Cylon357's Super Cool Covid 2020 Weight loss comp log!

[Cylon357]

I know what you are thinking: how awesome this is going to be with a title like that!

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we need to temper our expectations. That title is just click baity marketing speak.

This log could just have easily been called 'Cylon357s Cure for Insomnia' or 'Who the #*@!! is this guy and why is he boring me??'

At any rate, I'm going to record my efforts, including training, nutrition, drug use, etc related to the weight loss competition here. Comments as always are welcome.

Training
I'm going to do 5 days per week, 4 days weights one day dedicated cardio. It will look something like this:
Sun - Squat
Mon - Bench
Tue - Cardio
Wed - Off or easy LISS
Thu - Deadlift / Back
Fri - Overhead Press / Assistance
Sat - Off or easy LISS

Squat and Deadlift day will both have cardio finishers, I will detail those shortly.
Squats and Deadlifts will be done in a 3-5x5 short rest period style (think met-con).

Nutrition
This is going to be tough: Cylon likes FOOD! I have The Wife on board though so that will make things easier. I'm really just going to try to clean up my diet by avoiding unhealthy snacking (especially when I'm not REALLY hungry - Damn you, 2020!).

Drugs
Right this second, I'm doing my hrt (with clomid) and 50mcg per day Levothyroxine, both of which are prescribed. I also do 5mgx2 per day Cialis (5mg are prescribed) and am presently running 10mg per day of Tamoxifen, though I will cut that down to 5mg per day shortly. This is mostly in an effort to get my PSA under control. I've read good things about Tamoxifen and PSA.

I may add a cycle of Ostarine at some point after my next bloodwork in a few weeks. I know: why not just use AAS? I will speak more on this later.


Lots more details coming whenever I get the chance.

[SampsonandDelilah]

Following brother!!

[Cylon357]

So this is what squat day (Sunday) will look like, roughly at least:

Half mile walk to warm up

Squat 3-5x5 Work sets (60 seconds rest between working sets)
One wide stance and one narrow stance set of squats (8-12 reps)

Calf work consisting of superset of
- Barbell raises off a 2x6
- Dumbell Raises off that same 2x6
- Single leg rep out without weight
3 sets of the calf work

Leg Curls 3-4 sets
Stiff leg deadlift 3-4 sets
Pullups 3 sets 6-10 as capable
Bicep curls 3 sets 8-12

Cardio Finisher
3 minutes jog on treadmill
3 minutes on climber
both with 15 to 20 second intervals
2-4 rounds

Half mile walk to cool down.
Hop in the pool
10-20 minutes yoga stretches (optional)

I did this Sunday and was gassed but a good gassed. Calves are actually still a little sore tonight (Thursday). In fact, Tuesday morning I woke up and thought 'hey my calves don't feel too bad' then put my feet on the floor and tried to start walking. Calves were like 'no, we are not doing that right now'. Took a minute but got them loosened up, then walked funny all day. First world problem for sure. Anyhow, I did 3 work sets of squats and will build up to 5. The work sets are the only ones I keep the rest periods short with, the others are just whatever feels right.

It's probably the wrong time to be doing it, but I'm working on bringing my left calf up to my right one. I took an injury as a young man to my left foot (actually, my left thigh, too) that kept me from really working calves properly for a long time. I have arthritis in the injury site (the ball of the foot) that limits range of motion of my toes, but some of the yoga stretches help with that.

[Cylon357]

Bench day looks like this for now:
1 mile walk to warm up

Bench 3x5 work sets
Dips 4x8-10 weighted as possible
Flyes 3x8-12
skull crushers
lateral raises
some other light shoulder work

1 mile walk to cool down

That's it, a pretty simple and RELATIVELY easy day. Unlike on squat and deadlift days, I do not intentionally limit the rest period between sets. I'm also probably going to cut back on weight and up the reps on the work sets for bench.

[Cylon357]

Tuesday Cardio is kind of in flux right now.

