The tale of picking up progressively heavier things - an AlexSays production

[safcpaul]

Cheers man, I think the only thing I'm struggling with at the moment is getting anywhere at all lol. As mentioned in latest update, cutting is so much simpler

Aye I know what you mean mate it is harder to bulk. My bulking isn't as strict as a lean bulk but it isn't a dirty bulk either. You need to find a way to either factor in a day's drinking a week or cut it out completely

[AlexSays]

Aye I know what you mean mate it is harder to bulk. My bulking isn't as strict as a lean bulk but it isn't a dirty bulk either. You need to find a way to either factor in a day's drinking a week or cut it out completely

Or option 3.... factor in TWO day's drinking a week :P

That seems to be my preferred method right now lol

[AlexSays]

Today

Rest day today

Weight: 70.5kg/155.5lb

Some weekend water off, was in a decent deficit yesterday. Kindof against my will I keep finding myself in deficit on workout days. Instant fat-loss gratification is my enemy I guess. Back to maintenance-ish today.

Nutrition

3x Weetabix + semi skim milk
bowl of soup (includes lots of meat)
Apple, some carrot sticks
Ham cheese and mayo sandwich
1/4 lb burger with cheese and a few slices of grilled chorizo (lovely)
2x ginger nut biscuits

No idea for dinner

No workout today, just some abs stuff to pass the time

[safcpaul]

You're a dare devil with them carrot sticks mate

[AlexSays]

You're a dare devil with them carrot sticks mate

I've been warned about the dangers of going down the path of carrot sticks... but I don't give a fuk

[AlexSays]

Today

Weight: forgot to weigh

God I really can't handle this gig. I predict perpetual yo-yoing, at least until lockdown ends. I cannot control my weight. These past couple of weeks have been heavy on both the drinking and eating side. Due to the boredom of the current covid situation I don't think I've got the willpower to reign it in. It's fine when I'm cutting because I can just endless compensate as I'm always in a deficit. However now, the fact that I'm not in a deficit means every sli-up is 100% weight gained, rather than only a net amount set against my deficit. And pretty much every other day has been a slipup. I imagine I've probably gained 5-6lb already since ending my cut.

In short the plan is for now to just keep working out but I'm afraid I can't afford to be in any kind of surplus or maintenance. It's going to be a long unhealthy run of binges and boredom eating, interspersed with a general attempt at a deficit to mitigate weight gain. I expect to make very little lifting progress. Work is also high stress at the moment.

On a fast today and not sure whether I have the energy for lifting after the weekend but we'll see

Not the most optimistic of entries today but what's the point of a log if you're only going to record your success? That is why so many people start them, f*ck something up, stop posting out of shame until they're 'back on track' and then never get back on track. Then the log dies and the fitness goals vanish. So I'm here recording my less than ideal journey and hopefully things will improve


EDIT workout

OHP
27kg/60lb: 15
47kg/104lb: 6, 6, 6
These didn't feel good at all

Upright row
5kg/11lb plates: 15
15kg/33lb DBs: 10, 10, 10
These felt easy, may have to start upping reps, can't really up the weight

Rear delt rows
15kg/33lb DBs: 10, 10, 10

Neutral grip pullups
BW: 6, 6, 5, 4
Felt fat and heavy

RDL
47kg/104lb: 12, 12, 12
These also felt better, will up the weight

Nutrition

Fasting

[AlexSays]

Today

Wow what a week. Work has been wall to wall, food has been alternately good and bad. Shoehorned in a 60 hour fast amongst the mayhem. I squeezed my Wednesday workout in as and when I had time but unfortunately have not had time to log. Feel it's more important to fit in working out than to fit in logging about it, but I do still value the log and will try and be better with it next week

Weight today: 70.9kg/156.3lb

Not too unhappy with this weight. My completely flat weight after my fast was 69.5kg which isn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I'm happy with where I am now however it looks like the couple of lbs I've gained this month haven't come with much of a strength increase mainly due to the fact that all of my weight changes this month have been a product of binging and F-ing up. Ah well.

