Back to the gym after 9 years

I finished my 10 day diet break eating at maintenance on Thursday. I was feeling terrible in/after the gym so I had to do something. I didn't think the diet break would work in terms of the benefits it's suppose to bring but it has.

Over the last 14 days I've eaten at 2,400 (my maintenance) for 10 days, 1900 (old cutting cals) for 2 days and 1,850 (new cutting cals) for the last 2 days and I've lost 2.25 lbs. I also look a lot leaner than the weighing scales says :D

I've lost enough fat everywhere except my lower abs and love handles where my body seems to store the most fat (damn genetics :D) so I need to cut for hopefully another 1-2 months max.
 
Workout A (cutting version)

Bench press
Bar 8
30kg 5
35kg 3
40kg 2
45kg 5/5/5

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
35kg 4
40kg 3
45kg 2
50kg 5/5/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 3
50kg 5/5/5 :D

Barbell shrugs
Bar 8
32.5kg 8/8

Seated incline curls
10kg 8/8

Tricep extensions
21.25kg 8
28.75kg 8/8

Face pulls
6.25kg 8
13.75kg 8/8/8

Cable crunches
36.25kg 15/15

I benched first this morning which meant I had 0 energy in the tank for the squats. They were awful. Squat form was good for some reps but bad for others. I think I'm going to drop the weight again and work up from 40kg just concentrating on form and speed.
 
Workout B (cutting version)

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
35kg 4
40kg 3
45kg 2
50kg 5/5/5 - form was really good with the exception of two reps on the final set.

Romanian Deadlifts
Bar 8
40kg 5
45kg 3
50kg 2
57.5kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 8
25kg 3
32.5kg 5/5/5

Bent over row
Bar 8
30kg 5
35kg 3
40kg 2
45kg 5/5/5

CGBP
Bar 8
30kg 5
35kg 2
40kg 5/5/5

Seated incline curls
10kg 8/8

Cable crunches
36.25kg 15/15

I'm determined to hit a one plate squat before I finish cutting so ignore what I said in the last post :p I've changed a few things around this week.

I though my lack of energy in the gym was due to the caloric deficit but I think it might of been a sign of low T. I've changed my macros as my fat intake was very low approximately 15% - 20% of total cals and most of that was unhealthy fats. I'm now eating a 25/40/35 c/p/f split and making olive oil and almonds a stable part of my diet.

I'm also trying to get an hours' extra sleep (usually 7-7.5 hrs).

I'm hoping to run a 5k by the time I finish my cut so I'm increasing my cardio duration slightly. I usually do cardio the evenings before I lift and I lift fasted at 7am. The plan is to use all the cardio calories for carbs so there's plenty in the tank for the lifting the following morning.

The results? I felt awesome this morning, easily the best workout I've had. The squats felt awesome, I feel like I can still improve and maybe hit one plate. RDL again felt awesome, I feel I can increase the weight a fair bit.

I'm going to continue what I'm doing and hopefully Saturday's workout will feel the same :D
 
Workout A (cutting version)

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
35kg 4
40kg 3
45kg 2
52.5kg 5/5/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 3
50kg 5/5/5

Bench press
Bar 8
30kg 5
35kg 3
40kg 2
45kg 5/5/5

Behind the back barbell shrugs
Bar 8
30kg 8/8 - my traps liked these :D

Seated incline curls
7.5kg 8
10kg 8/8

Tricep extensions
21.25kg 8
28.75kg 8/8

Face pulls
6.25kg 8
13.75kg 8/8

Cable crunches
36.25kg 15/15

mrthingyx said:
So good when a plan comes together. :cool:
Click to expand...

Yeah :) I felt quite good again this morning so I shall continue :D
 
I weighed in at 174.5 lbs this morning, that's 1.25 lbs lost last week. I expected more as I dropped my cals by an extra 50 and hit my macros almost perfectly but I'll take it.

