Destined to suck...log

[ShortFuse]

Destined to grow...log

Been a member here forever, got deleted about 2 years ago (never posted or anything so it wasn't cuz I was bad lol)...

22, 6'2-3" - 205.1 lbs, been working out since I was 17 (now you can see where the title came from)

Anyways, I'm not dwelling on the past, nor do I care...just getting everything straight right now. Body fat is a decent number, can't say what it is, not 100% concerned about it I just know I am chubby.

I am down 8 lbs in 3 weeks, only been recording my foods on fitday for 2 weeks, so we'll say I've only been strict dieting for 2 weeks now. I do some cardio probably two days a week, 20-45 minutes depending on how I feel or if it is a workout day.

I just finished the 4th week of 5x5 (most recent weights):
squat 185x3, dead 185x5, bench 210x3, row 150x3...

Been taking thermorexin 6 caps per day for a week now, drinking green tea 1-2 times per day, taking multivitamin in the morning, b complex in the afternoon...amplify02-xt on monday/friday workouts... so here's the background, next post will have my typical diet from fitday.com and the following will have a few questions...

 

[ShortFuse]

Total: 1777
Fat: 67 34%
Carbs: 97 20%
Protein: 201 46%

^^ pretty typical macros for the past week...although most of the days are up to 2000 calories... but I haven't crossed the 20% threshold with carbs yet...typical day:

Breakfast: Quaker low sugar oatmeal, 4 egg whites,1 whole egg, ham, 100% whey in water (433 cal, 10g/30g/59g fat/carb/prot)

Can of Tuna, ANPB (280 cal, 17/6/23)

Planters south beach peanuts (170 cal, 15/6/5)

Tyson Chicken Breast, Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes (137, 3/8/21)

100% whey, anpb (330, 17/9/32)

Tyson Chicken, salad w/ little no fat ranch (don't know estimates on salad and too lazy to add up) so just chicken is (100, 2/0/20)

100% whey in water, 2 servings no fat cottage cheese (200, 1/10/38)

bed

Like I said, it varies a little...but this day would be 1709 (64/69/211)

Which the macros would be 35% fat, 14% carbs and 51% protein

This is definately an underestimate because there are other small things thrown, maybe another 100 calories worth. I know this is low, I'm increasing the volume starting today...

See any issues? (By the way, for now I am cutting...at least to 185-190 lbs...as long as it is pleasing to the eye I'll start bulking again)

 

[ShortFuse]

As I said, I am on week 4 of the 5x5, but my squat/dead #'s are pitiful...

I've been on the diet above (or very similar) for about 2 weeks now (don't know my #'s from the first week)...and I'm stuck at 185x5 for squat, which was my 5 rep max when I was 8 lbs heavier...Is it the diet? Should I just go with it, trying to increase on the 5x5 schedule, till I am done dieting?

Same goes with my dead...I don't know if it just my legs, but my dead should be at least 100-150 lbs heavier for my other weights? I can SLDL more than I can regular deadlift. I suppose it is just bad form...

*puts on flame cap*

 

[SgtSlaughter]

You're underweight from a weightlifting standpoint for your height.

IMO, if I was you... I'd stick to a clean maintenance calorie level diet, not as many shakes in the day, whole good foods (not processed), and focus on getting stronger... you'd lean out in time while adding muscle and getting stronger.

If you booze up every weekend... or a few nights a week... that would impair muscle gains greatly for most people.... just an FYI if you do.

I think us guys that are 6' + can pull SLDL more easily than conventional from what i've observed.... I'm not sure why.

I've recently started Sumo DL though, makes me get my ass down and use my legs more... you may want to give it a whirl, see if that helps.

 

[Kabeetz]

Bro..I don't care if you squat just the bar and deadlift just the bar.

You're gonna try your best and improve and drop the negativity. Stop knocking yourself so much and change the thread title. This is ridiculous. You can't feel so sorry for yourself. You're obviously trying to change yourself for the better so embrace the quest!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[dline]

Bro..I don't care if you squat just the bar and deadlift just the bar.

You're gonna try your best and improve and drop the negativity. Stop knocking yourself so much and change the thread title. This is ridiculous. You can't feel so sorry for yourself. You're obviously trying to change yourself for the better so embrace the quest!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

^^^^^^Word is born Brotha, stop dissin` yourself get pumped up and change what you dont like about yourself. Most importantly if you don;t like yourself now then what do you think an outer apperance is gonna do for you internally. Maybe help you infront of the mirror in the morning but dont be that guy. Confidence comes form within.


