After 12 months lifting weights 5 days a week without missing a single workout this week has been deload and cheat meal week lol.  

Those were the weights I used on my working sets this week.  

...and I ate my favorite 4 pieces of brown sugar cinnamon French toast with home made icing.  I actually ate this same meal for my first two meals.  Lol




Next week back at it full bore...

Whole week???

I lift heavy on the big 3 each once per week, one arm day, and one light bench day.  Those are my 5 weight training days per week.  So yes I went light all week and those weights listed were what I used for my working sets this week.  

It’s not like it’s the first deload I did all year.  At 47 years old hitting weights 5 days a week I was deloading every 6th week.  This one was special as it was more of a celebration.  Down to 8 percent body fat and absolutely shredded.  I’ve lifted for years, but I can say from the neck down I look better than I’ve ever looked.  Unfortunately I don’t know any way to improve my looks from the neck up lol.

I am just surprised about the whole cheat-week.
I've heard of cheat meals, or a cheat day...

I still ate relatively clean just didn’t limit my calories.  If I was hungry I ate lol.  These are the type of things I ate this week.

I'm confused. Are you a woman? Those numbers are good for a 140# female.

Lol...do you understand what a deload is?

Your deload is about where I am 2 weeks in after not lifting for months.

I basically took the week off, but didn't want to actually take a week off if that makes sense.  I still was in the weight room 5 days this week, but went super light to get a good recovery.  Getting back at it hard starting Sunday.  

I'm only 5'7" 165ish pounds at a super lean 8% body fat.  I haven't went below 3 reps all year and my normal working sets are 5 reps.  I used to be into power lifting so I understand estimated max lifts based upon 5 rep sets aren't necessarily accurate...with that said my estimated max lifts based upon the weight used for my 5 rep sets the week before my deload put me around a 1200 lbs total.  I'm feeling like that is phenomenal for a 47 year old my size especially being this lean.  I don't plan on staying this lean.  I only want to be about 10% body fat, but went below it so it will make 10% easier to maintain all summer.  

This week has been more of a celebration of making it 12 months without missing a single workout for any reason.

lefty-weaver-g19

congrats man. thanks for sharing.

Your post make no sense.

Are those your deload numbers?

If so, who cares?  There is little to no value in knowing your deload numbers.

Most people either deload by taking a week off completely, or seriously limiting their volume but still going to around 80% for a single so they don't feel untrained.

I'm not sure what you are doing here.

I hadn't lifted in about 2 years with gym closures and then I refused to workout in a mask. I started 5x5 again upon my triumphant return to the gym about 3 months ago and started with about nothing. I was so weak. Today I did 220 squat, 165 bench, 135 rows. I'm 5'8" and weigh about 150 sopping wet. I'm hungry all the time right now.

I obviously have no idea what I'm doing or know anything about weight training.

At least you are back at it man keep going it's worth it.

Lol, whatever. I'm sure you have it all totally figured out so why are you even posting?

I posted some useful info and you replied by being a smart ass.

I don't see any useful info in your post.  Are you a woman those numbers are good for a 140 lbs women?  That was really useful info...Lmao.

He took a somewhat rude way to comment, but if those are your numbers over 12 months of training and eating right, maybe some knowledgable people here can help pump those up. If you're up for it, maybe post your normal training cycle? Or what are your goals?

From the outside, I think a lot of people are assuming you're doing something wrong- diet, plan, or both.

My workout routine is this...

Saturday:

Squat 3 x 5
leg extensions 3 x 12
hamstring curls 3 x 12
calf raises 2 sets to failure

Sunday:

Bench press 3 x 5
incline dumb bell fly 12 reps super set with incline dumb bell press to failure
dips or decline dumb bell press 3 sets of which ever I feel like doing that day.

Monday:
Arm day various bicep and tricep work basically a light day with a lot of higher rep arm work.

Tuesday:
Deadlift 1 x 5
dumb bell rows 3 x 12
shrugs 3 x 15
bent over barbell rows 3 x 12

Wednesday:
Off

Thursday:
Light bench day 3 x 12 same assistance as Sunday.  I like to switch my warm up sets up and do narrow grip high reps to fatigue my triceps.  After this when I get to my working sets of 3 x 12 I do a slightly wider grip than normal.  I found this really makes my chest work more on the working sets and the lighter weight is a struggle because my triceps are already fatigued.