Wednesday's workout

Weighted pressups:
BW: 15
BW +10kg/22lb: 10
BW +17.5kg/39lb: 12, 12, 12
These finally felt ok enough that I'm going to increase next week

Wide grip BOR:
27kg/60lb: 15
52kg/115lb: 10, 10, 10
Upped weight, bored of being below my real working weight

Elevated pressups:
BW +10kg/22lb: 10, 10, 10
Might up these, I said I would but they didn't feel as great this week

Wide grip pullups:
BW: 8, 6, 6
Pullups aren't doing so well recently

I skipped out on lunges due to time constraints. Yes legs are important, yes I am still enough of a bro douche that they will be the first thing I cut if I need to cut something

Nutrition in general

Fast went well. good results, no loss of strength. Besides that: too much alcohol, too much alcohol related food choices. I can keep telling myself to get things under control but I'm not going to pretend that'll make a difference. I'm sure I'll battle back to stability in time

Am thrashing this out during another hectic day so will sign off now but glad I got to check in

[AlexSays]

Today

Expected bad weekend for alcohol, will start my corresponding fast tomorrow. Believe I am probably evening out to maintenance or just above with this system.

Unfortunately I damaged by elbow by whacking it into something on Saturday and it is quite badly bruised meaning I can't lift. Will use today to catch up with some leg work but beyond that I'm going to wait for it to go down.

Not too much to report today, food is still too haphazard from trying to recover from the weekend to log effectively

Workout

Lunges:
BW: 10
BW + 32kg/71lb: 10, 10, 10

RDL:
32kg/71lb: 15
52kg/115lb: 12, 12, 12

May continue the week with a push and a pull day to compliment how I've started (if my elbow is in better shape)

[RandyMcFlab]

That sucks to hear about your elbow mate, a good time to get a bit of R&R for sure.

and fair play for recording the ups and downs of it all, makes for a much more complete journal than just the good bits!

[AlexSays]

Thanks brother, I need to start doing the rounds of all you awesome guys' logs again, have been retreating into myself a little recently, takes a lot just to maintain this one :/ things seem to be going south again

Today

Weight, no idea. Had a dominos last night but managed to keep it to half a pizza. Ruined that a little by then eating too much ice cream but whatever

Workout

Push today, elbow seemed to hold up

Weighted pressups:
BW: 15
BW + 10kg/22lb: 15
BW + 20kg/44lb: 12, 12, 12
Last reps on last set were a grind so will maintain the weight. Glad still managed to increase this however despite erratic health in past week

Weighted elevated pressups:
BW + 12.5kg/28lb: 10, 10, 10
These didn't feel too great, again maintain

Upright rows:
5kg/11lb plates: 15
15kg/33lb DBs: 10, 10, 10
Still doing these on push day or else it's impossible to balance push with pull. These still don't really seem to be going anywhere, would ideally like to increase reps soon

OHP:
27kg/60lb: 15
42kg/93lb: 8, 7, 8
Finally decided to drop this weight, think I lost the strength on it somewhere and it's not going back up whilst I'm trying to grind 6 rep sets on the higher set. Didn't rest for long enough before set 2 and elbow was a little restricting, have higher hopes for this weight next week

Lat raises:
10kg/22lb plates: 10, 10, 10
Thought I'd throw in at least some isolation as I'm splitting this week

Nutrition

Fasting

Feels like I'm developing an eating disorder but in reality it's more of a drinking disorder. Can't reign the drink in so have to balance out the binges with restriction. When I'm not drinking I don't have any issues controlling my diet even with fasting so wouldn't say this is a binge eating disorder.

[AlexSays]

Today

Weight: 71kg/156.6lb

Fasting again, rest day

[AlexSays]

Workout

Nope! Fasting is too boring, can't sit around. Might as well do my LPP in a block and maybe fit in something else on friday

Wide grip BOR
27kg/60lb: 15
54kg/119lb: 12, 12, 12
These felt really good, easy on my back and easy lift in general. will up the weight next time

Rear delt rows
5kg/11lb plates: 15
15kg/33lb DBs: 12, 12, 12
Finally upped the reps on these, tried to get the form more down today now my back is feeling stronger. Really trying to get shoulders and elbows in as straight a line as possible to nail that horizontal pull

BB curls
27kg/60lb: 8, 8, 8
God these really are weak, very much struggled even to get 8. haven't really devoted much time to curls in the past few years

Wide grip pullup
BW: 7, 6, 6

Neutral grip pullup
BW: 5, 5, 5

Not surprised the pullups fell down as I did them in a block at the end of the session. My energy was feeling really really good until those last two exercises, usually energy doesn't hold out this long into a fast for me so am very happy I snuck this workout in

Cheers all

[AlexSays]

Today

Weight: 69.5kg/153.4lb

Imagine this means I'm hitting maintenance (this was my exact weight at the end of my last fast) with combination of alcohol and food binges and about a 6-7000 calorie fast deficit. Not sustainable but working right now.

