Progress!

So, it would seem that progress is happening?

I'm eating at least 3,000 calories every day, and on days where I work out, usually more. Sometimes as much as 3,900 calories.

Although I'm still struggling to eat this much, mainly when it's in the form of largely flavourless peanuts. Yuck!

However, I have progress to report! My work-sets for deadlift was 30kg, or roughly half my body weight at that time. Not only that, I feel much better this week, I'm not nearly so stiff and sore. I'm actually thinking I might be able to hit the gym twice (!) this week.

I weighed myself this morning, and came in at 64kg. I'm cautious about it, as my other half has been getting inconsistent readings from the scales recently, so we're not sure what's going on in that region.

It's worth noting that 64kg was my original target, given that 64kg is a "healthy" weight for someone my size (judging by BMI). I'm not too fussed about how heavy I get now, I have a lot of goals that don't revolve around the scale. I know how I want my body to look, and I know how much weight I want to be able to lift.

Also, not getting entirely shattered in a V would be super.

I also got a camera:

So now you get actual progress pics, hurrah you, "lucky" reader.

My other half also thinks that my eyes are looking a lot less sullen, which is good. When I got my hair cut, I thought I looked like the walking dead due to how gaunt my face was.

On the Jitsu side of life, tonight is the pre-grading. I've missed a lot of Jitsu this term, so I wouldn't be any good in the grading. No orange belt for me. Obviously, I'm here, writing this and not bouncing off the mat. That's for next week.

AUTHOR USED SQUAT. . . IT WASN'T VERY EFFECTIVE

Well, here we are. I'm back on the "many calories" diet, and lifting weights to train. I've noticed some things.

Firstly, I am finding weights very hard. I used to log my squats minus the weight of the bar, which, judging by my fitocracy profile, means that two years ago, my squat was ~60kg.

On Monday of this week, I started back at the ol' barbells. I could barely squat the unloaded bar (20kg). I added a 10kg plate, because I knew what I used to be capable of and nearly didn't get up on the final two squats. After that, I was adding weight in 2.5kg increments.

People thought I was a complete newbie, and it felt terrible to know how far I'd slid back. Starting Strength states that novices should be able to squat on the order of 45kg.

To top it off, even though I'm guzzling calories (~3,000 cal/day as a minimum, often reaching closer to ~4,000cal), I've been hurting with DOMS for the whole working week. At one point, getting in and out of a chair was a challenge.

Looking back, I've realised that I really could not keep up with my peers in Jitsu.

For example, in a V, I'd be able to put up a fight for maybe 1 minute. I specifically tailored my grading V to make heavy use of simple, easy and low energy locks so that I could simply survive for long enough. Throws aren't all that draining. Many of them are, bio-mechanically, very similar to a body weight squat.

When training ground work, I had serious issues when paired with anyone close to my weight. I back away and, once caught, can only fight for a few tens of seconds before becoming exhausted and simply giving up.

Outside of Jitsu, I've had other issues. I can't do pull ups like I used to. I could knock out 5 sets of 5 pull ups without too much hassle. I was even doing some sets wearing a weights vest.

Doing the fitloop.co intermediate routine was difficult in places, notably tucked rows, pull ups and the handstand (which should be support work). Getting tired out from the squatting should've alerted me to my slippage, but I ignored it.

Now, I am lucky if I can do a single set of 3 pull ups, unweighted.

Even when I tried to help my other half with their weight loss goals, I couldn't. I tried to help show that skipping was easy. I couldn't skip for more than 30 seconds without needing a rest.

I even slept more, taking lengthily naps when I got home from work on an evening. Now I sleep at more reasonable times.

I chased lower body fat percentages, aiming to have a visible 6-pack, but didn't consider my weight on the scale. I didn't make the connexion between near-constant (<10%) body fat readings from my callipers, and decreasing body weight with a loss of muscle.

I'm now paying the price of not heading over a years' worth of warning signs that I was damaging my goal of being (and looking!) stronger by simply not eating enough. At my lowest, I was ~55kg. I looked at that number with pride: Look how little fat I have, and how much muscle I must have in proportion! I've seen pictures of myself. I look friggin' skeletal at ~60kg.

My most recent plateau was 61.5kg. I thought I was stable there, but recent measurements showed a back-slip to 60kg -- back to an unhealthily low BMI.

I measured myself again last night, and I was back up at 62kg -- my weightiest to date. I hope to get to a much more healthy weight, and get the "Get Low" squat achievement (barbell squat, 1.1x body weight) on Fitocracy. Hell, the "I Prefer Being Off The Ground"  (pull-ups, 1 set, 15 reps) would be pretty awesome. At my peak, I think I could do 9 in a single set?

I've yet to decide on a weight that I'd like to get to. Obviously, I'm not "unbounded". My partner has been talking a lot about ~75kg. I'm not sure being that heavy would suit me, but we'll see how I fill out. I want to be at least 65kg.

Also, I've had 4,838 cal today. Tomorrow my legs will be recovered, because I wanna go get low some mo' ;-)

Back On The Wagon

So, I've basically been off the wagon since summer.

My maximum weight was around 61.5kg (my target is in excess of 64kg). I've slipped back to 60kg.

This time, I've got a better plan that involves at least 2 pints of whole milk every day, and I will be lifting weights along with my jitsu to try to encourage my body to put on weight. I'm following Mark Ripptoe's Starting Strength program.

My calorie aim is ~3,000 calories per day.

I just checked, and I can encircle my thigh with both hands :-/