Chesty's Texas Method Accountabilibuddy

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Fri 5/18/18
Heavy
1x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 140
1x3 215
1x2 285
Work Sets 360

2
Bench Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 110
1x3 155
1x2 200
Work Sets 225

Triceps pullovers 74lbs 3x5
Static core holds 2x 30 seconds, bodyweight +7.5lbs

Ok, these squats felt heavy. I didn't feel like I might miss a rep, but I was close to that feeling. My core felt solid, it was my legs and butt that were struggling.

The bench felt ok, but I had a little elbow pain that was making me push slowly. The 2nd rep was slower than I'd like.

Skipped chin ups to save my elbows, I did them once this week already, 2nd set is optional.

Gonna eat and sleep a lot this weekend and prepare for volume Monday at 330lbs for squats. Ugh wow, that sounds tough.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Mon 5/21/18
Medium
5x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 130
1x3 195
1x2 260
Work Sets 330

5x5
Press Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 70
1x3 90
1x2 110
Work Sets 130

1x5
Deadlift Warm-up
2x5 135
1x3 185
1x2 265
Work Sets 315

Yep, these squats felt as tough as I thought they would. My body just didn't feel motivated today and the warmups only helped a little. Took a long time between sets. Got it all done, it was just a little less fun than usual.

I also changed my grip again to try and save my elbows. A wider grip was helping me for a while, but the elbow pain started coming back at higher weights. I switched to a thumbs around grip and cocked my elbows back more and allowed my wrists to bend. This makes a nice delt shelf for the bar. I used wrist wraps to take the force off my wrists. I know this is not the recommended method, but no matter how wide I grip the bar, my elbows hurt with straight wrists. My elbows are completely ok now after today's squats. There was no elbow pain whatsoever during presses. Also, I can rerack the bar without having my hands in the way again.

Press did not feel terribly hard, and neither did deadlifts.

I have some time off this week, going to lay low and eat a lot.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Wed 5/23/18
Light
2x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 105
1x3 155
1x2 210
Work Sets 265

3x5
Bench Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 80
1x3 115
1x2 145
Work Sets 165

Chin ups: 2x6, 1x5

Pretty standard light day; nothing felt good, was stiff and fatigued. That means I did good on Monday. Squats felt unusually hard so I went back to my old grip for the work sets. I think cocking my elbows back is resting more of the weight on my humerus bones, which is causing the bar's center of gravity to be aligned with my shoulder sockets, which are slightly higher than the bar's center of gravity with my normal grip. The effect is making the squat feel more like a high bar squat than a low bar squat. I'm going to need to do more messing around with it.

Immediately ate my standard 3 post-workout hamburgers. Shared a bit with the dog.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Fri 5/25/18
Heavy
1x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 145
1x3 215
1x2 290
Work Sets 365

2
Press Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 85
1x3 105
1x2 130
Work Sets 155

Chin ups: 2x5, 6x1
Triceps pullovers: 3x5, 76lbs
Static Core Holds: 2 x (bodyweight + 10lbs) x 30 seconds

365lbs felt very heavy. For the first time in awhile, a hint of doubt crept into my mind about making it through the set. I managed to do it though.

I bought Ace elbow compression wraps and used them to see if I could use my old overhand grip without getting elbow tendonitis. They reduced it by 80% and I even had the bar slip down my back during the set accidentally and there was still no significant tendonitis. So I am going to use them from now on. I may end up buying one of those A7 grip shirts to stop any slipping issues. At these higher weights, more of the weight is resting on the sides instead of the middle where the knurling is (because the bar is finally staring to bend), making it more likely to slip.

The press double felt pretty easy.

I haven't felt like I have been getting much stronger on chin ups in awhile. I wonder why.

Food and rest were really top notch this week.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Mon 5/28/18
Medium
5x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 130
1x3 200
1x2 265
Work Sets 335

5x5
Bench Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 95
1x3 130
1x2 170
Work Sets 190

1x5
Deadlift Warm-up
2x5 135
1x3 190
1x2 270
Work Sets 320

This was a tough session. I was scared of the squat weight x volume already and I had an upset stomach the whole time. My body just wasn't into it at all and the session took over 3 hours. I was gassy and weak feeling. The bench didn't feel very tough but I usually feel like they are fun and didn't feel that way this time due to my body issues. Squats were really really tough. Bench and deadlifts were fine in terms of difficulty, no issues at all.