DLine

 

[ShortFuse]

Whoops, I forgot to mention that the thread title was a joke, my bad... I'm not actually that negative towards it, I always go in expecting to make gains...it never used to happen, but I'd still try my hardest and I'm actually making progress on the 5x5 now...

And I've already leaned out from weightlifting...happened a few years ago, but I still carry an amount of fat that I intend to remove..moreso now because I made the decision to. Much easier to lean than gain muscle, for me at least...I've had many ups and downs in weight/strength...I just figured if I post it up I'm going to be accountable for what I lift and what I eat.

It's not an excuse and I'll change the thread title if I have to lol...I just wanted some insight into why my deads/squats suck so much right now, or if it is because of my calories...


Oh and BTW..to prove I try, I came home and threw up after my workout lol! I didn't even make it inside my front door and BLEHHHH...may have had something to do with the thermorexin mixed with amplify haha

 

[SgtSlaughter]

Yes, usually your core lifts will go down on cutting diet.



Mixing stimulants like that probably isn't the smartest thing to do, btw.

 

[HiDnGoD]

IMO 1800 cals isn't enough to gain muscle for a guy over 6'-2".

 

[ShortFuse]

Hrm, so I intended to do cardio this morning before work, but it was just too damn cold at 7:30 in the morning...so I worked and then came home jogged to the gym (.5 miles), finished the workout from yesterday (barbell curls, weighted dips, tricep pulldowns), did the elliptical for 20 minutes and jogged back home...

I actually weighed 205.8 today...which is 0.7 lbs higher than what I weighed two days ago, and 1.7 lbs heaver than I weighed 5 days ago...Odd, maybe I need some changes in the diet or it is lbm gain (since I did improve on the 5x5)..I guess that's where bf measurements come in. I'm going to continue my diet and stick to my cardio routines for a few more days and see what happens. Today's food:

Breakfast: 100% whey, 5 egg whites, ANPB and a splash of soy protein with my whey
2: Planters peanuts
3: 2 servings chicken, carrots
4: 100% whey
5: (1 hour pre workout) 1.5 serving chicken, 1/2 can green beans
6: (immediately following workout) splash of soy in 100% whey with Jiff pb (ran out of anpb) shake
7: (45 minutes after workout) 1.5 serving whole wheat pasta with a can of 99% fat free chicken (only ingredients are chicken, water, and salt)

and I plan to have 2 servings cottage cheese and another serving of whey before bed

This will put me at 2149 calories, 66 fat, 106 carb, 286 protein (macros: 29/16/55)

Considering my carbs came from fat free cottage cheese, whole wheat pasta, and green beans primarily...I'd say these are ok?

Anyways, give me some feedback please...if my body weight stays the same/gains and I am getting stronger...I suppose I will maintain this diet as long as I am improving on the 5x5 as scheduled...which would be awesome...

I am probably still enough of a beginner (just don't look at the amount of years I've spent in the gym haha) that I may be able to gain mass and lose fat at the same time.

Also, who do I talk to about changing my thread title since you guys don't like it

 

[Kabeetz]

Wish you lots of success man,

#1 Don't worry about the scale.. not from day to day. Water weight can give you a 1.7 pound swing over five days regardless of diet. Too many factors play into where that needle hits. Use bf% (calipered), tape measure at the waist, update photos and scale last and least. Most important is that in your mind you know u f***d it up in the gym and and stuck to your diet.

#2 If you've been eating a lot of calories until recently... dropping to 2100 straight might be tough on your lbm. Consider a slightly more gradual approach to that number. You might find you're losing a lot at say 2750 and making forward progress in the gym (or not and cut a couple hundred cals..). strength gains at 2100 can get tough in a hurry.

Hrm, so I intended to do cardio this morning before work, but it was just too damn cold at 7:30 in the morning...so I worked and then came home jogged to the gym (.5 miles), finished the workout from yesterday (barbell curls, weighted dips, tricep pulldowns), did the elliptical for 20 minutes and jogged back home...