I was going to keep dropping weight until I lost the fat in my lower ab area but realistically I think I'll look too skinny if I wait to get rid of the fat. I'm assuming due to my genetics I store fat in that area so I'll just accept it for now.

The plan is to continue cutting for the next three weeks and then start a clean bulk :D

Also my hammys are sore-ish this morning so I must be activating them during my squats now :D
 
Workout B (cutting version)

Squats
Bar 8
40kg 3
45kg 2
52.5kg 5/5/5

Deadlifts
Bar 8 - RDL
50kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 8
32.5kg 5/5/5

Bent over row
Bar 8
40kg 2
45kg 5/5/5

CGBP
Bar 8
42.5kg 6
40kg 8

Seated incline curls
10kg 8/8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 15/15

Face pulls
13.75kg 8/8

My hamstring flexibility has improved massively. The deadlifts were fine except my shoulders kept rolling forward. I don't think I was pinching my shoulder blades which I think will stop them rolling forward.
 
Workout A (cutting version)

Squats
Bar 8
40kg 3
45kg 2
50kg 2
55kg 5/2
50kg 3/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
40kg 3
45kg 2
52.5kg 5/5
40kg 5

Bench press
Bar 8
30kg 5
35kg 3
40kg 2
47.5kg 5/5/5

Behind the back barbell shrugs
Bar 8
30kg 8/8

Seated incline curls
10kg 8/8

Tricep extensions
21.25kg 8
28.75kg 8/8

Face pulls
6.25kg 8
13.75kg 8/8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 15/15

Squat form was awful, I couldn't engage my hamstrings or glutes at all. I'm going to go back to 40kg as I originally planned to work on form. BOR got too heavy, I'm going to deload to 45kg.
 
Workout B (cutting version)

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5/5/5/5/5

Deadlifts
50kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 8
35kg 5/5/5

Bent over row
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5/5/5

Bicep curls ss w/ Tricep extensions
10kg 8 / 28.25kg 8
10kg 8 / 28.25kg 8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 15/15

Face pulls
6.25kg 8
16.25kg 8/8/8

I tried a few different squat stances. I feel the most comfortable in a wider stance so I'm going to give that a go.
 
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I weighed in at 173.5 lbs this morning (1 lb loss). Weight loss has really slowed down, I doubt I'm going to hit my goal of 170 as I finish cutting in two weeks but I'm going to continue hitting my macros and I'll see how it goes :)
 
Good luck on your weight lifting journey, there loads of people here that give great advice :) If your weight isn't moving try lowering your calories or if possible a diet break. I had one for 10 days a couple of weeks ago and it made me feel so much better, I also lost weight lol...

I forgot to mention I felt a twinge in my knee while squatting on Saturday. I was trying wider stances and I think I left my feet pointing too forward i.e. not at an angle. Anyway my knee has felt bruised all weekend so I'm not going to squat tomorrow and see how it feels on Thursday.

Also my initial plan was to finish my cut a week Saturday (9th July) then bulk but I'm going instead finish this Saturday and reverse diet up to my bulking calories. I'm currently eating 1,850 cals per day. The plan is to up the calories in increments of 100 cals per week until I get to 2,650 cals which I think will be 250 cals over maintenance.

As I'll be reverse dieting, I'll stop when I'm gaining 0.5 lbs per week.
 
Workout A (cutting version)

Bench press
Bar 8
30kg 5
35kg 3
40kg 2
47.5kg 5/4/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 3
45kg 5/5/5

Behind the back barbell shrugs
Bar 8
32.5kg 8/8

Bicep curls ss w/ Tricep extensions
10kg 8 / 28.25kg 8
10kg 8 / 28.25kg 8

Face pulls
6.25kg 8
16.25kg 8/8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 15/15
 
Workout B (cutting version)

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5/5/5

Deadlifts
RDL - Bar 8
52.5kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 5
25kg 3
35kg 5/5/5

