531 3b Squat n' 3a Clean - Intimidated - Apr 30

Time to squat. Bouncing ahead in the schedule (which I've been ignoring during this last HT week, just so, since everything else is still enmired in week A) and wondering how this would play out based on my previous attempts at heavy squat days. Passed through the gym doors with a sense of trepidation and mission.
The good news: nothing felt heavy today, except for the 45's when handling them onto the bar ends, but the bar on my back? ...everything felt light. 
The bad news: Lindsay Varner was doing her partial presses on the Smith machine behind me all the way through today's session. I'm not usually a self-conscious person, but feeling the weight of her (projecting here, I'm aware) inner smirk made me simultaneously want to work elsewhere, and make certain that every rep was tea bagged and sharp. Intimidated? Yeah. Determined? Yeah, to prove something to someone - me first, and anyone who might be looking, only secondly.
Today I hit all my marks - something I didn't know if I was going to be able to do this whole cycle. Kudos to a week of HT/Volume work, and to the watchful eye of you're lifting like a girl.

Squat, in .35 on 2.40
Rx: 3x3 @ 225/255/285
10x95/10x160/10x205/3x225/3x255/3x285
12 mins.
BBB, same timer, no antagonist
4 @ 205 x10/9/8/7
... maybe a little heavy for the bar speed I'm looking for - I certainly didn't get the reps I wanted. Gotta throttle back a little on these (maybe 5% on all 4 weeks).
11 mins.

Assistance Cash out
4 rounds, in .30 on 1.15
RDL @ 135 x8's
Calves on the A-frame @ 6 x14-12
11 mins.

PM
531 Power Clean
Rx: 3x5 @125/140/160
BBB first: 5x10-8 @ 115 (60%)
5x125/3x165/3x165
17 mins.

Ca stuff
4 rounds, in .30 on 1.15
Overhead press @ 125 x10-8
Inside/outside ez curl @ 70 x10+
12 mins.

4 rounds, 1 min RI
Tricep press downs @ 90/125/150/165 x12+
Inside/outside ez curl @ 70 x10
9 mins,

8 hours - 2200/0600. 38 + 40 minutes total. PE: 9. 24 hours. 221/14.
P291g/C295/F163 : 31/31/38%, 3813 total cal, 3159 net - s'ok, hi-carb day

Off Schedule Ca - Apr 29

Buy in
Muscle snatch, no count @ 65/75/86/95/105
9 mins.

Antagonists
5 rounds, in .30 on 1.15
Incline press @ 185 x10/9/8/6/6
Ring row x10
13 mins.

One more
4x4 Neutral grip pulls
1 min RI
5 mins.

7.5 hours - 2230/0600. 28 minutes total. PE: 6. 48 hours. 223/14.
P248g/C49/F211 : 32/6/61%, 3092 total cal, 2833 net - win

Bonus Day CL n Front Squats - Apr 26

What you do when you can't sleep and no one else in the house is awake, and you aren't doing the same ol' Sunday bonus day.

Buy in
4x4 circuit, no timer, no RI
Extensions @ 180/195/210/225 x13
Hyperextensions x15
FtB x10
Hamstring curl x6/7/8/9 @ 110 - these felt a lot better. That right hamstring is finally listening to reason.
14 mins. 

4x10 Hip Thrust @ 135/155///
3x max reps FtB
9 mins.

Wow, no bars available ... on a Sunday morning! I like this crowd.

So, cash out before squatting:
4x Seated calf @ 70 x12
6x A-frame @ 5.25 x maxreps
1 min RI
15 mins.

Front squat
10x bar/10x 135/////
13 mins.

6.5 + 2 hours - 2230/0500. 53 minutes total. PE: 8. 24 hours.
P298g/C171/F119 : 40/23/36%, 2945 total cal, 2460 net 

Week average:
P267g/C177/F120 : 47/25/38%

531 3a Chin, Ca/HT - Pump up the Volume - Apr 26

No, I didn't go there. But someone at DoucheXchange did.

This is kinda fun, just mixing it up. And, cognizant that, while I may be on the slippery slope to BB douchebaggery, self-awareness will provide the traction I need to save me from a long fall into the abyss.

Buy in
4x10-8 Bent over row @ 135/140///
7 mins.

