Go with the flow!

[ljk]

You're down to 63 kg? That's low for you isn't it?

[Espi]

Right now up to near 65kg again, but this past month I saw 62,5kg. And yes, haven't weighed 63kg since I was 21 (that's another 21 yrs ago), except when I was critically ill and dropped a ton of muscle in 2004.

Mostly I've been weighing 72kg or more, sometimes dipping as 'low' as 68kg or regaining as high as 85kg, but generally 72kg was my setpoint.

Hmm decided to just not try and catch up yesterday's abandoned WO , but instead try to do the remainder tomorrow after the A-workout.

[ljk]

You lost quite a lot rather quickly!

[Espi]

It just started going smoothly in the autumn of last year down to approx. 67kg . Now it's going in stretches.

I just wondered this morning in another thread whether others have experienced the same with FL 2: deadlift weights nearly 'flying' up and then seeing T-pushups going into the gutter. When I started these supersets I was able to do real pushups, but right now am back to girly wimpy knee push ups.
It can just be that I realized how freaking hard pushups really are (0.7 x BW for real ones and 0.5x BW for knee pushups) and gave up trying too hard. Or that I was focusing too much on the deadlifts.
In any case, it's about the only exercise that really deteriorated over time during the FL 2 routine.

[Espi]

Thursday June 28
TRAINING NROL Lifter Fat Loss 2 – week4 Workout A
all weights in kilograms

DYNAMIC STRETCHING /BW exercises
1 walking lunges w rotary torso (5 each side)
2 Spiderman crawl (3 reps each side)
3 Frankenstein (5 reps each side)
4 sissy squat (10 reps)

A1 front squat
35x7
40x5
45x8
47,5x8
50x5

Drat, I could have squatted the weight for 8 reps easily if it wasn’t for the grip that faltered. My right wrist was complaining because of the weird angle. Left was totally comfortable.

B1 wide grip bent over row
40x5
50x8
52,5x8
55x8

A2 bb military press
27x8
26x8
25x8

B2 Swiss leg curl
BW x13-15-14
Trying to keep the ball closer is indeed harder.

A3 dynamic reverse lunge
(12x2) x8-8-8

Didn’t try the front lunge and actually had wanted to abandon the WO after the first set, but talked myself through the ordeal

B3 UB Russian twist
BW+ 8kg db x 8-10-11 each side , even BW+12kg x 5 each side, which is a PR

Finishing with chins: 2-1-1 with neutral grip.

Cardio
First time in over 6 months that I am doing this on a stairmaster. What fun… (not really ) .
Worked up to level 5 and then did intervals on level 15 (L20 is max)
203kcal – 554kcal/hr (-100 compared to Dec 22, 2006)
76,5 floors – 208,6 floors/hr (-44,6 compared to Dec 22, 2006)



General: was afraid it would be a miserable WO again, since I felt sleepy (too many carbs pre-WO?), but that feeling left after an espresso.

Training statistics
Volume: 12054 kg
# of sets: 29 (incl. WU)- # of reps: 210 - avg reps/set :7,2 - kg/rep 57,4 kg

[Espi]

Saturday June 30
TRAINING NROL Lifter Fat Loss 2 – week 4 Workout B
all weights in kilograms

DYNAMIC STRETCHING /BW exercises
1 mixed grip chinup (1r) + supine row (10r)
2 knee push ups (13reps)
3 Russian twist on Swiss ball w 3kg ball (12r each side)
4 inchworm (5r)
5 Frankenstein (10r each side)
6 lateral lunge (10r each side)
7 wind mill (10r each side+direction)


A1 snatch grip DL
WU: 50 x 6 / 60x5
70x8
75x8
77,5x8 PR!

B1 T-pushup
BWx8 (knee) – 4(normal) +4 (knee) – 8 (knee)
Slightly better but still sucky compared to first in the series.

A2 BSS (OH press)
Left: just BSS
Right: BSS+ real db OH press
BW+(7kgx2): 8-8
BW+(6kgx2): 8

When I nearly smacked myself in the head with the 7kg dumbbell at the last rep for the 2nd set , switched to lower wt. Makes a huge difference for this exercise. Cheated a bit by placing knee on the floor.

B2 UH lat pull down
49x8
51x8-8 PR!
Preceded exercise with mixed grip chins for 1st and 3rd set.

