Swoz Phones It In

[swoz]

This program is a half-time break in my novice LP.

Goals:
- Include all "active lifestyle" sport/exercise activities.
- Improve form: Squat and Press technique need significant correction.
- Maintain strength.
- Lose weight: back to the jeans-belt hole I used before LP.
- Learn to manage injuries: knees are starting to complain.

Program:
Mon: Squat, Bench.
Tue: Rest.
Wed: Rest.
Thu: Press, Deadlift. Bike w/ load 15km. Swim 30min.
Fri: Basketball 2hr.
Sat: Calisthenics.
Sun: Mobility.

I also walk the dog for about one hour per day. Jack Russells are great personal trainers even in their latter years.

Age: 45
Weight: 79kg / 175lbs
Height: 177cm / 5'10"

Strength:
Squat: 90kg/200lbs (reset from 110kg/240lbs high above depth, oops!)
Deadlift: 125kg/275lbs
Bench: 71kg/156lbs
Press: 49kg/108lbs (likely reset needed after major form correction)
Chins: AMRAP=2

Starting diet is 3x500kcal meals and 2x150kcal snacks (1800kcal total.) Heavy on lean meats, oats, eggs, whey. Goal is 2kg/month weight loss.

[swoz]

2023-Oct-07 Calisthenics

Pistol squat progression: 20x2 bodyweight squats; 3x3 chair-assisted single-leg squats.
L-sit progression: 6x10sec feet on floor.
Pushup progression: 15x1 elbows tucked.

[swoz]

2023-Oct-08 Mobility
Resting squat: 3x1min
Touch toes: 3x10sec with fists.
German hang: Just experimented with getting into position using a soccer goal, need a proper bar with safe diameter.

Just baby steps, experimenting with what might help with tendonitis in my left knee and tight shoulders.

[swoz]

2023-Oct-09 Strength

Press: 35x5, 40x5, 45x5
Deadlift: 120x5

Dared to post form checks in the Technique forum on both for the first time. Getting form under control is my priority on lifting workouts for now. These weights are heavy for me but small resets after adjusting technique following coaching from Adrian Nilsson.

[swoz]

2023-Oct-12 Strength

Squat: 5x70kg, 5x80kg, 5x85kg
Bench: 5x60kg, 5x63kg, 4x70kg

Posted a form check on the squat. Couldn't get that last rep on the bench, feet came off the floor.

Squats felt heavy today. I guess that's expected when cutting weight. I'm eating an 1800kcal diet. Going rapidly down in weight and bloatedness which is refreshing. Looking forward to bulking again later.

Put some of my recently gained strength to good use this morning while clearing fallen branches from a forest path. I can hand-saw them into fewer bigger segments now and still carry them out of the way. Though I did have to cut that short to save energy for the gym a short while later.

[swoz]

2023-Oct-14/15 Hodge podge

Tennis 1 hour (signed up for a beginners course.)
Chin ups, nearly got a 4th rep one time, lots spread out since putting up a bar at home (the whole family is hooked.)
Push ups, Skin-the-cat progression, pistol squat progression (chair supported.)

Nothing too heavy.

[swoz]

2023-Oct-16 Strength

OHP 38x5, 41x5, 45x2

Hopelessly low-energy trip to the gym today. Cut it short. Felt tired, hungry, beaten up after an active weekend.

Have to consider making Mon a recovery-from-weekend day and workout on Tue/Thu instead.

[Eric Schexnayder]

Hopelessly low-energy trip to the gym today. Cut it short. Felt tired, hungry, beaten up after an active weekend.

What's your diet been like? I see one of your goals is to lose weight. But if you intend to keep strength training in some capacity AND keep an active lifestyle, you will probably still need to eat a good bit before strength training sessions.

Andy Baker has some good information on this. Try eating a big carb heavy meal the night before one of your strength sessions, then keep the carbs lower the rest of the week (keep them medium-ish following strength sessions). That way you keep the average macro/calories targets over the week but still have energy for training.

Keep at it!

[swoz]

SQ80x5
BP68x5
DL120x3

I'm back at the gym after almost a month away! I'm down from 81kg to 75kg but I'll cut a little more to reach "flat stomach in a t-shirt" territory.

I'm at peace with the loss of strength. I'll get it back.

(The deadlift was supposed to be five reps but I improvised after loading the wrong weight onto the bar.)

Andy Baker has some good information on this

He sure does! This week I'm trying HLM with 1000kcal extra carbs last night before this first Heavy day. Feels good.

I don't know if it's the best program but it has the simplicity that I needed to get back into the gym while cutting weight.

What's your diet been like?

I've been eating a strict 1800kcal per day. Three 500kcal meals and two 150kcal snacks. Hitting the animal protein target and then maxing the carbs. Musli, whey, low-fat milk, pork, low-fat cottage cheese, vegetable soup, bread.

I'm now adding 1000kcal of mostly carbs in the ~12h leading up to the Heavy workout on Mondays.

[swoz]

Compliance-wise I've had three problems: laziness, lack of a solid program for a cutting diet, and knee trouble.

Knee trouble: I've had lingering inflammation in my left knee for a couple of months now. I'm going to talk with a physio about it this week. I cut out basketball and squats and experimented with RICE and ibuprofen and it's been better.

Andy Baker style HLM might solve the programming problem. You can do that on a cut or off. It's much simpler than the RSS intermediate programming that I'd imagined trying. Easy to hop back onto LP when the cut is done.

Laziness: Sore knee was a good excuse to skip going to the gym and catch up on work instead. Glad that the loss of strength wasn't too much. I have been doing some chin-ups at home and managed a fifth rep one time.