Strength Cycle: Final Workout

Well, we made it to the end! There was a two-week interruption in the middle, with a vacation and a cold, so 12 weeks became 14. And the results have been impressive, I think. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Deadlift x 5: 255 - 275 - 310 (pr)
Deadlift x 21: 245 (unbroken)
Press x 5: 75 - 92 - 107 (pr)
Press x 21: 75 (20-1)

Very nice. My form was pretty crappy on the 310, judging from the scowls on Rebecca's face, but it did go up and down five times. I was not anticipating a good workout - my back has been tired from the squats and the cleans - so I was just happy to get through it. The 245 went surprisingly well, actually, only getting really painful after rep 16. I was SHOCKED to get 107x5 on the shoulder press, and dismayed to fail the big set on rep 20. Gita and a couple others decided to try it, and agreed that 21 consecutive shoulder presses is difficult. Max said mine were looking a little push-pressy at the end, which is dismaying, but oh well. The workout's done. Hell, the whole cycle is done.

So this week we'll test 1RM for the movements, so we can gauge success on the terms we set out to use as metrics, but here's a little preview of where my 5RM went.

Squat 170 -> 205 (+35#, 20%)
Deadlift 265 -> 310 (+45#, 17%)
Press 95 -> 107 (+12#, 12.6%)
Bench 140 -> 160 (+20#, 14%)
Bodyweight 176 -> 191 (+15#)

FIFTEEN POUNDS bodyweight! Holy shit. It's no wonder my climbing and my pullups are horrible. This is preliminary, though - I'm stopping the creatine today and will remeasure bodyweight in a week. From what I understand of how it works, my muscles are puffed up with water from the creatine, so I should hopefully drop some of that this week to get a more accurate picture of how much weight I actually gained.

A Year of CrossFit

A year or so ago, at the recommendation of somebody from the HST forums, I started CrossFit. I think it's fair to say that it has changed my life in some substantial and surprising ways.

The reason this person recommended CrossFit was because, up until then, my training regimen was somewhat schizophrenic - though in my naivete I didn't know that. The foundation of my weightlifting program was a half-hour introduction to the machines at the Y by the shift trainer and whatever contradictory information I could glean from bodybuilding sites. I had completed about a year of regular workouts in the gym, and didn't have much to show for it. In retrospect, this is not surprising: I wanted muscles like a bodybuilder, but did absolutely nothing "lower body" in the weight room - deadlifts and squats frightened me because I have bad knees, and I figured I was getting enough leg work in my regular long-distance cycling and spinning sessions, which I did frequently. My diet, while healthier than the average American's (what a yardstick), was full of crap supplements. So, like SO many other mis-and-unguided people out there, I was putting forward what I thought was substantial effort and getting little in return.

I lurked the CrossFit national site for a few days before I mustered the guts to actually try a workout. Cindy, I thought, seemed relatively approachable - only 20 minutes long! So I huffed and puffed my way through nine rounds of jumping pullups, half-ROM pushups and half-squats, and after a few minutes of rest, tottered off to spin class. But I was definitely intrigued.

I continued with it for the next month or so, doing three or four workouts a week at the Y, cherry-picking the ones that didn't seem too intimidating and assiduously watching the videos from the site to try and understand the unfamiliar motions, while continuing to spin and take yoga classes. When a friend from spin-class who was also a climber asked why I didn't just take one of the new CrossFit classes down at Ironworks, I couldn't believe my luck. I'd checked out CrossFit Oakland, but they were insanely expensive and I already had two gym memberships - now I could attend the fledgling CrossFit EastBay at no additional cost!

Max and the CFEB community introduced me to a level of intensity that was completely unfamiliar to me. Over the next year, one kettlebell swing at a time, they would push and pull and mold me into a new, stronger and, yes, better person. I will always be grateful.

What about the numbers?
Here are some firsts and lasts - most of which are not actually a year apart, but it gives an idea.

Movement/WOD	First	Last
Cindy	9 rounds (jumping pullups, half-ROM pushups and squats)	13 rounds RX
Fight Gone Bad	184 RX	239 RX
Helen	19:38 (40# swings, gravitron pullups)	11:15 RX
Kelly	37:00 (14# ball and reduced jumps)	33:53 RX
Murph	72:00 (gravitron pullups, half-rom pushups)	56:56 RX
Diane	14:01 (185# DL, pike pushups)	10:29 (225# DL, feet in ring)
Filthy Fifty	56:19	40:14
1RM Squat	135	190
1RM Press	85	105
1RM Deadlift	200	300

Climbing
My rockclimbing has improved as well. Last April I was a 10b climber, now I can climb 11a. I've also gotten my lead card and started lead-climbing.

