Monte's Log, Featuring a Debate About Dotard Genetic Potential with an Ant
Brief Background
Long time lurker who recently registered. I'm 31 years old, 6'4", and 220 pounds. When I graduated college 10 years ago, I was the same height, but weighed 165 pounds. After college, I found the gym and packed on a lot of muscle over the subsequent 2 year period of working out, but did the typical broish bench/curl-centric exercise routine while rarely squatting or deadlifting (i.e. I maxed out at 330 benching and 235 squatting). Since then, I've periodically gotten back in the gym for six months or a year at a time, but never consistently.
Recent Workouts
Recently I've been doing 3 sets of 40 pushups and a total of ~25 pullups 4-5 times a week, and also playing squash a few times a week. Since beginning squash (which is very high impact), I've been having periodic weakness/pain in my right knee, but other than that no issues except chronically tight hamstrings.
My Plan
This is yet another starting SS log; I'll be doing the version with pullups/chinups and without PCs (at least to start), but I will be deadlifting for the first two weeks or so until my gains start to level off. I've read the book and the wiki, and I'll be starting on Monday. I've purchased the appropriate lifting shoes and chalk, and I'll be doing foam rolling on my problem areas post-workout. I also plan to purchase Assess and Correct or something similar shortly in order to work on my flexibility issues.
My diet is pretty decent, with a lot of skim milk/oatmeal/protein bars/lean meats/veggies on my good days (at work), with the occasional pizza and beer meal thrown in (usually weekend). I haven't been doing daily tracking, but I plugged in an average day and I'm around 2800-3000 calories with around 150 grams of protein a day.
My Goals
This log is mostly for motivation. I'm not entirely sure but I would guess my body fat percentage is somewhere between 20 and 25%, so I guess I'm shooting for recomposition. I don't have many specific goals in mind. My main goal is to get stronger, especially in my lower body (maybe get my combined deadlift+squat+bench to 1000 lbs). I'd also like to tighten up my midsection and lose the 15 or so pounds of extra weight I'd guess I'm carrying around my gut.
Questions
-I'm assuming I should up my protein intake? I'm not really sure what my LBM is exactly, but if I use the 1.5 g/lb LBM I should up the protein to between 225 and 250 g/day, correct? I can throw a scoop or two of protein powder into my morning and evening skim milk if necessary.
-I'll be lifting at lunch with a coworker; this is the first time I haven't worked out in late afternoon. I am used to having a post workout recovery shake (e.g. Endurox) and then eating my largest meal of the day 1-1.5 hours post-workout. Should that still be the case if I'm working out at lunch -- that is, should my lunch be dinner sized, and should my dinner portion be smaller?
-Any tips or suggestions from other tall guys, or people who've trained with tall guys, about pitfalls or things to avoid involving squatting would be welcome. I suspect the answer is "shut up and lift weight" but just thought I'd ask.
Thanks in advance!
I wish this was whatsapp and I can just edit the photo and circle stuff.
00:00 Too fast, that's a hill bro and you revving into the high 150s during the easy part.
My heart rate generally spikes up in the first mile and then settles back down after that; I guess that means I'm starting too fast? I need to stop caring about my warmup paces I suppose.
39:00 - 50:00 Too slow. You probably averaging exactly 7:59, but this mostly downhill. Should have seen some 7:4x here.
58:00-1:05 same thing too slow.
I averaged 7:52 for that block of 12 miles, but message received that I should be moving a little faster going downhill.
Obviously this is all fine for a training run. But for a marathon we want see a nice sloping line going from the 150s and slowly creeping to the high 160s at the very end. The hills should have no impact on this sloping line.
But at the end of the day, if you decide to average 7:59 for every single mile it won't cost you that much. Maybe a minute or two, it's a roller but I didn't see any monster hill like new york or Boston.
The important part being, avoid creeping up to the high 160s
Re: cardiac drift, I generally bring water and gels with me on a long run, but I have a few ounces of water at most; not that I have a ton of experience racing, but I was planning to alternate water and Gatorade every aid station and take a salt pill every hour or so, so hopefully that helps with keeping my heartrate slope a bit less steep in the first half of the race. Gels I've been doing every 35-40 minutes while training anything longer than 90 minutes and I figured I'd stick with that plan for the race.
