Weight is currently down to about 220. So since I began this little adventure, I’m down about 22 lbs in about 2 months time. Not sure exactly how many week’s it has been exactly. Strength is barely holding on – it certainly isn’t progressing, but I didn’t really expect to gain tons of new strength while aggressively trying to cut 40 lbs. Very hard to do that. Of all the lifts, my Bench Press seems to be holding on the best. My Squat and Deadlift are both probably regressing just a bit (as much as I hate to admit this). As the calories drop every couple of weeks my recovery is suffering. I’m feeling like I probably need to reduce my training frequency to just twice per week instead of 4 days per week. We’ll see. Not sure if I’m there yet.
The Max Effort / Dynamic Effort approach has worked well thus far while in weight loss mode. In the last 5-6 weeks here before the meet, I may switch the Dynamic Effort work to a more traditional volume approach – mainly as an effort to put a heavier load across my back more frequently. The intensity is what is needed to maintain strength during this cut. We’ll see. Need to put pen to paper and draw up something for the last few weeks.
The biggest update in the past few weeks is that I brought my old nutrition guy Nathan Payton back on board with me. Nathan is an evil genious with dieting for strength athletes. He’s done the diets for tons of pro strongman (including Brian Shaw and Travis Ortmayer). He got me out of a plateau I had reached and tweaked my diet in a way that I wouldn’t have done. He’s the best.
Right now, I know I’m not gonna set any all time PRs at this meet. I’ll be dieting right up until meet day with no time to level out. If I can Squat 500, Deadlift 550, and Bench 350 I’ll be happy. Not all time records, but wouldn’t be bad on the tail end of a 40 lb fat cut!
Monday 5/25: Bench Training
- Paused Medium Grip Bench Press (half a thumbs distance from the smooth) 345 x 1, 350 x 1, 340 x 1, 2 x 315, 3 x 315 (touch n go)
- Incline Press 6 x 245, 8 x 225, 8 x 205
- Dips 5 sets max reps
- 20 mins Airdyne
Tuesday 5/26: Lower Body
- Rack Pull (pin #8) 555 x 1. 495 x 4, 455 x 8. Just a terrible day. Energy and strength both in the tank. This position on the rack is really weak for me, but was still hoping for something higher than 555. Just pulled 545 from the floor last week. Lower back is tired and not recovering well.