Body Composition

One of the things that I really like about CrossFit is its emphasis on performance rather than looks. I stopped caring about getting big muscles and started caring about getting a big muscle-up. However, as embarrassing as it is now, I did come to this from bodybuilding, and still have a bunch of the pictures I took then - including the disappointing "after" pictures that drove me to try CrossFit in the first place. Out of curiosity, I recreated the poses to see what changes had occurred. I'm pretty happy with this. I know Rebecca is. :D

In general, I know that there are more dramatic results out there both in numbers and body comp, but what I have is hard-won, and more substantial than anything else I've ever done. Not too shabby, in my opinion, for a 32-year old vegetarian former couch-potato.

Looking Forward
I'm excited about this year. Although I'm happy with the results from the first year, I feel like I keep figuring out more and more pieces to the puzzle - diet, scheduling, intensity, skills. The last six months were a huge leap over the first six months, so hopefully a year from now I'll have even more reason to be proud. One kettlebell swing at a time...

By the numbers

So, it's been about six months since I made some pretty radical changes to my diet. I made two major changes: one to my macronutrient profile, and the other to my eating schedule (Intermittent Fasting). Although these changes have been extremely positive to my performance and body composition, I figured I should get my blood tested, just to be safe. I do eat a lot of eggs, after all, flying in the face of years of conventional medical wisdom.

Some quick facts about me:

• 6'4"
• 175 pounds
• 10% bodyfat
• 32 years old
• Caucasian male
• Don't smoke, rarely drink
• Vegetarian for 27 years
  

MACRONUTRIENTS
I changed my macronutrient profile to a high-fat, high-protein and relatively low carb schema, that typically looks like this (daily):

• 2k - 2.5k calories
• Fat: 50%
• Carbs: 20%
• Protein: 30%

I try very hard to eat whole, natural foods and avoid prepackaged stuff. I eat a LOT of eggs (4-8 daily), drink a lot of milk & kefir, eat unholy amounts of nuts and nut butters, and make up the rest with vegetables, cheese, tofu, soy/wheat protein products (ie, tofurkey), and coffee. Sugar, grains and alcohol are extremely minimal. And yes, no meat.

I supplement with Fish oil, a multivitamin, glucosamine and ZMA. I've recently started exploring BCAA's as well, with encouraging results.

INTERMITTENT FASTING
I typically fast from 8pm-noon (16 hours), five days a week. I don't really count it as a fasting day if it's less than 16 hours, but I will occasionally go as long as 20-21 hours. Not often, though. I prefer working out fasted.

TRAINING
CrossFit ~5 days a week, plus climbing 2-3 days a week.

BLOOD TEST RESULTS
My results in bold, the figure in parentheses is the "normal" amount. According to Kaiser.

• Blood pressure: 129/79
  
• Glucose, fasting: 86 (60-99 mg/dL)
• Cholesterol: 135 (<239- mg/dL)
• Triglyceride: 41 (<199- mg/dL)
• HDL: 77 (>40- mg/dL)
• LDL: 50 (<129- mg/dL)
• ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase), serum: 18 (<36- U/L)
• Creatinine: 0.98 (<1.3- mg/dL)
• Glomerular Filtration Rate: >60 (>60- mL/min)
• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone: 2.6 ( 0.2-5.5 uIU/mL)

SHORT VERSION: ALL CLEAR
I don't know what all these things mean (what the hell is Alanine Aminotransferase?), but it all looks to be well within normal bounds, at any rate, which is good. The cholesterol numbers seem pretty fantastic, which was the point of this whole experiment - I celebrated with a plate of four scrambled eggs. I'll need to do some research into the other stuff to try and figure out what it means, but at the moment I don't see any red flags here. Full steam ahead!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLL!!

Wow, this was unexpected.

What went in (average daily):
Don't know. Stopped tracking.

What came out:
Weight: 173 (-2 lbs, 15lbs total)
Waist: 32 (-0.25", 2" total)
Bodyfat: 11% (-1%, 4% total)
Percentage to goal: 100%

Time it took: 10 weeks

Burnt out on Fitday and feeling too OCD about what I ate and how it affected me, I decided to take some time off from tracking, until I felt like I'd enjoy it again. In the meantime, I continued to eat as I have been doing. I still habitually weigh in every Wednesday, though, (gotta keep the graph consistent!), and was really surprised with what I saw this morning - I haven't been feeling particularly thin or anything lately - indeed, just last night I had a bad dream that I was weak and pudgy again.

