Brendbro's 'almost too weak to lift' Log

[AlwaysTryin]

Diet breaks are so important. Regardless of how progress is going or anything like that.

As long as you don't go crazy for 2 weeks

[brendbro]

Shoulders/arms Hyper

Weight - 67.4

DB Shoulderpress
50lbx12
50lbx11
50lbx9

DB Lat raise
10kgx12x3 PR

Close grip bench
22.5kgx12x2 PR

Preacher curl
55x12
55x8

Kneeling tricep extension
6x11
6x8

Bicep crossover
25x16 PR

Cardio
Stairmaster level 16 - 40:10, 660 cals

And that about wraps up my last week of dieting!! Hoorah! I won't say these 18 weeks have flown by but they have certainly come and gone in stages. I've grown both physically and mentally... mostly mentally.

Regarding brain fog / fatigue etc, I'll try and word it as best as possible - I think it is mostly that I'm at the point where I'm mentally, not physically drained from dieting. I've always been able to stay consistent regarding work outs, and I'll always give them my best; physically I am still there, but mentally I think it's time for a break. As I said before I am becoming pretty much emotionless, I have no motivation to do anything outside of the gym & work, and I feel like I'm almost just 'drifting' through the days (as corny as that sounds). I guess maintaining my work outs & cardio have been a sinch because of that; I have unintentionally learned to basically just shut my brain off from all external forces & just let my 'body do it's thing' (so to speak). Another thing is I have just about completely lost my appetite; no food really interests me at all any more and I have absolutely zero cravings... I actually did my work out today completely fasted which is a pretty big thing for me considering 1 - breakfast has always been something I despise missing out on and 2 - it happened to be my last work out of cutting. I think I could have easily gone the entire day without eating if I didn't make sure I got some food in me. The other day I had to cram in a ton of food @ midnight because I realised I had inadvertently under eaten that day... I guess I shouldn't complain considering I'm not getting mentally destroyed by epic food cravings that could cause me to binge etc, but still... all these changes in me have me at a bit of a stand still, I can't really describe how but I suppose I hadn't really considered the mental changes that come with physical ones. I have actually had some pretty messed up thoughts lately which I won't delve into (don't worry, nothing f*cked up or anything like that lol). I'll end things with a positive note; right now I'm not at much of a spot (mentally) to take anything from this experience because of everything I've said above... but I believe that once I am mentally recharged I will be able to implement everything I've learned about myself over the past 18 weeks and be 100% a better person because of it.

I'll be taking this next week off mainly as a mental break. I'll assess how I feel after the week is over and if I feel mentally revitalised then I'll continue cutting until I'm 100% happy.

Quick end note...

I want to thank everyone who keeps up with my log, I do not think this journey would have been possible without you guys. The fact that people actually take time out of their day to read through my blabber is completely surreal to me. Thanks everybody, and I fukking love you all!

Food

Peanut butter Strawberry Oatmeal


Garlic prawn & cheesy noodles


Fudge brownie peanut butter sludge w/ cereal, marshmallows & strawberries


Banana nut proats w/ dark chocolate peanut butter & strawberries

Keep trucking a long mate. Not long now, but remember how I was mentioning you should take a break at some stage...You're what 18ish weeks down?

Diet breaks are so important. Regardless of how progress is going or anything like that. Prolonged deficits will impact hormones and on levels other than what we externally notice (scale weight, gym performance).

IMO, as you get leaner a week+ @ maint. every 4-6 weeks should be a pertinent part of the diet. That is sub 10% I think. You'll regulate hormones and give yourself some psychological release too. every 8-10 weeks when one is fatter or weekly 'free' MEALS for the +12% as you're never really going too long '100% dieting'.

