Manveer Gets Competitive

[manveer]

Guess I need to start looking at the serious people logs now... it's scary up here!

Heh. I have 6 deadlift work sets tonight. Maybe I can edge you out on the deadlift with this new programming.

Nice log and a good choice in programming. I look forward to seeing you respond to the work.

Thanks!

All the volume!

I can't remember--are you tracking macros yet?

I tracked macros last year going into the Fall Classic because I had to/wanted to lose a little weight. After that I stopped. I check for a few days probably once every few months to make sure nothing is too out of whack. I use my weight as a proxy measurement for total calories and then just make sure I get enough protein (~250g/day).

I find that counting macros takes a lot of the enjoyment out of eating. You've been very successful with macro counting and seem to do so effortlessly, so if you have any tips I'm all ears.

I ate most of my lunch by 10:30am today... just one workout and I'm already starving.

[chromoly]

Nice first session. Following along to see you make mad gainz on RTS!

[Vince Cifani]

Very nice log. Looking forward to seeing how you do with Guided Programming. You'll not only get used to the volume, before long, but you're also going to see a big improvement in your recovery ability.

[brkriete]

Great to see someone following some different coached programming. Looking forward to following along and see you put some even bigger numbers!

[Karl Schudt]

A few thoughts on macro tracking, if you decide to do it. I needed to do it to get my blood sugar number a bit nicer. (Not a medical recommendation, listen to your doctor, blah blah blah).

I started tracking a little bit before Thanksgiving last year. I knew it was the thing to do, but I had been slow to start for fear that it would be too difficult, or that it would take the joy out of eating. Two main concerns:

1. It's too hard.
2. It takes the joy out of food.


1. It's not that hard. I have a young friend of the family who has Type I diabetes. That's hard. I saw another young man at a festival steering his wheelchair with his tongue. This isn't hard.

Which isn't to say that it's easy. There's two elements: the habit and the knack. The habit is the hard part. You have to track every meal, every day, until it just becomes another thing you do. Habits are hard to acquire, but once acquired, are easy to maintain. This is good news. Just buckle down for a few months, and it will be easier.

The knack just takes practice. If you have lots of carbs left to get, and no fat, what do you do? Rice Krispies! If you have no carbs, but protein and fat left? Omelet! You'll figure out your own tricks as you go to help you hit your macros accurately. It's just like your instincts in your professional life. You didn't start with them, but got them over time.

2. It takes the joy out of food.

I don't think this is true. Let me borrow from spiritual traditions. They are pretty universal in their insistence on some kind of fasting, and, apart from devotion to God/gods, the fasting is done to help you have a good relationship with food and to exercise your discipline. I remember reading a text from my own tradition and seeing the story of a young monk complaining to an old monk about hunger. The old monk says he's gone 40 years without eating what he wants. In the end, it's not a big deal, and a little bit of relaxation of the fast becomes a big feast.

Take my relationship with pizza. I used to eat entire pizzas. My joy came from the whole thing, from stuffing my gob with as much as I could reach. Now that my food habits are a bit more in order, when I eat pizza, it's much better. When I was on restricted carbs and then got to move up the carb macro, that first bowl of cereal was heavenly.

The cool thing about flexible dieting/IIFYM is that you can eat whatever you want. You just have to make room for it. I still enjoy Chicago-style pizza. I just don't eat so much of it that I sweat from the effort of digesting.

[Gerhard]

Manveer, I'll PM something to you I designed for my clients to track macro and adjust based on bodyweight trends.

[Ryan Arnold]

Looking forward to following along!

[manveer]

Nice first session. Following along to see you make mad gainz on RTS!

Thanks! Hopefully that's the result of all the work.

Noooo! Add ALL THE REPS!

I did all the deadlift reps today.

Very nice log. Looking forward to seeing how you do with Guided Programming. You'll not only get used to the volume, before long, but you're also going to see a big improvement in your recovery ability.

Thanks, Vince! I'm sure you're right and I'll adapt.

Great to see someone following some different coached programming. Looking forward to following along and see you put some even bigger numbers!

Thanks!

A few thoughts on macro tracking, if you decide to do it. I needed to do it to get my blood sugar number a bit nicer. (Not a medical recommendation, listen to your doctor, blah blah blah).

