Nice job dude looking good.

You seem to have been pretty down about your gym results lately so maybe it would be better to either suspend the cut for a while and enjoy the performance boost thereof or to be more aggressive and get the cut over with ASAP. In my n=1 experience, recomping and gaining strength works better with maintenance or a small surplus than it does with a moderate deficit.

Thanks!

I could probably use some attitude adjustment about my own progress. On one hand I am light years ahead of where I started and minus injury related downtime I have been putting in a pretty reasonable effort despite Dadding two kids, Dadding a fulltime job+, being as old as dirt, etc. etc. On the other hand I look nothing like Evo yet and I could be doing so much more to work on mobility, technique and busting guts on intensity. I tend not to compare myself to other 47 year old desk jockey career Dads so the comparison point is unnecessarily lopsided against me. But if I did use that as my comparison point maybe I wouldn't even be as far along as I have made it.

Anyway, blah blah, you are right and I should just pick a weight, cut to it and then take a maintenance break. Then maybe do another block at another time. The eating at a 7 or 8% deficit really does drag things out.

I *am* pleased with eeking my squat over the 200lb mark, so thanks for that nudge!

Monday October 2 – 143.3 lbs

Rest day
30 mins walk

1396 cal/108 carb/55 fat/143 protein/37 fibre

Tuesday October 3 – 142.7 lbs

25 mins core, mobility and dynamic stretching stuff
22:11 jog, 2.47 miles, walk 5min warmup and 7min cooldown

1550 cal/97 carb/71 fat/154 protein/34 fibre

According to my fitbit I clocked almost 8 hours of sleep last night and just over 9 hours the night before. And both of those figures are despite awaking 35 – 45 times for a total of over an hour each night if my watch is to be believed. At any rate those are pretty much World Records for me. I target 7.5 hours but rarely get there, averaging closer to 6.5 but I am seeing this hit the 7 hour mark more and more often. I went for another run and made it a little further at a slightly faster pace compared to last time around. I suspect the improvement in pace had to do with being able to see the path this time around. The sun set part way through the run but I could see pretty well throughout.

How excited are you for ufc 217? Gall Oleinik Cummins and Hendricks should all be fun fights, and that's not even getting to the main card.

Hey Khan!
I am a huge GSP nuthugger so I have a bit of trepidation with 217 approaching but the card is absolutely ridiculous. Should be pretty amazing.

Wednesday October 4 – 142.3 lbs

25 mins core, mobility and dynamic stretching stuff
Bench(CG) – 10x45lbs, 2x5x65, 5x95, 2x5x115, 9x115, 12x100
Curls – 5x45lbs, 14x65, 14x65
Squats – 15xbw, 2x10x45lbs, 2x5x85, 5x125, 3x155, 2x180, 2x5x207.5, 5x207.5, 9x180

1796 cal/118 carb/64 fat/201 protein/42 fibre

Reset bench and used a much closer grip tonight. Still getting some pain in or around my left elbow. Squat depth is getting worse as the weight goes up I think. First set was terrible. Second and third sets were a bit better but I felt like I was losing the bar down my back and everything felt heavy.

How do you feel about wearing knee sleeves?

They work wonders for me, not so much that it adds much poundage to my lift but once I got to around 200 I noticed I got more timid and didnt attack the lift,even though the weight was easily in my capability.

1. I feel it helps me get everything tighter as my knees are secure and thats one less thing to worry about.

2. It gives a little of a boost on the bounce/stretch reflex coming out of the bottom.

I've hard a great experience with them. They almost certainly increased my squat immediately, though that isn't the reason I use them. I had some pain in my left knee that has entirely gone away since I've been using sleeves.

I was having some pain in my knees on squats fairly early on and thought about getting knee sleeves at that time. The pain went away and any urgency to make that purchase went away as well. I have been surprised what a difference an elbow sleeve has made just for recovery so I expect that knee sleeves would bring only good things. I could always give them a try. They sure can't make my squat any more timid than it is!

I assume rehbands are the go to. Is 7mm the standard?

To me rehbands are the premium NAME in that space. I dont doubt the quality and if money is not an issue for someone then what the heck.

But looking through Amazon there appears to be a good number of highly rated 7mm sleeves that are likely comparable but less than half the price.

Im not necessarily recommending these but take a look at
"ProFitness Knee Sleeve Squat Support and Compression for Powerlifting"
on Amazon and compare with Rehbands.

