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- Thread starter Totentanz
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_tim
Well-Known Member
It failed every time I tried to load an image into a post, going all the way back to when I joined. Odd!
Edit: I can't get this board to show pics half the time. Grr.
These are a few months apart and about 25 to 30 lbs difference. Currently weigh 235 lbs. I don't see much difference in the mirror most days but that's probably mostly psychological. I clearly look fatter in the face in the before pic.
I've lost a lot of fat from my legs for some reason. Strength is basically the same. Still obviously a long way to go to get a six pack and all that. Not sure how lean I actually care to get anyway. Just posting this to hold myself accountable.
Oh and ignore the angry face. It was 6 am when I took this last picture.
I've lost a lot of fat from my legs for some reason. Strength is basically the same. Still obviously a long way to go to get a six pack and all that. Not sure how lean I actually care to get anyway. Just posting this to hold myself accountable.
Oh and ignore the angry face. It was 6 am when I took this last picture.
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It's been a while. I've had a crazy last couple years with work and life in general. For various reasons, I haven't lifted meaningfully in about a year and in the same period, I've lost about 70 lbs of bodyweight too. I'm down to about 200 lbs bodyweight. Calipers say about 12% bodyfat. I don't think I was that fat when I was in the 270s, but to be fair, I had a 38 inch waist then and now it's 32 inches. I have been busy with a lot of things that kept me physically active, so it's not like I lost that much weight while sedentary but definitely not ideal, and I'm sure my strength is bottomed out. It could be worse, all things considered.
Good news is that I bought a house earlier this year that is a lot closer to work, so I have more free time that isn't being wasted on a commute. I now have a basic gym in my basement. I've only got about 400 lbs worth of plates so far, and just a power rack and bench with cables, along with an elliptical. I'll acquire more equipment eventually, I'm sure. My basement has high enough ceilings that I can do overhead presses.
Hopefully posting a training log will keep me on track.
Back in early 2023, I had hit 405 for my 1 RM on flat bench, but I'm sure I'm nowhere near that now. I'm hoping muscle memory gets me back to a decent level at a decent pace. I've decided to just go back to basics and run a regular HST cycle. I didn't test maxes to start and have decided to start the loads out stupidly light. I'm limited on progression anyway with how many plates I have.
Lifting days are Friday/Sunday/Tuesday. I'll probably split up my workout to do the upper body stuff in the morning and wait until evening to do the lower body stuff. I hate AM squats and deads.
Today AM:
Half a mile on the elliptical
Incline Bench: 2 x 15 x 100 lbs
Rack Pull: 2 x 15 x 205 lbs
Lat Pulldown: 2 x 15 x 75 lbs
Lateral Raise: 2 x 15 x 15 lb DBs
Curls: 2 x 15 x 40 lbs
Pushdowns: 2 x 15 x 40 lbs
Half a mile on the elliptical
Workout felt pretty easy so I probably could have started a lot heavier on everything but I'm going to stick with this. I'm working under the assumption that I'm extremely deconditioned. And this should at least allow me to build up my work capacity again.
Lower body this evening, we'll see how that goes.
Good news is that I bought a house earlier this year that is a lot closer to work, so I have more free time that isn't being wasted on a commute. I now have a basic gym in my basement. I've only got about 400 lbs worth of plates so far, and just a power rack and bench with cables, along with an elliptical. I'll acquire more equipment eventually, I'm sure. My basement has high enough ceilings that I can do overhead presses.
Hopefully posting a training log will keep me on track.
Back in early 2023, I had hit 405 for my 1 RM on flat bench, but I'm sure I'm nowhere near that now. I'm hoping muscle memory gets me back to a decent level at a decent pace. I've decided to just go back to basics and run a regular HST cycle. I didn't test maxes to start and have decided to start the loads out stupidly light. I'm limited on progression anyway with how many plates I have.
Lifting days are Friday/Sunday/Tuesday. I'll probably split up my workout to do the upper body stuff in the morning and wait until evening to do the lower body stuff. I hate AM squats and deads.
Today AM:
Half a mile on the elliptical
Incline Bench: 2 x 15 x 100 lbs
Rack Pull: 2 x 15 x 205 lbs
Lat Pulldown: 2 x 15 x 75 lbs
Lateral Raise: 2 x 15 x 15 lb DBs
Curls: 2 x 15 x 40 lbs
Pushdowns: 2 x 15 x 40 lbs
Half a mile on the elliptical
Workout felt pretty easy so I probably could have started a lot heavier on everything but I'm going to stick with this. I'm working under the assumption that I'm extremely deconditioned. And this should at least allow me to build up my work capacity again.
