Step 2: RMM's Journal

[RMM]

7. Exoskeleton

Best. Scale. Ever.

But yeah, if the guess was right I'm hoping another cutting cycle will get me down to the much talked about 10% BF. That was my plan all along, cut, eat, then another cut before Summer (wrong hemisphere and all that). Thanks!

I'm also hoping I'll be able to squat 140 (for reps) and bench 100 (for reps) soon, but won't know until I go back to the big lifting workout routine. So far I'm very pleased with the increase in stamina I'm seeing with this one.

Tuesday:

Squats: 125 kg x6, 125 kg x6, 125 kg x6.
Hack Squat Machine: 150 kg x12, 150 kg x12, 150 kg x12.
Leg Extensions: 70 lbs x25, 70 lbs x25, 70 lbs x25.

Leg Curls: 170 lbs x6, 170 lbs x6, 170 lbs x6.
Stiff Legged Deadlifts: 70 kg x12, 70 kg x12, 70 kg x12.
Hip Machine: 150 lbs x25, 150 lbs x25, 150 lbs x25.

 

[EFFORT]

Best. Scale. Ever.

But yeah, if the guess was right I'm hoping another cutting cycle will get me down to the much talked about 10% BF. That was my plan all along, cut, eat, then another cut before Summer (wrong hemisphere and all that). Thanks!

I'm also hoping I'll be able to squat 140 (for reps) and bench 100 (for reps) soon, but won't know until I go back to the big lifting workout routine. So far I'm very pleased with the increase in stamina I'm seeing with this one.

Tuesday:

Squats: 125 kg x6, 125 kg x6, 125 kg x6.
Hack Squat Machine: 150 kg x12, 150 kg x12, 150 kg x12.
Leg Extensions: 70 lbs x25, 70 lbs x25, 70 lbs x25.

Leg Curls: 170 lbs x6, 170 lbs x6, 170 lbs x6.
Stiff Legged Deadlifts: 70 kg x12, 70 kg x12, 70 kg x12.
Hip Machine: 150 lbs x25, 150 lbs x25, 150 lbs x25.

Is your overall weight at about 95kg? You'd need to lose about 6.6kg of fat which will also take away some muscle so don't be surprised if you have to get down to 86kg or lower to see 10%bf. Your diet/cardio will be imperative for your cutting cycle. When do you plan to start?

 

[RMM]

Is your overall weight at about 95kg? You'd need to lose about 6.6kg of fat which will also take away some muscle so don't be surprised if you have to get down to 86kg or lower to see 10%bf. Your diet/cardio will be imperative for your cutting cycle. When do you plan to start?

Yep, hovering around 95, give or take depending on the day. Last cut cycle took me from 99 to 91, so I'm hoping a similar rate may take me down enough. I'm going to follow the diet exactly as Diesel laid it, just like before. I may tweak the workouts a bit to make the exercises outside the big 3 lifts more into a "circuit" thing, similar to what I'm doing now.

I've got a conference in Tasmania from 13th-17th Sept., and taking a few days off after that, so starting on the 21st. of September. 3 months before the official start of Summer.

Also, since it's Spring, I'm thinking of ditching the car and walk to/from work every day. Not particularly intensive though, would it be better to just do something more intense in the morning and call it quits?

 

[RMM]

Thursday:

Seated Dumbbell Press: 22.5 kg x6, 22.5 kg x6, 22.5 kg x6.
Lateral Dumbbell Raise: 12.5 kg x12, 12.5 kg x12, 12.5 kg x12.
Lateral Cable Raises: 15 lbs x25, 15 lbs x25, 15 lbs x25.

Incline Dumbbell Curls: 18 kg x6, 18 kg x6, 18 kg x6.
EZ Bar curls: 70 lbs x12, 70 lbs x12, 70 lbs x12.
Standing Pulley Curls: 50 lbs x25, 50 lbs x25, 50 lbs x25.

Used one of the pre-fitted EZ bars, marked as 70 lbs.

Close Grip Benchpress: 65 kg x6, 65 kg x6, 65 kg x6.
Barbell Extensions: 25 kg x12, 25 kg x12, 25 kg x12.
Cable Pressdowns: 50 lbs x25, 50 lbs x25, 50 lbs x25.

Swapped the weights a bit, less on the extensions (elbows felt funny after last time), more on the bench. Felt more comfy but still hard.