Weighted chin
Rx: 3x5 @ 20/22.5/25
20# x4/22.5 x2/4x 10# (I know when to try to cut my losses)
7 mins.

BBB couplet, 5 rounds on the HT timer in .30 on 1.15
DB recline @ 65#s x11-7
Chins x5's
12 mins.

BBB triplet, same timer
4x Cable row @ 165 x10's
3x Assisted dip x11+ @40//60/
3x Assisted chin @ 40/60//
12 mins.

Cash out
3x hammer cable curl @ 70 x10
2x bent bar tricep push down 2 90 x15+
6 mins.

7.5 hours - 2230/0600. 44 minutes total. PE: 8. 48 hours.
P286g/C54/F147 : 43/8/49%, 2699 total cal, 2250 net - on a two day roll

Cl - Hamstrung by HT - Apr 24

HT week continues. Dunno why I'm ignoring 531 and doing this, but it all feels right - relaxing in the downy comfort of 10 rep sets. 
Maybe I have no top end because my CNS is smoked and wiggy. Give it through the weekend and see what's what.

Buy in
3 rounds
Hamstring curl x6-8 @ 95 - first couple of sets were excruciating here. I went down two plates just to move the roller. I would listen to my body on this, but I don't negotiate with terrorists or malingering musculature.
Extensions x13 @ 180/195/210/225
Hyperextensions x15
10 mins.

4x10 Hip thrusts @ 135#
3x10's Landmine iso complex @ 15#
17 mins.

4 rounds
Seated calf @ 70
Standing calf @ 300//275/255
11 mins.

9 hours - 2130/0630. 38 minutes total. PE: 7. 18 hours. 223/13.
P276g/C51/F101 : 50/9/41%, 2242 total cal, 1931 net  

Off Schedule - Ca AMPM Volume HT - Apr 23

Antagonists
5 rounds, HT timer
Bench 5x10/10/8/7/6 @ 205
Underbar Horz Pulls x10's
13 mins.

5 rounds, same timer
Cable chins @ 150/155/160/165// x12-10
Overhead press @ 115 x10-6
12 mins.

PM
5 rounds, HT timer
Assisted chins x10-6 @ +25///+40//
Bar dip x10 @ same
12 mins.

5 rounds, same timer
Open grip cable pull down @ 170 x10
Bar dip @ +40
12 mins.

4x10 inside/outside curl @ 80/70///
3x12 tri push down @ 80
8 mins.

8.5 hours - 2200/0630. 60 minutes total. PE: 7. 24 hours. 223/13.
P295g/C161/F184 : 34/19/48%, 3461 total cal, 2841 net 

Off Schedule - Greasing the Groove, Groping in the Dark - Apr 22

Dunno what's come over me. Lethargic laying around yesterday, and today, didn't look at the schedule - just went in and did what seemed like it needed doing. At least I didn't do curls in the squat rack - when I get fuckarounditis, at least I squat.  ...the only saving grace.

Buy in
Muscle snatch/Power snatch
10 or so at 65/75/85/95/105
12 mins.

Squat 10x135/5x8 @ 185
Standing calf 4x11 @ 300
13 mins.

PM
12 repeats on Brighthouse hill. First four from 60/70/80/90% as the right hamstring still has something to say to me. Didn't necessarily feel fast, but everything felt good. Perfect 77 degree evening - perfect to be out and conditioning, even if it wasn't on the schedule.
20 mins.

7 hours - 2300/0600. 45 minutes total. PE: 8. 48 hours. 223/13.
P214g/C294/F200 : 22/31/47%, 3820 total cal, 3135 net - I let Montre talk me into Taco Bell at lunch. Note to self.

Bonus Day - Fill in the Gaps - Apr 20

Up early for Easter at Hillcrest with CC and Kdawg. A little free time in the morning to walk with Johnny and JJ to Beach and back. 

8 rounds of max rep neutral/chin/overhand pulls, 45 sec RI
...the walking felt good. 