Nevertheless, there it is. I haven't been this thin since high school, and I've never been this fit before, period. I need new pants. I want to get back to focusing on strength gains, but for the time being I think I'm just going to enjoy where I am and how I'm doing for a while.

As I get more and more enamored of climbing, I get less interested in the big muscles. Climbing is far more about strength-to-weight ratio than it is about size, as the goal is more total muscle recruitment than it is mass - obviously, the less you weigh as compared to your strength, the easier time you'll have getting up the wall. So my goals are shifting from size to simple strength and efficiency. Jim (fellow CFEB athlete) is far stronger than I am, but not appreciably bigger. And he can climb 5.13-something. That, I think, is something to strive towards. It will mean forever being scrawny, but if it means climbing 5.12, then I'm OK with that.

Intermittent Fasting: Week 8

Backsliding, for the first time in two months.

What went in (avg. daily):
Calories: 2,218
Fat: 126g (50%)
Carbs: 82g + 27g fiber (18%)
Protein: 170g (31%)

Results:
Weight: 175 (+1 lbs, 13lbs total)
Waist: 32.25 (+0.125", 1.75" total)
Bodyfat: 12% (+0.5%, 3% total)
Percentage to goal: 88%

My intake profile is essentially the same as it's been for the last few weeks, so I don't think that's it. I think it's likely the exercise: we did a very brutal burpee/pullup workout last Wednesday that basically thrashed me for the entire week - nearly every workout until Sunday felt like crap. In retrospect, I probably should have taken an extra rest day before jumping back in - instead I felt like I was scrambling to catch up all week.

This has been a difficult week for me, disciplinarily speaking, in a couple different ways. Fall has finally, definitively hit the Bay Area, and it is having a psychological effect. The lack of sun and colder weather is making it harder to generate enthusiasm for working out, and making diversions like video games more tempting. I'm also feeling hungrier, and burned-out on tracking in Fitday.

So part of me wants to just quit tracking for a while, freestyle the diet (adding more carbs in PWO), and start heavy 5x5 training again for strength and LBM gains. You know what it feels like? Hibernation. But another part of me is chafing at being so close to an unmet goal, so wants to keep working at this a little longer. I'm not really sure what to do at this point.

Intermittent Fasting: Week 7

So close...

What went in (avg. daily):
Calories: 2,231
Fat: 140g (55%)
Carbs: 76g + 21g fiber (16%)
Protein: 150g (27%)

I lost track of my fasts this week.

Results:
Weight: 174 (-1 lbs, 14lbs total)
Waist: 32.125 (-0.125", 1.875" total)
Bodyfat: 11.5% (-0.5%, 3.5% total)
Percentage to goal: 94%

Fell off the wagon a little bit this week, protein-wise. In fact, in general I didn't eat enough this week - I think I had three sub-2k calorie days. I want to be careful not to slip into a regular deficit here, so a binge day or two is probably called for. This close to goal, though, the temptation is definitely high to eat less, thinking it will help shave off those last few fractions of an inch.

I've been thinking more and more about what to do when I hit my goal, which (fingers crossed) should be next week. I want to refocus on gaining LBM, but not with a traditional bulk. I admit that after several weeks of having a definite plan, and having that plan WORK, I'm anxious about going back to the wilderness of dietary uncertainty that is effective LBM gain. I think I might try freestyle for a little while - eating a LOT on rest days after hard effort, but continuing to IF and eating less on other days, maybe keeping one or two morning HIIT sessions per week to focus on fat-burning a couple times a week. Maybe try to get my overall daily average up to the 2800-3k range, but in a very spiky, rather than steady, fashion.

I'm also thinking of bringing more carbs back into the picture, post-workout. Mr. O'Donnell suggests this sort of carb-cycling to more quickly replenish muscle glycogen, but I am not yet clear on just how many carbs is a good target for a post-workout meal. 100g? Are a couple glasses of milk sufficient, or should it be low-GI carbs in food? I will have to do more research.

Intermittent Fasting: Week 6

This week was pretty crazy food-wise. Not really sure why, just ate different sorts of things and had days that were WAY off goal, either over or under, in protein and carbs and calories. Still, on average it doesn't look much different from past weeks, which is good.

What went in (avg. daily):
Calories: 2,381
Fat: 140g (52%)
Carbs: 89g + 25g fiber (17%)
Protein: 178g (30%)

Fasting days: 4/7 (avg. length: 16.6 hours)

Results:
Weight: 175 (-1 lbs, 13lbs total)
Waist: 32.25 (-0.125", 1.75" total)
Bodyfat: 12% (-0%, 3% total)
Percentage to goal: 88%

Ab muscles are a little more visible now, but not yet enough that I would call it a six-pack. Funny that once I gave up on the vanity goal (the six-pack) and turned my focus to fitness goals, I'm finally starting to get one. Maybe a six-pack is like love: it only comes when you aren't looking for it.

