Ryan's Training Log

[rkjohns1]

August 17, 2021 Weigh-in: 170.0 lbs, a 0.4 lb decrease from last week.

Dammit.

[rkjohns1]

W7D2 - Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Squat: 245x5x3
Press: 115x5x3
Deadlift: 295x5x1

I felt drained this morning. I don't think my nutritional LP is keeping up with my strength LP, so I need to take a look at that and adjust. Also, just having a banana before I lift may not be enough anymore.

[David Hooper]

If it makes you feel any better, you're two inches taller than me and 40 lb lighter. I'd look pretty good with just a 10 lb reduction in fluff. You have plenty of room for more weight. Eat away!

[rkjohns1]

You have plenty of room for more weight. Eat away!

Hi Hooper! I've been pretty consistent with eating about 3500 - 4000 calories a day, aiming for 200+g of protein, 400+g of carbohydrate and letting the fat fall where it may. Any favorite recipes or snack ideas you'd like to share from your journey?

I do think my extra surf session last week has taken a toll on this week's performance. I'm too old to be out there frothing like a 16yo grommet, paddling like a maniac for every single wave!

[David Hooper]

Ah. I didn't grok onto your other activities even though I now see that you mentioned it. You're actually eating more than me, but I'm also fairly sedentary outside of the gym. I was able to try surfing exactly once, with expected results.

I'm not sure about recipes as I'm somewhat on the Ron Swanson path - I eat a lot of bacon and eggs. Our recent thing has been thick cut pork chops on a grill. I get the coals really hot and use a temperature probe to get the middle to 140 F. Pull them off and grill some veg while they rest a bit. Simple, but tasty and effective.

[rkjohns1]

Our recent thing has been thick cut pork chops on a grill.

Mmmm... pork chops. When I was living in Iowa, one of my favorite things to cook was an Iowa Chop, or a pork equivalent to a porterhouse steak. Usually they're about 1.5" thick, or more. I'd marinate them in a Jamaican Jerk marinade, fire up a grill as you do, sear each side for a couple of minutes, then stand the chop upright on the bone and roast it for 8-10 minutes. Absolutely delicious, and now I'm starving.

[rkjohns1]

W7D3 - Friday, August 20, 2021

Squat: 250x5x3
Bench: 165x5x3
Clean: 95x3x5

[rkjohns1]

W8D1 - Monday, August 23, 2021

Squat: 255x5x3
Press: 117.5x5x3
Deadlift: 305x2, 1, 1, 1

The third deadlift in the work-set did not want to go up, so I had to settle with completing the session with three singles. If I'm being honest with myself, I should have changed to 5lb increases around 275-285, but ego got the better of me. I suppose I could try this weight again on Friday, or dive into PP3 and see if there's a better path forward. Stay tuned - and all opinions welcomed.

[David Hooper]

Is the fatigue from squatting interfering with your deadlifts? Somewhere around these weights, I started doing lighter squats on deadlift days and it felt a lot better. The grey book has something similar, but it puts the light squat on Wednesday as a way to allow more rest between heavy sessions, rather than as a way to save up for the deadlift. The downside is that it cuts squat progress in half since you're not adding weight on those days.

[rkjohns1]

August 24, 2021 Weigh-in: 170.4 lbs, a 0.4 lb increase from last week.

This is likely to go down next week, and yesterday's deadlift fail might not have been solely on greed. Seems like I've caught a bought of cryptosporidiosis or something similar from Sunday's surf session. I inadvertently consumed a mouthful of seawater which is never a good idea, especially when we recently had rain and god knows what was flushed out into the ocean. My diet for the next few days, until this mess clears up, is crackers, bread, oatmeal, potatoes, rice, broth, gatorade and clear juices. Fun times.