Leangains cut, to be followed by a bulk a big bench

[PressingMatters]

*edit typo in the log title!* "...bulk AND a big bench"

Hello all.

Decided to start this log to keep motivated and to get some input in my training. I used to be a powerlifter, but problems with my hips (FAI impingements) have put an end to that for now (hopefully I'll be getting surgery next year).

CURRENT GOALS

Short term: Get lean, maintain bench strength (probably keep cutting until Christmas)
Longer term goal: Bench press 150kg at under 90kg bodyweight in competition

CURRENT STATS

Height: 6'0.5
Bodyweight: 183lb
Current bench: 120kg/264lb x 4, 110kg/242lb x 8 (all touch and go)

DIET

I have been doing Lyle McDonald's Ultimate Diet 2.0 for the last three months. It's been very effective, but a change in my life circumstances is going to be it inconvenient to continue. Accordingly I'm switching to a Leangains style cut which affords more flexibility.

Training days (4 days p/w): 185p, 67f, 255c
Rest days: 185p, 84f, 99c

These are just my initial numbers, I may adjust depending on how my training and weight loss goes.

TRAINING

I'll be training four days per week. Volume will be relatively low (for me) while I'm still dropping weight.

CURRENT PIC

Here's a pic from a couple weeks ago:

h ttp://i.imgur.com/XyCcZ99.jpg

I'm hoping to bring out those abs really well by the time this cut is done!

I plan to keep this log updated with nutrition and workouts daily. Feel free to tag along and comment, I'll be sure to check out your log in return.

[PressingMatters]

Right let's get this log rolling...

Target macros: 185p, 99c, 84f
Actual: 185p, 102c, 81f

Lunch: 3 eggs, 1 cup of egg whites, 2 handfuls of spinach, garlic, thumb of butter + a chicken 'steak'

h ttp://i.imgur.com/0dSMb6z.jpg

Dinner: 2 skinless chicken thighs wrapped in bacon and stuffed with cream cheese and dried apricots + green beans

h ttp://i.imgur.com/Ys6fsMU.jpg

Dessert: Protein pancakes (1/3 cup of oats, 2/3 banana, scoop of whey, 1 egg white)

h ttp://i.imgur.com/EbBRQxO.jpg


Looks like I need to get cracking on getting to 50 posts. First workout will be logged tomorrow.

[PressingMatters]

My RPE system:
10= max effort
9= 1 rep left
8= 2 reps left
7= 3 reps left
6= 4+ reps left

MONDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2015

I've been sick the last few days, so took it pretty easy on the volume today. The weights were definitely a bit down.

TRAINING

1 Competition Bench Press
100kg/220kg x 3@6
110kg/242lb x 3@8
115kg/253lb x 3@9
2 x 105kg/231lb x 3@6-7

2 Bench + 16.5kg/36lb chain
3 x 100kg/220lb x 3 (chain weight on top)

Went touch and go on the first set, then paused the rest.

3 WG Pullup
BW x 15,15,10

3a Leg Extension
3 x 15

3b YWTLs (rear delts)
3 x 10lb x 5 (each letter)

3c Flutter Kicks
3 x 45s

Bleh. Pretty low energy due to this chest infection I've got.

NUTRITION

Target macros: 185p, 255c, 67f
Actual: 186p, 251c, 75f

Lunch: chicken thighs with Chinese 5 spice, sweet chili sauce and sesame on rice + rice + green beans (h ttp://i.imgur.com/jALpx18.jpg)

Intra-workout: 30gm dextrose, 10gm BCAAs (more for the flavour)

PWO: 30gm whey, 30gm glucose jelly beans

Dinner: Roasted pulled pork leg with apple sauce and mango salsa + salad + potatoes + slice of baguette (h ttp://i.imgur.com/88Y1vt6.jpg)

Dessert: Goody Goody Gumdrops icecream, cos IIFYM

[PressingMatters]

TUESDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2015

Still sick. Had a job interview today which wasn't ideal timing, but it went pretty well. Fingers crossed!