My ankle is at about 85% and my shoulder is feeling pretty good, so I think the active recovery week worked. I might try running again today, to see how it feels.

I'm really starting to itch to turn this around again. I want to start 5x5's of weighted pullups and dips to help progress towards a muscle-up, which is my primary goal at this point. If I can keep this rate up without backsliding, I'll be at my goal in two weeks and I can start eating to support real muscle growth again - hopefully a slow LBM-only bulk, this time, so I can get off this rollercoaster.

Interesting observation: since I drastically lowered my carbs to focus on fat and protein, I've noticed that I'm NEVER cold. Indeed, I've taken to sleeping with the window open every night and my legs outside the covers just to keep from overheating in my sleep. Sweaters and sweatshirts frequently get uncomfortable. So for some reason my thermogenesis has really kicked up. A little googling turned up this gem on an extremely crappy and probably highly disreputable supplement site:

Among the nutritional activators, the various macronutrients have different effects on the thermogenic response. When you ingest food, your metabolic rate increases above the fasting level. In the case of protein, energy to process the protein, which is then used for tissue growth and repair. On the other hand, carbohydrates and fat function primarily as fuel and are used more efficiently as such by the body. Carbohydrates and fat therefore have a much lower thermogenic effect than protein.

So I would guess this is my body taking all that protein and converting it to glycogen, since I'm not giving it enough glucose, and the heat is a byproduct of that conversion. I don't know whether this means anything (good or bad), but it's interesting to note.

Intermittent Fasting: Week 5

So I tried an experiment this week: not stuffing myself. I still tracked what I ate, but if I wasn't going to hit my protein goal for the day, then I just let that go and didn't cram food into an already-full stomach to try and meet the goal. Therefore, my average daily calories and macros went down. Let's see what happened...

What went in (avg. daily):
Calories: 2,116
Fat: 125g (52%)
Carbs: 83g + 21g fiber (18%)
Protein: 151g (29%)

Fasting days: 5/7 (avg. length: 17.2 hours)

Results:
Weight: 176 (-2 lbs, 12lbs total)
Waist: 32.325 (-0.125", 1.625" total)
Bodyfat: 12% (-0%, 3% total)
Percentage to goal: 81%

Well, I knew that I was heading into stubborn fat territory, and things would slow down as I started chipping away at it. So my rate of .25"/week has cut in half. I don't really know if the diet change made a difference - it's so small when averaged out that I doubt it. My workouts have gotten rather inconsistent as well - I damaged my shoulder on Saturday, so between my ankle and my shoulder I'm nursing some annoying injuries, so I'm going to be spending more time doing rest and recovery for a little while until they heal. I don't know what this will do to the weight loss - Mike O'Donnell would probably tell me I'm working out too much as it is, so maybe backing off for a little will be beneficial all around.

Intermittent Fasting: Week 4

What went in (avg. daily):
Calories: 2,340
Fat: 143g (53%)
Carbs: 86g + 23g fiber (17%)
Protein: 167g (29%)

Fasting days: 5/7 (avg. length: 17.6 hours)

Results:
Weight: 178 (-3 lbs, 10lbs total)
Waist: 32.5 (-0.25", 1.5" total)
Bodyfat: 12% (-0.5%, 3% total)
Percentage to goal: 75%

Thoughts:
Despite some changes in my routine this week, there's not a lot of change in the behavior of the numbers. I sprained my ankle early last week, which prevented me from doing my HIIT workouts on three days, and prevented me from doing ANY running. In an attempt to compensate, I added another fast day and tried to make my fasts a little longer. We got a fancy new scale to replace ol' unreliable, so although it says I lost three pounds in my results, I think I really only lost one, maybe two - the discrepancy is due to changing scales. All other measurements are within normal deviations - although it's notable that my arms appear to have grown a little.

We're now heading into stubborn fat territory - ie, trying to lose fat deposits I've had since...well, forever. The HIIT should become all the more critical for persuading these guys to let go, and I will probably not be able to maintain the 0.25"/week rate of waist-loss.