I actually weighed 205.8 today...which is 0.7 lbs higher than what I weighed two days ago, and 1.7 lbs heaver than I weighed 5 days ago...Odd, maybe I need some changes in the diet or it is lbm gain (since I did improve on the 5x5)..I guess that's where bf measurements come in. I'm going to continue my diet and stick to my cardio routines for a few more days and see what happens. Today's food:

Breakfast: 100% whey, 5 egg whites, ANPB and a splash of soy protein with my whey
2: Planters peanuts
3: 2 servings chicken, carrots
4: 100% whey
5: (1 hour pre workout) 1.5 serving chicken, 1/2 can green beans
6: (immediately following workout) splash of soy in 100% whey with Jiff pb (ran out of anpb) shake
7: (45 minutes after workout) 1.5 serving whole wheat pasta with a can of 99% fat free chicken (only ingredients are chicken, water, and salt)

and I plan to have 2 servings cottage cheese and another serving of whey before bed

This will put me at 2149 calories, 66 fat, 106 carb, 286 protein (macros: 29/16/55)

Considering my carbs came from fat free cottage cheese, whole wheat pasta, and green beans primarily...I'd say these are ok?

Anyways, give me some feedback please...if my body weight stays the same/gains and I am getting stronger...I suppose I will maintain this diet as long as I am improving on the 5x5 as scheduled...which would be awesome...

I am probably still enough of a beginner (just don't look at the amount of years I've spent in the gym haha) that I may be able to gain mass and lose fat at the same time.

Also, who do I talk to about changing my thread title since you guys don't like it

 

[ShortFuse]

So I took yesterday off from cardio/training to prepare for the big 5x5 day today... Diet consisted of 2180 calories, macros were 41%fat/9%carb/50prot...Pretty good I think...I ate mad chicken yesterday because I burned my breakfast really badly (6 eggs and 2 servings honey ham)..so I ended up eating a chicken breast on my drive to school lol

Slept in late today, and had a bowl of quaker low sugar oatmeal with 2 tablespoons of Jiff (need to buy anpb today), and whey prot... Went to the gym an hour later and did my workout

Squat: 185x5
Bench: 210x5
Row: 150x5 (damn these were unusually hard)

I think the rows were hard because I did the accessory exercises (bicep/tricep) 2 days ago, instead of three and my arms were still sore.

PWO consisted of 100% whey, 1 cup fat free milk, 1/2 cup oats, 2 tablespoons jiff (546 cal, 20g/45g/45g fat/carb/prot)...

I'll be going out to dinner in about 30 minutes, but I plan to just order chicken salad and vegetables...no pasta for me!

Oh and I was back down to 204.6 so...I had a funny feeling it would even out over the next few days. I have to wonder if all the sodium in my diet is causing me to retain water. When I first started this diet I tried to be sodium conscious but it became nearly impossible as almost everything has high amounts of sodium, low sodium tuna included...lol. At least most of my nuts are unsalted and roasted = 0 sodium

 

[Ramcononer]

At least most of my nuts are unsalted and roasted

That sounds funny. Im a fucking goofball.

On a serious note I got the same info from these guys but I got it too late I was already 3 weeks about into a cutting diet. I def. Lost some precious muscle and should have done it more gradually. But I do seem leaner. Some of my core lift are down but only slightly. That could also be because I lift AFTER I do my cardio. I do cardio 2-3days a week for about 20mins. I dont wanna over do it cuz I have a fast paced job where I sweat like a virgin on prom night. Keep your eye on the prize bro and youll hit your mark.

 

[HiDnGoD]

That sounds funny. Im a fucking goofball.

On a serious note I got the same info from these guys but I got it too late I was already 3 weeks about into a cutting diet. I def. Lost some precious muscle and should have done it more gradually. But I do seem leaner. Some of my core lift are down but only slightly. That could also be because I lift AFTER I do my cardio. I do cardio 2-3days a week for about 20mins. I dont wanna over do it cuz I have a fast paced job where I sweat like a virgin on prom night. Keep your eye on the prize bro and youll hit your mark.

I realize you prolly already know this, but it bears repeating, for those that don't.
Cardio should be done post lifting. The only cardio that shold be done before lifting should be of a warmup nature.

 

[ShortFuse]

I realize you prolly already know this, but it bears repeating, for those that don't.
Cardio should be done post lifting. The only cardio that shold be done before lifting should be of a warmup nature.

I usually jog to the gym, but it is only about 1/2 a mile and serves as a good warm up before stretching to squat. Most of the time I don't even put cardio on 5x5 days...or the day before the two big squat days.