A3 SLDL + BOR
47,5x8 PR!
45x8
42,5x8
Unbelievable, I managed! Despite that probably SLDL is more difficult weight-wise, it poses less of a form challenge than RDLs which are too similar to DLs and always make me overthink things too much. Not good when having to combine it with BORs.

B3 LB Russian twist
BWx8-10-8

Cardio : Metabolic Overdrive wk7
Treadmill : 5 min WU (4,6 to 5 km/hr)
4 sprints @ 9% and 8,6km/hr
10 min SS cardio @ 15-10% and 6-7km/hr
3 min cooldown
251 kcal – 602kcal/hr (-68)
2,37 km – 5,69km/hr (-0,25)

General: What a difference with last time. Feeling much calmer and not craving for carbs at all. Still need to catch up with the unfinished WO of last Tuesday, will do this next Tuesday and also try to PR on front squat another time.

Training statistics
Volume: 10509 kg
# of sets: 31 (incl. WU)- # of reps: 236 - avg reps/set :7,6 - kg/rep 44,5 kg

[UConnJulie]

Nice job on the workouts Espi!

[Espi]

Thanks Julie.

The bad news is that maintenance has dropped since I have started doing NROL. Can't say though whether this can be blamed to NROL or adding back more cardio or ... going on a 2meal/day pattern for rest days as well as going back to lifting just 3 times/week.

Since I really dig that eating style of eating just twice a day on rest days, I've decided to try something else first: switching back to working out every other day.

Working out every other day really feels best for my body, plus it jives much better with intermittent fasting , the eating style I've adopted a few months ago. I'd already started zigzagging and eat 3 meals on rest days in Sept 2006 and had good luck with this, viz. lost more fat than ever before except when I'd first started a ketodiet in 2002.

The main culinary advantage will be that I will no longer need to eat lower calories 2 days in a row. The disadvantage will be once again that some weeks I'll end up in a busier gym as Mon-Wed-Fri & Sun are more popular days to work out than the days I'd chosen: Tues-Thurs-Sat.

Now I'm hoping things won't be really bad on those days when I'm going to do FL3 as this makes you do a circuit of 4 exercises

[Espi]

Really short WO today, as I cut things really short.

Another time when I felt nauseous in the gym. I really should have known by now that playing with caffein can be dangerous. 1 tab of 200mg on an empty stomach (in the afternoon) is too much, esp when combining it with a mug of coffee! 1/2 a tab is plenty!
That and the surplus of carbs I had in the morning from eating leftovers from dinner (ran out of some groceries for breakfast) , as well as today being day 1 of TOM, meant that I felt weak as a kitten...

So called it quits after just a couple of squats:
WU
30x5
35x5
40x5
First wave
45x7
47,5x6
50x5

And then I was supposed to do the 2nd wave of 47,5-50-52,5 but felt too wobbly to dare. Contemplated doing a bit of cardio, but decided against it after a couple of weak chins (2 reps).

After all, this week is supposedly a complete rest week between Fat Loss 2 & the ominous Fat Loss 3 that's coming up next week.
I'd just wanted to do a bit of practicing on the front squats as I really hated how I hadn't managed to do 8 reps for 50kg. But boy, was I ever so weak! Last week it was the wrist that prevented me from getting to 8 reps, but today there was no way I could have done 8 reps.

I almost long back to my FemFit routine because it's really nice to train with your cycle and know exactly when you're gonna be weak and when you'll be strong. That is .. about when I habitually tend to overeat around day 20 of the cycle.

Oh well.. I'll come back on Thursday and see whether I can get to do another round of front squats and perhaps even try out hang cleans? Or is that pushing my luck re on what my wrists can handle. No, I'll just try to do some more weighted chins again, haven't done a proper chin workout in ages!!

[galya]

Good thing you cut it short. Knowing when to stop is a great virtue in the gym. And...rest on your rest week! :p

[Espi]

Not that I'm a total wimp, but I'm generally more afraid of injuries when I'm menstruating, especially since reading up on how women's ligaments tend to get weaker then because of the hormone relaxin. It's the same as is produced around pregnancy, just less of it.

And I really felt very unstable, also because of the overdose on caffein as well as having had too many carbs, which makes me weak. Legs felt as weak when cycling to the gym, as they often tend to feel AFTER a strenuous workout.

Yes, will take time off totally I guess, and just eat a bit less, as hard as it is.