My goal for the next week or so is a two mile walk (either weighted or not, depending)

BUT

To really burn some calories, after a 1 mile walk to warm up, I'm planning on a circuit style routine like this:

3 minutes on treadmill (jog/run pace)
3 minutes working the heavy bag
3 minutes on the climber

Do that for 2 - 4 rounds

1 mile walk to cool down

I suspect that operating in a caloric deficit (even slight) may make some of this hard to accomplish. That will take some juggling but I can handle it for 12 weeks (I think anyhow). Anyway, I will implement this routine in the next week or two.

[Cylon357]

Ok so here is deadlift / back day. I know what you are thinking: at the rate you get your training posted, the comp will be over before we have time to critique.

Ok actually, you are probably thinking 'why the hell do i keep coming in here?? It is SO boring!' or 'the only thing that could make this thread interesting would be some porn!'

Sorry, no porn here. But for those dillweeds that search the forum for the term 'porn', remember this when you land here: you got what you deserved.

Anyway, here is the plan.

Half mile walk to warm up.

Deadlift 3-5x5 + 2 sets sumo or wide grip
Barbell rows
Front squat
Calf work (same as squat day)*
Low row or DB row
Bicep curls

Cardio finisher
Either
3 minutes on rowing machine
15 kettlebell swings
15 - 20 second deadmill
60-90 seconds rest

or

Farmers walk 1 minute
Row 3 minutes
6 pullups
rest

2 to 4 rounds of whichever I decide on.

Half mile walk to cool down
Hop in pool
Yoga stretches (optional)


Ok, ok, I know what you are thinking: kettlebell swings? What's next kip-ups??? I get it, I really do. They seem like a douche baggy move because everywhere you look at the gym, there is some twit spazzing around with a kettlebell looking like he / she is about to backflip or is doing some oddball upright row thing.

Then I tried them. Holy crap! Do them right and they are tough.

Peep some vids on swing form. Then go do some, you can start with 10. Go lighter than you think you should. If you aren't huffing at the end, go ahead and add 5 more or up the weight on the next set.

Basically, if you are doing them right, kettlebell swings will leave you huffing and puffing.

It is also possible I'm doing them REALLY wrong, but if so, I don't want to be right.

I chose the rowing machine and kettlebell option this week but left out the deadmills because my knee was giving me some static. I probably need to up the calories slightly and / or not jog and deadmill in the same week. I will evaluate this as I go.

It may also be the case that at my... seasoned vintage (aka as a Fart who is approaching Old Fart status), I may not be able to do deads and squats in the same week. Maybe I will modify deads to be power cleans or similar, or just not go heavy both days.

Calf work... I did some light single legged no weight stuff on deadlift day. The calves were still chatty come Thursday so I kept it easy on them. I may split the 3 exercises into 2 and do them over the course of 2 days for a while. So, like one day barbell raises and single leg raises, then the next dumbell raises and single leg raises. We will see about that too. I do want to build up to that triset I posted earlier, though maybe a cut isn't the time to do it. Or maybe I can reduce the weight some.

[Cylon357]

This is a dedicated overhead / military press day, and also a day to touch on anything I feel needs specific attention. In general, it looks like this:

1 mile walk to warm up

Overhead press
Dips
Shrugs
incline press
lateral + reverse laterals
pushups AMAP

1 mile walk to cool down

This is probably as close to a conventional body building day that I have done in years. This day is kind of up in the air on sets and reps - basically, what I feel like that day as long as I get the work in. 10 heavy singles? Sure! 3 x 15 instead? Hey, that's great too.

When I first started doing this day after deadlift day, I thought it might be too much to do shrugs. That did not turn out to be the case. In fact, I like the synergies there, though I do admit it seems counter intuitive.

[Cylon357]

Eff'ing kettle bell swings.

My knee is giving me a little grief, so I have opted to swap around some of the cardio finishers, at least for this week. I pulled the 3 minutes on the treadmill and replaced with....

MORE COWBELL!!!

No, of course not, my fellow primates. More kettle bell.

Damn, they make me huff and puff. Takes somewhere around 30 seconds to do 15 swings and I feel like I am going to pass out when I'm done. Literally light headed and let me lean on the rack for, you know, just a minute, man, just a <wheeze> minute.

I hate them.

I love the way they make me feel, though.

Now I know how those people in the country music songs feel. Like, why do I love this person so much when they poop on my head all the time? <-- That's me and KB swings right now.

frackin' kettle bell swings, man.