If you don't run in supershoes, I would get some vaporfly2s online, half a size bigger than your normal walking shoe. But you have to run a few runs with them before the marathon.
You should pick up 2+%. Which is facking over 4 minutes!!! And I would target feelwraths weak 3:26.
I only say VF2s because online you can get them for 150 bucks. But you one of the great rich whites around here, so can't fault you for balling with VF3s. AF3s would be the ultimate baller since you probably ha
No supershoes; I run in Asics Superblasts for everything and have never run in a supershoe before. No risk of injury if I get a pair and trial them for a few miles before the race? Feels like it may be risking injury to run a whole race in them with little to no experience with how (I'd assume) it modifies your stride and gait, but you'd know better than I would.
I think supershoes are protective. Better recovery.
Superblasts are stiff so you can't go with alpha Flys. I would order the VF2s asap. Run 6 miles easy. 8 miles easy. Then some scheduled MP work.
If they feel good, let it RIP. If they don't, then just use them for intervals in the future.
If the drop is the same, its no big deal. Both those shoes probably drop 8mm. Obviously I wouldn't switch from 8mm drop to 0mm drop, calf tear alert.
Alright, you convinced me, I ordered a pair of Vaporfly 2s off of eBay. We'll see how it goes.
Melk,
If only I had the huevos.
2/12: Marathon W22D3
Easy Run
8.0 mi - 1:10:37/8:49 pace/146 HR
Probably went slightly too fast on this given the average HR but was running with a buddy. Last hard workout is Wednesday, then a track session Saturday, and then the taper starts.
The three great rich whites around here are montecore, downtown, and kidcolin. Good lives man, do want.
Melk,
If only I had the huevos.
2/12: Marathon W22D3
Easy Run
8.0 mi - 1:10:37/8:49 pace/146 HR
Probably went slightly too fast on this given the average HR but was running with a buddy. Last hard workout is Wednesday, then a track session Saturday, and then the taper starts.
83k posts is an absolute shitton. I've wasted thousands of hours on here and am at less than 40% of that. Outside of H&F where have you posted over the years?
83k posts is an absolute shitton. I've wasted thousands of hours on here and am at less than 40% of that. Outside of H&F where have you posted over the years?
It's even worse than you think - POG: the product of a lot of time in airports and on planes. Also a bit of SE, but that all moved to Slack in 2016.
2/13: Marathon W22D4
A
NG Pullups: x10 x8, x6
Walking DB Lunges: 25s x10x3
B
OHP: wu, 85x8x2, x6
Facepulls: 4x15
Pallofs: 3x8
C
Leg Extension: x18, x13
Leg Curl: x20, x13
D
Low Incline DB Bench: wu, 60s x8x3
HLRs: 3x8
Seated Calf: 3x15
E
Adductor Machine: 2x15
Abductor Machine: 2x15
F
DB LTEs: 25s x15, x11, x8
DB Seated Incline Curl: 17.5s x12, x11, x10
Kept this light and quick; had a bit of DOMS after my last session on Friday, but hopefully this won't be as bad as that.
2/14: Marathon W22D4
60'E+3T+2'r+2T+2E
60:00 - 8.79 mi/8:50 pace/142 HR
3.0 mi - 22:19.9/7:27 pace/163* HR
2.0 mi - 14:50.8/7:25 pace/169* HR
2.01 mi - 17:43.7/8:50 pace/159 HR
Pretty happy to have gotten through this; I don't think my heart rates for the threshold are correct because the strap is dropping down what I'm guessing is 25 bpm in the middle of threshold work and then reconnecting a few minutes later, and I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe I should just get a new one.
Based on the slope of the drift, I'd guess my true average HR was around 167-169 for the first three miles (from high 150s at the start to 175 at the end) and around 172-173 for the second one.
Battery is probably about to go. I don't think they work as well after a few years. Had some issues with mine too. Obviously rpe and pace can be pretty good if conditions are good.
That's a good point, I should just change the battery on this one I suppose.