Then, futzing around in the back yard
5 rounds, Press for bar speed @ 95 x15-7
4 rounds mixed grip knurled bar curl
... in .30 on 1.15

7 hours - 2200/0500. 20 minutes total. PE: 5. 24 hours.
P231g/C112/F144 : 35/17/49%, 2676 total cal, 2460 net  

Week average:
P274g/C129/F137 : 38/18/43%. What to say? I'm not really turning the screws on myself, am I? Just as your easy days are too hard and your hard days are too easy, my high carb days are too low and my low carb days are too high. Getting plenty of protein, but need to focus better on my carb cycling - under and over 100g/day. Rather than setting the bar at 100/day, I should benchmark 50 or 200, depending on the day and hold to those numbers. The weekly average won't look any different, but my system should feel a difference.

AHO and 10 hills at hole 10 - Apr 19

Short day today. 10 miles on the AHO rig, stopping at the parkway fitness course on the return for some getoffs on the small hill. 12.4 mph.
47 mins.

10 repeats, the first few felt really blocky. Warmed right up and felt fast. Right hamstring was/is still talking to me. Doing RDLs yesterday probably didn't help.
8 mins.

Beat up on the bag at home - 10 or so tabata rounds, then took turns with Kdawg, Susan and Uncle Johnny. Just straight combos and straight kicks.
15 mins.

8.5 hours - 2230/0700. 70 minutes total. PE: 8. 24 hours.
P289g/C160/F100 : 47/14/38%, 2562 total cal, 1411 net 

Cl - Never Loved You Anyway, Chelsea - Apr 18

I'm scared of Chelsea. Metcon was on the schedule today, I decided to do some other stuff first, then do Chelsea. At the end, when it was DWod time but the pull up bars weren't available, I just moved on. Relieved.
I know. Don't say it.

Buy in
3 rounds, 1 min RI
Landmine Iso Complex RDL/Lunge/Squat @ 10#
10 mins.

4x12
Seated calf @ 70
Standing calf @ 300
1 min RI
9 mins.

Trap Dead @ 225 x7/10/12/12
14 mins.

9 hours - 2130/0630. 34 minutes total. PE: 8. 24 hours. 226/14.
P338g/C102/F122 : 47/14/38%, 2887 total cal, 2618 net 

531 3a Press - Someone Tighten the Lug Nuts - Apr 17

Buy in
4 rounds, 30 sec RI
Y-pulls (12's)
Neutral grip pulls (5's)
9 mins.

531 Press
Rx: 3x5 @ 130/150/170
10x120/5x130/4x150/0x170
11 mins.

Raggemfraggem. Wheels are coming off when stuff gets heavy. Unhappy face.

BBB sets, 4 rounds on the HT timer
Press @ 120 x10/8/6/6
Neutral grip pulls x5
10 mins.

6 hours - 0030/0630. 30 minutes total. PE: 7. 48 hours. 226/11.
P326g/C27/F178 : 37/24/39%, 3059 total cal, 2789 net - in keeping with what we just learned, I'm overboard on protein and calories today FTW

Lab Rat, Gym Rat: Lose It Data, Bodyweight and Macros

Sometimes there's truth in the data, sometimes it's interpretation. I pulled up my data from the lose it app; what I have is a full year of dedicated logs, then a year off with no data, then the last 6 months of renewed religious logging. 
Now, lose it considers calories the fundamental unit for nutritional measurement. Here, we'll disprove that notion - basing our nutritional breakdown on the gram with our macronutrient bias. But remember that lose it loves calories, so that skews the way the following data is presented.

For instance, I'm interested in a macro comparison, but below the three macros are measured as a percentage of total caloric intake, rather than in total grams/day. I'd rather see it as total grams ingested, but it's a free app and you get what you pay for. 
Each dot is a monthly average.

The first thing we see is that singular surprise of a first month journaling my macros, way back in 2011 when I thought that I was a carnivore, but was really a carbivore. That first pink dot at left representing protein is just above 20% - while 27% of my intake was carb-based. I reversed that pretty quickly (and dramatically, by the third month - note that the scatter pattern is more widely distributed than the lined-average), but by mid 2012, I'd gone back to my old carb-heavy consumption.
By comparison, during the second data set beginning in late 2013 after the hiatus during early 2012 thru mid 2013, I rebooted with carbs down in the 20% range, and protein intake averaging in the 35%'s. 

