18 Weeks Out
18 weeks out, 11 weeks into prep. Not much has changed since my last update. Things have been moving along really well.
Workouts have been good. My strength has had some ebbs and flows lately. Some days things feel heavier than usual, and it takes considerably more effort to move the weight. Other days things feel more normal, where the weight and effort feels about what I'd expect. I feel these ups and downs mostly on the big 3 -- my squats, deadlifts, and (dumbbell) bench presses. Holding less weight on my body, I'm finally able to do 2 strict pullups again. (My PR last year was 8, and I weighed about 95 lbs.)
My body was feeling pretty beaten up by last weekend. Almost like clockwork, I'm 11 weeks into this prep, and 11 weeks since my last deload. So I decided to take a deload this week. Rest day, pull day, leg day, rest day (completely skipped my push day as my chest and shoulders could use some extra rest), and another rest day. Also took out my HIIT for this week. That's 5 days of recovery, and I'm feeling pretty good. And that's another reason why I prefer to have plenty of time for prep, so that I can take deloads or focus on recovery if I need to. 5 days of nothing near the intensity that I'm used to in the gym, and I actually woke up this morning to a new prep low: 119.0 lbs. I chose to keep my macros the same during this deload and just accept that things might move a bit slower this week, however, progress continued to move forward.
Macros are currently at 130P/30f/215C. Still hitting a great balance between nutrient dense foods and delicious treats. I'm still doing 20 mins of HIIT about 2x/week (twice every 8 days to be more specific), with the exception of this deload. I've still been doing sprints on the elliptical, which I've been doing after my leg days. It's kinda brutal, but it keeps soreness to a minimum. So instead of beating my legs up multiple times a week, they only get hit every 4th day when I do legs+HIIT. I've actually been enjoying my HIIT, which I'm blaming on the endorphin rush. :) There are so many ways to do intervals. You certainly don't have to do sprints, and you don't have to use cardio equipment. I used to do full body/ plyo/ light weight intervals, which I'll probably incorporate if I get bored with sprints or if leg recovery becomes an issue. I've added in some steady state cardio as well. 100 mins/week, which I do at my leisure. That's about 15 mins/day, although some days I do none, and other days I do more; I'm not picky. Weight is hovering around 119.5 lbs. That's 10 lbs. lost in 11 weeks, and I'm officially out of the 120's.
I'm happy with where I'm at. I'm happy with my progress, not just during this prep, but throughout my entire journey. Even though this blog has been very prep-focused the last few months, that's not exactly my mental attitude. Prep doesn't consume my life. As I get deeper into this on-season, it's not about the competition. It's about me being happy with myself. I am no more or less happy with myself than I was 11 weeks ago or 10 lbs. ago. I'm happy with myself because I work hard, I have a good heart, and I do my best. At the end of the day, that's what I'm really chasing.
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| day 1 vs. week 11 |
Workouts have been good. My strength has had some ebbs and flows lately. Some days things feel heavier than usual, and it takes considerably more effort to move the weight. Other days things feel more normal, where the weight and effort feels about what I'd expect. I feel these ups and downs mostly on the big 3 -- my squats, deadlifts, and (dumbbell) bench presses. Holding less weight on my body, I'm finally able to do 2 strict pullups again. (My PR last year was 8, and I weighed about 95 lbs.)
My body was feeling pretty beaten up by last weekend. Almost like clockwork, I'm 11 weeks into this prep, and 11 weeks since my last deload. So I decided to take a deload this week. Rest day, pull day, leg day, rest day (completely skipped my push day as my chest and shoulders could use some extra rest), and another rest day. Also took out my HIIT for this week. That's 5 days of recovery, and I'm feeling pretty good. And that's another reason why I prefer to have plenty of time for prep, so that I can take deloads or focus on recovery if I need to. 5 days of nothing near the intensity that I'm used to in the gym, and I actually woke up this morning to a new prep low: 119.0 lbs. I chose to keep my macros the same during this deload and just accept that things might move a bit slower this week, however, progress continued to move forward.
Macros are currently at 130P/30f/215C. Still hitting a great balance between nutrient dense foods and delicious treats. I'm still doing 20 mins of HIIT about 2x/week (twice every 8 days to be more specific), with the exception of this deload. I've still been doing sprints on the elliptical, which I've been doing after my leg days. It's kinda brutal, but it keeps soreness to a minimum. So instead of beating my legs up multiple times a week, they only get hit every 4th day when I do legs+HIIT. I've actually been enjoying my HIIT, which I'm blaming on the endorphin rush. :) There are so many ways to do intervals. You certainly don't have to do sprints, and you don't have to use cardio equipment. I used to do full body/ plyo/ light weight intervals, which I'll probably incorporate if I get bored with sprints or if leg recovery becomes an issue. I've added in some steady state cardio as well. 100 mins/week, which I do at my leisure. That's about 15 mins/day, although some days I do none, and other days I do more; I'm not picky. Weight is hovering around 119.5 lbs. That's 10 lbs. lost in 11 weeks, and I'm officially out of the 120's.
I'm happy with where I'm at. I'm happy with my progress, not just during this prep, but throughout my entire journey. Even though this blog has been very prep-focused the last few months, that's not exactly my mental attitude. Prep doesn't consume my life. As I get deeper into this on-season, it's not about the competition. It's about me being happy with myself. I am no more or less happy with myself than I was 11 weeks ago or 10 lbs. ago. I'm happy with myself because I work hard, I have a good heart, and I do my best. At the end of the day, that's what I'm really chasing.
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