[Cylon357]

Missed my damn bench day yesterday. Work and dentist appointment got in the way.

I know most people would be losing their minds over missing chest day, bro! No gains on these swole pecs! It's all good, to each his own, but I don't sweat cause I'm a big picture type of guy.

So, where today would have normally been an off day, I did my treadmill, heavy bag, rowing machine thing, 3 minutes each, 2 rounds with intervals. Plus a 1 mile walk on the front end and a one mile walk on the back end.

Listen, any body that tells you working the heavy bag (in my case, 150 pounds) isn't a workout just ain't doing it right. Plus, who needs therapy when you can wail on a bag that just won't ever hit back. Well, unless you get it started swinging and get too close. Not that that has ever happened to me...

Good workout tonight. Short and intense with appropriate and beneficial warm up and cool down. Oh yeah, I always sleep like a baby the nights I do this workout. I will probably work that up to 3 or maybe 4 rounds before things are all said and done.

That said, I am finding 5 days a week, 3 of which are particularly intense, to be a bit much. I may rework it into a 4 day a week thing with conditioning after weights on 3 of those days. Plus optional LISS of course on off days. I'll see how I feel going forward.

[Cylon357]

BTW, let me introduce you to a couple of my friends: Crusher and The Hammer. See how dainty they look? That's because I use 12oz gloves when working the bag. Don't be like me long ago and think 'dur, these leather lawn gloves will be ok to punch the bag with' because they will not. You get to make that mistake one time and I made it for you, so just don't. All that said, observant eyes might notice that The Hammer has a knuckle issue... I broke a bone in my right hand long ago and it didn't quite set right. Now, that ring finger knuckle on my right hand kind of disappears sometimes. And no, breaking that bone had nothing to do with working the bag in lawn gloves.

BTW, yes, this IS what this thread has come to tonight. Don't worry, things will pick up. And by pick up, I mean: It's a damn log, man. It's just going to be boring and rando at times. :P

[Cylon357]

This has been a good week, workout wise, so far. I changed things up a bit because I think my original plan was too aggressive right out of the gate.

Basically, I did away with the dedicated HIIT cardio day and added brief HIIT at the end of 3 of the 4 weight training days.

So, like on squat day, I did 3 minutes on the treadmill, 15 kettle bell swings, then 10 hyper extensions. I did 2 or 3 rounds that day, I don't remember for sure, 1 minute rest between rounds. I think I must like that dizzy, about to pass out or throw up or both feeling. Maybe I ain't entirely right in the head, but before you get all snarky, remember: don't be throwin' stones if you live in a glass condo. Or something like that.

Tonight (bench), I did 3 minutes with the heavy bag, then 10 pushups, with one minute rest between rounds. The pushup time counts against the rest time, so it isn't pure rest time. 2 rounds was all I had in the tank tonight but man, it was good stuff. If you have never really laid into a heavy bag, you should. It is a great stress reliever.

Diet has been ok, not fabulous but better than pre-comp. What, you mean you can't out train a bad diet?? When was this decided?

Anyhow, we know the key is making the meals for a week ahead of time. We do have some turkey meatballs we made this weekend, so I will probably make some rice and have them with some broccoli a couple of times this week. My wife also made some turkey chili (Costco for the win), and man, that is some good stuff. I did well with my portions.

Feeling good overall. My last blood work showed my TSH out of whack. I have been taking 50mcg levothyroxine per day for about the last month and it seems to have helped. Also, I was waking up with blood shot eyes before getting on the levothyroxine but that has cleared up. I read where blood shot eyes could be an indicator of problems with the thyroid, so maybe there were clues that I just didn't know how to read. No bigs, we seem to be on the right path.

[Cylon357]

Great squat day Sunday. I got my set and rep goals, including 3 rounds of the treadmill + kettlebell routine.

[Cylon357]

How did my diet go over the holiday weekend, you ask?



No regerts! Well, except at weigh in time...

[Cylon357]

Ok so the past couple of weeks have been pure sh!t. Work has been a TOTAL PITA and I had a death in the family. We were not close, but I still had a lot of distractions going on.

Now, it's time to kick it back into gear.

