Day 3

Weight back down to 185# as expected this morning.  Gonna be a bit rough, as I don't have a packed lunch today, and it's just been difficult to sort dinner without resorting to a restaurant.

Aug-Sep starts

Yesterday kicked off the August-September cycle.  I came in at 185#, which is relatively good.  Means I am down 15 pounds over the prior 16 week cycle - slightly less than the goal of 16 pounds, but I really wasn't following the diet very well during the bulk of it.

Today, I find myself up to 187#.  Which is normal for my weekly diet habits.  I do fine during the week, and then Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday I muck it up and eat more than I should, so the weight trends upwards.  Kinda blows out some of the work of the week, which means it is a bad habit that should be stopped.

I have decided to run an RPT program over the next 8 weeks, along with my cut.  I will be monitoring my rate of weight loss, and adjusting my diet intake until I reach a consistent pace I like.  I won't know until at least next Sunday where this week's pace sits.

RPT plan starts like this:

Squat will start at 125# (based on 155# max)
Bench will start at 105# (based o n135# max)
Row will start at 65# (I don't have a max for this, so I am starting it very low)
OHP will start at 85# (based on 105# max)
Deadlift will start at 215# (based on 270# max)

Thus far, the workouts are good.  I've already set the Squat, Bench and Row items too low, so I'll move them up.  I am planning to work 3, 4, 5 reps for the work sets for everything except Row (3, 6, 9 there), and maybe OHP (3, 5, 7 likely).

Stated goal for Aug-Sep is to reach 175# (initial goal) and 15% body fat.  I'm starting with 185#, and 21.8% (estimated via calipers).  My LeanGains estimator sheet predicts me reaching 8% by Oct 13... which I think is a generous estimate.

Updates will be posted as frequently as I feel like it.  Probably at least weekly.

It's almost time to start again

It is almost time to get started again.

I've set the 29th as the kick-off point for a 2 month diet and workout cycle.  Today was the last or next to last workout for the prior cycle, which has lasted 16 weeks.  I did some max effort work today, and came out unhappy.

First, unhappy that my weight was nudged up a pound over yesterday because of the sushi binge from last night.  I slotted the day into "refeed" but that's hardly a good excuse.  I have a lot of crisis of faith when it comes to losing weight, and most of it comes from tracking weight on a day to day basis.  I know that really, I'm still 185.  That the extra weight is just temporary, and likely, by Sunday I'll have 184# on the scale - assuming I don't go all weepy and eat everything today.

As for the workout, I was hoping to break some personal records today.  I'd switched up the training the last three weeks, from my own program - focused on alternating light and heavy work with the core four lifts.  To a three week long 5-3-1 program, doubling up on workouts to give me some feeling of actually doing something during the week.

Ultimately, I find myself weaker than when I started.  Of course, I also got back onto following my drastic cut protocol.  Helpful, but I'm really feeling less powerful.  I know that's what happens, I just hate the reality of it.

Doesn't help my mood that I met up with a guy last night who I haven't seen in a couple months, and he's been eating and working out 6 days a week.  Solid start to his arms - no legs.

On the plus side, the lady at the sushi place (where we go often enough to be on friendly terms with the owners), said I had lost weight.  Feels strange.

So, with 2 months of cut coming up, I need to set it into my mind that the idea of progress has to be scrapped.  I need to go with the much more realistic goal of strength retention.  Work from lower maxes, and focus on lifting hard enough to maintain, without killing myself trying to find gains which aren't going to happen with a deficit.

Gains are for the Oct-Dec cycle.  Until then, weight losses are the key.

I will be putting up a statistics blast on or around the 29th which will cover the starting point, and will then update each week so everything is out there for all to see.  Though nobody is reading - but that's not the point.

What?

Seven months since the last post.  There, I laid out the things I set for myself as goals.  Simple stuff.  Get fit, get a grip on the debt, learn some German and make some art.

What have I done?  Not enough.  I've got a grip on the debt - but there's very little progress towards paying it down.

I've started to get a real grip on the fitness thing.  I've been working out regular, eating less (but not yet "better"), and I am still motivated for it.

I have a bit of a German in this year, but it's been really light.  Mostly revision, and far less reading and listening than I should be doing to really build any language skill.

The art?  Not really anything there either.  I've been thinking I'll start writing any time now, but it seems that the writing bug leaves me until November each year.  With August almost on me, I think I may give some effort towards putting down some words.  I do have a bug in my ear on getting something done, just need a story to use as the outlet.

Am I back?  Maybe.  Probably inconsistently.  I note that Athalos has started posting again - just last week. We haven't talked about it.  We're just connected along the same brainwave most of the time.

At present, I know that I'm not ready to start talking about workout plans.  I'd rather talk about what I've done than what I plan to do.  I still make plans, but I keep them to myself now more than I used to do.

This blog covers the things I like to do, first and foremost, and I feel that I should get back to doing that.  My break has been long enough.  Maybe I have things I want to say again.