The Beast's Training Journal!

[WalkingBeast]

30 minutes cardio


226 lbs estimated weight, 3 lbs lighter on this scale usually


Just switched from chocolate fairlife milk to 2 percent fat skim. The fairlife chocolate milk was low fat but this version has 1/2 the sugar. Thats the main carb I still have been getting from the milk. I dont need the extra calories now to get leaner.

Losing muscle doesnt matter either since I have a decent amount of muscle memory from 21 years lifting. Mainly just want to get rid of the gut for now. Once my muscle fills back out from the break Ill see if I can add new muscle while leaning, but that wont be the focus for now.

Bodyweight should still be moving up as I lean out for now. Added water weight from creatine, HRT and also taking in alot more liquids, plus regaining my lost muscle from the 5 1/2 week break. At about 6 weeks back I should have most of my muscle back, by 8 possibly all. Ill see with these restricted calories. It may take longer under those conditions. This is my third week back.

KILL THAT SHIT

 

[WalkingBeast]

a real motivation for me..thanks for sharing

Appreciate that shit brother


Glad you get something from it. Things will be amped up again once I start aiming for muscle gain again. Right now the routine is pretty mundane. More repetition and diet modification for now.

KEEP KILLIN THAT SHIT !!

 

[WalkingBeast]

Back and Delts (trap focused laterals), Rear Delts


Leaning out phase. Break return. Light, Low volume


This is my first day going off caffiene. I will be dropping all stimulants for the next 2 weeks atleast.

Right now Im in the process of eliminating all possible causes of this acid issue. If I can alleviate the issue then I can start adding things back in.

Diet will have to be very bland for now. Its mostly protein right now anyway so it doesnt matter. I use carbonated drinks , diet soda currently, to wash down my meals.

I may have to eliminate those too. Causes alot of gut pressure, possibly pushing acid back up.

Energy levels are shit even with caffiene, plus the tramadol I take is a tranquiliser. Still I can get shit done without, I just prefer not to do that. I noticed more pain and stiffness during training. Neck felt somewhat stiff after. May be that the caffiene has some painkilling effects.

Im getting another endoscopy in early august. So that may give me more information to work with , with this acid. Its been constant lately.

Switched to skim milk also, as mentioned. This should be better for this leaning phase.


227 lbs estimated, up from previous night. (this scale has me 3 lbs lighter usually)


Angled Low Cable Row With Palms Facing Narrow Handle (the seat portion of bench is slanted on a decline)

130x20 (long holds)

No rest til line

210x10 (holds and long holds)
170x10 (same)
--------------

No rest til line

170x15 (long holds)
210x5 (regular)
--------------

Lat Pulldowns With Narrow Palms Facing handle

210x10 (long holds)

No rest til line

250x6 (regular)
190x6 (maybe holds on this set)
------------------

No rest til line

190x10 (holds)
160x7 (same)
----------------

Iso Low Row Hammer Strength

no rest til line

180x40
270x30
---------

No rest til line

360x10
270x10
180x20
---------------

Iso High Row Hammer Strength (all hammer strength are plate loaded)

no rest til line

180x20
270x10
----------

No rest til line

360x5
270x5
180x15
---------------

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

45x30
50x10
-------

No rest again

50x25
45x10
---------------

Again

50x20
45x10
--------------

Reverse Machine Flies

130x15 (long holds)
195x10 (regular reps mostly)
165x15 (long holds)
165x15 (same)
165x15 (same)

KILL THAT SHIT

 

[WalkingBeast]

Arms

Leaning phase. Break return

Light, Low-Mid volume


Another session with no stimulants. Probably wont touch caffiene for atleast 12 more days. After that I may go back on. Experimenting with this acid for now.

The caffiene really only gets me out of the house and into the gym. I can take 300 mgs and barely feel anything. If I take more I just get dizzy. If anything it makes me more winded during training. I had the benefit today of not getting winded as easily, and went deeper into that burning pain zone then I have been the last few weeks on the stims.

Though it can be a bitch for me to get out of the house without stims. Once I get in the gym my adrenaline takes over.


