Biggest loser

[JDurk]

E2M program Round 6, Week 5, Day 7

Diet
Checking in a day late. Knew I was cheating Sunday night, so weighed in Sunday morning before things got busy. 1 other cheat meal earlier in the week. Other than that, been sticking to the plan. We're trying to meal prep for the week on the weekend, we've been spending too much time cooking each meal. We will still cook in the evening after work.

Exercise
Circuits M/W/F with extra credit weight workouts. Still doing the running thing on T/Th. Rode Sunday at CCC with a group of 5 teammates while dodging the big NICA group that was there for practice. Nobody got hurt this week.

Weight
1/2/22 Starting weight = 235.4
12/4/22 current weight =178.4
Diff: weekly down 4.2, total lost = 57
Didn't get back to the 175 range. Thinking the increased weight workouts might be adding some muscle. Occasionally breaking my fast early because I'm starving. Also, still cheating a little here and there with snacks.

Wife is still doing better than me holding steady.

As promised, including pic of the newly rearranged and organized garage to fit in the pain cave. Detached, uninsulated and unheated. Added a Mr. Heater Big Buddy propane heater to try and take the chill out. It was 35deg in there this morning and got as high as 40deg before I was done.
View attachment 201654

E2M program Round 6, Week 6, Day 6

Diet
Checking in today. Heading to Cape May this afternoon and will be having the celebration meal. Did well on plan all week. Snacking less. Did enjoy a few Tonewood stouts and a Blanton's chaser last night. Meal prep plan mentioned last week worked awesome. Going to keep it going this week, but prep a little less to avoid freezing unused portions.

Exercise
Circuits and extra credit weight workouts M/W/F in the new pain cave area. Picked up an adjustable weight bench for the workout area from FB marketplace last night. Running with walking intervals T/Th with some abs and stretching. Purchased a Theragun last weekend at the local running store. Theragun had this model for $200 off and the store price matched. Trying to spend a little more time doing rest and recovery things. Planning to ride Sunday morning before the rain. After the holidays, the riding to running ratio will switch more to riding.

Weight
1/2/22 Starting weight = 235.4
12/10/22 current weight =177.2
Diff: weekly down 1.2, total lost = 58.2
Moving in the right direction. Will be another week of sticking to the plan, then things may go sideways as we will be traveling to FL for Christmas.

Wife is holding steady with just eating on plan and not too much activity.

 

[GSTim]

Was cruising along right around 200 for the last few months with some +/- 3 pound swings after cheats/no exercise. Was only up 2 lbs after T-giving so I was feeling great. Last Friday at over 204 so that snapped me back to reality. More riding/Zwift and lockdown on treats until I'm back in 200 range. Not going to the next notch on the belt!

Crisis averted, back to 200! Let the IPAs flow! 😀

 

[Robin]

Getting over the flu this week - took Monday off from exercising and my lungs were burning Tuesday in CrossFit. Energy is slowly coming back but still feel a bit off. About to head out for a brisk ride while hitting Homestead Roasters to stock up on some coffee. Weighed in this morning and down another 1.5 lbs (total 11.5) and another 1/2 inch off hips (where I'm noticing the most change).

 

[The Kalmyk]

Nice set up @Over the Bars

Im sitting at 190lbs. GtG four days a week so far this month i have a total of 182 first reps.

Tried a no wrap, no belt, max pull. I was able to get 310 off the floor with my nee modified technique. It is definitely a limiter that I cant hang my right arm because the shoulder just feels like it will come apart when rolled forward.

 

[The Kalmyk]

Well I started gaining some weight again just a weird week last week. I'm up around 2 pounds from a month ago today. Just some motivation for you guys to go hit the gym and keep at it . In February I could only do 2 pull ups. Today I was able to do a pull up with 80 lbs of weight plates hanging from my belt View attachment 201718

You will see gains doing that😳. Squeeze your knees/butt together, keep feet pointed and definitely take the plates off till you can get the form down.. If you arent doing pull ups then the goal should be proper hold.

This is essentially a gymnastics hold (imagine someone holding themselves up on rings and their feet are out, tight and POINTED.


