ctz's SS w/ Intermittent Fasting Journal

[carrythezer0]

carrythezer0's Starting Strength with Intermittent Fasting Journal


Links:
My old SS journal: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post527916923

Leangains: www.leangains.com

Great SS resource: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224


Intro:
After doing Starting Strength (see above link) for about two and a half weeks, I was making overall good gains in my lifts, and I even dropped ~7 pounds in that time frame. Shortly after beginning the program, I learned about Intermittent Fasting and figured it sounded good enough so I thought I'd give it a try. I like the idea about eating during a small period of the day, and the fasted workout (only with BCAAs) is also an interesting concept as well. Refer to the leangains link for more information on Intermittent Fasting.

My current goals are to gain strength and to drop this stubborn fat that I've had a hard time getting rid of. At the start of this journal (today), I am 6 2, 194 pounds. As with my other log, I'm doing this to track my progress and to help others (and get help for myself :P) along the way if I can.


IF schedule: (may adapt as my schedule changes)
Right before workout: Take BCAAs/whey
~11AM: workout
12-12:30PM: Fast ends/post-workout meal (most of my calories come from here)
12:30-8PM: 1-2 more meals within this period
8PM: begin fast

Non-workout days are the same, except I'll consume less carbs. My current workout schedule is Wed/Fri/Sun. There are two workouts (A, B), and I alternate weeks (as per Starting Strength) such as Week 1: A, B, A and Week 2: B, A, B.


Workouts are as follows (current lifts to the right of lifts):
A
Squats 3x5 @ 140
Bench Press 3x5 @ 135
Deadlifts 1x5 @ 165

B
Squats 3x5
Standing Military Press 3x5 @ 125
Pendlay Rows 3x5 @ 145

Previously, I was adding abs, dips, and chins to the end of my routines, but I decided that I should just stick to the basic program until I am better integrated with it. I'm doing the program to the "tee" this time. Also, I believe that I started at too high of a weight, so I will be dropping my weight down on several of my lifts, and I will only be increasing the weight if my form is awesome.

I think I covered everything. If you have any questions/comments, please post them!

Thanks for viewing, and feel free to subscribe if SS/IF interests you.

[carrythezer0]

The fasted workout went surprisingly well today. All I had before-hand was a double scoop of ON Whey mixed with water. I know it's not completely fasted, but I didn't get BCAA pills yet, and ON Whey has 11 grams in 2 scoops, so I figured that would be better than nothing. I'm also pretty sure I read on leangains.com that Whey was an OK substitute for BCAAs.

I didn't do any cardio today because after my squats, my leg was a little too sore (still recovering from pulling something near my ass haha), and as I said before, I was dropping the weights in most of my lifts because I started too heavy. Lucky enough though, my leg doesn't hurt as much as it did before, even after the workout, so I'm thinking that I'll be all better in ~2 days.

Workout looked like this, after warm up sets, of course:

Squats 3x5 @ 115
Standing Military Press 3x5 @ 95
Pendlay Rows 3x5 @ 125

I think I'll increase everything slowly as I restart the program, something like 5lbs per session on everything besides the deadlifts, which I'll add 10lbs. We'll see how it goes.

As for the intermittent fasting, I love it. I know it's only been a day, but I feel like I have more energy, and it's nice not thinking about food all the time. Hell, food even tastes better after the fast. :P As for results, only time will tell. I'm pretty sure I'm dropping some water weight because I feel less bloated and I'm a bit more veiny than usual.

So, with my pre/post workout shakes, I'm getting ~100 grams of protein right there. After my PWO shake, I ate a plum and a huuuugee serving of high fiber/protein penne pasta with homemade sauce and generous amounts of cheese atop the mountain of pasta. So good man. I'll prob have a chicken caesar salad later to finish me off for my 8 hours of feed-time. No mas.

[carrythezer0]

After doing some research, I decided that Scivation Xtend was a pretty good bang for the buck compared to the other supps, plus it is well rated, so I decided to give it a shot. I chose SuperPharmShipment should be here by the end of the week; I'm interested in trying out a pure BCAA mixture as opposed to a Whey shake before workout.