I tried to load the tricep stack to 300 lbs but the pins and machines are so fucked up that the friction was very bad. 255 still had friction but I managed 20 reps despite. Ive done 300x30 but its very rare that the cable is not grinding when I add plates these days. I didnt really need it. Im just going for contraction and pump, fast pace to burn more calories for now.

I am in no rush to lean out, but I wont stop until Ive accomplished that goal. It may take under 6 months or over a year. I really have no idea because I dont do this shit. Ive basically sought mass and power the last 21 years and thats it. Which made sense for most of the time Ive been training. I had an extremely fast metabolism and any weight I managed to gain was mostly muscle and it took very long to move the scale up. Even though I spent all my time outside of the gym force feeding.

At this stage I dont really care if I get 10 or 20 percent bigger than I am now. I care but not like I used to. Unless Im going to have a 70 inch chest, Ive probably gained the bulk of my mass at this stage. I dont limit myself but Ive been balancing shit more now. Ive been making steady gains each year, except for arms. Legs maybe too. I havent really pushed leg size in a while. Back/chest measurement has grown yearly since ive been back in 2007 or so. A few years of muscle memory gains and then new muscle.

So I will take my time leaning out for now. I will try to actually gain muscle slowly as I lean, but the growth may stop once I get back to my peak size again. Im still in the process of regaining from the break. So I cant say yet if I can keep it going with the low calories.

Ive been using diet soda to wash down meals and now skim milk for a constant protein source. I was using chocolate milk but it was 2% fat and 50 percent less surgar. Fairlife brand. The skim has half the sugar and less fat too I think.

Still I find it hard sometimes to stay under 3000 calories even though my diet is mostly protein and no starchy carbs. So Ill have to keep an eye on that and try not to let it get to high. Visually I feel like Im getting leaner but not much measurement changes yet in gut. Less bloated though for sure. Especially since Im not force feeding.

I have no idea of how many calories I burn daily, because I always just kept eating and didnt worry about that shit. With leaning its more useful it seems.It will be alot of experimentation but things should continue to progress slowly.

Im mostly looking to get leaner through modding my diet. Cardio may be down until I start back on caffiene again. Ill see what I feel like doing. Its only a short period that Im not taking stims, so Im not concerned. This is a long term endeavor.


227 lbs , estimate, after 54 oz milk earlier and a protein bar. (this scale has me 3 lbs lighter usually)


Strict Curved Bar Pressdowns

KILOGRAMS unless noted

no rest til line

35x100
65x50
95x10 (210 lb stack)
30x30 Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls (no twisting)
------------

No rest til line

255 lbs x 20 (pinned 45 lb plate to stack, tried 300 but too much friction on cable today. the 255 also had friction but banged it out)

95 kilos again x20
72x10-20
65x10-20
57x20
30x30 Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls again
------------

No rest til line

95x30
80x20
72x10-20
65x20
57x10
50x15
30x20 Strict Alt DB Curls
---------------

V Bar Pressdowns

KILOGRAMS still for pressdowns

no rest til line

65x30
80x10
95x5
30x30 Strict AlT DB CURL
-------------------

No rest til line

95x15
80x15
65x15
50x15
30x20 Strict alt db curl
------------------

Incline Dumbbell Curl

45x10 (mixed one arm at a time and both simultaneously)

Strict Alt DB CURLS

no rest til line

45x8
35x5
--------

Alot of slow reps with the curling and holds mixed in as well

ALternating Dumbbell Curls with reverse curl negative

no rest til line

50x6
45x4
35x10
------------

45x8
30x15

Extreme acid rising up in throat by this stage.

CABLE CURLS

I JUST ALTERNATED ARMS AND DID BOTH ARMS AT SAME TIME FOR MANY SETS WITH LITTLE TO NO REST. I DIDNT COUNT REPS OR SETS. OVERALL VERY LIGHT. JUST GETTING A GOOD FINISHING CONTRACTION AND PUMP.