NUTRITION

Target Macros: 185p, 99c, 84f
Actual: 185p, 99c, 84f

Boom. Macros spot on. More good luck than good management.

Lunch: Bowl of edamame beans, basic burger at Burger Liquor (normally $10, but $1 on their birthday, sweet)

h ttp://i.imgur.com/iTWhAa0.jpg h ttp://i.imgur.com/g5PNEKT.jpg

Snacks: 1 scoop of casein, Protein FX protein bar, 4 dried apricots, 100gm cheese chips with paprika

h ttp://i.imgur.com/nlUTQuf.jpg

Dinner: 375gm pulled roast pork with BBQ and cranberry sauce, handful of spinach, half a capsicum

h ttp://i.imgur.com/o3bbPUl.jpg

[PressingMatters]

WEDNESDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2015
Bodyweight: 81.5kg (fasted, gym clothes on)

Health improving, but still a bit sick. I kept the volume down today accordingly.

TRAINING

1 4ct Pause Bench Press
100kg/220lb x 2 @6-7
107.5kg/237lb x 2 @8
112.5kg/248lb x 2 @9.5
3 x 100kg/220lb x 2 @6-7

2 GHR
Hands on head x 8
2.5kg/5.5lb hat 2 x 8

3 Feet up Bench (ultra wide grip, slow tempo)
60kg/132lb x 8
70kg/154lb x 8
3 x 80kg/176lb x 8

4a "Dominator" ab rotation
3 x 30kg/66lb x 10 (per side)

4b Cable Row
3 x 50kg/110lb x 15

4c EZ Preacher Curl
3 x 30kg/66lb x 10


NUTRITION

Target Macros: 185p, 255c, 67f
Actual: 193p, 256c, 61f

Lunch: 2 chicken thighs marinated in Jamaican jerk + a banana, mixed berry, honey and yogurt smoothie

Snack: Beef jerky

Dinner: Tandoori chicken pizza with coriander and yogurt



Dessert: Oats, brown sugar and banana

[PressingMatters]

A couple vids from my training:

112.5 x 2 4ct pause bench from today:



115 x 3 comp bench from Monday:

[wlodarczykn]

Subbed as well.

Nice pressing ^!!!

I see you have a bunch of food porn in here. This log will really take off once you can embed

[PressingMatters]

Subbed as well.

Nice pressing ^!!!

I see you have a bunch of food porn in here. This log will really take off once you can embed

Thanks for the sub.

I definitely more of a home porn type foodpornographer, but I still enjoy doing it.

I'm slowly edging towards that 50 post mark. .. the trouble is finding posts worth responding to.

[MyEgoProblem]

Strong numbers! In for the @rpe ratings!

Best way to judge effort levels imo.. Tuscherer is a VERY smart guy and has that next level programming on point. (well ahead of my needs but the knowledge is the t1ts ;-))

[PressingMatters]

Strong numbers! In for the @rpe ratings!

Best way to judge effort levels imo.. Tuscherer is a VERY smart guy and has that next level programming on point. (well ahead of my needs but the knowledge is the t1ts ;-))

He sure is. I was coached by him back in 2009, he was MUCH cheaper then. So many knowledge bombs.

[MyEgoProblem]

He sure is. I was coached by him back in 2009, he was MUCH cheaper then. So many knowledge bombs.

Gonna be honest.. A bit jel ;-)

[PressingMatters]

Gonna be honest.. A bit jel ;-)

I'm happy to answer any questions the best I can.

[PressingMatters]

THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2015

NUTRITION

Target Macros: 185p, 99c, 84f
Actual: 189p, 87c, 96f

Overshot, but by less than 100kcal, so I'm not really fussed.

Lunch: scrambled eggs (3 whole eggs, 1 cup of egg whites, heap of spinach, parsley with paprika and chili powder) with half a capsicum and relish



Dinner: 410gm chicken breast wrapped in 4 rashers of bacon, stuffed with 40gm cream cheese and 30gm basil pesto + spinach and half a capsicum



Dessert: 2/3 a bowl of protein fluff (1.5 scoops of casein, 1 banana, 100gm mixed berries, 50ml milk), 50gm salted caramel oreo slice


Delicious lunch and dinner. Then I decided to make some protein fluff for the first time. It looked fantastic, but I quickly grew tired of its texture. Then I remembered that my wife had left a salted caramel oreo slice in the cupboard for me, so I ate half of it! It blew my macros a bit, but not enough to matter.