[stingo]

Better safe than sorry - I'd think resting now may prevent an injury that would sideline you for a lot longer time. And it'd give your body a chance to repair itself so you could come back stronger and able to better perform.

[Espi]

Yes, I've had a similar thing happening to me another month and indeed slightly injured myself in the hip.

Well, I've adjusted my food intake for the upcoming days. About the same as I always eat on the low days but substantially less on the high days and cutting out most of the extra carbs. Just fruit. I've read a really, really intrigueing article by dr. Michael Eades, whose words I kinda see as the gospel : http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/?p=274#null

It's on whether fiber is really all that good for health. Fiber damages the linings of the gut and makes it produce mucus. What if you're already having an overly sensitive gut (like me & ljk) and produce PLENTY of mucus to start with? Not really smart to irritate the gut even more, isn't it?

That made me rethink my food strategies and try out another fiber strategy. Instead of aiming for 25g or more, I'd rather aim for 15-25 g which seems to keep me 'regular' without needing tons of TP, if you get my drift. And cut back a little on the grains (not quinoa, which is a seed) and increase the fruits again!

[ljk]

Relaxin - that name sounds like a hokey sleep aid or something!

[ljk]

Hope you're having a nice weekend!

[Espi]

Thanks ljk, the weather finally seems to have brightened here after weeks of rain!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

As of next week I'll be starting Fat Loss 3.
And once again, I'll be back on the EOD schedule = train every other day. It's a nuisance for planning but I'd rather really not have 2 rest days in a row as this also means: eating less 2 days in a row, since I am not consistently active as I'd planned to be. So, back to training 7 times per 14 days which my body likes best.


TRAINING A
superset 1
deadlift 0s normal 4x10-12
explosive pushup 0s normal 4x10-12
Bulgarian split squat 0s normal 4x10-12
2pt db row 60s normal 4x10-12

superset 2
deadlift off box 0s normal 2x20
db bench press 0s normal 2x20
walking lunge w side bend 0s normal 2x20
cable std row 60s normal 2x20


set 3
hanging leg raise 60s concentrated 2x10


TRAINING B
superset 1
front squat 0s normal 4x10-12
UH grip lpd 0s normal 4x10-12
step up 0s normal 4x10-12
db push press 60s normal 4x10-12

superset 2
squat 0s normal 2x20
wide grip lpd 0s normal 2x20
step up 0s normal 2x20
db shoulder press 60s normal 2x20


set 3
Swiss ball crunch 60s concentrated 2x10


Cardio: same Metabolic Overdrive
- 5 min WU
- 5 (instead of 4 rounds of 60s fast pace followed by 120s recovery @ a 10% incline. I will probably decrease the interval periods and do 1-2 more intervals
- cooling down for another 5-8 mins.
Unlike the book suggests I will NOT do a cardio session on non-WO days but keep doing them post-WO only.

Diet:
- working with calculated maintenance as a base, not actual maintenance, since the only trustworthy actual mtn data are 30d averages and routines are changing too much to rely on those. Calculated maintenance goes up along with the cycle, difference is around 200kcal from start to end.

- using a meal pattern of 2 meals/day on the low calorie days which is both a no-brainer as food out of sight = out of mind and no cravings , blood sugar swings either. Very occasionally a lack of energy, which can be helped with some tea/coffee/diet cola plus some fruit or candy. On WO-days: 4-5 meals plus lots of extra carbs.

Layout
rest day: -700 kcal (1200-1300), up from -800 kcal
training day: -100 kcal (2150-2350 kcal), down from 0kcal
Sat or Sun: +700 kcal (approx. 3000 kcal), let's parrrty!
party+1 : -800 kcal (1100-1200), up from -900 kcal

Since it's an EOD training schedule, it's easier to work with biweekly averages that work out to be (-700)*5+(-800)*2+(-100*5)+700*2 = -4200kcal deficit or 2100kcal/week.
Average weekly calories: fluctuating between 1800-1850 kcal = 100-200 kcal below current real maintenance. It's not much, but I'm hoping that by training 1 time more per 2 weeks on a consistent basis and eating slightly more on rest days, my maintenance will go up again.

If that fails, I'll give up on real IF on rest days, viz. stop fasting for 12 hrs by eating 2 meals a day and go back to 3 meals a day. But I'll first give EOD a chance again and see what happens.