electric's log

Well, although I haven't posted much recently I'm still following my cut, trying to stick as close to UD2.0 as I can. I have to admit it gets annoying, fast.
From my post on March 9, my first UD2.0 day when I was at 75.7Kg (166.9lbs) I am now down to ~72Kg (158.8lbs), a 3.7Kg (8.2lbs) drop in 7 weeks. It is a little less then I had in mind. I'll be taking some measurements to check how much of that was fat and how much was muscle.
I am traveling to Miami on May 1st so I might take a last UD2.0 week before that. Upon my return on May 15 I am planning on starting a 5x5 strength cycle.
 
Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted.
Well, I am done with my UD2.0 period and back from my vacations in Florida.
Checked my BW today and I am at ~70.5Kg (155.5lbs). I lost plenty during my UD2.0 period and a little more during my vacation. I had the opportunity to get 2 workouts during my vacation and now that I am back, I am ready to start again.
I am planning on lifting Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Simplify and Win style, 3x5 starting with sub-max weights and ramping up for 5RMs by the end of the third week. By then I'll start to slowly increase loads and set new RMs. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I'll do some steady cardio for 400-500 calories.
Diet-wise I'll try something EODish, I'll get 3000 cals on lifting days, trying to focus cals around the workout and 2500 cals on cardio days. I'll also be loading on creatine, 5g a day.

Exercises will be rotated A/B
Smith Squats/Deadlifts
Bench presses/Dips
T-Bar rows/Chin-ups
And for assistance
BB Curls/OHPs
Abs work
 
Back lifting, back logging. BW @ 70.5Kg (155.5lbs)
First workout day, starting light.

Smith Squat - 2x5 WUs, 3x5 @ 50Kg
Flat BB Bench - 2x5 WUs, 3x5 @ 61Kg
T-Bar Row - 2x5 WUs, 3x5 @ 50Kg
Machine Weighted Crunches - 3x10 @ 55Kg
BB Curl - 3x5 @ 20Kg (this was kind of silly since this weight is half my RM)
 
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(electric @ May 22 2009,9:36)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Smith Squat - 2x5 WUs, 3x5 @ 50Kg</div>
Why are you choosing to do your squats in a Smithy, electric?

Welcome back!
 
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(_tim @ May 22 2009,12:01)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(electric @ May 22 2009,9:36)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Smith Squat - 2x5 WUs, 3x5 @ 50Kg</div>
Why are you choosing to do your squats in a Smithy, electric?</div>
My gym doesn't have a Squat Rack/Cage/Support. The only way I can do a BB squat is if I clean the bar from the floor.
It is surprisingly difficult to find a gym with a Squat Cage around here.

<div>
(_tim @ May 22 2009,12:01)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">
Welcome back!
</div>
Thanks Tim.
 
Wow, electric! That's got to be quite frustrating for you! Good luck this cycle - I hope all goes well.
 
Just a small update, things are going according to plan. I just adjusted calories on cardio day down to 2000 instead of 2500 to really create a deficit. The cardio is being done on the elliptical since I get pain on my knees from doing threadmill. I might alternate with the stationary bike if I get bored with the elliptical.
I'll be posting weekly updates instead of daily posts for the sake of flood avoidance.
 
Been following the routine posted above (post 262), 3x a week lifting focusing on strength, 2x cardio. Going for an EOD diet scheme with 3000 cals on lifting days and 2000 cals on cardio day. Raising weight every workout, 5 rep sets, 2 sets for warmups and 3 with working weight (2 for deadlifts). Alternating exercises A/B style.
BW was 71.7Kg today (158.1lbs). Will probably start posting more details when things start getting interesting.
 
