On the days where I just absolutely feel like I have zero energy, I will make a deal with myself that if I can hit ___ on my main lift, I'll skip my accessory stuff for that day. It can either be an extra set at a higher weight, hitting an AMRAP goal for my last set, or whatever.

Emailed you as well.

My sorely needed (but nonetheless madness-inducing) rest week begins today. Will be going for some maxes next week before a new block.

Twiddling your thumbs when you just want to be slinging weight is the worst.

After screwing around just doing maintenance stuff over the last year to two I started a new cycle using Texas method today. My work schedule going to mess it up periodically but ill manage.

Is this total rest or a big deload?

If it's the former, wonder whether a week of doing light weight would keep you sane?

Good, you can give us a chance to catch up a little bit during your down time.

Looked into the TM a couple years back and was interested but never ended up trying it out. Will be curious how it goes.

Beau Holder said:

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Twiddling your thumbs when you just want to be slinging weight is the worst.

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Also, twiddling your thumbs >>> going to PT because you tore something

10andBOUNCE said:

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Looked into the TM a couple years back and was interested but never ended up trying it out. Will be curious how it goes.

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It is my second go round. It got me to my PRs last time around so hoping for the same here. Using the app Go HAM

I am interested in the Texas Method - do you have a spreadsheet or app you're using to calculate the weights?

It seems like the 3 day split could be easier to schedule for when life gets hectic.

Edit: Just saw your previous response - I will take a look at that!

Did you do any accessory lifts with it in the past, or is it really meant to be run with just the main lifts?

When I was able to work out daily I absolutely loved the candito 6 week program. You gotta really want it doing that program.

CC09LawAg said:

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Did you do any accessory lifts with it in the past, or is it really meant to be run with just the main lifts?

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I do accessory lifts and I also substitute for the clean and snatch. The app is loaded with accessory lifts or you can custom add them.

I'll be traveling Th-Sun so total rest from the gym, but we'll be skiing so more of an active rest week I suppose. May do a light deload full body tomorrow. But I've been going hard at something or other for almost twice as long as my usual deload intervals so I'm forcing myself to totally ease up until I get back.

I skipped a workout after taking pre workout once. Never again. I drink a lot of caffeine but man that gave me the jitters like I've never had.

I started preworkout back when Jack3d was around. That **** hit like a truck. I had some awesome lifts with it, but apparently unsafe and now banned. Now most of them are garbage.

Getting lifts back to where I was. I "graduate" to the next weight when I do 8/10/12.

Today on flat bench I did 240x8, 230x10, 220x13. Which means next time I don't have to remove the second plate on my last set. My ego likes that.

My previous best is 250x8, 237.5x10, 225x12. Should be back there in a few weeks I think. It's coming back pretty quick. Once I get back there I will slow down progression.

At some point I want to train for a 225 max reps like at the combine.

Dude today I thought REAL hard about just leaving the second plate on but chose to be disciplined and stick to the plan.

Knowing that I got 13 reps of 220 I think I could've gotten 12 of 225 but I would rather not find out I'm wrong the hard way.

Farmer1906 said:

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I started preworkout back when Jack3d was around. That **** hit like a truck. I had some awesome lifts with it, but apparently unsafe and now banned. Now most of them are garbage.

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Once you've tasted the holy grail, nothing else compares.

Yeah, you're a good man! It is one thing to be at 220 on your pyramid up, but going back down and taking that plate off to only put back on 40 pounds....feels like you're removing a whole lot more! Gotta love ego lifting!

I used to make my own pre-workout, you can get the ingredients online and make it hit as hard as you want.

Sea Speed said:

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I used to make my own pre-workout, you can get the ingredients online and make it hit as hard as you want.

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Anything that works better than just a cup of coffee? Never really used pre-workout (or made my own), just drink coffee when I need a little something extra. Just curious if there is anything remotely worthwhile.

Similar to what Sea is saying, I once bought 200mg caffeine pills and bulk beta alanine and spent a couple months just tossing them down the chute together and going on my way.

Caffeine is the main ingredient for energy but I do like the Niacin flush. I've backed off significantly from my days in college of NO Black Powder (350mg caffeine) + Spike Energy Drink (350mg caffeine) on push and leg days. 700mg+ of caffeine in one setting is not ideal...

I take about 120mg of caffeine preworkout now and probably only 200-240 a day total. I sleep MUCH better and workouts don't suck either.

