Back again...

[strumpusplunket]

And might as well add today's lunchtime workout, which I've just finished:

17/9/18
Hack squat 45kg 8, 8, 8 [starting to get some lactic acid in my quads on the third set of these now. Should start getting interesting in the next few weeks ]

DB Bench 25kg 8, 8, 6 [don't know how people log these, but I'm not including the weight of the dumbbells and spinlocks (2.5kg each DB). Guess it doesn't matter since I'm only tracking my own progress...]

DB row 30kg 7, 6, 6+2

RDL 50kg 8, 8, 8 [feeling this more in my left hamstring than my right. Will have to pay more attention to posture and form whilst the weight is still feeling easy.]

Bent-arm lat raise 6kg 8, 8, 8 [I hope these are doing my shoulder good. They feel like they are.]


Weight: STILL 12st 1.5lbs! (morning weight before breakfast)

To put this in context: on 3rd August I was 12st 6lbs, and clearly overweight and flabby. I cut down to two or three cans of beers per day (from five to seven!), and swam for a couple of hours every day whilst on holiday. Two weeks later (19th August) I was 12st 1lb, looking a bit better but still with a big spare tyre, double chin, a protruding belly visible under my t-shirts, big squidgy love handles and a lot of saggy flab on my chest (moobs, basically!).

Fell back into a week of boozing until the 27th, when I was... 12st 1.5lb and in worse shape, if anything.

Tuesday 28th I gave up booze, radically altered my diet (variable calorie deficit and carb cycling) and hit the weights again.

Three weeks later I am... 12st 1.5lb! Only now I can see the outline of my top four abs (only the very outside of them, tbf), my stomach is flat (my trousers keep falling down even using a tighter belt hole - no joke!), my double chin has gone, and the veins in my shoulders and arms are becoming visible again.

I am really at a loss to explain this. I got back on the scales after three or fours days deliberately not weighing myself, thinking "surely now I'll see this change reflected in my weight!" But nope. Oh well, I guess this is a good thing, even if it is throwing off my (not that) carefully thought-out weight loss plan!

 

[mrthingyx]

If you lift weights, then your body will adapt to the exercise.

You are losing fat but retaining water and carbs in your skeletal muscle... in other words you are enjoying the "New lifter" gains.

 

[strumpusplunket]

If you lift weights, then your body will adapt to the exercise.

You are losing fat but retaining water and carbs in your skeletal muscle... in other words you are enjoying the "New lifter" gains.

Yeah, I've been hoping that was the case - getting to experience my newbie gains all over again (and faster this time perhaps because I have more experience in lifting, diet, routines, supplements, etc.).

BUT... I can't quite dull the voice in my head that keeps telling me that really my weight should be dropping regardless and I'm letting a bit of increased muscular fullness fool my perception and just see what I want to see in the mirror...

(Actually, I remember that I did have some bodyfat calipers somewhere. Must see if I can find them - that's if I kept them after we moved house a few years ago.)

 

[strumpusplunket]

So I did another 7-8am pre-work workout (proud of my motivation here! ):

19/9/18
Pull-ups 8, (8), 5+1
Dips BW+2.5kg 8, 8, 8
DL 62.5kg 8, 8, 8
BB row 45kg 7, 6, 5
Split squats 7.5kg DBs 10, 10, 10
Bent-over lat raises 7.5kg 8, 8, 8

Finally feel like I've nailed the split squat movement. I've modified my stride length a bit and I've found it takes a lot more concentration than I'd been giving it to push up on the forward leg rather than the whole body (including rear leg). Will slowly up the weight now. Thanks @mrthingyx for the encouragement with these!

The DLs today I felt drained my quads quite a bit too (I think my legs are just a bit weak - always been my weakest body part), and by the end of my workout after the split squats I actually had a slight touch of the old jelly-leg feeling coming back down the stairs after showering. At least that tells me it was a decent workout!

(An hour to workout, and almost half that time again to eat my enormous bowl of overnight oats before leaving for work!)