Supp list will be as follows:

ON Whey (post workout generally)
Scivation Xtend (pre-workout, taken in fasted state)
Fish Oil
Multi

Simple and easy.

Well, I'm going back to sleep for a little while. Got woken up earlier than I wanted. Workout A after I get up.

[joey joe joe]

Subbed! I’m interested in starting an IF program, so I’ll be following along.

Wish I could go back to sleep at 7:30am.

[Cheap5.0]

Should be interesting to see how SS plays with IF in you. Good luck! (srs)

[carrythezer0]

Subbed! I’m interested in starting an IF program, so I’ll be following along.

Wish I could go back to sleep at 7:30am.

haha normally I can't, but I guess I got lucky! :P Thanks for following!

Should be interesting to see how SS plays with IF in you. Good luck! (srs)

Thanks for wishing me luck! We'll see how it plays out. I feel a lot better overall, and I'm consistently dropping the lbs (down to 191 2 days ago), but I'll have to see how my lifts fare. Scivation Xtend just came yesterday, so I'm really excited to test it out today. I'll update later.

[carrythezer0]

I just realized that I never posted my lifts from 2 days ago...

Squats 120 (+5, increasing slow while leg recovers)
Bench 140 (missed the last rep on set 3... keep struggling with the bench, +5 though)
Deadlifts 165 (0, kept these the same just to focus on form. Will increase next time)

This was more or less me taking an easy day and getting the form down on everything. I'll probably increase the squat by 10 for my workout today, as my leg is all better finally!

[carrythezer0]

(For 8/12/10)

So, I'm either not eating enough during my 8 hour period, or these fasted workouts might not be working for me. If it's not the latter, then that's an easy fix. I just didn't have much energy with my last workout. I am hoping that I just need to eat more before the fast because I do enjoy this diet, as it is much easier to plan 2-3 meals in an 8 hour window than eating all day.

Well, my workout wasn't a total fail. I planned on increasing my squats by 10, but I wasn't paying attention and added a 45lb plate on each side (135 total). It wasn't until the 2nd set that I realized this. It wasn't even hard though, it just felt good. So I ended up increasing my squats by 15. I found it soo much easier when I bounced back up from the bottom. I think I was spending too much time at the bottom of the movement, and that was what was making it hard for me to bring it back up.

I didn't increase my standing military press, so I think I'm going to drop the weight on that a bit and start back up. The only thing I can think of is that I was using my legs when I began doing these, which made it easier to jump the weight up. As for the pendlay rows, I made an increase of 5lbs. I probably could have gone up 10, but I had like no energy when I was getting to these. I'm probably due for a nice set of rest days here, so I'm hoping to come back on Sunday and lift hard.

I also used Scivation Xtend for the first time today. I chugged it outside of the gym, and I instantly felt this kind of tingly-ness in my head, almost like a light high. It didn't really do much else from what I could feel, but I'm sure the point of Xtend is just to help you recover, which I would only feel the next day, ya? By the way, I got it in Watermelon, and this **** tastes so good. :P

Summary
Squats 135 (+15) --> plus 10 next session
Mil Press 95 (0) --> dropping to 75, then working my way back up
Pendlay Rows 130 (+5)

[carrythezer0]

I think the bench hates me, or maybe I started too heavy too early. I thought I could keep that weight high starting, as I was already doing bench press before SS, but it looks like I might have to rethink that strategy. I did my warmups, and then I tried 2 sets with 145. I got 4 on the first, and then on the second set my arm stretched in the wrong way and I hurt my tricep, so I stopped there. Everything else went well, besides that by the time I get to deadlifts I am pretty damn beat hahah.

Summary:
10 min incline walk @ 4-4.5 mph
Squats 3x5 @ 145 (+10)
Bench (skipped)
Deadlifts 1x5 @ 175 (+10)

[carrythezer0]

Today was one of the few workouts that I've done in the evening. It actually felt pretty good for a change. Really, the only thing I don't like about going in the evening is that it's busier, well, and the fact that I feel better through out the day if I get my blood pumping early on. Squats felt great today. Adding a little bounce to the bottom of my motion is really making a difference with the squats. 155 felt pretty easy for me.