I mentioned it earlier, but pre-workout is a huge mental thing for me. It was my routine for years and now I feel like I'm not going to have a good workout if I don't take it. I honestly just buy the cheapest stuff I can from Amazon and go. Usually that is I think gold standard but they have deals randomly so I'm not married to any brand.

Agree about the niacin flush though, feeling my skin tingle just makes me feel like I am doing something right.

Thanks guys. Might try a combo of caffeine and beta alanine for a bit, see if that has any positive impact.

So, I'm trying to plan my diet for when I cut down on weight. Trying to avoid sacrificing strength gains.

I'm currently hovering around 240, will probably be about 245 when I start to cut. I want to get down to 215, 210 if possible.

I am aiming to take in about 2000 calories with a 50p/35c/15f split. With what I have planned, that is about 200g of protein, 150g of carbs, and 57g of fat. For reference, I'm drinking a half gallon of milk a day right now on top of my usual food intake and taking in about 240g of protein daily.

What do you think? Is that enough calories? Should I aim for 2500 and then scale it down to 2000 when I start to plateau?

I plan to scale back slight on my lifting volume for the main 4 lifts and work in more sled and sandbag work for my accessory stuff.

Could you not just take out the daily half gallon of milk? That is ~1200 calories. (Wow, by the way)
Substitute it with lean powder to mix if you're afraid of losing the protein and mix it in water.

I have thought about that, but my problem in the past has been that I can get to about 220 pretty easily and then I seem to get stuck there. In addition to the milk, the only thing I've "added" outside of my normal daily routine is steel cut oats in the morning. But I generally just eat whatever my wife cooks for dinner/leftovers for lunch and so the calories and macros on that can be pretty varied on a day to day basis.

I wanted to try to be very disciplined and repetitive with my diet for a couple of months so I can get down closer to 200. I'd like to bounce back and forth between 200 and 220 going forward instead of 220 to 240.

I think your idea would be the easiest thing and it's something I've considered. I definitely don't want to get to where I am dropping more than 1-2 pounds a week and I think just dropping the milk for a month or so might be a good starting point and then buckling down when I get closer to my usual sticking point.

I did 6 weeks with a goal of 1800 cals starting in november trying to "finish" out my cut. (I'd been losing weight since february).

I meticulously tracked every calorie with a goal of 200g protein and at least 15% of my cals as fat. Miserable AF, but I got through it. Packed every extra calorie I could into a whole food carb as vegetables, greens or fruits.

My lifts didn't nosedive like I was expecting, and obviously I was way hungry. What got me to stop it was the lack of visual progress. If THAT wasn't "finshing" out my cut (I was around 19% BF when I started according to my scale, and visually that was in the ballpark) it wasn't worth it to me.

Since the holidays, I've just eaten to hunger and generaly make good choices. Most of the "extra" calories I eat vs the 1800 calories are intentional consumption of carbs as grains, sugar (OMG, but YES, some sugar calories), and fruits.

I feel MUCH better, and honestly, the visual changes are coming faster since the new year, even though I've "gained" 4 lbs.

2500 cals and scale later sounds much more reasonable.

For the longest time I would meal prep and very deliberately buy snacks to hit my macros and lose weight. Once you do it for a bit the repetitive nature makes it stick. Usually chicken breaststroke, veggies and black beans. Kroger carb smart yogurt in am with protein powder. Peanut butter on caramel rice cakes. Nuts. You can obviously get more creative but socking away those meals for the week really kept me on point. I hit my goals and then some.

Only thing is I don't mind eating the same meal 2x per day for a year.

This is helpful and is probably what'll happen with me.

I expect to be miserable to some degree. I've lost weight in the past doing crash diets and what not so I know what to expect on that. I just haven't really tried to seriously diet since starting to lift heavy so I'm not sure what to expect on my lifts.

I have been going almost 2 years now and my curiosity has me wondering what I will look like if I hit 200. I fully expect to not like it and I will probably land somewhere in the 210-220 range. But like I said, I'd rather start bouncing around in a little lower range because I don't like how I feel carrying around 240 and would rather my "heavy" state be around 220.

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Peanut butter on caramel rice cakes.

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I keep some calories budgeted for this most nights. So good.

I am the same way. I could eat the same thing every single day and just change the seasoning/sauce here and there and be perfectly content.

I just am trying not to hijack the grocery order/kitchen/meal plans having a wife and kids. I told myself that if my diet and exercise starting to interfere with the family and our day to day affairs that I need to rein it in. Maybe if I did this professionally I'd feel differently, but I am focused on trying to do things that I know can stick longterm without being a PITA to everyone around me.