Look up hollow rock exercise. This is the horse that will pull this carriage

 

[Over the Bars]

You will see gains doing that😳. Squeeze your knees/butt together, keep feet pointed and definitely take the plates off till you can get the form down.. If you arent doing pull ups then the goal should be proper hold.

This is essentially a gymnastics hold (imagine someone holding themselves up on rings and their feet are out, tight and POINTED.


Look up hollow rock exercise. This is the horse that will pull this carriage

This was just a test to see what I could pull like a weird version of a one rep max 😅 I do like to vary my different grips on the bar though but most of my pullups are done with a 25lb weight with a regular grip and I'm up to 10 good reps like that right now. I tried with the regular grip and was able to get 1 rep with 70 lbs and switched to see what I could do with the neutral grip and got the 1 with 80. It was just for giggles more than anything else.

 

[Over the Bars]

Nice set up @Over the Bars

Im sitting at 190lbs. GtG four days a week so far this month i have a total of 182 first reps.

Tried a no wrap, no belt, max pull. I was able to get 310 off the floor with my nee modified technique. It is definitely a limiter that I cant hang my right arm because the shoulder just feels like it will come apart when rolled forward.

Thanks 😃 Injuries suck glad to hear your making adjustments to still doing the things you enjoy! I need to try and see what I can do for new Max's on squats and deadlift soon to see how I'm progressing just tested my 1rpm for bench the other day and it went up 15 lbs from the last time I tested it. Squats should be wayyy up I usually don't do Max's for them but I hit 225 for 18 reps yesterday so maybe I can do 3 plates for 1 rep probably wishful thinking but a 2x body weight squat has been the goal I've been working towards since i started lifting in February

 

[The Kalmyk]

Thanks 😃 Injuries suck glad to hear your making adjustments to still doing the things you enjoy! I need to try and see what I can do for new Max's on squats and deadlift soon to see how I'm progressing just tested my 1rpm for bench the other day and it went up 15 lbs from the last time I tested it. Squats should be wayyy up I usually don't do Max's for them but I hit 225 for 18 reps yesterday so maybe I can do 3 plates for 1 rep probably wishful thinking but a 2x body weight squat has been the goal I've been working towards since i started lifting in February

Gotcha ya

I only suggested that because it will train your body to recruit supporting muscles. Focusing on form will raise your game, max lift and prevent injury. Understanding this helped me bounce back from surgery really quickly. I only lost about 17% of my max which was rather high for my weight.

Id also put a tremendous focus on grip strength. It has a very high representation in the nervous system (aka chain reaction ignitor)

IronMind - product-info

ironmind.com

My one squeeze max was using the 3.0 now im at 2.5... im old 🤦🏼‍♂️

 

[Over the Bars]

Gotcha ya

I only suggested that because it will train your body to recruit supporting muscles. Focusing on form will raise your game, max lift and prevent injury. Understanding this helped me bounce back from surgery really quickly. I only lost about 17% of my max which was rather high for my weight.

Id also put a tremendous focus on grip strength. It has a very high representation in the nervous system (aka chain reaction ignitor)

IronMind - product-info

ironmind.com

My one squeeze max was using the 3.0 now im at 2.5... im old 🤦🏼‍♂️

Thanks I appreciate all the pointers I can get! I'm still new to all this and have been progressing really well but it can always be better I'll check both those things out.

 

[Over the Bars]

Gotcha ya

I only suggested that because it will train your body to recruit supporting muscles. Focusing on form will raise your game, max lift and prevent injury. Understanding this helped me bounce back from surgery really quickly. I only lost about 17% of my max which was rather high for my weight.

Id also put a tremendous focus on grip strength. It has a very high representation in the nervous system (aka chain reaction ignitor)

IronMind - product-info

ironmind.com

My one squeeze max was using the 3.0 now im at 2.5... im old 🤦🏼‍♂️

Well I knew the 3 plate squat was still out of reach. Squats are the one exercise that a 1rpm calculator is just drastically off for me everything else is usually within 5 lbs of what it says. Last time I tried a max I failed at 240 but that was a few months ago. I was able to get 275 today but failed at 280. Still 1.75x body weight is pretty damn good for under a year of lifting just more motivation to keep at it.

