Home gym chronicles, Part II; mind over fatter

[SecondsOut]

Originally Posted by Soldier

And for god sakes, don't feel guilty about it! People always let guilt get the best of them with dieting. If you make mostly good decisions, you'll get results.

ain't that the truth. on another forum, there are occasionally some lean, muscular guys who make panic threads because they binged for 1 meal. when they describe what they ate, it's not even that bad, like maybe putting them in the 3,000 calorie range. they truly believe that their cut is completely ruined, that they've lost all their conditioning, and that they are now fat, lazy, and out of shape. all because of 1 binge meal lol.

[Soldier]

Originally Posted by SecondsOut

ain't that the truth. on another forum, there are occasionally some lean, muscular guys who make panic threads because they binged for 1 meal. when they describe what they ate, it's not even that bad, like maybe putting them in the 3,000 calorie range. they truly believe that their cut is completely ruined, that they've lost all their conditioning, and that they are now fat, lazy, and out of shape. all because of 1 binge meal lol.

Haha, I hear it over and over. Like I said, I use it to my advantage! Eat even less than usual for a couple days after your binge meal. Then, not only have you stuck to your normal calorie deficit, you've actually taken advantage of the stoked metabolic rate you'll have after a larger meal.

[Soldier]

Bench press day today. I'm quite sore today, all the way from the hips down, thanks to my run yesterday. It's quite annoying that running less than a couple miles makes me more sore than an intense squat session with thousands of lbs of volume, but that's what happens when you don't do something very often. I'll do some squats tomorrow, which should yield a good PR.

No PR's today. I wanted 305x2, but the first rep didn't feel great, so I let it stand alone. I'm not worried because, as you'll see, I was still able to get 315 for 1. For some reason my left arm was lagging today. That's not normally an issue for me, and hopefully it won't be again.

Bench press-
135x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
305x1
295x1
275x2

Paused bench press-
225x5
185x7
135x8

This was a more intense session than it may look on paper. I confirmed that, after losing 10lb and over 2 weeks of PCT, I'm still able to put up 315. When I got into the lighter weights for the paused presses I put a ton of focus on form and keeping my entire body tight, while getting a good push from the lower body when I started pressing. It felt good.

Once I finish my cut I'm going to switch to focus on paused press, since I'm pretty serious about starting to compete in the next couple years. For now I'm going to stick with touch and go, since it's what I'm used to and it'll give me a better idea of whether I'm maintaining my strength or not.

Considering that I went into this session already a little sore, I'm happy with the results. I think it was a little ambitious to expect a PR today. Maybe next time.

[SecondsOut]

dude that's an awesome w/o, no doubt.

Originally Posted by Soldier

For now I'm going to stick with touch and go, since it's what I'm used to and it'll give me a better idea of whether I'm maintaining my strength or not.

i think you're right, a cutting phase doesn't seem to be the time to make a major adjustment like that.

[BendtheBar]

This was a more intense session than it may look on paper. I confirmed that, after losing 10lb and over 2 weeks of PCT, I'm still able to put up 315.

That's quality.

[Soldier]

Progress continues! After all the good squatting I've been doing lately, with new rep PR's coming easily, I thought it would be a good idea to push myself and see what I can do. My new form WORKS. I actually didn't feel as strong today as I've felt in my last 2 squat sessions, but I was still able to establish a new 1rm, complete with video.

Squats-
45x5
135x3
225x3
275x2
315x2
345x2 PR
375x1 PR
345x2

Like I said, I actually didn't feel as strong today with 315 on my back as I've been feeling, which makes me think that I've got even more in the tank. 385 should be mine soon, which will be a HUGE milestone for me. 405 feels really close.

By the way, I know that I'm pushing it as far as depth. I'm right there at parallel, but I don't want there to be any question as to wether or not I'm hitting depth. I'm going to try to take things a bit deeper. That way, when I DO get 405 there will be no doubts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBYFd...ature=youtu.be

[SecondsOut]

haha nice soundtrack. big numbers, dude. kept solid form during the slow/tough part of the lift. i'm impressed that you came back with that second set of 345x2

[Soldier]

Originally Posted by SecondsOut

haha nice soundtrack. big numbers, dude. kept solid form during the slow/tough part of the lift. i'm impressed that you came back with that second set of 345x2

Actually, max lifts don't really take much out of me. I found out a couple years ago that psyching myself up before a big lift didn't help me lift any more weight, and just tires me out. Those adrenals can only take so much. As you'll see in all of my videos, I don't do anything differently wether I'm testing my max or doing a standard set of 5. I'd rather think through my setup and form checklists than scream and jump around.

That's why I often set rep PR's right after I get new 1rm's. My adrenals aren't tired, but my CNS is primed.

I appreciate the positive comments. I feel good about my form, and I'm pretty happy with what I see in the videos.

[Mr.Silverback]

Squats looked good Soldier and that is an awesome setup!

[Soldier]

Good news! My wife and I talked it over, and we decided to spend some of our incoming tax return on some lifting stuff. Actually, I wanted to buy lifting stuff and she wanted to buy furniture, so we set aside some money towards each.

I just ordered a bar, a slingshot, a slingshot for my wife, and knee wraps from roquefitness.com. I'm going to use the rest of the money to get chains. This is going to be awesome. My bar sucks, and things like chains and the slingshot will help me get the most out of my training. I can't wait to start utilizing this new stuff and getting freaking strong as hell.

Sweet.