Lean Bodies Consulting

Today I’ve got a very insightful and thoughtful guest blog from National NPC figure competitor, Jennie Hamilton (who’s own personal blog you can find here - Eternal Health Naturally)

Diet-for-Thought

Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.

It’s quite obvious to me that our culture remains obsessed with dieting. I’m not talking balanced, long- term minded dieting but rather dieting beyond reason, becoming slaves to restriction, false control and the gratification seeing the scale move in a downward spiral brings. Along with this comes a whirlwind of hormonal fluctuations, starvation, and deprivation not just from food but from family and friends and let’s not forget the ridiculous amounts of exercise. Why do people do this? Are they gluttons for self punishment? Is this truly the only way? Perhaps it’s the only way they know how.

There is a false sense of control that comes with severe dieting. I think that’s what appeals, at least temporarily, to the vast majority of extreme dieters -the feeling of conquering the painful hunger, being able to say no to temptation and running on such low energy. It makes one feel powerful, like a false strong will. But where do these people end up once the scale stops dropping or they have reached their short-term diet goal? Short-term goals in essence are great but what matters most is how one reaches the goal and then the steps they embark on after the goal is met. Time after time the dieter finds themselves back where they began. Yet another short term goal upon them that they once fulfilled. It worked once, they do it again. The ever popular yo-yo diet enslavement continues because they know no other way.

Is there another way? Are people afraid of long-term maintainable goals? Where does this fear of being incapable of embarking on a lifelong change come from? Change, that’s what is needed. Change. Not small short-term change but rather a change of heart and purpose. It seems today there is an epidemic not only of obesity but commitment-phobia. People fall to the seduction of quick-fix, now now now, dieting propaganda that the media tries to lure us with.

I have watched endless times people “live it up” after the diet is over. After that short term goal is reached. They are not only of the physical and mental deprivation but the deep dark knowing that again they will face the same grueling challenge in the future again. The evil neurotic diet will return. They swing the pendulum from one extreme to the other. Where has the balance gone? What about the negative effects this has on our bodies and overall health? At what expense?

How does all this nonsense stop? Well as it’s said “a little common sense goes a long way”. Obviously extreme doesn’t work. Committing to a more practical long-term way of sensible, healthy eating and exercise does. Do you really want to change? Commitment is a scary thing - it’s as though people fear they’ll lose the control they once had. Remember, it’s false control. The reverse is true; you gain control of your health. Go ahead, dig your feet in and give yourself a break from this destructive bondage. Embrace the fact that it won’t always be easy but was the previous diet easy? The reward of a long-term goal is incomparable to that of the endless rollercoasters of dieting. You sprinted. Now it is time to face a marathon. It’s going to take some time but once you sign up, make the commitment and begin - there is no turning back.

You can make it happen. You have to let go of past dieting failures, and concentrate on the better way, the healthy way. The change of mind, body and attitude will evolve. You will be set free. My greatest advice is to seek help. When we have support and knowledgeable guidance, the journey somehow becomes enjoyable, doable and lifelong. Having a diet coach changes everything. A great coach goes beyond just basic knowledge and program design. A great coach is a positive mentor and leader who has a great passion for helping others. They never stop learning and evolving as a professional. They serve as a role model in mind, body and action. Erik Ledin is all of that and above. As not only my coach but a great friend, I fully put my trust in him. If you are ready to be set free from the dieting pit you’ve dug yourself in and are eager to know what it is really like to travel the road of lifelong change, then don’t hold yourself back. Come into the light.

- Jennifer Hamilton

Well, two weeks down.

As you might recall I decided to start my diet early and got underway the day after Christmas. Today marks two weeks down. I started off very aggressively to get a kick start with my fat loss. While I didn’t do any cardio, outside of the occasional leisurely dog walk, I did set my calories very low.

Day 1 - 235lbs
Day 14 - 225.8lbs

So a loss of 9.2lbs of weight (of course, not all fat with the water losses). Not bad at all. I also dropped 1.5 inches off my waist in that time span. That also included two fairly good sized cheats - one New Year’s Eve and then one four days after that (traditional Friday night pizza in my house).

Now admittedly, given my carbs have been very low (only carbs have been indirect carbs and fruit), this represents a very depleted bodyweight (so it’s not accurate). Today starts a two-day refeed and then I’ll resume dieting, but with a more sane caloric intake.

Refeed plans today are 800g of carbs and then tomorrow around 400g of carbs. I expect to be around 230 when it’s all said and done, which means probably a good 5lbs of fat loss so far.

My struggle with low-carb eating is that I hate feeling flat. But after two days of big carb eating, I should be nice, full and vascular come Friday. At least temporarily. LOL

Just catching up on a couple workouts today.

THURSDAY

Wide-grip Cable Curls
Worked up to 57.5 x 8 + 4 + 4

Alternating Hammer Curls
Worked up to 40s x 10

Seated Calf Raise
Worked up to 2 sets of 8 w/ 75lbs (15s pause in the stretch)

Natural GHRs
Worked up to 3 sets of max negative reps

Cable Pull Throughs
Worked up to 2 sets of 10 w/ 80lbs

Leg Press
Worked up to 8 plates per side x 8 reps and then,
5 plates per side x 20 reps

Took a week off in between workouts.