Perhaps if BB'ers took a smarter approach to contest preps and actually implemented breaks - they'd not be so worn out by the end of it.

don't worry bud, this next week is going to serve as a major diet break, both mentally & physically. As I mentioned though I'm mainly looking at having a mental break from everything... it's not that I'm going to blow a fuse or anything, in fact I could probably keep things up for quite some time but if I had to be honest I know that it probably isn't mentally healthy for me to continue like this and a break will do me some good

As long as you don't go crazy for 2 weeks

indeed!

[Ryanmckd]

Awesome work mate you've done an unreal job and looking forward to the progress pictures! Enjoy this mental break week.

[Trillios]

Like the guy above already said...unreal job! PRs until the last day! I'm sorry that you feel the way you do bro. It's definitely part of the game when we strive to get leaner than our bodies want. I felt the EXACT SAME WAY coming out of my morning cardio session wednesday morning. I came home and left it all behind me right before I went to sleep. The only thing I can suggest when you come out of this maintenance week is to reassess your goals. This competition in 4 months has me on my feet even when I just want to lay flat on the floor lol. I know you have a passion for all of this broski. This is a learning experience. You will find what you truly want after you break things down and build yourself back up mentally (whether it's to cut, or to bulk, or compete in the future, or just live a moderate BB lifestyle, etc). You have my endless support even though I rarely have time to post like this anymore (off from work tonight yey). I'm with you every step of the way dude. I can't wait to see what you can do with a solid bulk!

Also, do you still want to throw up some end of cut pics for lulz? I can have mine up maybe Saturday or Sunday. I'll snap a few good shots for progress just so we can officially "end" our competition lol. I didn't forget ONCE about it man. I have my own comp but ours was from the start! If anything I feel more like we tag teamed through it instead of versing each other. Let me know bro.

[brendbro]

Awesome work mate you've done an unreal job and looking forward to the progress pictures! Enjoy this mental break week.

Cheers mate! check out post below regarding pics

Like the guy above already said...unreal job! PRs until the last day! I'm sorry that you feel the way you do bro. It's definitely part of the game when we strive to get leaner than our bodies want. I felt the EXACT SAME WAY coming out of my morning cardio session wednesday morning. I came home and left it all behind me right before I went to sleep. The only thing I can suggest when you come out of this maintenance week is to reassess your goals. This competition in 4 months has me on my feet even when I just want to lay flat on the floor lol. I know you have a passion for all of this broski. This is a learning experience. You will find what you truly want after you break things down and build yourself back up mentally (whether it's to cut, or to bulk, or compete in the future, or just live a moderate BB lifestyle, etc). You have my endless support even though I rarely have time to post like this anymore (off from work tonight yey). I'm with you every step of the way dude. I can't wait to see what you can do with a solid bulk!

Also, do you still want to throw up some end of cut pics for lulz? I can have mine up maybe Saturday or Sunday. I'll snap a few good shots for progress just so we can officially "end" our competition lol. I didn't forget ONCE about it man. I have my own comp but ours was from the start! If anything I feel more like we tag teamed through it instead of versing each other. Let me know bro.

No need to be sorry man, if I had to look at the whole situation objectively it's pretty much worked out perfectly for me; it's only this past week where my mind has kind of gone to sleep... and I happen to be going away with friends next week so it is the perfect opportunity for me to take a break, considering I wouldn't have been able to diet/gym anyway. Not only that - I'm EXTREMELY fortunate that I have hardly experienced any real physical fatigue - I'm not completely drained/lethargic through work outs, and as I've mentioned cardio is only getting easier! I guess you could put it like this - it's not how I'm feeling inside the gym, rather outside - Right now my life is a bit too askew in the direction of training... it's time to get motivated to do normal, everyday things... movies, friends, music, etc... I guess that's a good a sign as any that a break is needed.

As I mentioned in your log I'm keen as FUK to see what I can do with my next bulk considering how far I've pushed myself through this long/large a deficit. I wanna see what I can accomplish when I get sum more carbz in me Either way, this is a lifestyle for me now, and I'm bloody glad to have awesome dudes like you to push me along!