It was a difficult week for the diet. My interest in food has greatly diminished, and I get full fast (particularly with very large meals breaking my fast). Several times I've had to cram down food on a full stomach at the end of my eating window in order to meet my protein requirements. It is not comfortable, much less enjoyable. I'm torn about what, if anything, to do about this - part of me thinks that a couple days a week of steep caloric deficit (ie, <2k) might help with the last push for fat loss, the other part is worried about muscle and performance loss if my protein numbers go too low. I've ordered a pure, unflavored and unsweetened whey/casein mix from True Protein to hopefully give me an option to boost protein numbers without the sugar/sucralose of traditional protein powders. Hopefully that will help.

Intermittent Fasting: Week 3

Interesting developments this week:

What went in (avg. daily):
Calories: 2,386
Fat: 133g (49%)
Carbs: 111g + 24g fiber (21%)
Protein: 175g (30%)

Results:
Weight: 181 (-0 lbs, 7lbs total)
Waist: 32.75 (-0.25", 1.25" total)
Bodyfat: 12.5% (-0.5%, 2.5% total)
Percentage to goal: 63%

Didn't lose any weight this week, which is fine as long as my waist keeps going down. In fact, I'm a bit puzzled at how I could stay the same weight and lose another quarter inch. Could be just flux within the measurements, could be I'm somehow managing to gain a little muscle along with losing fat, which would be something of a holy grail if true. All other body measurements are essentially the same.

So, the bad news: first, I fell off the carb wagon a little bit. Had both pasta and cheesecake at a friend's birthday party, and >100g a couple other days. Not the end of the world, but off goal a little bit. Second, I sprained my ankle while climbing on Monday, which will have an effect on my workouts for the near future. It'll force me to miss two or three HIIT sessions (I'm going to try one-legged rowing tonight), and it has forced me to drop my daily burpees (not sure if that's good or bad news, actually). Without the HIIT, I would expect the rate of fat loss to diminish, so I may not get my .25" off this week. I may try and lower calories and prolong fasts a little to compensate.

But there is a bright side: I noticed a bit of ab definition reappearing in the mirror this week, which was a pleasant surprise. Still very slight, but I didn't expect to see ANY until 32.25" (the last time I saw it), so not sure what's happening there.

As far as the IF goes, it has become quite easy and habitual. Probably TOO habitual, as my fasting is following a predictable pattern based on my schedule, so I should probably be mixing it up more. It is difficult not to fast when the opportunity arises, as fasting days are easier than non-fasting ones.

Intermittent Fasting: Week 2

Week 2 sees far less dramatic effects than week 1 (to be expected), but still good news:

What went in (avg. daily):
Calories: 2,289
Fat: 127g (49%)
Carbs: 89g + 21g fiber (18%)
Protein: 167g (30%)

Results:
Weight: 181 (-2 lbs, 7lbs total)
Waist: 33 (-0.25", 1" total)
Bodyfat: 13% (-0.5%, 2% total)
Percentage to goal: 50%

Before last week, a quarter-inch off the waist was the most I'd lost in a week, so that was what I projected out. If I can maintain that pace, then I should be at goal in four more weeks.

This week saw more variation than the strict regimen of the first week. My fasts went from 16-20 hours, and I had my first cheat meal (dinner at a fancy restaurant - though I did skip dessert). On average, however, the numbers are very similar to last week.

I continue to feel good on this regimen - even better, in fact. I got a +37 point PR on Fight Gone Bad this weekend while fasted, and in general am feeling lean again (it's amazing how much difference an inch or two on the waist makes). My muscle recovery also feels faster - I generally only feel sore one day after a workout, and didn't feel much soreness at all from FGB.

body comp analysis

Weight 124(+1)

Arms: 10 (L&R) (0)
Shoulders: 38.25 (0)
Chest: 33.25 (0)
Waist: 30 (+1)
Hips: 36.75 (+.75)
Thigh: 20 R 20.5 L (-0.25)
Calves: 13 R 13.25 L (0)

Body fat content according to this Zone Body Fat % Calculator
BF% 24 - back to where I was in June.
94# lean body mass
30# fat

Seems a little strange to me that so many of my measurements haven't changed at all, but I guess this is about what I expected after the past month of unclean eating and limited workouts. Just glad the 'damage' wasn't worse :)

Intermittent Fasting: Week 1

Alright, the first week of my grand experiment with IF is done. So how did it go?

What went in (avg. daily):
Calories: 2,340
Fat: 131g (50%)
Carbs: 100g + 28g fiber (20%)
Protein: 175g (30%)

Results:
Weight: 183 (-5 lbs)
Waist: 33.25 (-0.75")
Bodyfat: 13.5% (-1.5%)
Percentage to goal: 38%

I met my goals! It actually wasn't all that bad. I miss toast w/almond butter, but to be honest I was getting pretty sick of Builder's Bars. I eat a lot of eggs, in various forms. Don't get to drink as much milk as I'd like (just a pint a day), and on a few days I had to finish off the day with a protein shake at dinner in order to make my protein quota for the day.