 

[strumpusplunket]

21/9/18
Hack squat 47.5kg 8, 8, 8
DB Bench 25kg 8, 8, 8
DB row 30kg 8, 7, 6
RDL 52.5kg 8, 6, 6 [slowed this right down and paid more attention to form and getting the hip hinge spot on. I felt the DOMS from my previous RDL workout in my lower back more than my hammies, so I want to slow down and pay more attention to the mechanics]
Standing DB OHP 7.5kg (super-setted with close-grip front OHP) 10, 10, 10 [going really light and slow in re-introducing overheard lifting. No pain or discomfort from these, which is good]
Lat raise 1.25kg plates 10, 12. 2.5kg plates, 10 [again, very light, very slow, lots of attention to form and muscle recruitment - aiming as much as possible for the medial deltoid with these]

I decided to re-introduce creatine into my diet yesterday after all. I had horrible stomach cramps, nausea and wind not long afterwards. I don't remember ever having any issues with creatine in the past, so I wonder if this was something about how I took it (on an empty stomach, mixed in with half a scoop of whey and water when I got home from work). Feeling okay after this morning's dose so far (touch wood...)

 

[strumpusplunket]

23/9/18
Pull-ups 8, 8, 6½ +1
Dips BW+5kg 8, 8, 8
DL 65kg 8, 7, 6 [general fitness seemed to be holding me back here. I was wiped out after the 2nd and 3rd sets. Didn't feel the lifts were too taxing in terms of strength, but I had nothing left in the tank. Lying on the floor getting my breath back and my heart rate back down before the next set. Clearly my general fitness needs work too!]
BB row 45kg 8, 8, 8 [these felt really easy, though, even straight after I'd got my breath back from the deads]
Bent-over lat raises 8.5kg 8, 6, 6
DB split squats 8.5kg [supersetted with lat raises - couldn't be bothered changing the weight on the dumbbells!] 8, 8, 8
Standing DB OHP 8.5kg 8, 8, 8 [I'm pushing these up very slowly and finding a very wide position feels best on my shoulders - it's basically the position a BTN press would be with a barbell. Still taking these very light and very slow. No sudden jumps in weight and no pushing past even a twinge of pain! So far, so good, and fingers crossed!]

I was so wiped out after this workout, though. Much more than I have been up to now. I was feeling light-headed, and my post-workout shake sat really heavily in my stomach. This lasted almost an hour after I'd stopped, and I had to just sit on the sofa and get my energy back for half an hour or so before I could think about climbing the stairs. A good impetus to book this post-40s health check at the doc's to make sure everything is okay.

 

[mrthingyx]

Well, deadlifting is an unpleasant exercise at the best of times - not just for your muscles but also for your nervous system.

By pushing for more than 5 reps you are - depending on your motor capacity and central drive - zapping your nervous system, too.

Stick it a maximum of 5 reps: if you can pull more reps you aren't lifting enough.

 

[strumpusplunket]

Well, deadlifting is an unpleasant exercise at the best of times - not just for your muscles but also for your nervous system.

By pushing for more than 5 reps you are - depending on your motor capacity and central drive - zapping your nervous system, too.

Stick it a maximum of 5 reps: if you can pull more reps you aren't lifting enough.

Yeah, I do remember previously I switched from 3x8 for deadlifts - BUT this wasn't until much heavier weights. Looking at my old workout journal (from 2014-15), I went up to 90kg for 3x8, then 110kg for 4x6, and then I had a tapering reps scheme like 6,5,4/5,4,3 from there up.

So I was hoping to get my weight up higher before having to switch out from 3x8. I did wonder if doing some form of deads and squats every other day whilst in a calorie deficit and also coming from a very unfit starting condition might be playing a part in just wiping me out.

Maybe I'll try 4x6 or 5x5 on deads for my next workout, though.

 

[mrthingyx]

It's adaptation, too: if your nervous system isn't adapting, then you will spark out sooner.

And just because you were doing 3*8 on deadlifts before doesn't mean it was a good idea then, either. For neural adaptation, your rep range should be 3-5 (can do 6 depending on the individual concerned)… as a "new" lifter, you will get similar gains from 3-5 on deadlifts and spending more time on secondary (assistance) exercises (like RDLs, rows, Nordic curls)...

 

[strumpusplunket]

It's adaptation, too: if your nervous system isn't adapting, then you will spark out sooner.