WEDNESDAY

Flat Hammer Strength Bench
Worked up to 300lbs x 8 + 3 + 1

Hammer Shoulder Press
Worked up to 225lbs x 7 + 3 + 2

Dumbbell Laterals
1 set of 10 reps w/ 25lbs

Close-grip Bench Press
Worked up to 205lbs x 8 + 4 + 3

Lat Pulldowns (overhand)
Worked up to 180lbs x 8 + 4 + 3

Corner Rows
Worked up to 2 sets of 10 w/ 145lbs

Sitting at 236. Trying to decide if I’m going to shift gears and start dieting at the beginning of January or if I’ll try to squeak out a few more pounds before the diet.

Just a couple workouts to update today

THURSDAY

Incline Bench Press
Worked up to 255 x 6 + 3 + 2

Behind-the-Neck Press
Worked up to 135 x 7 + 4 + 3

Dumbbell Laterals
1 set of 10 reps w/ 20lbs

Dips
BW x 8 + 5 + 3

Behind-the-Neck Rack Pull Ups
BW x 7 + 3 + 2

Those were really hard.

Hammer Strength 1-arm Row
Worked up to 225 x 9 + 5 + 5

MONDAY

Flat Bench Press
Worked up to 255 x 8 + 3 + 2

Still not back in my groove here.

Military Press
Worked up to 135 x 9 + 3 + 2

Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions
Worked up to 60 x 9 + 5 + 3

Assisted Pull Ups (neutral grip)
Worked up to 80 x 9 + 3 + 3

Paused Deadlifts
Worked up to 485×5 and then,
415×11

Good day.

Just a couple workout updates today …

SATURDAY’S WORKOUT

Flat Hammer Bench Press
Worked up to 295 x 7 + 3 + 2

Hammer Shoulder Press
Worked up to 225 x 6 + 3 + 1 (that was a bit too heavy)

Close-grip Bench Press
Worked up to 205 x 8 + 4 + 3

Lat Pulldowns (overhand)
Worked up to 170 x 8 + 4 + 3

Corner Rows
Worked up to 135 x 12 and 135 x 9

MONDAY’S WORKOUT

Incline Dumbbell Curls
Worked up to 45s x 8 + 3 + 2

Alternating Hammer Curls
Worked up to 45s x 14

Standing Calf Raise
Worked up to 75 x 8 + 4 + 3

Lying Leg Curls
Worked up to 110 x 7 + 4 + 3

Leg Press
Worked up to 675 x 8 and then,
495×20

It seems those 20-reppers are getting harder, not easier. LOL

Weight -236lbs.
That’s it for today.

Just under a month until I start dieting.

Another day, another workout …

I had planned on pushing it today, but given that this was my second workout after a near two-week break, I backed off a little (at least on the squatting).

Barbell Curls
Worked up to 110 x 7 + 3 + 2

Reverse Curls
Worked up to 70 x 12

Calf Press in Leg Press (5/15/1 tempo)
Worked up to 295 x 11

Single-Leg Leg Curls
Worked up to 70 x 8 + 4 + 3

Front Squats
Warmed up to 275

Full Squats
Worked up to 305×5

At this point, I was to do 190×20, but I was running out of gas, so instead I did 3 mini sets with short rest intervals
190×10 + 190×5 + 190×5

Same thing right? LOL

As some of you know, I detest training arms. That probably stems from the fact that even at my strongest my arms have never been very strong. So, I might have a little bias against arms, since mine don’t seem to cooperate with my plans. However, I’ve been training them regularly for the last few months as you might have noticed. I do some kind of direct arm work, whether for biceps or triceps, every workout.

I used to be in the camp that said that direct arm training is pointless, due to the bombing they receive from all the heavy pushing and pulling work that gets done - assuming you’re doing heavy pushing and pulling work that is. Now while I am not as black and white as I once was, I still think it is somewhat overrated, at least in the context of how most people traditionally train arms - with just as much volume as they give their back or legs.

To summarize my thoughts on direct arm training at this point, I would say that if you’re eating in a caloric surplus (NOT dieting) and your goals are dedicated to musclebuilding, then direct arm training has merits, and you should probably be doing at least some. Note that some, does not mean a lot. A couple sets here and there will supplement the indirect work they’re already receiving very nicely. The exception to this would be if you’re relatively advanced and you’re trying to specialize on your arms. In such a case, you can and should hit them with greater volume (more sets x reps ) and more frequency (more sessions/week). However, remember you’ll have to reduce the other work your arms get when specializing, which means you’ll reduce the volume on your pushing and pulling (ie. chest, shoulders and back work).