2/16: Marathon W22D6
A
Single Leg Press: +90 x10x3
Seated Calf: 3x15
B
Incline Bench: wu, 125 x8x3
Facepulls: 4x15
Back Extensions: 3x8
C
Leg Extensions: x20, x15
Seated Leg Curl: x20, x13
D
Seated DB OHP : 40s x8x3
DB Incline Row: 55s x10x3
E
Abductor Machine: 2x15
Adductor Machine: 2x15
F
Supinated Single Arm Cable Tri: x15x3
Bayesian Curl: x15x3
Lateral Cable Raise: x10x3
Super easy weight on everything, but actually going is the victory. My last hard run is (hopefully) tomorrow on the track, if the snow cooperates, then two weeks to the race.
Battery is probably about to go. I don't think they work as well after a few years. Had some issues with mine too. Obviously rpe and pace can be pretty good if conditions are good.
Hopefully it's just that; I ordered a new battery but it arrived after I'd already left for this one; HR data was pretty garbage for the faster work as a result.
2/18: Marathon W23D1
Track Threshold + Intervals
Warmup: 2.0 mi @8:40-9:44
2.0 mi - 17:32.5/8:46 pace/139 HR
Threshold: 4x (1.0 mi @7:20-7:40/1:00 rest)
1.0 mi_1 - 7:31.4
1.0 mi_2 - 7:24.7
1.0 mi_3 - 7:25.9
1.0 mi_4 - 7:28.1
Repeats: 8x (200m @6:08-6:28/200 m easy)
200m_1: 0:44.2/5:56 pace/172 HR
200m_2: 0:47.0/6:18 pace/175 HR
200m_3: 0:47.9/6:25 pace/175 HR
200m_4: 0:45.8/6:08 pace/175 HR
Cooldown: 2.0 mi @8:40-9:44
2.0 mi - 17:54.0/8:55 pace/157 HR
Pushed this to Sunday because of snow, but when we got to the track we saw the shaded half of the track was entirely covered in snow - not ideal. It was somewhat slippery and harder work going through that half, such that I was able to get through the threshold work reasonably enough but didn't think going for the last four intervals was going to be useful or productive.
I'll change the HRM battery and hopefully it smartens back up; two weeks to the marathon, so essentially all easy work the next two weeks - maybe 45-50 miles total.
Might be too late for the new shoes. I would have busted them out for that workout, would have been more fun than those clunkers you using.
Eh, I'll do 5-6 miles easy and a few miles threshold with them during the last week of the taper and see how they feel; supposedly they'll be here in a few days.
2/19: Marathon W23D2
A
NG Pullups: +15 x8, x7, x5
RFESS: +30 x10x3
B
Bench: wu, 155 x10, x9, x6
Facepulls: 4x15
Seated Calf: 3x15
C
Farmer's Carries (75 lb DBs): x~40 sec, x~35 sec, x~30 sec
D
Leg Extensions: x20, x15
Leg Curl: x20, x16
E
Incline Bench: 50s x10, x9, x7
DB Pullovers: 65 x11, x9, x7
E
Leg Adductor: 2x15
Leg Abductor: 2x15
F
Overhead Rope Tri: x20, x13, x11
DB Hammer: 25s x11, x10x2
Pretty tidy session; nothing too strenuous.
why do you do neutral grip pullups? is it a shoulder/elbow thing or have you just gravitated to them over the years?
why do you do neutral grip pullups? is it a shoulder/elbow thing or have you just gravitated to them over the years?
Can't answer for Monte, but generally the weird grip bars on any setup kinda dictate what fits best for you. I ended up with a lot of exercise positioning cause it was there and not bad rather than from real diligent thought. Other than "I will do actual bench in lieu of machine".
All,
I fully support this Great Rich White thing. It is hilarious, and also a good hat tip to everyone being well balanced and not crazy (RIP many along the way, including all of us who aren't white).
If I was rich a month ago, separating from the wife will leave me with approximately 47% of my previous riches
This is why you need Wife Changing Money, which is exactly 2x Life Changing Money.