I've decided that this particular exercise plan is more body recomp than cut. I noticed results yesterday while working in the yard, and caught my reflection in one of the doors. I was like 'ok, im starting to get some definition in my shoulders and arms and those calves are starting to pop... Cool!' Bear in mind that I was in sh!t shape to start with, so anything is an improvement.

At any rate, I'm going to continue this workout plan. I like the workouts. I'm seeing results. Will I actually lose much weight? Probably not. But maybe I will continue this plan for another 60 days, then maybe switch to a proper cut.

I'm trying to get my blood work dialed in because I want to run low dose Ostarine for 6-8 weeks with my Clomid. I have read articles about people avoiding shutdown on Osta when they run Clomid with it. Since I run Clomid as HRT, it seems like a good fit. Rather than upping the clomid though, I might just add 5-10 mg nolvadex and see where that lands me. I have to get my blood work in order though, so it might be closer to 2 months out before I can think about running this.

Related to bloodwork, any thoughts on lowering DHT WITHOUT using fina or dutasteride? My recent DHT test came back at 128 with 64 being top of normal scale.

[SampsonandDelilah]

Checking in on you and getting caught up. Hang tough brother!

[Cylon357]

Remember up there when I said 'this is more of a recomp routine'? You don't? Maybe you ought to go read through the previous posts and find it. Or hey, you could just trust me on this.

Anyhow, here are my starting stats, with the ones from this morning. While this scale isn't the best one on the planet, the numbers do seem to track consistently.

[Cylon357]

Good damn workout tonight. Tonight was bench day, with a HIIT'ish 3 round finisher of:

Work the bag for 3 minutes
10 pushups (with the gloves on)
gulp down some water
on the 4th minute the next round starts.

That's a good damn finisher, man. Stress? That stuff is gone now. Probably going to feel this in the morning.

[wango]

How did my diet go over the holiday weekend, you ask?



No regerts! Well, except at weigh in time...

I saw that title and said to myself, this is going to be interesting. Then I saw this pic and was hooked. I like your sense of humor and keeping things casual. Life is just too darn insane now to not take a step back and have some fun mixed in with the work.

Going to be checking in and following. Good luck with everything.

[Cylon357]

I saw that title and said to myself, this is going to be interesting. Then I saw this pic and was hooked. I like your sense of humor and keeping things casual. Life is just too darn insane now to not take a step back and have some fun mixed in with the work.

Going to be checking in and following. Good luck with everything.

Welcome aboard, glad to have you here!

Damn, that WAS a good weekend. Pizza and beer... could there BE any more food groups?

[Cylon357]

Tonight was dead lift night.

I didn't dead lift. Wasn't feeling it.

Instead, I subbed seated good mornings and hyper extensions for the low back, and did pull ups and barbell rows for the upper. Plus calf work and biceps of course, those are back day staples right now.

No dead lifts, though. That doesn't happen a lot, but sometimes, I just need a break.

BUT...

I punished myself with a god awful hiit'ish finisher consisting of 3 rounds of
Kettlebell swings
15 to 30 second deadmills
1 minute rest

Short. Intense. Tough. Fun.

[Cylon357]

BTW, MAYBE one more week of this recomp'ish routine. After that, I will probably switch to a little more cutting program.

A lot of this hinges on my upcoming blood work. If all looks good and I don't have to go back to the doc a month later for more, I will add the ostarine and maybe up the clomid a bit. At that point, I will be better situated to make a decision on programming, etc.

[KittyO1]

I’m here to follow along! Thanks for linking it!

[wango]

Welcome aboard, glad to have you here!

Damn, that WAS a good weekend. Pizza and beer... could there BE any more food groups?

I think pizza is it’s own group, I’m a thin crust man myself.