As for decreasing my calories, I've already been on this diet for a while so I'm not going to increase now. I also didn't count calories before it so I wouldn't know what I was at. All of my lifts are still going up in the 5x5, so I must not be at much of a deficit...maybe I am even over my maintainence...

On a side note, I have now cut the STUPID CARROTS from my diet...I always thought "hey carrots are good for you" and it turns out they are full of sugar...so I was taking in an extra 18-27g of sugar each day! Oh well, no more carrots for me.

 

[ShortFuse]

Last few days I have upped my complex carbs, rolled oats for breakfast, pre workout and post workout...tuna once to twice a day, chicken breast or two or three a day, broccoli, pb, ON gold standard whey, cottage cheese...etc

I've been about 2200 calories each day...pretty clean, except for last night. The girlfriend and I are pretty low key, ended up going to Publix looking for some food and got fried chicken fingers, and made mac and cheese with wheat pasta and had a salad...I felt so sick afterwards, I am never eating fried food again...

So as punishment I did empty stomach cardio this morning. Woke up a little later than I wanted to, which sucked cuz I felt REALLY REALLY tired because of it, popped 2 Trex, drank some green tea and off to the gym I go. Put the treadmill up to a incline of 9.0, warmed up at 4.0mph for 10 minutes, then did 1 minute at 6.0 and 2 minutes at 3.5...for the next 25 minutes. Did 2.5 miles in 35 minutes at the 9.0 incline and burned 550 calories...

My last interval I bumped it up to 8.0mph and ran the minute, wow...I was literally going to die if I had gone past the one minute mark. Cooled down, drove home and needed energy BAD...quickest thing I could grab was a Boost high protein...then fell on my bed under the fan for 10 minutes drinking water haha

Now I am sitting here eating a bowl of oats and deciding what kind of protein I'm going to eat besides some Whey...

 

[ShortFuse]

OH, and the 5x5 went good this week...I'm fed up with my weights, so I got mad at the fucking bar

I was doing deads, and didn't know where I would end up, my 5x5 schedule said 190x5...but I did 185x5, bumped it to 205x5 and did 7 reps...so next week I'll go for 225x5 as my last set

Squat I did 190x3 all the way down...way harder than it should be. Bench I got 215x3...and it wasn't very hard so 215x5 should be attainable on Saturday. Oh, and I went for 190x5 without a spotter on incline bench and the 4th rep was extremely hard so I didn't go for a fifth. I waited a few minutes, got a spotter and went for 5 again, I couldn't even do the 4th rep this time. I guess I just didn't have it in me...now the question is, go for 190 again next week or push to 195...I guess I'll decide when the time comes

 

[Kano]

good luck bro keep at it

 

[ShortFuse]

Hit a wall on all lifts today...heh

Squat: 190x3 (supposed to be 5)
Bench: 215x3 (supposed to be 5)
Row: 145x4 (supposed to be 150x5)

I was kinda tired, didn't have my music, and my legs were still tired and sore from the incline treadmill fun...I only ate 1800 calories yesterday, 65 fat/75carb/214pro...I guess I always knew this was coming, since I am trying to cut. But all is well, I will try to maintain these weights and increase my cardio frequency a bit, as well as keep my calories around the 1800 mark. I might as well blast myself if I'm not going to get any stronger .. I have at least 23 more days of cutting...which is when my cruise is, but it is likely I will continue following the cruise.

Probably playing some basketball this afternoon, so that should burn a few calories

 

[Kabeetz]

You should definitely at least consider rolling back the weights slightly so u can complete the required amount..... 5 reps of a 100 pounds is more weight moved than 3 of 110, etc.

I personally am going through the effects of cutting as well and I hate it... enjoy the cruise and get back to bulking. And no more eating less than maintenance calories man.

 

[ShortFuse]

So I got up this morning and just didn't want to cook/eat...bleh

Breakfast: 1/2 cup oats, protein powder, 2 tablespoons ANPB (20 fat/36 carb/37prot: 480 cal)

1 serving wheat pasta, with 3.5 servings tuna and a pear (6 fat/63 carb/57 prot: 500 cal)

Gym 30-45 minutes after that meal

Immediately following gym: 1 cup non-fat milk with 1/2 cup oats and 1 serving 100% whey about 15 minutes after that (4 fat/42 carb/37 prot: 350 cal)

So right now, I am at 1344 calories, 30 fat, 141 carb, 131 protein

I'm probably going to cook up some chicken breast with broccoli and salad within the next 45 minutes and then I will eat accordingly for the rest of the night to hit 1800 calories and over 200 protein...most likely no more carb sources short of the broccoli for the rest of the night. Is my diet on spot? At this point, I will eat whatever I need to regardless...so if something needs to change, tell me!