And just because you were doing 3*8 on deadlifts before doesn't mean it was a good idea then, either. For neural adaptation, your rep range should be 3-5 (can do 6 depending on the individual concerned)… as a "new" lifter, you will get similar gains from 3-5 on deadlifts and spending more time on secondary (assistance) exercises (like RDLs, rows, Nordic curls)...

Ha! Well, this is, of course, very true!

IIRC my thinking the last time when I decided on this programme was based on 3*8 reps being a sweet spot between strength and hypertrophy for most lifts. Reading around a bit more since your earlier post, it does appear a lot of people who use 8-12 rep ranges for most lifts do indeed use fewer reps on conventional deads. Cheers.

This does also makes me remember, though: I haven't done sumo DLs since... well, that was when I was working out in a gym rather than at home, and the last membership I had was... 2011-ish. I seem to remember finding these better for higher rep work than conventional ones, but might be mis-remembering as my log-keeping was sketchy back then. I may need to experiment with these again too (and re-learn the form after seven years or so!)

 

[mrthingyx]

*chuckles*

Deadlifts - being the drain that they are on the CNS - are not a great hypertrophy stimulus: you're better off doing 5 sets of 3 for deadlifts and then banging out sets of 10 for RDLs, facepulls, rows and hamstring work that will murder your muscles but let your CNS recover.

I remember once being really proud of myself in front of my coach for doing sets of 8 for overhead squats... #facepalm

 

[strumpusplunket]

*chuckles*

Deadlifts - being the drain that they are on the CNS - are not a great hypertrophy stimulus: you're better off doing 5 sets of 3 for deadlifts and then banging out sets of 10 for RDLs, facepulls, rows and hamstring work that will murder your muscles but let your CNS recover.

I remember once being really proud of myself in front of my coach for doing sets of 8 for overhead squats... #facepalm

You know, I didn't even really believe in CNS drain before I did deadlifts! I always thought, "CNS drain? What's that? Sounds like made up jargon for being tired out!"

That feeling of pushing too far with deadlifts, though - weird sensations in my face muscles, inability to focus, feeling generally out of sync with the world, the pressing need to collapse in a twitching heap... I was suddenly, "ahh, this is what they meant!"

Still, as I generally follow them up with BB rows anyway, I guess I can lower the reps and still get the benefits of strengthening my core and posterior chain before hitting the back for more reps. RDLs I do like banging out 8-10 reps on, so it's good I can keep those at higher rep ranges.

Cheers matey!

 

[strumpusplunket]

26/9/18
Hack squat 50kg 8, 8, 8.
DB Bench 27.5kg 8, 8, 6. Bit miffed as I definitely had the eight in the tank for the last set too, but lost concentration on my fifth rep and had to correct my right arm drifting wide, which ruined my rhythm. Took out my frustration with several upper partials and a super-slow negative.
DB row 30kg 8, 8, 8
RDL 52.5kg 8, 8, 8
Landmine press (kneeling, two-handed) 10kg, 12. 20kg, 10. 25kg, 8, 8
Lat raise 5kg (superset with landmines) 10, 10, 10

Major plus of today - LANDMINES!! Absolutely loved these! Where have these been all my life?! Why don't more people preach their awesomeness? I can already tell this is going to let me load weight on my overhead pressing like I've not been able to do for many, many years with any other lift. I could feel it putting emphasis on my medial delt along with the anterior, which is what I wanted - and the whole range of motion was comfortable, with my shoulder feeling safe and pain-free. Supersetting with light lat raises gave me a nice lactic acid burn in my medial delts by the end.

All in all, this felt very good. No exhaustion whatsoever, and I could have kept going had I not needed to get back to work. So, yeah, definitely looking like forcing 3x8 on DLs was the culprit in wiping me out last time!

One thing I feel I'm missing is something to hit the rear delt now. I did like face pulls when I was going to a gym, but is there anything as good using dumbbells and barbells now I'm working out at home? I already do bent-over lat raises, but looking for something a bit more substantial feeling that will let me load the weight a bit more. Thinking I could do some horizontal bodyweight (and then deficit) pulls if I get some rings, but not sure how good that will be.