[Cylon357]

I realized my program may not be clear. That's OK, it has sort of evolved over time. But, real simply:

Sunday
Squats
Leg curls
Stiff legged deadlifts
Calf work
Pullups
Biceps

HIIT Finisher
3 miinutes on treadmill, jogging / slow run pace with faster intervals (intervals optional)
15 kettlebell swings
1 minute rest

Tuesday
Bench Press
Dips
Skull crushers
Dumbbell flies
Shoulder work

HIIT finisher
3 minutes working the heavy bag
10 pushups
remainder of 1 minute rest after pushups

Thursday
Deadlifts
Barbell Rows
Chins
Front squats
calf work
Biceps

HIIT Finisher
3 minutes on the rowing machine
15 kettlebell swings
1 minute rest

Friday
Overhead press
Dips
Shrugs
Pushups or Dumbbell bench press (incline or decline)
Triceps work
side and real lateral super set

No HIIT Finisher

Those days that have a HIIT finisher have a 1/2 mile walk to warm up and another to cool down. The day without a HIIT finisher, the warm up and cool down walks are 1 mile each. I try to do 2 to 4 rounds of the HIIT routines.

I SOMETIMES try to get some LISS cardio in on one of the off days, like maybe a 2 mile walk. That's optional.

So, really this is a 4 workout per week plan. If I can get to a point where I can work some Ostarine in, I may consider going back to the original plan. I don't have enough recovery for 5 days a week right now, though.

[wango]

Looking good. Oh, btw, almost got pizza last night.

[Cylon357]

Looking good. Oh, btw, almost got pizza last night.

YOLO (that's something the kids used to say, right?). Kind of ironically, this is a refeed day so I'm having pizza tonight. Hey, it's vegatarian'ish toppings (The Wife had something to do with that) so the caloric load won't be too bad.

Unless I eat like my appetite wants. I swear people that say things like 'I eat and eat and cannot put on any weight'.... I actually wish I had cycled at some point in my youth. I have zero problems with my appetite and imagine that I would have blowed up real good on cycle.

[wango]

YOLO (that's something the kids used to say, right?). Kind of ironically, this is a refeed day so I'm having pizza tonight. Hey, it's vegatarian'ish toppings (The Wife had something to do with that) so the caloric load won't be too bad.

Unless I eat like my appetite wants. I swear people that say things like 'I eat and eat and cannot put on any weight'.... I actually wish I had cycled at some point in my youth. I have zero problems with my appetite and imagine that I would have blowed up real good on cycle.

Man, when I was a kid, holy cow the amounts I could put down.

We did Italian last night and instead of pasta had it over steamed vegetables. Enjoy your pizza!

[Cylon357]

Friday night's overhead press workout was good. Real good. Got all my numbers and then some. But, that tiredness I was feeling from Thursday and killing it Friday night left me wiped on Saturday, and that has bled over into Sunday. So, I'm just shifting my days by one. I'll do my squat workout tomorrow and push everything else out by a day. This is the start of my 3rd hard week before a deload week, so this should not be a problem.

Wife made turkey chili today so that is helping with recovery. Good stuff, low fat, high protein, reasonable amount of fiber. By tomorrow, I will be ready to nail this 3rd week hard.

[Cylon357]

I promise, not 30 minutes after I posted that previous message about being tired, I fell asleep on the dang couch. So yeah, good plan to push things out a day.

[Cylon357]

Pushing things out a day was a good plan, evidently. I still wasn't feeling it, but made my a** get in there and do the squat thing.

Twas yet another good workout.

I hit my weight goals early, and then decided heck, let me see where I can go. This is the last week before a deload, so lets vary it up a little and try a heavy single or two.

That's a good overall strength test, though I acknowledge not particularly useful in a recomp or hypertrophy. Still, it had been a while, and I kind of needed the mental challenge, so I did it. Glad I did, too. Not a new PR or anything but a good variance from the same old same old. I still got in the rest of the work, too, so I call it a win.

I did two rounds of the treadmill / kettlbell swing thing to finish. Good goobledy goop, Grady, man that makes me huff, puff and sweat like a pig. The weather down here has cooled down some so I wasn't ready to hop in the pool, but I damn sure could (maybe SHOULD) have.

This has been a good program for me. I seem to enjoy it, by and large, and am starting to see changes. Maybe no one else could, but I can. Not the best for weight loss because it encourages the wrong behaviors, I think, but it has been fun so far. And if it ain't fun, it isn't likely to be something we stick with. So, I guess what I'm saying is right now, I would rather be fat and happy instead of lean and grumpy. But that will change at some point, too, I'm sure.