 

[EFFORT]

Not particularly intensive though, would it be better to just do something more intense in the morning and call it quits?

How long is the walk?

 

[RMM]

How long is the walk?

2.7k each way, according to Google maps.

 

[EFFORT]

I say give it a try and see how it goes. If you don't get progress then you'll need to make tweaks with the diet and cardio.

 

[RMM]

I say give it a try and see how it goes. If you don't get progress then you'll need to make tweaks with the diet and cardio.

Sounds like a plan, thanks! Wanted to get an idea if it was worth the bother or not, hehe.

 

[RMM]

Sunday: This deserves special mention. The weather forecast was of moderate to strong winds all weekend (at around 20 knots or so), perfect weather to go kite fishing. So I did.

Well, turns out that the weather turned into gale force winds (40+ knots, with even stronger gusts) and made the whole exercise quite a bit of a challenge. Walking up and down the beach (because the best spots are always far enough not to be accessible by car, of course!) in gale force winds carrying about 20 kg in gear was... Intense. One heck of a workout.

Monday:

Incline Benchpress: 70 kg x6, 70 kg x6, 70 kg x6.
Incline Dumbbell Benchpress: 20 kg x12, 20 kg x12, 20 kg x12.
Incline Dumbbell Flys: 10 kg x25, 10 kg x25, 10 kg x23.

Those flys were... painful. Should've done them on a flat bench instead. Ah well. Both fly machines were taken, that's why I did those.

Pullups: 6, 6, 6.
Bent-over Barbell Rows: 55 kg x12, 55 kg x12, 55 kg x12
Compound Rows to Neck: 65 lbs x25, 65 lbs x25, 65 lbs x25

Pullups felt great today, good depth and really getting the chin well past the bar. Lowered the weight on the rows, form was better.

 

[RMM]

Tuesday: I was feeling like crap, got a bit of a cold coming, so I didn't go to the gym and instead went to bed early, drank plenty, and slept lots. Best thing I could have done, I felt much better today.

Wednesday:

Squats: 125 kg x6, 125 kg x6, 125 kg x6.
Hack Squat Machine: 160 kg x12, 160 kg x12, 160 kg x12.
Leg Extension: 70 lbs x25, 70 lbs x25, 70 lbs x25.

Prone Leg Curls: 165 lbs x6, 165 lbs x6, 165 lbs x6.
Stiff Legged Deads: 70 kg x12, 70 kg x12, 70 kg x12.
Multi-hip: 150 lbs x25, 150 lbs x25, 150 lbs x25.

Good stuff, Friday will be arms and next week off to Tasmania for a week - deload week. Starting the cut down cycle after that.

 

[RMM]

So, update on non-update that my cold got worse and ended up developing into a mildly bad case of strep throat (I had my tonsils removed some time ago, so when I get strep infection it can be pretty bad), so I've been resting and taking my antibiotics. Hopefully I'll be back into the swing of things by the end of the week.

 

[RMM]

Ah, it's good to finally be back on track - after a week off and a full course of antibiotics. I've fallen behind in these three weeks, I guess as a side effect of not just being off the gym, but actually being sick. Last time I had three weeks off I was going all over the south island and hiking up mountains and whatnot - quite different from staying in bed most of the time feeling like crap.

Anyway!

Monday:

New warmup regime on the treadmill:

6 km/h x 75s
16.5 km/h x 60s

x3 (for now).

Deadlifts:

60 kg x5
100 kg x3
120 kg x1
130 kg x1
140 kg x5

Had to alternate grip to get them done, damn! Left arm still lagging behind.

Only one set - it's the first week and I'm just getting into the swing of things. The rest of the stuff I'll be doing "circuit style" as before: from one exercise to the next with just a few seconds in between, then 2 minutes rest.

Pullups:
8
4
4

Lat Pulldowns:
170 lbs x10
170 lbs x9
170 lbs x8

Compound Rows:
200 lbs x8
185 lbs x9
185 lbs x5

As I said, I really felt like I've fallen behind here, but hopefully I'll get into the swing of things and recover the old numbers quickly. As far as diet, I've started the DIESEL cutdown diet again, but this time I'll be topping up carbs with potatoes instead of bread (bread was what I used to "balance" the protein/carb ratio when I cut down the requisite 200-250 calories each week, we'll see how it goes with potatoes instead).

 

[RMM]

Tuesday:

Warmup: Sprints.