[PressingMatters]

FRIDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2015
Bodyweight: 81.0

Lightest I've been in a long time.

TRAINING

1 Competition Bench Press
100kg/220lb x 4 @6
105kg/231lb x 4 @7.5
110kg/242lb x 4 @9
3 x 105kg/231lb x 4 @7-9

2 Slingshot Bench (XXL)
4 x 120kg/264lb x 4 @8-9

I turned my house upside down before leaving for the gym but couldn't find my damn slingshot. I ended up using someone else's that is far too big for me. When I got home I realised where mine was straight away. D'oh. The XXL was giving hardly anything.

3a Chin Up
BW x 5
10kg/22lb x 5
2 x 20kg/44lb x 5
BW x 19.5

First time doing chins in a long time, I think my previous best is 14 or 15.

3b Leg Press
190kg/418lb x 10
230kg/507lb x 10
2 x 250kg/551lb x 10

4a Band Internal + External Rotation
4 x 10 (each side)

4b Brett Gibbs Facepulls
4 x 50lb x 15

I'll post nutrition up later.

[MyEgoProblem]

Im new to the slingshot, but! <3 it! it lives in my gym bag, in its own compartment, pride of place with my wrist wraps haha

had to look up the brett gibbs facepulls, didnt find anything google fu fail..

[wlodarczykn]

Im new to the slingshot, but! <3 it! it lives in my gym bag, in its own compartment, pride of place with my wrist wraps haha

had to look up the brett gibbs facepulls, didnt find anything google fu fail..

I've seen the slingshot before but am curious on your guys' opinion on it? Beneficial/worth the cost or nah?

[PressingMatters]

FRIDAY THE 13TH CONT.

NUTRITION

Target macros: 185p, 255c, 67f
Actual: 185p, 251c, 68f

PERI-WORKOUT: 10gm BCAAs

LUNCH: 420gm chicken breast with 5 spice, 40gm sweet chili and 5gm sesame, baby spinach and a small carrot



DINNER: half a tandoori chicken pizza, half a meatlovers pizza (homemade of course, 1 whole pizza base, 60gm cooked chicken, 10gm tandoori paste, 50gm yogurt, 25gm ham, 25gm bacon, 25gm salami, 25gm kransky, 17gm BBQ sauce)



DESSERT: 130gm Goody Goody Gumdrop icecream

[PressingMatters]

Im new to the slingshot, but! <3 it! it lives in my gym bag, in its own compartment, pride of place with my wrist wraps haha

had to look up the brett gibbs facepulls, didnt find anything google fu fail..

You wouldn't. Brett trained at my gym until very recently. He just showed me how he liked to do them one day. The best I can describe it is that you pull the rope back into a double biceps pose.

I've seen the slingshot before but am curious on your guys' opinion on it? Beneficial/worth the cost or nah?

If you can spare the $50 then you'll get good value out of it. It's great if you've got a dicky shoulder as it takes the pressure if it at the bottom. I use it to get used to heavier weights, never go over 110% of my max, though I could probably go to 125% if I wanted.

[PressingMatters]

SATURDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2015

There was a powerlifting competition at my gym today. I was spotter/loading in the afternoon so I went to another gym to get my morning session in.

TRAINING

1 Incline Bench Press
60kg/132lb x 8
80kg/176lb x 8
85kg/187lb x 8,7
80kg/176lb x 8
60kg/132lb x 10

I fatigued fairly fast on this, not surprising as I trained fasted.