Friday:
Off

I will do this adding weight to the compounds on heavy days for the working sets each week for about 5 weeks.  The 6th week I will deload and do super light weights for higher reps and a little less weight on the assistance exercises as well.  After the deload I start another 5 week period with it all planned out so that when I reach the 5th week I will surpass or attempt to surpass the weight I used on working sets of the final week before my previous deload.

I'm an advanced lifter.  That isn't to say I'm better than anyone else.  What it means is I've already done starting strength...intermediate programs...and I'm currently to the point and age that gains in strength are hard to come by and slow.

I've shared my pics recently and caught a lot of grief for doing so...I will not do that again here, but I can assure you I'm at an elite level of fitness/strength for my age and ripped.  

My diet discipline is at a high level.  I usually only show my cheat meals for fun...lol.  Most people only show the weights of their best ever lifts so I decided to make a funny and post the super low weights I used for my recent deload.

ETA:  Now that I've reached my body fat goals I only do 15-20 minutes of cardio a few times a week.  I work 60ish hours a week in a factory and also work at home in the garage on my street/strip car or on the garden so I burn a lot of calories.  I also do ab work every day.  Some days I only do one set of crunches to failure, but I do at least that or more ab work every day of the week.

Well then, okey dokey. I think everyone was confused by your post. 3x5 seems strange for an advanced lifting program, but to each their own, and congrats on achieving your bf goals.

Rep ranges are more about goals than training level.  The number of sets is about getting the volume needed.  Progression type, periodization or programming scheme is what needs to change most based upon training level.

My opinions of course.

Deloads are pointless unless you have at least a 1,400 pound total.

I have no idea what is going on here.

False...deloads are valuable for everyone from complete newbs to world class lifters.

My current estimated total is around 1200 and I’m 47 and 165 lbs class at about 7 percent body fat currently.  To say someone of my age and lifting experience doesn’t ever need a deload is bad advice.

neck up? the doc

women do it all day and then their turkey neck comes out and looks 30 years older

Just keep putting on those 1.25's for another set of fahves forever are ya?

You gonna deload one way or another eventually.

Hey g19 - Looking at your training regimen - seems like you're only doing ~10 sets per workout.  How long are your workouts lasting?  What are you resting in-between sets?  What do you normally do for cardio and how much and how often?  HIIT?

I'm 47 and am struggling to lean out.  Just can't do it like years past.  I'm guessing I'm at around 15%?  Admittedly I do zero cardio but my diet is 98% CLEAN.

I don’t do that much specifically for cardio.  I work overtime in a factory each week and I’m also active outside of work on car projects.  I’m a naturally high strung adhd type and the genetics I have that limit my size gains also contribute to my ability to get and stay very lean.

My workouts are typically 45 minutes to an hour. I also start super light and may do more warm up sets than most people.  For example if my 3 working sets are 255 lbs for bench my warm up would look like this....

75 x 10
95 x 10
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5
215 x 5
235 x 5

255 x 5
255 x 5
255 x 5

Very little rest between warm up sets until the last few then I take 2 minutes and 3 minutes between working sets.  I didn’t do as much warming up when I was younger, but I think it helps prevent injury as I age and also adds some volume.  I do not warm up the other assistance movements only the first primary compound movement of the workout.

I do work the speed bag and eliptical a bit but not a ton of time on them anymore.  If I’m finishing a bulk and want to lean down I add a lot of cardio then back off of it once I get close to where I want to be.

I never miss workouts even if I need a week off I just go super light like I did at the time I started this thread.  I think my ability to get super lean with cut abs is largely genetic related and I can eat super clean with great diet discipline when needed or ramp up calories easily when needed as well.  Diet and genetics plus proper sleep is almost more important than the workouts IMO.

This thread has gotten stranger and stranger.

Even how OP lists the workout is weird. Everyone else just lists reps x sets @ weight.  5x5 @255lbs

I guess it just shows everybody has to find what works for them.

I never felt the need to be like everyone else. I did recently get an egg sponsorship.  I get an 18 pack of farm fresh eggs for free every few days.  Lol.