Training and Self Assesment

It’s that time again. So soon? Yes, it’s been five weeks since my last strength routine (here) and it’s time to review my progress and chart a new course for when I return from my week in Durango and Grand Junction.

Work Out

My goal was to increase my strength. The work out routine was solid and I felt like I accomplished a lot. I did notice joint fatigue from the heavy sets, but I guess that’s the price I pay for loading up the bar. Getting sick early this month made me miss the gym for a week straight. Still I improved most of my lifts, my new 1-rep maximums are as follows:

Squat: 385-lbs
Bench Press: 245-lbs
Dead Lift: 335-lbs (overhand grip, no straps)
Clean and Jerk: 165-lbs

That’s a 40-lbs increase on my Squat. I tried 405-lbs, but I couldn’t coax my ass to get close enough to the ground. I increased 20-lbs on the Bench and Dead Lift. I almost lifted 355-lbs on the Dead Lift, but my grip slipped as soon as I got the bar above my knees, proving that my hand strength is the week link in my Dead Lift. This was the first time I have ever tried to max out on the Clean and Jerk. I really dug the rotational workout schedule I developed for this routine.
Grade: C+ (Due to getting sick)

Nutrition

My plan was to stay even and maintenance level calories (approx 2,800-kcal/day). My macronutrient breakdown was 92-grams fat, 160-grams carbohydrates, and 320-grams protein. I stuck to this diet extremely when I wasn’t sick. Unfortunately, one week of illness cost me one week of sound nutrition. (Why do Big Macs taste so good when I’m sick?) Despite eating almost 3,000-kcal/day I dropped from 178-lbs to 170-lbs. Damn it. I’m no better off than two months ago, even with my last bulking cycle punching me up to 180-lbs. On the plus side, I am leaner and stronger at 170-lbs than I was 3-months ago.
Grade: C+ (Due to getting sick)

Sleep

I was shooting for 8-hours a night, but getting sick made for rough sleeping.
Grade: C+ (Due to getting sick)

New Plan

My workout plan is geared for maintaining my strength gains and providing little Lori with some activity in her day (now that she’s out of school, I must wear her down on my own). I’m thinking of super-setting some 5x5 and hitting the forearms hard so that I can increase my Dead Lift. I’ve still got a week before I need to come up with a routine, so I’m not going to type up the specifics right now.
I’m retaining my newfound level of detail for my upcoming dietary plan. Like last month, I am planning a generic daily menu. Meals can be replaced with other substances as long as the kcals, protein, fat, and carbs remain comparable. I am attempting a minor caloric deficit of about 150-kcal/day, which should put me at 2,550-kcal/day. Hopefully I can pare off a little more fat and bring out my abdominals (Ha, that has yet to happen... ever). The only thing I’m changing from last month is the brown rice. Removing the brown rice will reduce kcal sufficiently and reduce my carb intake by 35-grams.

6:30AM: 1-cup cottage cheese, 0.5-cup pineapple chunks
8:30AM: 6-oz chicken breast, 1-head of broccoli
10:30AM: 4-oz ground beef, 1-oz cheddar cheese
12:30PM: 1.67-serv whey protein, 0.67-tbs flaxseed oil
2:30PM: 1.67-serv whey protein, 0.67-tbs flaxseed oil
5:30PM (post workout): 1-serv whey protein, 1-cup milk, 1-cup yogurt
7:30PM: 2 eggs, 1-serv whey protein
9:30PM: 1.67-serv whey protein, 0.67-tbs flaxseed oil

This menu results in 2,550-kcal, 90-g fat, 125-g carbohydrates, and 320-g protein. For non-workout days (Sun, Tue, Thr, Sat) I’ll switch the 11:30AM meal with the 6:30PM meal.

Once again, I'm going to try to work on sleep. I'm gunning for 8-hours a night, minimum. Sleep usually is the first thing to suffer when life starts to get overwhelming, so for the next four-weeks I'm going to plan on hitting the ol' bed at 10:00PM and waking up at 6:00AM.

In a month or so I shall look back and see how this all pans out.
...and so it was written, shenry at 5/31/2003 10:09:00 PM.
...and so it was appended with .