Nomercy89's Training Log (Take 2)

[nomercy89]

Alright, first of all let me re-introduce myself. I had a log here about a year ago and stuck to it for 4 weeks. Life, namely 3rd year engineering, got in the way and I didn't handle my life properly and as a result drifted away from this site. I still read Mehdi's blog and kept making promises to come back and work out but failed to. In June and July I worked out on and off. August came, I woke up one day and said *insert obscene words not suitable for this forum* . That's when I said I'm sticking to the program, whether I have work, or not. I'm glad to say I haven't skipped workouts. I took 5 days off in the middle of September, as a break between the transition from Ramadan's scaled down SL3X5 plan to normal SL5X5. Last week I got quite sick but still worked out. Then the past week has been awful for me. My life has been in shambles, my diet went down the drain, my workouts were non-existent, sleeping habits disgusting. I was tired, unfocused, weak and full of junk food. I went to the gym today and had no motivation to squat(which I've grown to like quite a lot) or to deadlift(my second favorite after the OHP..although progress on the OHP is frustrating..but more about that later). The lack of motivation freaked me out and really forced me to get out of this comfort zone I had built around myself for the last week. I was pretty miserable and annoyed at myself that after about 10 weeks of proper training and making an effort on the nutrition I had thrown it all away this week. I realized soon enough that if I don't get my life back in shape I'll have lost everything good I did. So, tomorrow I clean my apartment reorganize and prepare my fridge for the slow-carb diet. It seems simple and doable and easy for me to adjust to during my undergrad career (what's remaining of it that is ).

So that's a brief background, hope I didn't bore you all. Regarding my last 2 months experience, I loved it. I was pumped to go lift the iron, and my friends are now accustomed to the fact that I workout, I leave outings early or reschedule events to make sure I get my lifting done. Some get annoyed but some spur me on but most question why I squat all the time and don't do bicep/tricep work. I try to explain but few listen. I just keep on lifting. I've gotten stronger, my lifts are approaching respectable numbers, deadlift is over bodyweight, squat is very close to bodyweight, bench is better, OHP is lacking badly, inverted rows are frustrating as I feel I'm not improving on them so I need to work on that. Generally though, lifting has improved my life, built some discpline, muscle , and definitely removed some fat. The interesting thing is that my weight has remained around the same so that means I must have gained as much muscle as I lost fat. The other day one of my friends asked if I knew what I was doing in the gym because it doesn't seem like it's working. It pissed me off because I know as long as the weight is going up I'm getting stronger. However, it also reminded me of the fact that my diet is lacking, I don't eat enough to gain muscle and burn fat properly, hence my gains have not been as evident as they should be, based on what I've read other people have posted.

Now some numbers. I weighed myself today and ordered a fat caliper online so that should be arriving sometime next week and then I'll be able to properly track my progress. By the way, the best thing I did is keep a training log because it motivates you to want to fill the pages and flip through them to see your progress. It's really vital to progress.


Age: 20 in precisely 8 days
Height: 184-185cm(depending on who reads it) = 6'1(or very very close to 6'1 so I just round up, doesn't hurt the ego )
Weight: 82kg/181lbs this usually hovers around 82.5-83kg but I've probably lost weight over the last week due to my recent habits
Fat %: I'm approximating 20-21%, and some online measurement tests gave the same. I'll update soon as I get my fat caliper.
Squat: 70kg/154lbs PR ... currently lifting same weight
Deadlift: 85kg/187lbs PR... currently lifting 80kg/176lbs
OHP: 37.5kg/83lbs PR... currently lifting 37.5kg/83lbs
Bench: 50kg/110lbs PR... currently lifting 50kg/110lbs