Updates. I am following the posted routine closely and the nutrition is not spot on but near what's planned. BW today was 72.3Kg (159.4lbs). Today's workout follows:

Smith Squat - 2x5 WUs, 3x5 @ 76Kg (168lbs)
Flat BB Bench - 2x5 WUs, 2x5, 1x7 @ 81Kg (179lbs) - took the last set a little further just for fun
Chest Supported T-Bar Row - 2x5 WUs, 3x5 @ 70Kg (154lbs)
Machine Weighted Crunch - 3x10 @ 65Kg (143lbs)
Standing EZ-Bar Curl - 3x5 @ 34Kg (75lbs)

None of these loads are RMs but most of them (apart from curl) felt heavy. I think my CNS is not coping well with lifting heavy MWF AND doing 40-45 minutes SS-cardio on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have to look for some alternative before I burn out. I think moving the cardio to lifting days and getting Tuesdays and Thursdays off might make the workout sessions too long on MWF and probably non-optimum for muscle gain. Other possibility is to have light, medium and heavy days on the week instead of going heavy on all of them (something like Monday - medium weights, Wednesday light and Friday heavy). An alternative is to have a heavy exercise every lifting day and go light on the others and cycle it. Also possible is to change the frequency to lifting Mondays and Thursdays and cardio on Tuesdays and Fridays with Wednesdays and weekends off. I can also try to keep pushing it until I can't before actually changing things.

Suggestions are appreciated.
 
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(electric @ Jun. 08 2009,11:05)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Updates. I am following the posted routine closely and the nutrition is not spot on but near what's planned. BW today was 72.3Kg (159.4lbs). Today's workout follows:

Smith Squat - 2x5 WUs, 3x5 @ 76Kg (168lbs)
Flat BB Bench - 2x5 WUs, 2x5, 1x7 @ 81Kg (179lbs) - took the last set a little further just for fun
Chest Supported T-Bar Row - 2x5 WUs, 3x5 @ 70Kg (154lbs)
Machine Weighted Crunch - 3x10 @ 65Kg (143lbs)
Standing EZ-Bar Curl - 3x5 @ 34Kg (75lbs)

None of these loads are RMs but most of them (apart from curl) felt heavy. I think my CNS is not coping well with lifting heavy MWF AND doing 40-45 minutes SS-cardio on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have to look for some alternative before I burn out. I think moving the cardio to lifting days and getting Tuesdays and Thursdays off might make the workout sessions too long on MWF and probably non-optimum for muscle gain. Other possibility is to have light, medium and heavy days on the week instead of going heavy on all of them (something like Monday - medium weights, Wednesday light and Friday heavy). An alternative is to have a heavy exercise every lifting day and go light on the others and cycle it. Also possible is to change the frequency to lifting Mondays and Thursdays and cardio on Tuesdays and Fridays with Wednesdays and weekends off. I can also try to keep pushing it until I can't before actually changing things.

Suggestions are appreciated.</div>
You asked for suggestions...

2x6 in lieu of 3x5 would cut sets by 33.3% while only cutting total volume by 20% (just 3 reps less in plain English). This would also cut the time investment drastically when added up over 5-6 exercises.

                  You could also (either instead of or in addition to the above) pick a day for squats and a day for deads leaving one of your M.W,F workouts deadless/squatless. Alternating Romanian dead lifts and regular dead lifts during dead days would also give great gains while minimizing CNS bite.

                   First I would post up percentages and check them against Prilepins table to be sure the problem isn't one of intensity programming:


Intensity % 1RM            Rep range          Total Reps               Optimal Number of Reps
&lt; 70%                          3-6                   18-30                     24
70-80%                        3-6                   12-24                     18
80-89%                        2-4                   10-20                     15
&gt;89%                           1-2                   4-10                       7


The way this works is that you first select your intensity, then using the rep range for that intensity, choose the number of sets which place you in the range of &quot;total reps.&quot;  The &quot;Optimal Number of Reps&quot; is the total number of repetitions for a given intensity which may be of greatest benefit.  For example:

I am performing squats at 85%, which is a rep range of 2-4 reps per set.  So, I select to perform 3 reps per set and i can use anywhere from 4-6 sets (12-18 total reps) to put me in the &quot;total reps&quot; range, with 5 sets x 3 reps (15 reps) being optimal.

hope this helps
smile.gif
 
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(RUSS @ Jun. 08 2009,1:37)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">You asked for suggestions...

...

hope this helps
smile.gif
</div>
RUSS, thank you. This information is great and I've saved it for future reference.

At the moment my plan is try to go for new PR at the 5 rep range. I choose 5reps because Rippetoe suggests this is the best midway between strength and hypertrophy. So intensity is around 85% my 1RM (which should be my 5RM) and is supposed to increase constantly until I reach a true 5RM and can progress no further. With that in mind, the 5 rep range and the intensity are &quot;constants&quot;, what can be adjusted are the volume, frequency, exercise selection... Considering the table you posted I should be doing 5 sets of 3 instead of 3 sets of 5, but that would deviate from my plan of testing new 5RMs.