And bro... I feel the exact same way, it was hardly even competitive lolz... tag team is the perfect way to put it. Even so, you are the clear victor bro - I can only dream of how fukking sick you'll look come May! And yeah man I'm very keen on getting some pics up but I grabbed my camera today to snap some up but the battery is out and the recharger is @ my dad's work so I'll see if I can get it tomorrow, otherwise I'll be sure to get some when I return.

[jzpowahz]

Awesome job man! I still can't believe you're epic food on a cut

[brendbro]

Awesome job man! I still can't believe you're epic food on a cut

lol cheers mate! I guess that's probably a major reason as to why food cravings hasn't been an issue for me - making sure to always keep things epic in the kitchen!

----

progress video

So it occured to me that I haven't really shown much in terms of back progress... I am HOPELESS at back posing (well, all posing really lol), I really have no clue how to get the right angles, proper flexing etc etc.... anyway, got the camera battery charged and so figured a video might be easier

As I said, I don't really know good posing techniques or anything but the vid gives a good enough idea I guess lol



it's a bit short & sh!t I know but I just took it and so I'll try and learn and get some more up...

[SJB23]

Looking lean and mean brah, sweet progress!

[brendbro]

Looking lean and mean brah, sweet progress!

thanks a ton mate! also updated avi with a single frame... any 1 got tips on proper posing?

will get some frontals & legs up as soon as I can!

[brendbro]

So what'd I get up to on my last day of the cut? Well apart from a routine 30 mins on the stairmaster & work, I rewarded myself with some burgers for dinner. Cousins were over so a good time was had

Double 'Roo Damper Burgers




I WISH the lighting in my house was better @ night, the photo quality seriously doesn't do these babies justice

Fuark damper rolls are incredible. One was a double 'roo with gorgonzola, the other was a double 'roo with bacon & PEANUT BUTTER!!! When I took the first bite I thought the gorgonzola one was orgasmic, that was until I had the peanut butter.... !

That's about it from me... for now

Misc

Weight - 66.9 New Low

Cardio
Stairmaster level 16 - 30:16, 500 cals

[snrygo]

Those burgers look godly! They sound pretty amazing too. So you're fonna maintain for a bit then bulk again i presume?

[brendbro]

So here's an updated back vid - this ones a bit better



aaand some pics - sorry about quality / size; they are just stills from a vid I took, tried to make them a bit larger but they pixelate a ton, I'll get some better ones up ASAP

Those burgers look godly! They sound pretty amazing too. So you're fonna maintain for a bit then bulk again i presume?

Haha thanks mate!! They were quite an epic way to finish the cut You ever tried 'roo?

Well... as pics show I still have some lower ab fat which I'm not happy about, so I'll most likely take this week as a break & return to cutting for a little while, HOWEVER I may feel differently when the week is done and go with my original plan which was to begin reverse dieting and then get bulk ROUND 3 started!!!

[Shazriki]

Brendan, I dun goofed. I thought you had stopped logging like some *******. It has now become clear to me that I was the ******* and accidentally unsubbed most likely while browsing on my phone.

It has also become clear to me that you have NOT stopped killing it, you HAVE made excellent progress, and your cut was a huge SUCCESS. Well done brother. The gain train will be stopped outside your front doorstep shortly, be sure to hop on

[ErickStevens]

Looking shredded. Slow gain time!

[jzpowahz]

Shredded indeed!

[AlwaysTryin]

Your leanness puts me to shame

[snrygo]

hhnnng! dat leanness! what do you figure your bf is now?

[Ryanmckd]

God damn brah your crazy lean! I think you could eek out that extra bit of fat whilst your adding back calories in providing you go about it the right way, slow and steady.

[AlwaysTryin]

indeed!

Haha was a bit of an inside joke with Ryan as he knows I gained over 7kg in 12 days... (of which not even 0.5kg appears to be water, epic fat gain)

[foodpr0n]

fuark!!! dat back! Great job my dude!!