Lower body this evening, we'll see how that goes.
Yesterday - only a bit sore in the pecs and arms from Friday
Bodyweight: 210.4 lbs - this is up ~10 lbs since Friday, obviously a lot of water and stuff. My scale is supposed to tell me extra stuff like bodyfat percentage, lean mass percentage, water, etc. It claims those percentages are basically the same as Friday. We'll see if the lean mass percentage actually starts going up through the cycle though. I'm skeptical. It does pretty consistently show bodyfat as 2-3% higher than what calipers tell me, so maybe it's at least consistent with everything else.
5 minutes on elliptical - got a bit over half a mile but forgot to log the exact amount
Squat: 2 x 15 x 185 lbs
Good morning: 2 x 15 x 135 lbs
Trap bar deads: 2 x 15 x 225
Incline bench: 2 x 15 x 110
Rack Pull: 2 x 15 x 225
Lat Pulldown: 2 x 15 x 80
Lateral raise: 2 x 15 x 15 lb DBs
Curls: 2 x 15 x 50
Tricep Pushdowns: 2 x 15 x 50
Elliptical - 5 minutes
Probably should repeat loads on the curls and pushdowns. 50 was still easy but I don't want to ramp up too fast on arms. Might need to swap out rack pulls for bentover rows or add more back work. I just don't feel like doing rows because it's a bit of work to set it up. I guess I could do cable rows instead.
Looking into getting a different bench. Mine is a cheap one and isn't super stable. I wouldn't feel comfortable benching loads over 300 on it. I also want to get one that has leg extension and leg curl attachments since I'm a bit limited on what I can do for legs right now.
Bodyweight: 210.4 lbs - this is up ~10 lbs since Friday, obviously a lot of water and stuff. My scale is supposed to tell me extra stuff like bodyfat percentage, lean mass percentage, water, etc. It claims those percentages are basically the same as Friday. We'll see if the lean mass percentage actually starts going up through the cycle though. I'm skeptical. It does pretty consistently show bodyfat as 2-3% higher than what calipers tell me, so maybe it's at least consistent with everything else.
5 minutes on elliptical - got a bit over half a mile but forgot to log the exact amount
Squat: 2 x 15 x 185 lbs
Good morning: 2 x 15 x 135 lbs
Trap bar deads: 2 x 15 x 225
Incline bench: 2 x 15 x 110
Rack Pull: 2 x 15 x 225
Lat Pulldown: 2 x 15 x 80
Lateral raise: 2 x 15 x 15 lb DBs
Curls: 2 x 15 x 50
Tricep Pushdowns: 2 x 15 x 50
Elliptical - 5 minutes
Probably should repeat loads on the curls and pushdowns. 50 was still easy but I don't want to ramp up too fast on arms. Might need to swap out rack pulls for bentover rows or add more back work. I just don't feel like doing rows because it's a bit of work to set it up. I guess I could do cable rows instead.
Looking into getting a different bench. Mine is a cheap one and isn't super stable. I wouldn't feel comfortable benching loads over 300 on it. I also want to get one that has leg extension and leg curl attachments since I'm a bit limited on what I can do for legs right now.
Last edited:
Bodyweight: 214.5
Scale claims bodyfat is 14%, lean mass is 85%
Had a physical yesterday, first one in over a year. Doctor was super happy about all my weight loss from the past year and encouraged me to try to get down to 180 lbs. Hah.
Good news is that blood pressure, lipids, etc, were all great. Only issue is that though my total cholesterol is very low, my "good" cholesterol is lower than they want it to be.
AM workout yesterday:
Incline Bench: 2 x 15 x 120 lbs
Rack Pull: 2 x 15 x 225 lbs
Lateral Raise: 2 x 15 x 15 lb DBs
Lat Pulldown 2 x 15 x 90 lbs
Curl: 2 x 15 x 50 lbs
Tricep pushdown: 2 x 15 x 50 lbs
PM:
Squat: 2 x 15 x 195 lbs
Trap bar deads: 2 x 15 x 235 lbs
Good morning: 2 x 15 x 140 lbs
Going to add in some core work. My low back has been a bit off the last few months. Mostly gets upset when I sleep wrong, but I think not lifting seriously was a big part of the problem too. I tend to get achy in various places when I don't lift enough. Anyway, doctor said it's a muscle spasm, probably tight hips and an imbalance. She recommended physical therapy, but since I live in freedom land, that isn't covered by my insurance. So probably some core strengthening and maybe some hip mobility stuff would be a good idea.
