To Beef or not To Beef

[Devyn Stewart]

03/12/2019

Front squat: 155x10, 165x10x2
3-0-0 bench: 135x8x5
Treadmill 30 min. @~140 bpm

[Devyn Stewart]

03/14/2019

Beltless deadlift: 240x6, 255x6, 275x6
Bench: 165x9x5
Chin-ups: -80x10x3

Notes:

That left shoulder pain I dealt with a few months ago is coming back. Not enough to keep me from training, but I'm 95% sure that it's from front squat. Something about the way it sits on my shoulders just doesn't sit well with them. Oh well, it's one variation, and I can live without it. We'll see if it gets better in a few weeks.

[Devyn Stewart]

03/15/2019

3-0-0 tempo squats: 185x8, 195x8, 205x8
DB bench: 45x12x3
Treadmill 20 min. HIIT 4&8 mph 1:3

Notes:

Spring break is this week, so that's exciting! I'm honestly loving training right now, so that's one big plus. Weight loss has slowed a bit I think. I'm weighing in consistently at 227 and don't appear to be trending down. I'll give it another week, but it looks like it's about time to cut some calories again.

I'm thinking more and more about the fact that I may be in the army in about 1.5 years, so that has provided me incentive to train my cardiovascular fitness. I plan on using HIIT to slowly lower my 2 mile time, which I don't plan on testing until I've been training a while because it's probably changing very quickly and wouldn't be useful information. Life is good, friends.

[Devyn Stewart]

03/17/2019

Squat: 235x6, 245x6, 260x6
Bench: 180x6, 185x6, 195x6
Hammer curls: 30x12x3

[Devyn Stewart]

03/18/2019

Deadlift: 295x6, 305x6, 295x6
CG bench: 155x6, 165x6x2, 170x6x3
Chin-ups: 6 sec negatives 10 EMOM

Notes:

Getting a little bit of elbow tendinitis I'm fairly sure is from bench press. May need to reduce volume soon. I was going to do that anyway, but perhaps I will need to be a bit more conservative with the volume next cycle.

[Devyn Stewart]

03/19/2019

3-0-0 squat: 185x8, 195x8x2
Treadmill 2 miles in 22:00

Notes:

Man, that 22 minutes was my no fooling trying as hard as I can. Guess I'm a lot slower than I thought I was. I realize that pursuing a time closer to 14:00 will certainly detract from my strength training to some degree, but that's a sacrifice I am willing to make right now. Hopefully any weight loss along the way will speed it up!

[Devyn Stewart]

03/21/2019

Beltless DL: 260x6, 275x6, 295x6 (PR!)
1ct bench: 145x8, 155x8, 160x8
Chin-ups: -80x12,10,10

Notes:

I'm loving these beltless variations. Very specific and it almost feels like a purer version of the competition lift. So far, I enjoy doing beltless DL more than belted DL.

Glad that my acute soreness from the 2 mile run didn't seem adversely affect today.

[Devyn Stewart]

03/22/2019

Beltless squat: 225x6, 235x6, 245x6
DB bench: 45x12x3
Treadmill 24 min. HIIT 4&8 mph 1:3

[Devyn Stewart]

03/24/2019

Squat: 260x4, 270x4, 275x4, 260x4
Bench: 185x4, 195x4, 205x4, 195x4x2
BB curls: 70x10x4

Notes:

Still loving training. Weighed in at a recent low of 223 today. My strength seemed to immediately decline significantly then basically stagnate. This leaves me hopeful that I can maintain these levels of strength or similar all the way down to ~210.

[Adam Gottstein]

Glad to see you still loving it while cutting. 210 will come quickly enough and then you'll be able to enjoy being at or slightly over maintenance. I can't wait for that day myself.

These are all good lifts, too.