2 Leg Curl
5 x 10

3a DB Lateral Raise
9kg/20lb x 10
2 x 12.5kg/27.5lb x 10
10kg/22lb x 10

3b Hammerstrength Row
4 x 10

4a EZ Preacher Curl
25kg/55lb x 10
2 x 27.5kg/61lb x 10

4b Toes to Bar
3 x 9

I made use of the overpriced fitness centre's facilities and hit the steam room and sauna. I still wouldn't trade it for my gym.

Then I headed to my gym and spotter/loaded from 2pm to 9pm, with only a 10min break. I'm shattered now. I decided to eat more calories balance out a bit of the energy I expended (spotting and loading somewhere north of 450 lifts is exhausting).

Highlight was rear spotting a 310kg/684lb failed squat and making a good catch. Lowlight was catching a guy with incredibly sweaty pits.

NUTRITION

Target macros: 185p, 255c, 67f
Actual: 184p, 316c, 66f

I'm sure I burnt wayyyyyy more than the 200-250 extra cals I ate. I can't be bothered listing what I ate today.

[MyEgoProblem]

You wouldn't. Brett trained at my gym until very recently. He just showed me how he liked to do them one day. The best I can describe it is that you pull the rope back into a double biceps pose.

Ha ha, fair enough my friend... The guy is legit AF.. But Sounds kinds how I do them tbh..

Pulled at a very slight upwards angle
Neutral grip(thumbs point back)
Pulled high with elbowes
External Rotation
Damn hard squeeze
Looks like a back double Bi.. Copied from omar isuf on the utubes. As I found that feels like the best form to me...

I also do the bret contreras facepulls with res band, where you do the regular Facepull, (as above) but you also pull apart at peak contraction,. And man does that burn ;-)

Oh. And in.

[PressingMatters]

SUNDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2015

NUTRITION

Target Macros: 185p, 99c, 84f
Actual: 186p, 97c, 85f

Lunch: 300gm roast chicken, garden salad

Snack: Protein bar

Dinner: 450gm poached chicken with pesto, salad

Dessert: slice of homemade salted caramel cheesecake



All up this beast I made was just shy of 6500kcal. I saved up my carb and fat allowance to have 1/12th after dinner. Worth it.

[PressingMatters]

Ha ha, fair enough my friend... The guy is legit AF.. But Sounds kinds how I do them tbh..

Pulled at a very slight upwards angle
Neutral grip(thumbs point back)
Pulled high with elbowes
External Rotation
Damn hard squeeze
Looks like a back double Bi.. Copied from omar isuf on the utubes. As I found that feels like the best form to me...

I also do the bret contreras facepulls with res band, where you do the regular Facepull, (as above) but you also pull apart at peak contraction,. And man does that burn ;-)

Oh. And in.

You sir, are the facepull expert.

[PressingMatters]

MONDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2015
Bodyweight 81.15kg/178.9lb (one meal, t-shirt, trackpants, moderate hydration)

TRAINING

1 Competition Bench Press
100kg/220lb x 2 @6
110kg/242lb x 2 @6.5
115kg/253lb x 2 @8
120kg/264lb x 2 @11
3 x 110kg/242lb x 3 @8-10

Misgrooved the second rep of 120 stupidly. But in hindsight I was overreaching with the weight anyway. I can't be too aggressive with the weights while still losing bodyweight.

2 Bench + 16.5kg/36.5lb chain
4 x 100kg/220lb x 3 @8-10

3 Pullups
4 x BW x 15

1 set each of wide grip, normal grip, chinup grip and hammer grip. The last few reps were pretty sketchy.

4a Ab Pulldowns
3 x 40kg/88lb x 12

4b Leg Extensions
3 x 12

4c YWTLs
3 x 10lb x 5 (each letter)


NUTRITION

Target macros: 185p, 255c, 67f
Actual: 181p, 218c, 87f

Reduced my carbs to allow some extra fat.

LUNCH: Banana-berry proats (1/2 cup of oats, 1 scoop of casein, 140gm mixed berries[/b]

Harry the pup thought they looked good:



SNACKS: 100gm biltong, 1 banana, 1 pancake chocolate ganache sandwich thing

DINNER: 4 lamb loin chops (avoided most of the fat), roast potatoes, pumpkin and kumara, green beans and broccoli in a cheese sauce

DESSERT: Another slice of yesterday's cheesecake.

