Monday (4-18-2011)
squat 250 lb 5x3
press 115 lb 5x3 (iffy reps)
chin-ups 11, 6, 4

Wednesday
squat 250 lb 4x4
bench 200 lb 3, 3, 3, 2
bench 185 lb 4, 3
deadlift 295 lb 2x3

Friday
squat 250 lb 3x5
press 105 6x3
pull-ups 11, 8, 6
hanging leg raise 3x20

Weight (Friday): 186 lb
Waist (Thursday): 35"

Notes:  My recovery was poor this week.  I'm really noticing it on pressing exercises, but I couldn't do a full set of 5 reps on the deadlift this week either.  Bench-pressing on Wednesday was rough.  I'd meant to do 4x4, but even on the first set the third rep was hard enough to convince me otherwise.  I got trapped under the bar and needed a rescue on the fourth set.  It really sucked.  My plan for Friday was 4x4 at 115 for the press, but my warm-up set at 105 for 3 was hard enough to convince me that that wasn't happening, so I just did 5 more sets of 105.  Ugh.

I feel under-nourished and weak most of the time now.  I don't know if it's the lack of carbohydrate or the lack of milk, but I'm starting workouts sore, even 48 hours later.  I've heard -- anecdotally, but from a half-dozen sources -- that milk can make a huge difference in recovery time.

So, I'm torn:  I'm losing strength, I'm not losing weight, but my waist is slightly smaller, at least at the end of a long fast.  It's been two weeks, so it's not too soon to re-evaluate the approach I've taken.  It's unlikely that I can plow through 11 more pounds in the next 4 weeks, so maybe I should just be focusing on a longer-term approach.  Priority-wise, maintaining or increasing strength is more important to me than the vanity of seeing a six-pack, and from a pure health and longevity standpoint, having a single-digit body fat hardly critical.  Also, I've dieted and trained down to a fit weight about 4 times as an adult, and each time, it gets harder.  Trying to rush it won't help, and is objectively making it worse.  It's entirely possible that my problem isn't energy intake, but energy output.  My weight training is fairly intense, and takes a lot out of me, but I'm fairly efficient at the movements themselves, so I doubt I'm really burning up serious fuel, even with 75 minutes in the gym.

For now: milk comes back, but only post workout, and I have to -- have to -- start doing some regular cardio.  Not high-intensity, barn-burning stuff, but something, maybe just a walk every day, or a short set of sprints or tabata intervals.  I'll loathe it, but it's the only tool left in the shed, and it's worked in the past.  Oh well.

Posted by: leoncaruthers at 10:08 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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