Got Built?

Okay, I’m lying.

But I CAN do pullups:

We joined a gym in Kailua-Kona, briefly – one week cost 45 bucks USD, so we cheaped out and only did the one. Daily drop-ins were $15, so our mission was to train more then three times. Simple math.

Not a bad gym – two squat racks and a power cage, all underutilized. A few hammerstrength machines, a pool, a sauna (yep, that’s EXACTLY what I want to do in Hawaii, take in a sauna … ).

I always love people-watching in a foreign gym. This one had a LOT of “functional training” – folks standing on bosu balls to do clean and press … always good for a chuckle.

We managed one complete cycle of Baby Got Back at unremarkable weights, and still, after a week off, we were the strongest men in that room.

You heard me …

Heavy horizontal, higher rep vertical; Abs. Blew off tibialis, blew off cardio

5×5, done as antagonist pairs, 90 seconds rest between movements

A1. T-bars, 70 lbs
A2. Incline BB press, 95 lbs

3X8, done as antagonist pairs, 45 seconds rest between movements

B1. HammerStrength Pulldowns, “Crawling up a wall” style, 40 lbs a side
B2. Arnies, 25 lbs a side

C. Abs, Bosu ball crunches with 55-lb dumbbell on my chest, 3×8

Home to eat pasta with chicken …

134 lbs as of this am – approximate bodyfat 15%.

I leave for Hawaii on Wednesday and I am officially off-diet until I return.

This means I’m eating ice cream and cookies as I type.
Monday – tomorrow – I’ll train heavy horizontal, ligher vertical, abs and tibialis. No cardio. I’m not even sure if i’ll be able to train on Tuesday – but I’ll try. Squat night.

Starting parameters:
Weight: 142 lbs
LBM: 115 lbs
Bodyfat: 19%

left thigh: 23.25″
right thigh: 23.25″
left calf: 16.5″
right calf: 16.75″
waist: 28.75″
hip: 38.5″
high chest: 33.75″
shoulders: 39.5″
left upper arm: 11.75″
right upper arm: 11.75″

The plan: to be ripped to shreds (or die trying) by my 44th birthday – June 22nd, 2007. Pix and DEXA to be taken at the end of cut.

Theoretical weight to hit: 130 lbs at 12% bodyfat assuming mythical zero lbs loss of LBM.

<pix will have to wait – our camera got stolen)

Initial diet plan: Carb Cycling
LBM = 115 lbs.
Maintenance calories: 2200 per day;
4 lifting/HIIT days per week.
A caloric deficit of 2,310 calories per week,
for a loss of of 0.7 pounds per week

Average daily macros:
174g of protein,
81g of fat, and
110g of carbohydrate,
1,870 calories in total.

(4) Lifting/HIIT days:
184g of protein,
69g of fat, and
152g of carbohydrate,
1,966 calories in total.

(3) Rest/SS Cardio days:
161g of protein,
98g of fat, and
54g of carbohydrate,
1,741 calories in total.

Fitday link

Exercise plan
Baby Got Back - rep ranges, volume, and rest breaks will vary over the course of the cut – higher volume, higher rep ranges, shorter breaks in the beginning (so-called “metabolic” work), easing into lower-volume strength-range work as the cut progresses (to preserve LBM at lower levels of bodyfat).
**Erik Ledin has generously offered some suggestions for my programme**

My days will now be organized as follows:

Monday: Heavy horizontal, light vertical, abs, calves
Tuesday: quad dominant, ham accessory, optional bis
Wednesday: off
Thursday: Heavy vertical, light horizontal, abs, tibialis
Friday: Ham dominant, quad accessory, optional tris
Saturday: off
Sunday: off

Cardio schedule as before.

I’m doing more of my work in antagonist pairs, and trying to incorporate more isolateral work, particularly for legs.

Cardio will follow the suggested protocol outlined in How to do Cardio if you MUST, starting low and gradually building up. (The Stubborn Fat Loss protocol will be implemented toward the end of the cut).

Refeeds/cheat meals will initially happen every two to three weeks, depending how I progress.