PtReyesGreg's Workout Journal

[Plateauplower]

Nice work, the light session should help yourecover a little faster. Try rolling the belt different ways and putting something heavy on it for a day at a time. That helped break mine in faster, it's still crazy stiff, but doesn't bother me as much as when it was new.

[PtReyesGreg]

Nice work, the light session should help yourecover a little faster. Try rolling the belt different ways and putting something heavy on it for a day at a time. That helped break mine in faster, it's still crazy stiff, but doesn't bother me as much as when it was new.

Thanks for the advice. I'll give that a try. I actually wound up with 2 new belts. One of them is a 13mm double prong that I got from IronCompany.com and it is the one most in need of break in. I'll try what you suggest on that one. I put it on the other day and wasn't sure I was going to be able to get it off. The other one is a 6.5mm single prong that I got from Elitefts. It needs a little break in, but it is pretty much good to go.

[PtReyesGreg]

This morning I weighed myself and am now at 219 lbs. So far the Anabolic Diet seems to be working well for me. My body has adjusted well to eating very low carbs during the weekdays and I enjoy getting to load up on carbs on the weekends. I started the diet 4 weeks ago and weighed 223 lbs. I'm trying to get down to 195 lbs so I'm happy to be making some progress in the right direction.

Also, I think switching to All Pro's workout program will work better for this goal as well. With the Hard Work 5x5 it felt like I needed to eat more just to survive the increases in weight lifted each week.

[raynerd]

This morning I weighed myself and am now at 219 lbs. So far the Anabolic Diet seems to be working well for me. My body has adjusted well to eating very low carbs during the weekdays and I enjoy getting to load up on carbs on the weekends. I started the diet 4 weeks ago and weighed 223 lbs. I'm trying to get down to 195 lbs so I'm happy to be making some progress in the right direction.

Also, I think switching to All Pro's workout program will work better for this goal as well. With the Hard Work 5x5 it felt like I needed to eat more just to survive the increases in weight lifted each week.

Nice work with the diet Greg, like I said I found this diet in particular interesting. Looks like you are going in the right direction....tell u what, I'll keep gettin fatter and eventually we will meet, lol

[PtReyesGreg]

Thanks. It is nice to be heading in the right direction for a change...for a long time it's felt like I'm going in the wrong direction or at best treading water. Luckily my wife has been supportive with the change in my diet which isn't easy for her since her natural tendencies border on vegetarianism. She does keep harping on me to go get some blood work done to make sure it's not screwing up my cholesterol etc., but I figure I'll worry about the weight loss first and then change back to a more balance diet to maintain once I get there.

As for meeting you in the middle, all I can say is if I had deadlifts and rows like yours I wouldn't mind having a little extra body weight. Those are some serious numbers you've been putting up.

[Marius_Ursus]

Good job on the diet! Do you have any conflicts with the family trying to maintain your lifestyle? That's my biggest problem. I can either have peace in my house, or I can be strict with everything. :-\

[shaneinga]

Good job on the weight loss. A pound a week is impressive. I personally couldn't do low carbs. How is your energy throughout the day while going the low carb route? I found mine was really low when I tried it.

[mirroroferised]

Great work with the weight loss man. Well done so far. I'm with Shawn, I'm thinking we'll meet up at some point lol

[PtReyesGreg]

Good job on the diet! Do you have any conflicts with the family trying to maintain your lifestyle? That's my biggest problem. I can either have peace in my house, or I can be strict with everything. :-\

Thanks Marius.

Honestly there is some stress over the meals in my house. My wife usually does most of the cooking and she doesn't like to cook meat much, especially higher fat meats which the diet really needs in order to work best. What I have been doing is trying to cook as much of the meat as I can on my grill outside and then she just takes care of the rest of it. The diet works best if you eat lots of greens (spinach, kale, etc.) and other vegetables with high fiber content since the fiber grams offset the carb grams. She loves to cook and eat that stuff so she goes crazy with that and I eat a big helping of it along with my steak, burger patty, Kielbasa, or whatever. On the weekends I've been getting up and making pancakes or french toast to get in my carbs, so she likes that I'm helping with the cooking. The great thing about this diet is I don't have to watch my macros too closely except for the grams of carbs. It caused her more stress when I was breaking out the scale and weighing everything and looking at charts to figure all of my macros out.