I feel I'm not progressing on the inverted row and am pondering exchanging it with bent over barbell row. I'm currently working and focusing more on mobility work because of some lower back pain I've felt too much for my liking. So I'll stick with that, get my diet in order and then if there's no improvement on the inverted row I'll think of something else. I've noticed that I'm having a damn hard time passing that OHP PR at 37.5kg though. I sense it's form so I have some videos I'm in the process of uploading to youtube and posting here in the forum to get some feedback. I really like this lift but it's beginning to annoy me as the weight won't go up. Pushups, pullups, chinups have all improved. I'm very close to completing a pullup w/out assistance. I can bang out 6 chinups (that's amazing for me given my previous record of nil!). Prone bridge I can hold for 3X30 seconds, so I'm thinking of doing the ones on the sides. Reverse crunch I'm improving, and using a lower weight, thinking about doing Turkish get ups though. There's also a chance of me doing Tabata exercises or complexes a couple of times a week to speed up fat loss.

While I don't promise to be here and post everyday due to the commitments of 4th year engineering , I do promise to post at least once a week to update this log. I keep a journal to keep track of anything and everything.

Forgot to mention, my primary current goal is to lose fat while building muscle. Pretty simple, I plan on eating properly and sufficiently while losing enough fat that when Christmas rolls around and I see my family again they can see that I've gained muscle while losing fat. I'm not interested in bodybuilding and spending countless hours in the gym working one muscle. I want strength that will allow me to move heavy shit around and to be as strong as I look. And that's why I'm doing SL5X5. I also want to make use of my newbie lifting status to make those legendary newbie gains everyone talks about. Wouldn't wanna miss out on the gold pot now would I?

That's all folks. Thanks for reading this huge post guys and I do promise I'll be around more often.
If any of you are interested this is my old log, old log.

[mjh]

welcome back, and good on you for getting back into things. make it stick this time!

I've locked your old log, so people can only post in this new one.

[nomercy89]

Thanks mjh! It's feel much better when I'm lifting consistently and I'm a much happier that way. With 10 weeks behind me, it makes it harder to let it go as the weeks go up because you feel bad to let that hard work go to waste.

Good idea about locking the old log, thanks again .
Keep lifting mjh!

[nomercy89]

Got little to no sleep last night, consequently I went home and crashed in the afternoon. Sleeping well tonight, getting up early and having a decent breakfast, getting on with my day then I'm lifting in the evening. No buts, no ifs. I haven't had a proper workout in about 10 days and I'm going crazy!

[amaeland]

as you (and I as well) have discovered, diet is immensely important when training. It's no kidding when people say that eating is half the job. I've lost 7 kg in the last 3-4 months. Prior to that I was drinking 3 litres of milk a day for a good while and eating like a madman. Now I don't get as many calories. I'm thinking of trying to eat a lot but not fully as much as before. I got a bit of a "milk belly" back then and I can't say I miss it now that it's gone

On the other hand, I'm almost 20 kg down on my squat and just as much on the deadlift. Actually, every exercise except the OHP (surprisingly) has suffered - even the bodyweight exercises. When I reach a plateau in the future, I know what to do...eat, lift, and eat a lot more. Fortunately I lose fat very quickly when I adjust my diet a bit. Since starting weight training a year ago I've gained about 8 kg and my body fat has not increased much.

Get your eating habits right, and your friends will not ask you again if you know what you're doing

[nomercy89]

I had a rough week and barely had time to come on the forums, let alone make a post.
My fridge is now empty and tomorrow I go grocery shopping and I also being the Slow-Carb Diet that I said I was going to do a while ago. I'm still waiting for my fat caliper to arrive. I feel when I have it and I can put a number on my fat % then I'll be more focused because I'll know exactly where I'm going. So, I'm definitely looking forward to that and getting back into my routine that worked so well for me, eat, lift, study, repeat .