[brendbro]

one week later here I am, back! Coast trip was bloody perfect. Quite honestly can't remember where the entire week went. As for diet & training; well, no counting whatsoever but I made sure to practice moderation, having 3-4 balanced meals with lots of protein - being in the spot I'm in I didn't want to go crazy diet wise and have to play damage control but at the same time I wanted to relax, and it went perfectly. Arrived home today and weighed in at 67.1 (after ingesting a 600ml coke) so not entirely certain where my weight is at but I'm quite sure there will be little to no damage control needed. Training wise; practically none My mate brought down a couple of small dumbbells & a door gym so I had a few small hypertrophy based work outs when there was nothing better to do (push ups, pull ups, curls, tri extensions, shoulderpress, lunges), otherwise... well, I was on holiday and honestly the week off felt REALLY good. It was a great pay off to the past 18 weeks to be able to relax and enjoy the beach all week

With all that being said, I'm overly excited to get back into the diet/training groove. I realise that it'll be tough hopping back in after having a weeks break so I'll be heading off to do some cardio soon to try and get a head start on things endurance wise. I don't expect my first few gym sessions back to be pretty but I'm prepared. As for where I'm at with my decision to continue cut or reverse; well, my holidays are unfortunately coming to a close in 1 week so I think I'll return cals/macro's to where they were at prior to the holiday (2.4k WO days, 2.2k non WO days) for my last week off and assess my weight etc from there... I figure giving my body a week to get back into the groove will put me in a better mind set to make a decision; hopefully any fluctuations etc will have subsided... plus if I do decide on reversing then that'll be easy as pie as I can just start adding in cals from when university commences.

And of course, a couple of photos...

Brendan, I dun goofed. I thought you had stopped logging like some *******. It has now become clear to me that I was the ******* and accidentally unsubbed most likely while browsing on my phone.

It has also become clear to me that you have NOT stopped killing it, you HAVE made excellent progress, and your cut was a huge SUCCESS. Well done brother. The gain train will be stopped outside your front doorstep shortly, be sure to hop on

well I won't lie and say I hadn't noticed a lack of updates from you No worries bud, would not have been possible without your (and everyone elses) continuing support! I cannot thank you enough for keeping up with the log mate, it seriously means the world!!

As for the gain train... will be hopping on shortly

Looking shredded. Slow gain time!

cheers erick! keen as fuk to put on some FUKKIN MASS!

Shredded indeed!

Haha I wouldn't say shredded, but cheers mate, seriously means a ton!

Your leanness puts me to shame

lol judging by some of the pics I've seen of you... I think you've got that reversed

hhnnng! dat leanness! what do you figure your bf is now?

thanks a ton snrygo! I wouldn't have the slightest clue as to judging bf % but in the NFTT nmisc thread erick said 7-8%... not gonna lie I was pretty much in tears with joy when I read that lol

God damn brah your crazy lean! I think you could eek out that extra bit of fat whilst your adding back calories in providing you go about it the right way, slow and steady.

that's it mate! The reverse is looking to be most likely the route I take, and I have no doubt I'll be able to play it slow & steady

Haha was a bit of an inside joke with Ryan as he knows I gained over 7kg in 12 days... (of which not even 0.5kg appears to be water, epic fat gain)

bloody hell, what happened? Sorry to hear man!

fuark!!! dat back! Great job my dude!!

lol, cheers ryan! I had not once bothered checking my back this entire cut (except for taking progress pics), so it was kind of a surprise for me lol

[TheProgressiveOne]

i reakon you could lose another kilo just by cutting that hair mate

well done on the transformation so far!

[brendbro]

The week so far...