Good job on the weight loss. A pound a week is impressive. I personally couldn't do low carbs. How is your energy throughout the day while going the low carb route? I found mine was really low when I tried it.

Thanks Shane.

Actually my energy has been good on it. Prior to starting the Anabolic Diet I had been following Wendler's 5/3/1 weight loss advice and trying to limit myself to 30-50 grams of carbohydrates per meal. With that plan I lost about 4 pounds in 2 months, but then the losses stopped and I wasn't losing any more. That diet got me used to functioning with lower carbs, though, so when I switched to this diet it wasn't a big deal for my body.

From week 2 of this diet on I have been doing great. On Wednesday night I did have a bad cramp in my stomach (like a bad charley horse) when I was in the middle of doing some mobility work. That hurt like hell, but I realized that I hadn't been drinking enough water and was probably low on potassium and calcium. I took a multivitamin and drank more water and that went away.

Now that my body has adjusted I have better energy during the week when I'm on the low carb diet and feel more sluggish and tired during the carb loads on the weekend. Plus, I feel lean and not bloated and no swelling in the joints like I do sometimes when I eat too many carbs. The other thing is I get to eat as many carbs as I want (within reason) on the weekends, so that makes it much easier to stay focused and on track during the week. Basically, I treat each week as two relatively short mini-diet cycles which is much easier than following one long endless diet where I wind up losing interest or willpower and going off track.

Great work with the weight loss man. Well done so far. I'm with Shawn, I'm thinking we'll meet up at some point lol

Thanks Dave. I think both you and Shawn would have to eat several truck loads of donuts before you would ever meet up with me. Seriously, though, once I get down to 195 and hold it steady for a while I'll probably try to do what you guys are doing and bulk and cut, etc., while working on more of a strength routine like my old 5x5 or the 5/3/1.

[shaneinga]

Sounds like it is working out great for you. Thanks for the detailed explanation. I might try to lower my carbs when I get closer to my goal weight and see how it works out for me. Right now I eat over 200 grams a day.

[yaaar]

Looks like your squats are looking better. Does seem that you're doing some sort of a combo between highbar and lowbar though, may want to review which one you're committed to. Feet and bar placement look highbar, but you're bending over like a lowbar causing the bar to lean forward when you go down. Possibly related to your hip?

I should look at this Anabolic Diet, seems to be working for you. Probably not going to have too much more weight loss the rest of the year, but first thing January it's awn.

We got a few potholes out here from the rain, but I drive a big ol' truck so it doesn't bother me much. Looks like the hills got some snow finally!

[PtReyesGreg]

Sounds like it is working out great for you. Thanks for the detailed explanation. I might try to lower my carbs when I get closer to my goal weight and see how it works out for me. Right now I eat over 200 grams a day.

Yeah I'm pretty happy with it so far. I used to be in the 200-300 gram range so switching to the 120 g range first was a bit of a shock and then the first week at sub-30 was a little tough. Since then it's been pretty good. It's something I thought about trying for a while, and I'm glad I finally gave it a go. It sounds like you're doing pretty well with your current diet, so I'd definitely ride that out as long as I could before changing it up any.

[PtReyesGreg]

Looks like your squats are looking better. Does seem that you're doing some sort of a combo between highbar and lowbar though, may want to review which one you're committed to. Feet and bar placement look highbar, but you're bending over like a lowbar causing the bar to lean forward when you go down. Possibly related to your hip?

I should look at this Anabolic Diet, seems to be working for you. Probably not going to have too much more weight loss the rest of the year, but first thing January it's awn.