 

[The Kalmyk]

Well I knew the 3 plate squat was still out of reach. Squats are the one exercise that a 1rpm calculator is just drastically off for me everything else is usually within 5 lbs of what it says. Last time I tried a max I failed at 240 but that was a few months ago. I was able to get 275 today but failed at 280. Still 1.75x body weight is pretty damn good for under a year of lifting just more motivation to keep at it.

Why is it a 1rm? This is a question that can help frame you work moving forward. A calculator is great but has one major flaw. It is solely based on weight and information put into it. It absolutely cannot measure the primary tenant of “strength”... Form. Im willing to bet you are leaving a little on the table due to form. Strength is practice and should be practiced while in a rested state. Tbh- i was pulling 575ish off the floor when i was younger and much of that was because i have technique. Thats why i really only count my first and second reps because im positive these are done in a rested state and thats where i will build strength. High reps build strength but there is also an endurance component to it. I will try to frame a mental picture here...

Lets say you were born with a 6cyclinder engine. High reps adds muscle through tearing down and building back. So that would be like you ripping out the 6 cyclinder to put in an 8 cylinder. While focused low rep strength work takes your 6 cylinder and optimizes it. This is what we look for in cyclist- minimal added muscle weight.


Compound movements like deadlifts and squats call for much more practice. Where as a curl for example is an isolated movement is not so dynamic.

So what does this all mean. There absolutely should be practice at low rep with focus on form to prevent any possibility of injury and build strength. Keep the high reps as well for that endurance.

Regarding the calculator- if you love using it then keep using it. I tried to get Vreeland off squats 😂 but he loves them too much.

 

[The Kalmyk]

Periodizing fuel like some periodize there bike riding. One is for the desk and the other is for ripping my own legs off cause im not doing that to anyone else...

 

[Patrick]

Well I knew the 3 plate squat was still out of reach. Squats are the one exercise that a 1rpm calculator is just drastically off for me everything else is usually within 5 lbs of what it says. Last time I tried a max I failed at 240 but that was a few months ago. I was able to get 275 today but failed at 280. Still 1.75x body weight is pretty damn good for under a year of lifting just more motivation to keep at it.

275 is 280 if you tried it on the same day?????

if you just tried 280 for 1, you'd get it, just not after 275

 

[Over the Bars]

275 is 280 if you tried it on the same day?????

if you just tried 280 for 1, you'd get it, just not after 275

True I think I over did it on my warm ups to get up to that weight as well. Either way I'm pretty happy with the 275 for today and it was a nice bench mark to measure my progress thus far. Probably won't try for a max again for awhile.

 

[Over the Bars]

Why is it a 1rm? This is a question that can help frame you work moving forward. A calculator is great but has one major flaw. It is solely based on weight and information put into it. It absolutely cannot measure the primary tenant of “strength”... Form. Im willing to bet you are leaving a little on the table due to form. Strength is practice and should be practiced while in a rested state. Tbh- i was pulling 575ish off the floor when i was younger and much of that was because i have technique. Thats why i really only count my first and second reps because im positive these are done in a rested state and thats where i will build strength. High reps build strength but there is also an endurance component to it. I will try to frame a mental picture here...

Lets say you were born with a 6cyclinder engine. High reps adds muscle through tearing down and building back. So that would be like you ripping out the 6 cyclinder to put in an 8 cylinder. While focused low rep strength work takes your 6 cylinder and optimizes it. This is what we look for in cyclist- minimal added muscle weight.


Compound movements like deadlifts and squats call for much more practice. Where as a curl for example is an isolated movement is not so dynamic.

So what does this all mean. There absolutely should be practice at low rep with focus on form to prevent any possibility of injury and build strength. Keep the high reps as well for that endurance.

Regarding the calculator- if you love using it then keep using it. I tried to get Vreeland off squats 😂 but he loves them too much.

Makes a lot of sense thanks. I too love squats for some bizarre reason haha.

 

[The Kalmyk]

True I think I over did it on my warm ups to get up to that weight as well. Either way I'm pretty happy with the 275 for today and it was a nice bench mark to measure my progress thus far. Probably won't try for a max again for awhile.