In terms of diet, it isn't terribly different from what it was before. Most of the recipes I've developed over the past few months still work. And as for the IF, the hunger is quite manageable - it only really gets noticeable in the last hour or two. The hardest part is really the coffee - black coffee just isn't as good in the morning (I'm getting used to it). In fact, I would generally consider the non-fasting days to be more troublesome, as the gaps between meals are longer and attended by hunger so I need to be careful not to snack myself above 2500 calories.

As for energy, I wouldn't say it's "through the roof" but it's sufficient for morning workouts. I never suffered lightheadedness during a workout, although I did feel a little nauseated rowing on Monday morning (Monday was rough).

Midway through the week, I noticed my weight had plummeted almost 9 pounds. I'm guessing this was water weight loss brought on by the shock of the lower carbs + IF. For the next few days, I was endlessly thirsty and drank copious amounts of water, and the weight went back up to a more reasonable level. I'm still more thirsty than usual, I'd say, so it's probably still correcting itself. Still, 5 pounds in one week is pretty cool - I'm even more happy about the waist measurement, though. I doubt this pace will continue after the first week or two, but so far, it's working gangbusters.

Day one of IF

Yesterday was Day 1 of IF, and it wasn't too bad. Here are the numbers:

*16.5 hour fast*
Calories: 2,221
Fat: 114g (45%)
Carbs: 126g + 27g Fiber (24%)
Protein: 165g (31%)

The majority of the carbs came from three sources: an apple, a banana and 16 oz of milk. It adds up quickly! I'll cut back to just one piece of fruit a day, which should help. But I'm pretty happy with this. I had to tack some cottage cheese on at the end to meet protein goals, which will probably happen a lot - it's hard to do without protein shakes or bars.

I'm not going to do this every day, but I just wanted to record day 1.

Edited to respond to Evelyn, 'cause her questions are good:

The fasting itself wasn't especially tough. I didn't get uncomfortably hungry until the last hour or so. In fact, it was a lot worse a few hours into my eating window, since I didn't bring sufficient food to work with me and the only no-carb option I could find to buy near work was a salad, so my body was getting teasing glimpses of food but no satisfaction. When I got home I made a scramble with eggs, cheese and veggie sausage, and my body was very grateful.

I will be working out in a fasted state - sometimes. It obviously won't work for evening classes, but I climb in the mornings twice a week and will be doing burpees/rowing in the mornings. I did 50 burpees for time yesterday and today, and it's hard but not, I would say, any harder than doing it normally. I will primarily be doing Sprint-8 or Tabata-type workouts while fasted to try and activate the body fat for fuel.

Today is day 2, and so far it feels much the same as yesterday. I'm planning on eating normally tomorrow, and then fasting again on Friday and Saturday, doing Saturday's CF class in a fasted state. We'll see how that goes.

Fitness Status Report

Ugh. I am really ready for the summer travels to be over and to get back to a regular schedule of working out, and a cleaner diet. I can definitely feel the effects of 'dirty' diet. Reduced energy, more weight :-p

Turns out the tight muscle on my right side that I thought was my hamstring is actually my hip. It was pretty tight before I left for Florida, and instead of getting better with a week of nothing (except burpees) it actually got worse. It loosens up with exercise, but as soon as I spend any time siting down, it tightens right back up. The only exercise I've done that it bothered my WHILE exercising (after loosening up) is running.

The drive up to Portland was made even less comfortable by my aching hip. Every time I got out of the car I had to limp around until it loosened up.

I've asked my friend Jeremy - who is an EXCELLENT body worker to take a stab at making it loosen up. Pretty sure that will happen Sunday.

In other news, I have also decided to drop out of the burpee challenge. :(

I was so sore after Murph that I couldn't do burpees for two days (46 & 47) I tried to pick them back up while I was in Portland and I got day 48 done+ 10 'make-up' burpees and then on day 49 I only got 35 done. We went to a (SUPER FUN) square dance on day 49, but that was also really hard on my hips, and arms - which in reality were still not quite fully recovered from Murph, and day 50 - our 13 hour drive back from Portland - burpees just were not going to happen. I had really hoped to make it at least to day 50, but as of yesterday, I was 147 burpees behind, and I'm pretty sure they're aggravating my hip issue, so ... between the devastation that was muph and the full weekend of long traveling, I lost my rhythm, and think it's probably just best to let them go. I got an awful lot out of it.