PREACHER MACHINE CURLS (PIN LOADED)

ONE ARM AT A TIME ON THESE. ALTERNATING ARMS AS EACH ARM FAILS. ONLY REST BEING WHEN AN ARM IS CURLING. VERY LITTLE REST BETWEEN COMPLETED SUPER SETS. THIS ALSO WENT ON FOR A LITTLE WHILE. DIDNT COUNT


Dumbbell Hammer Curls

no rest til line

55x8
45x5
-----------
45x15

These were also mixed , one arm at a time and both at same time


Triceps were less crampy today. They start to adapt after a few weeks. Hopefully my chest will get rehabbed with the light work for a while, as well

KILL THAT SHIT

 

[WalkingBeast]

Chest rehab, Delts (presses and trap focused laterals), Rear Delts, 20 minutes cardio


Very light , low volume. Leaning phase. Break return.

Still NO stimulants. Testing acid issues.

Chest felt much better today. It seems that the area is re inforcing and strengthening with the light rehab. I will try to gradually and slowly add more reps, weight, intensity and volume over the course of many weeks for chest.

That way I should be able to build it back up and beyond without tearing it or popping it again. Ive done that with other areas like triceps. Triceps gave out on me several times as well. Ive also built my chest strength back up after the first 2 pops I had in the area. The third one seemed less severe , so I should be able to get the area back.

I will likely avoid 580 lb machine presses or even 450 lbs. I want to focus on reps and pump for a while with chest. It also fits into this leaning phase now where burning more calories is beneficial.

My chest is still way under strength and in the early rehab phase but I had much less pain this week and the area was a little stronger.

The nautilus overhead press involves chest more than the hammer strength shoulder press, however I still did it today, but EXTREMELY light. I was also very warmed up by that point. So I did not feel the twitching in the chest today during that movement. The chest involvement is very minor but with 630 lbs of machine weight it can fuck up a compromised chest muscle. Ill probably save heavy shoulder pressing for the iso lateral hammer strength press for now.

I was basically doing no starchy carbs for the last 2 weeks. Just some sugar carbs from milk. However the last two days I had a calzone for one of my meals. Microwave version. About 700 calories. Im just experimenting now. The idea was that if my calories are still low for the day it shouldnt be a problem. My session today was fast paced, so Im sure I burned alot of calories as well.

My acid was way better today during training. It may be a fluke or it could be because Ive been off caffiene. I usually cannot get my amino acid drink finished during training lately. Way too much acid. I had no problems with that today. Acid was really not an issue today during training.

As mentioned, I still have 3 more things I can try cutting out of my diet. Carbonated diet soda used to wash down my meals, gatorade and milk. Carbonated soda definately causes more pressure and bloat in the gut, which is already big and probably pushes up more acid. Gatorade seems highly acidic. And milk I read also is considered a problem for GERD. So I will try narrowing down everything little by little. I will also lose this gut which should take off pressure. Especially if I lose 8 inches and get my gut down to 34 or 33. Not sure how far im going to take it yet. I will stay with it until it gets done this time though. Not only for health but to give me a clean slate to build new muscle on. I also like to see the muscle I build.

I kept the shoulder portion light today too just to give the chest a further break and move at a faster pace today. I also have some weeks before I will regain all of my previous strength from the 5 1/2 break, as well as size.


225 lbs after meal and milk

Chest Rehab

Nautilus Horizontal Chest Press (plate loaded) (Barbell style grip unless noted otherwise)

No rest til line

90x100
180x20
180x10 inside grip
180x5-10
------

no rest til line

230x25
230x5 inside grip, palms facing
-------------

No rest til line

230x25
230x5 inside grip
180x20
180x5-10 inside grip
140x20
140x5-10 inside grip
90x??
90x?? inside grip
---------


Dumbbell Flat Bench Press

No rest til line

50x50
65x15
--------

No rest til line

65x35
50x15
40x15
---------------

No rest til line

65x35
50x15
40x15
--------------

no rest again

65x30
50x15
40x15
--------------

All flat bench type movements for chest for now. I fucked up my chest with almost purely incline work for a long time. So Im rehabbing with flat to give it a break and rebuild that area.