Workout

Low intensity lower workout

RDL
27kg/60lb: 15
52kg/115lb: 12, 12

Lunges
BW: 10
BW + 32kg/71lb: 10, 10

Will probably follow this with a low intensity upper tomorrow if feel up for it. Quite enjoyed my programming this week. The PPLUL felt good, may chuck it in occasionally

Nutrition

Food again! weirdly threw up my first meal today, but of food I've kept down:

1x chocolate and caramel squares bar (OMG)
2x satsumas
50g Whey
handful of grapes
small handful of chocolate buttons of various types
4 cocktail sausages
2x sandwiches, chicken mayo and cheese, chicken mayo and chicken

Not sure for dinner

[AlexSays]

Today

No time for real update but thought should sneak in my workout, this is a workout log after all

Workout

Low intensity upper

Weighted pressups
BW: 15
BW + 10kg/22lb: 12
BW + 20kg/44lb: 12, 12

Wide grip BOR
37kg/82lb: 15
57kg/126lb: 12, 12
These felt pretty good with the raise weight and higher weight warmup but a bit of drag on the working set.

Rear delt rows:
15kg/33lb DBs: 15, 15
feel good with the increased reps, may have to move to asymmetrical loading to increase the weight on the handles. Shouldn't be too much of a problem, might even improve my stability

Was going to throw in an isolation of some kind. Possibly a tricep exercise but cant be bothered this week. Am considering keeping this PPL/UL program as recovery seems fine on it and I like the volume

[AlexSays]

Today

Weight: 72.2kg/159.2lb

Bad weekend again, booze bloat but I think slightly less of an outrageous surplus than the last few weekends. Am not going to fast this week but will definitely try to keep things moderate

Workout

RDL
27kg/60lb: 15
37kg/82lb: 12
57kg/126lb: 12, 12, 12
Wobbly but otherwise strong. Lower back is holding out. Don't think I'll ever have my previous lifts but definitely making progress

BB lunges
BW: 10
BW + 34kg/75lb: 10, 10, 10
These are still feeling odd on my knees. Infinitely better than when I first started doing lunges but still worryingly fragile feeling in my joints

Nutrition

2x chocolate weetabix with semi skim milk
1x pear
2x half sandwiches (no top slice of bread, still all the filling). Ham cheese and mayo and one ham bacon and mayo

Sprinkled some chopped fresh red chilli in my sandwiches, sooooooooo divine


Overall weights are going up which is the main thing. Feel like I'm kindof kidding myself because feel as if I'm holding back due to my lower back and other restrictions but have to remember that every week I find a weight easier or lift something to an extent that I couldn't have done several weeks ago, I am getting stronger

[AlexSays]

Today

Weight unsure, am fasting today as keep losing control with alcohol this week, both Monday and Tuesday, god I wish booze was 0 calorie.

Workout

Wide grip BOR
27kg/60lb: 15
47kg/104lb: 12
59kg/130lb: 12, 12, 12
These weren't too bad but ended up hunching and 'tugging' toward the end of each set, will keep the weight

Rear delt rows:
5kg/11lb plates: 15
16.25kg/36lb DBs: 10, 10, 10
Am going to have to up the reps on this as my next increase by necessity of available plates will be up to 20kg DBs which is almost a 4kg increase each side, so reps will drop low

Wide grip pullups:
BW: 9, 8, 8
Felt better this week despite probably having a lot of bloat and some extra fat since last week

Neutral grip pullups
BW: 8, 7, 8

BB curls
27kg/60lb: 10, 8, 8
These are still weak as sh*t

[AlexSays]

Today

Weight: 71.2kg/157lb

Hmm it's slowly getting higher. God I feel tired today and lower back (right down by my tailbone) is feeling twinge-y and unstable so not sure if I'll do my lower today. Maybe it'll feel better later

EDIT: workout

Kept it VERY low intensity today

RDL
27kg/60lb: 15
37kg/82lb: 12
57kg/126lb: 12

BB lunges
BW: 10
BW + 37kg/82lb: 12

[AlexSays]

Today

Not sure on weight, another heavy weekend :/

Workout

Weighted pressups:
BW: 15
BW + 10kg/22lb: 12
BW + 22.5kg/50lb: 12, 11, 10
These were tough and didn't quite make reps. Will stick with this weight

OHP
27kg/60lb: 10
37kg/82lb: 10, 10, 10
Have had to reduce this weight so much just to get in the rep range. Hope this isn't actually getting weaker and is more of a product of it being incorporated on push day rather than being standalone

Upright rows
5kg/11lb plates: 15
16.25kg/36lb DBs: 12, 12, 12
Really tried to grind out extra reps on these but not getting much height towards the end of each set, another one that is flagging

Elevated pressups
BW: 15
BW + 12.5kg/28lb: 12, 12, 12
Not perfect, was a bit of a strain, will maintain weight

Really need to stop drinking and fasting. Strength is edging up in tiny increments which is good but am exhausted all the time and not making the progress I would like by any stretch. Hope when gyms reopen it'll be easier to stay on track

Nutrition

All kinds of sh*t. Having a roast tonight and will likely do another marathon fast this week. So much crap to offload

[AlexSays]

Today

Having that roast finally later so am trying to save my days calories for that, may even end up in a deficit!