Yeah, looks like rehband are priced per single sleeve compared to some other options coming in at less for a pair. I'm in Canada and it looks like ProFitness option ends up at almost $120 for a pair which is comparable to the rehbands here. Toncy Gear and Eulay (never heard of either) roll in at $40 or $30 for a pair and are well reviewed on amazon. I'll pick something up and give them a try. Thanks!

I got sling shots because they were way cheaper than rehbands. I got the smalls and they were pretty tight, which probably matters.

Wow didnt realize you were in Canada
Wow didnt realize that Profitness pair that cost 30 bucks in USA is 4x as much to you all.

No sling shot option here it appears. I will order the Toncy Gear version and then when they turn out to be a piece of crap I will order rehbands. I can maximize my conspicuous spending this way.

That happens a lot. Not always quite to the extent of 4x though. Hit and miss on that front.

Rogue doesn't ship to Canada?

Yep, they do and I can see that they carry Sling Shots at $102 per pair for us up here. Rehbands 7mm at $63 per sleeve, $45 per sleeve for the 2017 crossfit version. I had only checked Amazon initially and looks like I can get better prices on Rehbands from Rogue Canada at least on the crossfit version. I am way overdue for a Rogue order. I want additional kettlebells (despite not touching one for 6 months or so), curl bar, farmer walk handles, dumbell bars, additional weights, trap bar, other miscellaneous crap. I don't *need* any of it so have somehow managed to hold off.

Rogue covers any customs fees but shipping is an extra cost. I think the options are slightly scaled down but they offer a decent amount of their products up here.

What I wish I had ordered:



I had 225lbs as a long term goal and 300 as a pie in the sky liftetime goal and I believe those knee sleeves would get me 315 before age 50.

Thursday October 5 – 142.5 lbs

25 mins core, mobility and dynamic stretching stuff
27:57 run, 3.1 miles, walk 5min warmup and 7min cooldown

1806 cal/138 carb/69 fat/178 protein/42 fibre

Threw on a headlamp and went for a night run along a hydro line field walking path. Could see the terrain better than with no headlamp but I found it was a far cry from running in daylight. Played chicken with about 8 rabbits along the way. Went for a super short swim afterwards, less than five minutes.

Friday October 6 – 141.6 lbs

25 mins core, mobility and dynamic stretching stuff
OHP – 2x5x45lbs, 5x65, 2x5x80, 5x80, 9x70
RDL – 2x8x45lbs, 8x95
DL – 5x95lbs, 5x135, 5x165, 6x195, 7x175
Chin-ups – 7x, 6x +27.5lbs

1975 cal/167 carb/69 fat/188 protein/39 fibre

Left arm starting hurting again on OHP and was very sore by the time I got through chins. Lost some OHP reps, got 1 rep back on chins. DL felt a bit better but still need lots of work on getting tight.

Saturday October 7 – 142.1 lbs

25 mins core, mobility and dynamic stretching stuff
29:35 run, 3.31 miles, walk 5min warmup and 7min cooldown

2953 cal/298 carb/115 fat/210 protein/50 fibre

I managed to avoid pizza and cake at my oldest boy’s birthday party but with company over for the weekend the kcal train caught up with me in the evening. Pumpkin pie, lindor chocolates and mini cheese croissants were responsible for most of the damage. Thanksgiving dinner today should make for another greater than normal consumption day as well. Went for a run in daylight yesterday. Was somewhere near 27:40 at the 5K mark which is a very slight drop in time compared to the last time out, which was probably my first 5K in the last 25 years, maybe longer.

Sunday October 8 – 143.2 lbs

25 mins core, mobility and dynamic stretching stuff
Bench – 10x45lbs, 2x5x65, 5x95, 2x5x117.5, 9x117.5, 13x105
Curls – 5x45lbs, 14x65, 14x65
Squats – 15xbw, 2x10x45lbs, 2x5x85, 5x125, 3x165, 2x185, 2x5x210, 5x210, 8x185

2519 cal/226 carb/109 fat/181 protein/38 fibre

Started with a much wider than normal grip on bench but was super weak with that grip on first work set so reverted to somewhere between my normal and a close grip for the rest. Tried out the new knee sleeves and am not sure if I noticed much difference. They did not make my squats any less timid nor did they improve my depth but those are on me not the knee sleeves. Squats are really hurting my elbows but I have clocked four sessions in a row with Squat PR`s. Been messing around with a muscle roller stick, foam roller and some massage balls over the last couple days. Have been trying to loosen up some of the pain points around my left elbow today with a lacrosse ball with varying degrees of success. No clue if I am doing anything useful but it sure feels good when I stop.

nice squat progress dude