[Cylon357]

Had another good workout (bench) tonight. I left the HIIT stuff off at the end because I REALLY want to deadlift this week (Friday for this week) and don't want to have any carry over that keeps me from it. I WILL however, work the bag at the end of deadlift night, probably with kettlebell swings, because evidently, there is something broken in my head.

This has been a good week for hitting my target weights and then some. Weight that I was struggling to get 3 reps with 8 weeks ago I just popped tonight for 7 solid reps. Then went up to my magic number... Oh wait, let me explain 'magic number'. You know the weight, the one where you think 'you know, if I can get a heavy single at this weight, I will be stoked'? That's what I mean by magic number in this case. You may also note that I don't talk about specific weights. That's because what I consider tough is someone else's warmup and the same weight might crush someone else. So, in this context, specific numbers don't mean shit. "Ooh I benched 10 pounds, I've never done that much before!" That's awesome for you! "I just hit 655 for a triple! I'm so stoked!" Good for you! BTW, no sarcasm here. I'm legit every bit as excited for that first person as I am the second.

Wow, that was a hell of a side bar... Anyhow, I got my magic number for a couple of good singles, then went back down and still got another 5 out of my working weight. Then went to dips, got 15 unweighted then got out the weight belt and had some fun! Man, the pecs were chatting and hurting oh so damn good! Going to feel it Friday... Oh, snap, new catch phrase: Feel it Friday! Damn, I'm on fire tonight!

BTW, remember when I said, there is something broken in my head? I mean, it is literally just a few paragraphs up. This stream of consciousness jibber jabber is what I'm talking about. Well, OK, it is PART of what I'm talking about. I'm still stoked from my workout and enjoying the post work out feel goods, so things are just flowing in a somewhat random flood of blah blah blah.

[Cylon357]

I had my last dead lift workout (before the deload week) yesterday. It was good, though not as good as the Squat or Bench workouts this week. That's ok and kind of to be expected because I've been grinding for 3 weeks now. Keep in mind that I'm a uh... 'more mature' gent who is operating without the benefit of AAS or SARMs (at this time, at least). So, if you are thinking 'four workouts a week? what a wuss!', I encourage you to click this link for my well thought out, respectful reply.

At any rate, I got through the entirety of the weights, then did the rowing machine and kettle bell HIIT finisher, 3 rounds, 3 minutes on the rower followed by 15 swings, one minute rest. It's good, man.

My weight was up this morning because I mistimed my meals yesterday and over ate at dinner (post workout). That doesn't worry me too much because... well, it just is what it is at the moment.

I'll do my overhead press workout today, and work the heavy bag with pushups as my HIIT finisher. After that, the deload starts! And you may be thinking 'gee, this sounds a lot like 531', you would be right. I take the basic routine and exercises of 531 and modify them for this current program. The main differences here being (generally speaking), that I have upped both the tempo and the reps on the Big 4. And if you are wondering why, I encourage you to click this entirely different link.

[ShredBundy]

How is your old injury and muscle symmetry coming along? In general my right (non-dominant side) of my body is less full and slightly underdeveloped compared to my left. I also suffered my minor pec tear on the right side last year. While it’s not very noticeable my right pec is less full and I’m trying to bring it up in development but it’s been difficult

[Cylon357]

How is your old injury and muscle symmetry coming along? In general my right (non-dominant side) of my body is less full and slightly underdeveloped compared to my left. I also suffered my minor pec tear on the right side last year. While it’s not very noticeable my right pec is less full and I’m trying to bring it up in development but it’s been difficult

The knee is doing surprising well. Actually, very well, considering the routine I've been following. I have to use the diclofenac gel after squat or typically dead lift workouts, though I did not after yesterdays dead workout. I really am somewhat surprised to see this doing that well. I've recently added a round of Integrative Peptides BPC-157 (oral) for some GI issues. It has only been a few days on that, though, so I'm pretty sure it has had zero effect on the knee.

The calf imbalance is still there. I get a fair amount of pain when I try to fully extend or contract my ankle on that side when the ball of my foot is on a block. It may just have to be that way. Maybe I could get surgery at some point to fix it, but no one notices but me unless I point it out. If I ever thought about getting on stage, yeah, I would figure out some way to fix it.