 

[strumpusplunket]

28/9/18
Pull-ups 8, 8, (8)
Dips BW+7.5kg DB 8, 6, 5+1
DL 67.5kg 6, 6, 6, 6
BB row 47.5kg 8, 8, 8
DB face pulls 5kg 10, 10, 10
DB split squats 10kg 8, 10, 10


No exhaustion from the deadlifts today. Not pushing for eight did help, even though I did a slightly heavier weight with more volume overall over the four sets compared to last time. Still felt full of energy at the end today's workout. I didn't push myself hard enough today, if I'm honest.

Need to stop faffing around with the split squats, really. I've got the form down now and there's no excuse not to up the weight and push through them a bit harder.

I also want another chest/push movement here, so I will assess how my shoulder is doing and maybe try incline pressing again.

DB face pulls felt a bit weird, but really I just put them in with light weights as another movement to strengthen my rear shoulder and scapular retractors. No idea if they're worth keeping for strength/hypertrohpy purposes.

 

[strumpusplunket]

Well, I was feeling some tightness and soreness in my lower back yesterday, and when I woke up this morning my whole lumbar region was extremely stiff, and I got a nasty, sharp twinge of pain putting one of my socks on.

I was pretty alarmed about this!

I didn't feel anything pull or strain in my back at any time. I did join in with wife's stretching yoga programme the night before last, which to be honest I probably wasn't flexible enough for, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that I pulled a muscle trying that out.

Everything loosened up quite a bit as soon as I started moving and warming up, which (I hope!) suggests it's nothing too serious, but I dropped anything with a hip hinge movement or anything that puts pressure on the lumbar spine from today's workout just to be safe. Hence:

30/9/18
Hack squat 52.5kg
DB Bench 27.5kg 8, 8, 8 +1UP+slow neg
DB row 32.5kg 8, 7, 7
Supported inc DB row (suppinated grip) 10kg 12. 15kg, 12, 12
RDL 52.5kg
[Added in:] DB split squats 15kg 10, 8/4, 7/5. 10kg 12, 12 [rear foot was slipping around a lot on the first set, so I was then going super slow and giving maximum concentration to form. Felt a lot more burn in my quad as a result on sets two and three]
Landmine press (kneeling) 30kg 12, 8, 8 [these got tiring surprisingly quickly...]
Lat raise 6kg DB 10, 10, 10 [superset - feel the burn!]

I missed hack squats and RDLs today, but hopefully won't be too long before I can re-introduce them. I'm not taking any chances with my back at my age...

 

[strumpusplunket]

Gah, back is still stiff and painful. I iced it a lot over the past couple of days and it's loosened up a bit again today, but was horrible when I first woke up.

I also noticed some (mild) sternoclavicular pain overnight, and my right SC joint is clicking and has mild, dull pain on a few movements, especially shoulder adduction with my arm across my body. I last had SC problems years ago from going too deep with too much weight on chest dips. Clearly it's not fully healed. So I've dropped dips as well unwell this joint stabilises.

My old injuries are such a PITA. I'm going slow and careful, but it really doesn't take much for one or another of them to flare up again.

So, today my doubly-limited workout looked like this:

2/10/18
Pull-ups +2.5kg 8, 8, 6+1
Dips +7.5kg
DL 70kg
BB row 50kg
DB Bench 32.5kg 7, 5, 5 +UP+neg
Supported inc DB row 20kg 10, 10, 9
DB inc press 10kg 12. 12.5kg, 12, 12, 12
Goblet squats 12.5kg 12. 20kg, 12, 12, 12 (triple supersetted - or something? - with scapular plane of motion lat raises and DB OHP, light weight - 8kg - to failure - so like 15 reps or so, wasn't keeping careful count)

Still didn't feel to bad a workout, but I'm missing a few core exercises now and being extremely cautious on pretty much everything else. Still, better slow progress or maintenance while my joints heal than an enforced long lay-off. Hopefully my offending joints get back to normal quickly (at least my right should impingement is being quiet for now - touch wood...)

 

[strumpusplunket]

No workout today.

I don't know what's going on with my sternoclavicular joint.

Pulling, clicking, pain with some movements, general funky "wrong" feeling with others... and it doesn't seem to be getting any better (worse, if anything).

