DCM's fat loss log

[DCM]

Weigh-in, Saturday 8th December 2012: 108 kg, down 400 g on last week. Waist: 100.5 cm - ish. Difficult to be accurate.

Training, same day

Front squat: 1 x 3 x 130 kg New rep PR. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf07n8ku12Q. Decided against doing the heavy singles from now on, as they make the intensity session more physically and psychologically demanding than is necessary, I think.

Bench press: 1x 3 x 112.5 kg. New weight PR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFSQCHjp-5c. I got this despite losing my air on each rep because I had to keep telling the spotter not to touch the bar. The reps ain't pretty, but I'm still counting it. Did two back-off sets at 95 kg, the first one 5 reps, the other 4, as I was getting close to failure.

Deadlift: 1 x 4 x 165 kg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWB-wdL789g. I probably shouldn't have jumped up 5 kgs. The hex plates make deadlifting a misery, and I had to reposition my feet after every rep. I'll go back to doing these off the safety pins next week. But setting up closer to the bar definitely helps my form.

[DCM]

Training, Tuesday 11th December 2012: Afternoon session.

Front squat: 3 x 3 @ 125 kg. New PR, in that I've never front-squatted a heavier weight for sets across.

Press: 5 sets of 3 @ 76 kg. Same weight as last week, but done as triples instead of doubles. Progress.

RDLs: 9 x 100 kg, 7 x 100 kg, 6 x 100 kg.

Kroc rows: 18 x 50 kg on each arm.

Summary: Almost didn't go today - shit sleep and no oomph. Forced myself, though, and am glad I did, as I achieved good progress on both the squats and presses. I need to put my ego to one side with the RDLs, as I tweaked my lower back with these today, doing them sloppily and without enough concentration. All in all a decent session on a day that boded anything but success. Hopefully, the improvement in the press today will translate into another PR on Saturday, when I'll attempt 80 kg for 3 reps.

[DCM]

Training, Thursday 13th December 2012: Another afternoon session.

High-bar squat: 3 x 3 @ 125 kg. I thought I'd try 3 x 5 on these today, but then felt too weak.

Bench press: 5 sets of 3 @ 106 kg, making this more than I have ever benched for sets across. A PR, in other words. I'll be doing bodyweight for sets across soon (maybe even next week), which is pretty cool.

DB rows: 2 x 12 @ 60 kg. This is the heaviest dumbbell in the gym, so I'm going to have to just add reps and sets. I felt close to puking after two sets, so called it a day.

[DCM]

Weigh-in, Saturday 15th December 2012: 106.8 kg, 1.2 kg down. Waist: Around 100 cm.

Training, same day:

Front squat: 1 x 3 @ 132.5 kg. PR. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS5KjlOhXv8

Press: 1 x 2 @ 80 kg. Failed on 3rd rep. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAOJNH1UXe4

Deadlift: 1 x 5 @ 162.5 kg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUmUVC1QfMU

Summary: Decent session - the form on the front squats looks a bit dodgy, so I might consolidate this weight next week. It's a shame I didn't get my 3 reps on the press, but I still managed to do 1 rep more with a weight that was my 1-rep max when I was a good 8 kilos heavier, so I'm still pretty pleased with that. How I feel about my deadlift is best illustrated as follows:

Little Timmy: Mummy, Mummy, look, there's a slightly fat but strong-looking man deadlifting 162.5 kilos over there. Isn't he strong Mummy, one day I want to grow up and be just like him!

Little Timmy's Mummy: Timmy, my darling precious boy, that man has been deadlifting that same amount of weight for the past year now, without making any progress. He should be doing at least 180 kilos, like other, bigger, stronger, better-looking men do.

Little Timmy: Oh Mummy, I don't like that man any more, he's weak and pathetic, he's the sort of man who would have tried to appease Hitler, please take me away so I don't have to look upon him any longer!

In other words, my deadlift sucks, and it felt terribly heavy today. Don't know what to do about it - keep plugging away at it, or reset it to a truly pathetic 140-150 kg, or maybe do RDLs twice a week for a while instead. Dunno, we'll see. First, though, it's time for a feast of mince pies.

[DCM]

Training, 19.12.2012: Morning session. Work has been so full 0n that I couldn't go any earlier in the week - as a result I'll only be training twice this week, skipping the intensity day.

Front squat: 3 x 3 @ 127.5 kg. Not sure about the form on these:

Set 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGR8o3kAxGE

Set 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH_H2C0q3rU

Bench press: 5 sets of 3 @ 107.5 kg. I am now benching bodyweight for sets across. Sweet.