Okay, set that knowledge aside for a minute. This next graph shows that there's no direct relationship between my bodyweight (blue line) and total calories (green bars). During the first data set, calories hold pretty steady, but bodyweight dips and then climbs. During the second data set, bodyweight drops steadily while caloric intake increases.  This is the opposite of the common consensus that to lose weight you eat less, and to gain weight you eat more.

In the next graph, we add Exercise calories as another data layer. Hopefully, you can easily see the relationship one might have anticipated between food and weight demonstrated more directly in the relationship between calories expended and bodyweight: in 2011, weight was lowest just when exercise was highest, and as exercise dropped off, weight increased. In the second data set, weight declined as exercise increased.

Whoopdeedoo. Everyone knows that you'll lose weight if you exercise. However, when the general population hears the word exercise, the definition cardio is subbed in. What the graphic doesn't convey is the nature of the exercise. During the second data set, the exercise is primarily heavy 531 and Hypertrophy work. Muscular density and growth. During that second data set in early 2014, see how caloric intake is approximately 700 calories higher than at any other time, while exercise levels are generally lower (allowing for the March 2014 spike) - one would expect bodyweight to have increased during this time. But it falls by 7 pounds. Body measurements during this time clearly show that the weight lost was core fat, with extremity and muscle mass actually increasing.
Want to lose fat? Cardio isn't the sole cure you thought it was. Lift yourself thin! My new book. Just won't sell, it's too counterintuitive.

Let's go back to our original macros graph and layer that in. What we see, besides a muddied mess, is a coincidental relationship between protein intake and bodyweight - where BW is lowest in 2011, we also see the highest level of protein intake for the first data set, and the widest gap between protein intake and carb intake. As carb intake climbs and protein intake declines, BW also climbs. And (conjecture here) with lower exercise levels and total caloric intake at constant levels, the BW gained is fat weight rather than muscle.
If there's one takeaway today, it's that what you eat is more telling than how much you eat. 
You can eat like a pig and work like a horse and still lose bodyweight (read: bodyfat). If. If protein is high, carbohydrates are low, you have bodyfat to lose that can provide the caloric deficit that the exercise creates. 

One truth for me at least: I weigh less when I eat protein and lift heavy. Suck on that vegan yoga masters everywhere.

What else seems bubble to the surface here? One, that protein intake is more key than carb intake. It's easy to vilify carbos and try to avoid them, but I see that my bodyweight drops when protein intake is highest. A subtle shift in focus, but if I'm full of protein, I won't be hungry for carbs. So, less focus on the negative (avoid carbs!) and more focus on the positive (devour brontosaurs!).

Two. The data suggests that I can maintain high output levels on a high protein/lower carb mix. Just because I feel sluggish when I'm overreached doesn't mean that I should throw more carbs into my diet. I should just eat more protein.

There are a few questions raised from this: 
Early success in 2014 only possible because there was lots of stored fat to burn gained during the 2013 blackout? 
At what bodyfat % level does the BW loss stop its downward trend? 
Intermittent Fasting isn't graphed here - how much influence does nutrient timing have in all this? 
Time for more experimentation. Time will tell.

531 3a Squat - New Challenges - Apr 14

Okay, go.

New 531 Cycle (3 for the year). Lines out as follows:

Crowded on a Monday evening at downtown BodyX. Swimming upstream against the current of douche.

Extensions x13/14 @ 180/195/210/225/240
Hamstring curl @ 105 x6-9 - just a bit painful. Something's wrong in that right hamstring.
9 mins.

Seated calf @ 90
A-frame @ 6.35
11 mins.

531 Squat, .35 on 2.40
Rx: 3x5 @ 205/240/270
10x135/6x190/5x205/5x240/1x275
BBB, no antagonist, same timer
5x10 @ 190
21 mins.

So I'm backing out of the rack with 275 on my shoulders, saying to myself, "Why can I get under this on the bench without a spotter, feeling confident and in control, and when I put this on my back I feel like I'm gonna fold up like a paper doll?" And I did. 
I have to win this mental game.

8.5 hours - 2200/0630. 41 minutes total. PE: 8. 48 hours. 225/12.
P272g/C178/F126 : 37/24/39%, 2934 total cal, 2577 net - Chuy's tortilla chips and rice at lunch, worse, pre-workout as I didn't lift until PM

Last week's average:
P251g/C181/F134 : 34/25/41% - Catching up on what I've been telling myself is some much-ish needed nutritions.