Iso Lateral Shoulder Press Hammer Strength (plate loaded)

No rest til line

90x25
180x15
270x5
---------

No rest til line

270x13
180x20
--------

Nautilus Overhead Press (plate loaded)

270x30 (some rest pause used on many sets today as usual)

No rest til line

320x13
270x10
230x10
180x10
140x20
90x30
-----------------

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

45x30
60x10
---------

No rest again

55x20
50x20
-----------

again

55x25
50x10
---------------

Dumbbell Front Shoulder Raises with Long Holds unless noted

30x10 (long holds at top)
30x10 (regular holds)
30x10 (regular holds)

Fuck with left shoulder


Reverse Machine Flies

130x15 (long holds)
195x10 (long holds)
235x10 (long holds)

No rest til line

265x10 (regular reps)
190x6 (long holds)
165x8-10 (long holds)
--------------------

20 minutes cardio


Upper back extremely tight, even hours after the session.

KILL THAT SHIT

 

[WalkingBeast]

Waist is definately coming down


upon waking

41 inches around navel

38 1/4 around waistline


i was getting up to 43 inches recently , fully fed. Though was waking at atleast 42 around navel.

And usually 39 around waistline. Probably 40 after meals. To keep it simple ill measure upon waking.

So id say about an inch lost on waistline and about an inch on navel. Mid way through my third week i believe.

Could also be because im less distended and bloated from all the force feeding. I have been looking visually a little leaner though, i think.

Muscular measurements are still back on the rise. Since i took that 5 1/2 week break im still regaining my muscle memory.

Legs at 27 1/2 with no leg training (probably water weight, unless the cardio stimulated something) 29 is peak

largest arm 19 inches. 19 1/2 was peak

chest/back 55 inches. 56 is peak.

So the muscle is coming back as i lean slowly. I will continue to tweak everything to get this acid under control if possible and also get lean for now.

Kill that shit

 

[WalkingBeast]

Waist and navel measurements are still on the decline. Muscle mass will probably increase a little, due to not being back to full size yet, from the break.

I wont post every 1/4 inch of progress with the fat loss but I post this to note that I havent been keeping up with the cardio. Since Im off the stims I have been much less driven to go to the gym JUST for cardio. Though when I train, even when its lighter, I fucking train. Its only 3 times a week weight training right now but its a large workload. Even when Im holding back like now.

With things like arm growth Ill post a 1/4 or sometimes a 1/8 increase if its in the higher range. Its more significant there. Chest/back is an easy one to get different measurements on each time. Slightly different. Because its alot of mass to measure. So 1/4 inch is not significant enough to post here.

As expected keeping calories lower, drinking mostly milk at times, is working without cardio. Doesnt mean I wont do cardio but Ill be doing what works ultimately. I have no deadlines with any of my training. If it takes a year or longer thats fine. I should even be able to build some new muscle while leaning.


Here is a sample of my diet from yesterday



2 whole wheat buns with 4 sausages and veggies for first meal, (50)(trail mix)(51) Big100

metrx protein for second meal,(82)(18 oz milk)(109) Big 100 met rx protein bar for third
meal, (140)(18 oz whole milk)(167)(4 string cheese)(195)(18 oz skim milk)

(222 protein)


I dont do the same shit everyday with diet but thats a pretty typical day, except that most days dont really have starchy carbs. Instead of the sausages there might be 12 oz of shrimp or 14 oz tilapia. I only had one real meal and I had a little starchy carbs from two whole wheat buns. Most days I do not even eat those carbs. I coasted on protein bars and milk which provides slow drip nutrition throughout the entire day.

I wont be busting my ass as Im looking to balance any pursuit I take on with training from now on. My goal is to develop a mastery of the process so that it doesnt consume my life. To me that means being able to instinctually feel when and what to eat and what my body is doing at each moment.

It seems with cardio it only burns a few hundred calories, maybe slightly speeds metabolism throughout the day, but I could just not eat the shit to begin with. So I am not sold on it, but I will probably get it in atleast a few times a week. If I feel that getting agressive will help again, Ill do it 7 days a week again.

