Second Bite of the Apple

[Roobo]

I'd appreciate some feedback on my plan for getting back to training when the gyms reopen. To give some context I'll let explain where I'm at; last year I started 'Fierce 5' which is a LP programme written by someone on the Bodybuilding.com website. I ran the modified version which looks like this:

A
Squat 5x3
Bench 5x3
Rows 3x8
Face Pulls 3x10
Calf Raises/Tricep Extension 3x10

B
Deadlift 3x5
Overhead Press 3x5
Leg Curl 3x8
Pull Ups 3x8
Ab work 2x15/Bicep curls 2x10 Superset

The progression works by adding 5Kg to upper body movements and 2.5kg to lower body movements every week and whichever without is being done for a second time you add a rep. The B workout was modified as the actual programme included RDL's and Front Squats.

My 1RM finished at:
Deadlift 200Kg
Squat 150Kg
Bench 100Kg
Press 60Kg

While I was reasonably happy with the numbers I do feel like deadlifting twice a week killed me in the end and that I definitely had more in the tank in the squat and press. These numbers were in December and I ended up getting pretty ill in January and went back training on 531 which while not ideal at this stage of lifting it did at least maintain strength. I went from 172lb (this was after a reasonably lengthy cut, not my 'natural' weight by any means) up to 201lbs.

Going forward I've read the blue book and PPTT over the lockdown and I'm hoping the nuanced approach to the programming of the deadlift will help me get a bit more out of LP. Also I've been looking into my diet and towards the end of running F5 and it was pretty horrendous, mostly crap just to get calories in without much volume or sustenance. I like food and cooking so have spent some time working on a diet plan going forward with the knowledge from the previous bulk. I'm fairly lucky with my metabolism as maintenance is around 3000 calories when training so my plan will be too eat around 3000-3200 calories of meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables with one or two cheat meals at the weekend so I can eat out and have a few drinks. With macros I mainly focus on total calories, protein and fiber and just looking at the type of meals I like to eat the macros work out to roughly:

P-200 F-100 C-350

I've just cut down to 177lbs on around 2500 calories a day to get rid of some of the body fat I gained and put myself in the best position for putting on muscle when I start NLP. My plan for is to ramp up the calories to the plan above and see what my strength is like, when I get to around 75-80% of my previous totals I'll add in something like whole milk, Greek yoghurt or nuts for extra calories as required to get the most out of NLP but can easily by dropped when I've ran out the program. My aim is to get to around 195-200lbs and I hope that dropping the extra calories used for NLP and adding in some conditioning will get rid of any unwanted additional body fat at this stage. As I didn't mention it anywhere else I'm 6ft 34 year old male.

[Robert Santana]

How about you start the standard NLP, run the deadlift up thrice per week with rapid jumps early on, then progress as instructed? Do this while paying attention to carbohydrates and protein and you should do just fine.

[Roobo]

Sorry maybe I didn't word that appropriately, I fully intend to do the NLP as instructed. My comment about the deadlift programming was in reference to down the line I'm hoping that dropping it to twice a week then once a week help will help me progress for longer.

[Robert Santana]

That's the way to do it. Run it 3x/wk for as long as you can, then every other workout, then weekly with chins and cleans on the other days as described in the Grey book. Just make sure that you jump it fast in the beginning so that you don't wreck your back squatting before the pull gets actually heavy. Does that make sense?

[Roobo]

I think so, I could take say 10Kg jumps in the beginning to get my deadlift back up quickly, let's say 130KG then start to drop it for cleans then chins?

What do you think of the nutrition? I'm sure you've probably gathered that keeping body fat down is something I'm keen to do. While I didn't put on a bunch of fat last time round I'm still hoping that my body composition could be improved with a better diet rather than just eating a cake, chocolate and other crap in abundance to get the calories in. I like the idea of having a good base diet that stays more of less the same but can be tweaked by adding or subtracting oils and butter for low fat sprays, sugar for low fat sweeteners, taking out some eggs for egg whites as required. Basically keeping a similar amount of food and just playing around with the macros rather than cutting things out completely. Having read A Clarification I can use something like milk specifically for NLP.

[Robert Santana]

If 130 kg is grindy for you sure. Film it and judge by the bar speed. If it's fast go up and see what 135 kg does.

Are you 201 lb now? At the very least consume 3000 calories, and make 75% of them from carbohydrates and protein.

[Roobo]

I'm just picking a number at random but take big jumps early on, I'd like to think it will be a bit heavier than 130Kg before it gets grindy but who knows after lock down. That's the idea though isn't it, take big jumps for the first few two to three weeks so the first session might be 80Kg the next 90Kg, etc?

No I've cut to around 177lbs, I'm eating 2500-2800 calories now during the week and a bit more at the weekend so I'm confident I'll be up in the three thousands within a couple of weeks of training properly again.

[Robert Santana]

Yep that's how it's done. Get a lead on the squat. Make sure you get the food in too you want your weight increasing as it gets grindy again so that you aren't trying to train too light.

[Roobo]

Will do. Thanks for your help.

[Robert Santana]

You are welcome!