RDLs: 2 x 10 x 80 kg, 1 x 8 x 80 kg

Kroc rows: 20 x 50 kg on each arm.

[DV]

Without lowbar squats, or even much in the way of backsquats, you might need more stimulus to make progress on the deadlift. There are many ways of doing that, depending on where you are weak. I found that doing super-heavy rack-pulls from slightly above the knee, sometimes pre-exhausted with pulldowns, helped me alot, as my lats were holding me back. So identifying your weakspot and adressing it with RDL, Rack-Pulls or maybe even Rows, would probably help getting it unstuck.

You have a very good front squat.

[DCM]

Without lowbar squats, or even much in the way of backsquats, you might need more stimulus to make progress on the deadlift. There are many ways of doing that, depending on where you are weak. I found that doing super-heavy rack-pulls from slightly above the knee, sometimes pre-exhausted with pulldowns, helped me alot, as my lats were holding me back. So identifying your weakspot and adressing it with RDL, Rack-Pulls or maybe even Rows, would probably help getting it unstuck.

You have a very good front squat.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. I'm already doing rows, or at least dumbbell rows, and introduced RDLs recently - these have probably not had much of a chance to make a difference yet.

[DCM]

Weigh-in, Saturday 22nd December 2012: 107.8 kg. I'm suspending the diet now till the New Year, as my family and I are now together for the Christmas hols, and I refuse to be that person, obsessing about dieting over the festive period. 'Tis the season to eat mince pies.

Training, same day:

High-bar squat: 3 x 3 @ 127.5 kg. These were some nice squats today - I really focused on going deep and staying tight.

Press: 2 x 77.5 kg, 0 x 77.5 kg, 1 x 77.5 kg, 3 x 70 kg, 5 x 70 kg.

DB rows: 3 sets of 12 @ 60 kg.

Summary: My press was unimpressive today, ha ha! The plan was to do 7 doubles with 77.5 kg, but the first set was hard as hell, the second set didn't happen, and on the 2nd attempt at the second set, I got one lousy rep. No dice. So I did a couple of back-off sets. My routine and diet have been a bit all over the place this week, so maybe that played a role, or maybe I hadn't recovered sufficiently from the bench press on Wednesday. Either way, it's annoying, but I'll chalk it up to an 'off' day and see what happens next week. If I run into trouble again, it might be time for a reset. At least I got all three sets of rows without puking, though I came close.

[DCM]

Training, Monday 24th December 2012: Morning session.

Front squat: 1 x 3 @ 135 kg, rep PR (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4goTmRJmiM), 1 x 1 x 140 kg, weight PR (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh0VGNDLWao)

Bench press: 1 x 3 @ 115 kg, Weight + rep PR (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lARay0ajaxM)

Deadlift: 1 x 5 @ 165 kg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dRSII2RZz8)

Summary: This was a red-letter session, and a nice early Christmas present. I also think this was a little taste of what it will be like to return to a slight calorie surplus once I'm done losing fat: 3 days of carb backloading with Irish stew and dumplings and mince pies left me brimming with energy today (as has lots of quality sleep), and the weights flew up. I wasn't intending to go for the 3-plate front squat, but 135 kg felt so easy that I just couldn't resist. The bench press was also relatively easy, especially as I had a competent spotter today. And as for my deadlift:

Little Timmy: Oh look Mummy, it's that awful, quite strong-looking, slightly fat man again - and look, he's deadlifting again! Oh Mummy, the sight of him is just ruining Christ's Mass for me! He's the sort of chap who would have refused to go over the top in the Great War!

Little Timmy's Mummy: But Little Timmy, 'tis the season of forgiveness, and good will to all men, even those with substandard deadlifts. And just look, Little Timmy, he's managed to add 2.5 kilos to the bar - a man who works hard to improve himself, however slowly, is a good man in my book, son.

Little Timmy: Oh Mama, you are right, God bless us everyone!

In other words: Merry Christmas, dear (imaginary) reader!

[DCM]

Training, Thursday 27th December 2012: Morning session.

Front squat: 3x 3 @ 130 kg

Press: 6 x 2 @ 77.5 kg, 1 x 3 @ 77.5 kg. This is the same weight that kicked my arse last week. Amazing, the difference that sleep and lots of Christmas food makes.

RDL: 3 x 10 x 80 kg

Kroc rows: 25 x 50 kg on each arm.

Summary: Good session, though the RDLs gave me a wicked lower back pump and made the drive home really uncomfortable. I'll have to take an 'old man' cushion with me next time for support.