Workout

Wide grip BOR
27kg/60lb: 15
47kg/104lb: 15
59kg/130lb: 12, 12, 12
No change really

Rear delt rows:
5kg/11lb plates: 15
16.25kg/36lb DBs: 13, 12, 12
managed to drop in some more reps, when I get to 15 per set may have to up this to 20kg/44lb per side

Wide grip pullups:
BW: 9, 7, 7
Felt ok but reps not so great

Neutral grip pullups
BW: TBC

BB curls
27kg/60lb: 8, 8, 8
These are STILL weak as sh*t

[AlexSays]

Today

Fasting day, woohoo

Workout

RDL
27kg/60lb: 15
37kg/82lb: 12
62kg/137lb: 12, 12, 12
Bit hit and miss with these but overall went well. Happy with the weight increase

BB Lunges
BW: 10
37kg/82lb: 10, 10, 10
Getting some twinges in my right glute which can get a bit worrying but overall improving, happy with the weight increase

Nutrition

f*ckall

[AlexSays]

Damn tried to post yesterday but stupid server wouldn't allow me access then I forgot and lost the text

Yesterday

Weight: 75.5kg/166.5lb

Have made a commitment to try to be sober at least Sunday night to Thursday. Recently have been drinking friday, saturday, sunday and usually 3 or more days in the week. Leading to that monstrous weight (I know, I know, it isn't heavy, it's just heavy given that it's like 14lb gain in less than 6 weeks). I am going to have to mini-cut for several weeks so long as I can stick to this sobriety gaff.

Workout yesterday

Actually wen't surprisingly well

Weighted pressups
BW: 15
BW + 10kg/22lb: 15
BW + 22.5kg/50lb: 12, 12, 12
These felt a little stronger actually, maybe because I didn't drink Sunday

OHP
27kg/60lb: 15
42kg/93lb: 10, 10, 10
Again felt better even with the weight jump

Upright rows
5kg/11lb plates: 15
16.25kg/36lb DBs: 11, 10, 11
Still meh

Elevated pressups
BW: 15
BW + 12.5kg/28lb: 12, 12, 12
These felt much stronger

Nutrition

2x weetabix + semi skim + grapes
handful of chocolate buttons
pile of leftover mince, veg, taco fillings + 3 taco boats
2x ham, cheese and mayo sandwiches
50g Whey isolate



Will update today later after my workout

[AlexSays]

Yesterday

Gah life is so busy at the moment

Weight: 74kg/163.2lb

Water drop

Workout

Wide grip BOR
27kg/60lb: 20
47kg/104lb: 15
62kg/137lb: 12, 12, 12
Actually made an error here and jacked up the weight as forgot to check my previous log. Still went ok and got the reps

Rear delt rows
5kg/11lb plates: 15
16.25kg/36lb DBs: 10, 12, 12
Dropped reps

BB curls
27kg/60lb: 10, 10, 10
Minor improvement?

Wide grip pullups:
8, 8, 7

Neutral grip pullups
6, 6, 5

Pullups either steady or dropping but assuming it's due more to the weight I've been putting on

Nutrition

50g Whey + grapes
2x sandwiches (ham, cheese, mayo, fresh chilli)
Giant steak, potatoes, vegetables
Slice of apple pie + 1 scoop ice cream


Today

Weight: 73kg/161lb

God that's 2.5kg of bloat dropped so far. Bloody alcohol. I'm sure some is glycogen and imagine this will be where I level off. Ideally would like to get down to 70kg deflated weight before jumping back on maintenance or surplus (hopefully with less booze)

Will update legs later

Nutrition so far

2x weetabix and semi skim, 1x pear
will have the two sandwich special for lunch

Dinner TBC

[AlexSays]

Update for today, started my RDL warmup and didn't feel good at all. Will leave until tomorrow

[safcpaul]

Hope you're doing well Alex mate. Your consistency is always there with your workouts but you need to sort that drinking out bud. If you can have 1 set day a week for drinking then you can bulk sensibly and have that 1 day a week as your cheat day. Good job on the workouts though. I know what you mean about them pull ups. Even just losing a couple lbs makes them easier to do. I can always feel it when I'm carrying extra weight

