Stallion's Long Term Journal

[stallion009]

Noticed on Monday that my right hamstring, above the knee, was tight and sore - while doing my Limber 11. It was the same today (Wednesday), which is my leg day. I had to go easy on the hamstring related movements.

I gave the pistol squats ago with the TRX straps (on the advice of holly77), which was quite helpful. It gives me a chance to work on it, though it does illustrate how far away I am from having the mobility to accomplish it on my own.

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Also it looks like me tightening up my calories a bit has/will stabilize my weight. I guess I was just getting a bit loosey with it. Too much Nutella. But none the less made me think about the next deficit. I may take a few weeks of doing 2400 calories/day (as this should be a deficit) and see how it goes. I'll have to be strict as there isn't much room for error, but should be much easier to stick with.

[loc]

A full pistol squat is quite the accomplishment, keep working at it.

How's the limber 11 going for you? I used to do it but got busy and stopped.

[PhysiologyIsPhun]

I like this log a lot because I feel you are very similar to myself in your background story. When you do decide to attempt a deficit again, I think you will really like the progress. I also believed I had a loose skin issue (which, in a way, it was), but it was more of a strangely distributed subcutaneous fat issue. It's very strange because basically it looks like you have all this hanging skin, but there's just a small amount of fat distributed throughout it, giving it that sagging look. Dropping that fat results in just a miniscule amount of actual loose skin that is actually fairly hard to notice. Keep on doing what you're doing though man. Awesome work!

[stallion009]

Originally Posted by loc

A full pistol squat is quite the accomplishment, keep working at it.

How's the limber 11 going for you? I used to do it but got busy and stopped.

Yup the pistol squat is a tough one. I suspect it'll take me a few years of work to get to a place where I can do a good one.

As for Limber 11, it's fine. I'm not sure if it really helps with mobility that much, but I can say that since I started doing it I haven't really experienced lower back issues. I do it every morning and sort of think of it like a warm up for the day.

Originally Posted by PhysiologyIsPhun

I like this log a lot because I feel you are very similar to myself in your background story. When you do decide to attempt a deficit again, I think you will really like the progress. I also believed I had a loose skin issue (which, in a way, it was), but it was more of a strangely distributed subcutaneous fat issue. It's very strange because basically it looks like you have all this hanging skin, but there's just a small amount of fat distributed throughout it, giving it that sagging look. Dropping that fat results in just a miniscule amount of actual loose skin that is actually fairly hard to notice. Keep on doing what you're doing though man. Awesome work!

I hope you're right about going into deficit again. I've never been so close to these lower BF%s before. I suspect you're right. I just remind myself: You didn't come this far only to come this far.

The way you describe the loose skin/fat thing is right on. It's obviously fat, as I can feel it. I've seen people with loose skin that are lean and it's almost like a paper thick style skin sag. I definitely don't have that. It's like there's a little excess skin in my stomach area that sags just a little bit and it's like the subcutaneous fat sort of sags into it as well. And it just creates this ... thing that I see in the mirror. I'm optimistic to see what a little more cutting will produce.


Thank you both for commenting. These little things do help the morale.

[stallion009]

--==New Scale==--
Average Week 2: 78.43kg/172.91lbs [Maintenance Week 5]
Average Week 3: 79.31kg/174.85lbs [Maintenance Week 6]
Average Week 4: 79.23kg/174.67lbs [Maintenance Week 7]

I have things under control now or at least figured out a meaningful way to make this work. I find that having my first meal (whether it be breakfast or some fasted meal) that has really good macros makes all the difference to start the day. Pancakes are nice, but I'm already behind from a macro perspective and it just seems tougher. So I've gotten into a routine of a solid high protein breakfast.

2 eggs, 1/2 cup egg white scrambled
200g cottage cheese
100g yogurt

520 calories, 55g protein.

Mental: A - Pretty good week. No real issues, I even felt a little leaner. Not that there has been much change in weight, I did tighten up the calories though I'm still indulging in a higher than normal amount of sodium. Mood wise I'm pretty content.

Limber 11: A+ - Always perfect. My right hamstring was a little tight above the knee Monday thru Wednesday. I went easy on it, but I'm back to normal now.
Focused Flexibility: A+ - Did it everyday. I've changed up my exercises to posture and shoulder related. My posture is crap to begin with, so it seems like a better position and most of my issues with specific poses is my inability to have a neutral spine.
Gym: A+ - Pretty much routine as usual.

L-Seat: B - I'm almost there. I do it on those yoga blocks and I can hold it for a second or two, but I can also twist my legs under me and change into other positions.
Pistol Squat: C - I had the luxury of giving the pistol squat a go with TRX straps to help me balance. I have a long way to go, but I'm working at it and that's what counts.
Yoga Pike Press: C - I've started to incorporate some headstand work into a daily routine. I'm not very good, but I guess I'm coming along. I watch others do it and they're cool as a cucumber in a headstand - and I'm leaned up against the fall, turning red and veins bulging out of my arms... hopefully one day it'll get easier.

Caffeine: Minimal. Maybe 50mg on the week.
Muay Thai: N/A, No plans as of yet to join a gym.

Plan for the week

This is my last week of maintenance. We'll see how it goes. I'm celebrating my girlfriend's birthday tomorrow, so I'm bound to have some bad foods.

I also decided I'll do a minor deficit as a strategy. 2400 calories a day and see how that works over time. I will only be able to start this deficit for a week and a half, as I have to travel toward the end of the month - but never hurts to just start.

[stallion009]

So I had some cake, and a salty meal out that caused my weight to pop. Seems like the best time to start this slight deficit run.

[loc]

Sometimes those days can mess with your head when the scale goes up like that.

Also, what's your review of Focused Flexibility? I've been thinking about buying a subscription.

[stallion009]

Originally Posted by loc

Sometimes those days can mess with your head when the scale goes up like that.

Also, what's your review of Focused Flexibility? I've been thinking about buying a subscription.

Yeah. 80kg was a line I didn't want to cross, so when I did it seemed like the time to start.

As for Focused Flexibility I'll hold my review for a little longer and just see how this pans out over a longer timeline. At the end of the day, it's just stretches/yoga variations. I'm not so sure that I couldn't just look up my specific issues on Google, do the stretches over months and get results. But we'll see. At the end of the day, it does just give you plans for specific issues (like posture) and you can do your own self assessment to see where you lack flexibility.

[loc]

Originally Posted by stallion009

Yeah. 80kg was a line I didn't want to cross, so when I did it seemed like the time to start.

As for Focused Flexibility I'll hold my review for a little longer and just see how this pans out over a longer timeline. At the end of the day, it's just stretches/yoga variations. I'm not so sure that I couldn't just look up my specific issues on Google, do the stretches over months and get results. But we'll see. At the end of the day, it does just give you plans for specific issues (like posture) and you can do your own self assessment to see where you lack flexibility.

Cool, thanks. I'll see how it works for you.

Keep it up.

[stallion009]

Just did my first hike. I moved out close to the mountains about 6 years ago and never got into it. Thought I'd give it a try. I did an easy one, which took about 2hrs - including pictures at the top. Pretty good process and a nice calorie burning process.

Though I did eat at a restaurant afterwards. Either way, I think this will be something I pursue this summer... I paid for the bear spray, so might as well get my monies worth.

The view



And me being stupid