I will try doing Squats on monday, Deads on Friday (alternating regular and RDL) and neither on Wednesdays like you suggested, but I am under the impression that that change won't be enough to keep my CNS safe while getting new 5RMs.
 
Ripp's not strictly correct when he talks about any one rep range being better for hypertrophy or strength but I'm sure you know that.

Just a thought: I think you may be beating yourself up more than necessary considering you are still dieting - even if it is an EOD diet. Why not just keep your cals at 3k each day for a few days and see if you feel a bit better. Getting RMs is not easy even when you are piling in the cals 24/7.
 
Lol, I reckon I might be too greedy, trying to set new RMs on ALL lifts while doing EOD. That means that apart from Monday, Wednesday's and Friday's lifting sessions (done in the morning) are done after a day of sub-maintenance calories. Since my 1st priority is a recomp followed by strength gains I'll aim for one at a time, maybe backing off on the loads while on EOD.

While I am at it I'll log today's workout. BW @ 72.3Kg (159.4lbs). Routine:

Deadlift - 2x5 @ 131Kg (289lbs) - DOH for the first rep of each set then mixed grip for the other reps
Dip - 3x5 @ BW+18Kg (40lbs) - total weight of ~91Kg (201lbs)
Chin-ups 3x5 @ BW+20Kg (44lbs) - total weight of ~93Kg (205lbs)
Press - 3x5 @ 45Kg (99lbs)
Machine Weighted Crunch - 3x10 @ 65Kg (143lbs)

Not bad.
 
Today's workout (BW @ 73.1Kg - 161.2lbs). Routine:

Deadlift - 5, 4.5, 1, 1 @ 141kg (311lbs) - couldn't get 1 rep DOH but all were mixed grip strapless
Dips - 2x5, 4, 1 @ BW+22Kg (49lbs) - total weight of ~95Kg (209lbs)
Chins - 2x4.5, 1 @ BW+22Kg (49lbs) - total weight of ~95Kg (209lbs)
Machine Weighted Crunch - 3x10 @ 65Kg (143lbs)
Skipped OHPs

Not really a record breaker, but not a bad day. I think last time I got this weight on deadlift I was strapped so that might be a PR of sorts.
I'll try to, instead of lifting heavy 3x a week, lift heavy 2x and the one in the middle will be a light, high rep day going to failure or close to it. Pushups, BW chins and dips, regular situps/crunches, pistol squats...
 
Today's workout. BW @ 73.4Kg (161.8lbs). Routine:

Smith Squat - 3x5 @ 80Kg (176lbs)
Flat BB Bench - 3x5 @ 91Kg (201lbs) - some help from the spotter
T-Bar Chest Supported Row - 2x5 @ 80Kg (176lbs), 5 @ 60Kg (132lbs)
Crunches

Smith squats were hard but ok, might increase weight next workout. Bench wasn't bad although the spotter helped me with the last rep of each set. Will maintain this weight.
Regarding rows, for the 80kg/176lbs weight, I believe I am doing a partial movement as I can't pull the bar all the way to the chest/support. Since the chest is supported I can't use back extension to help me build momentum and thus I get stuck around half-way. I am not sure what I should do, if I should keep going with this weight trying to improve form/do a more complete movement, if I should lower the weight until I can do a correct movement and increase it gradually from there or if I should do some sort of training emphasizing the sticking point.

For crunches I am trying something different. I believe that I am using too much of my hip flexors when I am crunching and thus my Rectus Abdominis is having it easy so I decided to try Janda's Situp/Crunch to isolate the abs. It is hard to do since I feel that it is counter-intuitive to flex your hams and glutes while crunching but I'll keep working on it.
 
electric, my take on the rows would be to back off the load and get a fuller range. T-bar chest-supported rows are going to have a reduced range anyway (compared to bent-over rows with a bb) so you might as well make sure you are able to pull the bar up to the support.