Thanks for your post amaeland. I now know that diet is more probably 70% if not more of the equation. One of my friends who used to work out was telling me the other day how he believes diet is probaby 90% of the equation, and he also mentioned how it needs more discipline. The thing is for me, I'm not allowed milk, or nuts on a daily basis, at least for the next 4 months or so (doctor's orders). So, I'm trying to fill my calories using alternate foods. The reason I've slacked off during my midterm exam period of the last 10-12 days is that I didn't eat enough, or sleep well. Result was I went to the gym 3 times in that period and I didn't lift the 5X5, I was tired by the 3rd set because of a lack of energy and that was frustrating. Good thing however is that I didn't lose my motivation. Slow-carb diet, workout, sleep well, get the routine and take fat measurements every 2 weeks, because while I want to get strong losing fat is my main priority ahead of getting strong. From looking around the forums, I know quite well how possible it is and how simple it is. So long as I stick to my plan I know I'll get what I want in time for xmas.

I'm almost 20 kg down on my squat and just as much on the deadlift. Actually, every exercise except the OHP (surprisingly) has suffered - even the bodyweight exercises. When I reach a plateau in the future, I know what to do...eat, lift, and eat a lot more.

So, are you saying you got weaker because you didn't eat enough amaeland or that you didn't have the energy to lift those weights? Can you please clarify that?

Get your eating habits right, and your friends will not ask you again if you know what you're doing

Thanks for the motivation, I'll keep updating my log as I promised....part of the discipline thing I'm working on

[nomercy89]

Went grocery shopping today, chicken, meat, tuna, beans, lots of beans, veggies, no fruit, pasta rice or bread. Slow-carb diet is on!
I also went to the gym today for the first time in 6 days!!!
I squatted, bench pressed, OHP all for 3 sets at a lower weight than I'm used to. I also did 2 sets of deadlifts. It was more of a getting back into the routine as opposed to a workout. It felt good to be back and feel the bar and hear the clang clang of the iron. I've seriously grown to love lifting. Thank you Mehdi and everyone here. Today I also managed 2 pullups from a dead hang, and I did 2 sets of those with about 1 minute rest. That's major major improvement for me so it felt awesome!

Getting up early tomorrow to cook my food for the next few days and I'm still waiting for my fat caliper .
Wednesday I'll restart my workouts again, I'll keep it going for about 5-6 weeks, till the first of December then I'll take 2 weeks off because I have finals. But I'll stick with the slow-carb diet, the more I read about it the more I like it. I also have the goal of hitting 100kg squat by then, I'm at 70 now at bw of 82.5. Assuming I don't stall and fingers crossed I won't, I'll hit 100kg squat by then. I can only imagine what I'll feel like and look like after adjusting my diet for the next 5-6 weeks. I'm getting excited writing and thinking about it!!!! .

[pavyoncu]

There is no way you are 20percent bodyfat. Please eat more including junk food you are 20yo, junk food will do wonders for you if you train your tiny ass off.
Read everything, listen to anybody, but nit-pick the ones to believe.
Always remember a 121kg squat @ 100kg bodyweight is better than 120kg squat @ 80kg bodyweight (some skinny girls on this forum will not agree but it is true). You are an engineer. You know how numbers work.

I was very close to your stats when I started training. 183cms and 86kg with a 95cm belly I ate my ass off and I'm 99kg with a 96cm belly in 9months. I was benching 50kgs now I'm benching 110kgs. I was squatting 70kgs now it is 162. After a certain point everything feels heavy on your back/ in your hands so don't be a pussy. You can lose fat anytime in your life, but your potential for growing muscle will start to go downhill in a few years.

[nomercy89]

Thanks for your input pavyoncu, but at the moment I'm focused on maximizing my fat loss whilst gaining muscle mass meaning that ideally my total bodyweight should have minute changes.

So far it's been 3 days on the Slow-Car Diet, and I must admit, I'm missing my pasta and rice and I keep trying to find things to eat that are not high sugar and carb content. I'm also making an effort to eat enough because I know I don't get enough quantities. Hitting the gym tomorrow, 3rd time in a row since those rough 2 weeks and I'm feeling good