Sunday
weight: 67.1
cardio: 37:24, 615 cals

Monday
weight: 66.9
cardio: 30:24, 500 cals

Upper Power

Weight - 66.8 New low

Bench
90kg(198lb)x4
90kgx3.5
90kgx3

Seated Row
80(176lb)x5x3

Weighted pull ups
10kg(22lb)x6 PR
10kgx5x2

Weighted Dips
10kg(22lb)x10 PR
10kgx8x2 pr

Shrugs
120kg(264lb)x12x2 PR

Cardio
Stairmaster level 16 - 30:28, 500 cals

Arrival



Today wasn't too shabby for the first session back after the week off. I was anticipating not hitting my regular numbers, so I was pleasantly surprised with how most things went. Bench was my biggest failure of today - which isn't great considering it's my first exercise, though I'm positive improvements will be made. My last rep was assisted so those numbers aren't all that different from my previous ones. Rows felt fan-bloody-tastic and were a great way to get some groove in the air after bench. PR'd on pull ups which felt fukking AWESOME, absolutely LOVE being able to do weighted pull ups, feels great. PR'd dips - again felt PAINFUL, and I cannot wait to get some more size to my tri's. Shrugs were rushed as I had to get the bloody hell out of the gym, nevertheless hit a PR.

My weight over the past few days is remaining pretty damn stable which is bloody awesome, considering I have actually been feeling my leanest yet - obliques & lower abdomen are shining through more so than ever, so I think I've made the decision that I'll start reversing & hopefully see some extra shredding happening Macro's will remain the same this week and I'll start increasing things next week - if anyone who has experience with careful reverse dieting would like to chime in I'd more than appreciate it, right now I'm a bit clue-less.

Food

Fudge brownie sludge w/ corn flakes, strawberries, bananas & maple syrup


Garlic butter mushroom pasta


Chicken Gorgonzola pizza


Peanut butter 'Roo Burger


Peanut butter sludge w/ corn flakes & strawberries

i reakon you could lose another kilo just by cutting that hair mate

well done on the transformation so far!

lol too true, I fukking hate my hair... been meaning to get a haircut for the past month or so...

cheers mate! good to have you along haydo!

[Shazriki]

Eats are off the chain bro! How are you liking the dymatize FB? Pretty class stuff eh?

As for reversing, I'll leave that to someone with actual experience on the subject. I think in general the key is to keep protein in a sensible range while pushing carbs first and then fats up as high as you can get em' without going fluffy.

[psychodiver9]

My advice is add 100-200 cals per week so you can have good control

[brendbro]

Lower

Weight - 66.6 New low

Sumo deads
120kgx6
120kgx6
120kgx5

Hack squats
105kgx5x3 PR

Seated leg press
320x12x3

Lying leg curls
60x10.5
50x12
50x10 pr

Standing calf
21x 20 + 13 + 11 PR

Cardio
Stairmaster level 16 - 36:31, 600 cals

Bloody happy to see new low after new low in weight this week! (not to mention how little fluctuations I've had). But regardless of that I've been talking to a couple of guys here and have got the basics set up for my reverse diet. I'm keen to get things going so will start bumping up cals from the end of the week probably. Today's work out went a lot better then I anticipated. I wasn't in the mood to work out today but when I got in the gym I was pleasantly surprised with how things went. Deads felt fairly strong considering it was my first go back at them since the coast. Hack squats were awesome - moved the weight up (only slightly, added 5kg) and focused especially on form and I am loving them... if I can keep a very steady progression on these going as I reverse and into bulking I will be VERY happy as I don't think my form has ever felt so controlled. From here on out it was hypertrophy based - quick rest breaks and everything was bloody well aching by the end. Cardio was a bit of a b!tch today, but hey 1 session out of a few dozen aint so bad so I'm not worried

Food

Gorgonzola 'Roo burger with sweet pototo fries

Eats are off the chain bro! How are you liking the dymatize FB? Pretty class stuff eh?

As for reversing, I'll leave that to someone with actual experience on the subject. I think in general the key is to keep protein in a sensible range while pushing carbs first and then fats up as high as you can get em' without going fluffy.