[wlodarczykn]

Holy chit that cheescake tho!

Solid benching brah! Also appreciate you using kg/lbs for us dumb muricans

I'm addicted to proats/oats lately and yours look so hnnng. Although I usually use whey, never tried casein. I imagine it makes it quite thick, no? I was adding some chia seeds to mine to thicken it up, suppose casein would probably work better.

[PressingMatters]

Holy chit that cheescake tho!

Solid benching brah! Also appreciate you using kg/lbs for us dumb muricans

I'm addicted to proats/oats lately and yours look so hnnng. Although I usually use whey, never tried casein. I imagine it makes it quite thick, no? I was adding some chia seeds to mine to thicken it up, suppose casein would probably work better.

Those were my first ever proats. It was fairly thick. I'll definitely have them again. And yes, the cheesecake is/was hnnnggggg.

TUESDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2015

NUTRITION

Target Macros: 185p, 99c, 84f
Actual: 177p, 98c, 89f

Lunch: Scrambled eggs on two pieces of toast with basil pesto, spinach and herbs (3 whole eggs, 1 cup of egg whites)

Second lunch: 340gm pork porterhouse, 8 cherry tomatos

Dinner: Burger with two patties and coleslaw

Second dinner: 1 chicken steak, cos lettuce and croutons.

[PressingMatters]

WEDNESDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2015
Bodyweight: 81.7kg/180.1lb (fasted, shorts and t-shirt, good hydration)

It looks like my bodyweight has bounced back after being sick.

TRAINING

1 4ct Pause Bench Press
90kg/198lb x 3 @6
100kg/220lb x 3 @7.5
107.5kg/237b x 3 @9
4 x 102.5kg/226lb x 3 @8-9

2 GHR
Hands on head x 5
10lb x 5
15lb x 5
2 x 20lb x 5

3 Feet up Bench (ultra wide grip, slow tempo)
60kg/132lb x 8
80kg/176lb x 8
3 x 85kg/187lb x 8

4a Decline Abs (steepest setting)
3 x 8

4b Cable Row
3 x 60kg/132lb x 12

4c EZ Preacher Curl
3 x 30kg/66lb x 10

5 Banded internal + external shoulder rotation
3 x 10 (int + ext, each side)

[PressingMatters]

Progress photos (albeit in the favourable gym changing room light!):





I flipped the damn photos on my computer. I have no idea why they've reverted when uploaded.

[MyEgoProblem]

No homo dude but...

you got one fine a55 looking dog! is gonna get so many bi****s!


+1 for highlights + shadows!

[PressingMatters]

No homo dude but...

you got one fine a55 looking dog! is gonna get so many bi****s!


+1 for highlights + shadows!

Yeah, Harry is a chick-magnet. I should have got him before I got married.

[PressingMatters]

Wednesday cont...

NUTRITION

Target macros: 185p, 255c, 67f (2364kcal)
Actual: 180p, 253c, 70f (2369kcal)

LUNCH: 340gm pork porterhouse, 80gm (cooked) chicken, 1/2 cup of rice, 30gm BBQ sauce, spinach



SNACK: 200gm cottage cheese, 45gm lemon curd (chose the wrong brand of cottage cheese according to my cottage cheese expert friend, the texture wasn't great)

DINNER: Venison and bacon burger (with camembert, beetroot relish, cos lettuce and cherry tomatoes), kumara (sweet potato) fries



Dayum. That was delicious. I free-styled the recipe and it turned out really well. I managed to cook them well so they were still a bit rare. I'll record it here for later use:

1 onion, diced and sauteed in 15ml EVOO
2 cloves of garlic, ""
150gm streaky bacon
(cook the above in advance, allow to cool, then mix with)
1 egg
100gm bread crumbs
50gm BBQ sauce
500gm venison mince
Fresh parsley
Dash of paprika, oregano, salt, pepper and chili powder

Macros: 151.9p, 109.1c, 83f for the entire mixture.