It's much more difficult to gauge progress or compare work done from session to session if you don't know how far you are actually moving the bar each rep. So, I'd drop the load down a bit until you can make 5 good reps for at least your first set. You can always cluster reps after your first set. If you don't want to drop the load this cycle then you could maintain the current load but do a Max-stim style set - although I'd still recommend dropping the load a bit if you can't get any full reps.
 
Lol, thanks for the tips. I'll do exactly that.
I've been away a while. I've been down with the flu for over a week and I am finally getting better. Couldn't get myself to workout last week and restarted today. In this meantime I went to a nutritionist to get a opinion and to my surprise my BF was measured in the 16%s which came as quite a shock. I'll do one of those X-Ray densitometry to get an exact figure for BF but it probably won't be much better then what the doc measured. So it is back to cutting.
The diet recommended by the nutritionist has me eating plenty of carbs (&gt;4g/kg), some protein (1.5g/kg) and little fat (~0.8g/kg). Basically lean meats like chicken breast for protein source and rice, beans and whole bread for cho. I'll stick to that for a while and see where that takes me. When the BF is at a more tolerable level I'll ask the doc for a bulking diet and see what comes out of it.

While cutting I'll try to stick to 10-8 reps of heavy compounds. Today's wo:
Smith Squat - 1x10 @ 40Kg (88lbs), 2x10 @ 50Kg (110lbs)
Chinups - 2x10 @ BW, 8 @ BW - first reps are ridiculous easy but as fatigue gets the best of me it becomes real hard
Flat DB Bench - 3x10 @ 24Kg (53lbs) / DB
Janda Style Crunch attempts - 3x10 - I am trying to flex both the hams and glutes while crunching to isolate the abs as much as possible
 
I've been following the diet given by the nutritionist for the past month and basically neither gained nor lost weight. Been lifting without a real plan for the moment. Had a new blood test the day before yesterday and it seems my LDL cholesterol is still high even though I've been on a chicken breast diet for the whole month. Also it seems I am Hyperinsulinemic or something like that. My creatine kinase is also very high at 607 U/L where normal maximum value should be 200. It remains to be seen with the doc what might be happening.

Anyway some highlights of today's workout. BW @ 72.5Kg (160lbs).
Deadlift - WUs, 1 @ 131Kg (289lbs), 1 @ 151Kg (333lbs), 0, 0, 0.5 @ 171Kg (377lbs), 2x1 @ 161Kg (355lbs), 5 @ 131Kg (289lbs)- mixed grip strapless
Leg extensions - Light weight for reps
Flat BB Bench - WUs, 5 @ 71Kg (157lbs), 2x7 @ 81Kg (179lbs)
Standing DB Curl - 5 @ 20Kg (44lbs) per DB

I was hopping to get the 171kg/377lbs at the dead for a single but it was superglued to the floor. The last attempt went halfway up but stalled. Reduced to 161kg/355lbs and got two singles. The second one was easier then the first. After that I didn't want to go all out on the bench but the 2x7 with 81kg/179lbs wasn't bad for me. The curl set was so ugly I called it a day.
 
Some more workout updates. BW @ 72.6Kg

Chins - 8 @ BW, 2 @ BW+10Kg (22lbs), 3 @ BW+20Kg (44lbs), 2 @ BW+26Kg (57lbs), 2 @ BW+29Kg (64lbs), 1 @ BW+35Kg (77lbs), 1, 0.5 @ BW+39Kg (86lbs) - max total weight ~112Kg (245lbs)
Smith Squats - 2x10 @ 70Kg (154lbs)
Leg extensions for the burn
Laying Machine Crunch - 2x20 @ BW+10Kg (22lbs)
Flat DB Bench - 10, 8 @ 28Kg (62lbs) per DB
Calf Raises for the burn

All reps of chin were bar to chest, around the clavicle. The first rep with the max weight was to a little bellow the adam's apple. I'll count that as a success but will try the same weight again next time to get a better rom. All the other attempts sapped my energy. Tried the same weight again but stalled midway and decided to stop there with the chins. Nothing remarkable on the other exercises.
 
BW @ 71.5Kg (157.7lbs)

Elliptical 5 min warmup
Deadlifts - 3x6 @ 123Kg (271lbs)
Dips - 3x6 @ BW+10Kg (22lbs)
Chins - 2x6, 5, 1 @ BW+12Kg (26lbs)
Bike low intensity cardio 20 min
 
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