Power Cleans:
Basically, I just practised form following the steps at stronglifts:

http://stronglifts.com/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-power-cleans/

I started with the bar only, but ended up doing 40 kg or I simply lost control of the bar when doing the hang power cleans. I still need quite a bit of polish, I have a bit of trouble with the transition at the top (get the elbows out and let the bar rest properly on the shoulders!).

The hook grip is kind of weird too, and I fail to properly let the bar go at the end with my hands (basically I'm still almost fully gripping the bar when I'm at the top). It's not bad because I have very long hands and very flexible wrists, but I should definitely learn to let go at the very top to let the bar sit better where it should be.

Practice!

I also did three rounds of box jumps (not jumping to the top, but rather jumping side to side as high as possible, having the box in the middle forces a higher jump if I don't want to eat pavement, heh), and then three rounds of dumbbell stepups (20 of them, 10 starting with each leg, and with 20 kg DBs, trying to go fast). Closed with crunches + plank, 2 rounds in super-sets.

Basically this workout is a bit all over the place. My ultimate aim with this is help develop explosiveness, so suggestions would be welcome. I'm also not sure how well this'll fit after the Monday workouts (can't go to the gym on Wednesday, and Thu + Fri will be Bench + Squats).

 

[RMM]

Thursday:

Warmup: Sprints.

Bench Press:
Ramp up to 85 kg x5

Hm, I may have been able to push a wee bit more. Well, close to 200 pounds, though my target is 100 kg x5.

I wonder if I can do 100 kg x1. I think I can.

But anyway, as it was only one set for testing, no big deal.

Machine Pec Flys:
200 lbs x12
215 lbs x10
215 lbs x8

Forgot I wanted to do pushups as supersets, d'oh. I only remembered them when I was in the shower, and kept thinking "I think I missed something... Nah, can't be."

Then in circuit-mode:

Standing Military Press:
40 kg x10, 40 kg x10, 40 kg x9

Upright Barbell Rows:
30 kg x10, 30 kg x10, 30 kg x10

Bent Over DB fly:
13.5 kg x10, 13.5 kg x10, 13.5 kg x10.

I have to say, I am satisfied with the military press. I've struggled with that one in the past, but after three weeks being able to push the three sets at 40 kg (except the final rep) felt pretty damn good. As before, the key (for me) to get these done: Make the abs rock-hard and keep them that way!

 

[RMM]

We're back!

Friday: Fell asleep on the sofa as soon as I got home after work. So...

Saturday:

Warmup: Sprints.

Squats:
Ramp up to 130 kg x5

Nice! I felt downright awesome pushing that, Almost went for 125kg and decided not to be a wuss and push what I knew I should have been pushing. And so I did.

Hack Squat Machine:
140 kg x20 - widowmaker style.

Too light! I forced myself to go deep (with that particular machine, after certain point you completely lose support from the quads and have to get off the bottom with almost glutes alone), but still managed the full 20. Should've guessed, I finished much higher last time.

One legged Hack Calf Push:
260 kg x12
260 kg x10
260 kg x10

Haven't hammered the calves in a while.

Leg Extensions:
170 lbs x10
170 lbs x11
170 lbs x11

Seated Leg Curls:
155 lbs x12
170 lbs x10
170 lbs x12

As usual, the extras were done circuit-style. Legs were sore as heck today when I went tramping, owch.

 

[RMM]

I'm starting to wonder if there's something wrong with me because I've been sick again. This time I got a flu and was knocked down for almost two weeks - though I wasn't alone, as other people caught the bug too.

Which reminds me, I had a full blood test done a couple of months ago. Everything looked great, including my cholesterol (according to the doctor, thirty-something with such excellent levels was starting to be rare to see). Hilarious thing? At the time I was doing a full diet that included several eggs for breakfast, full eggs with all the bits. Dietary cholesterol + steneous workout = healthy blood levels of cholesterol?

Anyway, I've retaken the workouts, last week did a similar routine to the last one I posted (re-taking it with a few heavy sets only) and seems fine. But, of course, haven't lost any weight, as I always eat well and abundant when sick and wasn't doing any exercise.

And yesterday I ripped one of the calluses on my right hand big time when deadlifting, which led to ending the workout early as I didn't want to leave blood all over the place. Freaking hell that hurt. Planning on covering it with something today, if anyone has any suggestions otherwise I'll use some sticky plaster tape.