Same ol' Saturday Steady State n' Sprints, Mac Packing - Apr 13

MTB with the trailer to Brighthouse and out to pick up the AHO box. 34 mins there, 28 to the box, 26 home. Bike felt a lot stronger today, and sure enough, faster too. A warmer morning - absolutely perfect day - blowing off cleans yesterday probably helped.
17.5 mi, 12.4 ave. 84 mins moving time.

12 good reps on the hill with no one there. In .20 on 1.40. Up and down 10 secs faster than earlier this week. Didn't really get out of breath, form never really broke down. Could have done more, but it's deload week, and what's the point?
20 mins.

Mac n' Cheese fest at Cal State all afternoon. I had a 1900 calorie buffer after the longer session this morning according to the lose it app. Crushed it with 3 solid hours of eating and beer swilling. Didn't feel as carb-terrible afterward as I thought I might. Just hungry I guess.
Some notable beers, some came as a surprise: Speakeasy Prohibition, Shock Top Preztel, Hangar 24 Chocolate Porter, Sequoia Del Oro, Velvet Merlin (as opposed to the 805 that all the scrubs were fawning over). The only beer I poured out was the New Belgium Lips of Faith Pluot ... just too much going on and too Belgique. The only brewer I ignored was Goose Island - I already knew they blew.

8.5 hours - 2200/0630. 109 minutes total. PE: 9. 24 hours.
P221g/C520/F156 : 20/48/32%, 5415 total cal, 3508 net - omb, it's a carbsplosion.

531 2d Weighted Chin - Apr 10

Buy in
Muscle clean/Power clean 
5x10 @ 55/65/75/85/95
10 mins.

Weighted chins
Rx: 10/12.5/15
x3/4/3 ... if I remember correctly
7 mins.
BBB
3 rounds, HT timer
Weighted chin @ 12.5 x3/3/2
Cable Iso Row @ 150 x10
8 mins.

Not exactly crankin' off the pulls with weight on these days. I trust that the body will get the message the brain is sending, and make compensatory adjustments accordingly (read: HTFU). 

PM 
Easy stretching.

8 hours - 2200/0600. 26 minutes total. PE: 6. 24 hours. 223/13.
P236g/C88/F124 : 39/15/46%, 2807 total cal, 2585 net - win

531 2d Front Squat n' Brighthouse Repeats - Apr 9

Let's all take a moment of silence to thank God that it's deload week.

< ... >

Amen. Everything feels heavy. Either gravity on this planet has changed, or I have.

Buy in
4 rounds
Hip thrusts x10+ @ 95/135/// - 135 is just so much better under the big wheels, since one can get under the bar without grinding the knurling over one's shins like a cross-hatched rolling pin. Still using the aerobic step, next time I'll get sideways on a bench.
FtB x5-7
9 mins.

Front Squat
Rx: 110/130/150
Clean off the floor @ 135x5/x7/155x6
8 mins.
BBB
4 rounds, one min RI
Front Squat @ 135 x7-8
Landmine iso RDL @ 5# x10-8
11 mins.

Cash out
4x Standing calf @ 300 x11
5 mins.

PM
Brighthouse Hill repeats in .20 on 1.40
11 reps
18 mins.

I'm not inching the RI down on these, I'm just focusing on better performance during each rep. Today I felt a little blocky (and the uneven ground was interrupting my groove) but each stride felt strong. Some nagging pain high in my right hamstring.

8.5 hours - 2130/0600. 36 + 18 minutes total. PE: 8. 24 hours. 226/13.
P295g/C59/F98 : 51/10/38%, 2255 total cal, 1475 net - too much win

Nearly Nuthin' Bonus Day - Apr 8

First hot day of the year, so, of course, an outdoor session in the BBQ smoke. I'm ready for anything now.

Tabata Bag Work - just a bunch of wing chunny knee presses/straight blasts, Thai roundhouses and stop kicks.
13 mins.

PM late - simple stretching.

8 hours - 2200/0600. 13 minutes total. PE: 7. 24 hours.
P252g/C277/F90 : 34/38/28%, 2945 total cal, 2825 net