Bent over row
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5/5/5

CGBP
Bar 8
35kg 8/8

Seated incline curls
10kg 8/8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 10/10

Face pulls
6.25kg 8
16.25kg 8/8
 
I forgot to add I'm switching to low-bar squats. I sort of tried them earlier (while experimenting with my squat stance) and it feels so much easier. I've got quite long legs and I don't think I have the flexibility (at least atm) for high-bar squats. I've persevered with high-bar for six months and haven't got anywhere so onto low-bar squats :D

Only two days left of this almost year long cut :D
 
Workout A (cutting version)

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5/5/5

Paused reps bench press
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5/5/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5/5/5

Behind the back barbell shrugs
Bar 8
30kg 8/8

CGBP
Bar 8
30kg 8/8

Bicep curls
10kg 8
10kg 8

Face pulls
6.25kg 8
16.25kg 8/8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 15/15

A bit of a deload session as today is my last day of cutting. I'll be starting 5x5 on Monday :D
 
Workout B

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
42.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Deadlifts
RDL - Bar 8
50kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 5
25kg 3
30kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bent over row
Bar 8
30kg 3
40kg 5/5/5/5/5

CGBP
Bar 8
35kg 8/8/8

Seated incline curls
10kg 8/8/8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 10/10/10

Face pulls
6.25kg 8
11.25kg 15/15
 
Workout A

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
45kg 5/5/5/5/5

Dumbbell press
10kg 8
17kg 3
20kg 5/5/5/5/4 (I sort of superset these with my squat warm-up, I only had about 1 min rest between the 4th and 5th set)

Bent over rows
Bar 8
30kg 5
45kg 5/5/5/5/5

Behind the back barbell shrugs
Bar 8
30kg 8/8/8

Seated incline curls
10kg 8/8/8

Tricep extensions
21.25kg 8
28.75kg 8/8/8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 10/10/10

My workouts are so much better now I'm out of a deficit.
 
Workout B

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
47.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Deadlifts
RDL - Bar 8
52.5kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 5
25kg 3
32.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bent over row
Bar 8
30kg 3
40kg 5/5/5/5/5

CGBP
Bar 8
37.5kg 8/8/8

Seated incline curls
10kg 8/8/8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 10/10/10

Face pulls
6.25kg 8
11.25kg 15/15/15 - the burn :D

Everything felt easy, being out of a caloric deficit feels so good :D
 
Workout A

Squats
Bar 8
40kg 5
50kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bench press
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 3
45kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
40kg 5
47.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Behind the back barbell shrugs
Bar 8
32.5kg 8/8/8

Seated incline curls
10kg 8/8/8

Tricep extensions - using the rope instead of the bar
21.25kg 8/8/8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 10/10/10

Cable pull through
16.25kg 10/10

Face pulls
11.25kg 15/15/15
 
Workout B

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
52.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Deadlifts
RDL - Bar 8
55kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 5
25kg 3
35kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bent over row
Bar 8
30kg 3
42.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

CGBP
Bar 8
37.5kg 8/8/6

Seated incline curls
10kg 8/8/8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 10/10/10

Face pulls
11.25kg 15/15/15
 
Workout A

Squats
Bar 8
40kg 5
55kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bench press
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 3
47.5kg 5/5/3 - my wrist started hurting so I switched to DB press.
17.5kg 5/5/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
40kg 5
50kg 5/5/5/5/5

Behind the back barbell shrugs
Bar 8
35kg 8/8/8

Seated incline curls
12kg 6
10kg 8/8

Tricep extensions
28.75kg 8/8/8

Cable crunches
38.75kg 10/10/10

Face pulls
11.25kg 15/15/15

Today was the first time squatting in adipowers. My squat felt different, I'm not sure how my form was this morning. I'll see how it goes on Monday and may deload to correct incorrect form.

I'm also going to replace bench with DB press as I feel my chest working better with DBs.
 
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