I made a ghetto version of an A7 Bar Grip shirt by putting a bunch of duct tape on the back of a plain white cotton t-shirt, outside and inside. It worked well, it grabbed the bar and fixed it to my back pretty solidly. I will be buying an actual A7 shirt when they are back in stock.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Wed
Light
2x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 105
1x3 160
1x2 215
Work Sets 270

3x5
Press Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 65
1x3 85
1x2 105
Work Sets 125

Everything felt easy but my left elbow tendonitis flared up. Starting to get annoying. Going to try some new things again next time.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Fri 6/1/18
Heavy
1x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 145
1x3 220
1x2 295
Work Sets 370 (Failed on 3rd rep)

3
Bench Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 110
1x3 155
1x2 200
Work Sets 225

Chin ups: 1x6, 2x5
Triceps pullovers: 78lbs, 3x5
Static core holds: 2 x (bodyweight +12.5lbs) x 30 seconds

Well, finally failed on squats again. These felt way heavier than last week. I felt very strongly I wasn't going to make it after the first rep, then the bar rolled up my back on the 2nd rep and there was an epic struggle to get it under control and lift it. Then the 3rd rep just wasn't going to happen. Bar didn't move. To be honest, I wasn't feeling super excited to lift like I usually do. Maybe I am suffering from Manopause or something. The good news is no elbow tendonitis this time. I used a wide thumbs-around grip with my wrists bent and did some hammer curls before squatting to get my elbows warmed up.

The bench was not so bad and I managed to hit my 225 triple PR. Next cycle I am moving up to 235 for a single. Very exciting.

I might try to cut some weight soon. I am back up to around 250 and looking like an ogre with flab hanging off me and my old sleep apnea is hitting me almost every night now. I had to buy new shirts. I can cut weight very fast when I want to, due to the ketogenic diet I'm on.

[Chesty McLifty]

I decided to do a cut for a month. I am not going to stop the program at all, but I am prepared for a lot of failing in a calorie deficit. I'm sure it will only really matter on Fridays when I'm trying for new PRs. I'm going to try to cut 20 lbs or so. That might sound like a lot to some people but keep in mind I have been eating every three hours to keep insulin spiked since 12/12/17 and only put on 21lbs. Some intermittent fasting and allowing some glucagon to do its work will strip the fat off very quickly.

The main reason isn't how I look or having to buy new clothes, it is sleep apnea. When I get to a certain amount of abdominal fat, my breathing is closed off as soon as I drift into sleep, causing snoring or sleep interruptions that cause me to wake up over and over all night (you know, because breathing is kind of important). The added fatigue from poor sleep is interfering with my gains and my quality of waking life in general. Resetting my bodyweight down for a month and then enjoying another 6 months of progress is the goal. I'm already down 3lbs in 2 days.

In the meantime, I do not even plan to reset my weights. I will hit 335 on squats 5x5 today and if I am not able to squat 370 on Friday, I will do it all over next week. I might get stuck on my presses too, even though they have felt strong. I am going to aim for progress, but be satisfied as long as I don't lose strength. This will be an interesting personal experiment at the very least. Will do my Monday session later today and report my experience.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Mon 6/4/18
Medium
5x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 130
1x3 200
1x2 265
Work Sets 335

5x5
Press Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 70
1x3 90
1x2 110
Work Sets 130

1x5
Deadlift Warm-up
2x5 130
1x3 195
1x2 275
Work Sets 325

I would have posted earlier but my internet went out. The session went well. Squats felt hard but not as hard as last week. My time under the bar didn't feel terrible, the strength was there, but I felt low energy between sets and got a little dizzy.

The press felt easy and the deads felt very easy.

So far, so good. I ate a ton of food in my 6 hour window but I will still end up in a caloric deficit for the day. I have 4 days off from work, so will get a ton of rest.

[Chesty McLifty]

Texas Method Sets x Rep Wed 6/6/18
Light
2x5
Squat Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 105
1x3 160
1x2 215
Work Sets 270

3x5
Bench Warm-up
2x5 45
1x5 85
1x3 115
1x2 150
Work Sets 170

Pretty standard recovery day session. My left elbow had a hint of tendonitis but nothing really bad. Knees were a bit creaky. Standard stuff. Weight is coming off fast, I'm down 6lbs. Friday will be an interesting experience. Sleep has been higher quality now that my breathing passage is opening up.