What do you do for warm ups?

 

[Over the Bars]

What do you do for warm ups?

Feel free to tell me I'm doing everything wrong hahah I've only really ever lifted by myself. I have found that personally I get better results doing higher reps for my leg workouts. Everything else my rep range is 8 to 12 and when I can do 12 I bump the weight up. This was today's leg workout and this was the order it was done in. I like to do my calf raises and I do Goblet squats first to really get a good stretch before I do my back squats.

Calf raises barbell
165x 38
165x 38
165x 38

Goblet squat kettle bell
35× 15 full ATG depth with long pause
45× 15 full ATG depth with long pause
53× 15 full ATG depth with long pause

Barbell Back squat
165×10
225x5
255x1
275x1
280x fail

Front squat
115×10
135×9
135×10
135x10

Barbell hip thrust
225 x 15
255 x 20
255 x 20

Land mine 1 leg Romanian dead lift
55 × 15
65 x 13
65 x 12

Barbell walking lunge
115× 5 forward 5 backwards × 3
115× 5 forward 5 backwards × 3

Box jumps
24 inch × 20
30 inch x 12
30 inch x 15

 

[The Kalmyk]

Feel free to tell me I'm doing everything wrong hahah I've only really ever lifted by myself. I have found that personally I get better results doing higher reps for my leg workouts. Everything else my rep range is 8 to 12 and when I can do 12 I bump the weight up. This was today's leg workout and this was the order it was done in. I like to do my calf raises and I do Goblet squats first to really get a good stretch before I do my back squats.

Calf raises barbell
165x 38
165x 38
165x 38

Goblet squat kettle bell
35× 15 full ATG depth with long pause
45× 15 full ATG depth with long pause
53× 15 full ATG depth with long pause

Barbell Back squat
165×10
225x5
255x1
275x1
280x fail

Front squat
115×10
135×9
135×10
135x10

Barbell hip thrust
225 x 15
255 x 20
255 x 20

Land mine 1 leg Romanian dead lift
55 × 15
65 x 13
65 x 12

Barbell walking lunge
115× 5 forward 5 backwards × 3
115× 5 forward 5 backwards × 3

Box jumps
24 inch × 20
30 inch x 12
30 inch x 15

Nah- only suggestions. Take what you want leave the rest. And if you love your high reps keep hammering. Just always remember there is something called “newbie gains” and while that may sound demeaning to a degree im not saying it that way. Much respect on the work you are putting in. At some point you will hit a plateau and thats where periodizing strength work will level you up. Just know its there for you.

Sorry im just trying to understand. Did you do this before said max squat attempt?

 

[Over the Bars]

Nah- only suggestions. Take what you want leave the rest. And if you love your high reps keeping hammering. Just always remember there is something called “newbie gains” and while that may sound derogatory to a degree im not saying it that way. At some point you will hit a plateau and thats where periodizing strength work will level you up. Just know its there for you.

Sorry im just trying to understand. Did you do this before said max squat attempt?

Lol I know I am absolutely still a newbie and the newbie gains will come to an end in the not so distant future. Yes that was the complete workout in the order that i did it in so clearly that wasn't my actual max because I did way too much before I actually did the rep at 275 between the calf raises the Goblet squats and all the back squats leading up to the 275. All this was the before I did the 275
Calf raises barbell
165x 38
165x 38
165x 38

Goblet squat kettle bell
35× 15 full ATG depth with long pause
45× 15 full ATG depth with long pause
53× 15 full ATG depth with long pause

Barbell Back squat
165×10
225x5
255x1
275x1

 

[a.s.]

I've been hiding in plain sight. Reluctantly got on the scale today and it read 213. That puts me back to where I was in the beginning of Spring and 6 lbs above my lowest weight this year, which was in July.

On a positive note, I'm still 9 lbs below my 2021 weight and workouts have been consistent. My back is feeling good and I started deadlifting again. The eating and drinking is what's doing me in right now. It's not really that big a concern for me. I'm in IDGAF mode. Come January 4th, when I hit 50, I'll be in "Time to get in the best shape of my life mode."