All trial and error right now


KILL THAT SHIT

 

[WalkingBeast]

I should add, this routine is alot easier in many ways then my normal force feeding routines. I found that I will easily exceed 3000 calories if I feed my hunger, even on milk and low calorie protein sources. I hate to eat overall however. So now I get to skip meals. I just aim for a minimum protein of 200 grams and some days will be mid 200s or upper 200s. Right now thats working for me to regain my previous muscle and slowly get leaner. Once I embraced the process it became easy for me to move in that direction. I really need strong reasons to move in a direction. I had several this time around. The acid issue being the main and I would also like to see detail again and see what Im building.

I have been noticing now my arms looks denser and I can see the detail and shape again better. As far as the jagged edges in the bicep. Though become more obscured with a thin layer of fat. I am still very early in but I should start to appear larger as I get rid of the fat.

KILL THAT SHIT

 

[WalkingBeast]

Back and delts (trap focused laterals)


Break return. Leaning phase. Extremely light, low volume


No stimulants still. Had some carbs prior to the training but overall have not been eating any starchy carbs the last few weeks. Strength seems to be way down, which is probably a combo of no stims and no carbs most of the time.

No drive today, just wanted to get in and get the fuck out.


225 lbs estimate after meal, (3 lb difference on this scale)


Angled Low Cable Row Narrow grip palms facing

no rest til line

130x20 long holds
190x5 same
------
again

190x15 long holds
150x10 same
------------

again

190x10 long holds
150x5 same
--------

Lat pulldowns with narrow grip, palms facing


150x13 long holds

No rest til line

205x7 long holds for both sets
175x5
-------------

again


205x5 long holds
175x5 same
145x10 same
--------------

Iso Low Row Hammer Strength plate loaded

no rest til line

180x25
270x6 Mix of holds and regular reps on these sets
-----

no rest again

270x15 (holds)
180x15 (holds)
--------------


Dumbbell Lateals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

50x30
40x15
-----------

again

70x20
50x10

---

kill that shit

 

[WalkingBeast]

Ive been off the stims now for about 7 days. This was to try and reduce my acid issues which have gotten severe, from my perspective. Im sure docs will do the endoscopy and say there is no real problem again. I will continue to do what i can and eliminate various things until i figure this shit out, as well as leaning out.

When i have no drive to train i am just weak. That is just due to having no desire. Generally i train with a kill that shit mentality, even when im worn out. Its mostly mental for me though, and if i dont give a fuck and im in a bad fucking mood each rep is very difficult. I was mentally worn down and the no stims and low to no carbs didnt help today.

My drive right now is not really there, because i am not into this leaning out shit. So i will be grinding and forcing my way through to get results. I can only get into the shit when im growing and getting stronger. Thats why there is only so much time for me to do this shit the way i train. Im fortunate that my body survived the 21 years of abuse so far. Its borrowed time however.

Mentally id be good with taking a year off now, i am sure. Though i get anxious after a few months off, its easily doable if i decide to do it again.

The compromise for me now is that ill just train maybe 3 days a week of weight lifting, upper body only. Thats all i really need to get bigger or to even lean out it should be fine. Cardio i may do more often again when i get back on the stims. It seems its very optional as im getting leaner by just cutting back calories and aiming for 200 protein. Sometimes i get more , sometimes less. Im not being real rigid like i said.

If cutting calories doesnt work i can always add it back in. Ill see what i feel like doing. The days are over for me with being a slave to this shit.

As i was saying in the beginning, ive been off caffiene for about 7 days. Its about as i expected it to be. Some acid reduction during training for sure, but having no energy isnt worth the trade off. Unless of course im choking on acid the whole time and cant breathe or complete the session. Aslong as that occurs when im nearly done i just deal with it and end it shortly after it occurs.

Ive been off caffiene on some days in the past, and this was the same result. So i dont really see how being off 2 weeks is gonna do fucking shit, like the doc reccomended, but im just trying shit for now. When i take the caffiene i know its gonna make my acid worse always, but it came down to managing how extreme it was gonna be. Its always there anyway. Its just gotten way worse.

Measured my waist in the 40 inch range, around navel, yesterday or today. Had some food poisoning so that was helpful. Muscular measurements have not started going down yet and should still grow until they get back to where they were, before the break

kill that shit