As far as my workout, I refused to believe I had hit a wall on every lift, but I indeed have. I went for 190x5 on incline bench and only got 4 again, but all is well. I threw in some military press today because I am going to sub that for incline bench from here on out. I'm dropping my weights back 10-20 lbs and going to try to hold them consistent for the remainder of my cut. Is this the correct way to do it?

Overall, I made PR's in every lift even while in a calorie deficit, but now its time to really shed weight. Following my workout I went for some more cardio, burned 350 cals on the incline tread...I just couldn't push my normal cardio intensity directly following a workout, but I was still happy with my output.

What do you guys think? I want some damn posts in here!

Oh and my big question.....
If it isn't in my best interest to continue this workout for cutting purposes, how does one properly deload from a 5x5 workout to return to a different split...I tried reading through multiple threads/stickies but didn't see anything published.

Also, my weight was at 203.0 today, but I felt a little bloated/heavy from the meal/water...so that will probably drop to 201 over the next couple of days

Also, to include all the weights I've actually accomplished so far:
Squat: 185x5, 190x3
Bench: 210x5, 215x3
Incline bench: 185x5, 190x4
Dead: 205x7
Row: 150x5, 155x3

 

[ShortFuse]

Damn I am STUFFED...big bowl of salad (romaine, iceberg, spinach, 2 eggs, a little fat free ranch), a bunch of broccoli, a 4oz chicken breast baked with jerk chicken spice...washed it down with some lemon green tea and two big glasses of water...

Feelin pretty good right now, if my gf comes home and wants to hit the gym, I might just have to go do some cardio again! ...if not I'll just postpone until 8am with an empty stomach

 

[Kabeetz]

Don't drop your lifts back 10-20 pounds... drop them back 10%. (Use a calculator and then round ) Then, take 4 weeks to get back up to that amount, therefore adding 2.5% each week... and that should propel you for a string of gains afterwards.

Sounds like you're eating some really good foods, I'm not sure what your caloric goals are or if you're meeting them, but it seems like the ingredients you're putting in your body are great.

 

[ShortFuse]

I woke up this morning and did not want to do cardio, as usual...so I went back to sleep lol

Breakfast: 1/2 cup oats, protein shake

Pre-workout: 1 cookie (170 calories I think...) It was pre-workout, I was kinda hungry but didn't have time to eat a meal and then digest and then workout, so I just ate that...oh well

Post workout: 1/2 cup oats, protein shake

Serving of unsalted almonds

Can of tuna

1.5 chicken breast and a few pieces of broccoli

Gonna go do cardio once this chicken digests! I'm aiming for 500-600 calories, so we'll see what happens. I weighed 202.7 this morning...

I am not sure what I will have post-cardio...since it is so late at night. Whey protein, 1 cup non-fat milk and 1/4 cup oats? Maybe even 2 tablespoons ANPB? You tell me!

and I dropped my weights back 10% per Kabeetz, workout went pretty well, the weights actually felt difficult, but I think that was my mindset, "Wow this sucks"...so I didn't get amped before my sets lol...accomplished them all with NO problems. I will increase them 5lbs per week for 4 weeks, where I will be at the weights I accomplished last week and hopefully wont be cutting any longer!

 

[ShortFuse]

Did 35 minutes of cardio, burned about 460 calories...don't know for sure because I forgot to put in my weight at first and had to start over 5 minutes in, and then I knocked the emergency stop magnet off 25 minutes in haha

Came home, had some ON Whey and 1 cup non-fat milk...about an hour later ate some egg whites, beef jerky (0.5g fat), and 1/2 cup cottage cheese...

Puts me at 1770 calories including that cookie, with 210g of protein! Oh and following cardio I weighed in at 201.6...I better be below 200 in the next few days.

 

[H_T_]

frequent SQ & DL workouts will slow your BMR. and be fucking patient, for the love of Pete. to gain weight, you need overcompensation. eating more than you burn in a day. you have to research this, cuz most don't know, that you burn 80 calories an hour sleeping. so try to eat just enough, maybe 3500 extra calories a week....