Cheers shaz! the fudge brownie is bloody terrific! Mixed with a little bit of pb it could cure ANY sweet craving on a cut I reckon. I actually thought it was really great in proats too - though I had to use a little more than usual (usually just go by the scoop so 33g, had to use about 46-50g but it was very 'batter' like)

regarding reverse; check below

My advice is add 100-200 cals per week so you can have good control

This is essentially what I will be doing, may experiment a little with macronutrient ratios as my protein intake has pretty large fluctuations regularly as it is (usually anywhere between 170-220g) but the basics will be minimal increases in carbs + fats.

[jzpowahz]

Good stuff there mate What macros were you at recently?

[psychodiver9]

Good workout. Holy crap do want that burger

[brendbro]

Thursday

Cardio
Stairmaster level 16 - 36:30, 600 cals

Considering how much bloody pain I was in from my lower work out on wednesday, this was one of the easiest cardio sessions I've ever had. Went in the evening which was entirely new to me, really enjoyed it. But yeah... INSANE DOMS all over this whole week... VERY debilitating

Chest/Back Hyper

Weight - 66.1 new low

DB Incline
27.5kgx12x2

Seated rows
60x12x2

DB bench
N/A

Pullups
BWx12
BWx10+1
BWx10

Flyes
N/A

Cardio
Stairmaster level 16 - 30:28, 500 cals

Woke up this morning feeling that a cold was coming on, so took a couple of panadol and hit the gym... don't think it affected me too much which is good. Today went well apart from the fact that I had to cut most of the chest exercises out. Was considering moving the weight up on incline but decided against it for now - first week back from a break, & I need to focus on these work outs being hypertrophy based and not trying to push for the most weight possible. Regardless - got my 2 sets done and I genuinely don't think I've ever felt so much pain in my chest. It felt like I had a bloody knife lodged in there... completely incapacitated me. Moved onto rows which felt pretty damn easy, that made me happy - will consider moving these babies up, & perhaps adding in an extra set especially now that calories will begin rising. After this we moved onto dumbbell bench and I literally failed on my first rep, the pain was far too excruciating that I knew I was doing myself more harm then good. Made up for the lack of chest exercises and threw in an extra set on pull ups and also tried a quick set of dumbbell rows; not too shabby, will need to work on technique if I want to throw them in regularly however. Cardio was a hassle getting into today as my legs are feeling absolutely f!cked... usually this wouldn't be a huge problem as I've noticed cardio REALLY helps my leg DOMS, but that in combination with chest / upper body DOMS put me in a fairly down & out mood, but after about 10 minutes or so I was in the game and it was a breeze

Oh and quick note; woke up with yet ANOTHER new low @ 66.1.... !!! That's the 4th this week I think, feels good knowing that even though I've called it a day on the dieting front that I'm still losing weight... hopefully it is a good sign for things to come for the reverse!

Food

BBQ Peanut butter 'Roo Burger


Fudge Brownie / Myofusion chocolate sludge - Threw this in the freezer for a solid 20 minutes after this and it thickened up very nicely


Bocconcini & Gorgonzola mexican 'roo Pizza


Myofusion chocolate sludge w/ rice bubbles, bran, strawberries


Holy CRAP does myofusion chocolate make good sludge.... like SERIOUSLY amazing considering it's not casein... and it tasted like yogo!

Good stuff there mate What macros were you at recently?

My calories are @ 2400 on WO days and 2200 on non WO days, though currently I'm doing 6 cardio sessions a week so 6/7 days are @ 2400 with only 1 day of 2200. My macro's vary pretty widely - anywhere from 40-70F, 220-300C, 170-220P

Good workout. Holy crap do want that burger

Haha cheers!! Will be sure to keep the burgers coming

[jzpowahz]

Solid workout & eats as always! Thanks for the macros info. Interesting stuff.