2/20: Marathon W23D3
Easy Run
60:00 - 6.78 mi/8:51 pace/145 HR
2/20: Marathon W23D4
Recovery Run
40:00 - 4.14 mi/9:40 pace/141 HR
Had trouble controlling my HR both days; it was higher than I'd expected it to be. Hopefully it's just nerves.
2/21: Marathon W23D5
A
NG Pullups: x11 x9, x7
OHP: wu, 85x9, x8, x7
B
Facepulls: 4x15
Pallofs: 3x10
C
Low Incline DB Bench: wu, 60s x10, x9, x8
HLRs: 3x8
D
DB LTEs: 25s x16, x12, x10
DB Seated Incline Curl: 15s x15x3
Quick lunchtime upper only session; felt fine.
why do you do neutral grip pullups? is it a shoulder/elbow thing or have you just gravitated to them over the years?
Can't answer for Monte, but generally the weird grip bars on any setup kinda dictate what fits best for you. I ended up with a lot of exercise positioning cause it was there and not bad rather than from real diligent thought. Other than "I will do actual bench in lieu of machine".
Pretty much this; generally most of the racks and towers available at my gym have the choice of shoulder grip neutral or quasi-wide slightly angled, and I prefer neutral. With that said, back when I did assloads of chin-ups and pullups, neutral did feel better, so it's a bit of both.
All,
I fully support this Great Rich White thing. It is hilarious, and also a good hat tip to everyone being well balanced and not crazy (RIP many along the way, including all of us who aren't white).
I enjoy it quite a bit too, though I think it would work better on a non-public forum. With that said, there's something to be said for older and wiser.
If I was rich a month ago, separating from the wife will leave me with approximately 47% of my previous riches
Laughed and then immediately winced for feel.
2/23: Marathon W23D5
Easy Run
7.0 mi - 1:01:43/8:49 pace/143 HR
Slept the worst I have in months last night; my average HR wasn't meaningfully different than my last few sessions, but it was much more steady and controlled so who knows what's going on.
I'll probably do 8-9 miles with a few miles of marathon pace on Sunday morning and then taper in earnest for the rest of the week.
2/23: Marathon W23D5
Easy Run
7.0 mi - 1:01:43/8:49 pace/143 HR
Slept the worst I have in months last night; my average HR wasn't meaningfully different than my last few sessions, but it was much more steady and controlled so who knows what's going on.
I'll probably do 8-9 miles with a few miles of marathon pace on Sunday morning and then taper in earnest for the rest of the week.
You getting anxious about the race?
I didn't think so, but the last few days haven't been great. I woke up at 5 this morning to run with my buddy that's doing the marathon with me, so that wasn't great. Just finished a two hour nap, though, so feeling a bit better.
2/25: Marathon W24D1
Taper w/ Marathon Pace
2.0 mi - 17:46.2/8:53 pace/142 HR
1.0 mi - 8:00.2/8:00 pace/150 HR
1.0 mi - 8:45.7/8:46 pace/144 HR
1.0 mi - 7:58.8/7:59 pace/151 HR
1.0 mi - 8:44.4/8:44 pace/142 HR
1.0 mi - 7:59.6/8:00 pace/149 HR
2.0 mi - 17:48.8/8:54 pace/146 HR
I trialed the Vaporfly 2s today, and they felt really good; very light, and my HR for the marathon miles was lower than I'd have expected. Feeling reasonably confident for next week.
2/27: Marathon W24D3
1E + 3x(1T/2'r) + 1E
1.0 mi_wu - 8:41.0/142 HR
1.0 mi_T1 - 7:24.6/164 HR
1.0 mi_T2 - 7:12.7/158 HR
1.0 mi_T3 - 7:20.1/170 HR
1.0 mi_cd - 8:54.6/152 HR
Went out a little hot on the threshold work, but it felt good to get a bit of pace into my legs.
2/29: Marathon W24D5
Easy Run
45:00 - 5.08 mi/8:52 pace/143 HR
HR stayed pretty low until the last mile when it got up into the 150s, so called it then; I felt pretty good/rested. Heading down to Chattanooga tomorrow with my buddy, so I need to pack tonight.
Good Luck, Montebro