I started tracking a little bit before Thanksgiving last year. I knew it was the thing to do, but I had been slow to start for fear that it would be too difficult, or that it would take the joy out of eating. Two main concerns:

1. It's too hard.
2. It takes the joy out of food.


1. It's not that hard. I have a young friend of the family who has Type I diabetes. That's hard. I saw another young man at a festival steering his wheelchair with his tongue. This isn't hard.

Which isn't to say that it's easy. There's two elements: the habit and the knack. The habit is the hard part. You have to track every meal, every day, until it just becomes another thing you do. Habits are hard to acquire, but once acquired, are easy to maintain. This is good news. Just buckle down for a few months, and it will be easier.

The knack just takes practice. If you have lots of carbs left to get, and no fat, what do you do? Rice Krispies! If you have no carbs, but protein and fat left? Omelet! You'll figure out your own tricks as you go to help you hit your macros accurately. It's just like your instincts in your professional life. You didn't start with them, but got them over time.

2. It takes the joy out of food.

I don't think this is true. Let me borrow from spiritual traditions. They are pretty universal in their insistence on some kind of fasting, and, apart from devotion to God/gods, the fasting is done to help you have a good relationship with food and to exercise your discipline. I remember reading a text from my own tradition and seeing the story of a young monk complaining to an old monk about hunger. The old monk says he's gone 40 years without eating what he wants. In the end, it's not a big deal, and a little bit of relaxation of the fast becomes a big feast.

Take my relationship with pizza. I used to eat entire pizzas. My joy came from the whole thing, from stuffing my gob with as much as I could reach. Now that my food habits are a bit more in order, when I eat pizza, it's much better. When I was on restricted carbs and then got to move up the carb macro, that first bowl of cereal was heavenly.

The cool thing about flexible dieting/IIFYM is that you can eat whatever you want. You just have to make room for it. I still enjoy Chicago-style pizza. I just don't eat so much of it that I sweat from the effort of digesting.

Thanks for writing that up, Karl. Once I get used to this training style a bit I will work on the habit of tracking macros.

Manveer, I'll PM something to you I designed for my clients to track macro and adjust based on bodyweight trends.

Thanks, Martin! Appreciate it.

Looking forward to following along!

Thanks!

BW (7/18 morning): 241.0#

Sleep (7/17 evening): 6h22m, 2x awake, 9x restless. Slept like crap.

W1D2 – 2016-07-18
Deadlift w/ belt
405x4 @6.5
420x4 @7
445x4 @8
445x4 @8.5
445x4 @9.5
425x4 @8
Felt pretty good. Rest times between 6-9 minutes. Legs are like linguine afterwards.

Dropped my hips lower than I usually do. Felt much stronger off the floor and also like my back was getting set better. I’ve probably been setting up too high.

3ct Pause Bench
205x3 @6
215x3 @7
225x3 @7.5
225x3 @8
225x3 @8
225x3 @8.5
First time doing this, so wasn’t sure where I would land. Could’ve gone 5-10 lbs heavier on the top set. I guess this is just a light bench variant, supposed to teach me to hold the bottom position better? Not to worry, there’s heavier TnG benching in a couple of days... bench err day.

5-min rest periods.

Ab Wheel x10x4
First time doing this. My triceps actually cramped up bad after the first set.

Total gym time 2h15m. Did the ab wheel later. Haven't looked at any video... need to get to sleep.

[manveer]

BW (7/19 morning): 241.2#

Sleep (7/18 evening): 6h45m, 2x awake, 13x restless

GPP
C2 Rower
2850m, 2:39/500m, 15:09 (not continuous)
Average HR 133 (over 21:45)
Max HR 160
Supposed to be aerobic maintenance, but my cardio capacity is piss poor so I had to take some breaks and my average HR was lower than it should've been. Hopefully I can look back at this in a couple of months and laugh at how bad my conditioning was.

Mobility work - ~10 mins. Did most of the stuff from the second half of the "limber 11" video: Joe DeFranco's "Limber 11" (flexibility routine) - YouTube

[Ryan Arnold]

what does the restless number mean exactly? Are you measuring this with a device or app of some sort?