Now that said, I still believe that when you’re dieting and training for fat loss, that direct arm training is overrated and arguably counterproductive, if not at the very least a waste of time. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to improve a bodypart while eating at a deficit and trying to lose fat. 9 times out of 10 it’s simply not going to happen.

Training for fat loss is all about maintaining and protecting your current muscle mass. It’s not a time to be trying to bring something up. What you have going into your diet is generally what you want to hold onto when you come out of your diet. If you’re able to do that, you’ve done a good job. Given the goals of training during a diet, biceps and triceps get more than enough stimulation to ’stay there’ if your program has you doing some heavy benching, overhead pressing, chin ups, rowing, etc. Also keep in mind that our ability to recover from training is reduced on lowered calories; we have less resources dedicated to recovery. We simply can’t handle the same kind of training volume when we’re dieting.

What do you think doing a bunch of extra arm work is going to do for you? What benefit will it have? We already know that you’re not going to be able to make dramatic improvements to the size of your arms while dieting and the compound work serves as enough of a stimulus to maintain current arm size. So what’s the benefit? I can’t think of any really. But what might the cost be? Extra volume, albeit far from CNS-intensive volume, but extra volume nonetheless. And we already know that recovery is at a rising premium the leaner and leaner you get. Perhaps a lot of direct arm training will impair your performance on your bigger, compound exercises? You never know.

Psychology! That’s the benefit to direct arm training while dieting. People love training arms, getting a pump, seeing the vascularity, etc. I’ll buy that. If that’s you, and you must do some direct arm training, keep it to a minimum. I’ll meet you half way. You want to do a lot, I want you to do none, so we’ll compromise and say 1-2 direct sets.

Yesterday was back to the gym after what was basically a two-week break.

Flat Bench Press
I’m reintroducing this to my regular training as I’ve found myself frustrated with the strength drop after not having benched for about three months.

Worked up to 305 for my last warm up single and then did 255 x 6 + 3 + 2

Seated Military Press
Worked up to 155 x 7 + 3 + 2

Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions
Worked up to 50 x 10 + 5 + 4

Assisted (Neutral) Pull Ups
Worked up to 80 X 7 + 4 + 3

Paused Deads
Worked up to 475×5, 495×1, and 415×8

It’s good to be back. I’m going to finish out the year trying to eat big and put on a few more pounds of muscle, before I start to diet back down. Currently sitting at 235lbs which I guess isn’t too bad considering I started my bulk at around 222lbs (but was as low as 218lbs).

240 is the pre-diet goal.

Hey, two PRs in one week. Been a long time since I could say that.

Hit a gym here in Alabama yesterday. It was a little hardcore gym called Kramers. I’ve got no training plan this week so I just went in and worked on my front squats and then fooled around with some other exercises.

I’ll tell you one thing; I hate going to the gym without a plan. Far too random for me.

Worked up to a smooth 295 with a little left in the tank. So my 315 front squat goal is right around the corner. Pretty happy about that.

Happy Thanksgiving. I’m about to go play Connect 4. LOL

Yesterday I had my first workout in 5 days (after 4 days of undereating). We planned to just go in and train ‘instinctively’ - basically do whatever we felt like doing.

First off this gym was like an absolute sauna. Brutal.

Anyway, after a few sets of bench and hammer pulldowns, we did some push presses. I haven’t done this movement in about three months, so I thought I’d just try to work up to a single.

Much to my surprise, I hit a 20-lb PR with a 225-lb push press. That felt pretty good.

Training this week will continue along the same lines - I plan on just doing whatever I feel like.

WEDNESDAY’S WORKOUT

There once was a time way back in the day when I hated benching. Why? Because quite simply I sucked at it. Who likes to do things they suck at? I used to be that way with squatting too. Fast forward a few years and benching and squatting are two of my favourite exercises. I’m not great at either mind you, but I’m decent. Or was, as is the case with the bench.

I haven’t benched in oh, probably three months now. I’ve been doing some incline work, some Hammer Strength stuff, etc. Tonight, I thought, ‘hey, I think I’m going to reintroduce bench pressing’. I figured, I’m about 10 or so pounds heavier, stronger on all the movements I’m currently doing, so I should be good to go.

Boy, was I ever wrong.

Lied down to warm up with 135 and I had no groove at all. Anyway to make a long story short, I worked up to a sad 245×10. That put me in a bad mood for the rest of my workout. LOL

So one of two things has happened:

1. I suck at benching again and I have lost strength.
2. I simply am out of the groove and have to get used to the exercise again (if so, I should still be able to lift some good weight after a few workouts)

It’s #2. Remind me to not cut it out for three months again.

On the plus, I got killer a pump from benching.

Anyway …

Flat Bench Press
Worked up to 245×10

Machine Shoulder Press
Worked up to 140 x 9 + 4 + 3

Close-grip Bench Press (on a heavy smith)
Worked up to 175 x 8 + 4 + 3

Hammer Pulldowns
Worked up to 235 x 11 + 5 + 3

(I improve on this every time - started out at 195 on this).

Barbell Rows from the floor
Worked up to 205×8