Might drop the arm work, or drop the curls anyway. I just don't enjoy doing the arm work. I need to add an overhead pressing movement. Still thinking of swapping out cable rows for the rack pulls. I'll play with some rows today or tomorrow to see how well my cables work for that. Some movements aren't very smooth with my pulley system. Probably should have spent a bit more for a better rack.
Still scoping out craigslist and facebook marketplace for benches that have a leg ext and leg curl attachment.
Also need something for reverse hypers.
Scale claims bodyfat is 14%, lean mass is 85%
Had a physical yesterday, first one in over a year. Doctor was super happy about all my weight loss from the past year and encouraged me to try to get down to 180 lbs. Hah.
Good news is that blood pressure, lipids, etc, were all great. Only issue is that though my total cholesterol is very low, my "good" cholesterol is lower than they want it to be.
AM workout yesterday:
Incline Bench: 2 x 15 x 120 lbs
Rack Pull: 2 x 15 x 225 lbs
Lateral Raise: 2 x 15 x 15 lb DBs
Lat Pulldown 2 x 15 x 90 lbs
Curl: 2 x 15 x 50 lbs
Tricep pushdown: 2 x 15 x 50 lbs
PM:
Squat: 2 x 15 x 195 lbs
Trap bar deads: 2 x 15 x 235 lbs
Good morning: 2 x 15 x 140 lbs
Going to add in some core work. My low back has been a bit off the last few months. Mostly gets upset when I sleep wrong, but I think not lifting seriously was a big part of the problem too. I tend to get achy in various places when I don't lift enough. Anyway, doctor said it's a muscle spasm, probably tight hips and an imbalance. She recommended physical therapy, but since I live in freedom land, that isn't covered by my insurance. So probably some core strengthening and maybe some hip mobility stuff would be a good idea.
Might drop the arm work, or drop the curls anyway. I just don't enjoy doing the arm work. I need to add an overhead pressing movement. Still thinking of swapping out cable rows for the rack pulls. I'll play with some rows today or tomorrow to see how well my cables work for that. Some movements aren't very smooth with my pulley system. Probably should have spent a bit more for a better rack.
Still scoping out craigslist and facebook marketplace for benches that have a leg ext and leg curl attachment.
Also need something for reverse hypers.
Glad to see you logging workouts on here again!
It took me about 9 months of periodic searching on Facebook marketplace, but I purchased a used Westside Scout Hyper that I like using. I paid $165 or $185 for it. It seems to have helped my lower back/sciatica, but I haven't pushed the weights very heavy on it. Belt/Strap IT band stretches also make a big difference for me:
It took me about 9 months of periodic searching on Facebook marketplace, but I purchased a used Westside Scout Hyper that I like using. I paid $165 or $185 for it. It seems to have helped my lower back/sciatica, but I haven't pushed the weights very heavy on it. Belt/Strap IT band stretches also make a big difference for me:
Thanks, I'll give that a shot.
Kids brought home a disease last week, and it hit me and my wife both on Friday. I was a couple sets in to my workout when I decided to scrap it. Figures that happens right when I am starting my second week of HST.
I think I'm pretty much recovered though. I'm going to start back up where I left off with the first day of week 2 of the 15s. We'll see how it goes.
Kids brought home a disease last week, and it hit me and my wife both on Friday. I was a couple sets in to my workout when I decided to scrap it. Figures that happens right when I am starting my second week of HST.
I think I'm pretty much recovered though. I'm going to start back up where I left off with the first day of week 2 of the 15s. We'll see how it goes.
You still look like the profile pic these days?
Other than my hair migrating from my head to my chin? People seem to think I've just gotten shredded but I think I look quite a bit smaller. Most of the mass I lost seems like it was my glutes and quads/hams though.
PM workouts are hard to fit in to my schedule. May go back to working out in the AM before work.
Father Time is undefeated indeed.