We got a few potholes out here from the rain, but I drive a big ol' truck so it doesn't bother me much. Looks like the hills got some snow finally!

Hey Wil. Thanks for the feedback on my squats. I agree that I am leaning too far forward on my squats. The version of the squats I do is similar to the Hybrid Squats that Candito talks about in this video:



and at the 2:06 point in this video:



In this version you lean forward more, but still not as much as I'm doing lately. I will definitely keep an eye on that tomorrow. Fwiw, Candito strongly recommends the hybrid squat as his preferred method.

If you're interested in trying the Anabolic Diet next year pm me with your email address and I can send you a couple of pdf books I have that talk all about it and how to get going with it. I think it is going to work well for me and it seems to be pretty easy to stick to, so that's a big plus.

There is definitely some snow up hill from me. I'm looking forward to heading up with my snowshoes in a few weeks to do some exploring. I love to get out in that stuff.

[yaaar]

I know that guy likes the high bar but I hadn't seen the hybrid before. Looks exactly how I saw them so you're doing it right then. That's a strange looking squat!

[PtReyesGreg]

I know that guy likes the high bar but I hadn't seen the hybrid before. Looks exactly how I saw them so you're doing it right then. That's a strange looking squat!

Yeah it's definitely different. For me though I think it feels the most comfortable. I just need to work on keeping more upright so I don't tweak my back.

Have you heard of that guy (Candito's) strength training programs? He has a linear program that I have thought about trying, maybe before I switch over to 5/3/1. People on the forums used to say it was pretty good, but I haven't heard about it lately. So many programs, so little time...

http://www.canditotraininghq.com/fre...ngth-programs/

[yaaar]

Yes sir, Bob's following it.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=164121561

[Cooper72]

My hybrid squat is just the opposite. Low bar placement and narrow stance. Not sure how it evolved to this.

[PtReyesGreg]

Yes sir, Bob's following it.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=164121561

Excellent. Thanks for the link Wil. I'll read through his thread and follow along.

My hybrid squat is just the opposite. Low bar placement and narrow stance. Not sure how it evolved to this.

Judging by your avatar picture Cooper it looks like it's working well for you. That is some very nice depth in your squat there. I hope to achieve that one day.

[PtReyesGreg]

This morning I completed Workout 2A of cycle 1 of All Pro's Beginner Routine as follows:

Hypers 20-0, 20-0
Squats 9-135, 9-180, 9-225, 10-225 (Belted)
Bench Press 9-120, 9-160, 9-200, 9-200
DB Bent Over Rows 9-30, 9-40, 9-55, 9-55
Seated Military Press 9-95, 9-115, 9-115 (Belted)
Stiff Leg Deadlifts 9-175, 9-175 (Belted)
Curls 9-75, 9-75
Calf Raises 9-135, 9-135

Overall this was a good workout. I have been focusing on mobility and trying to get over my hip issue and sore piriformis muscle and that is paying off. I am still sore but my squats definitely felt better today. I am so used to doing 5 reps now though that going to 9 reps on all sets was really making me winded. It's probably good I switched to All Pros for a while

In any case I think my squat depth is getting better...still not perfect but making progress. Also, I really tried not to lean too far forward today. Thanks to Wil for spotting that in my last videos. Again I'm still not perfect on that but it did feel/look better today I think. On my final set I got lost on my counting and wound up doing 10 reps.

Definitely feels like I'm getting back on track again. Many thanks to everyone who has posted comments about my lifts or injury to help me get it going again.

Here are videos of my squats and my last set of bench press:

[yaaar]

Tons better squats. When you stand up from the bench you can see some good definition showing. Nicely done!

[shaneinga]

The squats are looking good man. The bar is tracking nicely over the knees. It looks like you could move your safety pins up one on your squats to keep you from getting in trouble if you miss one in the hole. Other than that looks great! If you just finished week one that was your light day. Your light day kills my heavy days. LoL.