Looking forward I am excited to work on getting healthy(er) with a combination of body work, better diet, and some focused training with Max to work on trying to iron our my particular proprioception issues so that I can work out and get stronger without injuring myself.

Here comes year # 32. Bring it on.

About, Face!

OK, Bulking is over. I don't like the way I feel when my waist is over 34", and I hate the way the extra fat affects my climbing performance, so I think it's time to scrap this cycle and start over.

Results of this cycle
OK. In two months I managed to gain 13 pounds, approximately 5-6 of which were muscle. Much of this cycle was marked by frustration and no gains, though, until the final rest week when I managed to double my gains in one fell swoop. Lesson learned: rest more. Actually DO the half-intensity weeks and weeks off. I will continue to try and improve LBM gain efficiency next time, most likely with IF.

Goals looking forward
First, I want to drop the bodyfat I picked up this cycle ASAP, so I can get back on the growth wagon. I figure losing 10 pounds of bodyfat should put me at about a 32" waist and 10% BF, which seems a good place to start again. Here's the plan on how to do that...

Intermittent Fasting
Approx 4-5 days a week, I will fast from ~8pm until ~noon the next day (target: 16 hours). Never on rest days. I will learn to appreciate black coffee. I will learn to take my vitamins at different times.

HIIT Me Baby, One More Time
To complement the IF, I will try to incorporate 10 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training in a fasted state in the mornings. This should cause my body to activate some body fat for energy and dump it into my bloodstream. After a 10 minute break, I will then spend the next 30 minutes or so in some form of lightly-elevated-heartrate activity to burn that dump. Here's what I'm thinking:

• Gym mornings: 10 minutes on the rower (30 sec sprint, 90 sec cruise) after climbing, followed by a shower and the ride uphill to work.
• At home: Tabata burpees, followed by a brisk walk to work. Heavy on the brisk!

Macrobionic Man
This will be tricky, as there are a lot of goals to cover. While I'm focusing on fat loss, I'll primarily be interested in muscle retention rather than growth. So 160g/protein (1g per lb LBM) daily should do it. If I like how IF goes and decide to try and GAIN weight with it, this will go up to 210+g/day, and therefore become even trickier. I would like to limit my carbohydrates to below Mark's Daily Apple's "magic number" of 150g/day. 100 would be better. Not only that, but I want to have the bulk of those carbs post-workout. This means no more toast, no more protein bars or shakes, and limited milk. I won't concern myself with fat - whatever it wants to be, it will be. I have enough on my plate already (so to speak).

5x5x0
I can't expect to grow on a caloric deficit, so I will suspend the linear increase of my 5x5 program until such time as I can support growth again. However, I do not want to lose what I've gained, so I will keep doing some deadlifts and squats, but just maintaining current levels.

Expectations
Oh, who knows. This is changing a LOT of things all at once, several of them outside my regular experience. I don't think it will take long to lose the weight - maybe a month, certainly not more than two. At the moment I'm thinking I would like to continue the IF during another gaining cycle, to see if I can achieve more efficient growth, but this from a perspective of not having actually TRIED it yet. I'll revisit in two inches.

Measurement Check-in

Weight: 123 (+2)

Shoulders: 38.25 (+0.25)
Waist: 29 (-1)
Hips: 36 (+1)
Thighs: R: 20.25(-0.25) L 20.75 (-3/8)
Biceps: 10 L & R (0)

Body fat content according to this Zone Body Fat % Calculator
Percent Body Fat: 22% - Down 2% Woohoo!
Total Body Fat: 27
Lean body Mass: 96

Huh - lost a whole inch in my waist, but gained it in my hips. Weird? Psyched about the reduced BF%, and a gain of .25 in my shoulders is nice. I wonder if we just measured my thighs in a different spot since it doesn't make sense to me that they would be smaller, but after following daniel's progress it's clear that what the body does doesn't always make intuitive sense.

Wednesday Whoa-in

I haven't posted a Wednesday Weigh-in for a few weeks. I decided that being too OCD about it was hindering my weight-gain goals (I tend to over-think things). In tracking my calories, I'd freak out about how much I was eating, despite knowing that I wanted to gain, and so progress was stalled. Better, I figured, to just let go the reins and go nuts.

It's been working, but this week something noteworthy happened.

What went in:
I dunno.

