x 58.5 kg

Repeat again next time.

DB-Curls
16.25 kg's (36 lb's)
9 / 8

DB-Incline-BP
17.5 kg's (39 lb's)
10 / 10

Plank
+16.25 kg (+36 lb)
3x30s


BW = 65.7 kg (145 lb)

is there not a milder exercise for your lower body that you could do? Back extensions or front squats perhaps?

Yeah, front squats and romanian dead lifts are something I'm planning to add soon. Ideally, I'd like to get my low back completely pain-free first but I might add them sooner and just see how the back responds.

Well depending on the character of your injury, some light work could aid in recovery, especially if its a muscle or connective tissue injury. From what I've read, doctors tend to jump the gun a little on telling a patient not to do weight training, because most doctors don't know a ton about exercise physiology.

Just a thought.

Unfortunately it's discogenic.
And actually it's not back pain per se but sciatic nerve pain in hip/ass/leg caused by a herniated disc putting pressure on the nerve.
Backsquats and conventional deadlifts seemed to make it worse.
Lately I've discovered that weighted planks I've been doing might make it slightly worse too. Not sure though, need to pay more attention to that and maybe go light on them if that's the case.

Agree with this: "most doctors don't know a ton about exercise physiology."

Just wanted to add that MRI taken of my lumbar spine does show a herniated disc at L4-5 but there's no way to know for sure that the herniation is what's causing the nerve pain.
It might also be caused by Spinal stenosis or Piriformis syndrome or some combination of the three.

My sciatica started in Jan/2011 and for quite a while I only had symptoms on the right side. At some point (don't remember exactly when) the symptoms started to appear on both sides but then again a bit later all the symptoms shifted from right to left and currently I only have symptoms on the left side.

Ah sorry to hear that.

Thx.
FWIW the symptoms are less painful and less frequent than in long time so I have high hopes that I'll be back squatting and deadlifting in no time.

7.6.2012

OHP
4.5x 49 kg (108 lb)
5x 46 kg
6x 43.5 kg

Repeat.

Chins
6x +17.5 kg (+39 lb)
6x +12.5 kg

Hammer-Curls
13.75 kg's (30 lb's)
10 / 9

...supersetted with...

Wrist-Curls
32kg (71 lb)
12 / 12

Ab-wheel
12 / 14

Quesadillas
2x +salsa
Homemade tortillas, quacamole and everything, absolutely delicious.

wow wtf sick work on the chins dude

notsureifsrs but if so, thank you sir.

9.6.2012

BP
5x 65 kg (143 lb)
6x 61.5 kg
7x 58.5 kg

BW was 64.9 kg in the morning so that's >BW for reps, yay, a milestone.

DB-Curls
16.25 kg's (36 lb's)
10 / 8

DB-Incline-BP
17.5 kg's (39 lb's)
12 / 10

Plank
+16.5 kg (+36 lb)
3x30s

12.6.2012

BW = 65.2 kg (144 lb)

-4.8 kg (-10.6 lb) in 6 weeks.

Had another 4000 cal "cheat"-day or whatever you call it on Saturday. 4000 cals isn't that much per se but man that felt like a lot after averaging 1800 kcals/day for 6 weeks.
I think I'll be cutting 2 more weeks and then call it quits.

Also, Quesadillas are quickly becoming my new favorite dish hence made another batch yesterday:

A pro-tip for tortillas -> throw some smoked pepper-powder into the flour, it adds a really nice touch.



This time I filled the tortillas with ground beef, beans, red onion, mozzarella and blue cheese





Served with salsa and quacamole.
And peach slices to add in some freshness.
Yummy, around 900 cals.

12.6.2012

OHP
5x 49 kg (108 lb)
6x 46 kg
7x 43.5 kg

Chins
6x +18 kg (+40 lb)
6x +13 kg

Hammer-Curls
13.75 kg's (30 lb's)
10 / 8

...supersetted with...

Wrist-Curls
32.5kg (72 lb)
12 / 12

Ab-wheel
12 / 12

A couple of vids from today:

OHP (108lb) - a bit too wobbly, esp last rep



Chins (+40lb) - okay I guess, not even dolphin kick really needed on last rep



As always, any comments/critique/advice is appreciated.

Did you do pullups a lot before you did SS?