As for the other two exercises for today, I decided to lower the weight on both. As stated previously, I was assuming that I was stalling on these workouts due to me starting too high. I was focusing mainly on form today with the easier weight amounts. I did my Press at 95, and I only slowed mostly on the last reps, so I think that's a good weight to drop down to. I do believe that my problem with the press before was that I was using my legs. As for the pendlay rows, I dropped down to 135. Form was great, and I felt like I could add more weight, but I still kept it at 135 just to be safe.

I fell off of my IT schedule a little bit this week due to crazy work hours. From now on, I'm taking protein-packed meals with me to make sure that there will be no days that I skimp on the protein intake. I did drop my weight down to 192 a few days ago, but messing with my eating schedules and eating some non-diet friendly foods put me back up to a fluctuating 194 pounds. I think 180-85 is a good goal to shoot for. Hopefully I'll just be losing fat, and not muscle mass. Summary below.

Squats 155 (+10)
Standing Mil Press 95 (*Reset)
Pendlay Rows 135 (*Reset)

[carrythezer0]

Today went well. Everything went up besides my bench, which I decided to reset to 125. I even hit body weight deadlifts today! haha I know, I know, not that big of a deal, but it's kind of exciting to lift your own body weight in an exercise-- well, 5 times. Also, when I weighed in today, I dropped back down to 191! I feel like intermittent fasting is really helping me cut that fat off, either due to the science behind it, or just because it's easier for me to figure out how much I'm eating when I'm only doing 2-3 big meals. Either way, it's working and I'm feeling better and better as the days go by. As an aside, I am definitely noticing that my legs are the fast mass gainers for me. I've always had larger legs in comparison to the rest of my body, but my legs are straight-up exploding from all of these squats. Although I do feel like +10 a day for squats is too fast for me, and if I kept doing so I would stall quickly again. So, from now on, I will only be increasing it by 5 a day unless I feel otherwise Lastly, I decided to throw in an ab workout at the end of my last workout of the week (before my 2 rest days.) I feel like this won't affect my other workouts, since I'll be resting for 2 days, but it will still help strengthen my core. I'm just sticking with my running the rack of the ab machine (started at 125 with 12 reps) supersetted with planks. This really burns my abdomen and makes me feel like my workout is finished. Well, I'm off to go cook up 2 pounds of tilapia to have at hand to eat.

Squats 160 (+5)
Bench 125 (*Reset)
DLs 190 (+15)

[carrythezer0]

Rest Day of the Week #1

So, I ate like a champ yesterday-- hell, I even had a bowl of icecream around 10:30 at work (felt like I needed a little extra energy for work ), but I dropped another pound from yesterday. Going below 190 will be a good progress mark for me! 5-10 more pounds maybe and I should be good!

[carrythezer0]

Rest Day of the Week #2

Lost another pound today, which puts me at 189, or 189.3 if you want the exact number. I'm really happy to be below 190 again! I've got about 9 more to go, and if you are wondering, I'm still getting 200+ grams of protein and probably eating around 2-2.5k on rest days. I prob eat 500 more calories at the most on workout days. I'll post some newer progress pics later.

[carrythezer0]

I don't know if I can keep doing these fasted workouts. I've been doing my workouts later in the day, after my first meal, which was making for a good workout, but when I try to do it with just Scivation Xtend in my stomach I can't do much. I couldn't do my previous weight with the squats, and I struggled to even get 2x4 with the military press. I decided to just leave early, eat, then come back later in the day and hopefully get better results. Will update later.