Workout Summary:
3x climbing
2x strength (5x5)
1x CF metcon
1x I-don't-know-what-the-hell-Jeremy-was

What came out:
Weight: 183 (+3)
BF: 14.5% (+0.5%)
Chest: 38.75 (+1)!!
Arms: 12 (+0.25)
Hips: 38.75 +0.5)
Waist: 33.75 (+0.5)
Thighs: 22.25 (+0.25)
Calves: 14.75 (0)
Forearms: 10 (0)
Shoulders: 47 (+0.75)

Analysis
Wow. That's a helluva week! (the change numbers are just for this week, not for the entire period since my last Wednesday Weigh-in). So what changed? I can think of three things.

• Not much metcon. OK, yeah, the Filthy Fifty was as metcon as they come, but apart from that I didn't really do much this week that was challenging cardiovascularly, except maybe my daily burpees which are still pretty minor.
• Protein right before bed. I've determined that a protein powder shake right before bed makes it hard for me to fall asleep - I think it's the sugar, or chemicals, or something. However, this week I tried making shakes with a combination of milk, cottage cheese, and a handful of berries. Not sweet, and a mix of whey and casein to get me through the night.
• GTG pullups. I went back to knocking out as many sets of 5 pullups through the day as I could, plus a max set right before bed.

Who knows if it was any of these things or some magical combination of these and something else - I'm sure I'll try this again and lose 5 pounds or something - but my HUNCH is it's the combination of the shakes and pullups, particularly the max set right before bed jumpstarting my nighttime GH spike.

Looking Forward
Well, now I'm in a bit of a quandary. My plan had been to turn around when my waist hit 34", suspend the 5x5's and cut back the calories a little to trim back down to 32" before starting up again. But if I'm FINALLY seeing real progress, do I really want to stop? I hate feeling "fluffy" (as the CF forum girls call it), but I'm not that worried about dropping the fat when the time comes. But what to do now? At this rate I'll hit 34" next week or the week after, so a decision is imminent.

Wednesday Weigh-in

What went in:
Avg daily calories: 3380
Fat: 162g - 42%
Carb: 258g - 28% (40 fiber)
Protein: 215g - 26%
Alcohol: 13g - 3%

Note: Due to travel and eating out all weekend, I estimated and guessed a LOT, so these numbers can't be very accurate.

Workout Summary:
3x climbing
2x metcon
1x strength

What came out:
Weight: 176 (-3)
BF: 11% (+1%)
Chest: 38 (+0.25)
Arms: 11.75 (0)
Hips: 38.25 (+0.25)
Waist: 32.75 (0)
Thighs: 21.5 (+0.5)
Calves: 14.75 (0)
Forearms: 10 (+0.25)
Shoulders: 46.25 (0)

Analysis
Well, hell. Lost three pounds, and gained in every measurement that changed. Where did that extra mass come from? Am I inflating? Clearly travel messes with my equilibrium - I suspected I'd lose this week, with three low-protein days, a lot of time in the sun and the car, and all the climbing. But seriously, WTF?

Looking Forward
Back in the saddle, I guess. More protein. More milk. There's a LOT of travel on the schedule in the next couple months, so I guess I've got to cram in my dietary needs where I can and make do otherwise. I may not get an opportunity for a proper bulking cycle until the fall, if I keep dropping weight every time I step out the door.

Wednesday Weigh-in

What went in:
Avg daily calories: 3392
Fat: 154g - 40%
Carb: 269g - 29% (43 fiber)
Protein: 241g - 29%
Alcohol: 6g - 1%

Workout Summary:
4x CF metcon
2x strength (5x5)
2x climbing

What came out:
Weight: 179 (+2)
BF: 10% (+1%)
Chest: 37.75 (-0.25)
Arms: 11.75 (0)
Hips: 38 (-0.25)
Waist: 32.75 (+0.25)
Thighs: 21 (+0.25)
Calves: 14.75 (+0.25)
Forearms: 9.75(-0.25)
Shoulders: 46.25 (0)

Analysis
So after thinking about it, I realized I needed to eat to support growth, fat-be-damned. It's a hard decision to make, as I still feel really ambivalent about my weight going up - especially when I see another quarter-inch on my waist confirming that it's going to fat. At any rate, the things that I changed this week was adding a protein shake into the diet every day, rocketing my protein to what seems an absurd 240g/day, and ice cream for dessert on some nights. It doesn't seem to be having the effect described on the CF boards for me, but I don't know if that's the protein shake or the ice cream (or both). Two pounds in a week is too much - I only want one, since I suspect more than that is just fat.

Looking Forward
I don't really trust (or like) this protein powder, but it seems to be finally adding some weight. So I'll give this another week and see what happens (this weekend will be a bit of a wrench, but oh well). I don't think I'll buy more ice cream after this container runs out, at least not for a while. If I can fine-tune this to a pound a week, then I'll be happy. Maybe 220g protein/day is the sweet spot?