I've no idea how it even got injured (unless my too-deep heavy weighted dips from years ago weakened the joint and now it's just not fully stable)

Reading about this, it seems like it's one of the worst joints to have problems with. I've booked a physio appointment for Tuesday. Really hope there's nothing seriously wrong here.

As pretty much any movement involves putting pressure on this joint (even just picking up or holding a weight in my right hand), I don't know if I can do any weight-bearing movement safely.

Ah, and things were going so well... Feeling rather down about this, tbh.

 

[strumpusplunket]

Ok - so I got the all-clear to carry on with lifting!

Week off was kind of tormenting, so I'm glad to be back at it.

9/10/18
Hack squat 57.5kg 8, 8, 9
DB Bench 32.5kg 8, 8, 5
DB row 35kg 8, 8, 7
RDL 62.5kg 8, 6, 6
Landmine press (kneeling) 32.5kg 8, 8, 8
DB face pulls/lat raise super-set 10kg 10, 10, 10

That feels better!

My wife will be pleased, too - she's said my mood has been low since I stopped working out due to the pain of these injuries (she has a point, tbf!).

 

[strumpusplunket]

11/10/18
Pull-ups +2.5kg 8, 8, 8
Sumo DL 57.5kg 6, 6, 6, 6
BB row 57.5kg 8, 7, 7
Inc DB bench 17.5kg 8. 20kg 8. 22.5kg 8
Decline flyes 10kg 8, 8, 8
Neutral DB OHP 15kg 10, 8, 8
Goblet squats 25kg 10, 8, 10 [got lazy on the second set. Should have pushed to 12-15 per set really, but was feeling a bit bushed by the end and had work to do...]

Feeling really good again!

Tried Sumo DLs in place of regular. I realised/remembered that as I'm using a standard rather than oly weight set and I have smallish 20kg plates, the bar for me is around 3-3.5" lower than would be normal for an oly bar DL. I wonder if this contributed to the stress on my back that left it sore a while ago. Sumo stance feels a lot easier on the back and I feel I can set myself a lot better with the lower bar. Just tried out the movement today as it's been yonks since I did these and I never used them very much - but I did like it. Might stick with this unless there's a sound reason not to?

Everything else seemed fine and straightforward, except my workouts are now getting a bit long - 1hr 15 minutes today. I like 45 minute workouts ideally, an hour tops, as it's easier to fit into my morning routine or into breaks from work. Some of this did include making my PWO shake between OHP and Goblets, so I could shave off maybe five minutes.

Wondering when is the best time to move to a different split routine. I like this whole body split at the moment, with two pull, two push and two leg movements (plus an ancillary maybe) every other day. I was thinking this whole body EOD routine would be ideal for about the first six to eight months, maybe a year back lifting and then a push-pull or upper-lower split might be preferable. Maybe I just need to get a move on and get this done in an hour!

 

[strumpusplunket]

Missed logging a few workouts. Last one was:

17/10/18
Hack squat 70kg 8, 8, 8
DB Bench 33.5kg 8, 8, 5
DB row 37.5kg 7, 6, 6
RDL 65kg 7, 7, 7
One-arm landmines (kneeling) 17.5kg+bar 9, 9, 8
DB face pulls 15kg 6, 6, 6

Another 6am pre-work workout. Felt great all day. Noticeably less stressed at work. Injuries all seem to be behaving (touch wood!).

Weight... 12st 2lbs! So 0.5lb heavier than a month ago despite having a zig-zag calorie deficit and working out heavily over that time. I was expecting to gain a pound or two of water weight initially after starting to take creatine again, but over another month of consistent dieting to still be up in weight... I give up even trying to explain this. Visually I've lost a significant amount of bodyfat in that time. Really just the famously stubborn lower waist/upper hips/kidney fat to lose now. Can finally see my delts having some distinction from my biceps, upper abs becoming a bit more distinct, and looking noticeably lean in my traps, neck and face. But, yeah, I weigh more. Possibly still newbie/muscle memory gains, but I wouldn't have expected these to keep pace (or outstrip) the rate of fat loss I'd expect has been happening.

Not convinced my fat loss hasn't stalled a bit this past week to ten days, though - although it's getting harder and harder to judge (and I am too cack-handed to get any reliable readings from calipers...).