Repair and prepare - my journal on the road back to 5x5

[anotherbutters]

I have no idea how many calories I'm taking in. Sometimes I wonder whether I'm really cutting, but the scale says I am. I have the same diet as when bulking, but I've cut down the oats in my breakfast and my mid-morning and mid-afternoon shakes, have a smaller lunch and sometimes have 6 egg whites before bed rather than a 250g tub of cottage cheese/pineapple. I don't drink pints of milk when I feel like it either. I still have more veggies than you can shake a stick at in my evening meal.

AI, yeah, I think I will give it another go from next week. I might just drop another 2kg and recomp the rest of the gut away, as I slowly switch to bulking. 6 weeks from now, I might choose to do another run whilst bulking or switch to the SF 5x5. I'll probably alternate between them.

I had a guinea pig once. It had a pretty solid core

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

AB, is that an indirect "no" to sampling another routine?

 

[anotherbutters]

Sorry, no. I was a bit confused because you didn't expand on the aternative routine. I'm all ears, as BW would likely say.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

I'll PM you the routine in a bit. Gotta train first. Too bad I never kept up with my training log - I never did like those things.

 

[nelmsjer]

Good stuff,glad to see things are working out well now.I think you can still hit your 3 plate goal on squats if you take things at a moderate pace.I am half way through my first HST cycle and so far I have lost about 1 1/2 inches on the gut in about 3 weeks with no noticable muscle loss at all.My plan is to cut for 10 more weeks and hopefully drop another 2.5-3inches off this stupid gut.Then its the long road to 240-250lb.Just out of curiousity how many calories do you think your getting in?

All this talk about HST and cutting is making me consider switching out for a bit...

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

All this talk about HST and cutting is making me consider switching out for a bit...

Do it!

 

[anotherbutters]

HST Week 1, Monday: 8's

Bodyweight: just under 80kg

All weights in kg:

1. Supported rows: (warmup: 30x8), 40x8, 40x8, 40x8
2. Bench: (40x8), 50x8, 50x8, 50x8
3. 60' Incline Bench: (25x8), 36x8, 36x8, 36x8

I thought I'd do another quick run of HST over the next 4 weeks, after which I hope to be able to start squatting again. This is a very rough and ready run and I'm not sure how the weights will plan out. They were a bit lighter than my last run for the 8's, but they weren't as much of a breeze as I expected. No pain in my left wrist, which is why I took last week off.

My leg and back are doing great. I have to be more and more abusive to them to feel any pain.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

Ah, I forgot to ask AB - how are the core exercises going? Still doing that selection your doctor (forgot what she was, exactly) gave you? Have you upped the intensity, and if so how?

 

[anotherbutters]

From my physio. I've been doing them, but not every night. They're mainly glute exercises rather than TVA as I initially thought, but it's all good. I haven't tried increasing the intensity. She showed me how contracting the ab muscles more just makes the rectus abs and obliques dominate the TVA, hence the light exercises. Maybe that was specific to me, with a weak TVA. I don't know.

I've basically been sucking my stomach in a lot more (TVA), throughout the day - on the train, sat at work, walking home, etc. I look slimmer and it puts a bit more stress on them Whether it's that or the glute exercises, it's taken the pressure off this nerve in my back and my leg finally feels normal.

One thing I've realised is that when I used to suck a breath of air into my belly for squats/deads, I don't think I contracted my abs first. If I do that now (not that I'm squatting/deading), it feels a lot more solid - contract the abs first, then breath into them, making the whole area solid.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

Heyyy funny, I said to contract the abs and form a "brace". But did anyone pay me any mind? No.

Anyway, you're doing vacuums? That's what it sounds like - sucking in the stomach to activate the TVA. That whole slimming the waist thing is a supposed myth, but I truth you're not bullshitting, so good stuff. You know, planks, when done properly, activate the TVA primarily. That was the point of me telling you to do them.

I believe I also mentioned glute bridges/hip pop-ups (i.e., lay on back, shoulders and heels on floor, drive through heels and form a line with your body). I guess I just pointed you to the wrong exercises - some work better for others. That's okay, I'm an amatuer.

If you feel like spending money, buy McGill's books. Very informative - a bit techy at times, but if you're worried about running into this type've stuff again, it's a good thing to have in the archives.