I am really enjoying this program. I hope you end up liking it as much as I do. I think the accessory exercise I am going to put in after the 3rd cycle is going to be good mornings. I think these will really help with my core and should help to improve my squats the most. I guess I will know more when the time comes.

Great work going on in here!

[PtReyesGreg]

Tons better squats. When you stand up from the bench you can see some good definition showing. Nicely done!

Thanks Wil! I appreciate your help in looking at my videos. I think trying to stay more upright helped me get a little lower too. Plus, my lower back is not bugging me as bad today as it has been, so that might be due to less bend too.

[shaneinga]

I meant to say week 2.

[PtReyesGreg]

The squats are looking good man. The bar is tracking nicely over the knees. It looks like you could move your safety pins up one on your squats to keep you from getting in trouble if you miss one in the hole. Other than that looks great! If you just finished week one that was your light day. Your light day kills my heavy days. LoL.

I am really enjoying this program. I hope you end up liking it as much as I do. I think the accessory exercise I am going to put in after the 3rd cycle is going to be good mornings. I think these will really help with my core and should help to improve my squats the most. I guess I will know more when the time comes.

Great work going on in here!

Thanks Shane. My squats are definitely feeling better. Good suggestion about moving the safeties up a notch. I have them placed there for the bench and basically was too lazy to move them. But it does look like it could get sticky with them that low if I have to ditch.

Btw, I just updated my post about the workout. It was really workout 2A of Cycle 1, so today was my heavy day. It was a copy and paste error.

I'm definitely liking this program so far. I was doing 5x5 for a while and for me it is definitely a tougher workout to crank out 8-12 reps. I keep wanting to stop when I get to 5 and have to remind myself that I am basically on half way done. I think that will be great for helping to move the weight loss along.

[PtReyesGreg]

I meant to say week 2.

Hah! Ninja Post. Yeah I just updated my post to show week 2.

[shaneinga]

LoL. Good job man. I have been known to be ninja sometimes. As ninja as a 6'5 fat guy can be.

[Marius_Ursus]

Are you locking out your bench press? It's hard to tell with a sweatshirt, but it looked like the bar didn't travel as far as it might have.

Squats are improving. Keep up the good work.

[Jbizzlechizzle]

Are you locking out your bench press? It's hard to tell with a sweatshirt, but it looked like the bar didn't travel as far as it might have.

Squats are improving. Keep up the good work.

This. I'd bet you could probably bench more if your bar path were more consistent as well. It seemed a bit shaky to me and a little different with each rep. Good job tho!

[Marius_Ursus]

This. I'd bet you could probably bench more if your bar path were more consistent as well. It seemed a bit shaky to me and a little different with each rep. Good job tho!

Oh, shoot. Thanks. Bar path was something else I was gonna ask about. It looked like your (Greg) touch point changed on every rep.

[PtReyesGreg]

Are you locking out your bench press? It's hard to tell with a sweatshirt, but it looked like the bar didn't travel as far as it might have.

Squats are improving. Keep up the good work.

This. I'd bet you could probably bench more if your bar path were more consistent as well. It seemed a bit shaky to me and a little different with each rep. Good job tho!

Oh, shoot. Thanks. Bar path was something else I was gonna ask about. It looked like your (Greg) touch point changed on every rep.

Thanks guys for giving some feedback on my bench. Honestly today it did feel a little shaky. I don't know what was different about today but I never felt quite comfortable on the bench especially on that last set (the one in the video). A few weeks ago, before I hurt myself and switched over to All Pro's I was doing work sets of 5 @ 230 and felt much tighter. I don't know if it's the higher reps or the lower weight I'm doing now, but something just felt off.

My next workout on Wed will be a medium day with a little bit lighter weight, but I'll make sure to focus on keeping the touch point constant, and hopefully that will make the bar path better. I'll also focus on doing a full lock out each time. Also, today it didn't feel like my hips were set and my back arched enough so I'll work on that too.

That's why I like posting the videos up...I've been getting lots of good feedback.