[carrythezer0]

I ended up just taking yesterday as an extra rest day and learning from my mistakes. So, from now on, no accessory work, at least until I'm further into the program. Obviously it will only hurt me right now. Gonna grab a protein shake and head to the gym. I'm confident today will be better in there! :P

[carrythezer0]

Workout B (From 8/24)

For my last workout on Tuesday, my abs were still kinda sore from that accessory work that I added (and not doing again) so I was still struggling with the squats. I ended up just doing 10 pounds less than my previous (160-10=150). Today I should be able to at least do 160 again. Everything else felt better though since I had a protein shake in me. Military press wasn't so hard, and my rows felt great. Also, apparently, I was stupid and didn't remember to do my resets on the row like I said I was doing, but they still felt fine go as normal. I honestly just think my problem was the fasted workouts when I would have no energy by the time I got to the rows. By the way, I've also been running a few miles in the evening. I love running because it's really relaxing, and I feel good just getting a little exercise in the outdoors. My dog loves it, too, but she can't keep up, and she is solid muscle hahah.

Today is Workout A. Should be good in there today!

Squats 3x5 150 (-10)
Mil Press 3x5 100 (+5)
Rows 3x5 145 (+10)

[carrythezer0]

Workout A
I realized that I wasn't going low enough on squats (again), so I dropped to 135 so that I can go as low as possible. I'm going to make sure that I always do this, so that my **** is consistent. I'm going to progress slower on the bench since I think that'll be something that I just can't go up 10 a day. I did 120 today no prob, and I even did 2 extra reps on the last set just to make sure that I can progress next week. As to not increase the weight too rapidly, I'll just try to bust out an extra rep or so to make sure I can handle the progression. This was recommended by my grandfather who, while he approves of the program as I described it to him, said that he thought it'd be better to make sure I can get the extra reps with my current weight before adding more. In his day, my grandfather was a powerhouse in his day (570 squat, 585 deadlift). Hell, he even still works out in his basement every day, at like the age of 70 man. haha I reallllly wish I listened to him when I was younger. He always tried to get me into weight lifting, but I kept pussying out. I know this isn't part of the program, but I'm going to see where it takes me, as I don't think my grandfather would steer me wrong.

Anyway, back to my workout... Deadlifts felt, well, easy, even jumping it up 10 pounds from last time. I have a feeling that this will always be my strongest exercise; I even think I like this more than the pendlay rows. I just must be a back exercise lover... the feeling of working the back muscles is crazy-- I don't know why. Hitting 200 felt like a good achievement, even better than doing body weight with it last time. :P

Another note: I'm really seeing changes in my body. Shoulders are broader, I'm getting a nice 'V' in my back, top abs are slowly emerging, arms are showing veins more, and overall I just feel better. I've been hovering around 190 for the past few days. I wouldn't mind being at this weight if I was more lean, but that will come with time. I'm really digging my daily night time run. 2-3+ miles while sweating my ass off feels awesome.

Summary:
Squats 1x5, 2x6 @ 135 (ATG now... again. I need to stay on top of my ATG-ness)
Bench 2x5, 1x7 @ 120 (+5)
Deadlifts 1x6 @ 200 (+10)

[carrythezer0]

Workout B

Nothing too out of the ordinary here. I increased everything yet struggled throwing +10 onto my rows, so I did 2 sets with +5, then on the last set I went into crazy-mode and did the +10 set. For the squats, I stuck with the ATG style, which makes it harder, but I feel like it does a better work out.

I gained some of my weight back from cheating on the IF diet for a few days. It was hard with work and everything, and I was eating during the fasting period just to get enough protein in me, which lead to me wanting more food. I'm back on it strictly again, and I'll be making sure I always have food available for my feed times. I saw great results when I stuck with it, so I should have no problem getting back in the groove of things. Well, actually, I just went and weighed myself after not having weighed myself in 2 days (at which I was almost 195), and now I'm back to 190. Must've been a lot of water weight or something... anyway, I think tomorrow I'll give the fasted training one more shot to see how I do. If it sucks, I'll just have to switch up my IF routine. Right now I like the hours I have with it though, and it even works with my new class schedule, so it'd be nice to keep it the same.

Summary:
Squats 3x5 @ 140 (+5)
Press 3x5 @ 105 (+5)
Rows 1x4 @ 155, 2x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 155 (+10)

[carrythezer0]

Lost another 2 pounds, so I love intermittent fasting. I'm not going to be able to hit the gym this week as I'll be on vacation. I'm just doing body weight exercises, mainly different push ups and ab workouts. I'm really bummed, but this will have to do until I get back.