[Cylon357]

Here are some shots of the calves. I couldn't get a good shot of the left one from the back... It is smaller than the right but not by as much as it looks like in the back comparison shots. They are cold here, for what its worth.

BTW and as a warning, no razor touches my legs. Ever.

Oh and that last one, the one of that short, dumpy looking dude? Yeah, that's me. Believe it or not, that is progress.

PS - yes, yes, I rock the sissy mittens when I do dips. Only when I do dips, though, cause that is the only time my hands bother me. What's up with that?

[Cylon357]

And tonight finished the final workout before the deload. I really screwed up my meal timing this weekend, and actually volume, too, I think. I know that I really need to cut the volume some in the last week before deload, but didn't this time. Still, I got through barbell overhead press, which went really well, and dips, which... lets just say I got them done. That was all the gas I had tonight. No excuses, that's just how it was.

Normally, in the 3rd week I cut volume but up the intensity. It sort of balances things out. Not this week though, my donkey ass killed it the first 2 workouts, had a good third, then was just gassed for the fourth.

I did hit a 20 year or so PR on the over head press, so that's cool. And at the same time that I think 'geez, knuckle head, if you had cut volume earlier in the week, where would you have landed??', I also take solace in that PR thing.

Request for input here: my over head press sometime stalls out a little over halfway up, like when the barbell is near the top of my head. Any thoughts on how to eliminate that weakness? Maybe triceps work? More lat / trap work? Note that I keep my form pretty good, no leg drive or anything like that. Anyhow, any help is appreciated.

[Cylon357]

I'm enjoying this deload week. Evidently, I REALLLLLLY needed it. This is my second day off in a row, but I start back tomorrow with a light weight workout, or maybe a weighted walk and a weight workout Thursday. Don't know yet.

On a side note, I did get some goodies from ExpressPCT today. 50mg Enclomiphene (aka Enclofert) and some 5mg cialis to supplement the 5mg I am prescribed for BPH. I ordered on September 12 and got them today, so about a month from India. Package was sent via DHL and went India-> Singapore-> Germany-> Jacksonville, Florida and then USPS delivered from there.

I THINK that right now, Express is the only place to get pharma Enclomiphene, but don't quote me on that. Or do, I couldn't stop you. How would I know? Why would I bother?? Whatever, man, here are some pics of some stuff. Enjoy. Or don't, also don't let me tell you what to do with your life.
:P

[Cylon357]

And because this is a deload week, so there isn't a lot going on, and because, well, things just get kind of rando sometimes, one of the things you may not realize about Florida wildlife is that you can see this type of thing all the time. That is the next door neighbors yard, but they eventually weird walked their way through ours, too.

[Cylon357]

Man, I could get used to this deload thing. I walked Thursday, and hit the weights lightly yesterday. I will do something today, probably LISS before doing some work on my old 5.0 Explorer. Technically, it needs several things: alternator, radiator, AC compressor and condenser but I'm trying to do one thing at a time. I will likely do the alternator this weekend, but the radiator and AC will wait. I don't drive it much (actually, I'm not driving much AT ALL, effin' 2020) so it isn't an issue to let it sit up. I COULD do the radiator and the AC separate, but I bought a new AC condenser and to get to it, you have to take out the radiator. Still, I don't think there is any refrigerant left in the AC system, so it shouldn't be too bad.

Workouts will begin in earnest on Monday and I'm likely to follow this same routine for another 30 days. After that, I will have a decision to make re continue recomp or do a proper cut. I'm starting to get stronger with this routine and that makes me happy, so I'm reluctant to change it right now.

[Cylon357]

Goddangit, man! It's been another one of 'those weeks' so far. Everything went sideways on the job, and one of the feral cats we care for woke me up two nights in a row. But, that's all taken care of, so I slept good last night. I did miss workouts Monday and Tuesday, but that's ok. I know how to reprogram the week to get back on track next week.

Tonight will be squat and bench, plus HIIT with treadmill and heavy bag. Saturday will be deadlift and overhead press, HIIT being rowing machine plus kettle bell swings. Work in a day or two of LISS and I'll be back on schedule come Monday. Or maybe, I will just decide that Wednesday is the new starting day for the next month and just pick up squat day tonight. We will see.

First world problems...