[AlexSays]

Thanks bud, yeah I managed to go 4 days sober this week and felt a real difference, hopefully will be even more next week. I'm on my way to improvement, fed up of wasted effort (progress is markedly slower). Yeah pullups are a weird one because it's all about relative strength. Hate the 'tubby' feeling of doing pullups when heavy. Feel like a god doing them lean even though technically I'm moving less weight

Today

Weight: 73.5kg/162lb

Workout

Low intensity full body today as this is the final session I can manage this week and have only done a single day each of push and pull so far

Weighted pressups
BW: 15
BW + 15kg/33lb: 12
BW + 25kg/55lb: 12, 12
These actually felt great. Increased my warmup weight and my working weight and felt better than they have done in a while. Really felt the reps and form didn't need to strain even if it was a struggle

Rear delt rows
5kg/11lb plates: 15
16.25kg/36lb DBs: 15, 15
Yesssss finally got some damn reps in

Lunges
BW: 10
BW + 37kg/82lb: 10, 10
Lower back is still dodgy but really wanted to get in at least a bit of leg work this week, these were pretty good. Found out today that I get better form and less wobbly joints if I space my hands out much farther on the bar behind my head. Assume it aids in balance or something

Wide grip pullups
BW: 8, 8

All in all pretty happy with today's workout. Threw in a random set of 20 bodyweight good-mornings just to keep some mobility in my lower back and keep the muscles warm

EDIT: progress pic why not. Possibly gained some size and certainly several kg of fat

[AlexSays]

Yesterday

Weighed in at 75.2kg/165.8lb

Not too sad about that. Had a bad weekend but at least didn't gain any weight since last Monday

Workout

Finally ok enough weather to get my bench out and CHRIST does my chest hurt today. Bench was weak as piss but haven't done it in months so hoping that once I get my muscles used to it again my weighted pressup strength will translate to bench strength

Bench press
27kg/60lb: 20
47kg/104lb: 15
62kg/137lb: 8, 8, 8
Maybe tone down the warmup sets, could have fried myself, these aren't pressups!

OHP
27kg/60lb: 15
42kg/93lb: 10, 8, 8
these are such a ballache, down again

Upright rows
5kg/11lb plates: 15
16.25kg/36lb DBs: 12, 11, 12

Elevated pressups
BW: 15
BW + 15kg/33lb: 10, 10, 12
Weight increase but still felt ok despite dropping a few reps

[AlexSays]

Today

Weight: 74.5kg/164.3

God I had a crazy long sleep last night. Needed though

Workout

Wide grip BOR
27kg/60lb: 15
47kg/104lb: 10
62kg/137lb: 10, 11, 12
Dropped some reps here, felt heavy

Rear delt rows
5kg/11lb plates: 15
16.25kg/36lb DBs: 15, 13, 12
Good reps, these still feel satisfying

BB curls
27kg/60lb: 10, 10, 10
These actually felt a bit better today, may up weight

Wide grip pullups:
BW: 8, 8, 8
Consistent if not great reps

Neutral grip pullups:
BW: 6, 6, 6
Same as above, bad reps but hit the same each set. All together it's 42 pullups in the session which isn't too bad

Most things stable week on week at the moment, if anything losing a couple of reps here and there (maybe just had a lucky week or so when increased). Think alcohol and the weekends must be having their impact. Maybe better next week

[AlexSays]

Today

Weight: 75.5kg/166.5lb

Fasting today and tomorrow

Workout

RDL
27kg/60lb: 15
37kg/82lb: 12
67kg/148lb: 10
62kg/137lb: 12, 12
Increased the weight but was a bit much so backed off for sets 2 and 3

BB Lunges
BW: 10
37kg/82lb: 10
39kg/86lb: 10, 10
These felt good today so increased the weight halfway through

Legs are BURNING, feels awesome

[Raigs]

No wonder I havnt seen you in a bit. You got a new journal!

Nice leg session RDL followed by BB lunges. THat had to have had the legs pumped. Isnt it great to bench after a long time? Feeling the pump is awesome on chest day

[AlexSays]

No wonder I havnt seen you in a bit. You got a new journal!

Nice leg session RDL followed by BB lunges. THat had to have had the legs pumped. Isnt it great to bench after a long time? Feeling the pump is awesome on chest day

Yeah there isn't a whole lot else I can do without any machines or a rack but tbh it feels like enough for now. Didn't work legs for a long time because of my back so any attention rinses them lol.

God my chest still hasn't recovered haha. Hopefully will do by my upper day tomorrow