[carrythezer0]

Workout felt good today even though I didn't make any progress. I'll increase the weights next time. The only gym I had access to while on vacation didn't have barbells, and the heaviest dumbbells were 40 pounds lol, so I was a bit limited. I did different presses with the 40s with 10-12 reps and threw in some isolation work/pushups/ab workouts so that I could get a decent workout while away. I also ran a few miles almost every day.

Squats 135
Mil Press 105
Row 155

[carrythezer0]

Sorry, I haven't really been keeping up with this. I guess with the vacation and everything I just got out of the groove, although I haven't missed any workouts since coming back. Yesterday's workout went well I'd say. I changed up my bench press form, again, and now I'm doing a rather wide grip, but now I feel it in my chest. Before, I felt like the bench press was just working my arms, whereas now it feels good. Squats felt great as well, now that I'm following SS and doing the proper warmups-- like I should be, again. Deadlifts usually feel awesome, but this time I think my form was struggling. I felt like there was too much emphasis on my abdomen, making my back curve slightly, but I still got the reps. I'll definitely make sure I'm able to do it right for next time, or I'll have to drop the weight.

Squats 3x5 @ 155 (+10)
Bench 3x5 @ 135 (+15, but fixed my grip to make it easier/hit the chest more)
Deadlift 1x5 @ 215 (+10)

I took some new progress pics, but I don't have a media card reader on my new PC that I built, so I need to try sending the pics from my phone to my macbook via bluetooth later. It's been awhile since I've posted a new pic...

[carrythezer0]

Everything felt great today, besides that damn bench. I really do hate the bench; it's the one thing I can't progress on-- well, that and the military press, but I'm going to start doing those from an elevated position instead of grabbing the bar off the ground beforehand since I think that messes me up. But really, the bench hates me. Maybe I need to warm up my arms before doing it because it's always my shoulder/tri that feels tight when I'm benching. I'll figure it out somehow.

I put 4 plates on for my deadlifts today, so I guess that's a cool landmark. If only I could progress with everything like I do in deadlifts: consistently adding atleast 10 each time.

Squats 3x5 @ 160 (+5)
Bench 1x5 @ 135 and 140, 1x4 @ 140 (+5, sort of)
Deadlifts 1x5 @ 225 (+10)

[carrythezer0]

before


now

Still a ways to go...

[carrythezer0]

Last two sessions:

A:
Squat 3x5 @ 170 (+5)
Bench 3x5 @ 140 (+5) -- still struggling with
Deadlift 1x5 @ 245 (+10) -- If only all was as easy as the deadlifts! I love these.

B:
Squat 3x5 @ 175 (+5) -- Feels good adding 5 each time
Mil Press 3x5 @ 95 -- I dropped the weight again on these... I just feel like I keep trying to progress too rapidly, and shoulders are def my main week point. I need to put the ego aside and not care what I look like with 25s on each side aha
Rows 3x5 @ 155 -- I couldn't progress on these... might need to start back around 135 and go back up in order to get the form back.

Session A is today. I'm planning on hitting 180 squats, 145 bench, and 260 deadlifts.

[carrythezer0]

I ended up having to take a 3 day break instead of 2 due to my work/social life schedule this weekend, but I don't think that was really a bad thing as I my legs/back were realllly sore. My muscles were super stiff on my last workout, even after doing a warmup incline walk. I'm going to try doing my mile run before the workout again. I also started running again every day and I'm getting my diet back on track. I was getting lazy there for about 2 weeks... but, anyway, I kept my squats/bench the same due to this stiffness, but on deadlifts I said screw it and added 15, except I wasn't paying attention and added 20. <.< Those last two reps took everything I had, but I still got it haha.

Summary:
Squats 3x5 @ 175 (0)
Bench 3x5 @ 140 (0)
Deadlifts 1x5 @ 265 (+20)

Session B today, as long as my gym isn't closed for Columbus Day. :P